Chapter six

The sun was rising when a slightly exhausted dragon reached the Silent Swamps. Inside, Zirelda and Veena were considering what to do next.

„Sure the Countess only wants us to do the dirty work on this frontier“, Veena considered. Her Mistress nodded and smiled:

„Sure, but a small realm like ours has to search for an ally – and it seems that the Sultanate has just the worse arguments. Sarina will pay us enough to forget about being just a buffer state – and besides, maybe, tomorrow, we will even get rid of these bandit tribes in the desert.“

Veena nodded. She still was a bit disappointed about the fact Zirelda had sold all prisoners to the slavers, though she had just begun to love playing with the Rebel Queen. Her only hope was that Tina would have to suffer until some rich old man would buy her.

The dragon landed inside the palace`s walls and to the Queen`s surprise, there was a guard waiting for her, beside the stuff of her stables that took also care of her dragon.

„Your Highness, forgive me, but the Countess asks if you may visit her at once!“

Zirelda frowned. This was rather an order than a polite question. However, she reminded what she had told Veena about having to obey to Sarina to ensure their convenient living and so, she and Veena followed the man to the Countess`s room.

„Ah, excellent! Come on in, please!“

Again, Zirelda frowned, for Sarina seemed quite nervous, but then, something else distracted her: instead of waiting in front of the door or leaving, the guard had entered, too and now closed the door from inside.

„How dare you? Wait outside until I call for you!“

The man now drew his sword and pointed at Zirelda.

„It seems that some things have changed when you have done your little trip through the air. Really, a good Queen should not leave her realm in times of trouble.“

The two women quickly looked from the man to Sarina and back again. The Countess now held a dagger, too, but she still seemed quite frightened. The Queen forced herself to be calm and said:

„So, you have bribed this man and now want to take over power? Do you really expect my people to be so illoyal? If you kill me, you will lose everything – even the things I would have given to you anyway! The best for both your and my kingdom are to work together!“

„Well, depends on which kingdom we are talking about. Ella, please, show them!“

The Countess now reached for her necklace and when she took it off, she turned into a small, but buxom redhead that now seemed even more afraid. In the following silence, Zirelda and Veena could hear a faint moaning from the cupboard.

„We had to take care that the real Countess won`t disturb us. But now-“

The man quickly raised his left hand and brought something to his mouth. Before either Veena or Zirelda could react, a dart hit the blonde`s neck and after a few seconds, she collapsed on the floor.

„Just a sleeping drug. So, do you want me to use it on you, too, or would you prefer drinking some wine from Ruan – refined with some herbs the real Contess has put in it for you.“

Now, Zirelda opened her mouth to scream, but quickly, the guard clamped her mouth shut and managed to wrestle her down. Despite the Queen`s heavy struggling, he managed to keep her down and to prevent her from screaming until Ella had been able to reach him a soaked rag.

„Now, dream of something nice!“

He pressed the rag over Zirelda`s face and held it over her mouth and nose until the woman finally fainted. Now, Malik got off the Queen, quickly kissed Ella and said:

„Help me, we need their clothes before we make sure they won`t disturb the next act of our game!“

***

At the slavers`s fortress, Sikander was walking through the corridors to see if his orders had been fulfilled. He knew they had been, but he also wanted to see his newest slaves by himself.

His first stop was at a cell that was usually designed for two inhabitants, but now held six prisoners. It were Tigrana, her four followers and Caris, the little girl he only knew had something to do with the Rebel Queen. Each woman was stark naked and he could see that they were sitting close to each other, for their bodies`s warmth was the only way to keep themselves from freezing. The cell only offered two narrow wooden plank beds for them, and it had only some four square yards.

Despite not gagged, none of the women spoke. Sikander smiled. He knew that Tigrana was the former Queen of the Silent Swamps – the reason why he had decided to treat her like any common slave from the very beginning.

Since Sikander only peeped through a small hole in the door, the captives didn`t notice him and he went on for the next cell. Here, Vanessa had been trussed up alone. Sikander knew that this one was strong, a fighter and also no fool. For her, it would be hard to feel completely helpless – and he had taken great care to make her feel exactly like that.

Vanessa was kneeling on a round iron grid that, hanging from three chains, was dangling some two feet above some nasty looking iron spikes. With her feet tied at the ankles and chained to the grid and her knees also strapped to it, the girl had no chance to change her kneeling position with her legs wide open, giving him full display of her private parts. Her arms were trapped in an armbinder made of stiff leather that forced her arms together behind her back and Vanessa also had to bent her shoulders back and to thrust out her breasts. She glanced at him when he entered the room, but could not show much of a reaction, for she was gagged with a broad leather band buckled over her mouth, holding a big wad of cloth inside. Around her neck, she had a chain with a little bell on it.

„So, you have found out about the function of this little bell?“

„Mhh!“

The look in Vanessa`s eyes still was defiant. The bell did what bells did – it jingled whenever she moved her head or body. First, after Sikander`s men had left her, Vanessa had thrashed in her tight bonds, but to no avail and besides, when the bell had jingled, she had felt that the grid she was kneeling upon was moving downwards. Soon, Vanessa understood the simple, but perfidious mechanism: each time she made the bell sound, the grid lowered itself for about an inch – and sooner or later, she would be impaled by the spikes under her butt. Vanessa had to sit absolutely still to keep the damn little thing from producing any noise.

However, exhaustion was taking it`s toll and she found it more and more difficult not to lower her upper body. Sikander smiled and placed his gloved hands on Vanessa`s boobs, kneading them gently. She stared daggers at him, fighting down her reflex to wriggle.

„You might even twitch once or twice, there are still some four or five inches between you and these spikes!“

He suddenly pinched Vanessa`s nipples and when she moaned through her gag, she involuntarily moved and when the bell jingled, the grid went down a little.

„Now, it`s just three inches!“

He let her boobs go, only to cup her pubic mound with his hand. He smiled wolfishly as he massaged her there whilst the girl tried not to wriggle. Then, he withdrew and went for the door.

„Believe it or not, I know someone who would love to be in your position!“

Sikander carefully locked the door before he went up to the fortress`s only tower. There, a man was leaning against a wooden hoist whose arm was pointing over the pinnacles. He could see the chain hangind down over the cliff. From here to the ground, it was a free fall of some 500 feet.

„Did she like it so far?“, he asked and the man laughed.

„Well, she didn`t complain so far!“

Yawning, he pulled on the hoist`s lock, allowing the chain to run through, only to stop it after a yard or so. Sikander looked over the pinnacles. At the end of the chain, an iron cage was fixed. Inside, though he could not see her from above, was Tina, the Rebel Queen.

„Well, let`s get her up, I don`t want her to feel bored!“

The man slowly moved the winder and the cage moved upwards. It was quite small, allowing only one person to sit inside with her legs dangling through the grid of it`s floor. Tina was tied with cuffs that tied her hands behind her back and fixed them to the cage`s bars. The lower half of her face was hidden under a tight leather mask that held a big plug inside her mouth. In the centre of this plug was a small opening that allowed to give her drinks or soup without having to ungag her.
Having noticed Tina`s vertigo, he had ordered to get her inside this cage and let her dangle over the cliff. In addition, the guard had randomly loosened the chain, making her feel as if she would fall.

The blonde blinked at him with a mixture of far and relief when she felt the cage touch the stones. However, when he untied her hands and pulled her outside, she was unable to stand on her shaky, trembling legs.

Quite gently. Sikander carried her inside and brought her into a room that was dominated by an iron throne. However, he made her stand on a wooden stool instead and tied her with her hands above her head. Then, he took a leather band that looke like a belt without a buckle.

„Each time your feet touch the ground, you will have to spend another hour in the cage!“

Then, he raised his hand and then, the belt landed on Tina`s naked butt. She yelped into her gag and twitched, but managed to keep her balance. However, Sikander had just started.

Having no interest in damaging Tina`s value, he took care not to make her skin burst, but he knew how to cause pain even if he was careful. The belt hit Tina`s buttocks and whilst the pain took a few seconds to fully stray through her body, he hit her thighs, her lower back, her hips. Sikander concentrated on the parts where there was just soft flesh to accept his beating and soon, Tina was screaming through her gag and her skin was becoming red and sore. When he stopped, he could see tears in her eyes, but also that her nipples had grown hard.

„You like that, don`t you?“

Slowly, he pulled the glove from his right hand. To Tina`s surprise, his hand, though that of a warrior, was clean and he had obviously taken great care in keeping the skin soft and he had even filed his nails. When he put his hand between Tina`s legs, she let out a small moan and shook her head no.

„Oh, you are not in the condition to complain – and I will make sure you will never forget!“

With his right hand still cupping her pussy, he began to spank her with his left. His beating was softer than the belt, but since Tina`s butt already was screaming from pain, it felt like torture every time his hand landed on her reddened buttocks. And all the time, his other hand was there, between her legs, massaging her with a gentleness that contradicted the brutality of the way he treated her backside. Tina moaned when the next wave of pain strayed through her body, but at the same time, she felt her body respond to the touch of Sikander, too.

„Uuhhmmm! Nnnggg!“

Tina trembled, but then, when another hit made her thrust her pelvis forward, suddenly she felt two of his fingers push inside her.

„When have I become wet?“, she thought, only to be distracted when he turned his hand palm up. The next time he hit her butt, he pushed his fingers even deeper inside her and when he withdrew, he squirmed his fingers, sending shivers through her sensitive inside. There, deep inside her, was a spot that was-

„Uuhhmmmm!“

Tina moaned when the next beat hit her and he again pushed inside her, only to let his fingers touch that spot again when squirming. Then, he began to accelerate his rhythm.

„That`s what you like, isn`t it?“

Faster and faster, he beat her butt, and faster and faster, he thrust his fingers inside her, sending waves of pleasure through her womb that soon united with the waves of pain running through her backside. Tina closed her eyes and bit down on her mouthfilling gag when she felt a huge orgasm build up. For a moment, she thought of things like dignity and strength, but then, all this was washed away and she let out deep groans of sheer pleasure whilst she literally exploded under Sikander`s hands.

„That`s what you really want, Tina – even more than becoming a Queen!“

It took her some time until she realized that he had taken her from the hook and sat her on the throne. Now, she felt it had lot`s of dull knobs on it and they pressed into her sore flesh. Sikander tied her hands behind the backrest, straining her arms, and then chained her feet and knees so she could not change her position. A last ring went around Tina`s neck.

„Now, it`s just a little inconvenient, Tina. But after some hour, it will become very inconvenient. And after two or three hours, you will feel like in hell. You will try to break free, but to no avail. You will try everything to shift your body, but you won`t be able to do it. You may scream and cry, but you should enjoy it – for the only other place for you to be will be the cage! 500 feet above the ground, dangling from a chain!“

„Mmhrrmm!“

Sikander now smiled and put his hands on her breasts. Tina still was quite sensitive there and her nipples still were hard and erect, but also, it hurt when he pressed her back harder against the knobs.

„There is, of course, another possibility!“

He put his hands on her hips, pressing her butt down on the knobs, making her groan with pain.

„We could do again what we just did!“

He once again pushed a finger inside her and though she was screaming from pain, Tina also felt a desire to get touched by him again. A few times, he moved his finger back and forth, then, he stood up and licked his finger before he gently kissed her forehead. Then, he left the cell, leaving Tina alone with her fears, helplessly forced to face her fears and the growing pain of having to sit on her inconvenient torture throne.

***

On one side, the Queen`s palace opened to the court outside it`s walls. On several days, it was used for a market, but now, the soldiers of both the Countess and Sheikh Karim were camping there. The two groups had not kept strictly separate, but only a few of them had actually spoken to each other. Now, a trumpet could be heard from the palace`s balcony and then, Queen Zirelda stepped on it. The few people from the town cheered, but the soldiers only waited for what she had to say.

„My dear guests!“, she seemed to look assuringly to the guard standing next to her, „and I am talking to both the brave men of the desert and those who have accompanied the Countess!“

Now, the soldiers half-heartedly yelled some cheers and showed some respect by standing up. However, the Queen had not come only to greet them.

„This night, however, your Countess tried to assassinate me! It was only due to the bravery and alertness of one of my guards that her perfidious plan has failed!“

A murmur went through the crowd as now, two guards were dragging a woman to the balcony. She was naked and half of her face was hidden under a tightly wrapped silk bandage, but those standing close to the balcony could clearly recognize the fuming and squirming Countess Sarina.

„Brave men of Ruan, please, do not try to free her! I know that you are loyal soldiers, but please, let me first tell you that I know that you, instead of her“, she gave Sarina`s hair a brutal yank, „ are no assassins or traitors!“

The soldiers were to abashed to even think of attacking. They were some 100 men, about the same as Zirelda`s palace guard, but now, most of them had their weapons not at hand and besides, they would have to storm agains a wall without the proper equipment. So, they listened to what the Queen had to say.

„She had helpers, however!“

Now, two other guards brought another naked, bound and gagged woman, this time it was a small redhead. A few recognized her as Lara, Sarina`s right hand. Zirelda now pressed her hand on her cleavage before she continued:

„My heart aches from it, but the other one who helped her was my own counselor – a woman that I trusted like myself!“

When now, an equally nude and silenced Veena was presented to the crowd, the silence broke. More and more citizens had found their way to the market place and seeing the blonde counselor naked was not only a surprise, but also quite a sight. Like Sarina, Veena desperately shook her head, obviously trying to shake off her gag.

„Brave men of Ruan, I know that you are as shocked as I am! So, no one will hold you responsible for what happened! You may return to your city – or, if you wish, you may become part of my army! The payment will be ten gold pieces a week for soldiers and 50 for officers!“

Now, a vivid discussion started amongst Sarina`s men. They were mercenaries and only few of them felt more loyalty towards Ruan than a worker did towards his employer. The sum Zirelda had offered them was more than twice their usual payment and after some talking, the Captain of the troop yelled:

„Long live Queen Zirelda!“

His men soon joined in and for a while, Zirelda let them cheer her. Then, after a whispered talk with the guard, she once again raised her hand and waited for silence.

„Warriors of the desert, I know you would love to see your Mistress, but unfortunately, she fell victim to these evil women!“

Zirelda pointed at the squirming Sarina, Veena and Lara whose frantic attempts to say something had now turned their faces red. An angry murmur rose, but Zirelda quickly continued:

„She is not dead! They managed to get her away from my palace, blinding my eyes when I sent some caught rebels to be sold as slaves this night! She was among them, but we will take steps to get her back soon! As someone you know only too well may assure you!“

Now, the guard stepped forward and took off his helmet.

„Hey, that`s Malik!“, some of Karim`s men yelled.

„Yes, I am Malik – and yesterday, I sneaked inside the palace, only to find out that Vanessa had been abducted and that the Countess had tried to kill Queen Zirelda! But now, justice will be done!“

„Yes! Currently, my men are getting my flying dragon ready! Then, Malik will go and release your Mistress – paying off the slavers with these three for whom slavery is almost too good!“

The guards now had to use all their strength to keep Veena, Sarina and Lara under control. For a while, they presented the naked, bound and gagged women to the enraged crowd, then, she ordered them to be brought away.

„You were great, Ella!“, Malik said as soon as they had withdrawn from the balcony. Ella, who was trembling like aspen foliage, looked around, then sank into Malik`s arms.

It had been no problem to cut some of Zirelda`s hair and place it inside the amulett, so Ella could play the Queen. But although Malik had told her what to say several times, she had been nervous and fearful when doing her speech.

„Now, all we have to do is getting these three to the slaver`s fortress and get Vanessa, Tina and Caris as an exchange! Maybe, they will demand some gold, too, but we now have a royal treasure chamber under our control!“

Ella was far less confidential as Malik. Sooner or later, someone would notice who she really was. And then, she could be glad if they would only kill her.

Malik, feeling Ella`s fear, whispered:

„Once I am back, we will inform Karim and his men about the truth! Then, we can prepare the people of this realm for another change on the top! All we have to take care of is that you are the only Queen of the Silent Swamps!“

Having said so, Malik stepped back, since he had heard someone approaching. It were some other guards, guardians of the treasure chamber who were carrying two large chests filled with gold. They bowed towards Ella whom they considered to be their Queen and she ordered to get outside with one of them, giving the new members of the Royal Army an advance payment – and also give Karim`s men the same, to avoid animosities between the two groups. In addition, she had raised the payment for her own men, too. So, the men obeyed quickly, but the Sergeant asked for more men to keep order when the money would be paid. Soon, Ella and Malik were alone again and they quickly exchanged a kiss.

„You – will free them all, won`t you?“, Ella asked hoarsely. She felt guilty, but she would have appreciated if Vanessa would bever come back and she would have Malik for her own. He looked at her and then, he nodded.

„I don`t know what will be, but I can`t leave her in the clutches of some slave trader – though this Sikander is quite a famous one. Cheer up, my little Queen! I will be back by dusk and then, we will be winning! Then, Tina will have a real base for the rebellion, not just a few men hiding in the hills! This is a small realm, but it`s rich and it`s only the beginning!“

Once again, he kissed her, then, they quickly opened the chest and hid the small sacks of gold it contained under the throne where nobody would dare to look. Malik kept two sacks for himself, then, he pulled the empty chest over to the room in which Sarina had slept. Carefully, he closed the door behind him, then, he listened carefully. In the morning, when they had alarmed the guards, both he and Ella had made enough noise to overtone the faint sounds coming from the cupboard, but now, he could hear a small moaning.

„I hope you haven`t expected to be saved, Your Highness! But I must say Ella is great in being you – even better than the original!“

He pointed at the window. From the court, there came the cheerful voices of the soldiers who got their gold. They were shouting „Hail to Zirelda!“. The Queen, however, did not feel flattered.

Immediately after having overpowered her, Malik and Ella had stripped her naked since Ella would need her clothes to act as Queen. Then, Malik had trussed her up in a way she could not even move a muscle. Zirelda`s arms were tied behind her back, both at her wrists and her elbows, above and below the joint. More rope encircled her upper body, squeezing her breasts and an agonizingly tight crotch rope was drawn so deep between her legs that it was almost invisible. Malik had even tied her fingers and thumbs to further immobilize her.

He then had stuffed the Queen`s mouth to the bursting with both Sarina`s and Veena`s loincloths before tying a knotted scarf tightly between her lips. Above, he had tied another cloth, covering her face from nose to chin, then one over her nose and mouth before finally securing this gag with a leather mask he had buckled very tight and that only left Zirelda`s eyes free.

After that, Malik had bent the Queen`s legs up, crossed her ankles behind her neck and tied them together before securing it with a noose around her neck. Like this, Zirelda had been stowed inside the cupboard for hours now, unable to move or to alert her guards when they had grabbed the trussed up Veena, Sarina and Lara. Rescue had been close, but muffled as she was, she had not managed to utter a sound loud enough to make anyone look inside the cupboard. Malik pulled her outside, but only to stash her inside the chest that he had upholstered with some silk cloths before.

„Don`t mind, it will be for long, Your Highness! After a few hours, you will be together with your beloved sister. Maybe, you will be able to bury the hatched when you are travelling South through the Silk and Sand!“

Zirelda`s eyes widened and she let out a gurgling sound. The „Silk and Sand“ was the name of the desert that began at the border of her realm. It had it`s name from the times when slavery had been outlawed for some decades and the slave traders had declared their female freight as „silk“. There was one main road through the desert, but the slavers still preferred the old secret paths only they knew. Once she was on her way, not even her army would be able to find her anymore.

Malik closed the lid and locked the chest, then, he called in two men to help him carry the box to the yard where the dragon had been prepared. The big animal seemed a bit angry about having to fly once again, but Malik was glad about it, for it`s roaring overtoned any sounds Zirelda could scream through her stifling gag.

Soon, the box was stowed inside the gondola and then, other guards brought the still naked, bound and gagged Sarina, Veena and Lara. When tying them to the bench, the men continued to grope and fondle them, but finally, all three captives were sitting side by side, all tightly restrained and staring daggers at Malik who was sitting opposite to them.

If the guards wondered why the Queen`s new counselor did not take any soldiers with him, they did keep it to themselves. Soon, the dragon started and once he was some 50 feet above the ground, Malik allowed himself to relax. Now, all he had to do was to sell these four women to Sikander, as an exchange for Tina, Caris – and Vanessa. He frowned when he thought about what he would do about Vanessa and Ella, but at least, they now had a real realm under their control. In addition, they had eliminated Sarina who now would disappear in some harem, maybe together with Zirelda.

„It`s perhaps a dirty victory, but it`s a victory!“, he said to himself. Then, since the dragon had reached it`s flight altitude, he dozed off.

It was a rude awakening when Malik suddenly was thrown from his seat and landed upon the bodies of his captives. Before he was fully awake, he was thrown back by another capriole of the dragon.

„Ey, keep the damn beast quiet!“, he yelled through the window, adressing the man sitting on the dragon`s neck. Then, he petrified: the saddle was empty! And the dragon, now without a human master, obviously tried to get rid of the gondola!

„What the-“

Malik nearly fell off when the dragon started to wriggle it`s rump. Then, he heard a sound that sounded like the crack of a whip. A second later, he knew it had been the garters holding the gondola to the dragon, for it fell off.

Malik though that this had been it, but after just a blink of an eye, the gondola landed on the ground. This time, he was thrown from it, but obviously, the dragon had been close to the ground, for he landed on some sandy hill and when he carefully examined his body, he found out that he had not been injured at all.

The dragon now was high above him, obviously enjoying it`s freedom. Seeing the gondola some yards away, Malik jumped over to look for the captives. To his relief, they were all frightened,  but the upholstery of their bench had prevented them from getting hurt. Only when he opened the chest to get Zirelda out, he could see and smell that she had wet herself from fear, but she seemed otherwise unharmed, too.

„He was drunk! After the first flight, he got his ration of coconut liquor, and when he had to fly again, he did not appreciate! Luckily, I could bring him down before he shook me off!“

Malik could see an elderly man limping closer. It was the dragon`s master who now looked at the thoroughly trussed up fourth woman to Malik`s feet.

„Is that – the Queen?“

„Long story“, said Malik who did not consider him as a threat. The greybeard laughed and spat out.
„Well, you may tell me. After all, time seems to be all we have left!“

He raised his hand and made a gesture at the sandy hills around them. Malik also looked around and could see nothing but sand, except for some mountains in the distance. He could see a single rock needle that could have been Sikander`s fortress, but it seemed dozens of miles away.

„What do you think, will they send a rescue mission once the dragon has flown home?“

The idea of more people finding out about the fate of the real Queen was worrying, but the man just grunted:

„It`s a dragon and not a dog! Maybe, he decides to enjoy his freedom for some days!“

Angry about the man`s fatalism, Malik wanted to shake him, but then, he saw that the dragon was not the only one who was drunk. He sank to the ground and laughed. They were stranded in the desert, the infamous „Silk and Sand“! A few bottles of coconut liquor had been enough to give the rebellion a major backlash. Now, their Queen was in the hands of slave traders, their new base in the hands of an 18 years old girl and he, their most prolific leader, lost somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Malik could almost hear the laughter of some evil gods.


The End