At six o`clock in the morning, the showgirl`s cart left the abandoned village. Since they now had six horses, they could travel on a constant speed of six miles an hour and Viola hoped to reach Torreon by the evening – despite the fact that there were now ten girls aboard the cart. However, only four of these were visible. Viola and Inez were sitting on the driver`s seat and Carmencita and Emilia were lolling about on the roof, watching the area with her rifles lying loosely by their sides.
About one hour ago, they had freed the girls and allowed them to relieve themselves before they had given them some bread and coffee. Both Zenobia and Paloma had tried to avoid the other`s views. They still felt ashamed about what had happened between them the last night – though both of them had definitely enjoyed it, too!
It had been a matter of bad timing, since when the aroused Paloma had climaxed, Zenobia had not been ready, but on the other hand no longer been able to stop. So, she had continued to thrust her pelvis against Paloma`s and soon, both girls had had their orgasm at the same time. Panting and covered with sweat, they had been lying together, unable to do or say anything about what they just had done.
Zenobia was feeling guilty because of Andrea. Of course, there had been little she could have done, but it had been her impetus to have sex with that girl, too. She looked into Paloma`s eyes and was astonished what she could see in them. It was gratefulness, passion – and love.
„Oh no, this poor thing now thinks that we are a couple! This will be hard to explain!“, she thought with dismay. Of course, she preferred this to if Paloma had been forced to do what she had done against her will, but it would be hard to tell that young – she guessed that Paloma was some five to seven years younger than her – and innocent girl that she had a relationship. Of course, Paloma had seen her and Andrea kissing, but there had been so much exitement that she perhaps had forgotten about that fact.
After a while, the young Mexican luckily had fallen asleep and so, Zenobia managed to doze off, too.
After the meal, it had been Zenobia who was led into the cart first. There, Inez folded her hands on her back and brought her forearms in a parallel position before tying a copious amount of rope around them. This position was more lenient than having the elbows tied, and it did not force her to thrust her bare boobs out, but also, it was quite difficult to work on any of the ropes. Now, Viola took a piece of wet leather from a bucket. This, she wrapped around Zenobia`s right hand and tied it off. She knew that one the leather had dried, she would not be able to move her fingers at all.
Of course, they also wrapped up her left hand. Then, Viola peeled down her knickers. Zenobia blushed and closed her eyes with embarrassment when Viola smelled on the white garment and commented on the fact that they still were slightly damp. Then, she put them aside and tied a rope tightly around Zenobia`s waist. The dangling end was then threaded over her bound forearms, brought to the front between her legs and then pulled through her waist rope. To her surprise, this crotch rope was quite loosely applied and the dangling end wasn`t tied to anything. Instead, she was made to sit down and her legs were folded into a lotos position before her left knee was tied to her right ankle and vice versa. Zenobia did not like the way Inez looked at her open crotch and licked her lips, but she got distracted from her gaze when Paloma was brought in by Carmencita.
Drawing by hugues66
The busty Mexican was tied identically to Zenobia. She too had her knickers removed before her legs were bent and tied and Zenobia could not help looking at her big boobs and her pussy. Paloma, however, looked at the rope between her legs with uneasiness. Unlike Zenobia, she had never before in her life experienced a crotch rope.
Now, their captors placed them on the beds, facing each other. Inside the cart, there were two beds on each of the side walls, separated by a narrow middle corridor. These beds could be folded to the walls and so, there were several iron rings in the walls to tie off the beds.´now, when Inez had pushed Zenobia in the corner opposite the back door, she took another rope and tied her bound arms to one of these rings that was in her back. Now, she could not change her position on the bed and had to look at Paloma who was placed opposite to her and whom Viola was currently tying to a ring in the wall, too.
„There, that should hold you! Now, for a secure gag. After all, we might meet other people and I don`t want anyone to notice you are in here.“
Zenobia gulped, but saw no point in being defiant when Viola balled up Paloma`s knickers. It was humiliating, but she knew the drill and if she had resisted, they would just have pinched her nose shut, or squeezed her nipples, or both. Though, she had to retch when the silk mass that strongly tasted of Paloma`s perfume and body filled her cheeks and throat.
„You bastards, you mustn`t doooooouuuuhhmmmmmppphhh! Uuhhmmmmmpphh! Mmhhhrrrr!“
Paloma had tried to help her, but as a reward, she now was gagged with Zenobia`s knickers. Whilst Inez and Viola used both their hands to get the worn undergarments as deep into their mouths as possible, Carmencita rummaged through a big box that contained clothes, different scarves and other things.
She took a big red scarf and tied three overhand knots in it. The resulting knot had about the size of a fist and it needed two girls to get this knot behind Zenobia`s teeth before they knotted it off tightly in her neck. Now, her mouth was packed to the bursting and the knickers of Paloma tickled the back of her throat. It took her all her self control not to give in to her gag reflex and she panted through her nose with tears in her eyes.
Paloma now tried to fight off Inez who was holding the panties in her mouth, but the fierce woman just pinched one of her nipples.
„Mhhhrrrr!“
Her scream was stifled as Paloma`s gasp helped Inez to push the knickers in even deeper. Meanwhile, Carmencita had prepared another knotted scarf and they bent over the poor girl. The sounds Paloma made when they finished her gag made Zenobia`s heart cramp with pity, though she had to cope with her own mouthfilling gag.
However, gagging them wasn`t finished yet. Now, Inez produced a large piece of wet leather from the bucket. She cut it into halfs, making two broad bands from it. One of these, she stretched in all directions. Zenobia shuddered. This band would tighten horribly when it shrinked and she knew that it would go over her mouth.
Indeed, this band was so wide it also covered Zenobia`s chin and when Inez had tied it off, it not only covered her complete face below the nose, the tight band also forced her to close her jacked open jaws a bit. And once it was dry, this pressure would become even worse and it would not allow her to make any sound at all, except in the back of her throat.
„You`re almost done now“, Inez giggled and tied the ends of the cruel leather band to another ring in the wall, just behind Zenobia`s neck to prevent her from changing her upright position. So, Zenobia had to watch helplessly as Paloma had a tight wet leather band tied over her mouth and chin, too, and had her head fixed to the wall.
„Ghhhmmmm!“, Zenobia moaned. It was all she could do to show Paloma that she was feeling with her.
„Mmhhhmmm!“, the frightened girl answered.
„Just one more thing!“, Inez purred, „but first, let`s see for the others.“
Zenobia frowned. What else could they have in mind to further restrain her? Then, her eyes fell on Paloma`s loose crotch rope and she shuddered.
The next to be restrained were Aurora and Marita. They looked at the trussed up, thoroughly gagged and naked Zenobia and Paloma with dismay. However, they soon were given the opportunity to find out by themselves how the two damsels felt. Inez, Viola and Carmencita tied them up exactly the same way as their first victims. They too had their hands wrapped, got gagged with each other`s knickers – according to their moaning and retching, they did not like that experience at all – and were also tied with their hands folded behind their back and their legs brought into a lotos position.
When their gags had been reinforced with knotted scarves and wet leather bands and they too were fixed to the wall at their arms and heads, they were sitting face to face. Zenobia could not move her head enough to see Aurora, who was sitting next to her, properly, but she saw that Marita had the same loosely applied crotch rope between her legs.
Since the two Mexicans were tied next to the cart`s back wall, there was some space between the knees of Zenobia and Aurora. If they would place Isabella and Arina between them, their knees would overlap.
However, their captors had another idea for solving the space problem. But before, they had to tie up the two remaining girls.
Isabella put up a real fight and managed to bite Carmencita`s hand before she was naked, trussed up with wrapped fingers and thoroughly gagged with Arina`s knickers, a knotted cloth and a leather band. Arina wriggled and squirmed like an eel and even managed to scream once before her mouth was stuffed. But in the end, the two panting and gurgling girls were sitting on the floor and stared daggers at their captors.
Drawing by hugues66
Zenobia could see that Arina`s and Isabella`s crotch ropes were applied differently. They were tied to their waist ropes on their fronts, below the navel and threaded through their legs and over their arms then, the loose ends dangling at their butts.
Working together, Viola and Emilia sat Arina on the bed, between Zenobia and Aurora, but with her face to the wall. So, since the triangle built by her legs and butt was facing in the other direction, she barely fit into the space left on the bed. her shin rubbed against Zenobia?s and she looked at the Black with tearful, but still defiant eyes.
„Mph!“, she uttered.
„Gglllgg!“
It was all Zenobia could answer since the leather around her head had already begun to dry and shrink and forced her to close her jaw and to bite on Paloma`s knickers.
Viola tied Arina`s right thigh to Zenobia`s right and her left to Aurora`s left leg. Now, Zenobia could dcide if she preferred looking at Arina`s boobs or at those of Paloma, whilst Marita now was partially hidden from her sight behind Arina`s body. Zenobia could also see a part of Isabella`s back and bound arms. Obviously, she now was seated between Paloma and Marita, facing the wall.
„Now, as promised, the crowning touch!“, Inez announced. She took Zenobia`s crotch rope and pulled. The girl mewed with alarm, but Inez forced her to thrust her pelvis forward as far as she could. Then, she tied the end to the crotch rope of Paloma she had tightened a bit, too. When she released Zenobia, she wnted to fall back on her seat. Immediately, she felt a tug between her legs and could see that Paloma`s eyes bulged and she emitted a small sound when she now had to thrust forward her pelvis.
Now, Zenobia understood the cruelty of that arrangement: the rope was too tight to allow both of them to sit properly. They would have to move their hips and to shift in their seats – no matter what the consequences on both their most intimate parts would be.
„It will be even more interesting once the cart moves“, Inez giggled before she turned her attention towards Arina and Isabella.
Zenobia saw the brown haired girl mew when her upper body was bent back. The same was done to Isabella and when both women`s backheads met, Inez tied the ends of their gags together. Since the corridor between the two beds was quite narrow, this position was not too inconvenient – for a short while. But Viola had told them that they would not be released before they had reached Torreon in the evening.
Now, Inez went on her knees and took the loose ends of both women`s crotch ropes. Zenobia could see the rope disappear between Arina`s legs and her eyes widened as Inez pulled the ends down and tied them off to the latch of the lid in the floor. The same was done to Isabella and now, they were not only trapped in an increasingly uncomfortable position, but they also could not move without teasing their crotches.
„I am afraid that this will not help you over the brink – but perhaps, you will surprise me.“
Aurora`s and Marita`s crotch ropes were connected like those of Zenobia and Paloma, but with an addition: before Viola left the cart last, she tied a sack filled with sand to the combined ropes, increasing the pressure even more.
Then, she left and a minute later, the cart began it`s trip, shaking and clattering on the uneven and rocky road.
***
After a while, and some three miles away from where she had rescued Elisabeth, Lien stopped their ride at a little lake surrounded by some bushes. She helped the blonde to dismount the horse and after a short trip behind a rock, she greedily drank some water. Then, Elisabeth remembered who she was and she again crossed her arms in front of her boobs.
„You have nothing I haven`t got either“, Lien laughed. Then, she looked through the saddle bags, quite sure that she would not find something to please the other`s sense of modesty. After she had brought some distance between Cheng`s place and herself, she had checked the horses`s saddle bags before she shooed away all except the horse that looked the fastest and strongest. Throwing away all the dresses, she only took the money (some 500 Dollars), one of the rifles, the ammunition and some of the food. Thinking twice, she destroyed the weapons she didn`t take with her by beating them against a rock before she continued her trip.
She only had the clothes she was currently wearing, but finally, she tossed Elisabeth her blouse. Now, Lien was only wearing her loincloth, her silk trousers and a silk band tied over her breasts, but instead of Elisabeth, she didn`t mind being scantily clad. Turning her back towards her, Elisabeth put on the blouse that was rather short for her and left her bellybutton uncovered. Then, she turned back to Lien.
„Thank you, my dear. Look, I am a Princess.“
Drawing by hugues66
Actually, Elisabeth was just a Baroness, but she did not want to explain the delicacies of the European aristocracy to a foreigner.
„I have been abducted from my palace in Torreon. This man, and two of his henchmen, kept me and my two maids in an old monastery not far from here. We must get to Torreon and tell the governor, my grand cousin!“
Lien frowned. The story sounded just that absurd that it could be true. However, why should she help a woman she hardly knew? She had helped her without thinking about it, but now, she would prefer to go her own way. However, Elisabeth seemed to have read her thoughts.
„If you help me, you will be rewarded. I will give you 10.000 Dollars.“
Actually, it was her grand cousin who managed the war chest, but she was sure that he would deliberately pay the money. Elisabeth still thought that Kilian had lied when he had implied that her cousin was behind her abduction or had at least allowed it. Sure, that all was just a stratagem of that coward Preud`homme!
„All right, once I have freed your maids, we can think of getting you back in the city.“
Elisabeth wanted to say something, but Lien raised her hand.
„If we get you to Torreon first, these thugs may kill your maids and get away without being punished. If we free them first, they can also run away, but then, you may hunt them down, or forget about them, just as you like. Nobody will ever find out what they did to you. And besides, persuading an Austrian governor in Mexico to help a Chinese girl seems more difficult to me than to just fight three ordinary soldiers.“
Involuntarily, Elisabeth smiled. Then, she greedily took some of the food and tea Lien prepared for them. Still, she was too scantily clad for feeling good, but now, she was save, she no longer was hungry or thirsty and this Chinese girl seemed to be a skilled fighter.
So, when Lien proposed that Elisabeth should stay here and wait for her to come back, together with Heidi and Mitzi, she agreed. Lien left her the rifle and only took her revolvers with her. If she had to climb the monastery`s walls, the rifle would be rather unwieldy than useful.
Lying by the campfire, Elisabeth suddenly was overwhelmed by the strains of the last two days.
Though she tried to fight it off, she soon fell asleep.
***
Following Lien`s tracks, he found the place where Lien had rummaged and discarded the saddle bags. Quickly, he searched the pile of clothes and found two pairs of knickers that sure had been worn for quite a while. To his surprise, they smelled of salt, too. Unbeknownst to him, it were the knickers Zenobia and Andrea had been wearing when they had been on the ship during the storm. Later, Zenobia had punished Annabelle and Veronica by pulling these over their heads and this was the reason why Xenia had taken them with her, to punish Zenobia by shoving these into her mouth. But now, Cheng let the silk run through his fingers. Without knowing exactly why, he put them into his bag before continuing his way when he suddenly saw an approaching dust cloud.
This cloud turned out to be a group of about 50 riders. They all looked a bit shabby and only about half of them were wearing uniforms, but they introduced themselves as members of the Mexican Republican Army. After they had quickly rummaged Cheng`s cab and taken 20 Dollars of „toll“ from him, the leader introduced to him as Captain Duarte.
„You will be glad to hear that we are about to liberate Torreon! Soon, Mexico will be free!“
Cheng frowned. He vaguely knew that there was a civil war between the Republicans and the Imperialists, but except from the fact that it would be rather idiotic to shout „Long live the Emperor“ right now, he knew nothing about the details. However, the Captain`s pride made him talk about what was going on.
„Presidente Juarez is now on his way to Torreon, just a few miles away! Our scouts have reported that the French have already withdrawn their troops! And the Mexican troops are mainly on our side! So, we will perhaps be able to take the city without any loss of blood!“
„Well – congratulation!“, Cheng said and the Mexicans cheered and continued their way. Cheng too followed their tracks. He was quite sure that Lien was heading towards the city, too. She maybe had started a living as a travelling Kung Fu fighter, but for doing so, she would need an audience. And a city whose population was celebrating their liberation from foreign rule would be an ideal place to make some money.
***
In San Juan monastery, the three men were considering what to do. without the Lady, they had little in their hands to remain save. If Elisabeth would manage to get back to Torreon, her cousin and Preud`homme would of course pretend that they had had nothing to do with her abduction. But if she became loud and annoying enough, they would be forced to at least send a group of men to the monastery. And Preud`homme sure would choose men who would kill them to destroy all evidence.
And if Preud`homme and the governor would decide to leave anyway, they were little better off. With no chance to rejoin the regular army, they would have to find their way to the coast – through the lines of the advancing enemy`s troups. And despite his promises, Preud`homme had not given them their 3000 Dollars yet. Now, Kilian cursed himself that they had been so naive and had believed their Captain.
When Heinrich just wanted to tell him that they had to look at their captives, no matter what would happen next. They heard a loud roaring thunder from the distance. They looked up, but there was not a single cloud on the sky.
„A cannon shot“, Pedro presumed, but Kilian shook his head.
„Whom should they shoot at around here? And if the Republicans are besieging Torreon, the sound of their cannons would not be that loud. But I am afraid that this was the ammunition depot of the city!“
Pedro and Heinrich understood. If Preud`homme or the governor had ordered the ammunition reserves to be blown in the air, the army was about to withdraw. And that meant the Republicans could not be far away.
„So, this decision is made. We are here on our own. Of course, we could run away and rejoin the troops, but what about our guests? Call me a chicken, but I would not like to kill them, or to leave them here to die. But we can`t just let them go or take them with us either!“
Heinrich suddenly had an idea:
„Perhaps, Preud`homme has thought about us. After all, he doesn`t know that Elisabeth has escaped. Perhaps, he will send a messenger and then, we can decide what to do. let`s wait just one more day.“
The others knew that they were just delaying their desicion but none of them wanted to be responsible for the death of the two naked, bound and gagged girls downstairs.
***
The sound of hooves made Elisabeth wake with a shriek. Quickly, she grabbed her rifle and hid behind a bush. When she saw that it were three riders that were heading towards the lake, she first thought that it were Kilian, Pedro and Heinrich. Then, she could see it were three women, though dressed in a more than strange way. The first, a tallish woman whose long blonde hair was flattering in the wind, was wearing a white, sleeveless dress that looked more like a full slip than a proper dress. The others, two Mexican women, were only wearing knickers and in one case a red camisole. The other had only a cloth tied over her breasts.
„Maybe, they have been ambushed and have just escaped, like me“, Elisabeth thought and left her cover. Then, her eyes fell on the board the two Mexicansd had tied to their horses.
It was a table turned upside down and to two of it`s legs, a woman dressed only in her knickers, garter belt and stockings was tied with her ankles. She was covered with dust and weakly moved when the little group came to a halt. Now, Elisabeth could see that she was gagged with a broad band of cloth tied over her mouth and nose, too.
„Who are you and what are you doing with that woman?“, Elisabeth asked. She pointed at the three women with her rifle and tried to sound steady and brave.
„We have been attacked some miles away from here. We could just get away with only a few scraps of cloth on our bodies. This woman is a member of the gang that attacked us. We managed to overpower her and-“
Xenia fell silent. Even to her, this story sounded far from being convincing. And so, Elisabeth did not lower her weapon.
„Get off these horses and free that woman! She sure has nearly choked! Then, i will decide what to do with you.“
When the three women had dismounted, Xenia`s eyes fell on the rifle. Since Mr. Drake, her lover, was a fan of modern weapons, she knew quite a lot about guns, too. And she could clearly see that the blonde had not released the safety catch.
Without haste, Xenia reached for her saddle bag. Elisabeth told her to step away, but she smiled and said:
„You ordered us to free that woman. And the keys to the handcuffs are inside my bag.“
Elisabeth nodded and Xenia pulled out her revolver.
„Put it down, or I will shoot you!“, Elisabeth cried. Smiling, Xenia stepped closer.
Drawing by hugues66
„This is the last time I am going to tell you! Step back and throw away your gun!“
Increasingly hysterical, Elisabeth waved with her rifle. Then, when Xenia was only a few steps away, she pulled the trigger. When nothing happened, she pulled again. Xenia laughed and grabbed the barrel.
„You should not play around with things you cannot handle.“
she took the rifle from the perplexed woman`s hands and handed it to Annabelle. Then, she pointed her gun at Elisabeth`s forehead.
„Now, be sure that I know how to use a gun. And believe me, I am more than curious what you are doing here – Lady Elisabeth!“
Elisabeth`s eyes widened and she stepped one step back from Xenia who now smiled at her in a way that made her shiver, despite the warm sun.
„Oh, when I visited Torreon last year, I saw you on the governor`s birthday party. Of course, we both were a bit more – decent on that occasion. Isn`t he your grand cousin?“
Xenia knew that the position of any Austrian aristocrat, including that of the Emperor, was more than weak, since she had heard that France would withdraw it`s troops and the Republicans were pushing South. However, Mr. Drake did business with both sides and so, she didn`t care who was winning. Anyway, a rich and influencial man`s relative in her hands would be a nice pawn. After all, she needed some money to get on.
„You will have to tell me everything. But now, you may take care of our prisoner. She will need a bath and according to what you look, you could need a wash and a change of clothes, too.“
***
Heidi had expected that being stowed inside an Iron Maiden would have been a terrible experience, but it had been quite different from what she would have thought. She had expected pain, but the leather straps immobilizing her were tight, but not painfully tight. An opening at the height of her face allowed her to breathe and the combination of the cool temperature in the cellar and her body`s heat inside the tiny prison took care Heidi neither freezed nor felt overheated.
Of course, being forced to stand for hours and hours was straining her legs, but when she finally collapsed, the straps carried her weight and prevented her from falling over. She now literally hung in the web of leather belts and she knew that she would perhaps get some red marks on her skin, but nothing that would inflict lasting damage.
However, the stick shoved between her legs had turned out to be a real torture. The Iron Maiden`s lid was pressing on it and kept it immobile. No matter how much she tried to pull on the strings tied to her thumbs, the stick would not move at all. But it was there, pressing against the soft flesh between her legs and irritating her.
This slight inconvenience had become worse when every of the slight movenents she could make increased this pressure and soon, she tried ifg she could get some distraction from this. However, she could tease her sex a bit, but not get some real pleasure, let alone some relief.
As the time passed, the impossibility to move was becoming more and more the real horror. She desperately tried to shift her position, but she could only wriggle a bit and soon, her limbs cramped or felt numb and sore. Heidi had screamed her lungs out, but her muffled cries had echoed inside the little iron box, adding to her discomfort.
Now, she was really in a mess, concentrating just on not to pee before they would free her – if they would free her. Heidi had no idea how many time had passed. All she could see was darkness and for a long time, Miti hadn`t uttered a sound, too. But then, she heard the door open and the men came down the stairs, carrying lamps in their hands.
They didn`t say a word, but they quickly released Mitzi from her bonds and the exhausted girl half crawled, half staggered to the toilet once her limbs were free. Then, they opened the lid of the Iron Maiden.
„Bad news“, Heinrich said when he began loosening the leather belts holding Heidi, „the Imperial troops are withdrawing from Torreon. That means we don`t know what to do with you.“
„Mmhmm?“
„Oh yes, we can`t just let you go, since you could send some bounty hunters after us. But we don`t want to kill you either. But, to be honest, we are even more keen on surviving that damn war. And so, this sure is our and your last day here. The only question is, where will we all be tomorrow?“
***