Hiss, hiss ... CRACK, CRACK.The Chief Eunuch had turned round and the second pair of blows was struck using the opposite hand on each woman to the one... originally used. Again, there was neither sound nor movement from the women. The Emir mounted the whipping dais and inspected the two pairs of lines closely."My congratulations again to my Chief Eunuch," he said, "The lines are exactly parallel, and there is no detectable difference in the effect of either hand. This expertise must save him a lot. " I was a little out of breath by the time I got it all out. It struck me then how much had happened to me in a scant few weeks."I'm so glad you're OK. I've had nightmares about what happened, and about what could have happened next. I never imagined father would have done what he did," she said grimly, as if looking back sparked her memory "Oh! Your hand! Goodness! How badly did he damage it?" it was basically shredded. My left hand is pretty much gone," I told her.Before I could finish, she. He pushed her back against the wall and ordered her to open her mouth immediately she felt the harsh metal bit being forced between her teeth and the tounge strap pushing tightly into her mouth master then attached a set of reins and forced her to get onto all fours.Now he said I'm going to show you how to ride a mare that's stubborn and disobedient as he straddled her back she could feel his spurs digging into her thighs as she was ordered to walk on faster he said as the spurs dug in deeper. Ever since witnessing a space shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral when I was little, I'd been fascinated by both them and by space. Over time it had kept me invested in technology and computers, led me to my degree in aerospace engineering, and thus set me down in the job I'd been working since graduation a year ago: Aerospace Research and Design Consulting. But over those many years, my own passions and desires to be an astronaut and travel to far away places had faded some. I still loved my.