„Damned! How could that happen, you foolish bitch?“
Viola was more than a bit outraged when they had changed the shifts and had discovered that Arina had gone. Since the latch of the floor lid still was open, it had not been hard to tell how the girl had escaped, but they could not tell if it had happened five minutes or a few hours ago. And Isabella sure would not tell them that.
„We can easily get her“, Emilia tried to calm Viola down, „even if she managed to get free, she still is nearly naked and does not know where to go.“
For a few seconds, Viola kept on panting and fuming, but then, she accepted that there was no use in lamenting and that punishing Emilia or Carmencita for having been asleep would not help the matter either. But they could not stop for a hunting party, since time was on the agenda. On the other hand, if the wrong people would discover Arina and they would tell them what they knew, their mission would be in severe danger.
„Right. You and Carmencita will go for her. Since you will be riding and we have to take the cart, you will catch up to us, sooner or later. But before, let`s take care that no one of our other guests decides to follow Arina.“
Viola stepped inside the cart. Isabella, who had some movement, since Arina was gone, had wriggled from under the bed and was looking at her with a mixture of fear and anger. Marita and Aurora, still wrapped in their blanket, were still securely stowed under the bed.
Viola closed the latch and secured it with a padlock. Then, she took her knife and cut some lengths of rope.
„Inez, a hand, please.“
Despite the girl`s wriggling and squirming, the two women had no difficulty in putting Isabella into a tight hogtie. They did not just tie her wrists to her ankles, but folded her legs even more and tied her ankles to her elbow tie. Now, Isabella`s back was arched back in a hideous bow and when they rolled her on her stomach, she desperately tried to find a position that allowed her to lie without pain. Inez tied Isabella`s wrists to her knees, then, they let the girl alone for the moment, taking care of Aurora and Marita.
„Mmmhhmmmph! Nnnnngggg!“
Their muffled protests did not help the poor captives. Soon, all three girls were hogtied in the same way and lying side by side, lined up between the two beds. However, Viola and Inez weren`t finished.
Inez took a long stick and pushed it between the girls`s butts and their hogtied limbs whilst Viola was threading a long rope through a hook in the ceiling. Then. The two renegades each took one end of the stick and began to lift it up.
„Mmhhhhrrrrrr! Uuuuhhmmmmmphh! Gghhhhmmmmmmmm!“
The three helpless girls screamed through their gags as their folded arms and legs were pulled upwards, lifting their thighs off the ground and pressing their scantily clad bodies even closer together. Viola and Inez tied the stick`s ends to the two dangling rope ends, forcing the captives to keep that position.
Drawing by hugues66
„Just remind it could be worse. You could be naked or there could be an additional rope, running directly through your crotches.“
Viola laughed, but deep inside, she shuddered, remembering when she had been in the very predicament she had just described. Followed by the girls`s frantic moaning, she and Inez left the cart.
Meanwhile, Carmencita and Emilia had changed into men`s clothes and had saddled their reserve horses. Viola handed them a long lasso, two canteens and a small bag with food. Then, the two women rode away to search for Arina.
Viola ordered Inez to guard the captives inside the cart whilst she would drive the cart. So, Inez entered the hutch and said:
„You better pray for my colleagues to find your friend soon. Because, you will be bound and gagged like you are now as long as it takes them to get back to us.“
***
Elisabeth von Habsburg was ambitious. This was hardly a surprise, since she was only a very distant relative of the Imperial house of Austria and her ancestors had not equipped her with wealth either. Her only chance of getting into a better position was a good marriage, but this required an equally good dowry. So, Elisabeth had decided to keep on her grand cousins tracks. He was the only one who could make up a career as a governor in the reign of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Up to now, he was just the mayor of that little town, but he still was a young man. The only matter of importance however was that he would hold this town against all enemies until the Emperor had managed to find new, stronger allies and to oppress the Mexican rebellion. If her cousin would proof to be the brave man who managed to stand the expected siege of Torreon, the Emperor would have no other choice than to give him a high rank. And then, she could start a decent living at the court of Mexico City.
So, whilst lolling about in her bathtub, Elisabeth day-dreamed about being the bride of a handsome nobleman, when she suddenly heard a sound from the door behind her. Without turning her head, she said:
„Ah, Mitzi, take care of my hair, please.“
To her surprise and slight anger, Mitzi did not answer her, but she felt that a hand was lifting up her long hair that was hanging loosely over the rim of the bathtub. Then, she felt a brush working through her hair.
„Ow, so you have finally understood how to do it.“
Elisabeth had told Mitzi several times how she liked her hair to be brushed and now, the girl seemed to have learned it. The strokes of the brush were gentle, but also firm and miraculously, this time she never pulled on her scalp when trying to loose a knotted curl. Elisabeth closed her eyes and enjoyed the procedure, from time to time sighing slightly.
„Mitzi, my dear, have you secretly trained that? You are really an expert now.“
„Well, I should be, since I`ve been a hairdresser back in Bavaria“, a man`s voice said.
Elisabeth tore open her eyes, only to look at two men who were bending over her. She wanted to scream, but in a second, the two men grabbed her arms and the one who had done her hair grabbed her scalp and pulled her head back whilst he pressed something on her mouth with his other hand.
„Ooouuuhhmmmmm! Mmmhhhhrrrrrrr! Uuuhhmmmmph!“
Elisabeth flailed with her legs, spilling some water on the floor, and tried to free her arms. Frantically, she screamed into the wad that was pressed deeper and deeper into her mouth, but the man just pulled harder on her scalp, forcing her to keep her jaws open and allowing him to wedge the cloth seep inside her throat.
„Hhhrrrrrmmmmm! Ggghhhhmmmm! Mph!“
The gag tickled the back of her throat, making her retch. Finally, when he could not get the wad any further, he released her hair and stepped beside her. The same moment, the two men holding her arms lifted her up, forcing the naked and dripping Elisabeth to stand in the bathtub.
„Uuhhmmmm! Gghhmmmmmm!“
„Don`t dare to spit these out!“, the man said, raising a vicious looking knife. Elisabeth fumed and tried to get the mass of cloth from her mouth, despite the order. But with her tongue trapped by the huge gag, she could only work them out millimetre by millimetre, this giving the man all the time to look at her naked forms. Suddenly, Elisabeth too realized that she was totally nude in front of three strange men. She blushed violently and tried to free her hands to cover herself. By crossing her legs, she tried to protect at least her most intimate parts from being viewed. Only her father and a doctor had seen her naked so far and the sheer humiliation of her situation was even worse to her than the fact that she was attacked by some burglars.
„Behave, and you may be treated with gentleness. Maybe, we will even allow you to dress before we leave. Nod if you understand!“
„Mmmhhmmmph!“
Elisabeth still was more angry and embarrassed than frightened and so, she fumed at the man and stared daggers at him.
Kilian grinned. The fact that he was wearing glasses, could read books and was quite fluent in French, English and Spanish made the others often think that he was an intellectual. Kilian had enjoyed some education, but indeed, he had been just a hairdresser in Munich, although in one of the best salons. His female customers had been raving about his „magic hands“ and his life could have been that of a successful employee. However, some of his regulars had become too attracted by him and so, sometimes, they had met him on private. Kilian had never forced a woman to do anything, but there had been rumours and when one of the women had been dissappointed by him, she had accused him of rape. Others had followed and Kilian had been thrown into prison from where he had only escaped with the help of Heinrich, a convicted burglar that had managed to break through the cell`s door. Hunted by the police, they had decided to leave the country and had finally found their way into the Stranger`s Legion.
Being a soldier wasn`t the worst job in life, but from that day on, Kilian wanted revenge on women. Not on all women, of course. All the laundry women, waitresses and whores he usually had to do with considered him to be friendly and gentle. But he had sworn to himself that once he had the opportunity, a female member of the aristocracy would have to pay for what had been done to him. And now, such an opportunity was standing right in front of him – stark naked and with the knickers of her maid stuffed into her mouth.
„All right, here`s the deal: if you obey all of our orders, we will just tie your hands and gag you, and you will be given a bathrobe. But every sign of disobedience will be punished. Did you get me?“
„Ooouuuhhmmmmm!“
With a giant effort, Elisabeth once again tried to work the gag from her mouth. When Kilian tried to grab her chin, she moved her head away.
„That`s two signs of disobedience – Lizzy! Now behave and get out of that bathtub!“
Elisabeth fumed and refused to move her legs and so, Pedro and Heinrich just lifted her by her arms and put her on the carpeted floor. The girl squirmed when they tied her wrists behind her back and when Kilian tried to push her gag back into her throat, she tried to kick him, but did not cause any damage.
„Mmmhhhrrrrrrr!“
Kilian once again grabbed her scalp and forced her head back. Then, he mercilessly stuffed the knickers back until Elisabeth was retching and gurgling. Then, he took the belt of her silky bathrobe and tied that between the girl`s lips to prevent her from spitting the gag out.
„Uuuuuhhmmm! Mph!“
Kilian now took a large towel.
„We don`t want you to catch a cold, Lizzy. So, since you already have showed four signs of disobedience so far, will you behave and hold still while I will towel your body?“
„Mmhhmmmph! Nnnnggg!“
Elisabeth shook her head violently and once again tried to kick him. Kilian nodded with a somehow sad smile.
„Right, now, it`s six. Perhaps, we should work off these before I will ask you again. Number one is that you will not be allowed a bathrobe. Number two is that we will tie your elbows, too.“
The girl mewed with pain when Pedro tied her elbows, making sure her joints not only met, but were crushed together. Then, she blushed even deeper when she realized that the new position forced her to thrust out her medium-sized, but shapely boobs.
„Mmmhhmmmm!“
„Number three, your fingers.“
Obviously in no hurry, Kilian took her black silk stockings from the pile of clothes lying nearby. Carefully, he pulled one of them over her hands and up her lower arms, trapping her fingers in it. Elisabeth tried to ball her hands to fists, but he kept her from doing so and pulled the other stocking over her hands, too. Then, he completed the wrapping with a leather thong he carefully soaked in the bathtub before tightly tying it around and aruond her fingers, totally immobilizing them.
„Trying to resist the finger tie adds to your punishment list. Now, we have four again.“
„Mmmhhhmmmph!“
Elisabeth once more bucked in the men`s vice grip. Kilian faked a deep yawn before he said:
„You know what, I am afraid that you just have a fundamental problem with authority – as long as you are not the one to give orders, but the one to receive them. We will just tie you up and gag you in a way that will show you how inconvenient it is to be so contrariwise.“
„By the way, how do you want to transport her? Our destination`s some 12 miles away and none of us is a good rider“, Heinrich asked.
Kilian scratched his head and looked around. The abandoned monastery was an outpost in the mountains. It had been established by monks some two centuries ago and for a while, there had even been an inquisitor, but some 50 years ago, the monks had left the monastery and went back to Torreon. According to Preud`homme, there was a well with fresh water and even some orange trees within the walls. He and his colleagues had also filled their backpacks with provision for a few days, but Preud`homme had told them that the only way to leave the city unseen were the sewers – a place where one could not take a horse or a cart with him. And since he wanted to keep his mission a secret, he could not prepare horses for them outside Torreon either. Kilian looked at the clock on the mantlepiece.
„Now, it`s half past ten. Let`s say we need another 30 minutes to pack that naked beauty here“, he looked at Elisabeth who shivered and let out a muffled grunt, „and some hour to reach the path to the monastery. Then, we have some six hours for a twelve miles walk. We are soldiers, so, we can do it, even with some excess baggage.“
Looking around once more, he discovered that the curtains were hanging from a long, thick stick. He removed it from it`s halterings and threw the curtains to the floor. The stick was some three yards in length. Reaching for Heinrich`s bag, he took a little saw and began his work, watched by his colleagues and Elisabeth, who continued to wriggle in the men`s grip and was trying to communicate through her gag. Now, the taste of Heidi`s knickers had reached her senses, but she was too exited to care about this humiliation.
When Kilian was finished, he had prepared something that looked like a wooden cross, held together by ropes. He had even cut some grooves into the stick to prevent the ropes from moving. More grooves went arond the four ends of the two crossed sticks. To each of the ends, a leather thong was tied, with an end of about one yard dangling from it. From the crossing point, two more thongs were dangling.
„Mmmhhhhrrrr! Uuhhhmmmmm! Nnnnggg!“
„Once she is tied to that, we will have to take care of her gag. I am afraid that she is too loud.“
Pedro and Heinrich held the girl still when Kilian took the cross and threaded the longest end between her back and her bound arms from below, until the crossing point of the two sticks was close to her wrists. Taking one of the thongs, he tied her hands to the cross. Then, he took the thong dangling from what now was the upper part of the reversed cross. It ended some five inches above Elisabeth`s head. Kilian pushed the thong through the girl`s left armpit from behind and pulled it tight. Then, he put the rope over her chest, right above her thrust out breasts, and threaded it through her right armpit. Again, he pulled until there was no slack and tied it off to the stick`s end. Now, Elisabeth`s upper body was stretched, the thong cut into her armpits and connected her to the stick. The girl mewed with pain and discomfort, but worse was to come soon.
Without warning, Kilian grabbed the blonde`s right leg and bent it to the side. Elisabeth desparately tried to keep balance standing on one leg and almost died from the humiliation of having her legs opened. Kilian took the thong and tied her right knee to the stick`s end. The others forced her down and he tied her left knee to the other side.
„Mmmhhrrrrrr! Uuhhhmmmmm! Nnnnnnngggg! Nnnnngggg!“
Now, Elisabeth had her thighs splayed open and she was blushing even deeper. Smiling sardonically, Kilian reached between her legs and took the other thong that was connected to the crossing point. Elisabeth screamed through her gag when the thin rope came in contact with the soft flesh between her legs. Still smiling, Kilian took the end of the thong and tickled her belly button with it.
„Mmhhmmmph! Uuuhhhmmm!“
„Pedro, Heinrich, tie her feet together, please.“
„Uuuhhhmmmmmmph! Mmmhhhrrrrrr! Uuuhhhnmmmmmm! Mph! Mph!“
Elisabeth`s eyes nearly popped out when the two men did as they had been told. Once her feet had been lifted from the ground, her body`s weight was held only by the thong running through her armpits – and by the one running through her crotch. A line of fire between her legs tried to find a way inside her and a combination of gravity, her position with her legs obscenely spread and the fact that her body was still damp, half from the bath and half from perspiration, made the rope sink between her labia and cut into her clit. Kilian tied the thong`s end to the rope holding her upper body to the stick whilst Pedro and Heinrich were trying to get her feet close enough to tie them up. However, since her thighs were bent almost rectangular, her ankles could not meet, since her lower legs of cours were a bit shorter than her upper legs. But unfortunately for the girl, Pedro found a fitting solution: he took the thong dangling from the lower end of the stick and took that to tie her big toes together. Not only was this position very, very inconvenient and straining, it also prevented her from thrashing about with her feet.
„Mmmhhhhmmmmph! Uuhhmmmmmm! Nnnnggggg!“
„Oh, I haven`t forgotten about your gag, no need to remind me of that!“
Elisabeth felt a slight relieve when she was lowered to the ground. Now, her body rested on her arms and the crotch rope still cut into her, but at least, it no longer had to carry her weight. Frantically, she looked around, seeing that Kilian was cutting her bathrobe into pieces. Then, he bent down to her and loosened the silk belt holding the knickers in her mouth. Despite her struggles, he stuffed them in a little deeper before wrapping the belt twice between her lips and tying it off with considerable strength.
„Mmmhhmmmph! Uuhhmmmmm!“
Kilian now protruded some cotton wool and began stuffing it into the little space left between her open lips. Then, he tied one of the robe`s sleeves over her mouth, covering her fache from nose to chin.
„Mmmph!“
„Oh, I don`t believe that`s the best you can do now“, Kilian said and squeezed one of her exposed nipples.
„Mmmhhrrrr!“
Now, the girl screamed from pain and humiliation, but indeed, she had become much quieter. Kilian moistened another leather thong and wrapped it around her gag five times before tying it off. Once the leather had dried, it would put additional pressure to her gags. Then, he used the other sleeve to blindfold her.
Elisabeth now felt him pull something over her head and seconds later, a specific fragrance tingled her nose. With horror and disgust, she realized that he must have pulled her worn knickers over her head, placing the crotch part over her nose, forcing her to breathe in her fragrance. She tried to scream, but now, her moans and grunts were almost inaudible even to her.
Drawing by hugues66
Kilian finished her gag by pulling a pillowcase over her head and knotting it around her neck. Then, Elisabeth felt a sharp pain in both her nipples. First, she thought that the man had bitten her, but the pain was not changing. Indeed, Kilian had just put two clothpins on her nipples. Then, he and Heinrich put the ends of the cross on their shoulders. The constant moving and the increasing presure on her crotch told the girl that they were walking down some stairs. When she heard indistinct noises, she tried to scream through her multiple gags, but obviously, no one was taking notice of her abduction. She panicked, but her struggles led to nowhere but increasing her pain, her screams were stifled by her gag and her tears were absorbed by the layers of cloth covering her face.
***
Arina had indeed managed to saw through her ties but now, even if she was no longer tied up and gagged, her position was little better off. She only had her knickers that did little to protect her from the cold and the cloth that had formerly gagged her and which she had tied over her breasts was only a small protection of her modesty. Arina had learned that modesty wasn`t the most important thing in life and she would have been glad if anyone but her captors would have come by, but she would have preferred to be more decently dressed. Suddenly, she saw a glimpse of light.
When she approached, she could see that indeed there was a mule tied to a dead tree and a person was sleeping by a campfire. From her position, Arina could not see anyone else. Perhaps, it was a farmer, or a traveller. Anyway, the fact that he was alone made it more likely that he was not a criminal and so, Arina stepped closer.
„If you are trying to rob me, you better learn to sneak better. Come here slowly or I will kill you right now.“
Arina was perplexed, not only by the fact that the stranger had noticed her, but by three other facts. First, the person had talked in English, not Spanish. Second, that person had a slight, but strange accent. And third, it was a woman. Slowly, Arina stepped to the fire.
Now, the woman rose and Arina could see that she was holding no gun and that she was even smaller than her 5`3``. when she looked closer, she could see that the woman was Chinese.
„Please, Miss, I have been kidnapped and I need help.“
„Well, then today`s your lucky day.“
Minutes later, Arina was sitting by the fire, wrapped in a blanket, drinking some tea the other woman who had introduced herself as Lien had prepared and was telling her about her predicament. Lien had still not shown any weapon, but there was something in her behaviour that made Arina feel secure and protected.
Indeed, Lien had been a bodyguard for a Princess until last year. And she was a skilled fighter, though she had, at least in her eyes, failed miserably in protecting her Princess, though not even Princess Jinjin had blamed her for what had happened.
In the last autumn, they had both been involved in a struggle between rivaling gangs in San Francisco, one of them led by Jinjin`s uncle. Lien had done her best to protect the Princess, but in the end, they had both ended naked, bound and gagged in the clutches of one of the gangs. Cheng, one of the gang members, had not only defeated her in a martial arts battle, but he had also been the first one who had managed to tie and gag her in a way she could not free herself, no matter how hard she had tried.
With little other opportunity than to give in, Lien had accepted Cheng`s proposal and for a while, there had been a strange routine in her life. She had taken her place as Princess Jinjin`s maid once again, who had miraculously fallen in love with another gang member and seemed to almost enjoy her new life as a gangster`s bride. Of course, this gang member had saved her from being brought back to a certain death in China, but Lien thought that Jinjin was not only grateful, but really in love.
Working as a maid was more than easy, since Yini, who had formerly run the business as „Madame Yini“, had to work as Jinjin`s lady`s maid, too. This Yini had no other chance than to do a good job, because if Jinjin found a reason to complain about something, Yini had to spent 12 hours in the stocks, naked, thoroughly gagged and with a tight rope bisecting her crotch. Lien knew only too well how painful and straining that was, for that was the way she had been kept for even longer times before Cheng had decided he could trust her.
However, Lien`s problem was not that Cheng was a dominant man. In fact, she would have had more problems in giving in to a weak man and he wasn`t a brute at all. He had sometimes kissed, caressed and teased her whilst she was still bound and gagged, but he had always released her before he slept with her and he even accepted it if she was not in the mood – a situation that hardly ever occured, since Lien had to admit that Cheng was a gentle and skilled lover and she never had to fake anything.
However, Lien was bored. Since there were several men protecting the house, Jinjin no longer needed a bodyguard. As her lady`s maid, she now had Yini. And she didn`t need her as a friend and familiar any longer, for she had found a soulmate in her lover.
Cheng had allowed her to help him with his business, but since he had come to an agreement with Jinjin`s uncle, this business consisted mostly of buying and selling Chinese tea and running the tea house. He had withdrawn from the other business during Madame Yini`s times – kidnapping white girls and selling them into slavery. Cheng had not done so from mercy, but now that the war was over the police did more controls. In addition, it had turned out that conveying Chinese workers for the Ocean-to-Ocean-railway that was about to be built was much more lucrative – and a legal business, too.
So, Lien could have become the honoured wife of a Chines businessman working in the USA – an easy, but boring life. For a while, her friendly feelings for Cheng (and his skills as a lover) had kept her, but after a few month, she had made her getaway in the midst of the night.
For several days, Lien had travelled almost nonstop, trying to blur her tracks. Then, she had started a living in the West. Sometimes, she worked as a farmhand, but more often, she went into the small cities and offered 100 Dollars to any man who could wrestle her down. Of course, many men tried to do so and paid their Dollar to give it a try. However, Lien still knew how to do Kung Fu and so, she never had to pay off anyone. Even those who tried to get their money back by attacking her from behind had to find out that Lien was too good for them.
Whenever she feared that her local fame had become too much and would attract Cheng`s attention, she travelled on and some day, Lien found out that she was not in the United States anymore. But despite she still spoke only a little Spanish, her life was the same as before. Still a bit boring, but at least she was free to go whereever she wanted.
But now, according to what Arina had told her, there was a real adventure waiting for her. Some criminal women who had assaulted her and her fellow showgirls and had kept them bound and gagged in their own cart for some days. It had to do something with the rebellion against the Emperor that was currently going on. Lien had decided to keep her fingers out of such things once and for all. The experience of the bloody Taiping rebellion had been just enough.
However, it could be both exiting and lucrative to help Arina. Once she had overpowered these female thugs, she could either hand them over to the authorities or force them to give her all the money they had stolen so far. Maybe, she even would do both.
„And if being a bounty hunter turns out to be not my thing, I can join their little show group and see some more of the world“, she decided.
„Excuse me, what`s so funny about my story?“, Arina asked slightly reproachful.
Involuntarily, Lien had smiled and of course, Arina considered this to be an inappropriate reaction to the story of her being stripped nearly naked, bound and gagged.
„Sorry, girl. I was just thinking of how stupid these villains will look once they find out that I am on your side. By the way, I hear the sound of approaching horses.“
Arina gasped and fearfully looked around. Then, she followed Lien who was hiding behind a nearby rock to await whoever was coming.
***