Preface:
Marrakesh, one of the most beautiful and well known cities in Morocco, is also known as „The Red City“. It is also the next stop on Dorothea`s and Sally`s more or less voluntary travels around the world.
Chapter one
Sally would never have considered that a man`s confession that he did not want to marry her would make her feel that happy. Not just relieved, but really happy and full of love for Wladimir.
At Agagdir, they had booked the „honeymoon suite“ at one of the best hotels, but after the second day, the idea of marrying had become more and more frightening to Sally. She loved Wladimir and she definitely enjoyed their moved forward honeymoon, but on the other hand she just felt too young to become Mrs. Wladimir Kutusov.
So, one night, she had spoken about her concerns. To her great surprise, it turned out that Wladimir wasn`t too keen on a fast marriage, too.
„I had been thinking how I should tell you, but now, I am glad that you started the conversation. My father always warned me about becoming a devoted husband and father too early.“
„But – didn`t he and your mother marry when they both were just 18?“
„Yeah, and they still love each other, after more than 27 years, but they both always say that this was just a lucky coincidence and that I should live together with my future wife for at least one year before stepping in front of the altar. Besides – he also said that I should chose a wife that could earn money on her own if necessary.“
Interrupted by breaks for their carnal desires, they had planned what to do next: once back in Paris, Sally would go to a nurse school and finish her exams. Then, she would work at a hospital and she and Wladimir would share their own flat until they felt that they were ready for marriage.
„Wow! First, I thought that getting married would turn me into a grown up woman! And now, I feel even more future-orientated by not marrying! Phew, am I getting old and wise now?“
„Definitely! I can`t stand looking at your old, wrinkled face!“, Wladimir answered and disappeared under the sheet where he started kissing her belly button before going further down.
„I only hope that Dorothea will not be too disappointed she won`t become my Maid of honor when she arrives here“, Sally thought before she leant back and concentrated on Wladimir`s caresses.
***
The change of Sally`s wedding plans currently was one of Dorothea`s least concerns. She was more interested in answers on questions like „Where am I?“ or „Who the hell are my captors?“
Since she had been narcotized from behind when she had been leaving Brahim`s house, it had been some two or three days, but Dorothea wasn`t sure about that. When she had recovered from the drug, she had found herself bound, gagged and blindfolded on a bed. Her wrists were tied behind her back with a pair of handcuffs whilst her feet were cuffed to the bed`s lower posts. The position wasn`t too inconvenient, but she could not turn over, let alone stand up from the bed. Dorothea had tried to reach for her head – only to find that she had been hooded with a leather bag that only had two small openings at her nosrils and that had been closed around her neck with a padlocked chain. Underneath, her eyes were covered with two pads, one over each eye, that were kept in place by a silky bandage which in turn was secured by some layers of tape. The blindfold had never been removed since Dorothea had found herself in her current predicament.
She knew that the vile tasting mass of silk in her mouth were a pair of used panties, but since she still was wearing the clothes from when she had left, she only knew for sure that it weren`t hers. Over the packing, several strips of tape sealed her mouth.
Obviously, her captors knew how to handle their prisoners, for every few hours, she was given some food and water and after that, she was led to a small room where she could relieve herself. All the time, she remained blindfolded and hooded, although she of course was ungagged when they fed her. But every attempt to talk to the man giving her food had been punished immediately by regagging her. At the toilet, her legs were free and her wrists were cuffed in front of her to allow her to help herself, but with the locked hood, she had found no chance to remove her gag or blindfold.
Except for these interruptions, all she could do was to lie on her bed and to wait for things to come. Dorothea had listened carefully to the noises from outside and she was sure that she was hidden in some cellar close to a marketplace. She could hear people talking, the sound of hooves, carts and sometimes of cars, all obviously only a few yards apart. The girl had screamed her lungs out, but nobody had taken notice of the bound and gagged blonde. She had finally forced herself not to panic and to concentrate on a chance of escaping.
Her captors – according to their different voices, there were at least three of them – had talked frankly in her presence, but Dorothea only knew a few words in Arabic and so, the only thing she had definitely understood had been the word „Marrakesh“.
„Marrakesh! So, they have abducted me for profit and will get me there!“
She tried to remember the map of Morocco and guessed that the city was some 100 miles away, given the fact that she still was somewhere around where she had been kidnapped. Then, another fact came to her mind: Marrakesh was in the other direction than Agadir. Agadir, where the only people were who would take care about where she was and what had happened to her. And now, bound and gagged as she was, she had no chance of giving Sally or Wladimir a hint of where to start their search.
Then, one evening – she could only guess that from the decreasing heat inside the stuffy cellar – she was not brought back to her bed after she had been allowed to relieve herself. Instead, she was led up some stairs and her handcuffs were removed. Then, for the first time since her abduction, someone spoke to her:
„If you promise not to scream or to try anything silly, we will remove your gag and blindfold.“
Dorothea nodded emphatically. She was not sure whether she would keep that promise, but she definitely wanted to get rid of her blindfold and see what was around.
Seconds later, someone undid the hood from her head. Then, they unwrapped the tape and the bandage from her eyes. Dorothea blinked when the pads fell from her eyes, allowing her to see for the first time in days.
She was standing in a room that was filled with goods of all kind, obviously a warehouse. In front of her, a table was standing and behind that, a man wearing traditional clothes was sitting. Beside him stood another one holding a gun whilst the third who had freed her from her blindfold was standing to her left.
With clumsy fingers, Dorothea peeled the tape from her mouth and spat out the sodden panties that had gagged her for so long. Now, the sitting man pointed at a mug standing on the table. Dorothea took some sips of the indeed refreshing tea, resisting to pour it into the man`s face. Instead, she asked:
„May I talk now?“
The man smiled and applauded.
„So, you have already learned that a woman should only speak when allowed to! That`s good, for if you remain that docile, your future life will be less hard. Maybe, it will not be hard at all!“
„And what will my future be? Not staying inside your cellar till I am old and grey, I presume.“
Dorothea forced herself to remain calm and this obviously was another aspect the man appreciated for he now offered her some grapes and said:
„Well, it`s a rather unspectacular move: you are going to Marrakesh, to the house of a rich man interested in pretty European girls. Behave, and he will treat you like a Princess. After a few years, you will no longer think of your old life!“
„Well, he really must trust your eye, since I can`t remember him looking at me or you taking photos of me!“
„Let`s say that we know each other from earlier transactions. Where did you say you are from?“
Actually, Dorothea hadn`t told him anything about herself, but when she said she was German, his smile became even broader.
„Germany! I knew it! So, you will even be able to talk in your mother tongue once you are in my business partner`s harem! That is, if you are allowed to speak at all!“
Now, Dorothea wanted to ask thousands of additional questions, but he interrupted her with a wave of his hand. Instead, he looked at her and said:
„Now, which way of travelling would you prefer? First Class or – Second Class?“
When saying the last two words, the man padded on a box that looked very small – almost too small to stash a grown woman inside. Dorothea shuddered, but she tried to sound brave when she replied:
„I presume that Third Class will not be just having to sit on a wooden bench?“
Again, the man laughed.
„I am not sure if your bravery will help you or your loose tongue will get you into troubles! Well, let`s start with preparation for First Class! But remember that if you refuse to do what I order you even once, you will go to that box! And if you try to run away or start to fight – well, let`s say I will find a way to transport you that will make you think of this box as a palace! Now, start by removing your clothes!“
Dorothea had expected this order and besides, she had been forced to strip in front of men before and so, she just opened the buttons of her dress and let it fall to the ground without hesitating. Since her sandals had been removed earlier, she now was dressed only in her white panties.
Dorothea could hear a gasp from the side and she put her hands on her hips and rocked them a bit. The men would see her bare boobs anyway and offering them a bit of a show would perhaps distract them from guarding her too carefully. The leader just nodded and pointed at her panties.
„These too! And hand them over to me, please!“
Again, Dorothea obeyed. The man sniffed at her underwear and coughed playfully.
„Phew, have you been wearing these for an entire week?“
Actually, it had been just four days, but all the time, Dorothea had been lying in that hot room. She could not help blushing slightly at his remark, but she resisted the urge to cover herself with her hands.
„Over there, you will find everything you need to make yourself more presentable! If you need, my men will help you!“
Dorothea stepped over to where the man had said and found two buckets, a bar of soap and a towel. On a stool beside, there were a hairbrush, a hand mirror and even some lipstick.
Though she knew that she was giving quite a show to her three captors, it felt wonderful to wash herself after days in her sweaty dress. So, Dorothea washed and soaped her body and did her hair the best she could. When she was finished, she tried to wrap herself with the towel that turned out to be too small for that purpose. So, she just pressed it against her pelvis as she turned around, allowing the men to watch her work.
The leader pointed at the towel and shook his head with a grin. Shrugging, Dorothea dropped the cloth and allowed the men to watch her in the nude.
„Put your hands on the top of your head!“
Dorothea obeyed, although she knew that this uplifted her big boobs even more. The three men walked around her, obviously admiring what they saw. The leader, however, found something to complain about.
„It looks as if you have neglected to shave your body hair during your time here! Are your hands szeady enough or shall one of my men do that for you?“
„Just hand me the razor if you dare!“
For a few seconds, the man silently looked at her and Dorothea just thought she had gone too far. Then, he laughed and handed her a razor, together with some shaving cream in a bowl.
The next minutes turned out to be some of the most humiliating in Dorothea`s life. Of course, all three men were watching her whilst she shaved her body and of course, she was not allowed to turn around. So, she sat on the stool and began her work.
Her armpits were no problem, but Dorothea found out that there was no way to keep her legs closed and shave them at the same time. When she was finished and towelled the remains of cream from her legs, her face and chest were pink from embarrassment.
„Haven`t you forgotten something?“
Dorothea sighed with frustration. The man padded on the box`s lid and so, the girl once again sat down and slowly began to cream her pubic area. She was trembling from anger and humiliation, but she had no interest in cutting herself and so, she just concentrated in removing her pubic hair.
To her great relief, the men just examined her work by looking and not by touching her. They obviously seemed satisfied, for now, the leader ordered:
„Now, it`s time to get dressed! I think we have something that matches your lovely blue eyes!“
He went to a shelf and reached for something he handed to Dorothea. It were a rangy golden chain and two long veils of thin, nearly transparent silk.
Dorothea had no idea of what she should do with these items and so, he explained her. She had to put the chain around her waist. Then, she was ordered to thread one of the veils through it, so that it covered her pubic area and that the ends were dangling to her knees at the front and behind. The other cloth, she had to hang around her neck, cross it between her breasts and cover them before knotting the ends behind her back. Dorothea could see that the transparent cloth did little to cover her boobs, but the two cloths acted more or less like bra and panties and after the nude show she had offered the men before, Dorothea was feeling covered now.
Next, the man handed her some sandals and whilst the girl put them on, he reached for some more blue veils and piled them on the table.
„Even if you are travelling First Class and have behaved well so far, we will have to take care that you won`t be able to alert anyone or to run away.“
Dorothea crossed her wrists behind her back, but when he had tied them with one of the scarves, he bent her hands upwards, pressed them against her nape and knotted the ends around her neck. When he released her, Dorothea tried to lower her hands from the inconvenient position, only to find out that this was tightening the scarf around her neck.
„I hope – that the trip – will not – be long!“, she croaked, but the man wasn`t finished. He took another veil and threaded it through her bent arms. Then, he took the ends and pulled them down.
Dorothea involuntarily bucked and the two other men stepped close to grab her when this not only forced her to bring her elbows closer together, but also pulled on the choking cloth around her neck. In her fight for breathing, Dorothea not only ignored the fact that this position forced her to thrust out her boobs, but also that the man had worked the scarf`s end between her legs and brought them upwards between her breasts. He pulled the slack out, then, he tied the ends off to her neck tie.
When the men let Dorothea go now, she found that since the second veil was pulling the one around her neck downwards, this took some pressure from her throat and allowed her to breathe more easily. But at the same time, she was forced to remain still and in a very inconvenient and upright position. In addition, the two tight cloth bands now pressed against her private parts, trying to find a was to split her into two. Pleadingly, she looked at the man, but he only took a third veil and tied her legs at knee`s level.
„Please – that hurts!“
Dorothea now had to concentrate on not falling over and still was trying to cope with the rigid bondage. She had already realized that all knots were out of reach for her fingers and that the cloth, albeit so flimsy, was considerably strong. Then, she looked up and saw that the man now was holding two pairs of panties in each of his hands – the one she had been gagged with and that was still wet with her saliva and the one she had been wearing during her captivity and that smelled of her sweat and body.
„Now, as a First Class passenger, you are allowed to chose!“
Dorothea thought of spitting into his face, but this would have gotten her nowhere – except from into the stuffy box. So, she quickly decided for the gagging panties. They were not hers, but they had been in her mouth for some three days now. Whatever they had been flavored with, she had already sucked it from the damp material. So, she nodded towards the man`s right and tried not to retch when he stuffed the balled up silk deep into her throat.
Having done so, the man once again taped her mouth shut, this time using a flesh colored tape he wound around her lower face a dozen times. Then, without warning, he squeezed one of her nipples.
Drawing by hugues66
„Mmhhrrrrrrr!“
Dorothea squealed with pain and pulled on her bonds, this only causing additional discomfort. One of the men grabbed her arm to prevent her from staggering and when the pain in her nipple decreased, she just panted heavily and tried to blink away the tears in her eyes.
„Sorry, but we can`t take any risks. But you may be pleased that the last arrangements will be less inconvenient.“
He cut two more pieces of the flesh colored tape and told the gagged girl to close her eyes before he taped them shut. Blindfolded again, Dorothea could now only sense what the man was doing next. She felt him place some glasses on her nose and fix the handles to her head. Then, she felt him do something with her left ear.
„Mmhhmmm? Nnnnnggg!“
„Relax, it`s just some wax!“
He plugged both her ears and now, Dorothea could no longer make out distinct sounds. She wasn`t completely deaf, but she could not say whether the men were still talking or if it was just the sounds from outside the room.
Next, she felt something smooth and cool on her skin. It turned out to be a silk dress that was pulled over her – or rather a burqa, for Dorothea felt that some kind of hood was pulled ove rher head, covering it completely and leaving only her eyes and nose free. The cloth was surprisingly light and although it fell to her ankles, it did not feel too uncomfortable. But of course, the dress, together with the sunglasses, would hid her bondage and gag completely.
A hand suddenly clapped her butt and then, two strong arms grabbed her from the sides and she was escorted outside. When Dorothea felt the still hot sun on her body, telling her that she was on the street now, she tried to buck to alert someone`s attention. In addition, she wildly screamed through her gag.
„Mmhrrrrrrrrmmmmm! Uuuhhmmmmmm! Mmmmhhhmmmpphh!“
It was to no avail. The men didn`t lose their grip for a second and her rigid ties didn`t allow much movement. She just managed to shake her head a bit and to flail with her lower legs before she found herself being seated on some upholstered bench, obviously a car`s back seat. The two men sat to her sides and a few seconds later, the car drove off, getting the helpless girl through the crowd on the village`s marketplace.
***
Cheik ibn Dahwout had a high self control. Had he played Poker, he sure would have been excellent. But now, even he showed some signs of anger. Trading with diamonds could a man get rich, but this trade even brought some difficulties with it.
He was born in the Senegal, near Dakar, where his father had established a small diamond trade. Most of these precious stones were found in South Africa, but there were also considerable deposits at the West coast, not too far south of the Senegal. Of course, the French and the British tried to control that lucrative business, but if one was brave, intelligent and had no problems in bending the law, he could make a fortune. Cheik`s father had all these virtues and so, he had grown up in what could be called richdom, compared to the other Senegalese. However, he had wanted more and so, he had looked to the North.
In Morocco, there were rich people interested in diamonds and after a few years, he had been able to settle down in Marrakesh, where there had been only one other diamond dealer – an old man of some 70 years. This man had proved to be too weak to be a real concurrent and so, all Cheik had to do was to wait until this dealer had died from natural causes one year ago. But then, everything had turned out wrong.
Charifa, the 40 years old widow of said dealer, had taken over her late husband`s business. Everyone had expected that a woman in a Muslim society would have a snowball`s chance in hell – but Charifa had proved them all wrong. She had cooperated with some of the corrupt Frech officials. Of course, Cheik did the same, but he was a Black whilst Charifa was a Berber woman – meaning that she was considered less exotic and therefore more acceptable to Europeans. In addition, Charifa was the tutor of her two pretty nieces and the idea of becoming the husband of one of these – or of the still very attractive Charifa herself – made some of Marrakesh`s upper class forget about their prejudices against a woman behaving so unconventional. And, which was the most important fact for most diamond buyers, her jewels were slightly cheaper than Cheik`s.
„I really wonder how she manages to always beat my prizes! Does she offer herself as a part of the payment?“
Arslan, his right hand, shrugged. They were close mates since they had both entered the High School at Dakar and now that they both were in their late 30ies, they knew each other for some 25 years.
Never in his life would Arslan have betrayed his friend and superior, but he wasn`t that sure about the other employees. Charifa lived in her little palace together with her nieces and a small group of other women. Of course, there had been some rumors about all these women living together without a man, but some burglars (two of these had been secretly paid by Cheik) had had to find out the hard way that some of these women were in fact highly skilled bodyguards. So, Cheik`s plan of coercing Charifa into cooperation by a nightly assault had ended up with his henchmen beaten up by some girls.
However, these girls were also very pretty and often seen around with Charifa when she showed up on parties. Since she preferred to socialize with the French and with more liberal minded Moroccans, these girls could be seen talking to men, flirting with them. Maybe, this was another source of valuable information for his concurrent, Cheik thought. He guessed that her activities had cost him some two millions since her husband had died.
Cheik still was a rich man and if he had retired immediately, he would have stayed wealthy until his life`s end. But he also was a proud man and being beaten by a woman hurt his pride. He had been the number one diamond trader in Marrakesh and he would become it again!
However, for now, he just had to accept that another of his regular customers now got his jewels from Charifa and Cheik could do nothing against it. Any illegal attempt of getting rid of Charifa had failed and informing the authorities wasn`t an option either for then, he would have digged his own grave, too.
The two men discussed the problem for a little longer until Cheik said goodbye to his friend and went to his private rooms. Usually, it was meant that a man retired into his harem to relax from the day`s hardships, but even this luxury was denied to him.
He had married his first wife, Bineta, for political rather than personal reasons and it had been a rather cold relationship ever since. Bineta was a Wolof, with kings and Queens among her ancestors, and Cheik was a Serer – in Bineta`s eyes, a peasant, although he had even at the time of their marriage been ten times as rich as Bineta`s father.
He had thought of improving his position by marring twice more – two women of his people this time. But Lamina and Youma had quickly arranged themselves and often cooperated when it came to dancing on Cheik`s nose. Of course, they behaved like devoted women when in public and they sometimes even shared the bed with him, but quite often, he felt like they were the rulers of his house, not him.
Last year in Casablanca, Cheik had seen an European woman dancing in a club. Her name was Magda and despite being a German, she was working for a French night club owner. Usually, this club was not allowed to Africans, but for a man with a wallet like his, some exceptions were made.
Cheik had thought that this European rose would make perfectly in his private garden and so, he had contacted some of his rather illegal contacts just before leaving Casablanca. Three weeks later, two men had knocked at his door at midnight, carrying a large rolled carpet over their shoulders.
Once they had put their load into his living room and paid off the men, Cheik had called in his wifes and had cut the ropes keeping the carpet from unrolling.
„Maybe, this will solve some of our problems!“
He had pulled on one end and when the carpet opened, it revealed that indeed Magda had been inside, although not much could be seen from her. From head to toe, she was wrapped in bandages like a mummy and more bandages went over the lower half of her face, keeping a considerable amount of cloth inside her mouth. A pair of grey eyes stared at him with a mixture of hate and fear whilst she tried to shake strands of her sweaty brown, shoulder length hair from her face.
„She will do to me what you don`t want – and maybe, I won`t need you no longer then!“
It had been an empty thread and his wifes knew it. Cheik needed the contacts to the families of Bineta, Lamina and Youra and so, he could not dare to send any of them away. But at least, he now could once more have a regular sex life.
In fact, it had turned out that Magda had no real problem in becoming his concubine. After only a few weeks, she came to his bedroom on her own accord. Even more, she fulfilled him wishes his wifes only did when they wanted something – which turned out to be Magda`s impetus, too.
Obviously, the three women treated her like a personal slave and punished Magda if she didn`t do what they wanted her to do. the dancer was rather tall and not faint of heart, but she was no match against the three Blacks. Bineta, Lamina and Youra didn`t dare to hurt her visibly, but Magda had told Cheik that she had spent more than one night bound and gagged with silk scarves that left no traces.
Cheik had scolded his wilful wifes, but later that day, they had shown him what they thought of both him and of telltales: when he had returned from a business meeting, all three had expected him in the bedroom and started to pamper him as if he was the Sultan himself and they nothing more but devoted and loving wifes.
It had taken him quite some time until he had noticed that Magda wasn`t there and when he had asked, they had at first tried to evade his questions. Finally, Bineta had played as if she had been remembering just recently and had run away, followed by Youra, whilst lamina had continued Cheik`s massage. A while later, they had brought a slightly trembling Magda who had some treacherous marks at her wrists and ankles and who just nodded when Bineta said that she had been sitting in the garden and fallen asleep. Her eyes that were widened with fear told that she was lying, and her fearful looks to Bineta who, rather unusual, had put an arm around her shoulder, did so, too, but Cheik, who was a hard man only in business accepted the explanation.
Magda had never talked to him about what really had happened, but obviously, the girl wasn`t save among his womenfolk. So, he made a decision: another European would sure associate with Magda and help her to stand her ground against the three Senegalese.
Arslan laughed when he told him about his plan the next day. He compared him to a man who tried to save his leaky ship by drilling another hole into the hull to allow the water to drain away. However, Cheik was sure that this would solve his domestic problems. Arslan was his best friend, but since both also were Muslims, they respected each other`s privacy and so, Arslan did not further comment on Cheik`s plan.
„If it helps him concentrate on our problems with Charifa, I will not judge him!“, he thought.
***