by Pat Jones
"Mercy night?" Natalie stammered, utterly astonished. "But I'm an actress, not a delinquent. I was only supposed to be here for a few days, to research my role."
True. Natalie, a famous American actress secretly fascinated with corporal punishment, had voluntarily enrolled herself in the Goodwood reformatory. "Research," she claimed, and as a method actress Natalie would make any sacrifice required to ensure an authentic performance.
The Headmaster smiled. He knew the beautiful young star was quite disconcerted, but she was so adorable in her reformatory school uniform that it was quite impossible to take her pouting petulance seriously.
"You're going to be here a bit longer than that, I'm afraid," the Headmaster said, feigning regret. "The next Mercy Night isn't until the end of the summer. But that will give you ample time to prepare for your role, and prepare your formal written petition, begging for the Governor's forgiveness."
"Forgiveness for what? I haven't done anything wrong! I'm not like ... the other girls," Natalie said, confused.
"Young lady, I certainly hope you're not attempting to use your celebrity to court special treatment."
"No, sir, not at all. What I meant was, I'm, not a criminal. I haven't done anything wrong."
"True, and I am quite sure that you have noticed that unlike the other students here, you have not yet received the birch, or the cane. This is due to the fact that you have not been formally sentenced to receive such in a court of law. However, as a student you are in the Governor's care. They are charged under the law with reforming you and correcting your moral deficiencies. They cannot release you until they are certain that job is complete."
Natalie looked at him, thunderstruck. "But I was promised that my release would be a matter of routine."
"Yes, precisely. Your release will be processed along with all the other girls, according to the normal routine. Your case will be considered irrespective of your celebrity, with neither prejudice nor undue haste. Thus you will stand in the dock on Mercy Night, and will be judged according to our normal procedures, just like any other girl. You may go now, Natalie," the Headmaster said, shuffling his papers, "and begin working on your Mercy Night petition."
Natalie still had much to say, but even though she had only been in the reformatory for a few days she knew the conversation was over. The Headmaster ignored her and moved onto his paperwork, pausing only to enjoy the sight of Natalie's shapely fanny retreating across the office as she exited his study.
As she walked down the hall, Natalie was awash with a jumble of emotions: surprise, confusion, fear, and (although she hated to admit it) an almost indescribable excitement.
Mercy Night? Could this really be happening? It was too good to be true!
Natalie knew few details, but had learned the basic outline of the process from listening to the other girls. At the conclusion of her sentence, every inmate in the reformatory was required to submit a written 'Petition for Clemency'. These petitions were batched together and considered by the Board of Governors on an evening popularly known as Mercy Night. The name was deeply ironic, as mercy was seldom shown.
Natalie knew that Mercy Night itself was not without considerable risk, as the girl's appeals usually resulted in longer sentences and bare bottom thrashings. However, after the initial shock wore off, Natalie became incredibly excited at the thought of being forced to stand before the blindfolded Goddess of Justice on such a weighty occasion. After all, blindfold or not, it wasn't as if she could possibly lose.
As an avid reader of the Crimson Sun books, Natalie had long fantasized of being confined in such a reformatory. The need for a formal review had given her the perfect excuse to extend her brief stay over the summer until the next Mercy Night could be scheduled. This added confinement, plus the thought of preparing a formal petition for the Reformatory's strict Board of Governors, gave Natalie a deliciously naughty thrill!
Of course, even if she had wanted to object there was little that Natalie could do. Embarrassed by her shameful desires, Natalie had told no-one where she was going, and had asked the Headmaster to enroll her under an assumed name. She had told her family, friends, and Agent that she would be gone for several weeks at the very least, and left strict instructions that no-one should look for her. Unfortunately for Natalie, that meant if and when a search did begin, the trail would be ice cold, and there would be no breadcrumbs left to find.
Natalie's cell phone and identification had been confiscated during 'Reception'. Inmates were not allowed to use the telephone or write letters. In theory, this left Natalie's fate squarely in the hands of the Reformatory's notoriously harsh Board of Governors. But ever confident, Natalie felt certain she would triumph, as she had triumphed over every other challenge she had faced in her young life.
Natalie left nothing to chance and spent the next three months laboring diligently on her 'Petition for Clemency'. She filled out dozens of questionnaires, some quite intimate, documenting her character, her past actions, and her complete sexual history, including how many men she had been with, which sexual acts she had performed, and (most embarrassingly) how often she masturbated.
The Headmistress had repeatedly told Natalie that the men reviewing her case prized honesty above all. Natalie had tried to comply, even though she had blushed when she read the questions, blushed when she answered them, and blushed most of all when she thought of the old men who sat on the board reading her sexual confessions.
Despite her embarrassment, Natalie was quite proud of her petition, and felt quite certain it was the finest that had graced the Governor's table on Mercy Night. Natalie's vanity peaked as she proudly presented her carefully bound opus to the school secretary, and she had been shocked when the old biddy casually tossed her masterpiece into a large bin containing dozens of other such petitions without even bothering to glance at the cover.
Natalie was stunned, and stood staring at the bin as if time itself had come to a stop. In her hubris the dazzling star had failed to consider that by submitting herself to the standard review she had inadvertently lumped herself in with countless other delinquents, and her carefully worded request was now buried in an gigantic stack of petitions far less worthy than her own.
Natalie, who had been calm and self-confident only a moment before, felt her palms grow sweaty and her mouth turn to cotton. Tentatively, she approached the Headmaster's notoriously chilly secretary.
"Excuse me, Miss. I'm wondering... if there might be some way to put my petition on top, or perhaps set it aside. There are so many petitions, and each one's so thick! I want to make sure the Governors have a chance to read mine carefully."
"Don't worry, dear," the Secretary said with a mirthless smile. "They'll make time for yours. In fact, no matter how many cases they adjudicate, the Board of Governors always finish in less than an hour."
Natalie was horrified. There were dozens of petitions in the drum - how were they reviewing them in less than an hour? As she shuffled out of the office, Natalie kept her eyes fixed on her precious petition, which had already turned on its side and slid toward the bottom middle of the stack. To Natalie it suddenly looked very much like a message in a bottle.
As was the custom, on Mercy Night, a very anxious Natalie lined up with the other supplicants and literally 'toed-the-line' as she waited for the Reformatory's Board of Governors to parade past her and into the officious chamber to begin the formal review that would decide her fate.
Like the other girls, Natalie would not be allowed to attend the hearing itself. There were dozens of cases to be reviewed, and there was no time for girlish tears or special pleadings that would slow the swift dispensation of justice. Natalie, her heart racing, would stare helplessly at the locked door as her carefully prepared petition was hurried through its perfunctory formal review.
And so Natalie stood, in uniform and at attention, mixed in like her petition amongst the petty thieves, public drunkards, and morally suspect young women whose questionable conduct had earned them a harsh dose of reformatory discipline.
Natalie felt quite distinct from the other girls, for she had never committed an offense that would warrant her incarceration. But she did not look different, and most of the Board Members who toddled past her into the room took no special notice of her. The few who did look at her always started by looking first at her lovely legs, and finished by giving her a knowing smile that made her feel like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Natalie knew she had done nothing wrong. Why, then, did she feel so guilty?
Natalie had enrolled herself into the reformatory as 'Natalie Fox' as a sly and impish tribute to Elaine Fox, the reformatory delinquent of the Crimson Sun books whose tight bottom and rebellious attitude always inspired the strictest of discipline. It had seemed deliciously witty and clever at the time, but now the choice seemed bitterly ironic. Natalie knew that in her short uniform skirt, blazer and striped tie, she looked very much like Elaine's impudent American cousin. And that, she feared, is precisely how the Board of Governors would view her, too.
Natalie watched nervously as the final member of the board entered the ornate chamber and closed the door that would separate Natalie from the decision making of her betters.
Natalie shuddered as the bolt locking the door slid into the place with a thud so heavy that Natalie could feel the vibration in the wooden floorboards beneath her feet. To Natalie, the bolt felt like a trap door opening beneath her, and for a brief instant Natalie's school tie felt like a coarse rope tightening around her slender throat.
Natalie steadied herself. She was the archetypal good girl. Her petition for clemency had been perfectly prepared. She had committed no crime that would justify confining her further. She had nothing to fear.
Why then was Natalie so desperately afraid?
Natalie's reformatory uniform stood in stark contrast to the fashionable clothes she normally wore. As a Hollywood star, Natalie typically wore stylish designer outfits made from the finest materials and carefully tailored especially for her. Her expensive lingerie was always silky and luxurious. Natalie's clothes added to her star power, and she delighted in turning heads wherever she went.
Natalie still turned heads, but the teachers and groundskeepers who stared at her bare legs or the flash of her knickers when she reached for something were not interested in her autograph. The clothes Natalie wore made her feel like a schoolgirl, and act like one, but that's what made it so scrumptious.
Natalie stared at the bronzed statue of Justice outside the hall. The goddess was blindfolded, as usual, but what struck Natalie as unusual was the way the scales in her hand were tipped entirely to one side. It was almost as if only one side of the case were considered, and the other facts were given no weight at all.
Strangely enough, Natalie's first few weeks at the reformatory had actually been quite enjoyable. Playing delinquent had been deliciously thrilling, and after the initial shock of the 'Mercy Night' revelation had worn off, Natalie had become quite certain that her special status as a visitor meant that her release would be handled as a matter of form.
Natalie's realization that the routine she was relying on involved nothing more than a perfunctory review of her petition and a brief hearing at which she would not be allowed to speak had shocked her to the core.
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