Thornbird » H.S.

2.0 / prologue

*previously titled "Atonement"*

A thornbird is a mythical bird that searches for thorn trees from the day it is hatched. When it finds the perfect thorn, it impales itself, and sings the most beautiful song ever heard as it dies.

When I first met Holly, she was 8 years old and I was paddling her.

In her religions class, she had promptly announced that religion was unimportant and threw her worksheets up in the air, declaring that her life plan included turning into a dog and living out the rest of her life beneath a bed.

I was a student-teacher at the ripe age of 18, freshly graduated from the local seminary to job shadow at St. Augustine's Catholic School for Girls.

I sat in the corner of the office while the principal, Sister Elizabeth, reprimanded Holly for disrupting class. Holly sat in the chair in front of Sister Elizabeth's desk, fiddling with her braids, and swinging her legs back and forth, her piercing gaze on me.

Since the event had been Holly's third offense, a spanking was deemed punishment.

Holly watched with wide eyes as Sister Elizabeth pulled out a thick, wooden paddle from her desk drawer as she bent over the aforementioned mentioned desk, awaiting her punishment.

"Mr. Styles," Sister Elizabeth stood in front of me, her arm extended with the paddle.

Holly's eyes were incredibly large when she was a child, and in the light of the room, the cobalt stood out from her pale skin. I remember how unnerving they were, flicking between Sister Elizabeth and I as if we were her enemies. She looked up at me with her big, baby blues and I sighed, knowing that Sister Elizabeth and God were testing me.

Uneasily, I take the paddle and stand up, feeling the smooth, cool wood against my rough palms. Slowly, I walk over to the girl who is now bent over the desk, her skirt covering her bottom.

"Twenty spanks for you, Ms. Ellis. Maybe this will teach you to stop disrupting the classroom." Sister Elizabeth announces her punishment like an executioner to his prisoner. 

Holly doesn't even respond, she only sighs and looks bored. Sister Elizabeth motions for me to paddle her, so I do. Pulling my arm back, I swing the wood against Holly's bottoms, a hiss escaping her throat.

"Count, Ms. Ellis." Sister Elizabeth grits.

"One." Holly grumbles.

I pull my arm back again and paddle her, "Two."

It goes on for another eighteen smacks until all twently paddles are received.

I step back, wiping at the sweat on my brow as she stands up, adjusting her skirt over her knees as Sister Elizabeth sits down in her chair, a smirk on her face as Holly rubs at her undoubtedly reddened  bottom, a look of distaste on her face for the nun in front of her. 

I rest the paddle on the desk, running my hands though my chocolate curls, pushing them off of my forehead, where they've fallen.

"You're dismissed." Sister Elizabeth motions for her to leave with a flick of her wrist.

Without a word, Holly leaves, her strange gaze never leaving me. She flicks her braids over her shoulders as she leaves, slamming the office door behind her.

In that moment, I knew something was going to occur. Who would have thought that 10 years agter that moment, I would be spanking Holly Ellis for pleasure instead of punishment.

A/N: okay so I'm back :) After atonement got deleted, I became v sad and didnt want to write. Luckily, a beautiful fan had screen shots of my story so now I can continue where I left off!! I changed a couple things around and I like the new cover & name a lot more than the originals.

Dont forget to vote and comment and do all that other cool stuff :)

-meg