Chapter 34 - A night in the Temple of the Ancients

Following the trial, Jason and Cecilia faced the reality of having to live their lives as a normal unmarried couple in Danube City. What that meant was staying with families in two separate houses and adhering to the social norms of one of the most conservative countries in Europe. They could see each other whenever they wanted, were free to travel about Danube City and to any other part of the country, and could spend their time as they pleased. What they could not do was sleep together. Sleeping together came to an abrupt halt the day they checked out of their hotel room.

Vladik Dukov came by in his police van to pick up the three Americans from their hotel rooms the day after the trial ended. They had different destinations: Cynthia would stay with her sister Kimberly and her husband Sergekt Dolkiv, Jason would stay with the Prime Minister�s friend Alexi Havlakt and his wife, and Cecilia would stay with the Prime Minister�s brother.

Both Jason and Cecilia knew that they could expect to be treated kindly by their host families and that the arrangement was necessary to make sure they lived in houses of people the Prime Minister could trust. He valued their contribution to his country and wanted to safeguard their lives. He also wanted to make sure their difficult transition to a life in the Duchy was made as easy as possible by people guaranteed to treat them well.

There was another issue that concerned the Prime Minister, and that was the public image of Jason and Cecilia. Like it or not, the Americans now were public figures in the Duchy. They were unofficial representatives of the United States and would serve an important role in helping to soothe the anti-American sentiment now sweeping the capitol. They absolutely had to lead honorable lives that satisfied the social norms of the country and present themselves to the Danubian public as living proof that not everyone from the U.S. was a money-grubbing degenerate.

Following the trial Jason and Cecilia would have to follow daily routines typical for any unmarried young Danubian. In spite of their huge contribution to the country, the special treatment Jason and Cecilia received from their hosts would be rather modest. They were given what Dukov considered necessary to lead secure and productive lives, including full university scholarships and student visas, free study materials, a small weekly allowance for entertainment, and free room and board. They were expected to use those resources to move ahead with their career goals, but also they were expected to fit into the culture of Danube City. Their moment of notoriety came and went, and now it was time for them to live normally and settle into the society as ordinary citizens. They had been assigned their place in Danubian society, which would only change if they got married or left the country. They would move in with Danubian families and be subjected to the expectations and restrictions typical of most �proper� households.

Before the newcomers had a chance to balk at their situations, Kim was quick to explain the Danubian concept of �household�. A person who lived in a Danubian household was considered a full member of that family, even if he or she was unrelated. Being a member of a household was crucial to ensure that the newcomers were respected by everyone around them. �The household� was an important part of every person�s identity under Danubian protocol. Over time, as their ability to speak the language improved and they settled into a daily routine, which household Jason and Cecilia belonged to would be more important in the minds of the Danubians than the fact they were foreigners.

Kim cited her own life as an example of what was expected of the two newcomers. When she was first sentenced and placed under the custody of Vladim Dukov, the Spokesman faced a very difficult situation about what to do with her. Finally, since she had nowhere else to go and was under his custody anyway, he simply decided to make her a member of his household. At first he did not tell Kim that her arrangement with his family was likely to be permanent, just in case it did not work out. However, over time Kim learned that she had entered into an unspoken, but official agreement with the Dukovs. The agreement allowed Kim full use of anything in the house, but at the same time imposed responsibilities very similar to those imposed on Anyia Dukov, who was 14 at the time.

Whatever objections the couple might have to the restrictions, their situations did give Jason and Cecilia an immediate feeling of belonging. Being members of households also kept them busy. The Havlakts expected Jason to help with gardening and house repairs. Alexi Havalkt never asked Jason do anything by himself, but if he was outside in the yard or working on the house, he expected Jason to drop what he was doing and go out with him. Cecilia, as a member of Victor Dukov�s household, had to go shopping with Tiffany and help her carry groceries at least three times a week. On top of the shopping, there was always the intense cooking required for the weekly Sunday dinners for Vladik and Jason.

There was a final detail about their lives that Cecilia and Jason would only discover much later. The Prime Minister and several of his cabinet ministers, along with the members of �Socrates� Mistresses�, had pooled money out of their own salaries to support them and finance their university enrollments. As much as he wanted the country to express its gratitude to the two young Americans who had saved his government, Dukov felt it was inappropriate to take money out of the national budget for what he considered a private matter. He did not want the young couple to feel obligated to the Parliament, nor did he want any Deputies to question why Americans were getting public money that could have been used to help Danubians. Instead he and the people close to him made their own arrangements to help Jason and Cecilia set up their lives in Danube City. It was a question of honor, for both the Prime Minister and his guests.

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Kim addressed another issue that had been in the back of Cecilia�s mind, but had been afraid to bring up to anyone. She had been wondering how she might be received in a society that was the most isolated country in Europe and had seen very few non-Europeans. Somehow, Kim had picked up on Cecilia�s unspoken anxiety and decided to bring it up herself.

Kim admitted that the Danubians were very closed minded about the outside world. The country felt besieged by foreign influences, which was why foreign music and entertainment were very much frowned upon. There was only grudging acceptance of any foreign fashion influences, and Kim speculated that the society never would accept any clothing such as swimsuits that directly manifested foreign values. The Danubians were especially hostile to any perceived threats to their traditions, such as being told their legal system was deficient or that they needed to change their faith. That embedded hostility explained why recently passed laws prohibiting the proselytizing of non-Danubian religion were very popular among the public.

�They�re totally adamant about the whole religion thing. You have these foreign missionaries coming into the country, telling people here that they�re going to Hell because they�re following beliefs that are 3000 years old, and yes, they get offended. Really offended. It�s not something they�re interested in hearing, so they made it a crime to promote any foreign religion in Upper Danubia. Even the Prime Minister, who�s probably about as open-minded a person as you�re going to get in this country, puts his foot down when it comes to religion. On that he�s as intolerant as anyone else.�

So the question remained, how was it that Kimberly Lee, who was not from the country and not even European, could find herself fully accepted by the Danubians? The answer was that she had become one of them in her habits, her outlook in life, and in the way she carried herself. During her two-year sentence she had internalized Danubian values and morals. Her friends and her lifestyle were Danubian, and she usually wore Danubian clothing. As for her hair, it always was done up in traditional braids.

�If you really want to fit in, do your hair up like I got mine. If you do that one simple thing, you�ll be sending a signal that you understand this country�s values and are willing to accept them in your life. As long as you don�t challenge the way people here think and make that clear to everyone, they�ll accept you. They don�t care about your skin. They care about what�s in your heart.�

Cecilia sighed. She was not thrilled about the closed nature of Danubian society, but at the same time was relieved that she would be judged depending on how she behaved, no so much on how she looked. She felt somewhat reassured that she controlled the extent to which she would be accepted.

She took a chair and sat down, allowing Kim to braid her hair. It turned out that her friend was right about the hairstyle. When Cecilia went back out on the street with her hair braided, she noticed far fewer curious looks from passers-by.

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Cecilia heaved a sad sigh as she got off the van and let Victor Dukov and Jason help her unload her suitcases. Jason could not follow her in. He would be invited over for dinner Sunday afternoon. It would not be proper for him to enter the house anytime before the first formal dinner.

Tiffany Walker helped Cecilia get her suitcases upstairs and set up her room. Cecilia�s room was nice, with solid furniture and plenty of room to hang her clothes and keep her things. The room had a radio but no television. The window overlooked a tree-lined street that led westward to the National University, which was only about five blocks away.

Tiffany helped Cecilia unpack and put away her clothes. Cecilia noticed Tiffany looking at her clothing with interest, as the naked young woman asked what kind of clothing had become popular in the U.S. during the two years she had been living in Danube City.

Tiffany then invited Cecilia over to see her own room. Tiffany had a computer and several shelves of books. There were study materials on her desk and pictures of herself and Vladik Dukov on her dresser. There were also a bunch of pictures of her family members in the U.S. and of several young women, who she explained were co-workers at the strip club where she had been working before coming to Upper Danubia.

What struck Cecilia about her housemate�s room was the complete absence of any clothing. The closet was empty, even of hangers. There was only a single item Tiffany was ever permitted to wear during the summer, and that was a pair of orange tennis shoes when she rode her bicycle. If she wasn�t on the bicycle she had to take them off. Another thing about Tiffany�s room that struck Cecilia was that her bed had a sheet covering the mattress, but no covers. Tiffany explained that as a criminal she was not supposed to cover her body, not even at night. As best she could, she adhered to that condition of her sentence. Except during the coldest part of the winter she slept on her bed completely uncovered.

Tiffany talked about her daily life, which actually did not seem all that bad. She had a fairly normal relationship with Vladik, in spite of being a criminal engaged to a police officer. She went on to explain that he had been performing public penance when she met him. Essentially penance gave him a social status no better than that of a criminal and not much better than her. She comforted him during a very difficult time in his life, while he helped her adjust to the reality of her sentence. When he ended his penance Vladik flatly told his parents that he wanted to become engaged to her. He proposed the previous summer and gave her the three engagement presents that always accompanied a formal proposal.

Tiffany talked about their social life and their frequent evenings in the Socrates Club. Cecilia was curious:

�So you�re always goin� there? Just to dance and listen to a bunch of people talk about their lives? Doesn�t that get boring after a while?�

�No. That�s not all we do, Cecilia. Most nights we go upstairs, you know, to the intimacy rooms. I think Vladik would go nuts if we couldn�t go upstairs.�

�What�s upstairs?�

�The rooms, you know, for making love.�

�They actually got that?�

�Sure. I mean it�s just for members, but that�s one thing out of a bunch of things they do to try to make our lives a bit better. You know, it�s tough being a criminal, but in some ways I think our lives are easier than most people here. The society doesn�t have the same expectations of us, and we don�t have to be so stuffy in our day-to-day living. We can hug each other, show our emotions, make love when we want�in a lot of ways our lives are a lot more natural than average people. Kim can tell you�she and Sergekt were a lot different when they were criminals than they are now.�

�What about Vladik?�

�When he�s on the street, he�s a cop. When he�s in the club with me, he�s my guest and no better than anyone else. And, that�s good for both of us. If it weren�t for the club, we�d have a real hard time finding a place we could spend time with each other�you know, like alone��

Cecilia�s heart jumped. She had dreaded the possibility of being forced back into a life of celibacy, even though her emotional relationship with Jason was stronger than ever. So there was a place where people could go to make love�

�What do you gotta do, to be able to use those rooms?�

�You have to be a member of the club, or the registered guest of a member. But you gotta remember the club is mostly for criminals. To be eligible for membership you have to be collared. If you�re not collared they�ll let you onto the main floor, but you can�t use the upstairs rooms or the gym, not unless you�re the guest of a member who is collared.�

�So you gotta be convicted of something, right?�

�Or performing public penance for the Temple. The club considers a person performing penance a criminal as far as membership is concerned, because they�re officially wearing a collar.�

Cecilia was quiet, as she contemplated that interesting piece of information. The two Americans then heard a voice calling them from downstairs. It was Mrs. Dukov.

�Deevonay �tek C�cilekt, yah�k hocht�ckt yeestesh d�k?�

Tiffany answered back.

�Doc-doc. Nam d�k id�m.�

She turned to Cecilia. �Lunchtime. Let�s head downstairs. After lunch we�ll go out and I�ll show you around the neighborhood.�

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While Cecilia was getting to know Tiffany, Jason was struggling to communicate with Alexi Havlakt and his wife. He quickly settled into his room and joined them for lunch, then sat for a long period of time while they showed him a bunch of pictures of their kids as they were growing up. Of course, because of the language barrier, Jason did not have a clue about who were the people in the pictures. Sometime in the future he would have to see the pictures again, when he could figure out what on earth the older couple was saying.

Seeing the pictures reminded him of something. He needed to call his grandmother and ask how she was doing. As he thought about that, sitting in the living room looking at a bunch of pictures of people he did not know, the doorbell rang. Mr. Havlakt answered it and let in Cynthia and Kimberly Lee.

The two women did not have happy expressions on their faces. Kim briefly talked to Alexi Havlakt, whose expression suddenly changed and became very serious. It was Cynthia who took Jason outside.

�Jason, I got a question for you. Have you�ever talked to�talked to anyone in your family since you got here?�

�Uh, no. I�ve been kinda afraid to, you know, �cause everyone�s been saying I�m in so much danger and I didn�t want to get anyone in trouble.�

�You�re grandma called this morning�she called my parents, and then she called me at Kim�s place. She�s gotta to talk to you, like�right away.�

�About my folks?�

�Yeah.�

�Are they OK?�

�No. They�re not OK. They both got shot last Monday�I mean Monday of last week.�

�Shit�I�didn�t��

�It wasn�t because of anything you did. From what your grandma told me, Mega-Town had nothing to do with it. What happened was that some ex-boyfriend of your sister showed up at the house completely stoned and just started shooting�first your mom, then your dad, then one of your maids, and then one of her friends. What�s weird is the police think that what he really wanted to do was kill Cassie, but it seemed she was the only one he didn�t get. She got away, ran next door, and when the guy followed her, your neighbor shot him.�

�And they�re all dead?�

�I�m afraid so.�

�What about Cassie?�

�She�s in the psychiatric ward at the Carterville Community Hospital right now. I mean, she saw her friend�s head get blown off and his body come down the stairs. She actually saw that guy get killed. And then seeing your maid shot up in the kitchen�and with your folks dead too�and her ex-boyfriend�she�s pretty messed up. I suppose I�d be pretty messed up too, if I saw all that.�

Finally Jason nerved himself to call his grandmother. He expected her to be distraught, but she seemed perfectly calm. She spent the next hour filling in the awful details about his parents� deaths. Jason was surprised when he found himself much more upset over Rita�s murder than over the shooting of his own parents, and only later would understand why. Even in death, his father had managed to destroy the life of someone totally innocent. Mr. Schmidt�s actions had managed to take one final person to the grave with him.

Jason�s grandmother told him another detail, which made him understand why she did not mourn the death of her son. She had gone through his papers and realized how he was planning to deal with his financial problems, by cutting his ties to his family.

�You have to realize your father was a very sick man, Jason. I�m not surprised by anything that�s happened. I knew it was coming. And as for your father, I stopped grieving for him a long time ago. He�s been dead for years.�

Jason�s grandmother went on to describe the funeral of his parents. The only three people present were herself, Jason�s aunt on his mother�s side, and his fat cousin. No one else attended, not even Cassie. She was too distraught to even think straight and spent the day under sedation. None of Mr. Schmidt�s business partners attended, nor did any of his co-conspirators. He was dead, thus his usefulness to them had ended. In contrast, Rita�s funeral had been attended by nearly 200 friends, relatives, and co-workers from her maid service.

The conversation moved on to Cassie. She had calmed down enough that she would be released from the hospital the following week. Jason�s grandmother already had a room in her condo set up for her, since the girl had no where else to go. It would be very hard, because Cassie was completely withdrawn and uncommunicative.

�Grandma, do you think there�s anything I could do for her?�

�There will be, but not yet. When the time comes, when it�s safe for you to come back and she�s ready, I�ll need you to come get her. But that�s not going to be for a while. I�ll tell you, when it�s time.� Jason heard his grandmother sigh over the phone. �I�ve got a very hard summer ahead of me, dealing with what�s happened to your sister, but right now there�s nothing you can do about it. Just be thankful you got away when you did.�

By the tone of her voice, Jason knew his grandmother was not finished relaying bad news. She drew a deep breath and continued:

�There�s more, Jason. Do you remember when you told me that you thought your father put his own money into the coup and you thought he got wiped out financially?�

�Yeah.�

�You were right. It turns out he took out several mortgages and was nearly four million dollars in debt. Your house just got seized and the banks are still fighting over it. They grabbed everything: the property, the cars, even the furniture. That includes whatever you might have had there. It�s all gone. They wouldn�t even let me on the property to get any of Cassie�s things.�

Jason was glad about the house. Good riddance. He was more convinced than ever that it was the house that had destroyed his family. As for the fancy furniture, he was glad that would be gone as well. Whenever he went back, there would be nothing to remind him of the hellish existence his family had endured during the final year of his parents� lives.

Jason thought of something else, the neighbor he barely knew who had saved his sister�s life with his shotgun. He was curious:

�Grandma, I know this is kinda a dumb question, but what�s gonna happen to our neighbor? You know, the guy who saved Cassie?�

�Him? Nothing. They�re not gonna press charges. How could they? It was self-defense. That kid was breaking into his house with a loaded gun. He had just shot four other people and was trying to kill your sister. I don�t think there�s a jury in Wisconsin that�d convict him. I sure as hell wouldn�t.�

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The following Sunday Jason went over to Victor Dukov�s house for dinner for the first time. He was dressed in his best business suit, the one he had worn on the first day of the trial when he testified. Alongside him stood Vladik Dukov. The two men were there to �sit at the table� of Victor Dukov, the head of the household in which Cecilia Sanchez and Tiffany Walker were staying. The dinner was an important occasion for Jason, because until he had sat at Victor Dukov�s table, the society dictated he did not have the right to visit Cecilia at the house during the week.

Cecilia was dressed in her formal Danubian gown, while Tiffany stood beside her completely naked. She was wearing Vladik�s engagement jewelry, which was the only detail from her normal appearance she could change. The dinner, with its fancy dishes and formality, came and went. Once the dinner ended, Victor Dukov granted Jason permission to start seeing Cecilia, something he already had been doing in the U.S. for nearly a year. It was an absurd situation, but they were in Upper Danubia, and protocol came before anything else.

Jason invited Cecilia to go for a walk and work off the large dinner. They had to change out of their formal clothes because of the hot late afternoon sun. Cecilia changed into a simple one-piece sundress that was in fashion in the capitol, while Jason changed into a very old pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt. They spent a long time walking along the shaded sidewalks along the East Danube River. They passed several river beaches full of nude swimmers and sunbathers, but neither had any desire to go swimming, in spite of the heat. Instead they walked quietly, as though something was compelling them to make their way towards the Old Temple.

They passed their former hotel and the outer watchtower of the Old City Wall on their way to the Plaza of the Ancients. They passed the entrance to the Temple and decided to stop at the caf� where Kim�s husband had worked years before when he was a criminal. By pure chance they ran into Cynthia Lee, along with her sister Kimberly and her brother-in-law Sergekt. All three were dressed in black prayer robes.

Pure chance�or was it?

It turned out that Cynthia had decided to pursue her plan to perform public penance. She was very nervous, because her intention was to perform penance for at least the duration of the entire summer. She added that she probably would perform penance much longer than that, perhaps through the end of September of the following year.

�I�m kinda nervous, because once I start, I�ll have to keep my collar on until the Ancients give me a sign I can take it off. I have no idea when that�s gonna be, but I�m gonna have to wait for a sign.�

�What kind of sign?�

�I don�t know. That�s what�s so scary about what I�m about to do. I�m gonna be surrendering control over my future to the Ancients, and I don�t know when they�ll give it back to me.�

The thought of public penance stuck in the minds of both Jason and Cecilia. Neither was aware the other had secret thoughts on the matter, but that was about to change.

It was Jason who asked the first question.

�You know, I�m�kinda curious. Do you think�maybe I could�could talk to one of the Priests about penance? I got some questions�and I�with my dad�and my family�and the whole coup thing�I don�t know how to handle all this. I�m curious�just kinda got some questions��

�Sure, they�ll talk to you. If you want, I can translate.�

Cecilia looked at Jason and drew a deep breath.

�I�m gonna want talk to one of those Priests too.�

Kim and Cynthia looked at each other with bewildered expressions. It could not be a coincidence that Jason and Cecilia would just happen to show up in front of the Temple of the Ancients a few minutes before Cynthia was about to be collared. Their two friends had been brought to them as part of their Path in Life. It was obvious they were destined to go into the Temple, and in some way or another come out changed before the night was over.

It was Kim who took charge of the group.

�Cecilia, I want you to come with me. Jason, you�re going with Cynthia. Start thinking about your questions, and we�ll translate for you.�

Kim turned to her husband, and in Danubian asked him to go into the Temple and find the Priest who had converted Cynthia. He would need to explain that there were two foreigners who were seeking counseling. As Sergekt entered the Temple, Kim turned back to Jason and Cecilia.

�There�s something I gotta tell you about the Temple before you go in. Whoever you talk to is going to try to see into your soul and figure out what you need. If they think your soul is damaged, they�re gonna tell you what they think you should do about it. You don�t have to be a convert for them to talk to you, but you are going to have to take whatever they say seriously.�

Jason and Cecilia nodded. Sergekt came back out and summoned the others with a loud whistle.

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Kim led Cecilia to a Priestess who had a particularly severe demeanor. It turned out she was the Priestess who had given the rough sermon at that nudist conference in Indiana back in February. Kim knelt, touched her head to the floor and then stood up. The Priestess saluted her and she saluted back. Kim began speaking to her in Danubian, but the Priestess stopped her.

�I speak to young woman in English. Maybe my English no good, but I listen her word and look at her eye. She talk, I listen.� She turned to Cecilia and asked her a question that surprised her:

�Why you come to Danube City? Why you here in Duchy?�

�I��cause of the trial��cause I had to testify��

�No�that no reason�you say me why you here. Say me real truth, why you here.�

�I�I �spose I came here �cause of my boyfriend, Jason. I�didn�t want him to have to be by himself, you know�alone�dealin� with��

�No�that no reason. Truth is YOU no want to be alone. You no want to live without Jason. Jason come, you come. Because you need Jason, no?�

�I�I �spose that�s true. I didn�t wanna live without him.�

�So you love Jason?�

�A lot. A lot more than he knows��

�Now we find truth. You need Jason. You love Jason. You come to Duchy to be with Jason. That why you here.�

�Yes, ma�am. That�s why I�m here.�

�Good. Now you say truth. So say me about Jason. Say me truth about Jason.�

Cecilia spent a very long time talking about her strange relationship with her boyfriend, and in doing so revealed much about her own life and personality quirks. It turned out the Priestess was an excellent judge of character. Somehow she knew that Cecilia would find it very difficult to talk about herself, but would find it much easier to talk about Jason. The Priestess looked hard into Cecilia�s eyes and interrupted her whenever she became vague or evasive with a severe: �You no say me truth. Say me real truth.�

It was only after the Priestess had a good feel for Cecilia�s personality that she began asking direct questions about her own life. She knew that Cecilia�s soul was severely damaged, a detail about the young American that became more evident as she began confessing some of her inner thoughts. The Priestess began closing in on the events of Cecilia�s life when she was 15. She drew out of her the stories about her brother Raul and his relationship with her boyfriend Vicente, their criminal activity and drug use, and lastly, the story about the abortion.

Cecilia was terrified at having confessed such a thing to a religious person, but the Priestess was not interested in judging Cecilia for her past. Judging was the duty of the Creator, not the Clergy. It was the Creator to whom Cecilia would have to show her mirror, not the Priestess. Instead what the woman wanted was to get Cecilia to put into own words the deep-seated fears she had about losing control over her life, and her insecurity over the fact that was precisely what had happened in her relationship with Jason.

�So now we find out truth. You scared.�

�Yes, I�m scared.�

�Now I scare you more. I ask you, and you say me truth. You think about��

The Priestess turned to Kim and quietly asked her a question in Danubian. Kim answered:

�Slov n�k anglal�s, �custody�.�

The Priestess responded �doc-doc� and turned back to Cecilia.

�You think about custody for Jason? Maybe use custody tell him so he no tell you?�

Cecilia�s heart stopped. That Priestess knew. Somehow she had figured out one of her most secret fantasies, the one she had about collaring Jason.

�I�I�yes, ma�am. I�thought about�usin� the Church��cause I had this fantasy��

Cecilia explained how she found out about the concept of custody from her correspondence with Apprentice Lee and how she had thought about using it to control Jason. Kim gave her a very offended look, obviously displeased over what her friend had been thinking. The Priestess did not seem any angrier however, because from the beginning she had suspected Cecilia had harbored a fantasy that was offensive to the Church. The frightened young woman would have to atone for her fantasy, but that was why the Creator had brought her to the Temple.

�Now I know truth. Now I know why you scared.�

�Yes ma�am.�

�You want fight scared? Make right with Creator?�

Cecilia nodded.

�You do what I say?�

Again Cecilia nodded. That was not good enough for the Priestess. She stared coldly into Cecilia�s eyes and repeated the question:

�You do what I say?�

�Yes�I�ll do what you say.�

�You give me hands.�

Reluctantly Cecilia stuck out her hands and the Priestess grabbed them. The woman then closed her eyes and stood very still for several minutes. When she opened her eyes, she let go. One final time she asked the question:

�You do what I say?�

�Yes.�

The Priestess then reached up and put her hands around Cecilia�s throat. She was terrified, thinking that the Priestess was about to choke her, but what she was doing was measuring her neck. She wrote down a measurement on a small piece of paper and handed it to a Temple Attendant. Then she grabbed Cecilia�s hand and took her to an outside patio that overlooked the Sacred Grounds. Cecilia found herself facing a small stone platform. Off to one side there was a stone pit enclosing a fire burning from coals.

�You no move.�

The Priestess produced a pair of very sharp scissors and cut the shoulder straps of Cecilia�s dress. She gasped as the cloth fell off her body and bunched up at her feet. Before she had time to react, two more quick snips cut the waistband of her thong. Within a second, Cecilia was completely naked except for her shoes. Her heart pounded as the Priestess moved in front of her.

�You put cloth in fire.�

Struggling to catch her breath, Cecilia did as she was told. She stepped out of her ruined dress, picked it up, and reluctantly tossed it into the fire pit. There was a brief flash as the cotton caught on fire, but quickly the flames died back down. The Priestess grabbed Cecilia�s shoulders and pushed her into a kneeling position.

�Hold out hands�

Cecilia stuck out her hands. The Priestess held a metal collar in front of Cecilia�s face, and then laid it in her hands. By that time she was shaking badly from fright. The Priestess moved behind Cecilia and placed her hands on her shoulders. She prayed out loud in archaic Danubian while the trembling American continued to kneel and hold her collar.

Oddly enough, when the Priestess finished, Cecilia�s nerves had calmed down considerably. She now was ready to accept the collar.

The Priestess took the collar from Cecilia�s hands and placed it around her neck. She inserted a key and locked it. Now it was official. Cecilia Sanchez, just three weeks after arriving in Danube City, had begun performing public penance.

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A short while later the Priestess released Kim and Cecilia after reciting a final series of prayers and handing her a sheet of paper explaining the proper protocol for a person performing public penance. Among other restrictions, she no longer could salute a public official. She would have to kneel whenever a public official greeted her and wait to be given permission to stand up.

Even before she left the Temple grounds, Cecilia felt very exposed and vulnerable. It wasn�t just the thought of having to remain completely naked into the foreseeable future, but she also was experiencing a much deeper feeling of her soul having been stripped bare for the whole world to see.

Everything Cecilia had been to that point was gone, burned up in that fire along with her dress. She suddenly felt very free, very liberated as the warm late spring breeze gently reminded her of her exposure to the word. Yes, let them see me. I�m starting over. I�m leaving my psychological baggage behind and I�m starting over.

Cynthia and Jason were waiting for them in the Plaza as they left the Temple grounds. Both were naked and wearing collars. Cecilia rushed into Jason�s arms and hugged him, excited at the thought that they would be performing public penance together. It felt good to be outside like this, to feel the warmth of his body and the springtime air on her bare skin�this really felt good.

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Cecilia and Jason returned home not really knowing how their host families would react to seeing them naked and with collars around their necks. They were surprised that there was not much reaction at all. There was absolutely nothing dishonorable about public penance, as long as the person performing it understood and respected the proper protocol.

The Danubians in Jason�s life actually approved of his decision to wear a Temple collar. It seemed a logical thing for him to do; given the fact his father had committed so many evil acts in his life and now was dead. The Danubians interpreted Jason�s penance as a public effort to redeem the honor of his family. Without knowing it at first, Jason was performing a ritual that any young Danubian under similar circumstances would be expected to perform.

The fact that Cecilia was performing penance alongside Jason also made sense to the Danubian way of thinking. She was Jason�s partner, so it was quite appropriate that if he were to publicly humble himself, she should as well.

The naked young couple would become a familiar sight around Danube City over the summer as they went about their business and struggled to learn enough Danubian to enter the university as regular students in the fall. Sometimes people asked one or the other how long they planned to stay collared, but they always provided the most accepted answer: that they really weren�t sure. At some point one or both of them would receive a sign to turn in their collars and resume normal lives, but they neither knew nor really cared when that would be. It was up to the Ancients to make that decision for them.

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There was one pleasant irony in the lives of Jason and Cecilia that resulted from their decision to wear collars. They applied for membership in the Socrates Club and were accepted as full members by the management. Within a very short time Jason and Cecilia had established their social group at the Club. Normally they sat with Tiffany Walker and Vladik Dukov, along with Cynthia Lee and a young Danubian who also was performing public penance. As the summer progressed Cynthia�s relationship with him became more serious as he visited Sergekt and Kim�s house and sat at their table.

Their membership in the Club also meant the intimacy rooms were open to them, along with the renewed chance to enjoy each other�s bodies. The nightly visit to the intimacy room became a welcome part of the routine of Jason and Cecilia. The time they spent together continued to be a very important part of their lives: whether it was massages, or Jason�s tongue gently caressing Cecilia�s clitoris, or Cecilia waving her bottom in the air to tempt her boyfriend. No matter what else happened during their day, the time they could spend together always awaited them. Those precious moments were crucial for helping them get through their first summer in Danube City.

The Freshman - Chapter 35