The Courier Ch. 16

"Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna. This court understands that you wish to honor Criminal # 101025 by nominating her to serve in the house of the Grand Duke of Danubia?"

Bristling with resentment that the judge was implying that she was the one who had suggested the transfer, Kim struggled to respond: "Yes, Your Honor. I wish to nominate my client for service in the house of the Grand Duke."

"Lords! Please step forward!"

The two Lords stepped forward.

"Do you accept the nomination of Criminal # 101025 to serve in the house of the Grand Duke?

"Yes, Your Honor! The Royal House gladly accepts this criminal into the midst of those privileged to serve the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess!"

"Very well. Lords, you will examine the criminal, and if she suits the needs of the Royal Household, you may take custody of her."

The Lords and the doctor approached Maria Elena and ordered her to stand up. The doctor gave her a very quick examination, making sure that no teeth were missing, no bones were broken, that her sight and hearing were normal, and that her heart rate was healthy. The doctor ordered her to bend over and gave her a quick rectal exam, in full view of the trial judge and everyone else in the courtroom. Finally the medical examiner spread her vagina and looked inside to ensure that she was free from venereal disease and infection. Later Maria Elena would learn that the medical inspection simply was part of the transfer ceremony protocol, because much more thorough exam would be conducted at the clinic in the Royal Residence. The courtroom examination used to be much more important for choosing a healthy servant, but now was nothing more than yet another public humiliation to endure. The doctor turned to his companions:

"Criminal # 101025 appears to be in suitable physical condition to serve the Grand Duchess, Lords."

"Excellent. Your Honor, please inform Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna that the Royal House will accept transfer of the criminal."

The judge then asked the Spokeswoman for the documents that the Lords had forced her to sign a few days before, along with Maria Elena's criminal record. He removed the papers from their Ministry of Justice folder and put them into a leather case marked with the Royal Family logo. He handed the paperwork to the Lord who was holding the shackles.

The next step in the transfer was changing Maria Elena's collar. She was wearing a Ministry of Justice collar, which no longer was valid because no longer did she belong to the Ministry of Justice. The collar had to be taken off and replaced with a collar marking her as property of the Royal Family.

Cecilia was called forward to instruct the criminal what she needed to do to have the Ministry of Justice collar taken off without risking injury. The collar was an extremely sturdy device that had a permanent latch. The collar was designed to last indefinitely and be impossible to take off without a special collar extractor. The extractor was a scary-looking piece of equipment that looked like an enormous pair of pliers with a multitude of clamps and levers. Once the extractor was attached to the collar, it first shot a firing pin into the latch to break it, and then gripped around the collar's edges to force it open. The criminal had to kneel facing a meter-high metal post and hold onto hand grips while the collar technician mounted the extractor. The key moment was when the firing pin was launched; because the criminal had to stay perfectly still to ensure a direct hit and a clean break of the latch. Most criminals had no problem carefully following instructions and staying still during the firing, because to remove the collar meant the end of their sentence.

As Criminal # 101025 knelt to have her Ministry of Justice collar removed, there was no joy felt by either her or her Spokeswoman. As much as she hated the drab metal device, she knew that she would grow to hate its successor much more. She closed her eyes and held her breath as she waited for the firing pin to snap the latch. A second later she felt the cool air of the courtroom on her neck as her collar was taken off, but she knew that feeling would only be momentary. She remained kneeling with her hands gripping the post while the collar technician placed a decorated brass and silver collar around her neck and latched it in place. It was much more attractive than the Ministry collar, but Maria Elena would have given anything not to be wearing it.

With tears running down her cheeks, the Colombian stood up and knelt in front of the Lords. Now it was official. Criminal # 101025 was property of the Royal House. The Lords ordered her to stand up and assume the prisoner's stance while they put metal cuffs on her wrists and ankles. They latched her hands behind her back and attached a short chain to her leg cuffs that forced her to walk with very short steps. Finally, a Lord attached a metal chain to the loop in her new collar. He gave it a sharp tug to let the criminal know that she needed to follow him out of the building and into the waiting minivan.

Thus, naked, collared, shackled, and leashed, Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres was ready to deliver to her new custodian.