Chapter two

At the oasis, Tina was just considering whether she could take a bath in the little pond they were resting beside. Of course, there was Malik, but he had seen her in the nude before and besides, he would not dare to look too close as long as Vanessa was araound. And after a week in the saddle, she just needed a refreshment.

So, she told the others what she intended to do, implying that they should look the other way. Then, she quickly undressed and with a sigh, she let herself sink into the water. The pond was not more than some 20 yards in diameter and so, Tina decided to swim a bit. Then, she heard the sound of hooves on the ground.

Before she could decide whether to get out of the water or to hide here, the first riders reached the oasis. Tina could see that they were dressed like the Arabs of her old world, but that they were wearing lances instead of guns. Malik had drawn his sword, but now, seeing he was clearly outnumbered, he put it away and slightly bowed towards the leader who had just halted his camel.

„I am Sheikh Karim, the ruler of this area, including this oasis! And who are you, stranger?“

„Malik, on my way to the Silent Swamps. A private trip!“

„Private, so so! And you are accompanied by two women?“

There was no reason to lie. Vanessa had been standing beside Malik, ready to give him backup with her short bow, but now just waiting what would happen. And Tina was still inside the pond, swimming on the same spot and watching the shore.

Now, the Sheikh made his camel go to it`s knees and jumped from the saddle, followed by his men. To the surprise of Malik, Vanessa and Tina, they put down their lances and built a row along the shore, looking at the naked woman now feeling a bit uneasy.

„Are you the one who calls herself the rightful Queen of Light?“

Tina hesitated. If these men were henchmen of the Countess or the actual Queen, she was in severe problems. That was, if she did not manage to defeat these men with a magic spell. She prepared to blast them away, but before, she waited what the Sheikh wanted.

„If you are the one the prophecies are talking about, we are your loyal servants! But if you are a an impostor, you will have to die!“

„At least, they have clear and simple alternatives!“, Tina thought. The only problem was that she herself wasn`t sure whether her claim for the Throne of Light was justified or if she was just a symbol for some rebels.

„Will you prove your legitimacy to us?“

„If you tell me how to do that“, Tina thought, but she now also was curious what this was all about and so, she answered:

„Of course! And after that, you will prove that you are good and loyal underlings!“

Karim slightly bowed and then, he seemed to wait for her to do or say something. Tina was desperately thinking how to react when he said:

„Please, come here!“

Since Tina was stark naked, this was not the option she preferred, but she knew that she had to appear strong and confident. So, she swam closer to the shore and walked out of the water, not with her hands in front of her nakedness, but as if she was walking a red carpet, her head upright and her eyes on Karim. The Sheikh and his men watched the nude woman with considerable pleasure.

„The rightful Queen has a birthmark that proves her identity! A red sign that resembles a number!“

Expectantly, the two dozen men watched Tina who, after a few seconds of thinking, blushed deeply. Her first thought had been that, except for a few small spots that nearly everybody had, she had no significant birthmark. But then, memory had come. She had a red birthmark, formed like the number „seven“, but she had forgotten about it for she hadn`t seen it for many years. Not since her early teens, when her pubic hair had grown.

„Eh, I – I have the birthmark, b-but I would prefer Vanessa to look for it! Sh-she will tell you that I-I am the rightful Queen!“, Tina stammered. Vanessa looked at her with a frown and Tina hoped she would come close so she could tell her what her problem was, but Karim slowly shook his head.

„I must see it with my own eyes!“

He seemed a bit confused, too, for he had seen Tina now in the nude for about a minute and could tell by himself that the sign wasn`t on her forehead. Tina gulped and lowered her head, then, she brushed through her damp pubic hair, revealing the birthmark.

„H-here it is“, she whispered.

Karim came close, bent forward and examined her pubic mound. Then, he sank to his knees, pointing at the birthmark with his finger.

„Hail to the Queen of Light!“

„Hail to the Queen of Light!“, his men answered unisono, also kneeling in front of her now. Tina wasn`t sure whether she should be deeply embarrassed, amused or flattered by these warriors bowing to her nude middle. Blushing, she said:

„Now that my identity is proved, may I have my dress?“

***

The same time, Caris and Ella were still wondering where they were and what this was all about. After a rather short time, the dragon had landed and the two girls`s feet had been released. Strong hands had grabbed their arms and led them over a sandy place, inside a building with marble floors. There, they had been made to sit on a couch or bed and then, nobody had taken care of them for some time.

„Mmhhmmph!“, Caris commented on that.

„Mph!“, Ella answered.

The two girls still were gagged and hooded and chained together by their neck rings. Their hands were still cuffed, but they had brought their hands to the front and like that, they could try to explore the vicinity of their bed.

However, they found out that they were locked inside a cage, for in every direction, they felt iron bars after just a few steps. The cage could not be bigger than three by three yards, with the bed being the only furniture. The floor were the same marble tiles than the rest of the building, so, it seemed to be positioned inside a palace or mansion rather than a dungeon.

They had tried to work on their hoods, but to no avail. They had screamed into their gags, but had only heard the distant noises of a city around. They were quite sure that they had not been bought for a high sum, only to be left to starve, but after some time, their fear had grown and the fact that both girls had to pee didn`t help the matter. Finally, they were sitting on the bed, side by side, their thighs pressed together.

„Ah, our new guests! Sorry for letting you wait, but even a small kingdom like mine doesn`t rule itself without it`s ruler!“

The two girls gasped, for the voice had come out of nowhere. It was that of a woman, but not the one that had brought them here. Insecure what to do, they both rose from their bed.

„So, I hope you didn`t get air sick during your way here. Now, I guess you are more than curious who I am, where you are and what this is all about.“

She paused and Caris and Ella nodded after a few seconds, still not sure if the friendliness of that woman was just the prelude for something evil. Had she really been friendly, she would not have kept them naked, bound and gagged for all the time.

„I am Zirelda, Queen of the Silent Swamps!“

Though they both were plain peasant girls, Caris and Ella knew a bit about the realm in the Silent Swamps. It was a buffer state between their country and the Sultanate, inhabited only by some 2000 people, but controlling the only pass through the mountains that parted the two empires. Zirelda was allied to the Sultan, but did allow caravans of all states to pass her kingdom, as long as they paid for using the only road. Zirelda was said to be quite rich, but the swamps had so far thwarted any attempt to conquer her capital.

„Now, that you know who I am, you can also guess that you are in my palace. Which leaves us to the question why you are here! But first things first!“

Zirelda clapped her hands and a moment later, the girls could hear that the cage`s door was opened. Then, they felt hands work on the locks of their hoods.

„You will now be released of your bonds and given something to drink. But if you talk or try anything, you will be punished severely!“

Off came the hoods and the girls massaged their lips that had been crushed by the stiff leather. They looked around and could see several men, all wearing the same green tunic and with swords on their sides. They were indeed inside a large cage and the room it was standing in was vast and luxurious. In front of them stood a tall woman in a short, but expensive looking dark blue silk tunic. She was tallish and slender, though she also looked sportive. She had a pale skin and long raven black hair and was wearing lots of golden jewelry, including a tiara with emeralds on it. Though Queen Zirelda was a beauty, she also looked a bit stern and sure she had already seen her 30th birthday. She smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes and so, she seemed a bit frightening.

One of the men gave each girl a mug with some fruit juice in it. They looked at Zirelda who made an inviting move and then, they greedily drank. It felt good after having been gagged for hours. However, drinking and standing on the cold tiles did not help the problem that they had to relieve themselves. With their thighs pressed together, writhing a bit and showing a strained expression, they hoped that Zirelda would see the problem.

And indeed, the Queen suddenly waved towards one of the guards.

„Get them into the yard, where they can – follow nature!“

Gratefully, the two girls followed the man into the yard, where he told them to get behind a barn. The guard waited in front of the hut that was close to the wall and the two could relieve themselves unwatched. Then, Caris pointed at the barn`s roof. It was flat and from there, one could easily get on top of the wall. Ella hesitated. They were both stark naked and had no idea what was behind the wall. But Caris had already climbed the roof and when she reached out for Ella, the redhead climbed up, too.

„Ey, don`t forget to come back!“

It was the guard, but he still sounded more amused than worried. Caris jumped over to the wall, followed by Ella.

„He! What are you doing? Come back! Now!“

The guard had seen them and was yelling for his comrades. Caris, balancing on the wall, looked around. On the other side, there was water. Obviously, the palace was beside a lake. The water looked clear, but she could not see whether it was three or 20 feet deep. And since neither she nor Ella could swim, this was a big problem.

The two girls balanced along the wall, but now, the alarmed guards had brought two ladders and had leaned them to the wall. They were trapped between the two ladders and jumping inside the yard wasn`t an option either. Now, Zirelda was entering the yard, too.

„If you come down from this wall at once, you will only be punished lightly!“

„Help!“, Ella cried, but there obviously were only the guards and the Queen around. The men now brought the ladders closer to each other, narrowing the space for the two fugitives.

„We only have one chance!“

Caris went close to one of the ladders and tried to jump, but the guard standing on top managed to grab her ankle. They both were struggling and now, Ella saw her chance to get to the other side of the ladder.

Caris tried to buy her friend a few seconds by struggling like mad. And so, she hit Ella`s legs with a kick when fighting off the guard. With a shriek, Ella fell and landed in the water.

***

„You are a Seven! Do you know what that means?“

Tina shrugged. Though she now was fully dressed, she still felt a bit embarrassed by everyone`s interest about the birthmark on her pubic mound. But Vanessa kept on talking:

„It means you are a magician of the seventh grade! Or, in other words, that you can use a maximum of seven magic spells!“

This sounded a bit disappointing to Tina, but Vanessa told her that this was quite good, for no magician was ranking higher than a nine. To be capable of a magic spell, it was necessary that she would use it on full purpose.

„So, you already can throw lightnings, blast away men and find a way. If you chose right and wise, you can be very powerful!“

„Do you have a list?“

„Well, yes and no. I know a few dozen spells and perhaps, Malik knows some more, but maybe, there are some that are even better and you would never forgive me if I told you the wrong ones!“

However, Tina wanted to hear what Vanessa knew. She thought that she could use one or two of these and still have some capacity if someone could tell her a really powerful one.

„So, I think that ,Viath Krammh` could be useful. You can turn invisible by it!“

„Viath Krammh“, Tina said and suddenly felt a shudder run down her spine. First, she thought that she still was there – but then, she saw that only her clothes were still visible, but not her body.
„Vanessa! This will only work when I am naked!“

„I know! Once, I had an amulett with that spell on it and when I used it to break into a house, my booty was still visible.“

To her relief, Tina could turn visible again by just concentrating on it, but now, she decided to learn more about a spell before activating it for herself. The two were still talking, when the group reached Karim`s camp. It seemed that he had had all of his men with him, for there were hardly 100 people, most of them aged, women and children. They now grouped between the few black tents and when Karim told them he had found the rightful Queen of Light, they cheered.

He then mad Tina`s camel go down and helped her to dismount the saddle. She and Vanessa had had to share one camel, since they had not more than one for each warrior. The former rider had sat behind a comrade whilst Malik had walked the short distance.

„Hail to the Queen!“, the people shouted and Tina, not sure how to behave, smiled and waved graciously. Then, she whispered towards Karim:

„And all the time, you have waited for this moment, just on the basis of an old prophecy?“

The man rose an eyebrow, as if he was wondering how a veritable Queen could ask such a silly question.

„Of course not! We knew from the prophecy that once a blonde magic Queen would come here and lead us to victory, but we have not just waited for you for years! But a few days ago, an embassy from Ruan reached this place. They had some 100 armed men with them and also some heavily loaded camels. Too much to attack them, but it made me curious. And so, two of my men followed them and in the night, they managed to grab a maid of the ambassador.“

He bent to one of his men and whispered something into his ear. The warrior bowed and disappeared into one of the tents.

„This maid was quite talkative when we asked her about the mission of that embassy. When we had found out that she was ticklish, it was easy to get all the information we wanted. Actually, she became so talkative that we had to shut her up, but now, you perhaps ant to hear what she has to say, too?“

The man came back, carrying over his shoulder a neatly wrapped bundle. It had the form of a petite woman, but Tina could only see her bare feet protruding from the silk blanket wrapped with ropes.
The man put the captive on her feet and pulled the blanket from her head. Tina gasped. The lower half of the woman`s face was hidden under some silk cloths, forming a massive gag. But Tina recognized the red curls, now sweaty and dishevelled, and the blue eyes. It was Lana, the maid of Sarina, Countess of Ruan.

***

„I am afraid your friend didn`t make it. At least, my men have found no sign of her. This lake is connected with the swamps and so, we will maybe never see her dead body.“

Caris` eyes filled with tears. There was no glee in Zirelda`s voice, even some compassion, but this did not make it any better that Ella had drowned. And partially, it was her fault. It had been her idea to climb the wall and she had, although without any intention, kicked her. Caris felt terrible, not only because Zirelda had insisted that her escape attempt would require „medium punishment“.

They had put her back into the cage, but before, they had turned the divan upside down and tied her limbs to the four posts, forcing her to lie there spreadeagle on her belly, for they had turned her on her front. This hid her breasts and her private parts from full view, but this had been the only good part of her punishment.

Caris had been gagged with a slave hood similar to that she had worn previously. This one also had a leather plug for her mouth, but it left the eyes free. However, it reduced her speech to faint moaning. Then, Caris had felt that a chain had been tied around her waist.

„Nngg!“

Despite her protests, the end of the chain had been pulled between her legs and then upwards, to the top of the cage. Again and again, they had pulled up and lowered her body, until they had left her in a position that left her with two equally unpleasant alternatives: either keep her butt and loins up in the air, what became quite strenuous after a short time. Or try to lie down, which made the chain cut deep into her sex.

Not that the guards left this decision entirely to her. Sometimes, one would either tickle her with a peacock feather or slap her butt with his hand, both causing the girl to writhe in her bonds.
„You sure aren`t that curious what hard punishment will be!“

Caris rose her head. In front of the cage was Zirelda, together with two other woman. One was small and petite and had long hair, so light blond that it almost looked white. She was wearing a robe with arcane symbols on it. It was the woman that had been with her and Ella inside the sedan chair, as Caris could tell from her voice.

The third woman was a tallish blonde in a fine silk dress. She looked like an aristocrate and Caris was sure that she had seen her before. The woman looked as if she was from the North, maybe from Ruan.

Of course! It was Sarina, the Countess of Ruan! Caris had seen her two years ago when she and her parents had visited Ruan. But what was she doing here?

„So, you are one of the girls that have been on the slave ship. For the second time, to be accurate. And in between, you spent some time with a rebel who pretends to have a claim to the Throne of Light!“

„Mph!“

„You might remember Lana, my maid. She told me about you – and that you and your friend who now is sleeping with the fishes willingly pledged allegiance to that rebel Queen!“

„Mmhrrrmm!“

Sarina was holding a fly swatter and had emphasized her last words with some spanking of Caris`s exposed butt. Then, she turned calm again:

„One of my informants told me that after you escaped from the Brotherhood, you only were happy to be free for a short time before you and your friend once again fell into the clutches of these slave traders. And another informant told me that three people that fit the description of the rebel Queen and her two friends bpught a horse and some equipment for a trip to the South from him. So, it seems that your Queen is taking personal care of her underlings!“

„Mmhmm! Uhhmm!“

Caris shook her head. She had had no idea of that. The Countess continued:

„Now, we knew that the slavers were trying to make some profit and sure would try to sell you two in Marhim. And so, I decided to give your so called Queen a clear hint where to go next!“
„And that`s why I gave order to get you here! I adviced my dear counselor Veena to pay any sum demanded and to put up a show.“

„Like this, everyone would remember me, even if your friends would have missed the transaction“, Veena, the blond woman, added with a smile. Caris`s eyes grew wide and she moaned through her gag.
„Yes, my dear, you are nothing but a bait. It is, of course, helpful that I had some negotiations with Queen Zirelda anyway. Let`s say, she`s pondering whether to change sides and become a loyal follower of my Queen, too.“

Now, Zirelda smiled, too, but she friendly interrupted the Countess.

„Sarina, dear, we don`t want to bore our guest with politics! All she has to know is that her job is to make that rebel Queen come here. And then, we will see whose magic is stronger: that of Veena or hers!“

„Mmhhmmm! Uuhhmmmm!“

„Oh, don`t mind, we won`t sell you into slavery again! Instead, you and your beloved Queen will be together forever – and also will see your friend again soon!“

These swamps are really treacherous“, the Countess added, „I even lost my maid on my way here. Poor girl, she was loyal, but she obviously went too far from the camp during the night.“

Sarina sighed and Zirelda took her arm. Followed by Veena, they disappeared from Caris`s view, but she soon was distracted by new attentiveneses from the guards.

***

The guards had indeed looked for Ella, not only from the wall, but they had also sent a boat on the lake. However, this boat had not searched the reed on the other side of the lake, some 20 yards away. And there, Ella had watched the whole search for her dead body.

She had fallen into the water and had panicked almost instantly. Her only thought had been to reach the surface, showing up upon her. It had taken her some time until she noticed that something had grabbed her ankles and was pulling her away, keeping her under water.

Ella had fought and flailed, but to no avail. Her movements had become weaker and then, someone had grabbed her arms, too and another arm had been slung around the lower half of her face. Only then had they brought her head to the air.

„Mmhrrmmmm!“

Ella had screamed through the arm gagging her and struggled with the hands holding her, but after some time, she had realized that she had been able to breathe through her nose. Greedily, she had sucked in air and had relaxed a bit.

„No sound, or you die!“, somebody had hissed into her ear. Then, they had kept her in a vice grip and with the arm pressing on her lips, whilst the guards had searched for her. Ella had tried to look who were her captors/rescuers, but they had only increased their grip and so, she had watched the boat disappear.

„Mmhmm?“

But they had only tied her at wrists, elbows, ankles and knees and had forced a wad into her mouth, secured with a leather strap cleaving her lips. Before they also blindfolded her, Ella could see that her captors – and there were four of them – were all women.

„Uuhhmm! Mmhmmph!“

They kept her hidden in the reed until one of the women said:

„It`s okay now!“

Then, they had pulled Ella to the shore and then carried her for a shor while before she was dropped into a boat that quickly began to move. A cloth was pulled over her and at least two of the women kept her down until after some time, the cloth was removed. One helped Ella to sit up and gently caressed her shoulder.

„Once we are at our hideout, we will release you – that is, if we don`t have reason to believe that you are a spy of Queen Zirelda!“

„Nnnngg!“

Vigorously, Ella shook her head. But she was sure anyway that they did not really consider her a spy. Spies usually didn`t jump from walls in the nude, at least not if they could not swim.
„She looks like a noblewoman! Look at her skin!“

„Yes, maybe, she`s a precious hostage. But we will decide later whether we will keep her or let her disappear forever!“

***

„Wow, you really must have been talkative!“

Vanessa had started to ungag Lana, unknotting the cloth that covered her head from over her nose to under her chin. Beneath, another cloth had been tied over Lana`s mouth and under that, an entire bandage had been wrapped around her head and over her mouth some 20 times. When Vanessa had unwrapped that, it revealed another cloth, tied between Lana`s lips and kkeping a mass of cloth in her mouth.

„It will take at least ten minutes to gag her again“, Tina complained, implying that the relief for Lana would only be temporary. Vanessa removed the cleave gag and then, showing exaggerated signs of disgust, pulled the gag from her mouth. Lana panted heavily before she croaked:

„Thank you!“

Then, when she had been given some water, she told Tina and the others that once she and the Countess had been freed by the guards, the latter had ordered to search for the rebel Queen and her friends everywhere and so, she had found out that Caris and Ella had been kidnapped by slavers and Tina was on a rescue mission.

„And once you get into the Silent Swamps, the men of Queen Zirelda will get you!“

Though still wrapped in a blanket and tightly bound, Lana now seemed a bit truculent. Tina turned to her and said:

„Even if this will happen, you won`t be in the position to rejoice about it! But we have heard enough for now! Gag her!“

Two guards picked the several cloths from the ground and went on thoroughly silencing Lana again. Tina recognized with amazement that even Sheikh Karim accepted that she was commanding his men. However, he said:

„Your Highness, me and my men are to your service, but we are some 25 men against Zirelda`s 250 – plus the 100 men the Countess has brought with her!“

Tina nodded. Zirelda`s realm had sure not kept it`s independence because the Sultan was lacking brave soldiers, but because it was easy to defend, protected by the swamps. So, an attack would be suicide, even with her newfound underlings.

„Maybe, I´ve got an idea!“

They all turned to Malik who had been standing aside. He smiled, enjoying the growing impatience on his audience`s faces.

„Oh, come on, or I will let you wait later on, too!“, Vanessa blurted. Then, she blushed slightly.

„All right, since I am threatened so hard: the Countess and Queen Zirelda are waiting for us. They have a magician on their side, they are outnumbering us and they will sure expect us to try a stratagem.“

„That`s no idea, that`s the fucking problem!“, Karim grunted.

„I know. And therefore, we should think not only of one stratagem, but two.  Vanni“, he turned towards Vanessa, „be happy that my plan includes you wearing fine clothes!“

Vanessa smiled with uneasiness, knowing that this was not the whole plan.

***