After some hour, the little group led by the Black Fox reached the patrol of Lieutenant Clusiot. The French was quite fluent in Chinese and so, they could start negotiations without an interpreter. Whilst the Black Fox`s two men remained by the horse on which Andrea was sitting, the Foreign Legionnaires were sitting some 20 yards away, relaxing orr playing cards, but with their guns in reach.
Charlotte, Amila and Ela watched the two talking men and from time to time looked at the hooded woman on the horse. She seemed to be tightly bound beneath the robe wrapped around her body. Since only her feet were visible, Charlotte couldn`t say wether it was Andrea or the kidnapped French girl the posse had been searching for. All they knew was that she was a White and that she was obviously not feeling comfortable, for from time to time she weakly flailed about with her lower legs.
„I presume that your female companion is not a French girl named Jacqueline Dusseau?“, Clusiot asked when they had sat down, drank some tea and exchanged some preliminaries.
„If I had her with me, you would have killed me, brought her back and accomplished your mission whilst my clan would end up without their leader and without any benefit from that meeting.“
„So, is she perhaps that Andrea the women over there“, he pointed at Charlotte and her servants, „were looking for and who has already been in your hands before, until you sold her on the slave market. An American citizen, that was not your best idea. The United States might be interested in engaging in that part of the world, too.“
The Black Fox smiled. He didn`t know much about policy, but he knew that a simple French Lieutenant – and not even his superior – could get the USA to send troops to Yunnan, just to save one woman of quite simple birth.
„My clan needs to live. All the thousand men, women and children I am responsible of.“
Actually, his clan numbered some 200 people, but perhaps, this little exaggeration would help him in the negotiations. Clusiot took a sip of his tea, then, he said:
„Maybe, there is a solution where your clan will have enough gold to live from, whilst our women are save from being abducted and sold.“
„Well, I have to admit that I am curious to hear about it“, the Black Fox said.
„Change sides. I am sure the Governor will accept to pay you any sum you demand if the Black Fox is now on the side of the Empire. You would not have to do more than now – you just would have to do it for the Empire, and against the Sultanate.“
The Black Fox thought about that idea for a while. Clusiot was not the first to offer him money for his loyalty, but he had seen no point in changing sides so far. However, he was first and foremost loyal to his clan, not to the Sultan he had never met personally.
„If the Sultan will hear about that, he will declare me a traitor. Any of my men who would fall into his hands would be slowly tortured to death.“
Clusiot reached under his jacked and produced his flask. Now that the Black Fox had not said no, it would be a matter of the prize. He offered the other man a drink before he took a sip.
„The finest cognac“, Clusiot said.
„I could get acquainted to the taste“, the Black Fox answered.
„Well, maybe, you would like to live somewhere west from here, where there is more of this drink in reach.“
The Black Fox was a warrior, not a diplomat and so, he decided to shorten the talking by getting directly to the point.
„In other words, you want me to leave my place, settle over somewhere around your artillery training camp and to become a part of the Imperial Army. But, up to now, I have been your enemy. Who will guarantee me that I will not end up in a grave whilst my head is put on a stake once I have reached your place.“
„I fear that my word of honour isn`t good enough for you“, Clusiot meant.
„Oh, you seem quite straight to me. But I doubt the word of the Governor, or that of the Empress Dowager.“
Clusiot had to find a reasonable solution. He knew that Colonel Delon had been given quite a sum for briberies, but if that brigant wanted too much, he would not be able to pay it. So, he decided to play with open cards.
„We could offer you 20 horses, 100 modern guns and enough ammunition. Does that sound interesting to you?“
„Well, 50 horses and 200 rifles are indeed of interest.“
After a while, they had agreed on 40 horses and 150 rifles. Clusiot was just wondering why the Black Fox was selling his loyalty so cheap when the Chinese added:
„We could call it a dowry, so to say.“
„Dowry? I beg your pardon?“
„A dowry for our guest. The little blonde you have been looking for. It happens that my son has an eye on her and wants her to become his wife. I know that she is the daughter of your superior.“
„Niece“, Clusiot interjected.
„Well, his niece then. Anyway, if our families will be related by the bands of marriage, your country will be less likely to hand me over to the Governor. You even might protect me from any Chinese reprisals.“
Clusiod had to take another sip of cognac. What the Black Fox really meant was that he would keep Jacqueline as a hostage. Delon did not actually like his niece, but he felt loyal to his family and would do nothing to harm the girl. On the other hand, Jacqueline would only be a good hostage as long as she was alive. So, if he agreed, he could calm his conscience by saying that he at least saved her life.
„You will treat her well?“
„Like a princess. After all, when I left, it looked as if she will become my stepdaughter soon. Maybe, next year I will be a grandfather.“
Clusiot looked closely into the Chinese`s eyes, but there was no hidden cruelty. Obviously, what he had said was not an euphemism for that Jacqueline had been raped, but it really meant that the blonde had been seduced by the Black Fox`s son. After all Clusiot knew about the girl he could easily believe that she had found some fun in his bed.
„Well, I can`t speak for your future grand cousin, Colonel Delon, but I am quite sure that he will accept this – proposal. Under one condition – the raids for slave girls will have to stop at once!“
The Black Fox looked at Clusiot, then at the bound and gagged Andrea, then at Clusiot again.
„I accept – if you allow me one last transaction. The Sultan himself is interested in her and so, I would not like to loose so much gold.“
Clusiot hesitated. He was against slavery, but on the other hand, the Empire he served practiced it, too, and the woman wasn`t even French. And so, he nodded.
„I agree. But I insist that she has to be the last.“
The two men shook hands when they suddenly heard the sound of a trigger pulled and a female voice shouted in broken Chinese:
„Take off your weapons and step over to your men.“
Charlotte had more or less overheard the two men`s negotiations. And though she hadn`t understood every detail, it was clear that Andrea was about to be sacrificed for a foul treaty. So, she had decided to act first.
The soldiers sitting beside her were more interested in his card play than in taking care of his rifle. So, she had ordered Ela to prepare for getting a gun, too and had stepped beside the man. In a second, the two women had grabbed two guns and were now aiming on the men. Ela was a lousy shootist, but she knew how to handle a gun, and so did Charlotte, who was really good in using a firearm.
When one of the soldiers tried to reach for his gun, she fired and hit his hand. This stopped the others from trying anything. Charlotte told the Black Fox`s two men to join the group and the men had to take off their arms and even their boots.
„Good. Now, get away 200 steps.“
The rifle would reach even wider, but it would be enough to mount the horses and to get away with Andrea before the men had reached their weapons and could start pursuing them.
When the group of men had obeyed, Amila brought three horses whilst Ela had taken the reins of the horse Andrea was sitting upon.
„We have to get away quickly! Just try not to fall off! We will free you as soon as possible!“
„Mph!“, was all Andrea could answer. She had been concentrating on breathing through the cloth layers of her hood and of the pair of used knickers and had not been able to understand what was going on. But now, the increasing speed of the horse told her that obviously Charlotte was making a getaway with her. The ropes tying her to the saddle prevented her from falling off, but she bounced and every move made her crotch rope tease her most intimate parts.
Some of the men wanted to run for their weapons immediately after they saw the girls riding away, but Clusiot told them to slow down.
„There is no need to hurry. After all, they are not our problem, but that of our new ally.“ To the Black Fox, he said:
„It looks as if you will be able to sell even four last slaves before retiring from that unholy business. You just have to catch them first.“
The Black Fox laughed.
„Tell my new grand cousin to expect me within three or four days. I just had to learn to never underestimate a woman, but I am afraid that my teachers will have to learn a few things, too. For example, that I never make the same mistake twice and that I am an excellent tracker.“
Without haste, he and his men put their boots back on and mounted their horses. Then, they followed the tracks of the vanished girls whilst Clusiot began to think how he could tell the Colonel the latest turn of events. Jacqueline was his relative, but having a notorious brigant on their side now would outweigh that. Clusiot was sure that Delon would finally agree to his decicion.
***
Zenobia knew that she would get mad from fear soon, but there was nothing she could do to change her current predicament or to even distract herself from her sorrows.
Though she was blindfolded, deafened and had her fingers encased in a tight leather sheath, she knew that she was trapped in a stone pit not bigger than an upright coffin. Whenever she tried to shift her position, her shoulders touched the rough surface of the walls surrounding her. The leather sheath covering her legs was made of stiff leather, preventing her from bending her legs, but even with her legs free, she would not have been able to crouch inside the narrow tube.
„Uuuhhhmmmm! Mmmhhhmmmmmm!“
Her screams, stifled by the giant mass of cloth crammed into her mouth, could not be heard by Zenobia by virtue of the wax stuffing her ears. She only felt the vibrations in her throat, but she knew that with her mouth so massively gagged, she could make no sound worth mentioning. The tight hood covering her head cut off all light and combined with the cloth tied over her nose, it also made breathing difficult. Zenobia had forced herself to calm down, since exitement would have caused her to pant and thus made her faint. However, as the time passed, each second as long as an eternity in her dark and narrow prison, she found it increasingly difficult not to panic.
Drawing by hugues66
„Uuuuhhhhmmmmm!“
Zenobia weakly squirmed and a sharp tug between her legs reminded her of the agonizing crotch strap applied to her. It bisected her into two and she had found out that even the slightest move turned the painful pressure into a burning sensation.
„At least, I can`t flail about and really hurt myself. How solicitous of my captors!“
The girl had to gather all her strength to pull herself together and not to giggle hysterically. She knew that if she allowed herself to lose her self control, she would end up in madness before physical damage would get her.
But every minute, every second, it became more difficult to remain sane and reasonable. Never before, not even in Dead Tree Valley, when she and Andrea had been left to die, she had felt so lost and lonely and helpless. In addition, not even the thought that if they had wanted to kill her, she would already be dead, gave any consolation. Zenobia knew that in China, letting someone die slowly and painful had a long and terrible tradition.
„Uuuuhhmmmmm! Mmmmhhhhmmmmmm! Mph!“
The humming sounds of her muffled screams echoed in her tiny prison and the girl needed all her strength to not bang her forehead against the pit`s wall.
***
The temple lay in the middle of a park of some four acres, surrounded by an overgrown hedge. There was only one opening to the narrow path leading to the little pavillon and trees and bushes hid the temple from view. It was an ideal place to prepare a trap, but also quite difficult to observe.
Mei was waiting inside, faking to be occupied with praying. On the roof of the pavillon, Olga was sitting, dressed in a set of black silk trousers and shirt. Beside her, she had a fishing net ready to be thrown over any possible attacker.
Wanjun had hidden near the entrance whilst Arlette was standing in plain sight with a gun in her hands. They knew that their presence would perhaps scare off Yamei, but it would have been too suspicious if there had been no visible guard.
Diane, also dressed in black, was patroling along the inside of the hedge, looking if someone would try to get inside the park. She was armed with a club, but Wanjun had ordered her just to scream for help if something happened.
Diane knew that Yamei would have Lin and Xiao on her side. Both were skilled fighters, but so was Wanjun and they outnumbered Yamei and her potential companions by two. However, she was afraid of the forthcoming attack and she also feared what had happened to Zenobia. She and the Black weren`t real close friends, but she did not want the other to really get hurt.
A rustling from behind made her spin around and Diane could see a black figure some three yards away.
„Heeeuummmph!“, she managed to yell before something hit her chest, blew the air from her lungs and sent her to the ground. Diane tried to get up and to defend herself, but Lin had already grabbed her wrists. Then, another sound could be heard. Wanjun attacked from the side and soon, the two Chinese girls were entangled in a martial arts fight whilst Diane was picking herself up from the ground.
Diane was fascinated by the elegance and quickness of the two girls`s moves, but after a few seconds, Diane forced herself to look for her companions. If Lin was here, that meant that Yamei and Xiao where somewhere around.
She sprinted to the pavillon where Olga was still in position and Mei had prepared for an attack, since the two girls had heard the sounds of the fight, too. Mei told Diane to look for Arlette. She reached the entrance of the park without any disturbance, but the tallish blonde had disappeared.
Diane looked around if Arlette was just hiding behind a tree. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and everything went black. Without a sound, Diane collapsed, but before she reached the ground, hands pulled her into the bushes.
***
After an hour`s ride through the hills, Charlotte made the little group stop by a little brook. Both they and the horses needed a break and some water and besides, the place could not be attacked by surprise.
Ela hid behind a rock with her rifle and looked for her pursuers and Charlotte and Amila loosened the ropes holding Andrea to her saddle and lowered her to the ground. Charlotte pulled the black hood from the woman`s head, only to see that she was also covered with a pair of sweaty knickers. When these had been removed, too, Charlotte looked into the blue eyes of Andrea who was thoroughly gagged by a mass of cloth held inside her mouth by a cloth strap. Her hair was sweaty and dishevelled and she mmphhed with a mixture of relief and impatience.
Drawing by hugues66
Amila, who had loosened the belt of Andrea`s rope, stepped back and gasped when she saw that the woman was stark naked and stringently bound. Especially the rope disappearing between the thatch of brown pubic hair confused the nervous Indian.
„Mhhmmmph!“
Andrea reminded her rescuers that freeing her was more important than taking care of modesty, though she blushed herself when she saw the looks of Charlotte and Amila. The redhead began working on Andrea`s wrist and elbow ties, but tried to avoid touching her breasts or loosening the crotch rope. After a while, Amila pulled herself together and worked on her knee tie, trying not to look at the other`s bare boobs and pubic area.
When Andrea`s arms were free, the two women turned away and she had to ungag herself. Andrea panted with relief when she could spit out the sodden knickers. Then, she quickly pulled the knotty rope from between her legs. Since the others were still looking in the other direction, Andrea quickly relieved her bladder before she was forced to make an almost ridiculous choice. She could either put on her own knickers that were totally wet with her saliva. Or she could put on those that had hooded her and were only damp from her sweat, but had once belonged to Diane. Since the only other dress she had was the robe, going commando wasn`t a real option.
Sighing, she put on the hooding knickers who were more substantial then hers and then, she put on the robe and closed the belt.
„I-I am ready“, she said.
Charlotte embraced her shortly. Then, she meant:
„All right, now we have to get on. We have to try to get back to Tengyue. Maybe, we can then make it to the embassy group.“
Andrea, who had just drank some water and regained some of her strength, slowly shook her head.
„I have to go to Dali. Zenobia`s still there, and I will ot rest until I know she`s doing well. I know that my chance is quite small, but I love her. Please, don`t try to retune me.“
Amila wanted to protest, but Charlotte nodded.
„Maybe, separating is not the worst idea, since they can`t follow two tracks the same time. But you have to understand that we have to keep the rifles. We only have two weapons and we might need them.“
„My plan was not to ride into the town and to free Zenobia by shooting everyone standing in my way. Just get me my horse and I will try my best.“
So, a few minutes later, Charlotte and her maids rode towards the south whilst Andrea was heading to the north. The latter was riding without a saddle, since the sidesaddle would not have allowed her to gallop. Andrea was frightened and she knew that she had a snowball`s chance in hell, but she owed Zenobia to at least start an attempt to free her.
***
„Two down, two to go!“, Yamei hissed. Xiao nodded and finished the last of the knots tying the still unconscious Diane.
Since time was on the essence, they had tied up the blonde quickly, but efficiently. After stuffing her mouth with a cloth rag and securing the gag with a cloth strip and a band of wet leather, they had tied the girl at wrists and elbows and folded her legs into a triangle. They had tied her left ankle to her right knee and vice versa. Then, Yamei grabbed Arlette, who was tied identically and was mmphing through her gag.
Yamei and Xiao turned both girls to their bellies and brought their folded lower legs close together before tying them to each other with some rope. Arlette tried to crawl away, but with her lower legs tied to Diane`s, she would have had to pull the other with her, too. Xiao and Yamei took the bound arms of both girls and pulled them as close together as they could, forcing them to arch their upper bodies back. Then, they tied Diane`s wrists to Arlette`s. The French mmphed and shook her head, but could not change her straining position. She rocked a bit back and forth, but now, Yamei and her maid could leave their victims and look for the other women.
Drawing by hugues66
Following the noises, they could see that the fight between Lin and Wanjun had come to an inglorious end, since Lin now was trapped in a web and Mei and Olga were carrying her inside the pavillon.
The fight between the two Chinese girls had been a masterpiece of martial arts, though there had been no audience. Since both were skilled fighters, none of them got hurt much. They had been able to block or avoid the other`s attacks again and again. Now, both girls were quite exhausted and were circling each other, waiting for the other`s defence to allow an attack.
Suddenly, a swish could be heard and before Lin could react, Olga and Mei threw the fishing net over her from behind.
„Ha!“, Wanjun panted. But a quick kick to her chest blew her to the ground. She had been careless for just one second and Lin had taken her chance. But now, she was wrestled down and dragged to the pavillon by her two other enemies. Trapped in the net, she could not fight the others off, despite her wriggling and flailing.
Wanjun was lying on her back and waited for the air to get back into her lungs. Suddenly, she saw a shadow bending over her. She wanted to warn Mei and Olga and tried to raise her hands to defend herself, but Xiao, who was neither exhausted from fighting nor half knocked out, was too quick.
The last thing Wanjun saw before she fell unconscious was the other girl`s triumphant smile.
***
„So, they have separated“, the Black Fox concluded from the tracks left by the four girls. In his hands, he held the discarded knickers that had gagged Andrea before. The girls now had a head start of some half an hour, but the area was quite rocky and the sun had set some hour ago.
„Shall we separate, too?“, one of his men asked. Though the women were armed and had proved that they could shoot, the three men felt like they were on a hunting trip.
„According to the tracks, one is trying to get to the north, to Dali. Silly plan, but maybe, she knows what she`s doing. Anyway, you will follow her whilst we will hunt for the others. We will meet at our camp tomorrow evening.“
He was confident that within the next 20 hours, they would be able to get hold of the girls and so, they only allowe dtheir horses to drink some water before they kept on hunting for their prey.
***
Both Xiao and Yamei knew that they would have to tie Wanjun in a way that would not allow her to free herself. Xiao was an expert escapologist, and so, she thought of a tie not even she would have been able to get loose from.
Whilst Yamei watched the pavillon, Xiao undressed the unconscious Wanjun and reached for the large bag they had brought with them. Taking a cloth, she balled up Wanjun`s left hand to a fist and wrapped it. She repeated the procedure with the girl`s other hand and then, she secured the cloths with two lengths of leather strings. Now, with her fingers immobilized, Wanjun would not be able to work on the ropes with which Xiao now tied her wrists and then wrapped around her lower arms till she could knot off the ends above her elbow joints squeezed together.
Wanjun`s hair was long and tied to a braid. To this braid, Xiao tied a long thin strap of braided leather and threaded it between Wanjun`s upper arms and her back. She worked the strap between the girl`s buttocks and labia and pulled. Using all her strength, she buried the rope deep between Wanjun`s legs and forced her to arch her head back in a painful way. Then, she tied the end around the other`s neck. She knotted the noose in a way Wanjun would not strangle herself, but would cause additional pain to her neck by moving her head or trying to bent her upper body. She turned the girl on her back and crossed her ankles before tying them. Then, she tied her bound feet to her crotch strap, right over her navel. Then, she turned her to her belly again.
Now, the girl`s feet were trapped under her body and each move of her legs would pull on both her crotch and her neck.
„Time for a gag“, Xiao thought.
She reached for Wanjun`s discarded loincloth, but decided against it. Then, she reached under her waistband and loosened her own loincloth. This, she crammed deeply into Wanjun`s throat. Then, she took a scarf and tied three overhand knots in it, forming a firm wad the size of a fist. This, she forced into the girl`s mouth too and tied the ends of the scarf off in her neck. Xiao completed the gag by wrapping a long silk bandage around the other`s mouth and a strip of wet leather securing all these cloths. Now, Xiao could see that Wanjun was regaining her consciousness. She blinked at her captor and let out a faint groan.
Drawing by hugues66
„Mmmhhhmmmmph!“
„Oh, I know I have to finish you off, just be patient.“
She pulled the trussed up Wanjun between two trees some five yards apart from each other. With two more ropes, she fixed the girl`s left knee to the tree left of her and the right knee to the other, putting additional pressure to her legs and preventing her from rolling over. Then, she took a last piece of rope, threaded it through the tight strap between Wanjun`s buttocks and fixed her bound arms to that rope. Now, every move of her arms, legs or Head would pull on Wanjun`s crotch and emphasize her helplessness. The girl mmphed and showed an angry glance, but Xiao knew that soon frustration would replace her fighting spirit. During her training, she had spent an entire day tied up like that and had not been able to loosen a single knot.
„Time to have a look for your Mistress“, Xiao said, slapped the other`s naked butt and went over to Yamei who was still observing the temple.
„I could hear some talking, but could not understand what they were talking about. But obviously, they have Lin in their hands and will kill her as soon as we try to get inside.“
„Well, we have three of her maids. I would say, that`s even better than a stalemate“, Xiao answered. Her mistress looked at her as if she had said something very silly.
„These maids do not mind anything to my sister. If she could get me by leaving them to their fate, Mei would not hesitate a second. I don`t know if you know chess, but in that game, the king is the only figure that matters. One must not hesitate to sacrifice any other pawn to reach his aim: victory and triumph!“
Xiao did not know the rules of chess, but she had understood something else. Not only was Mei completely unscrupulous, but her sister was also. Yamei would not mind if Lin would die, as long as she would get Mei into her clutches. Xiao did not really like Lin. The two girls were more concurrents than friends, though they had sometimes had some fun with each other. But though she felt no pity for the fact that Lin was currently bound and gagged in the hands of Mei, she did not wish her to get killed.
Then, there was Zenobia. Xiao had only spent some pleasureful nights with the Black to have some fun, but she also had developed friendly feelings towards her. She could not help admiring the love Zenobia felt for her missing friend Andrea, though she had not unwillingly responded to Xiao`s caresses. And now, Zenobia was suffering in a black pit and would suffocate if they would not come back for her rescue in the next few hours.
„What are you dreaming of?“, Yamei quite unfriendly asked her maid, „it`s time to think of our next step!“
„You are so right, Mistress“, Xiao admitted. Then, she quickly gave Yamei`s carotid arteries a hard blow with both her hands, knocking the other girl unconscious.
***