“Lieutenant  Moroni! I want you to go and supervise the release of Prisoner Schwartz. Your investigation of the wreck must be postponed until later. Take Brown with you!“

Once the couple were away from eagle-eyed Angela’s jealous gaze they made up for the hours they had been apart. Then they continued on the short and by now familiar walk to the other side. They walked arm in arm and paused frequently to embrace and kiss.

“I’m pretty poor officer material, darling Frieda.” said Francesca as they neared the bend in the shoreline that brought them to the other side.

“Best officer I’ve ever served under. And I mean ‘under’ “, giggled Frieda.

“I just hope you feel the same when I supervise your punishment” replied a suddenly far more serious Francesca.

“Sure I will” replied Frieda. Then she went silent. Damn this stupid war, she thought. Why can’t people just be nice to each other all the time?

Francesca withdrew her arm from Frieda’s shoulder. She was in a position of trust and command and had better start acting the part a bit better.

“Go up and feed Prisoner Esterhazy and report to me on her condition. I will go and release Prisoner Schwarz.”

ANNIE

“Well, Schwarz! How goes it? You can speak now. Time’s up!”

“OK, Francesca! No problems!”

“I‘m an officer, now. Bad move, Schwarz!”

“Sorry, Ma’am” Annie’s face took on a resigned look. How could she have been so stupid?

“The penalty for addressing an officer in an overly familiar manner is five lashes. “

She bent down and untied Annie and then took her,  unresistingly and resigned, over to the post and secured her there in advance of Frieda‘s return.

How many more days, Ma’am?” asked Annie.

“Two, Schwarz.”

………………………………................................................................................................................

Frieda and Francesca were silent for much of the return trip. It was Francesca who spoke first.

“I suppose you think I’m a real cow, don’t you.”

It had been Frieda who had given Annie her five  lashes and then tied her down again. It had been Frieda who had treated the ropes with water to make them shrink.

“No. She was a silly bitch to cheek an officer. I’d have given her a whole lot more. Forget it, Fran.”

“We are a callous lot!” said Francesca. “Mind you, my father beat me. They say abused children turn out to be as cruel as their parents.  Depressing thought, really.   I mean -  where will it all end?”

“This walk will end with our going our separate ways, Francesca! Let’s have a nice time on that soft looking bit of grass over there! We’re happy, Fran my love! That’s all that matters! Forget those two back there! They‘ve both brought their troubles on themselves!  Let‘s have us some fun!”

 As they  made love, Francesca had a part of her mind on the plight of the two captives. She guessed that Joanne would have been  devastated to see  Annie’s  punishment extended. That was her main fear. Annie was showing incredible toughness and had not batted an eyelid as the muscular little Frieda had laid into her. It was Jo who would be gutted to see  her dear childhood companion returned to her ordeal. She prayed for Jo and cursed Annie for her stupidity.
 
“How was Jo, by the way?”  asked Fran as she drew back from a most exciting embrace.

“Shut up, Fran! Forget Joanne!  Remember the present - remember me!  We‘re all that matters - you and me!”

“Darling Frieda! Oh, how I love you! Do that again my sweet! You know how I love your darling  twitchy little finger up there!”
 
………………………………......................................................................................

“Well!  Where is Schwarz?” barked Angela at the pair as they finally made their way back to the camp.

Francesca saluted and crisply replied. “She was over familiar with me and I sentenced her to five lashes and two days. I have to report that she took her punishment well and bravely. A good soldier.”

Angela smiled at this. “Well done, Francesca! Nothing soft or bleeding heart about you!  I like you more and more!”

“As long as you don’t want my body, you bitch!” was Francesca’s silent response.

JOANNE

On day twenty of her punishment, Joanne had hoped to see Annie freed, but instead the distressed former leader had seen her darling whipped again and returned to her spread-eagle torture. What had the silly girl done?  If only they would communicate once in a while and keep her in touch!  She had no problem any more, with her own predicament. Her ingeniously devised system of exercises was  keeping her body ticking over. Joanne felt, albeit a trifle tentatively,  that she could see this thing out. But Annie! Oh, that was a bitter blow. What HAD she done? And why was Francesca in such an apparent position of power?

Frieda had come up and fed her, with a look of contempt in her face as she made sure the disgraced former leader was given her allotted amount of calories. There was nothing there, in that hard face, to give her a clue as to what was going on.

More and more, Joanne was feeling herself slipping away from her position of control and command. If she ever got out of here, Angela was sure to keep charge of the outfit. What a bloody fool she had been to fall asleep!  But, she had!  And now she must take the consequences.

Every second of her agony was a reminder to her of the solemnity of command and the dire penalties that those who fell down on the job must expect to pay. She only hoped that she might be permitted to survive and, learning from her error, serve the cause in however lowly a role - the lowlier the better!

 She reprised in her mind every stinging stroke of the whip as it had steadily taken away her guilt and her skin at the same time.  A pretty fair exchange!  Once again she   gave thanks to whatever higher power had inspired her to confess her offence. Survive or not, she was a happy woman at last.

Pity about Annie, though! But! She was a big girl now after her recent trials and tribulations, and she had taken her savagely delivered stripes without flinching.  Even from her distant vantage point,  that had been very obvious! Good, brave Annie!

Time moves on and sweet Annie was fast becoming a strong and grown woman - a fighter for justice and freedom. Joanne groaned as she realised that while her darling  was going through her baptism of pain and purification, she was stuck helplessly up here, utterly and completely useless!  Panic began to rise again and the desperate fight for sanity was resumed.  By degrees she forced herself to be calm. Then the  bent and tormented prisoner fell asleep.