Nancy was innocent 11-year-old - long-legged, with puffy little wannabe breasts.

As she stretched and rolled over in the bed, her imagination went into overdrive, leaving the young Nancy in the clutches of the black witches, also known as the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition.

---

Trembling, the little girl was dragged into the main reception hall, where she was delivered into the charge of Sister Alexius, whose weather beaten face and tall, wiry frame belied the vicious strength in her.

As soon as the visitor had left, Sr Alexius eyed nancy up and down, and then ordered the girl to strip. When she did not immediately do so, Sr Alexius walked up to her, put one hand on her shoulder and without a word slapped her hard across the face, right and left.

Dazed by the blows, and with a keening sound, Nancy began to strip, reluctantly removing her skirt and shirt to stand in singlet and knickers before the nun.

Sister Alexius gave Nancy a contemptuous look. "In the convent," she announced, with a rasping, cruel voice "Obedience is the first rule. Little girls who do not obey are dealt with severely."

With these words, she again approached Nancy, and grasping her wrist with one bony hand began slapping at her legs and bottom, tugging at her clothes between each smack, until Nancy was left standing naked and shivering in the chilly reception hall.

Her little buds of breasts were all crinkled in the cold, and the merest hint of down between her legs was not enough to provide either warmth or protection.

Sister Alexius slapped at her arms, which Nancy was trying to use to hide both breasts and the forbidden area between her legs, and ordered the girl to stand up straight. "Since you chose to disobey, you will have to be punished," said the nun, and grasping Nancy by the ear, which she cruelly twisted as she did so, she dragged the whimpering child to a chair which stood against one wall.

Forcing her down across the chair, Sister grasped the dangling knotted rope which was part of her habit, and began beating the child. Only her head was spared. Every other inch of her body was subject to the heavy knotted rope, which raised a bruise where every knot had connected.

Following this, Nancy was marched into a room which resembled a medical area, where another nun was waiting. This nun motioned to a low table, which she indicated that she wanted Nancy to climb on. This nun, although not quite as witch-like as Sister Alexius, also had thin bony fingers, and she began Nancy's physical exam by running these fingers all over her body, pinching her all over at random. Nancy's breasts were pinched especially hard, till fresh tears sprang to her eyes.

Nancy was made to lie down on the table next, and raise her legs for Sister to inspect the shameful area between her legs. Sister fetched a pair of medical stirrups to which Nancy's legs were tied, and then she proceeded to turn on a bright light and examine Nancy thoroughly. The little girl couldn't stop whimpering at the touch of those bony fingers on her innocent little labia, and when the nun grasped her budding little clit with a vise-like grip, she cried out in pain.

The Nun-with-no-name grunted, and wrote something down, and then Nancy was untied and ordered to lean forward across the table. Sister picked up a kidney bowl from her desk and took a syringe from it. Without saying a word she put one hand in the small of Nancy's back and with the other jabbed the needle into Nancy's bottom. The child screamed as the fluid was deliberately and artificially slowly injected into her bottom. The needle was slowly extracted to the accompaniment of the child's sobs, and the process repeated on the other cheek, the first quick stab of the needle, the cold, stinging never-ending injection, and the agonisingly slow retraction.

As soon as the needle was removed, the nun picked up a small wooden paddle from her desk, and proceeded to paddle Nancy swiftly. As Nancy protested that she hadn't done anything to deserve a paddling, Sister Alexius, who had been standing by the open door to prevent any chance of Nancy absconding told the child not to be so silly, that Sister Luke was doing her a favour by dispersing the fluid and thus preventing bruising.

Sister Luke handed the paper on which she had been writing, and still naked, Nancy was herded out of the medical room and along the way to another small room, occupied by yet another nun. Sister Alexius again stood grimly by the open door.

This nun was perhaps the biggest woman that Nancy had ever seen - tall and wide, and with thick red arms. Her hands were enormous, and as she reached out to grasp Nancy, the child burst into tears again. These were rewarded by half-a-dozen quick slaps to her bottom from the new nun, each smack covering Nancy's entire behind. "Now then," said the new nun briskly,"let's be having no more of your stupid nonsense. If you want to cry, i'll give you something to cry about."

Nancy was instructed to sit in a chair in the middle of the room, and before she realised what was happening, the new nun had picked up a pair of scissors and cut off Nancy's hair to the level of her ears.

As realisation dawned, Nancy wailed, for which the nun slapped her indiscriminately on legs and arms. With a final slap, she lifted Nancy into the bath which stood in the corner.

The water was very hot, and Nancy screamed and tried to get out, but was only awarded more slaps for her trouble. Defeated, she stood in the bath, and submitted to being scrubbed from head to toe with a rough brush and a vile-smelling substance, which, the nun assured her would rid her of any vermin. Nancy's final indignity was to be hosed down with water which felt as freezing as the other had been hot. She was toweled dry with a rough and scratchy towel, then still naked, her little breasts all pert from the rough treatment, she was led onwards to another room, with yet another nun.

This one also looked her up and down, and Nancy was beginning to feel as though she were a piece of meat hanging in a butcher's shop.

With a brisk "Come along girl," this nun instructed her to stand on another small table, and produced some items of clothing. Nancy was helped into a scratchy pair of knickers, and had her breasts bound with the same fabric, which seemed to be a cross between sackcloth and coconut matting and which made her itch all over. She raised her hand to scratch, only to have it harshly slapped away. "Wicked child - Chastity is the rule here. We shall have no lewd touching of your body. What matter if the fabric irritates you. Mortification of the flesh is necessary for life everlasting."

A dress of nondescript colour was pulled over her head, and again standing on the table, Nancy was compelled to meekly endure the accidental pinpricks as the sewing-room nun adjusted her dress.

Sister Alexius walked over to her. "Now then," she said, "You are expected to walk sedately, speak in a low voice and behave like a christian at all times. Adherence to the rules will make your life here more tolerable."

Still they walked along never-ending corridors, with little random homilies being delivered at intervals by Sister Alexius. "We are concerned with the well being of your soul. Bodily concerns are secondary to that. As a young child we understand that you yield easily to temptation. We are here to help you avoid that. The devil will be beaten out of you."

They paused outside a carved wooden door, at which Sister Alexius tapped. At the command to enter, Sister Alexius pulled Nancy into the room. With a gliding motion, Sister curtseyed to the nun sitting at the desk, and poked Nancy hard to indicate she should do the same.

"Thank you Sister," said the new nun," you may leave the child with me and go about your duties."

With a curtsey, Sister Alexius vanished, leaving Nancy staring at the new nun with a worried expression at this display of power.

"Now then child," said this nun, in a low voice."I am Sister Alfred, Mother Superior of this convent, and custodian of your immortal soul." She picked up the paper which Sister Alexius had placed on her desk.

"I see we have already had to admonish you my girl, for your unco-operative behaviour. It will be in your best interest to obey in the future, but rest assured that all of the Sisters here are ever attentive to moral failings - any infringement of the rules will be dealt with severely, do you understand?"

Trembling, Nancy slowly nodded her head, "Yes Mother," she replied.

"Good," said the nun. "Now, as I explained, I am to be your spiritual guide. You may always come to me if you have a crisis of conscience, and I will always be prepared to help form your character in the path of righteousness."

She paused, and rose from her desk. "Among the sins we guard against," she continued, as she slowly paced the room, "sins of the flesh are among the most repellent to our Holy Father. Do you understand what I mean"

"I'm sorry, I don't Mother" stammered Nancy.

Sister Alfred, Mother Superior turned and gave Nancy a terrible look "Sins of the flesh," she repeated, "your body is a temple of the Lord. You must keep it clean and refrain from thought or deed which could sully your innocence. You must not touch yourself. You must not allow others to touch you. Do I make myself plain?"

This pronouncement somewhat bewildered Nancy, who was confused and dazed by the events of the day, but not wanting to anger the nun, she nodded, and Sister Alfred resumed pacing and talking.

"One of the lessons we impart to our girls here, is that the shameful animal part of our bodies must be subdued to the glory of God, and to this end every girl is expected to undergo ritual mortification at least once a week under my direct supervision." Nancy's mouth opened in a question, but was halted by Sister's raised hand indicating he may not speak.

The nun nodded approval at her silence "Good girl," she said. "Now then - your first mortification will take place shortly, before you may join the other girls. Remember, obey your superiors at all times. Be meek and humble, and accept your mortification as a gift to God. Remove all your clothing. Fold it and place it on the chair. Should you wish to speak during your mortification, the only words permitted to you are Deo Gratias, do you understand?"

"Yes, Mother - Deo Gratias," Nancy whispered, as she nervously removed her meagre clothing, trembling both from the cold and at the prospect of the terrifyingly unknown mortification.

When she was done, Sister Alfred ordered her to kneel at the prie dieu, to fold her hands and bow her head and to meditate on the purpose of the mortification. As the child did this, Mother Superior put her hand in her voluminous pocket and extracted an evil-looking martinet made of very thin, very stiff leather thongs, each thong with three or four knots in it, and proceeded to whip the young figure kneeling in front of her, from shoulders to feet.

The little girl desperately clutched her hands together, whimpering, and crying and shouting Deo Gratias at almost each cruel stroke, desperately trying to avoid earning herself any punishments.

When she was sobbing uncontrollably, and her back, bottom and legs were covered in tiny bruises, Mother Superior paused, and taking her hand raised her to her feet, and led Nancy over to a table with a harsh covering. At one end, and attached to the table stood a large crucifix. With a gesture, Sister Alfred indicated that nancy should lie down here, and ordered her to raise her arms and grasp the crucifix.

This left Nancy's bottom right on the edge of the table with her legs dangling down. mother stooped and fastened each ankle to a table leg with a short strap, then she took up her whip again, and this time brought it down on Nancy's tender budding breasts. "in the name of the Father" (stroke to right breast) "And of the Son" (stroke to the left) "and of the Holy Spirit" (stroke to the exposed genital area), intoned Sister Alfred, "may this mortification save this child from the sins of the flesh" - with each word, the whip was brought slashing down across Nancy's tender young body.

Nancy writhed and screamed, sobbing "Deo Gratias, deo gratias" as Sister Alfred played her painful tattoo on Nancy's young flesh, continuing her litany and seemingly working herself up to a frenzied climax of pious words and flailing blows as Nancy gripped on to the crucifix as though her life depended on it - terrified of the consequences if she should let go, until exhausted, she couldn't even scream any more, too exhausted even to remember that she had been promised this treatment on a weekly basis.

Calmer now, Mother Superior unfastened Nancy's feet, instructed the child to dress herself and rang a bell to summon another sister to escort Nancy to the community where she would live for the foreseeable future.

---

More than half-asleep, Nancy removed the Magic Wand from between her legs and rolled over, sated.