Preface:
This story starts actually in the autumn of 1865, but the events till early 1866 will be revealed in a prolonged flashback, beginning at the end of „The Golden Gate to Slavery“.
The historical background is the so called Du Wenxiu or Panthay Rebellion: Muslim Chinese started an uprising, though not for religious reasons, in the 1850ies in the Yunnan Province and were able to establish their rule in parts of the area until 1872. Actually, the presence of both British ambassadors in Tengyue (today`s Tengchong, atown near the border to Burma) and French military experts in the Imperial Chinese army happened to be a few years later, but maybe, some of them have arrived earlier.
However, the focus of this story is not historical accuracy, so those who know the region must excuse the liberties I took.
Those who like a change of scenes or of the point of view I can assure that not the whole story will be narrated by Andrea, but only the beginning.
Chapter one
Charlotte Robertson took the tray with tea and cookies her assistant Amila had given to her. Normally, it would have been the Indian woman`s job to serve their guests. Though Charlotte was quite unconventional in many things and she had an almost cordial relationship to Amila and Ela, the two women who accompanied her were still her servants. However, this guest Charlotte was about to visit now was not an ordinary visitor.
Three days ago, on New Year`s Eve of 1866, a large crate had been standing at the court door of the little house where Charlotte was residing. A few years ago, the rebels lead by Sultan Du Wenxiu had overtaken the city of Tengyue and established their rule their. Du Wenxiu was interested in relations with Britain and the British were interested in everything that happened only a few hundred miles away from their territories. However, the British Viceroy had not yet dared to send an official embassy to the rebels. But Captain Alfred Ryder, an officer serving in Assam, had ben sent with a small group of researchers and soldiers to spy out the situation and to start informal talks with the Sultanate.
Charlotte, then being a student of East Asian Ethnology and doing a research trip to British India, had asked if she was allowed to participate and, after some quarrels with rather conservative people, she and her two Indian servants/assistants had been granted to accompany the group. They had reached the city of Tengyue after some arduous weeks of travelling and the local Governor had assigned them a house in the city and they were permitted to visit the area and talk to people as they liked. According to Charlotte, the first weeks had been interesting, but then, since they were limited to the city`s nearer vicinity, it had become a bit boring – until said crate arrived.
When two servants had brought it in, a faint moaning and rustling could be heard from inside the crate. None of the seven people around had been suspicious at first. Their Chinese cooks got the food delivered from the markets and perhaps, this box had just been placed at the main entrance by a simple mistake.
However, when Captain Ryder opened the lid, his jaw dropped down and his pipe fell to the floor.
„By Jove!“, he yelled.
Of course, now all others wished to see what was in the box – and they were quite astonished, too: inside the box, a woman was lying who now rose her upper body. An European woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She was stark naked and her arms were tied behind her back. The way her shoulders were strained and her breasts stood out told that not only her wrists were tied, but also her elbows. More ropes tied her legs at the ankles and above the knees. Her lower face was hidden behind a broad strip of cloth.
Drawing by hugues66
„Mhhmmmm!“, she moaned, blushing slightly as she saw that the whole group was examining her nude body.
Dr. Royce, the little group`s physician, was the first to react. He took off his jacket and draped it over the woman before he loosened the cloth over her mouth.
„Uuuhhmmmmph!“
Underneath, the woman`s mouth was stuffed to the bursting with some cloth, so big she could not work it out of her mouth with her tongue. Dr. Royce pulled the rag from her mouth with some effort and finally, it came out, followed by some saliva.
„Thank you“, the woman breathed after some panting.
The other men had meanwhile found back to their behaviour, too. Sergeant Cook had fetched some water and let her drink whilst the Captain had called for Amila and Ela. Dr. royce asked the woman if she needed a doctor, but she shook her head. Therefore, the men left her under the two servants`s custody and left the room discreetly.
Her name was Andrea Benson and she had indeed been physically unharmed, as Dr. Royce could say. He had examined her after Ela and Amila had given her a nightgown and prepared a bed for her. However, he feared for the woman`s mental stability.
„She has always asked me about some Zenobia. And it seems that she must have suffered a lot in the last months. it`s quite incoherent what she`s saying, but the way she was – brought here proves that it has been no picnic.“
„Maybe, she will talk easier to a woman“, Charlotte had proposed and so, she had spent a visit to Andrea who had quickly gained confidence in Charlotte. Andrea had said:
„I will tell you my story, but I will start from the very beginning. Please, don`t tell any of the men, for some details are more than – indecent.“
Charlotte, who was one of the most curious persons on earth, had quickly vowed not to tell anybody and Andrea had begun to speak.
Indeed, the woman had encountered terrible things. Originally a reporter in a small town in Arizona, she had been inflicted in some crimes there, with her and Zenobia ending up naked, bound and gagged more than once.
„Who is Zenobia?“, Charlotte had asked.
„She is my friend. My best friend. My – lover.“
Andrea had slightly blushed, waiting for being judged by Charlotte. However, though she was interested only in men, Charlotte wasn`t shocked. Somehow, she even was secretly intrigued by the thought of two women who-
„She has been a slave in North Carolina, but she has come to the west and so, we became friends. Well, more than that.“
Charlotte now was fascinated. Andrea had not only experienced some terrible adventures, she also had a lesbian relation with a black woman. And she had always considered herself to be unconventional.
Since Charlotte asked many questions and Andrea obviously was more than glad to have someone to talk to, the telling of her story lasted for several days. Whilst the men tried to find out who was behind Andrea`s being here. She had spent her days taking care of her and listening to her story. Yesterday, Andrea had stopped where she and Zenobia, who had fallen in the clutches of a slaver`s ring, had been packed into a crate, naked bound and gagged, to be shipped to China. Since Andrea now was here, it was clear that this had been done, but Charlotte was more than curious to hear the end of her story.
Andrea, sitting by the window in just her nightgown and a silk bathrobe, greeted her warmly. After a sip of her tea, she continued to tell what had happened to her and Zenobia:
„I don`t know how long we were imprisoned in that box. We had our ears stuffed, we could see nothing and we only felt being always carried around. However, we, Zenobia and I, were together an, well – we didn`t find the whole situation too bad.“
She slightly blushed, but decided to leave the juicy details to Charlotte`s fantasy. Indeed, she and Zenobia had been limited in finding the ultimate peak of extasy, since they had not been able to explore each other with their tied hands or with their tongues blocked by a mass of silk.
„After some time, the box did not move anymore, we just felt a constant slight swaying. Obviously, we had reached the ship. At that point, we were almost obsessed by relieving ourselves.“
Charlotte giggled a bit nervously and Andrea joined in, but she also shuddered slightly from the embarrassment caused by the memory.
„The box was opened and we could see we were in a dimly lit room. There were three men. One of them released us from out cuffs and undid the gags whilst the others held our arms. We had not been able to try any escape. I was so exhausted, I could hardly stand on my legs and concentrated on squeezing my thighs together. I wanted to say something to Zenobia, nut they just pushed us into separate cells and locked the doors.“
„Cells? On a ship?“, Charlotte asked, playing with a strand of her bright red hair.
„Yes, they were well prepared for their kind of – business. On each side of the room, there were three cells, each some three yards deep and two yards wide. There was a corridor of some two yards between the two rows of cells, and they were separated by wooden walls, but had an iron grid on their fronts, so they could see what we were doing – although I think they were more comfortable than those in a usual prison: the plank beds were uphostered and the bucket for, well, you know, was behind a wooden barrier and allowed some privacy.
Of course, we screamed and cried, but obviously, they had ungagged us because it didn`t matter how loud we became. The room was somewhere near the engine`s room, I think. There was a constant pounding and roaring from the ship`s engines and it was very warm. There must have been some ventilation and each of us was given two gallons of water per day, but I remember that I have constantly been clad with sweat, just like the others.
Well, after a while, we started to talk. As I told you, we were five alltogether. Me and Zenobia, Jody, a friend of us, Myra, who had been living in our hostel – and Vanessa, who had been working together with our abductors, but who had somehow fallen into disgrace and had been forced to accompany us. Of course, we blamed her for getting us into all that, but after a while, we let her go. After all, she already was paying for her sins. She was naked in the cell opposite to me and facing a fate that sure would not be nice. Beside her was Zenobia. So, we could talk and look at each other, but in front of the others, we did not dare to exchange flatteries.
After some hours, the three men came back. Of course, we yelled and sobbed, but they just handed us bowls with food and wooden spoons and offered to – change our buckets. I have to admit that I was rather hungry than rebellious and so, I just took my food and began to eat. Vanessa and Jody, however, threw their bowls at the men.“
„And of course, they friendly discussed with them about such nasty behaviour and offered them new food rations“, Charlotte presumed. She had already recognized that it made it easier for Andrea when she did such light mockery from time to time. Indeed, Andrea smiled wryly:
„They went for a cupboard and fetched something. Then, they opened Jody`s cell next to mine and entered. I could hear a rattle and her rants and screams, suddenly replaced by some gurgling and moaning. I could see that Zenobia watched them with a mixture of fear and fascination whilst Vanessa had hidden behind the wooden barrier.
They left Jody`s cell and came over to Vanessa. The poor woman! At that moment, I really felt pity for her. Perhaps, it was just the fear that this would happen to us if we didn`t obey orders. They cuffed her hands in front of her body. These handcuffs were connected to another pair of cuffs by a short chain and they tied her ankles, too. Then, they forced a black hood over her head and Vanessa`s cries now were stifled, too. The hood only left the eyes and the nose free and it was secured at the neck by a padlock. Also, it had a leather plug the size of a pear attached to the front that went into the mouth. I know, for I have been forced to put on this gag too – later.“
She took a sip of her tea and Charlotte padded her arm, but Andrea continued her report:
„Vanessa now could only moan and with her hands tied to her feet, she was quite limited in her movements. The chain was long enough for to stand, but she could only make small steps and sitting or squatting wasn`t an easy task, too. For a while, the two fumed and tried to free themselves. We tried to calm them down by talking to them when the men had left, but it took some time till exhaustion forced them to pause.
Zenobia, who must have experienced such treatment whilst being a slave, told us that we should try to accept our fate for the moment and try to minimize the punishment. On a ship on the open sea, we wouldn`t have a chance of escape anyway. If we behaved well, perhaps, our captors would lack in their alertness. I could see or hear nothing of Jody or Myra, but Vanessa just grunted something and stared daggers at me, as if I was guilty of her predicament.
The food was surprisingly good, I have to admit. Obviously, they did not want to diminish our value. But I am sure, had I tried to go on a hunger strike, they would have found methods of making me eat. The next days showed that they were no amateurs in treating slaves.
We lost our sense of time during the trip a bit, but they obviously came every morning and evening to look for us. After some hours – I had fallen asleep from exhaustion – they came back and we were offered some porridge, bread and coffee. Vanessa and Jody, however, were completely ignored. The poor girls had to suffer bound and gagged, without any food or water in the overheated room till their next visit some ten or twelve hours later! I could see Vanessa putting her hooded head into the bucket of fresh water we were given each day, but I am afraid that very little of the liquid reached her throat. When the men came back, they had almost fainted.
This time, it seemed that Jody had given in for the moment. I could see the men leave her cell with the hood and the tie in their hands and I could hear her eating and drinking. Then, they went over to Vanessa. When they had untied and ungagged her, she greedily drank some water. But then, she spat into one of the men`s face. And then, they showed her that they could be even more cruel if necessary. Have you ever heard from a torture device called the cangue?“
Charlotte shook her head. That visit to Tengyue was her first trip to China and she had of course not spent her time exploring methods of torturing. Andrea continued:
„Although our captors were Americans, they obviously had learned from the Chinese. A cangue is a Chinese version of a pillory. It consists of a round wooden board of about one and a half yards in diameter. In the middle, it has an opening about the size of a man`s neck and it can be opened in the middle.“
Charlotte shuddered when she imagined how that could have been used.
„Y-you mean-?“
„Yes. They put it around Vanessa`s neck and locked it. She staggered and went down on her knees, it was obviously quite heavy. They gagged her again, this time stuffing a rag into her mouth and tying a strip of cloth between her lips. Then, they undid her chains and left.
I can tell you, it hurt even from watching Vanessa. She tried to reach for her gag, but the board was too wide for her to reach her head with her hands. I think that added to her frustration: that her arms were free, but she could not ungag herself. She tried to get up and after some tries, she managed to stand on her feet, but she had to use both her hands to minimize the pressure on her shoulders. After a few minutes, she had to sit down again and her eyes told us that she was really suffering. But worse was to come. The cangue prevented her from lying down or to lean her back to the wall. All she could do was standing or sitting with the board resting on her knees. We knew that she would not find any sleep.“
Now, Andrea had tears in her eyes. Charlotte went for the cupboard, took two glasses and prepared two glasses of Whiskey for them. Both women emptied their glasses in one draught, then, Andrea could go on with her story:
„when they came in the evening, they showed some mercy and freed Vanessa from that dreadful board. However, they showed us that they had four more of these in store. It was a warning that was more than easy to understand. From that day on, we submitted to the rules.
For some two weeks, we lived in the routine of prisoners. We were given food and water and we were kept clean. They even changed our blankets every few days and we were given a towel and a bar of soap each. Our captors almost became friendly, though they never talked much and never answered any of our questions. After a few days, our worst enemy was boredom.“
Charlotte frowned. How could one get bored by being in a cell, naked in front of men and shipped to a fate as a slave?
„We were even given an English-Chinese dictionary. So, we tried to learn a few words, just to kill time. Now, I can speak a little.“
That last sentence, Andrea had spoken in Chinese. Charlotte praised her pronunciation, also in Chinese. She had learned it for a year and though the people in the Yunnan Province spoke a different dialect, they could understand her and she could ask for a direction or a price without using her hand or feet.
„After these two weeks, another routine began to occur from time to time. Whenever we reached a harbour on our route, the ship stopped. Sometimes for a day, sometimes for some two or three days. In that time, the engines weren`t working´, of course and so, they took care that we would not call for help. Each of us was gagged with the terrible hoods that had the mouth plug attached to it. As I told you, it was locked at the neck. In addition, one of the men was always there. For the whole trip, I have never seen anyone else but these three. Perhaps, the rest of the crew did not even know we were there.
They told us that we would be put in the cangue for the rest of out trip if we would try to alert anyone. We knew that this was not an empty threat and so, we behaved. When it was time to eat, we were fed one after the other. We were tied with the connected hand and foot cuffs and one held us from behind whilst the other gave us to eat and drink. Of course, the one holding his arms around my body took some – advantages from that.“
Charlotte gasped and now, it was Andrea who padded the other`s arm.
„This was the only – sexual infringement they ever did to us. They never did real unspeakable things to us. But it was of course very humiliating to have a man around 24 hours a day. I will spare you the details.
Whenever we had left a harbour, they seemed to feel obliged to be gentle to us. Once, they played some music for us, on another occasion, we were told about where we were and what day it was. You can`t believe how thirsty you get for any kind of distraction unless you have experienced it.“
„Oh, I can do without that experience“, Charlotte said. Though the story fascinated her, she sure did not want to undergo such a predicament by herself.
„Then, on November the 7th, we finally reached the harbour of Kanton – or Guangzhou, as they call it here. We were in our cells, gagged of course, when the men brought a wooden bathtub inside the prison room. One by one, we then bathed and washed our hair for the first time in weeks.“
„Y-you b-bathed in front of these men?“
Andrea smiled: „There was little they hadn`t seen before. Besides, they had warned us: if we would refuse to bathe or try to escape, they would bathe us. And the look in their eyes told us that this would not be easy for any of us. They had held back themselves during the last weeks, but they were men and we were naked, helpless women and so, we did not want to risk anything. Anyway, a warm bath can be very tempting, even under such circumstances.
When we had bathed and were back in our cells, they came back with a pile of clothes. But first, each of us was handed back their knickers. I-I have told you we had been gagged with these when we were brought aboard. For a terrible moment, we thought that we would be ordered to gag ourselves with these, but they obviously expected us to put them on. They had not been washed whilst they had taken them from us and Myra and Zenobia had to put one knickers that weren`t their own, but for the first time in some six weeks, we could cover parts of our body. But then, we were prepared for departure.“
„D-did they put you in that terrible boxes again?“, Charlotte asked, half repelled, half fascinated by Andrea`s story.
„No. Obviously, the had not to take too many precautions on this soil. One by one, they took us from our cells and forced the gag hoods on us. Then, we were tied with the cuffs, this time with our hands behind our backs. After that, we were covered by something that looked like a cloak or a nightgown without sleeves, but with a hood that was pulled over our heads after they had tied a cloth over our heads, blindfolding us. After a while, I felt a man taking my arm and leading me out of the room and up some stairs. It was not easy to walk with cuffed ankles, but the man took care that I didn`t fall. After some minutes, I was seated on some bench and my feet were fixed to some ring in the floor. When I tried to raise up, I was pushed back on my seat. Some moaning and rustling told me that the others were put close to me, too. Then, we began to move. I could hear the sound of hooves on the road paving and we were bouncing on our seats since the coach was driving quite fast.
After some hour, we were loaded from the coach and brought into a room where the cloaks and the blindfolds were taken from us. Looking around, we saw that we were in an elegant lobby. In front of us stood an elderly, fat Chinese who was wearing an European suit. He looked to be sixty and had grey hair. Beside him stood a pretty woman with dark blonde curls and green eyes – an European woman! She was dressed completely in red – if one could call her dressed. The woman wore only knickers, a garter belt, stockings, high heeled boots and a tight corset that barely covered her breasts. She was wearing no camisole beneath, but obviously, she didn`t mind having to stand in front of some men so scantily clad. Nor did she seem the least horrified by the sight of five bound and gagged women who were only dressed in their knickers. She smiled and spoke to us:
Drawing by hugues66
,Welcome to my Master`s house. My name is Diane and I will take care of you now. Sure, you are hungry and thirsty and might also wish a change of clothes. Of course, we didn`t know your clothes`sizes, but I am sure we will find something fitting for each of you.`
She really spoke to us like that, as if we had come for a visit and not been kidnapped from our homes and as if we were not standing in front of her nearly naked, with our wrists and ankles bound and with a leather plug shoved in our mouths!
One of our abductors handed her the keys to our ties and gags and we were ordered to follow her to another room. Two servants escorted us whilst we toddled after her with our bound ankles. Once we were inside, she sent out the servants, closed the door and spoke:
,Okay, Ladies, I know that I might sound gruesome or mad to you, but I am on your side. I know that you have been brought here against your will. So was I, one year ago. But it`s not the end of the world. Actually, you might get used to your new life soon.`
We were of course perplexed by such words and mmphed though our gags. Did she really expect us to become willingless harem slaves, who had to share the naster`s bed whenever he wished. Diane raised her hand:
,One year ago, I was thinking like you. I have been kidnapped from my hostel in San Francisco.`
Here, we all looked at Vanessa who seemed to feel more than a bit uneasy now. Diane hadn`t recognized her yet, because we still were hooded. It would be very interesting for her once Diane found out who she was.
,But here, I soon found out that at least CC is not the worst man to be dependend on.`
We must have looked more than puzzled, for she now smiled mischievously and explained the nickname to us:
,I call him CC, that`s short for Crazy Collector. He collects things that are rare and excentric. And now, he has decided to not only collecting things.`
Diane waited till this information had settled and our muffled protests had calmed down again, then, she said:
,He is crazy, but he is not dangerous or brutal. I was feeling just like you when I came here last year. But I found out that my duties here are quite – tolerable. So, before I will untie and ungag you, just listen to me for just two minutes. Perhaps, you then can resist throwing yourselves on me once you are free.
CC is obsessed with having a harem filled with exotic women – and here, we are the exotic. However, he is quite old and I am afraid his manliness is reduced to his eyes. At least, he has never touched me in this last year, nor has anyone else. Really, had I been a virgin when I came here, I still would be one.`
This did only console us a little, since being condemned to spend our living imprisoned in a crazy old men`s harem was still a horrifying perspective, but Diane told us that the most humiliating thing would be that we would have to dress similar to her.
,I have tried to tell CC that women in Europe or the USA are usually not dressed that way, but he insists on that dressing code. Anyway, it would be an improvement to what you have been wearing on the ship.
But, he just visits the harem from time to time and then, we will have to be there for him to watch. Of course, one feels like an animal in a zoo, but you will get used to that since it won`t be worse. Once or twice a month, he has guests and then, we have to serve the men, but they are only watching, too.`
Diane must have read the thoughts of at least me and Zenobia, for she lowered her voice and said urgently:
,These guests are definitely not on our side. So, don`t try to give them notes or ask them for help. I did so once. My only punishment was that when he had guests next time, I was gagged, but the problem is that they just laughed at me. Besides, this palace is like a fortress. We have all kinds of luxury, but there is no chance of escape. Neither the guards nor the other servants will help us and even if we could get out, we would be little better off: in the streets of an unknown city in just our underwear. There are some Whites living here now, and some of them sure would help us, but even more would just bring us back and collect the reward for the finder.
However, I am sure that we won`t end our days here. As I told you, he is not interested in women in – the usual way. All these months, he just looked at me – and more and more, he spoke to me. He is fascinated by Europe and the USA and he really tries to learn English, though he is not very talented in that. But he has spoken quite often to me that he would like to once visit the USA and taking me with you. Unfortunately, he now has bought you instead. Believe me, I did not know anything about his plans to – expand his collection. But now, we can all work together, help him to learn our language and if we play our cards right, we will be on a ship back to the USA, but in decent cabins and fully dressed this time. And once we are on American soil -`
That really sounded like something to put your hope on and so, we calmed down. Diane reminded us of the guards standing in front of the door and then, she handed me the keys. I quickly freed my wrists and ankles and removed the padlock of my hood. Then, I handed the keys over to Zenobia whilst I pulled the hood over my head and worked the dreadful plug from my mouth.
Whe Vanessa was freed from the hood, Diane looked at her without saying a word. For a few seconds, she looked questioningly, but then, she seemed to understand. None of us said a word and we all expected that Diane would do or say something. But instead, she burst out laughing.
,Well, that`s a lovely sight! I must say, I have wished you to share my fate more than once in the first weeks here! Obviously, my wish was granted! Maybe, next year, Madame Yini will be sent here, too!`
Vanessa blushed and lowered her head whilst I told Diane that Madame Yini had been given some of her own medicine, too, back in the USA. She looked at me with a strange glance in her eyes. Then, she told us to follow her to our rooms and asked if we wanted to take a bath before we slept.
And so, our career as harem slaves began. Like Diane had said, except for some visits of ,CC`, we were left to ourselves, though we even had a few servants for our needs and quite some material luxury. There was really nothing worse than having to wear the ridiculous underwear and to endure being watched by our owner from time to time. We really thought that we could stand this for a few months without problems, but destiny had something else in store for us.“
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