"We will recess for a judges' consultation." the judge announced.

Lornee led Sonji over to the bench and they sat down. She held Sonji until the crying stopped and then got a cloth from her case and dried Sonji's tears. She whispered in Sonji's ear, "Very convincing!"

Sonji looked puzzled and said, "What?" Before Lornee could say anything else the judges returned and they moved in front of the desk.

The judge said, "Assaulting a judicial officer is a very serious offense. It is a crime of violence, directed not only against an individual but against justice itself. Even allowing for the convict's youth and inexperience we are obligated to deal with her harshly. Zongee, you are sentenced to one year of involuntary servitude. You are placed in the custody of the Warden of Prison Farm Number Four. Court is adjourned."

Sonji had experienced increasing terror as the judge spoke. When she realized that she had been sentenced to only one year I.S. she swooned and Lornee held her up until she recovered. Two women in tan dresses moved up to them and one said to Lornee, "I'm a keeper from PF 4. I now take custody of the slave Zongee."

Lornee moved in front of Sonji, held her head with both hands, and kissed her on the lips. Lornee had tears in her eyes as she said, "Good-bye, Zongee. I'll never forget you."

The keepers led Sonji away to begin her new life as a slave.

A wagon pulled by two oxen entered Prison Farm Number Four. Two keepers in tan dresses sat on the seat and the back was filled with sacks of seed grain. Sonji sat on top of the sacks. She still wore the straps that the guardsman had put on her back at the jail. A rope was tied around her neck and the free end was held by one of the keepers. It was bothering Sonji to have her hands immobilized for so long, but she didn't have any of the pain that she had experienced in Hodg's wagon. She felt her anxiety increase when the wagon stopped. The keeper holding her tether got down and walked towards her. She felt a tug on her neck and moved to the edge of the wagon. The keeper helped her down to the ground and led her into a stone building.

Inside the building there were two more women. A keeper was sitting in a chair behind a large table. The trusty standing beside her wore a smock made of coarse brown cloth and a tan headband, and she had an iron collar around her neck. The keeper holding Sonji's tether said, "This is the new input. Let's get her processed now so the Warden can interview her today."

The keeper removed the tether and used a clamp tool to release the clamps and free Sonji's wrists. She unbuckled the belt and said, "Strip."

Sonji hesitated just a moment as she said to herself, "I'm a slave now. I'd better get used to humiliation." She put her shawl on the table, removed her dress, and put it next to her shawl.

"Sandals and medallion, too."

Sonji took off her sandals and put them on the table. As she removed her medallion she pulled on the thong and felt the buzz that meant communication was established. She kept the medallion in her hand as long as she dared and then dropped it on the table.

The keeper used a strap to fasten Sonji's hands behind her back. The other keeper got out a ledger, a quill pen, and an inkwell. She said, "Name?"

"Zongee." the first keeper answered.

This was written in the ledger. "Offense?"

"Assaulting a judicial officer."

The keeper with the ledger said, "Impressive. Good thing you've fastened her hands. She might have overpowered all of us. What's her number going to be?"

The trusty entered the room with a semicircular piece of metal in her hand and read the number stamped on it. "628". Then she got a brown smock from a shelf in the corner and wrote 628 on the front and the back with a small brush and a clear liquid. Where the liquid touched the cloth the brown changed to a dirty yellow.

The keeper said to Sonji, "Open your mouth." When Sonji complied the keeper looked inside. Then she ran her hands through Sonji's hair.

She turned Sonji so she faced the table and said, "Bend over and put your face on the table".

When Sonji obeyed the other keeper held Sonji's hair so her cheek was pressed against the table top. The next command was, "Spread your legs."

Sonji moved her legs to the limit permitted by the hobble strap connecting her ankles. Then she gasped as she felt a finger enter her slit. The keeper doing the probing said, "This is amazing! I feel a maidenhead."

The other keeper said, "A virgin peasant girl! I'll write this down. She must be a fast runner, or else her brothers are slow."

Sonji felt a finger probe her other orifice. Silent tears rolled from her eyes as she started to understand that humiliation could always get worse.

Sonji's hair was released and she was pulled upright. The trusty pulled the smock over her head and under her bound hands. Sonji could see that it was actually just a piece of coarsely-woven cloth with a hole in the middle. It was long enough to reach her knees and wide enough so that the edges just met when the trusty wrapped a string around her waist. It left her hips and the sides of her breasts exposed. The keeper pointed to Sonji's chest and said, "628 is your number. Answer when it is called. You no longer have a name."

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