The alchemist and the apprentice (F/F story)

"Great news, Tabitha!" Heidelore exclaimed as her assistant finally arrived at the workshop. As usual, the petite alchemist was wearing a leather apron, a robe that might have been clean once, and a manic grin, and her hair looked like she was waiting for a bird to nest in it. "I have a commission. Have you heard of Crescentia Falkenrath?"

 

The willowy apprentice thought for a second. "The senator's wife?"

 

"That's right," Heidelore confirmed. "It seems Senator Falkenrath doesn't like her wife's spending sprees, and is using a belt on the woman's bare bottom to make her displeasure known. Crescentia, not willing to change her habits, has hired me to make a salve or lotion that will make it possible for her to sit comfortably."

 

"And how much is she paying you for this?"

 

"Seventy denarii," the alchemist replied.

 

Tabitha whistled. "Wow. I wonder how the Senator will react when she learns about that expense. Sounds like it could be painful for Crescentia."

 

"Hm?" Heidelore frowned. "I don't see… Anyway, I've made a few test batches that I think will work, but we obviously need to test them first, so it's good that you've arrived."

 

Tabitha felt a chill running down her spine, and her backside tingled unpleasantly. She had a feeling that she wouldn't like where this was going.

 

Heidelore picked up a leather belt lying on her workbench. "I bought this on my way to the workshop. You raise your robe and bend over the table, I strap your bottom, and we test them out on you."

 

Tabitha tried to swallow, her mouth suddenly bone dry. She had guessed correctly – she didn't like the direction this conversation had taken at all. One hand reached back to cusp her bottom, shivering as she thought about how that belt would feel against her sensitive skin.

 

In the years she'd been apprenticed to the famous alchemist, Tabitha had learned a lot, and there were certainly benefits, but she was also expected to act as guinea pig for Heidelore's various experiments. She'd been stung by insects, had itching leaves rubbed on her skin, and drunk various foul mixtures with unpleasant effects. And it would have been one thing if the cures always worked – but if they did, there wouldn't be any reason to test them, would there? Many of them did nothing, and some even made the problem worse.

 

And now, she was expected to bare her bottom for a strapping from her boss. She HAD to find a way out of this. And from the way her mistress looked at her, she had to find it fast.

 

"You know," the apprentice said slowly, trying to buy herself time to think, "I believe I see a flaw in this…"

 

"Oh? Really?" Heidelore said, frowning. "What flaw?"

 

"Well… this plan hinges on me judging which solution provides the least and most pain relief, right? A very tricky thing to judge for a lowly and inexperienced apprentice," she said as humbly as she could.

 

Heidelore scoffed. "I can just look at the marks! We'll quickly see which –"

 

"Yes, but she's not paying you to remove marks, is she? She's paying to remove pain. I can promise you that'll she'd prefer a salve that removes the pain and leaves the marks, so that she can convince her wife that she's still sore, rather than one that leaves the pain and removes the marks, which would be worthless." She shook her head. "Ranking different levels of pain is a skill displayed by experienced alchemists."

 

Heidelore furrowed her brow.

 

"And swinging a big, heavy leather belt… a famous alchemist like you shouldn't have to perform physical labour, should you? Such a strenuous, menial task should be performed by someone else – like an apprentice."

 

Heidelore's frown deepened. "So what you're saying is… YOU should strap ME?"

 

Tabitha froze. She'd gone too far – in her efforts to escape the pain of the belt, she'd treated her mistress like an idiot. She'd been insolent, and she was about to be fired. She'd lose her job and have to go back to her parents in disgrace. Fearful of speaking lest she should break into tears, she nodded meekly.

 

"That's a great idea, Tabitha!" Heidelore grinned. "That would work much better!" Her frown returned. "But would you really do that for me?"

 

The apprentice breathed a sigh of relief. Geniuses could be remarkably stupid sometimes. "Of course I will," she assured her. "I'm your devoted apprentice, aren't I?"

 

Heidelore stepped over to the table in the centre of the room. She lifted the robe to reveal a pair of surprisingly cute green panties, which she lowered to her knees before bending over the table. "Go ahead," she told her apprentice.

 

Grinning to herself, Tabitha picked up the belt, doubled it, and swung it through the air. What a sound! And instead of feeling the sting of leather on her own sensitive sit-upon, she'd get to use it on the beautiful bare bottom presented to her. She glanced down at her diminutive mistress, bent over right on front of her.

 

"What are you waiting for?" Heidelore exclaimed impatiently. "I told you to go ahead!"

 

"I'm sorry, mistress. I'll get started right away," Tabitha assured her humbly as she raised the belt.

 

Tabitha had never used a belt on anyone before, but she had enough experience on the receiving end to know the basics. She aimed for the meatiest parts of Heidelore's buttocks, swinging the leather down. She managed to hit exactly where she'd been aiming, and the alchemist howled.

 

"Are you OK?" Tabitha asked, a note of worry in her voice.

 

"I'm fine," her mistress assured her. "Keep going!"

 

Needing no further encouragement, the apprentice lifted the belt and swung it again. It made a satisfying smack as it slapped down on the pale, unprotected posterior, leaving a bright pink line behind. Tabitha strove to place the next stroke right next to it, trying to make the marks blend together.

 

Heidelore hissed in pain as the lashes rained down on her bare cheeks, but she remained in position and didn't tell her to stop. Whatever else you could say about her, she certainly had conviction.

 

After five minutes or so, Heidelore lifted her arm. "Pause!" she instructed her. The alchemist rose, wiping a tear from her eye as she hurried over to the full-length mirror, her robe still raised and her panties remaining around her knees. She turned her back to the mirror, glancing over her shoulder with an eager grin, but then her face fell. "Pink!" she pouted. "I was hoping it would be red by now. Well, we have to continue – from the way her bottom looked when she showed me, Crescentia's strappings are a lot longer and harder than this."

 

Tabitha raised an eyebrow at the mental image of a senator's wife showing her bare bottom to the alchemist, but said nothing.

 

Heidelore bent back over the table. "Continue," she ordered.

 

Tabitha swung the belt hard and fast, grinning as the alchemist yelped and arched her back. The stripes of the belt had long since merged, giving her backside a healthy glow. The petite alchemist looked absolutely adorable as she squirmed and squealed over the table, kicking her legs futilely.

 

Finally, when Heidelore's bottom looked like it would glow in the dark, Tabitha placed the belt down again. "I think that's enough," she told her.

 

The alchemist rose to her feet. This time, there weren't just a few tears – her face was almost as red as her bottom, and she was sobbing quietly. She shuffled back to the mirror for another look. "Bright red!" she exclaimed with a grin. "And such an even colour! You're better at this than I expected, Tabitha."

 

"Thank you, mistress," Tabitha said modestly.

 

"Now I want you to start rubbing some of the salves on my bottom. Divide each cheek in three parts, so that we have six areas to test," she told her. "Make sure you don't mix the salves! That's for later."

 

"I will," Tabitha assured her.

 

"And don't mislay that belt – if the sting fades, I might need you to freshen it up."

 

Tabitha grinned. "Of course."

 

"In the future, I think I'll be testing pain-relieving medicines on myself from now on. Like you said, you're too inexperienced for such a task."

 

"Oh, how will I survive without all those painful insect bites? I guess I'll just have to learn to live without it," Tabitha commented drily, secure in the knowledge that whatever other virtues the alchemist had, she hadn't discovered sarcasm yet.

 

Heidelore sighed in relief when Tabitha began to spread the cream over the first area. As she watched the red-bottomed alchemist squirm under her hand, Tabitha concluded that it was the best day ever.