„Now, I hope you didn`t get bored during our absence?“
Hadine raised her head when Sarina and Lana entered the room. The strained expression on her face showed her that she was far from feeling bored. The crotch rope had indeed been quite entertaining – but if Hadine had given in to it`s caresses, she would have died. So, the bounty huntress had used her self control to keep herself from moving her hips, though the tickling between her legs, increased by the aphrodisiac, had been almost agonizing.
With a giggle, Sarina pulled on her crotch rope, causing Hadine to cringe and to moan. She kept on teasing her, but then, she realized that Hadine might have decided to kill them all and so, she put a pile of clothes to the floor and said:
„Once you are dressed, you and Lana will leave through a hidden door. Now, I will leave you, good luck!“
The Countess left and Lana started to untie Hadine, who needed some time to soothe her arousal. Even with the crotch rope gone, it took her much longer than otherwise to calm down and even the touch of her silk loincloth felt like a teasing caress.
However, she managed to put on the skin tight black leather suit and to check the weapons the Countess had given to her. For a moment, she considered using them on Lana, but then, she foll,owed the maid through a small door that led to a long, dark corridor.
After some time, they reached a hidden area of the harbour, where Lana pointed to a ship anchoring in the distance.
„According to my Mistress`s spies, the captain of this ship has bought some slave girls the last day. Perhaps, one of them is the woman we are looking for.“
„That would be nearly too easy!“, Hadine thought. But then, she thought twice. If this ship was sailing under the flag of a different realm, it would have been a diplomatic scandal if Sarina had ordered to search it via official order.
The ship was some 400 yards away, but it would have been idiotic to swim or to get ther by a small rowboat. The men aboard would have seen her approach and even if she had reached the „Mara“ unseen, she did not want to risk a fight against the whole crew. Then, an idea came to her mind.
„Lana, my new friend, you sure have contact to one of your Mistress`s spies, haven`t you?“
Raising her eyebrow, the girl nodded. She was a bit reluctant to get her and Hadine there, since the bounty huntress did not want to tell her about her plan, but in the end, she led Hadine to the hut of a fisherman. The two men living there led the two women inside once Lana had shown them a hidden seal.
„To your service, Miss!“
Hadine smiled and said:
„You sure can get us to that ship in the harbour?“
„Well, of course, we can be there in a few minutes – but why don`t you just take a ferry?“
„Because we will travel as, well, unwilling travellers. More or less, both Lana and we will be cargo!“
„Hmm?“, Lana gasped.
Hadine quickly explained the plan to the men: they would enter the „Mara“ disguised as slaves. Then, they could see whether there really was the woman they were looking for among the other slaves.
„And then, the captain sure will release us and get us all back to Ruan“, Lana said sarcastically, but Hadine just smiled:
„Of course, we will take some hidden picklocks and weapons with us. But if you want to stay here...“
Lana fell silent. Her orders were to stay on Hadine`s side. And so, she sighed and just shooed the two men away so that she and Hadine could change their clothes.
Half an hour later, the small fisherboat was approaching the „Mara“. One of the men asked for the captain and handed him a letter, signed with the Royal seal. It read:
„Captain Petico, we know about your secret slave trade. The authorities will not be informed if you do us the favour of taking two maids who have fallen from our grace with you. You may keep the sum you get for them as a compensation for your work.“
The letter was signed by one of the peers of Ruan, the second in command after the Mayor. So, Petico saw no other chance than to accept. He ordered the fisherboat to dock at the „Mara`s“ stern and there, he entered the boat and looked under the tarpauline.
„Mmhhmm!“
„Uuhhmmmph!“
There were two women. One was a tallish blonde, not longer young and looking rather sportive. She hardly was a maid, rather a soldier or bodyguard, for she was dressed in black leather trousers and a matching jacket. Her hands were shackled behind her back, and similar chains encircled her booted ankles. She was gagged with the typical leather mask that held a ball in her mouth. She seemed angry, but self controlled.
The other one was a small redhead, dressed in a skimpy dress with one breast exposed. She was bound and gagged similar to her companion and seemed to be quite embarrassed by her situation.
Drawing by hugues66
„So, are you free women?“, Petico asked. Minutes later, the two girls were brought to the cargo load where Hadine saw that there were four more women chained inside the boxes.
The two girls that had clothes on looked like peasant girls, but a naked woman that had her arms forced inside an armbinder looked as if she had done more than cooking and working on the fields in her life. However, it was number four that raised her attention most.
The blonde was wrapped in a blanket and heavy chains were encircling that, rendering her immobile. Her gag looked enormous and yet, the look in her eyes seemed defiant. Perhaps, she had found the mysterious pretender to the Throne.
When the seamen chained their necks and released Lana from her bonds, she smiled under her gag. It had been her idea to get Lana into the transparent tunic and to expose her breast. Just a little payment for her behaviour towards her.
Hadine, who seemed to be the more dangerous, was left in her chains and one of the men took advantage of that, fondling her breasts. Hadine squirmed, but did not fight too much, trying not to provocate getting further restrained.
About an hour later, they felt the ship beginning to move. Their journey into slavery had started.
***
During their breakfast, Vanessa had managed to hide her progress in removing her ties, but immediately after the men had left, she had continued to saw through the second strap. It had helped that the captain needed the men for manoevering and so, they had not had much time for having their way with the girls.
Once the strap had fallen, Vanessa squirmed to hook the armbinder to the nail. Then, she pulled and millimetre after millimetre, the tight sheath slipped down her arms. The girl let out a groan of relief when she could part her elbows for the first time in days. Then, when her arms were free, she shook them and tried everything to regain feeling in them, for her work was far from being done.
Whilst her gag could stay for another while, she had to get rid of the chain tying her to the wall and besides, she had to free her ankles for otherwise, she would be unable to swim.
However, Vanessa now had something she could use as a picklock: the thorne of the sheath`s buckle. The lock of her neck ring was rather primitive and so, she could open it in a nutshell. Her leg irons needed some more time, but now, Vanessa was free, except for her gag that had a padlock with a keyhole too small for the iron thorne she had.
Vanessa looked at the women who had watched her escape and were now mmphing with anticipation. But the girl went over to Tina first. If there was enough time, she wanted to free the other slaves, too, but first, the rightful Queen was on the agenda.
„Mhhmm!“, the blonde greeted her when she bent over her, trying to open Tina`s neck ring, too. Suddenly, when she had nearly succeeded, Tina started to moan again and squirmed the little her bonds allowed.
„Just be patient, you – uff!“
Vanessa could not finish her sentence because a hard blow to her neck knocked her out. Hadine pulled the unconscious girl from Tina`s body.
The bounty huntress, locked in one of the boxes opposite to Vanessa, had watched with disbelief as the brown haired girl had started to free herself. It was definitely not part of her plan that someone else would free the slaves. So, when Vanessa had been busy with working on Tina`s chain, she had quickly taken her hidden picklock and removed her own bonds. Then, she had knocked out Vanessa.
Now, a humming like that of a swarm of bees began. Tina was curious about what that turn of events meant, Ella and Caris were just begging to be freed. And Lana was demanding to be freed at once. Hadine had deliberately handed her a picklock that would not work on her bonds, dooming her to remain chained up.
She quickly removed her gag and then, she said:
„I will have to go and take this one with me. But unfortunately, I don`t have the capacity for more than one to carry!“
„Mmhmmm!“
Lana now seemed to understand what Hadine was saying. She would take Tina with her and hand her to the Countess, who would be too grateful to think much about the loss of her maid!
Accompanied by frantic moaning, Hadine put Tina`s neck ring around the still unconscious Vanessa`s neck, then, she heaved the heavy bundle of the trussed up blonde over her shoulder. Hadine knew enough about ships that she was quite sure the seamen were still busy with trimming the sails and keeping off the treacherous coast South of Ruan. Nobody would notice her before she entered the deck.
The bounty huntress carried Tina to the lid leading to the main deck, then, she carefully peeped outside. As she had expected, most men were busy with the sails, not taking notice of that part of the ship. If she hurried, she could jump overboard without even being noticed.
However, there was Tina, who, tohether with the heavy chains around her, weighted some 200 lbs. Hadine would not be able to pull that weight towards the shore that now was some half a mile away.
Looking around, she found some live savers made of cork and tied these to the squirming and moaning bundle. Then, taking all her strength together, Hadine once more put Tina over her shoulder. She sneaked through the lid, went for the railing and jumped.
Tina, who had been more than furious about the latest events, was sure that now, she would die, bound and gagged and wrapped like a parcel. However, the cork lifesavers offered just enough buoyancy to keep her head above the waves and then, she felt the arms of the black clad blonde around her. The strong woman half used her as a raft, half managed to get them away from the ship where obviously nobody had watched their disappearance.
Even for a good swimmer like Hadine, it was more than strenuous to get Tina closer to the cliffs. Here, the blanket prevented the other woman from getting hurt and finally, Hadine could pull Tina to the shore. She sank to her knees and watched the „Mara“, who by now was just a point at the horizon.
„Mph!“
Tina let out a sound, half moaning, half coughing. During their escape, the plug of the tube inside her gag had got lost, causing her to swallow some sea water. Hadine rose to her feet and quickly examined their position. Satisfied that they were alone, she removed her clothes, except for her loincloth, and put them on a rock for drying. Then, she turned for Tina and opened the chain with her picklock.
Still, Tina had no idea who the other woman was. She sure had planned this, meaning she knew that she was the rightful heir to the Throne of Light. But she was sure not one of Vanessa`s friends. However, the blonde still hadn`t talked.
Once Tina had been freed from the chain and blanket, Hadine smiled. The blonde was stark naked and she was also tied at her arms and legs. She hesitated. The easiest thing would be to get her captive back to Ruan that was only a few miles to the North. However, that would mean to do exactly as Sarina had ordered her and her pride told her not to dance after the Countess`s whistle.
„Maybe, I should just hide her and try to get some more bounty for her“, she thought when suddenly Tina started to spasm and retch, twisting her eyes. Obviously, her gag was about to choke her.
„Hey, don`t die, I still have need for you!“
Quickly, Hadine unlocked Tina`s gag and pulled the plug from her mouth, followed by the soaked rags that stuffed her cheeks. Tina`s breath became more steady, then, she suddenly rose up her upper body.
„Arrah!“, she croaked.
During her captivity, Tina had tried to get as much information about her new life as possible. There had not been much, but there had been the word „Arrah“. It seemed to be some magic word of fight, for her original captors had used it quite frequently. In their mouths, it had no power, but Tina was a real sorceress.
Her voice had been hoarse from the perpetual gagging, but still, some magic blow threw the blonde woman away like a rag doll. Hadine landed in the water a few yards from the shore. When she was paddling back to land, Tina, who was still bound hand and foot, said:
„I might kill you right now, but if you behave and free me, I might spare your worthless life!“
Actually, she had no idea if she could actually do so, but obviously, the other woman did. Once she was back ashore, she took a small knife from her boot and cut Tina`s bonds.
„Now, I think you should explain a few things to me“, she ordered.
***
Hadine hadn`t hit her hard, and so, Vanessa had regained her consciousness a few minutes after Hadine had left. However, she now was once more trapped. In this cell, there wasn`t a protruding nail and the woman that had overpowerde her had also thrown the sheath with the helpful buckle away.
Tina was gone, but Vanessa could do nothing about it. She was rustling with her chain when suddenly she heard a moaning from the other side of the corridor.
„Uuhhmmm! Mmhhmmm!“
„Mhm?“
It was the small redhead, the curly girl that had been brought aboard together with the woman that had disappeared with Tina. First, Vanessa had thought that these two were related, but now, this girl had been left behind.
„Mmmhrrrmm!“
Now, Vanessa could see what she wanted from her. She held a brooch in her hand, one that seemed to have held her tunic, for now, this had fallen to her hips, baring her breasts. She threw it to Vanessa who, when she catched the brooch, could feel the bronze needle on it. With this, she would be able to open her neck ring.
Vanessa showed the redhead a „thumbs up“-gesture, then, she quickly unlocked her neck. Once again, she was free, except for her gag.
For a moment, she considered running away, but then, she decided to free the other girls, too. This was rather easy, for now, she saw a ring with different keys on it hanging beside the door. Vanessa first freed the redhead and handed her the small key for her gag. Then, she opened the neck chains of Caris and Ella, too.
„No sound, you understand!“
Both caris and Ella nodded and so, they removed their gags, too. The two peasant girls indeed were about to scream, but managed to bite their tongues.
„What now?“
Lana had provisionally knotted her tunic, covering her breasts the little the transparent cloth could. Vanessa still was naked, but she found her loincloth and the one that had covered her breasts when she had been brought aboard in a corner. Now, they were decent, more or less.
„I think we should just run on deck, jump overboard and swim to the shore. Sure, it won`t be more than a few hundred yards.“
However, this simple plan had the problem that of the four women, only Vanessa could swim. Again, she thought of leaving her comrades behind, but then, she decided against it. Obviously, Lana had something to do with the tallish blonde that had taken Tina with her. So, she would need her to get her friend back. And somehow, she felt that the two other girls had earned better than to become harem slaves.
„In a few hours, they will come to give us some food. And then, they will see how far we got.“
At that very moment, they could hear yelling from above and little later, the „Mara“ started to change her direction. The ship accelerated and it seemed as if it was following a zigzag course.
„Are they drunk?“, Lana asked. However, Vanessa had another guess.
„They are followed by someone. Someone who`s stronger than them.“
She knew that there were pirates at the coast. Usually, they didn`t approach that far North, but obviously, there were exceptions from that rule. And a small ship like the „Mara“, with it`s few sailors, was an easy prey.
„What will happen if the pirates catch us?“, Ella asked with fear in her eyes. Vanessa shrugged. If it were pirates from the South, they would perhaps sell them as slaves. Those from further North would perhaps set them free. Perhaps, they would consider raping them first. Or, of course, they could decide to rape them and kill them afterwards, for they were potential witnesses.
She quickly embraced the trembling girl, then, she went for the door.
„Follow me“, she whispered. Now, with the pirates close, it was quite unlikely that someone was below deck. The four girls could get to one of the lids and now, they could hear some distant yelling of the approaching pirates.
Vanessa peeped through the lid and could see the other ship a few hundred yards away. Her heart sunk. Even if they would manage to water a raft, the pirates would see them. And hiding in the cargo wasn`t an option either, for the „Mara“ was rather small and the pirates would sure search the whole ship vor valuables.
The „Mara“ now laid to and soon lost speed. It seemed that the captain had given up and now only tried to save his life and that of his men. Minutes later, the pirate ship came alongside and a few dozen men jumped aboard. With a sigh, Vanessa went on deck, followed by the other three girls.
„Now, what have we got here?“
A tall man, obviously the captain of the pirate ship, looked at the four pretty, scantily clad women. Some of his men started hooting, but he made them fall silent.
„Maybe, it`s a Princess and her maids and we can get a large ransom for them!“
Before anyone could hinder her, Lana stepped forward.
„I am the maid of Countess Sarina, the Queen`s right hand! These men“, she pointed at Petico and his crew“, have kidnapped us! Get us back to Ruan and my Mistress will pay you whatever you demand!“
„So, you belong to the Royal household?“
„Yes, and these three are my friends!“
Vanessa carefully watched the pirates. Lana`s words, whether true or not, could at least buy them some time. However, the captain did not look delighted at all.
„Your so-called Queen is nothing but a pretender! I hate her – and everyone that belongs to that serpent!“
This made Lana fall silent, but now, Vanessa saw her chance.
„So, you are a rebel, just like I am! Death to the pretender!“
The captain looked at her with a puzzled expression.
„This girl just said that you are her friend!“
Damned! It was a dilemma! On the one hand, Vanessa could say that she hadn`t seen Lana before today and that she really was a rebel. On the other hand, the pirate would then perhaps kill the other women.
„Well, maybe, friends is too much a word for our relationship! But if she really is a maid of the Countess, then she really has access to loads of money!“
„And if you all are just liars, you should end up at the slave market!“
Both Lana and Vanessa wanted to protest, but the captain ordered them to shut up. Then, he looked at them and said:
„So, one of you is a rebel, the other the Countess`s maid! At least, you“, he pointed at Ella and Caris, „do not pretend to be someone! So, maybe, you are all nothing more than pretty slave girls!“
„They are slaves! I bought then in Ruan, but now, they are your property!“
It was Petico, who obviously had decided to cooperate with the pirates, now that he was at their mercy.
To the girls`s horror, he convinced the pirate`s captain that he was allowed to fetch the ship`s cargo manifest. And there, it said that he had bought four slave girls who could not declare themselves free women.
„We were gagged when we were brought on his ship!“, Ella blurted. The pirates laughed.
„What a nice idea of following the law!“
Vanessa, however, felt their chances disappear. Four women, the manifest said. Obviously, he had not noted Lana and her mysterious companion yet. And since the blonde had disappeared, taking Tina with her, they were now four again. Four officially declared slave girls.
Now, Lana wanted to say something again, but the pirate captain obviously had heard enough.
„Bind and gag them all and take them to our ship! I will decide later what to do with them!“
A few minutes later, the four women were lying side by side on the deck of the pirate ship. Each had her wrists tied behind her back, her ankles bound and was hogtied by a short rope between these two ties. They also had their mouths stuffed with rags and cleave gags tied between their lips. It wasn`t an inescapable bondage, but with always at least a dozen men around, none of them tried to free herself or dared to wriggle off her gag.
An hour later, the pirates had plundered the „Mara“ and sailed off. Since he had been cooperative, Petico was granted not only his life, but also his ship, though he had lost his whole cargo and his money.
„I wonder where the sorceress is“, he thought. He shuddered. Obviously, the blonde had been a real magician, for she had managed to disappear from his ship. But perhaps, the strange tall blonde who had disappeared, too, had something to do with it.
***
Hadine had told Tina some of the truth. She had told her that she was a bounty huntress who had orders to get her to Ruan, told so by the Countess. Tina, on the other hand, had not told her that she was the rightful heiress, but only that she was from the Earth – or rather, a parallel world to that – and that she was more and more developing her magic powers. She even had proved so by yelling „Ktah!“ against a rock in the sea, causing it to burst into pebbles. It had been a small rock, but it sure had impressed Hadine.
„Now, we have to find a possibility to free Vanessa! The girl you have knocked out and left behind!“
Tina felt superior, now that she had taken Hadine`s clothes, leaving the bounty huntress with only her loincloth and a strip of the blanket to cover her boobs. She had wondered why Hadine was wearing such a broad silver ring around her neck. It looked rather inconvenient to her and sure would only attract thieves. Perhaps, if she sold that thing, she could find some help to search for Vanessa.
„I had orders to get you, not your friends.“
„And what had your redhead friend to do with that?“
„Lana? Well, let`s say, she`s just a friend of the Countess, not one of mine!“
Hadine smiled enigmatically and pulled the remnants of the blanket closer around her body. Tina`s powers had enabled them to light a small campfire, but it barely was enough to keep them both warm.
„Maybe, we should get somewhere – somewhere where we can get something to eat and drink?“
In the cliffs, they had found a puddle of relatively clean water, but nothing to eat and now, both girls were hungry and freezing.
Tina had to admit that Hadine was right and so, since Tina had her boots, the bounty huntress tied a few strips of the blanket around her feet. Then, the two climbed up the cliffs. Since it had been just a few hours after departure when they had left the „Mara“, they could not be far from Ruan, but the city was in the North whilst Vanessa was heading towards the South.
Hadine was quite sure that, if she had turned for Ruan and left Tina alone, the blonde would not have tried to hinder her. However, there were only a few days left until the next full moon and if by then Hadine could not offer Tina to the Countess, she would loose her head, or rather get it blown off.
Tina, who had turned out to be quite charming, though she still did not seem to trust her. She always kept a few yards distance towards Hadine and never turned her back on her. If she wanted to overpower her, Hadine would have to wait for a better opportunity.
At the sea, they could see a ship approaching. It seemed to become slower and then, they could see a boat that was coming closer to the shore.
„Perhaps, we should hide“, Hadine proposed and Tina and her hid behind a rock from where they could examine the shore, but would not be seen from the boat.
„I am not sure what they want here! I mean, there is no village around and if they ran out of water, they could make it to Ruan in a few hours.“
Hadine and Tina strained their eyes and now, they could see some ten men inside, all well armed. Then, something stuck into Hadine`s eyes: it was a bundle in the boat`s bow that definitely was pink. The same pink the tunic had, that she had forced Lana to wear as a disguise. And now, the same colour was there and it seemed to belong to a squirming bundle, accompanied by similar bundles, that looked like-
„There! They are on this boat!“
Now, Tina had seen the captives, too. When the boat came closer and closer, they could see more details. Vanessa, Lana and the two peasant girls, they all were there, all hogtied and, according to the cloth strips knotted at their napes, gagged. However, none of the men seemed to be one of the „Mara`s“ crewmen.
„It looks as if our rescue mission won`t last that long!“, Hadine whispered. Tina nodded. However, she did not follow her first impulse and did not try to use her magic. If she sank the boat, perhaps, the four bound and gagged damsels would die before they had reached the shore.
So, she followed Hadine who was looking for a way down the cliffs, since from their current position, they would soon lose eye contact with the boat.
Finally, the bounty huntress had found a path that led down to the shore. They expected that the men would sooner or later appear and then, Tina could shoo them away with one of her spells.
However, nothing happened.
„I`m afraid that we have to get down to them!“
Tina did not feel that confident, but she nodded and silently followed Hadine.
***