A LONG LAST RIDE

    That there are whores in a city should come as no surprise. I expected to find other girls [there are very few old whores]  but when I didn’t find them in the usual spots I was puzzled and worried. There were none in the inns and the streets were empty of them, most unusual. I asked around and soon found that the Count only allowed them to work in special houses. Moreover I was warned about breaking the law- the count had very firm ideas about that. My inquiries about a place in one of the houses were turned down, the number was limited and there was a guild of sorts to join before I could even get on the list for a future opening. My money was running out and the usual arrangement  of working at an inn and splitting with the innkeeper was not possible. I could find no other means of supporting myself so I was soon standing on the corners trying to entice men. What I enticed was the count’s guard. Arrested and dragged to the guardhouse I was asked if anyone had informed me of the law about whores. I played dumb and hoped to be let go with a warning. Well I was but at a price, a small brand on the bottom of my ass cheek, just the letter w. That and the warning not to be caught again and the strongly worded suggestion to leave the city while I could. 
    I now had a problem. Not enough money to live, no job or likelihood of one, too late in the year to find a caravan leaving, and my only skill outlawed. Unless something changed I was going to die and soon. True I could find charity for a short while but even that would only stave off starvation for a  brief time. My only chance was to find some man who would take me as his  mistress and support me but without knowing anyone there was small chance of that. Too soon my money was  almost gone and I had no choice but to go walking. I was very careful and I was able to earn enough coin to live. I grew more and more successful and got careless. The guard heard about my activities and I was watched. Two men approached me and offered a good price for a special. I should have been more careful but I had seen both of them and knew that one was aware of my lawbreaking and had done nothing. I followed them to a rented room and just as I was removing my clothes the door was opened and guardsmen entered. I was dragged through the cold dark streets and thrown into the cells.
    Now I stand in front of the Count and wait for his court and his justice. A bailiff had warned me not to lie for any reason, the Count had outlawed lying in his court and there were severe punishments for liars. “either stand mute or tell the truth, do not dare to lie” I was told and somehow I realized it was good advice.  The guard commander gave a report on my earlier arrest and on my flouting of the law following. My last two customers showed up wearing uniforms and I knew I was in deep trouble. To have the lord of this city take the time to hear my case in his court did not bode well and I feared that I would not escape with just a whipping or banishment. 
“You have heard the case against you, do you have any defense or rebuttal? If so I will hear it now.”  
    “My Lord, That I came to your lands planning to earn a living as a whore is true, that I didn’t know of your law until after I arrived is also true. I labored to find a way to obey the law but every door was closed to me and it was too late to find a caravan out. Forced to stay and without any other way to feed and shelter myself I was forced to break your law. I plead guilty but beg for your mercy.”
    “ Your plea of guilt is accepted but your request for mercy is denied. You only asked other whores and they lied to you. If you had gone to the guardhouse you would have been referred to the whore master who would have found a place for you. My law is for the protection of my people and I will not allow anyone to flout it. Your actions speak of somebody who is interested only in finding the easiest way or the her own way. You had both time and money enough to leave when you first found out about my law yet you stayed and tried to find a way to break it without getting caught. You were caught and warned but still you persisted until you were caught again and brought here before me. I have no reason to believe that you will change if I show you mercy therefore I  will show you none. You will now disrobe and show me your arse cheek that I may see for myself the brand reported to be there.”
    To be naked before strangers is no small part of a whore’s life but I was shivering as I removed my clothes. I knew that the small w brand would condemn me and I was very afraid.
    “ You do bear the mark of one who has broken my law and therefore you will be punished to the fullest extent of it. Hear me  now. It is my judgment  that you are guilty of unlawful whoring and that moreover you have flouted the law after being shown the error of your ways. My sentence is for you to be first shaved of all hair and then be taken from here and be mounted on a horse and that you be paraded twice around the city walls. After the second passage you will be taken to the gibbet and there you shall be hanged by the neck until dead. You may have a short time to confess to the priest if you wish before sentence is carried. I suggest that you do, may God have mercy on your soul. Next case.”
    I am to be hanged for simple whoring, this can’t be happening and certainly not to me. The priest is gabbling in my ear but it is just noise. Taken to one side of the great room I am shaved of all hair, head, armpits, crotch, and legs. Dry shaved with a none too sharp razor. Left bleeding and raw. Now my hands are tied behind my back and a noose is placed around my neck. The mount supplied to carry me to my death is an old white palfrey, very quiet and very bony. My poor privy parts are to be sorely worn be the time my ride has ended. By the time I am mounted and have my feet tied securely under the beast’s belly a large crowd has gathered to watch my last journey. Even before we leave the courtyard the hair and the backbone under me is wearing the skin from my crotch. Each step is torture as my privy parts are rubbed and worn. The city walls are long and the horse’s white coat is stained by my blood even before the first circuit is completed. Tied as I am I have no way to move and thus relieve the pain or shift the spot I sit on. By the second time around I am ready to hang if it will only get me off this damn horse. We stop under the gibbet and suddenly the horse doesn’t seem so bad, what’s a sore crotch compared to being hanged. I’m about to find out and I beg for mercy as the rope is thrown over the arm of the gibbet and tied tight. The priest is here and is praying for my soul. All eyes look up and as I do likewise I see the Count watching from the wall. He nods and someone leads the horse away. I am pulled backwards and slide along the bony back until there is no more back under me and I swing free. The noose slides up under my jaw and forces my mouth shut. At first it is not too bad, I can still breathe and the rope does not really hurt. I swing and twist while the crowd jeers me and as I hate them I notice that I am having trouble getting enough air. Now the crowd seems unimportant as the need for air increases. I hear my breath whistle and gurgle as it comes in ever harder gasps. My legs gain a life of their own, running and kicking, trying to outrun the death coming for me, trying to jump to relieve the pressure on my throat. My lungs burn and I am looking down a long tunnel. Nothing matters except the need to breathe. My body shrinks to a throat and a pair of lungs, getting more air is the only thing I live for, I have no other cares. My blood pounds in my ears, faster and faster, louder and louder until is seems to overpower even the desperate fight for life-giving air. Now it is dark and I wonder what I was fighting for, nothing matters anymore, my body no longer answers to my commands, and the lack of air ceases to worry me. Something warm runs down my leg and after the cold of my ride feels good. Still I am cold and in the dark and wonder what  has --------.