As you may know, Ariel Anderssen used to be the Restrained Elegance resident slavegirl in training. However, this honour seems to have gone to her head, especially with posts on the forum encouraging her to take on royal airs completely at odds with the proper attitude for our resident slavegirl. Finally I could take more. I demoted her from Restrained Elegance resident slavegirl to Restrained Elegance pet. As she was apparently incapable of speaking with proper tact and decorum, she would not be allowed to talk at all. The smallest infraction of her new rules of conduct would be met with immediate discipline, with ten strokes of whatever implement came to hand. If, during that punishment, she made a recognisably human noise, the stroke would not count. If there was any sass or back-chat, the punishment would be increased or even started again. We were out in the garden in warm glow of the late afternoon sun, but Ariel had already incurred several infractions for which she would be punished. The stone bench was an unforgiving and hard place to kneel to receive the bastinado on the soles of her pretty bare feet, but if she stuck to the rules it would soon be over...