Charlotte now was attentive: according to what Andrea had told, she was now talking about things that had happened some two or three weeks ago, and Dali was only some 100 miles away. Since the rebels had not been able to capture Kunming, the actual Province`s capital, Sultan Du Wenxiu was residing in Dali and her companions had tried to get there for an official audience, but had failed to get an invitation.
„We were on the camel`s backs for some two hours, but, blindfolded as we were, we couldn`t see which way we took. However, after some time we could hear the typical noises of a large and crowded city. I tried to scream and wriggle, but obviously the Black Fox was a welcome guest, for we could hear his roaring voice from time to time, greeting some people. Then, we were taken from the camels and carried into a tent.“
Drawing by hugues66
Since the times of the big campaigns were over, Dali didn`t have a steady slave market, but of course, one could buy a slave there. Most of such transactions happened more or less in private, but the Black Fox hat come to the conclusion that he made the most profit on a classical auction. He had rented a tent that was ideal for his business, for it was large and had a podium of some 20 squareyards that was some yard high. On it, there were four posts in a row. Each of these was more then a yard high and had a horizontal bar nailed to it`s top, forming a big „T“. some foot above the ground, another short bar protruded which was some eight inches long. Two of his men guarded the entrance and began to attract potential customers whilst he and two of his men prepared the women for the presentation.
First, Diane was wrapped from her blanket and carried to one of the posts. They pressed her back against it and forced her on her knees. Then, they bent her arms over the horizontal bar and spread them before tying them to the bar at wrists and elbows. Diane now was forced to kneel with her arms stretched to her sides and could not raise from this position. Now, two men grabbed her thighs and forced them apart. Gravity let Diane`s body slide down along the post until she was stopped by the short bar between her legs.
„Mmhhmmmph!“
They now brought her ankles together behind the post and tied them. Now, the girl half hung from her arms, half was she sitting on the bar with spread thighs. The Black Fox produced a thin strip of silk and undid the cloth tied between her lips. When he pulled the knickers from her face, Diane looked at him with widened eyes, her face was reddened and sweat-clad. Before she couls try to work Andrea`s knickers from her mouth, one of the man grabbed her hair and kept it together whilst the Black Fox forced the gag in as deep as he could, until all of the sooden mass had disappeared behind her teeth. Then, he tied the thin cloth strip tightly between her lips, securing the gag. Diane retched and was fearing to choke. The cloth cut into the corners of her mouth and the vile testing knickers now stuffed her cheeks to the bursting and tickled the back of her throat.
„Glllg! Ghhhrr!“
The Black Fox`s reason to gag her like this was that his customers could see her lips and front teeth without the risk of getting bitten. The men now went for Zenobia and Andrea and arranged them in the same way. The girls looked at each other with fearful eyes, but there was nothing they could do against being naked and exposed.
To their surprise, one man tied a coloured cloth around each girl`s waist. It reached to the floor and hid their legs and pussies from being seen. Then, another cloth was slung over their chests and knotted behind the post, covering them from the cleavage to the waist. Another man now approached with a comb and took care of their hair with surprising skill and tenderness. Then, the Black Fox told his men to let the crowd in and soon the tent filled with dozens of people who at least wanted to have a look.
Though she had been a slave for most of her life, Zenobia had never been sold on an auction before. She could only understand a few of the words the Black Fox was yelling, but obviously he extolled their virtues. He strolled from one girl to another, talking all the time, and in Diane`s case, he even grabbed her blonde curls and pointed at them.
From the crowd, the first shouts could be heard. None of the women knew more than a few Chinese numbers so far, but it was clear that it were the first biddings. It was a humiliating experience!
The Black Fox played as if he was insulted by the height of the sums he had heard and asked something. When the crowd was rejoicing, he told his men to take off the breast cloths. Blushing all over, the now topless girls could hear that more offers were yelled. Obviously still not satisfied, he ordered the other cloths to be taken away, too, leaving the three women naked in front of the crowd. Andrea closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore what was done to her sense of modesty, but Zenobia and Diane moaned and wriggled in their ties.
Drawing by hugues66
After a while, the crowd had settled down and now, only a few men still made offers. Even the three girls had fallen silent, for this was not only embarrassing, but they also wanted to see whom they would be forced to go with.
A fat man with a thin beard and a handsome young man in precious clothes who was accompanied by some servants were obviously outbidding the others, for in the end, only these two could be heard yelling numbers. It seemed that the young man was pushed to his limits, for he shortly debated with his servants before saying something. The fat man shortly hesitated. Then, he nodded and the Black Fox pointed first at him, then at the young man and shouted something that could only be interpreted as „sold“.
„We were separated from each other! The fat man had bought Zenobia and Diane whilst I would become the property of the young man! We tried to protest and to plead, but they just took us from the posts, tied us hand and foot and wrapped us into the blankets once again. They threw us over their shoulders and we were carried away in different directions. A terrified look was the last thing I have seen from Zenobia so far!“
She started to cry and Charlotte took her in her arms. She was a bit reluctant since she knew that Andrea liked women, but on the other hand, she needed consolation. After a while, Andrea cleaned her nose and continued:
„I was put into a sedan chair and the young man sat opposite to me. He spoke to me, but I could only understand the words ,Sultan` and ,honour`. He seemed a bit nervous to me, but he was polite and did not touch me.
After some minutes, we reached a little palace and stopped at a wide court. There, the servants took me and carried me inside, this time two held my shoulders, one my middle and one my legs. But I had given up struggling for the moment. I just wanted to wait until I could communicate with someone.
Inside the palace, I was handed over to other servants who carried me through seemingly endless corridors until they made me stand on a thick carpet in front of a sofa on which a young man was lying. He didn`t look that impressive, but the way the servants behaved told him that he was a man of power and importance. In fact, it was Sultan Du Wenxiu himself.“
Now, Charlotte was fascinated. She only knew about Du Wenxiu what she had heard from her colleagues or read in the papers: he was a Chinese that had been raised the traditional way, but had converted to Islam. Later, he had become the leader of the rebellion that had made him the Sultan of that apostate part of the Chinese Empire. She had also heard that, though he was a Muslim, he respected other religions and was a tolerant man. And he was interested in finding allies among the European powers.
The Sultan looked at Andrea who forced herself to stay calm, even when the servants removed the blanket, leaving her naked to his eyes. However, Du Wenxiu did not seem to be interested in her physical charms.
„You British?“, he asked in broken, but understandable English.
„Nnnggg!“
Andrea shook her head no.
He looked at her for a few seconds, then, he smiled:
„American!“
Andrea nodded.
„Good! You teacher for me!“
With the few words he knew and many gestures he explained her that he wanted to learn English to be able to have negotiations with the British in India whom he wanted to support him. But obviously, he was not interested in starting with the lessons right now, for he ordered her to be brought to the harem without taking the gag from her mouth.
„I was brought to a luxuriously furnished room where some women took care of me. To my surprise, only two of them were Chinese. The other two were Whites.“
„So, the Sultan is collecting white women to share his bed, like an evil potentate in a Yellow Press novel?“, Charlotte asked. Andrea shook her head.
„Not exactly. He is interested in learning more about the Europeans and to learn their languages. in the two or three weeks I was in his palace, he nad me were always fully dressed.“
She blushed slightly and Charlotte`s cheeks reddened slightly, too.
A little blonde girl introduced herself as Olga. She had a pretty face and, as far as her dress revealed, a shapely buxom figure, but there was a sly glance in her brown eyes. The other one, also a blonde with brown eyes, but taller than Andrea, told her her name was Arlette.
The communication turned out to be a bit difficult for neither Arlette nor Olga spoke English, but Andrea knew a little French and so she could speak at least to Arlette. Both the French and the Russian were quite fluent in Chinese and so, after a while she knew a bit about her companions.
Olga had been abducted from the Russian-Persian border some five years ago and, after some stopovers, had found her way into Du Wenxiu`s harem. Arlette was the fiance of a French military advisor who supported the Imperial troops at the border to the Sultanate. One night in the last year, she had been abducted from her bed and brought here.
„The two Chinese turned out to be Mei, the concubine of the Sultan. She was a friendly and charming woman, or rather a girl for she can`t be older than 19. she immediately ordered her lady`s maid, whose name is Wanjun, to free me from my ties and the gag. Then, whilst she personally handed me some tea, she ordered Wanjun to fetch some fitting clothes for me.
Well, for the next two weeks, I had nothing to be afraid of, except for my worries about Zenobia. And about Diane, of course. Wanjun, who was allowed to leave the palace sometimes, had talked to a servant in the house of the silk trader that had bought them, but since they had been brought to the harem, he hadn`t been able to manage an exchange of messages without risking his health. But, at least so they assured me, he would recognize it if something really bad would happen to them.
Every day, I had to spend two hours with the Sultan. He wanted me to talk about almost everything, as long as he could practice his English. Sometimes, Mei or Arlette participated in these lessons. They had warned me not to plead about being set free or such things. According to the law he himself was preciding, he had regularily bought me and considered me as his property. Except for this, he was quite friendly and very keen to learn. And for the rest of the day, I could stay in the harem and talk to the others or read or learn Chinese. Well, and that`s my story so far.“
Charlotte frowned: „What do you mean, that?s it? If that had been your whole story, why did we find you in a crate in front of our door some 100 miles from Dali. Bound, gagged and stark naked, if this is worth mentioning.“
Andrea slightly blushed, then, she said:
„I don`t know. Really, I would tell you if I did. One evening, I went to bed and when I woke up, I found myself tied up and gagged in that box. They must have drugged me or something like that, but I don`t know who did this to me, nor why he did it.“
Charlotte was more than a bit disappointed about the abruprt ending of Andrea`s story, but a look into her guest`s eyes told her she was telling the truth. However, she still believed that Andrea hadn`t told her everything.
***
This time, Andrea had not kept some embarrassing details for herself. Instead, she had been the victim of something that had been a mixture of a psychological experiment and a political intrigue. None of the four women with whom she had spent the two weeks in Du Wenxiu`s palace were as friendly and harmless as they seemed to be.
They had told Andrea the truth about why they were in the harem, but they were far more than just fellow sufferers. Mei, being of noble birth and made the Sultan`s concubine by her uncle for to secure an alliance between their families, wanted to increase her power. Her role model was the Empress Dowager, who had started as a concubine and who now was the real ruler of China.
However, she had not been able to give birth to a son yet. The Sultan preferred his other wives who were real Princesses, not just the niece of a rich salesman. So, she had to find another way to his heart. And the key to that would be the British.
Mei knew that the Sultan would have done everything for a military alliance with Britain. However, the negotiations with the British group in Tengyue had failed to be a success, since the Europeans had only claims and nothing of value to offer. They knew too well that they were in the better position. But if they made a mistake, if they for example tried to get to Dali without an invitation and to get into the palace, the Sultan could arrest them and then, having some hostages, he would be the one who was in the better position.
Her first thought had been to fake an invitation to lure the British to Dali, but now, this American woman was a present from the gods. If they would send her to Tengyue, the British would at least become curious. And if she told them about the Sultan having European slaves, they would perhaps try to get him to set them free. Of course, they would not attack the city, but they sure would send someone to spy if the story was true. And if they caught that spy, and if she played her cards right, they would have a hostage then. Then, only then, Mei had decided, she would reveal to the Sultan that she had been behind all that.
It had been easy to get the others to join in her plan. Wanjun, who always seemed to be a bit bored by the life in the harem, was her loyal maid and to Arlette, she had promised freedom in the forseeable future. Olga had been content with some diamond earrings.
Of course, to make the British curious, the bait had to be a bit mysterious, and so, they had decided to send Andrea like a gift from an unknown sender. In addition, they had tried to play a bit with both Andrea`s body and soul.
Wanjun, who knew a lot about herbs and drugs, had mixed a drink that let the consumer fall into a semi-conscious state in which he recognized everything that was done to him, but only like a dream or a halluzination. And when the drug`s effect was gone, the victim had only a vague memory of the last hours, just like it had had a bad dream. Mei thought that, even if they could not plant some posthypnotic orders in her mind, they could at least have some fun with her.
So, one evening Mei invited the girls to have an evening tea with her. Andrea`s had been mixed with the drug and so, she had soon gone to bed. little later, the four women had stepped to her side and began to caress her. Andrea moved slowly under their hands and opened her eyes, but her look told them that she was absent-minded.
„Do you want to try something new?“, Mei asked her.
„Something new?“, Andrea asked in a drawling voice. Mei started to pull her nightgown over her head. Andrea offered no resistance, she just looked questioningly.
„We just have to make sure that you do not hurt us if you get carried away.“
Though she had pretended otherwise, Mei was fluent in English. Again, Andrea only looked at her with widened eyes and slowly wriggled her arms and legs when they tied them to the bedposts. With silk scarves, to leave no traces.
„Why-?“, Andrea began, but Mei gently, but firmly stuffed the knickers Andrea had been gagged with by her arrival into the woman`s mouth. Andrea made small sounds, but did only weakly resist being gagged. Mei caressed her hair with her free hand.
„Shh, dear. It`s just that you don`t wake the Sultan.“
„Mhhmm?“
But Mei only wrapped a scarf between her lips and twice around her head before knotting it off in her neck. Andrea mmphed slightly, but Mei kissed her forehead.
„Shhh, just relax and enjoy.“
She began playing with Andrea`s hair and caressed her neck. The same time, Wanjun climbed on the bed, placed herself between Andrea`s open legs and began to slightly tickle her popliteals.
„Mhhmmph! Uuhhmmph!“
Andrea squirmed in her bonds, but her movements were slowed down and she still did not seem to fully realize what was happening.
Mei now massaged her neck and shoulders whilst Wanjun`s fingers wandered slowly, very slowly upwards on the inner side of her thighs. Arlette and Olga stood by the sides of the bed and waited. They knew that the two Chinese liked such games, but they were both a bit reluctant to join in. However, they knew what they were told and waited, watching Andrea. She began to breathe deeper and after a while, she closed her eyes.
„Mhhmmmm! Uhhhmmmm!“
Both Olga and Arlette could see that Andrea`s nipples were growing hard. They both went on their knees and began to caress and knead one of her boobs.
„Mhhmmm? Uuuhhmmmmm! Mmmhhhmmmmmm! Hhhhhhmmmmmmm!“
Andrea only shortly opened her eyes and mewed with surprise, but then, she once again just enjoyed what the four women did to her.
Wanjun had now reached the top of her thighs and her fingers circled around Andrea`s labia maiora.
„Uuuhhmmmm! Mhhmmmmmmm! Hhhrrrrrrrr! Uuuhhhhmmmm!“
She began to move her hands and tried to get her now swollen clit and labia closer to the woman`s hands. Wanjun let her fingers slide inside her, searched and found.
„Uuuuhhhhhmmmmm! Mmmmhhhmmmmmmm! Mph! Mph! Mhhmmmmmmmmm!“
the three others stopped in caressing Andrea when she started to move faster and moaned quite vocally. Mei feared that the drug had worn off, but it was just Andrea`s arousal that made her lose control more and more.
Mei began to breathe faster, too. Her arousal derived from the feeling of power. Andrea was six inches taller and 14 years older than her, but here she was lzing helpless to her feet, squirming under the hands of her and the others and unable to withstand their caresses. She watched and listened closely to Andrea`s sighs and mews and when she felt that Andrea was near the peak, she told Wanjun to stop.
„Mhmm? Uhmmphgg! Gnnn!“
Andrea mumbled through her gag and looked at Mei with blinking eyes. The Chinese undid the scarf and took the knickers from her mouth.
„Why...please...go on“, she uttered with her insecure voice.
Mei climbed on the bed, put her lower legs under Andrea`s shoulders and lifted the skirtings of her nightgown. Then, she lowered her pubic mound towards Andrea`s face who said something unintelligible.
When Mei felt that her pussy was in contact with Andrea`s lips, she let the skirt go, covering her lap and the other woman`s lap from view. She gave Wanjun a sign to continue.
Soon, the moans of two women filled the room. Andrea seemed to have understood what was expected from her and she tried to please Mei with her lips and tongue. She had never before done that to a woman, but the situation was self-explaining and her instincts told her what to do.
„Zenobia“, she mumbled, but according to Mei, she could have recitated the Pledge of Allegiance, as long as she moved her mouth. The Chinese moved her hips and pressed her pubic mound against Andrea`s face. Arlette and Olga had stepped beside and watched the scene from a yard`s distance. Whilst Arlette seemed a bit sceptically, Olga`s cheeks were reddened and she breathed deeper. This was indeed a fascinating show!
However, it wasn`t a fair game. Whenever Wajun felt that Andrea was close to orgasm, she stopped and withdrew her hands. The increasingly desparate Andrea energetically worked on Mei`s private parts with her mouth, trying to give her what she wanted only to get rewarded, too. Mei tried to prolong her ride for as long as she could, but finally, she had to oppress a cry of lust and after a heavy spasm, she suddenly collapsed and went down from the bed on shaky legs.
„Whooo“, she breathed and wiped some sweat from her face, as if she had done a sportive exercise. Wanjun had left the bed, too. Arlette, shook her head, thinking her part about such behaviour, but Olga came close to her and whispered:
„Please, Mistress, may I-“
„Tomorrow, my dear, tomorrow. We will have her for some time, but for today, it`s enough.“
„What...about...me?“, Andrea asked from the bed. Mei reached for the balled up knickers. First, Andrea thought she would gag her again, but Mei only wiped Andrea`s face which was wet from sweat and Mei`s juices. Then, she gently dabbed her wet middle with the sodden silk.
„Tomorrow, maybe, my dear Andrea. Or another night. Just remember to bring the British here once you see them. The British. Here. Then, you will be rewarded.“
Andrea wanted to say something, but Mei bent forward and kissed her. After a while, Andrea kissed her back. It was the first kiss between her and Zenobia that had not happened yet, though they had experienced almost everything else two loving women could. But they had always been thoroughly gagged whilst doing so and had had no time to talk, let alone kiss, since then. But now, the drug and the unfulfilled desire distracted her mind from thinking clearly.
Mei withdrew and said:
„Now sleep, sweet Andrea, and have pleasant dreams. Just remember to get the British here once you see them.“
They loosened the silk scarves from her limbs and carefully hid them, together with the knickers that had gagged her. Andrea blinked with her eyes, then, she rolled into a fetal position and soon, she was sleeping soundly.
Wanjun was an expert in drugs and as promised, the next morning Andrea didn`t remember anything. She considered the vague memories of being bound and gagged and having experienced intimate moments with another woman to have been an intensive dream. She seemed a bit awkward when talking to the others, but it was clear that she didn`t know what had actually happened to her the previous night.
In the nights to follow, they repeated what they had done to her. Of course, they varied their games a bit and as promised, Olga was allowed to get her fun, too. The only thing that remained the same was that Andrea was only teased, but never satisfied during these nights of passion she did not realize, except for her subconscious. However, altough it seemed that everything went on as they had planned – and brought them some pleasure, too - , their plan to make Andrea remember to get the British to Dali without knowing that didn`t work out.
As long as she wasn`t drugged, Andrea was quite good in hiding her feelings, and so, Mei and her companions didn`t realize that their experiment was slightly missing it`s original goal. Andrea simply did not remember anything they again and again told her about the British. She just felt a growing carnal desire deep inside her and this was somehow not connected with Zenobia, but with Mei. It wasn`t love. This feeling, Andrea now knew for sure, was reserved for Zenobia. But she more and more felt that she wanted to have Mei, the sooner, the better. She tried to oppress her feelings, but it became more and more difficult to remain calm in Mei`s presence, who during the day was just the kind and gentle Mistress who treated her servants more as if they were her friends.
However, before it became evident that Andrea`s breath accelerated every time she saw Mei, the four others decided that it was time to place the bait. They had decided to get her to the British in a way that would give them something to think whilst Andrea would only be able to tell them that she had been in the harem and been the Sultan`s English teacher. However, they would notice that something was wrong with her and this, combined with the sheer presence of a white woman in an Asian ruler`s harem, would wake their curiosity and maybe, their indignation. Mei expected that their potential hostages would arrive the next week.
So, on December the 31st, Arlette remembered Andrea of the end of the year and she and Olga organized a bottle of wine. Du Wenxiu was quite liberal towards the drinking of alcohol, but it was impossible to get Champagne in Dali, even for inhabitants of the palace. The glass of Andrea had been mixed with a strong sleeping drug and soon after she had drunk, she sank on a sofa and slept.
The others knew that time was on the essence. Dali was some 100 miles away and even with fast horses and the possibility to change them every 25 miles, the two men they had hired for delivering Andrea would need some eight to ten hours to get there and so, they had to stow her immediately. Quickly, they stripped her naked, tied her up and gagged her thoroughly before putting her in the prepared crate. This crate, the brought to a small door where the men were waiting. Wanjun gave each of them some gold and they disappeared.
***
„Andrea, are you with me?“
Again, Charlotte had to interrupt Andrea whose thoughts had been somewhere else. She still did not remember what had happened to her during the nights in the palace, but vague memories often distracted her and Dr. Royston had considered that she was suffering from some trauma. However, Andrea, who knew how it felt to be abducted, bound and gagged, felt different than during previous ordeals.
„Oh, sorry Charlotte! I had to think about – Zenobia.“
„Well, so did I, believe it or not. You said that she was bought by some man in Dali, together with Diane. So, she might still be in the town. I have already told it to Captain Tyler. However, he only wants to make a report to his superiors, but he doesn`t dare to go there and has all men under his command forbidden to do so. He says that this is a job for the consulate and he doesn`t want to risk any danger for our small group.“
„But-“
Charlotte smiled and grabbed Andrea`s arm.
„But I am no man under his command and neither are my two assistants. We will go this night, for the Captain would sure not allow us to go. But we can`t let two American women in the clutches of an evil slaver!“
„Bring the British here!“
for the fraction of a momnet, this thought came up into Andrea`s mind. And, even shorter, something deep inside warned her to do so. Unwillingly, she pushed that thought aside and turned to Charlotte.
„Going to Dali and rescue Zenobia? I-I don`t know what to say.“
„How about let`s go?“, Charlotte proposed with a broad smile. Andrea hugged the redhead, but then, she hesitated:
„But, we are only women. What can we do against this man, or someone from the palace, or someone on our way who.“
„I thought you love her“, Charlotte interrupted her concerns. Actually, though everything Charlotte had said about freing a slaved woman had been her true intention, her biggest impetus was something else: lust for a real adventure!
Of course, Andrea now could no longer hesitate without seeming selfish or cowardly. Charlotte was exited and continued talking:
„Can you ride a horse and know how to use a gun?“
„I have lived in Arizona for eight years“, Andra answered with a smile.
***