Here is the continuation of "Healing Part One: Shackled". Phew! I hope y'all are enjoying this. It's tough, but it's to authenticate the reality of their union. Poor things. :(

Healing Part Two: Punishment

My angry bride, preparing to serve me my just rewards for past monstrosities, worked her lips so close to my ear that her breath formed pulses of strange delight along a line of nerves from beneath my shoulder blade to the small of my back.

"You've begged me before," Maggie apprised, "will you beg me again?"

"Oh," I moaned, carefully, "what do you wish-"

Suddenly she shifted away from me and a riotous splendour of absolute shocking cold gripped my stomach. But she wasn't done. She took the pieces and began spreading them all over me... and she knew just where to put them... the warmest recesses of any human body, first along my chest, under my arms, my neck and then the worst of all, down where my manhood had practically ceased to exist. I made good to breathe achingly not for any dishonest appearance, but because it hurt. She needed to do this, I needed to experience it, but it was no joy except perhaps the end result I longed for, that she would be... free of it.

Yes, I had spoken the wrong words, as perhaps I needed to for her to challenge me and release herself. She wanted me to plead, to beg. I would.

"I do," I beseeched, shivering "I beg you, please," I reached to gently touch her face now that it was so close, hoping this would be a comfort somehow. Maggie's expression remained neutral from what I could see. She was resolved to have her punishment returned upon me, and likely would be in the future. No anger stirred in me whatsoever. If she felt it was the only way to heal our burdens, after all I'd already done to win her affection to the altar; she was and always will be allowed more.

"Forgive me," however much these icicles stung my flesh, my entrails, and my heart, I pleaded to my wounded bride, "I offer the most humble penitence to you. All harm you wish to bestow on me I willingly accept."

She released her hand from moving those frozen pieces inducing me with so much pain, bringing it up to take mine and she kissed my palm. The danger had passed but it didn't concern me and I continued, "Forgive me, my dearest bride, forgive me..."

She let the words come out slowly, "All in good time."

Next she drifted to the embers of the fire and knelt before it, leaving me to wallow in the horrendous chill of the melting ice. It seared over my heart. A thought struck me that perhaps I had the power to warm myself by-

"Don't even think about it." I heard her interrupt. She knew what went through my mind, even now.

She took a poker, rifling at the embers, then began placing some tinder so that the fire would grow. The ice was melting and dripping around me. The only warm part of me may have been my head. My skin stung with the frost and I made good to focus on it, experiencing as much of this horror as I could, loving her that dearly.

I waited breathing and hoping for warmth. The closest I got to that was seeing the light of the fire burn brighter and she knelt before it, placing a log atop the blazing sticks. More kindling went around and over it. She waited for the cut wood to burn.

"Are you cold enough, my dear?"

"Almost... frozen... but" I shivered, "you may... pour on more... if... you... like."

She sighed with mock tiredness, "No... I think not," then she turned her head toward me, "Wait... did I sense disappointment from you?"

"Perhaps," I shuddered, "but we can't believe it could be all finished in a single night."

"I've had my curiousity over that one, but," she faltered, "we'll see how I take to it. The enjoyment is oddly fascinating."

I licked my lips, trying to bring my thoughts out as the icy moisture flowed around me, "I never enjoyed bringing harm to you, Maggie."

"Didn't you?" her words stung.

"No."

She turned away from the fire, moving from her kneel and placing her arms below her upturned knees. The gown she wore was scant that almost all of her silken legs were visible against the varying glints of firelight. She continued to speak softly, "What did you feel, Barnabas? Throttling me? Thrashing me? Threatening me? What made inflicting that on me worth it to you?"

The torture of these words was made worse by the darkness cast over one side of her face, out of touch with the light. Considering whom she was and who she had revealed herself to be made these questions difficult. She was Josette and neither of us knew that at the time I'd been harming her so.

"I was... angry."

"At me? At Willie? At Angelique? Who were you angry with, Barnabas?"

"I hardly remembered Angelique then. I suppose I was angry with the two of you. To me it seemed simple with what powers I could generate. I believe I was angry at the world, at my life, at the confusion. At everything. I was so... enraged to have lost... you..."

She breathed slowly, "You certainly had lost me. So much so you could barely recall me either."

"I remembered you more so than any other, my darling." I confessed.

Josette rose and I watched the lace on the bottom of her short nightdress ripple as she walked toward me. As I shuddered and asked myself, "Am I only shivering at the aching pain surrounding me, or her ability to ensure my total servitude to her?"

"I'm glad to hear that question," she responded. I'd asked it loudly enough to myself, it made sense that she could locate this curiousity in my mind. The ice was beginning to sear my skin.

A sting threw my face to the left. She had slapped me, hard. But still, she had touched me. The feeling was hardly gentle, but...

"Oh, I see," she marvelled, "enjoyed that, did you?"

"Not exactly... although..."

SLAP! ...SLAP! ...SLAP!

I moaned and wasn't sure if it was agony or ecstasy. Maggie Evans... Josette Dupres... she was having her revenge on me and she was gaining her compensation as well. Exerting what I needed to be forgiven. The blows to my face were at least some small distraction to the icy chill surrounding me. As well as my pride coming up in all of this. Yes. I was proud of her.

I could feel Josette's anger towards me and her love. And in this new bond she noticed that I did and her hand slowly went down to her side at first but then came up and produced one more resounding strike across my face. She had strength and my cheeks burned with that strength. We both took a deep breath together and a deep exhale. I looked at her in loving appreciation, hoping she was sated.

My sweet angel that I had turned foul... please... let everything out.

To be concluded in Healing Part Three: Redemption