„So, you will attack like an eagle, from above“, Madame Yini mocked at Cheng.
„Hm. It seems more like a job for a monkey. A monkey that turns into a tiger once he`s inside.“
After only a few hours, a messenger had brought them the plans of Mr. Wong`s house. It had turned out that the well was not connected to the city`s sewer. The house had been built over a natural well. But there was maybe a weak point in the roof. At one point, there was a room that had a skylight in it`s ceiling instead of windows.
„If you get inside through that window, you could trick the guards. I am quite sure that Wong has no body posted on the roof.“
Cheng nodded slowly. The reason why Mr. Wong had no man posted on the roof was that the adjacent buildings belonged to him, too. So, it would be quite difficult to get onto the roof, because the next house that could be entered without being seen was some 50 yards away and separated from Mr. Wong`s buildings by a street.
Madame Yini was more optimistic than him, maybe because she did not intend to climb over unknown roofs in the midst of the night by herself.
„The street is quite narrow. It`s only some four yards. I am sure an athletic man like you can easily do such a little hop.“
Cheng presumed it was rather some five yards, but that wasn`t the problem. The problem was not even to get to this skylight and to abseil into the said room. But how should he find the Princess in a house he only knew from some drawings and that was crowded with guards? And how on earth should he get the Princess out of the building, if he managed to capture her. Madame Yini had offered him some sleeping drugs and the small petite woman sure did not weigh more than some 90 lbs, but this was quite a load for someone climbing over the roofs.
„At least, you could take a closer look. You could-“
„Mmmhhhhhmmmph! Uuhhhhhhmmmmm!“
Vanessa once more screamed into her gag. The three captives had been more or less quite during the last hour, but now, the blonde tried to get their attention by moaning and wriggling in her tight bondage. Madame Yini stood up, went over till she stood directly under her and looked directly into Vanessa`s eyes:
„Ah, shut up, we have work to do! Or do you have a constructive proposal?“
Since she and Cheng had talked in Chinese, Vanessa had no idea what Madame Yini was talking about, but she continued to moan frantically through her gag.
„If you need to pee, you will have to wait till evening!“, she shouted. Cheng rose from his seat, too and laid a hand on the upset Madame Yini`s shoulder.
„Maybe, you should give her a break from being suspended. She is now hanging there for some six hours and since I could see that you haven`t changed the ties I put on her, she`s hogtied for some four more. I am sure you don`t want to sell her by the pound, as dry aged meat.“
„Your heart`s to weak for that kind of business“, Madame Yini meant, but then, she called for Yuen who lowered the grid to the floor and loosened Vanessa from it. With a sigh of relief, the still hogtied woman lay on her belly, unable to do anything else. Yuen undid her ties, but cuffed her wrists behind her back and he let the crotch rope tied between her legs. Vanessa stumbled when he wanted to get her to her feet and Cheng helped him to carry the exhausted woman to the chair in which Myra had sat. After they had fixed her cuffed hands to the bar between the rear legs, Cheng dabbed her face and chest with a wet cloth. Madame Yini cringed her lips:
„The Christians sure would call you a good Samaritan!“
„And any good salesman would call you careless about keeping her in good conditions to raise her value“, Cheng replied in a sharp tone. He had no real problem with the fact that Madame Yini was a white slaver, but the way she treated her former partner was a bit over the top. Sure, Vanessa had betrayed her, but since it was him who had gotten her into that situation, he felt at least a bit of responsibility towards her.
After a while, Vanessa had recovered a bit. She looked up at Cheng and mmphed through her gag, begging to be freed.
„Sorry, Blondie, but only because I`m better than her I am not one of the good boys.“
„Some of those who considered themselves better than me are no longer on this earth“, Madame Yini said and her eyes now were cold as ice.
Cheng slowly rose and turned towards her. Then, he slightly bowed and smiled:
„Forgive me, Madame Yini. The fact that we are partners made me forgot about who is in charge.“
The woman grunted something that could have been an unfriendly pardon, but Cheng now knew that he had to be cautious with his new partner. Once the Princess was in his hands, he would never turn his back towards her.
„Will you forgive my my impertinence if I promise to at least try to get into Mr. Wong`s house, right after sundown?“
Now, Madame Yini once again smiled as friendly as if he was her best friend or even a man she loved.
„Tell Yuen what you will need for your little trip.“
***
Andrea and Jody had had to find out that their bonds, though seeming to be quite comfortable, were impossible to undo, though they really had tried during the last few hours.
After some pondering, Mr. Wong had told them that he would wait until midnight, when Mr. Dew would come to fetch the Princess. Then, he would ask him if he had use for the other damsels, too.
„If yes, you will maybe learn to know some nice brothels in Hongkong. If not – well, at least Andrea knows I`ve got a nice, deep well in my cellar.“
He had ordered the servant to strip them. The man had obeyed and cut their clothes from their bodies, leaving them in just their knickers. Jody had fumed through her gag, but the man had just ripped her camisole into halfs and tied a broad strip over the cleave gag, further muffling her cries. Though Andrea had endured being stripped without a vocal protest, he reinforced her gag as well. Since he did not want to undo their leg ties, both were still wearing their bootlets and Andrea also was wearing her stockings and garter belt, but both women now had to present their bare boobs to anyone who entered the room. Not that that really mattered, given the fact that they would end either as sex slaves or dead. Nor was there anyone to watch them. After they had finished tying them up, Mr. Wong had left the room, followed by his servant. The turning of the key was the last thing they heard, except for their own frantic moaning.
They had immediately started to work on their bonds, but the knots of their nwrist ties were all out of reach for their fingers and the straps, upholstered by the silk bandages, were too tightly applied to slip their hands through the loops. Their gags had proved to be unable to undo either. Of course, they could rub their chins against the bed, but both the bedsheets and their gags consisted of silk and the smooth cloth just did not cling to anything. After some frustrated grunts, they had given up that attempts, too.
„At least, Zenobia maybe is free and save. Perhaps, she or Cheng will find a way of getting us out of this. Hope always dies last.“
Andrea had endured a similar situation just months ago and then, that farmer`s girl had appeared and saved her and Zenobia from certain death. Perhaps, there would be rescue in the nick of time this time, too?
Suddenly, something else was drawing her attention. From within one of the rolled carpets, a head appeared. First, it was only a dishevelled bun of black hair, but then, inch after inch, the gagged face of a young woman appeared. It was Lien, the maid/bodyguard of Princess Jinjin.
„Mmmhhmmph!“, Andrea tried to communicate with their co-captive. Jody moaned something through her gag as well.
Lien did not answer. She concentrated on wriggling herself out of the carpet. Given the fact that it was tightly rolled and she was bound hand and foot and could do little to get forward, this was not an easy task. Besides, her gag made breathing not easier for her. But Lien was a fighter, and she was a supple and despite her petite forms considerably strong woman. Since she had been three years old, she had been trained all kinds of martial arts and such a training of more than 15 years now paid off.
When she had worked herself free till her navel, everything became easier. Her arms were tied at wrists and elbows, but not fixed to her body and with some contortions, she could get them out of the carpet roll. Now, she could push against the floor and so, after some more minutes, she was lying to the feet of the beds of Andrea and Jody who mmphed encouragingly.
Lien quickly brought herself into a standing position and hopped over to Jody. The blonde could see that Lien had already partially loosened her wrist tie, but the scarf tied around her elbows could not be undone by herself.
Jody tried her best to work on the tight knots with her numb fingers, but finally, Lien`s arms were free. Before she loosened Jody`s wrist, she put her index finger to her gagged mouth and pointed to the door with her other hand. Jody nodded. Without making a sound except for the rustling of her silk dress, she undid the knots around Jody`s right hand.
„Mmmhhmmmmph!“
Andrea moaned through her gag. Lien jumped over to her wit surprising speed and pressed her slim hand over her mouth and squeezed Andrea`s nose shut. She shook her head and pointed to the door. After a few seconds, Andrea calmed down and Lien withdrew her hand, allowing her to breathe through her nose.
Quickly, Lien freed her legs, then, she unwrapped the Princess from the carpet and undid th cloth tied over her mouth. Beneath, another cloth with a knot in it was tied so tightly between her lips that it cut into the corners of her mouth. When this had fallen, Lien helped Jinjin to work a large and dense wad from her mouth. The panting Princess whispered something, but Lien only nodded and began working on her ties.
Drawing by hugues66
Meanwhile, Jody, who had first yanked the cloths from her mouth and spat out her gag, had freed her other wrist and was working on her leg ties. Andrea waited to be freed too, obviously fighting hard to not scream into her gag.
„Just a minute, I am nearly done“, Jody whispered. Andrea only nodded, making a faint sound.
Now, the Princess was free and Lien began to work on Andrea`s wrists. When she was free, the reporter wanted to reach for her gag, but Lien stopped her and pointed to the door once more. Angrily, Andrea snorted, but then, she nodded and indeed, she only panted when she had spat out her gag.
Only when all other women were free, Lien undid her gag that consisted of a cleave gag and packing under the cloth band over her mouth too. Andrea was horrified by the sheer amount of cloth that had been stuffed into the small woman`s mouth. One end of the large scarf she pulled from her mouth was touching her knee when she finally had all of it out of her mouth. But Lien did not even pant. She just licked her lips and whispered.
„Time to get out of here.“
Jody wanted to go for the door, but Lien shook her head and pointed to the ceiling. There, some four yards above, was a small skylight, the only other opening except for the door.
„Do you expect us to fly?“, Jody hissed. Even if they put the beds under the opening, they would not be able to reach it. However, Lien seemed to have other ideas. To Andrea`s and Jody`s amazement, she took off her silk dress, followed by her boots. Now, the bodyguard was only wearing two strips of blue silk. One was slung around her neck, crossed above her breasts and pulled over them before she had knotted it behind her back. The other one was pulled through a golden chain that encircled her waist and barely covered her private parts and the cleft between her buttocks. Andrea had seen such loincloths only in pictures and it reminded her of the crotch rope she and Zenobia had been forced to endure.
Drawing by hugues66
„She has got really nice breasts, quite big for a Chinese“, Andrea thought involuntarily. Then, she blushed and shooed away that unpleasant thought.
The undressing of the girl reminded Andrea and Jody of being topless and they used two of the scarves that had tied Lien to bind them over their breasts, similar to the cloth Lien was wearing. Both thought about taking Lien`s dress, too, but it was clear that they would need their freedom of movement for the pending climbing.
Drawing by hugues66
Now, free from any superfluous cloth, Lien began to knot the thongs that had tied Jody and Andrea together till she had a long rope some five yards in length. She tested the strength by a sharp pull and wound the rope around her waist. Then, she went to Jody, the tallest of the group, and told her to stand directly under the skylight. Then, she climbed upon the blonde`s shoulders and, keeping her balance with admirable easiness, she stretched her body and reached for the skylight. The crossed bars were still some yard above her fingers, but Lien just sqatted and jumped. Jody staggered and had to oppress a cry of surprise, but Lien had reached the bars.
„Excellent!“, Andrea hissed, but Lien shook her head. The space left by the bars was too narrow and they were concreted into the wall. Even for her, it would be impossible to squeeze her lithe and petite body through the gap.
„Maybe, this could help?“, a man`s voice suddenly whispered directly beside her ear. The man spoke Chinese.
Lien was not easy to get startled, but now, she nearly let go the bar and a faint gasp of surprise could be heard. Some half a yard above her, she could see the face of a Chinese man. Now, the cold air told her that he had already removed the window. In his hands, he held a small saw.
The other women, who were watching Lien`s work from below, could not clearly see what was going on, but they could hear some faint whispering. Suddenly, Lien quickly abseiled from the rope and stood beside them. Now, they could see a man who waved down to them and smiled.
„Cheng!“
Jody bit her lips and anxiously looked for the door, but obviously there was no guard or he had not noticed her surprised uttering. Andrea had been wrong! The Chinese had not betrayed them, but he had come to rescue them!
Andrea had recognized Cheng, too and she was more than relieved. If Cheng was there, Zenobia could not be far away, too. Though she fought these thoughts, she had quite often remembered the intimate situation she and the Black had been forced to stand. However, these memories were not all unpleasant and sometimes, in her dreams -
A strange sound coming from above distracted her from these thoughts. Cheng had started to saw through one of the bars. He worked carefully, but it is impossible to use a saw on metal without making at least a bit of noise and so, both Andrea and Lien were listening with their ears pressed to the door. They heard two men talking and Andrea wanted to warn the others, but Lien held her by her arm.
„They are playing Majong. As long as we do not hear someone scolding them, we are safe.“
After what seemed ages, Cheng had sawed through one of the bars. Now, he grabbed it with both hands and used his considerable strength to bend the iron bar upwards. Now, the opening had doubled. It still would be a bit narrow for the Americans, but it would somehow work.
„If necessary, we can oil their bodies“, he thought with a giggle. Then, he thanked the gods for this great amount of luck they had granted him.
When Yuen had brought him some black clothes, light and close-fitting enough to not hinder him in climbing or jumping, but plain enough to not look suspicious in the street, a 20 foot silk rope and a saw, Cheng had left and watched the area for a while before he had climbed a roof quite close to Mr. Wong`s house. The Governor had not chosen Cheng for the mission to get the Princess back for his beautiful eyes. He was not only intelligent and fluent in English, he also was strong and athletic and had some cat burglar skills. So, it had been quite easy for him to reach the roof of Mr. Wong`s house once it was dark. He had been concerned about what to do once he was inside, but now, there really seemed to be a chance to get Jinjin in his hands. He had no idea why all these women except for the Princess were only dressed in their underwear or why they were obviously trying to get away from imprisonment, but the answers would have to wait until they were at Madame Yini`s house. Of course, he would have to free the others, too, but sure he would find a solution for that.
He made a sign to the women in the room and after a few seconds, Lien climbed up to him. Now, she fit through the gap without problems. She smiled at him and whispered:
„Maybe, now it`s not the time to ask you who you are and why you came to rescue us?“
Cheng smiled also and answered:
„You are right. I will tell you everything you want to know, but now, we better should all get up here.“
It turned out to be harder than thought. Lien was the only one who had climbing skills, at least on such a thin rope. But the bodyguard turned out to be resourceful. She took one of the scarfes and tied it around Jody`s chest before fixing it to the dangling rope. Jody understood and took the rope in both hands. Cheng pulled her upwards, assisted by Lien pushing from below on the first two yards.
If Cheng had had some oil, he would have used it on the tall girl, but finally, their combined efforts got her through the gap. Jody blushed when she saw that whilst squeezing her body through the narrow opening, the cloth had been peeled from her boobs, she quickly turned away and adjusted it, but Cheng was already lowering the rope again.
Andrea was next. Though she also nearly got stuck, Cheng finally could get her out, too. Then, he pulled up Princess Jinjin, whose 90 lbs were like heaving a feather pillow in comparison. However, once she was standing beside him, another problem occured: the tight skirt of Jinjin`s dress and her high heels only allowed her to take very small steps and she refused to take off her boots, let alone ripping her skirt. Even Lien could not persuade her to do so.
„I will not walk around like a peasant girl.“
Cheng oppressed a curse. Princess Jinjin was 19 years old, but obviously, her noble lineage had spared her from growing up. When he wanted to propose to leave her here, the Princess suddenly looked down and grabbed his arm. She let out a high-pitched yell, but Cheng quickly clamped her mouth shut.
„Mhhhmmph!“, she uttered, staring at him as if he had just forfeited his life for touching a member of the aristocracy. Maybe, that was exactly what she was mumbling under his strong hand. Cheng hissed into her ear:
„I deeply apologise my rough behaviour, Your Imperial Highness, but we are not here for fun. If you are suffering from fear of heights, I will carry you. But if you continue to behave like that, I will carry you too – tightly gagged and over my shoulder. And if you scream once more when I take my hand away, you will alert the guards. Then, we will all be dead. At least you, since we others can try to run away. Did you get me, Your Imperial Highness?“
If looks could have killed, Cheng would have died at once, but with an angry grunt, Jinjin finally nodded. Cheng withdrew his hand.
„Fort that, you will be cut to pieces!“, she hissed and stepped back. Then, she looked down once again and jumped to his chest, embracing him with her arms. Cheng slowly shook his head and could see that, behind the Princesses` back, she rolled her eyes.
Finally, Cheng held the princess in his arms who held her eyes squeezed shut and slightly trembled, but did not utter a sound. Lien had sneaked to the edge of the roof, looking down at the street. When she came back, she said:
„There`s a coach coming. We better should go.“
When Cheng looked questioningly, she only shook her head and so, he jumped to the place where he had climbed the roof. Since the guards now would be distracted by whoever had just approached, he did not jump to the other side of the lane with the Princess in his arms, but they climbed down a drain. Again, the rope with the noose came into use, and finally, they were all on firm ground and quickly followed Cheng who again carried the Princess. Lien followed him deliberately. Andrea and Jody would have preferred to know where they were going, but, dressed only in their knickers and some cloth covering their boobs, they decided not to be seen by anyone else.
Cheng ran through some empty lanes and crossed two backyards before he stopped at a small door and knocked. A tall, brawny man opened and they all slipped inside. Once the door had been closed behind them, a female voice said:
„Welcome to my house, Princess Jinjin. It`s not what you are used to, but be assured, where you are going, it will be much, much worse.“
***
Though they were only some ten yards away, Zenobia, Myra and Vanessa did not hear anything of these events. Once Cheng had left, Madame Yini had „prepared them for the night“. She had started by giving her prisoners some food and water and to even allow them to relieve themselves, but then, the Chinese had once again shown her sense of cruelty.
Over the years, Madame Yini had read some articles about medieval European torture devices. Actually, most of these articles had been rather Gothic novels than historical treatises, but she had become intrigued anyway and had equipped her cellar with some devices she thought to be useful for her business. Since she did not want to kill or severely hurt her prisoners, these were modifications of the originals, but Madame Yini was more interested in efficiency than in historical accuracy.
First, Myra had been rewarded with „a new gag, for being a good girl.“ This meant that she peeled down the knickers she was currently wearing and shoved them into the girl`s mouth. These had indeed only been worn for two days, but Myra retched as the mass of silk filled her cheeks and almost made her gag with revulsion. Over that, a tight cloth cleave gag was tied, secured by a leather belt. Myra had her hands cuffed nehind her back, but Madame Yini was not satisfied with that and so, she ordered Yuen to tie her elbows with some rope, forcing the girl to thrust out her big boobs. Then, Madame Yini took a long scarf from a box a servant had brought. She tied it around the girl`s upper chest, right below her armpits. When she had put a hook through this silk noose, Yuen pulled on the attached chain until Myra had to stand on the tips of her toes.
„Mmmhhmmph! Uuhhmmm!“
Myra thought with fear that Madame Yini intended to let her stant in this strained position for the entire night. The noose under her armpits carried a good deal of her weight, but it would be a very uncomfortable way to spend the hours. However, the Chinese had worse things in mind.
First, she took a long rope and tied one end to Myra`s right ankle. Then, Yuen hung it to a hook in the ceiling right above her whilst Madame Yini tied another scarf around Myra`s waist. Then she took a second one and caressed the girl between her legs. Myra mewed with disgust and pressed her thighs together, nut Madame Yini took the ends of the scarf and moved it back and forth, bringing it closer and closer to her crotch. When she had tied the ends off to the scarf around Myra`s waist, she first thought that it was quite loosely applied, only irritating her a bit. But then, Yuen threaded the rope through the crotch scarf, brought it up again and over the hook before tying the end of the rope around Myra`s left ankle. Then, he let down the chain she was hanging from a bit.
Immediately, Myra understood the perfidy of the arrangement. The rope tied to her feet only allowed her to stand on one foot at the same time. Whenever one of her heels reached the ground, the other foot was lifted into the air. The only alternatives were standing on tiptoes again or to raise both her legs and to hang from the noose around her chest. None of these positions could be held for long and in addition, each movement of her feet had consequences on the scarf between her legs.
„Mmmmhhmmmm! Nnnngggg!“
It was impossible that Madame Yini kept her like this all night! However, Chinese just meant:
„You should be grateful, for this is a perfect exercise to keep your legs and ass in good shape. Although“, she giggled, „I owe my formidable figure other exercises.“
She let Myra alone to cope with her bonds and went for Zenobia who had been standing beside Vanessa, both with their hands tied behind their back and tied to a ring in the wall. Both women were thoroughly gagged, Zenobia with Vanessa`s knickers and the blonde with the black pair that had originally belonged to Andrea, but which had then been used as a gag to Zenobia before Myra had been forced to wear them. For Zenobia, it was not the first time to suffer from such a humiliating gag ans so, she could stand it. Vanessa however, who had been more than upset when she had realized that she had been gagged with her own knickers earlier, had fought with all her might to avoid getting another woman`s used underwear into her mouth. The fact that Myra had had her involuntary orgasm whilst wearing these were worsening the matter. But of course, it had been a one-sided fight. Madame Yini had just pinched her nose shut whilst Yuen had pressed the wadded silk to her mouth. Then, both women`s gags had been secured with cleave gags and a belt.
Zenobia now felt pity for her former landlady, though she had brought her into her current predicament. The blonde made retching sounds all the time and Zenobia knew only too well that she also desperately tried to oppress her reflex to swallow, though the mass of cloth in her mouth of course forced her to produce saliva.
„You, my dear Ladies, will be given a lesson in gentleness. By enduring a little discomfort, you can help the other to have an almost comfortable night. Of course, you may blame me for my lack of fantasy, since it`s only a variation of the arrangement I made fore dear Myra, but sometimes, I just don`t have the time to think of more elaborate bondage. But if one of you has got a better idea, please, tell me.“
„Mhhmmph!“
„Gghhhrrmmmph!“
Whilst Yuen tied their elbows, Madame Yini hung a long chain over another hook in the ceiling. Then, she took two small padlocks from the table. When Zenobia and Vanessa were placed under the hook, facing each other and standing some yard away from each other, Madame Yini let the fine links of the chain glide through her fingers.
„It`s silver-plated, as you may have noticed. Because, where this chain will be placed, it would easlily become rusty from the moisture, and I don`t want you to become ill.“
Before Zenobia had fully understood these words, Madame Yini had reached between her legs, taken one end of the chain and tied it to her handcuffs with one of the padlocks. The Black looked at the chain glistering in front of her face with uneasiness. It reminded her of an experience she had had with Andrea in Dead Tree Valley – an experience she did not want to repeat.
„Nnnngggg! Mmhhhrrrrrrmmmm! Hhhhrrrrrr! Mph!“
Obviously, Vanessa had understood what was going to happen, too. She bucked and moaned and tried to kick at Madame Yini, but Yuen just grabbed one of her ankles and jammed it under his arm. Fuming and mewing, Vanessa hopped on one leg, but now, it was quite easy for Madame Yini to get the other end of the chain between her legs and to buckle it to her wrist cuffs.
When Yuen had let her go and Vanessa had calmed down a bit, both women found out that the chain was not tightly applied. When they stood so close that their boobs just did not touch, the chain did not even brush their private parts.
Drawing by hugues66
Yuen took two pairs of handcuffs and tied Zenobia`s left ankle to Vanessa`s right and vice versa, forcing them to stay that close and preventing them from stepping out of the crotch chain. Madame Yini placed two stools behind the girl`s backs.
„As the time passes, you might feel tired of standing and wish to sit down. Feel free to do so, but you will find out that this chain allows only one of you to sit at the same time. I know, it`s not my most innovative idea, but after all, we have some time in the future to improve on that. Have a long and interesting night!“
Having said so, she and Yuen left the damsels alone.
***