Sally, who had no experience with synchronous swimming, had definitely underestimated the three Germans`s ability to work together and so, Ingrid, Elke and Nina had managed to get to their feet by leaning and pressing their shoulders against each other whilst they had pressed up their legs. After a while, they had been standing.
However, this was hardly an improvement. They still were blindfolded, thoroughly gagged and tied to each other. With their fingers taped, they had no chance to work on their bonds and though they could very slowly walk around if they concentrated on cooperating, this did not help for they could not see where they were going. They vaguely remembered that they were in a little sandy pit surrounded by some rocky hills, but none of them could remember exactly where to find any protruding sharp edge to cut their bonds. Elke picked pebbles with her toes, trying to use them as a makeshift knife, but this proved to be an impossible task, too.
„Mmhhrrrmmmm!“
Nina, the smallest of the three girls, was suffering the most from their now standing position. Since their heads were taped together, she had to walk on tiptoes and to stretch her neck. She was already covered by a film of perspiration and she panted heavily through her nose, though she was a sportive girl, just like her friends.
„Mph!“
A sigh from Ingrid gave a signal to them that they would have to remain bound, gagged and blindfolded for the moment. With some effort, they managed to sit down again and waited in enforced silence.
Strange enough, Pia, who had been the least brave and strong of the five damsels, now had found some inner strength. Since she had been the first to be tied up, she had no idea where the others where, though they could hear their moans and grunts close to her. But, hogtied as she was, she had not been able to get closer to them. After some fighting of her bonds, she had suddenly felt the sun`s heat decrease: obviously, she now had rolled behind some dune that offered a little protection. To the naked, bound, gagged and blindfolded girl, this little refreshment felt like heaven. Pia relaxed and after some twitching and squirming, she had found a position that allowed her to lie more or less still.
„That Gypsy woman told me I would meet my future husband within a year! And sure, she can`t have been a liar, since I paid her some 50 Escudos!“
She concentrated on that rather vague hope and imagined how some noble and handsome man would find and rescue her. Pia drove away into a daydream of her happy future, allowing her to escape the horrors of the present.
Melina, who had always been a rational woman, had not been affected by such girlish hopes. Instead of panicking and pulling on her bonds, she had concentrated on their situation, thinking of any possibility to escape before trying to save her strength. So, Melina had been able to find out that she was unable to work on her bonds with her taped fingers and that she could not shake off her gag or expel the vile tasting panties from her mouth.
„It`s disgusting, but it won`t kill me!“
Worse was the hogtie and the tape connecting her feet to her head, forcing her to arch her body and making her muscles cramp. But then, by moving her thighs to relay her legs, she found out that she could move forward. It meant that she was crawling over the ground on her belly, but Melina found out that she could get forward like this, inch after inch.
„If I reach the others, maybe, we can work together to free ourselves!“
Melina remained still for a while, trying to orientate herself by listening to the other girls`s mewing and panting. Then, she began to wriggle forward. The sand rubbed over her sweaty front and she felt her nipples grow hard from the teasing, but Melina persisted.
„Uuuhhmm!“
Suddenly, she felt something poke her nose. It was a thorn and Melina mewed with pain, though she had not really hurt herself. Then, her brain began to work fast.
This thorn belonged to a large thistle, the only vegetation within a circle of some 25 yards. And this thistle, Melina now remembered, was nearby the hill that separated them from the road.
„If I could make it over that hill, I could be seen by anyone passing by! It`s a road, so, someone must use it!“
The hill was not high and it wasn`t steep either, but for a hogtied and blindfolded woman, it was like climbing the Everest. But Melina persisted. The sand was replaced by stone and Melina was only protected by her very slow pace from hurting herself. Luckily, the rock had been abraded by the wind and sand for centuries and so, the surface was rather smooth. But this smoothnes also made it impossible for Melina to pass the more steep parts, since she could not get herself over them in her helpless position.
Then, some roaring reached her ears. Firtst, Melina thought it was an approaching thunderstorm, but then, it turned out to be the sound of a car.
„Mmhhmmph! Uuhhmnmm!“
A car! A car meant people, people who could rescue them! In adition, the only persons to use car here in the middle of nowhere were French troops!
Melina doubled her efforts and now, she screamed through her gag, too. The car came closer and closer, but did not seem to stop.
„Mmhrrrrrrrmm! Uuuhhhhmmmm! Mmmmmmhhhhmmm!“
Melina now fought with all her strength, but then, she heard the car´s sound getting lower. With a mixture of panic and frustration, the girl twitched and too late, she realized that she had reached the hill`s top. She toppled over and without being able to do anything, she half slid, half rolled down the hill.
„Mph!“
Melina landed on some gravel ground and when she rolled on her side, she found out that she had not hurt herself, except for some small bruises. Then, she realized two things: the sound of the car was gone and she could hear the sound of approaching steps.
„What the – Caporal! Look here!“
Now, more steps could be heard and a French voice asked Melina if she was alright.
„Mhhmmph! Uuhmmm!“
„Oh, of course, sorry!“
Little later, Melina had been freed from her gag and blindfold and drank water from a soldier`s canteen whilst two more were working on her bonds. Melina wanted to tell the men about the other damsels, but the soldiers had swarmed out anyway and when, a little late to protect her modesty, one of the men put his jacket around Melina`s shoulders, the men returned, carrying the four still naked, bound and gagged women in their arms.
It took some more minutes until all five had been freed. All now had put on borrowed jackets and were drinking some of the offered water. Of course, the Officer wanted to know what had happened and after a while, Melina, whose French was the best, could tell him.
„So, maybe, they are still in the caravanserai! Well, I would go and look immediately, but if it`s more than just this single man, we might get into a severe fight. After all, we are only five men and in addition, I have to get you to a hospital!“
None of the girls protested. At the caravanserai, there were their kidnappers and two girls they never had seen before. So, they were helped by the soldiers to get to the van`s load. Pia either was really exhausted or was just playing her cards well, for when a soldier had helped her to raise, she immediately collapsed again. So, the man cradled her in his arms and she was allowed to sit on the passenger`s seat. When the others had mounted the van, the soldier who had freed Melina suddenly held something to her. It were the panties Sally had used to gag her, still wet with her saliva and even though there was a smell of petrol in the air when the van started, she could sense their fragrance.
„Eh, excuse me, Mademoiselle, are these yours?“
„No!“
Melina knew that she was naked beneath the jacket that barely covered her butt, but she would have rather died than putting these on! The young men now grinned.
„Cool! That`s a much better souvenir than the usual weapons!“
He sniffed on the panties before he put them away, causing Melina to blush violently. Then, the horrors of the last days fell from her and she giggled hysterically whilst tears ran down her cheeks.
***
„You promised to me only to smoke after we – well, you know!“
„And you promised to wait for me at Madeira“, Wladimir countered. He had just sat down, leaning to the wall of the sleeping room, and lit a cigarette. He produced a perfect smoke ring that wandered over to Sally who waved it away with an exaggerated gesture.
When Wladimir had seen someone aiming at his beloved Sally, he had fired without thinking but then, when he had ungagged his girlfriend and they had exchanged a passionate kiss, he had looked after Brahim and found out that he was still alive.
He and Fjodor had carried him inside the caravanserai where none of the men had found the time to wonder about the group of naked, bound and gagged women there of whom they knew two quite well. Sally, who had recovered quickly, had ordered Wladimir to free Dorothea whilst she assisted Fjodor in carrying inside where they dumped him onto a relatively clean bed.
Both Sally and Dorothea were still stark naked, but they also had worked as nurses and so, they tried their best to get the bullet from Brahim`s belly, bossing around their two rescuers, sending them for water, clean cloth and other things.
After an hour, it was clear that Brahim would survive and they left him asleep with his belly heavily bandaged. Then, whilst the two girls went for the well to wash themselves, Wladimir and Fjodor took care of the other girls.
They had to wake up Nymphadora who had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion immediately after Brahim had freed her from her exposed position. Elisa had managed to free herself and was currently sitting beside Maja. She had freed Maja from the tape and removed the sodden panties from her mouth, but had not been able to open the two pairs of cuffs hogtying the girl and so, Maja was lying with her lap in Elisa`s lap, drinking small sips of water the other had brought her.
Little later, all five girls were sitting inside the caravanserai to have an eye on the sleeping Brahim. All had blankets they had found in another room draped over their bodies and they were untied except for Nymphadora and Maja who had their ankles cuffed. Both men didn`t fully trust her former accomplice and in Maja`s case, her position was unclear, too. Then, whilst they ate some of the provision Wladimir and Fjodor had brought with them, Sally broke the silence.
„Now, how did you find our tracks?“
„Did you ask Hassan the Clown?“, Dorothea asked, remebering that Brahim had mentioned said person in his letter. Frowning, the men shook their heads.
„When I came to Madeira, I had to find that you had disappeared and that there had been a fire at the hotel and some other women had mysteriously disappeared, too! And then, someone told me that even a plane had been stolen from the Portuguese Post office!“
He sounded as if he still couldn`t believe this story. However, Wladimir, who had been accompanied by Fjodor, who had fully recovered from his wound he had suffered from Nymphadora`s gun in London, had deduced that the plane could have been used only to get to Portugal, to the Canaries or to Morocco. They had finally decided for Morocco and bribed the Post office pilote to get them there with the other plane. Once in Agadir, they had bought horses and other equipment and after they had heard a story about a plane crash not far from Agadir, they had decided to look there and on their way, they had accidentally arrived at the right moment.
„Hassan the Clown couldn`t have helped you very much, anyway!“
Now, all heads rose. Brahim had spoken. He still seemed weak, but he was awake and obviously had followed their conversation. With a grin, he continued:
„Hassan the Clown was a famous jester in Agadir, but he died some 800 years ago. He was so popular that people made a statue of him, though the portrayal of persons usually is forbidden by the Koran. I deposited some further information for the two blondes there, but they decided to take a shortcut towards me!“
The two mentioned blondes now looked at him and Brahim once again smiled, although the little speech seemed to have cost him considerable strength. Dorothea gave him some water and waited with growing impatience until he once again started to speak:
„Now, that I obviously have lost this game, I can tell you as well what this is all about. After all, you have earned it!“
„We already know that you need a girl that combines beauty, intelligence and strength, to present her to that Emir or whatever his title is, that he will support your father in return!“
„And obviously, you decided that Dorothea and I should get these girls for you! But why this laborious game? Why haven`t you just kidnapped the girl of your choice by yourself?“
„And why did you leave them behind, after all we had to suffer to get them to you?“, Dorothea blurted. Brahim just waited for everyone to calm down until he spoke:
„If I had kidnapped a girl, it could have turned out that she is either not strong or just a fool. So, I had to find out whether the chosen women would have all required attributes.“
Suddenly, Sally understood:
„You – you mean, all these other girls, me – we all were just pawns, whilst you tested Nympha and Dorothea? It was actually a contest between these two who would fit best for your precious alliance?“
Brahim nodded:
„So, you seem intelligent, too“, he said with a smile.
„But obviously, I am too ugly!“, Sally pouted, turning to Wladimir.
„I love you, ugly hag!“
The two kissed and suddenly, Dorothea rose. Looking at Nymphadora, she suddenly brought her body into a position that emphasized her curves, though the blanket she was wearing made this a bit difficult. Striking through her hair, she asked:
„Since this will be discussed between us anyway: if everything had turned out the way you had planned it, whom would you have considered the prettiest, her or me?“
Brahim laughed until a cough stopped him. With Dorothea`s aid, he drank some more water and then, he looked at the audience in a strange way. He seemed amused, but at the same time there was a deep sadness in his eyes.
„So, you really want to know whom I would have chosen as my favorite?“
„Yes!“, Nymphadora now breathed and both Elisa and Sally could see that Maja gasped. Brahim once again looked at them and then, he said:
„Well, since I will end up dead anyway, I can tell you. My favorite, of all present, would be – him!“
He pointed at Fjodor who let out a cough. Everyone now stared at Brahim who repeated their looks, nodding slightly.
„Yes, I like men. Of course, this is a secret I had to hide from everyone, even from my parents. But now, I don`t want to die with a lie lasting on my heart!“
Sally looked at him with her mouth open. This was it! During her captivity, she had always thought that Brahim seemed not that interested, even when he had sexually tortured her or seen her in the nude. Now, she had an explanation for all that!
„Well, at least, you know a few things about us women“, she murmured, causing Wladimir to raise his eyebrow.
„Why on earth are you always talking about your death? Sally and I did our best and if you stop chatting like a teenie girl, you will recover within a few weeks.“
„And if Sally won`t insist on it, I won`t kill you either“, Wladimir said. He questioningly looked at Sally who showed a malicious smile:
„Maybe, his head on a stake would be a great engagement gift, but call me old fashioned, but I prefer a diamond ring!“
Now, Wladimir really went on his knee, but Dorothea interrupted the two.
„Before we call a priest and you two may retire, we might consider what to do next. At least, we have to do something!“
Since Brahim, exhausted from the last talk, had fallen asleep once again, they decided to fetch the other damsels first. Fjodor left, but came back little later. From the traces of cut ropes and the wheel tracks on the road, he had deduced that someone with a car, obviously the French Army, had rescued the girls and taken them with them.
„So, it would be better to leave before they come back to look for us“, Dorothea decided, „but what about him? We can`t transport him on a horse`s back!“
„And that`s the end of peace“, Elisa suddenly sobbed. When the others looked at her, the girl explained:
„If his plan had worked out, the alliance of the two poweful noblemen would have kept the French from oppressing us. But now, they will force us to surrender! Of course, Brahim`s father won`t surrender without a fight, but the French have planes, machine guns, bombs-“
„Maybe, I`ve got an idea!“
It was Fjodor who had been speaking and even Wladimir, who knew that his best friend wasn`t nearly as slow in the uptake as he might look, seemd surprised.
„What is it? Will you go to Brahim`s harem, as his bride?“, Sally mocked.
Fjodor coughed before he continued:
„To fix this alliance, all we need is a pretty, strong and intelligent girl. Well, we have such a person here!“
He pointed at Nymphadora who looked at him with widening eyes. Dorothea opened her mouth to protest. Too much had happened during the last days as that she would easily hand the Russian to end up in a harem.
„I should have aimed at your head!“, Nymphadora now hissed. Fjodor looked at her in a way that made her fall silent.
„If, after some time, this blonde would be kidnapped from this Emir`s harem and disappear forever, this would not fall back on Brahim`s father, if there would be signs leading elsewhere. Maybe, Brahim likes this idea, too, and has an idea how we could fake such a kidnapping the best.“
„So, you want me to go to that harem for just a few weeks or months. Well, I would not die from that, but who would be that mysterious kidnapper that would abduct me in the midst of the night?“
Nymphadora had risen from the ground and the blanket had fallen from her shoulders. Stark naked, and not the least trying to hide her forms, she stepped closer to Fjodor who slightly blushed, but did not turn his head.
„Well, us. Or rather me, since I am afraid that Wladimir doesn`t want to delay his Honeymoon any longer.“
Forced to take small steps with her cuffed ankles, Nymphadora stepped closer. Her nipples now almost touched Fjodor`s chest. He was so tall that even Nymphadora seemed small in comparison.
„Well, after you have abducted me from the harem, you would have to hide with me, somewhere where no one can find us, and stay there for quite some time.“
Her voice now sounded hoarse and Fjodor gulped before he answered:
„Eh, I could sure think of worse things!“
„Sometimes, such poor damsels fall in love with their abductors – if not the Emir will make me love him before. Then, I will refuse to come with you!“
Dorothea broke the erotic tension building up between the two by clearing her throat. Then, she pointed at Maja and Elisa:
„So, how about these two?“
Before any of the two girls could answer, Sally went on her toes and whispered something into Wladimir`s ear. The young man smiled and then, he went to Fjodor and Nymphadora to tell them. Curiously, Dorothea went closer and was told about Sally`s story, too. With a smile, she turned towards the two servants who looked at her with a mixture of fear and anticipation.
„You are guilty of supporting this crime, but you have only acted on the orders of your master. So, your punishment will be to sleep outside!“
Both girls gasped and Dorothea continued, using all her acting skills to make it sound as if she was condemning the two to a terrible fate.
„You will be left naked and will be given only one blanket to protect you from freezing! A night in the cold will give you time to think about what you have done!“
Maja seemed too overwhelmed to think, but Sally now could see a glance in Elisa`s eyes.
„If she won`t be able to convince Maja of her love during that night, it never will happen.“
***
They had left the caravanserai early the next morning and since they could not travel fast with the wounded Brahim, it had taken them two days to reach a small house where they wanted to hide until Brahim had recovered. Then, he would bring Nymphadora to his father`s ally whilst Fjodor would hide in Agadir, equipped with some money that Brahim, who had appreciated the new plan, would give him.
It seemed that Sally`s plan had worked out, too, for when they had looked for Maja and Elisa, both had not been able to hide their feelings, though none of them dared to talk about it openly. Sometimes, Dorothea could see the two servants hold hands or exchange a kiss and during the night, they seemed to continue their „punishment“ of having to sleep together outside.
Since there was something developing between Fjodor and Nymphadora, too, Dorothea felt rather sad. Everyone involved in this adventure had found someone except for her. Well, there was Brahim, too, but he wasn`t interested in her and besides, she had seen him chatting and walking around with another young man the last day.
„So, the number of continents where I can`t find a decent man has now raised up to three!“
Dorothea allowed herself to fall into self pity and cried a little. Then, she made a decision. After the dinner when everyone had gone to bed, she walked slowly alongside the rooms of her friends. Brahim and his guest were obviously talking about something funny, for she could hear chatting and heartily laughter. From the adjacent door, she could hear that Sally and Wladimir seemed to be determined to make sure that nothing would be new to them in the wedding night. And even from Fjodor`s room, she could hear some oppressed female giggling. So, Nymphadora wasn`t too sad about her fate either.
With a sigh, Dorothea went to her room and wrote a letter, telling Sally that she wished her well, but needed a break. She concluded that she would see her and Wladimir at Agadir in a week and that she would be glad to be Sally`s maid of honor, but for a few days, she just wanted to be alone.
She placed the letter on her bed and since she only had the dress she was currently wearing, she put some money Brahim had given her into her bag and silently left the house. She knew that from here, she would only take a two hour`s walk to the village where there was a bus service to Agadir. Dorothea stopped crying after a while, but she was so busy in feeling sorry for herself that she didn`t noticed the two figures following her in the dark.
After some two miles, Dorothea took a rest on a stone and watched the beautiful stars above. It was a perfect evening – or at least, it would have been if there had been someone at her side. She once more sighed when she suddenly heard a cracking sound from behind.
„Wha-uuuhhmmmph! Mmhhmmph!“
A wad was pressed over her mouth and nose and at the same time, she felt arms clasping her upper body. Dorothea tried to break free and nearly succeeded in shaking off her attacker, but then, she sensed the sweet smell of the cloth pressed against her face and her movements more and more became weak and slow.
„Mhhrrrmm!“
With a last effort, Dorothea tried to brak fre, but then, she was wrestled to the ground and now, she felt two persons sitting on here whilst she still had to breathe in the narcotic. For a minute, she wriggled, but then, everything went black and the blonde passed out.
After another minute, Maja took the cloth from Dorothea`s face and checked that the blonde was unconscious.
„Are we really doing the right thing?“, Elisa asked anxiously. Maja took her friend`s hand and pressed it.
„As I told you, we only will have a future together if we go to Europe and live in Paris or another big city. There, nobody will take notice of us. But to do so, we will need money!“
They had developed their plan to disappear together during their second night together. During their first night, both had been too overwhelmed with their feelings to think at all. Brahim sure would not hinder them from leaving, but he would need all his money for Fjodor who would have to hide together with Nymphadora after he had „abducted“ her from the harem. So, there was only one source of a considerable source of money left – selling the blonde into slavery.
Elisa had felt more than uneasy about that, since Dorothea was Sally`s best friend, but she had even stronger feelings for Maja who had finally persuaded her to join in her plans. During the last two days, they had prepared the abduction. And that night, when they had discovered that Dorothea was leaving on her own, with that letter giving them a head start of at least a few days, Elisa had reluctantly agreed upon overpowering Dorothea.
They still hahd had some of the narcotic Brahim had used earlier and so, they knew that they had one hour until the girl would recover. Whilst Elisa rushed back for where they had hidden a cart, Maja thoroughly trussed up the unconscious woman. She tied her arms at wrists and elbows behind her back. Then, she bent Dorothea`s legs and crossed her ankles before she tied them together and fixed them to the girl`s wrists, hogtying her. With a malicious smile, she reached under her dress and took off her panties. They still were damp from a little love play of her and Elisa. Maja stuffed them deep into the blonde`s cheeks and throat and secured the gag with Dorothea`s headscarf she tied between her lips. To further muffle her cries, She tied another scarf over her mouth. Then, she wrapped her head in a third and knotted it tightly at her nape, hooding and blindfolding the girl.
Little later, Elisa appeared and together, they heaved the boud and gagged Dorothea onto the cart and hid her under some sacks. Then, they went on for the village. There, a cousin of Elisa was in loose contact to some local criminals. He had organized a connection to someone delivering European women to rich men and who had shown interest.
Drawing by hugues66
Elisa couldn`t look at her cousin when he quickly checked Dorothea`s forms through her dress and examined the tightness of her bonds. Then, his accomplice carried the blonde to his cellar whilst Elisa`s cousin handed an envelope to the two girls.
As promised, he then took them to Agadir in the only car of the village of which he was the proud possessor. Elisa had tears in her eyes and felt bad about what they had done, but when she felt Maja touching her hand, she looked at her with an expression of love and pressed her beloved`s fingers.
***
„Maybe, we have been too indiscreet“, Sally said to Wladimir when she had discovered Dorothea`s letter the next morning. „Anyway, we will see her again in Agadir next week and perhaps, she will have something to tell then, too. Maybe, she even found some nice man!“
The End
***