“Is she sleeping?”

“Yes. At last.”

Laura let out a long sigh as she closed her bedroom door. She opened the window and inhaled the crisp evening air. Her husband Terry was sitting on the bed, in pyjamas and reading a printed-out sheet.

“You’ve done good, honey,” he said.

“It was too hurried. I shouldn’t have.”

The man shrugged. “Perhaps I would have too.”

“The underwear part too?”

“Well, not in a million years...”

“See?”

“... but I’m her father. I’m not supposed to anyway.”

Laura shrugged. She closed the window and the drapes, took off her clothes and slipped into a loose-fitting satin lilac nightgown. When she sat on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chest, Terry leant forward and kissed his wife’s cheek sweetly. She returned the kiss, but on his lips.

“She’s going to be alright,” he said. “Did she say anything else?”

She shook her head. “Just that she was tired, but she made sure I knew it didn’t hurt anymore....”

“Aww. Well, that’s something at least.”

“You kidding? It’s bad news.”

“How so?”

“Because she’s going to want to try again, Terry,” Laura said, suddenly serious. “She was... unsatisfied. Frustrated. Not scared.”

Terry looked on, and nodded.

“I just hope she doesn’t go looking for this in all the wrong places,” Laura said, and she lay down.

“That depends on us, I think.”

“Yeah.”

“See why I don’t let her on the Internet by herself?” Terry lay down too, and turned off the lights. “God only knows the nasty stuff she’d find there.”

Laura didn’t reply. She just lay there, looking at the ceiling appear slowly out of the penumbra her eyes were slowly getting used to. Her husband’s words rang in her ears, and she wondered why she hadn’t thought of the Internet before. She wasn’t an expert surfer, but she did use the darn thing for some minor book-related research, and shopping. Maybe there could be something useful that could help Anna too... unlikely, but still.

Soon the room was filled with Terry’s snoring, but it wasn’t that to keep Laura awake. She kept tossing and turning under the covers, uncomfortably twisting and pinching her pillow.

Finally, after several endless minutes spent in anxiety, she gave up and got up.

Laura walked to the study on the other end of the house, careful to not wake up Anna or Max. She closed the study door and, in silence, turned on the computer and sat.

Her heartbeat increased considerably as she waited for the modem to connect. By the time she’d launched Internet Explorer, she was having second thoughts. Several times she was on the verge of going back to bed, and would stare blankly at the screen... but then mustered up her courage, and reached the Google main page.

She typed in “spanking”. Quite predictably, several million results came up. Laura shook her head. This wouldn’t get her anywhere. It felt like sneaking up to Daddy’s bookcase and look up a ‘naughty’ paragraph in one of his books for grownups.

Laura shook her head, typed “spanking +kids” and waited. Less than half a million results... ‘Don’t Spank Your Kids’... ‘Parents Who Spank’... ‘Spanking Banned’... ‘Paddling in Schools’...

“Yes but I *know* what kind of parent I am, thank you very much,” Laura whispered in the dark room. She scrolled down the page, then clicked on ‘Next’...

... and so it went, on and on, and before she knew it, midnight had come.

Laura tore her eyes off the screen, rubbed them, and yawned. She couldn’t believe there was so much material on spanking, and from so many people. True, it was  always traditional in the UK, and of course in the USA too, but she hadn’t imagined all that would transpire so faithfully on the Big Net.

After discarding some sites dealing more with sex than spanking, Laura had been able to read several interesting articles and essays, including some regarding how to deal with the situation at hand.

The common opinion seemed to be that while it is wrong to repress an instinct, it is also wrong to give in to it completely: a kid who’s managed to understand something that *might* turn into a sexual deviation needs to be assisted, but without making their situation feel like an illness, because it isn’t. More than once Laura had found herself say, “yes but HOW?”, and she didn’t have an answer yet.

Just when she was about to go back to bed, her eyes fell on a web site called “The Spanking Story Depot”. The title made her want to click it. She was presented with lots of story links. The title of some clearly alluded to spanking. It didn’t take her long to figure out what all the “M” and “F” symbols were supposed to mean.

Her sleepiness soon forgotten, she clicked a few pages open and started reading. Stories of ordinary people, sometimes adults, sometimes families, involved in spanking activities. Punishment spankings, erotic spankings, playful spankings. Something for every taste.

Some stories she found revolting due to the violent message they contained, such as kids looking for loving reassurances by the very parent that had just beaten them, and the overall twisted message that the parent who cares, spanks. That made Laura’s stomach churn, as she *knew* it wasn’t true.

One story she cherished was “Annie the Fanny”, that despite the corny title showed a situation pretty similar to her daughter’s: a young girl finding out her ‘passion’ for spanking, and all that it brought.

Overall, however, the feeling Laura got was that there was something deeper to it all, something she couldn’t  quite understand... and she wondered if it would make more sense to Anna, instead.

~*~

Breakfast was over soon.

Terry had munched half a toast before running to work, and Max was so late for school he skipped it altogether. Only Anna had a regular meal, that was marred though by a deep and awkward silence.

Only after a good while, when the girl’s cereal was almost finished, Laura mustered up the courage to say something.

“An, honey... how about you come home right after school, today?”

Anna looked up, frowning. “But I’ve got volleyball class.”

“I know, hon, but I think you could skip for one day,” Laura spoke soothingly as she sat by her daughter at the table.

“Why?”

“Because there’s something I want you to see. It’s... well, it’s about last night.”

Anna gasped, and squirmed quite visibly on her chair. “Um... I...”

“Please. Just give me a couple of hours of your time. Okay?”

The girl hesitated. She played with the cereal left in her bowl, staring into the chocolate-coloured milk. “Well, okay... I guess.”

“Thanks,” Laura said.

She leant forward and kissed Anna’s temple, but the girl retracted instinctively. Then she looked up at her mother, and apologised.

“Sorry. I’m late. See you later.”

~*~

Laura was sitting at the computer desk when Anna came back home. She waited until the girl had got rid of her coat and schoolbag, then summoned her up in the study.

“Hi Mum,” Anna said, with a small smile.

“Hi baby. Was school okay?”

Anna shrugged. “The usual.”

“The test?”

“Pretty good,” she put a paper sheet on the table for Laura to look. “Gin was all giddy ‘cause she got full marks.” She rolled her eyes.

Laura smiled and shook her head. “Well, liking school isn’t that bad of a deal, you know?”

“Whatever,” Anna said in her sassiest tone, and giggled when Laura grabbed her waist and tickled her sides and belly.

“Listen, you brat,” the woman said. “Why don’t you sit with me a little?”

Anna shrugged, but did climb up on her mother’s lap. “It’s what you’re making me skip volley for.”

“Yes, but it’s worth it.”

Laura held her daughter on her lap and circled Anna’s waist with her arms. She couldn’t help but notice how much and how fast she was growing up: she was getting taller, and heavier.

As soon as Anna’s eyes fell on the computer screen, her body went stiff and she instinctively held to the table to keep balance. Not only the word “spanking” was pretty much everywhere on the screen, but there was also a *lot* of text.

“I... M-Mum...”

“Shh. Quiet. Why don’t we read together?”

Anna swallowed. “What is it?...”

“It’s a story. Written by a Lovegood someone,” Laura explained, pointing at the screen. “The title is Alice Misses Curfew Again, and it’s about a girl who spends the summer with her Aunt, and misses three consecutive curfews, and at the third, her Aunt decides that she needs punishment.”

Again Anna swallowed, and reinforced her grip on the table. “With... with a spanking?”

“Yes. Let’s read it together, okay? So you can tell me what you think...”

Anna nodded. “Okay... but... you...?”

“I’m okay with it, don’t worry. Here...”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As soon as she walked in the door, Alice knew she was in the biggest trouble she’d ever been in her young life. For a moment she hoped Aunt Stella wasn’t waiting for her up... that maybe she’d forgotten... Her look fell on the clock on the wall, and it read 1:00 in the morning. More than an hour later than Alice’s curfew.

“Good evening,” came Aunt Stella’s voice, and Alice jumped.

“H-hi Aunt... I...”

“You, missy, are in huge trouble,” said the woman, rising from the living room armchair she was sitting on. “What time is it now?”

Alice hung her head, and her hands went to cover her bottom. “One a.m., Aunt...”

“That’s right. When is your curfew?”

“M-midnight, Aunt...”

“That’s right again. I think I’ve been quite lenient to let you come back at midnight on a school night, and this is how you repay me? For the third time this month?”

Alice gulped, and couldn’t quite tear her eyes away from the floor. “I... p-please Aunt Stella, I’m sorry... I just got sidetracked, and...”

“Alice Marie, I don’t want to hear your excuses,” said Aunt Stella. “I’ve let you off with warnings twice, and we’ve talked about it, but you’ve run out of free passes – now you’re getting a sound SPANKING, that’s what!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anna winced visibly as her eyes fell on that word written in all capitals. Laura, who was still holding her daughter’s sides, kissed her shoulder to let her know she was there.

“Sounds like she’s in trouble now,” the woman commented.

The kid nodded firmly, and turned around. “You... are you saying you agree with this?”

Laura shook her head. “Don’t mind me, Anna. This isn’t real. It’s fiction. Read it as just a story that’s never happened.”

The girl nodded again, but it was hard to just read on and not be affected. She realised, deep down, that her mother was probably just looking to see what her reactions to the story would be, but that didn’t make much difference.

Averting her eyes from Laura, Anna focused back on the screen and resumed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Nooo Aunt Stella, please! I’m too old for a spanking! Please don’t SPANK me!!”

But the woman was unmoved, and she strolled to where the whimpering teen stood, fidgeting nervously and with beseeching eyes.

“I’m sorry, Alice, but this is the third time you openly disobey me and I just can’t let that pass.” She grabbed her arm and steered the girl towards the living room couch. “Besides, you are *never* too old to be spanked.”

“N-nooo Aunt! Please! I promise it won’t happen again, really!”

But all of her pleas fell on deaf ears, as Aunt Stella sat on the couch and easily flipped the red-headed girl across her ample lap. Alice bucked and squirmed and tried to struggle free, but to no avail, and her blood ran cold as she felt her short skirt raised and her skimp underwear exposed.

“Aunt noooo! Not bare!”

All was useless. Aunt Stella hooked her fingers in the waistband of Alice’s tiny pink panties, and pulled down until they hugged the girl’s knees. Soon Alice realised that she was losing the fight, and gave up most of her struggling. She lay there with a bare, upturned bottom that was a perfect target for her Aunt’s strict hand of discipline, and fought back the tears that were bound to come soon anyway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Ooh...” Anna said, in little more than a whisper. “I... I don’t think she wants to be spanked...”

“Quite obviously not. She’s scared” Laura said. “Haven’t you noticed anything else, though?”

Anna chewed on her index finger as she re-read the last paragraph, then shook her head... but a second later nodded firmly, and said. “Well yes, she... well, Alice knows she can’t escape the spanking, so she just gives up and... sort of accepts it...”

Laura nodded. “That’s right. What does that mean?”

“That... that she’s used to it...” Anna said in a whisper.

“Yes, most probably.”

“But why does she misbehave if she knows she’s going to get it?”

Laura smiled. “Now, that’s a very good question. Remember what we said on the phone?”

The girl blushed, but nodded. “That it doesn’t matter if it’s a spanking or another punishment... it matters what the kid makes of it.”

“Exactly.”

“So that means it’s Alice’s fault for not minding better.”

“That’s one way to look at it. Go ahead, though.”

“... okay...”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

SMACK!  “Owww!”

The first one landed across both of Alice’s bare cheeks, leaving a red handprint across her pristine white bum. The girl jerked at the swat, but had barely time to recover as others came.

SMACK! WHACK! SPANK! SMACK! SPLATTTT!

“Owwwieee! Ow ow ow ouchhh! Nooo Aunt!!”

“I do not... SMACK!... want... SMACK!... to see you... SMACK!... break curfew... SMACK!... EVER... SMACK!... again... SMACK!... is that understood... SMACK!... young lady?!... SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!”

Tears were rolling abundantly down Alice’s face cheeks, and the girl nodded her head off as she sobbed. “Yesssss Ma’am! I proooomise!”

“I hope so!”  SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!  “Because next time, it will be the HAIRBRUSH!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“H-hairbrush?...”

Laura smiled just a bit, and spun Anna around to face her. “Well, some use implements to deliver a spanking. A hairbrush, or a slipper, or a belt... a cane...”

Anna’s eyes widened as she recoiled in shock. Her breath got heavier. “I... Mum, I never said I wanted to be spanked with a... a cane... or any of those things...”

“Oh I know, honey,” Laura said in a reassuring voice. She held one hand on Anna’s back and one on her belly, knowing this would soothe the kid down a bit. “That’s good that you don’t. I’d be kind of worried, actually!”

Anna let out a nervous giggle as she shook her head wildly, her long hair flying in all directions. “No way. I... I just want a spanking with the hand...”

Laura nodded, and realised that was the first time the words were coming out so loud and clear, and so unveiled, from her daughter’s mouth. Anna must have realised too, for she gulped and blushed another shade of red.

“You want to tell me about it, honey?” Laura asked softly.

Anna nodded.

“Okay. I did spank you with the hand... but that wasn’t okay.”

Anna shook her head no.

“Why?”

“B-because you... pulled down... my... panties...”

“I understand. That was a mistake, I realise. And was that all?”

“N-no Mum... I just don’t feel good doing it with you...” The girl said, and Laura felt her body tense: she was close to tears, she could tell.

“Okay. Then why did you ask the phone operator if it was okay for your mum to spank you?”

Anna gave a small, tearless sob. “Because I don’t have anyone else to spank me and... you were the best choice, and I really wanted to be closer to you, Mum... but I can’t... I can’t help what I feel, and it scares me soooooo much!”

At that, the kid dissolved in a fit of shuddery sobs, and tears came in a flood. Laura hugged her tight, keeping her close to her chest and crooning to her as Anna cried her eyes out.

“You don’t have to answer, okay?” Laura said, whispering, in her daughter’s ear. Then she mustered up the courage, took a deep breath, and asked: “Does it make you feel tingly?”

Anna just nodded. “I’m sorry...”

“No honey. Don’t apologise. Shh. It’s okay, really. It’s normal.”

Anna shook her head no. “It’s n-notttt... I’m a freak...”

“Oh, such nonsense!” Laura scolded gently, patting the girl’s back. “You’re not weird, and you’re not a freak. I think it’s just a normal body reaction. Doesn’t mean you like the pain of a spanking, and doesn’t mean... well, doesn’t mean anything. You’re almost thirteen, it’s normal to feel like that.”

This time Anna nodded, but her tears didn’t die down any. She just clung to her mother and cried, her body shaking with convulsed sobbing.

“B-but...” the kid said after a few minutes spent in silence, just crying, “but what do I do then?”

Laura sighed. “I don’t know honey. I... I would really like to tell you that it’ll go away, or that you can keep thinking about it and that’s it... but, I’ve done a little research, and I’ve talked to a couple of people... in secret, mind you... and I, well, yes, I think we need to find you something you don’t feel embarrassed with, and who’ll give you a real spanking on the bare bottom, so you’ll know how it’s like... and who knows, maybe you won’t even think about ‘that’ when you’re getting it.”

Anna listened to every word intently, and though it still felt awful to hear her mother talk about something so intimate, the girl also felt aglow with a warmth she’d never known before.

“Y-you mean you’re going to let me try?”

Laura nodded. “Yes, honey.”

“B-but... who... I mean...”

“I don’t know, honey, but...” Laura took yet another deep breath, and repressed a shudder. “I think we could ask Lucy. I think she can help.”

– to be continued... –