It`s a long Way 1

»Isn`t it strange that all our adventures in the past end with the two of us getting abducted?«

Tabea sighed at Jelena`s question, but in reality, she felt quite relaxed. Jelena was right, but there were substantial differences between their current situation and earlier predicaments. After they had landed in the past and escaped the Inquisition, they had, after they had gotten into the ways of a corrupt General, been abducted from their beds and brought, bound and gagged, out of town by a carriage and then, some days in the load of a river boat had followed. Then, in and around Belgrade, they had helped to save the Sultan himself from an intrigue – only to be knocked out and kidnapped by some brigands. And now, the plan of these brigands had worked out, somehow.

Goran, the brigand`s leader, had fallen in love with Jelena and so had saved her, though this meant that he had to fight his own comrades. During this fight, Androsch had appeared and helped. Androsch, who had saved Tabea`s life back in Pécs and who – well, Tabea wasn`t sure about it yet.

The first time they had slept together, she had the brilliant excuse that she had been bound and gagged and thus hadn`t been able to put up much resistance. But shortly after they had both reached climax, he had taken the cloth from her mouth and when he had kissed Tabea, she had responded to it. And when she had been freed, she had demanded another round.

She and Jelena hadn`t talked about her and Goran, but it was obvious that the two didn`t just hold hands either. And so, the trip to Split had been rather a slightly rough Honeymoon than a kidnapping for profit.

The plan of the two men was rather simple: Goran had been employed by a Lodovico Gritti, son of the Doge of Venice, Venetian spy and also a good friend of the Ottoman Sultan. Gritti knew that Tabea and Jelena had been pawns in an intrigue against the Sultan and so, he wanted them as a potential way to put pressure on the intriguer, Ibrahim Pasha, another friend of the Sultan.

Now, Goran and Androsch wanted to hand over the girls to Gritti who would take them to Venice. However, the two men would get to Venice themselves once the deal was done. There, they would wait for Gritti`s ship, free Tabea and Jelena and then, they could spend the money Gritti had paid.

Of course, this plan had some holes in it, but Androsch had been in Venice two times and promised that he knew enough people to help and Tabea guessed that Jelena would have agreed to everything Goran said. Obviously, having a regular sex life had boostered her courage to the level of foolhardiness.

»Not that I could complain!«, Tabea thought and thanked her dark complexion that she couldn`t blush. Her body still remembered their last night some three days ago. After that, she and Jelena had been tied up and gagged – lightly enough, compared to what they had endured during previous captivities, but convincingly enough that Gritti would believe they had been kidnapped. They had been bound hand and foot, gagged with a rag in the mouth and another one tied between their lips and then rolled into two carpets.

Tabea had felt a bit uneasy when she had been carried through the streets of Split. She would be handed into the hands of a stranger – a stranger who was involved in espionage, intrigues and other crimes. However, what had followed had been a more than light way of captivity.

They had been locked inside a cabin, but it had two windows – barred windows, but they let in light and fresh air and allowed them to look at the harbor of Split. In addition, it was equipped with two divans and twice a day, they were given fresh food via a lid in the door. The servant didn`t talk to them, but he had also brought them water, soap and other things they needed to wash and refresh themselves and the crowning touch were two knee-length silk tunics. These would have been more than indecent, according to the standards of 1525, but since nudity had been a constant part of their latest captivities, these felt more than good.

On their first day, they had tried to see a glimpse of Goran and Androsch, but sure, they were already on their way to Venice, using the time Gritti needed to provide his ship as a head start. So, their only problem had been a slight boredom. Tabea had started to do some sportive exercise and she and Jelena had practiced to speak Italian. Both only knew a few phrases, but perhaps, these could be helpful once they were in Venice.

Early on their fourth day aboard, the ship started. It was a bulbous sailing ship with one mast, comparable to a medieval cog and Tabea guessed that they would take three or four days to Venice. She was no expert, but at that time of the year, the weather usually was calm and friendly and so, this would almost be a fun cruise.

»Except the fact we are not allowed to relax in the sun! Well, you already have a tan!«, Jelena complained. She had hoped that Gritti would let them leave their cabin once the ship had reached the open sea, but instead, they had watched Gritti leave the ship; obviously, his business kept him in Split.

»Maybe, it`s good the sailors aren`t allowed to enter«, Tabea said, looking down on her body. The flimsy tunic was quite transparent and since the cabin had become quite stuffy, the sweat had increased the effect. They had considered to get naked, but they weren`t sure whether the sailors would sneak to the windows and look inside. They had thought of making makeshift curtains from some cloths, but this made the heat even more unbearable.

Sipping from their tea, they watched the ship slowly leave the harbor. Now, they had to hope that Androsch and Goran would really wait for them and that it would be really as easy to get them free as they thought.

During the next days, they talked a lot about that, but none of them addressed the elephant in the room: what should they do after they were free? Try everything to get back to their own time, where a criminal was waiting for them? Or staying in 1525, a time where they didn`t belong, but where two men loved them? Tabea had no intention of becoming a housewife or of dying from a ruptured appendix before she was 40, but of course, she had feelings for Androsch and she knew that Jelena thought similar.

Though he still was quite taciturn, the servant fulfilled their wishes as long as they were reasonable and so, they at least had a chess game to pass time. But more and more, the cabin felt like a cage. It was more convenient than the real cages they had been in, but the room had some ten square meters and watching the waves and occasional fishing boats wasn`t helping either.

»At least, this will be over tomorrow or so! Then, your snoring will no longer mix with that of our neighbor!«, Tabea said.

»I am purring!«, Jelena replied, blushing slightly. However, they could indeed often hear one of the men in the adjacent room. In fact, their cabin seemed to have been a bigger room that had been divided by a thin wooden wall and so, they could hear any louder sound. Tabea and Jelena had no idea whether their neighbors – it were two men – were prisoners, too, but it seemed that they hardly ever left their cabin, too. When they talked, they usually whispered or spoke at least very soft. Tabea had managed to hear that, to her surprise, the men seemed to be Italians, too, but she had not been able to understand what they were talking about.

»Aaauhhmmphh!«

A muffled cry suddenly could be heard through the wall, followed by some coughing that somehow sounded fake. Then, there was a sound as if a door was slammed down and after that, they could hear some angry whispering.

»What was that?«, Jelena asked, involuntarily whispering, too.

Tabea felt a shiver run down her spine. Of course, it could have been just imagination, but the sound had been all too familiar: it had been a sound she and Jelena had either heard or produced quite often during the last weeks. It had been the sound of a woman that was either gagged or hand gagged.

Silently, she took the small mirror they had gotten from the servant. It was made of polished silver, but it worked quite well. Carefully, she put her hand through the bars of their window and tried to look inside the other room via the mirror.

On first view, the room looked very much like their own prison, except for the fact that these men obviously could open their windows. They were two young men, dressed in black trousers and white shirts, and they looked indeed like Southern Europeans. They seemed to have calmed down, but suddenly, one of them went for a large box that stood between their divans. Tabea oppressed a gasp when he opened the lid, whispered something to the content of the box and then again slammed the lid shut. After that, he said to his companion that he would get some wine and left the cabin.

Tabea pulled back her hand and then made Jelena come to the other side of the room befoe she told her:

»These men are no prisoners, they can leave their room! But they have a box with them – and one of them has just talked to whatever is in it!«

Whispering, they discussed what Tabea had witnessed and this, combined with the muffled sound they had heard, left only one conclusion:

»They have a woman imprisoned in that box!«

Of course, there were other possibilities, yet les plausible: it could be that the woman was hiding on her own will, perhaps, she wanted to avoid getting married or wanted to run away with her lover. So, they decided to watch their neighbors better. Jelena was afraid that the men could see the mirror and so, Tabea developed another idea: using their fruit knife, she enlarged a small hole between two of the planks that built the wall between the rooms. This peephole was at knee level, but it allowed watching the room quite well. Now, all they had to do was waiting.

Soon, the one who had promised to get some wine came back with a bottle and for a while, the men just sat there and drank silently. Then, one of them once again opened the lid of the box and bent over it. Jelena, whose turn it was to watch, could not understand what he was saying, but it sounded threatening. She understood, however, the last word:

»Capisce?«

He then repeated »Did you get me?« in Turkish and from the box, a faint whimper could be heard. Jelena let out a flattering breath and Tabea also pressed her ear against the thin wall. The peephole only allowed them to see a bit of the box, but some rustling, accompanied by another muffled whimper, told them that now, whoever was inside the box was allowed to get out. Jelena twisted her head and she could see a naked foot. It was a rather petite foot and at the ankle, it was wrapped with some cloth, obviously an ankle tie. She heard another whispering and, when the captive mewed faintly, there was some chuckling. Then, after another whispered sentence, Jelena saw a hand work on the cloth, untying the foot. The captive seemed to stagger and then, she could hear a metallic sound, as if a bucket had been placed on the floor. Jelena seemed to understand, but only when she heard a splashing sound, she knew that the captive girl was forced to pee with her two captors watching. When she heard the soft moan, she almost could see how this poor woman blushed from the humiliation.

Then, the girl disappeared from view, but was obviously not put in the box again, but placed on one of the divans. Now, Jelena could see the foot again, tied to one of the posts.

»What shall we do if we now witness a rape?«, she thought with a shudder, but instead, she only heard some faint sounds that told her that the captive was given some water and food before she was regagged. Then, one of the men lied down on the other bed whilst his comrade seemed to sit down on the only chair.

Carefully, Jelena stuffed the peephole with some cloth before she and Tabea retreated to the bed on the other wall and discussed what they should do. It was obvious that there was another girl captured by the two men, but what should they do? They could yell or tell it to the servant when he brought their breakfast, but they had no idea how he would react. After all, they were prisoners, too.

»But if the Captain knew about that, why are they keeping her restrained like that? Tabby, we must do something!«

Tabea nodded, but she was quite sure that, even if the Captain was unaware of what was going on in the adjacent cabin, Gritti sure was. The same Gritti that had ordered them to be taken to Venice. Perhaps, it was better to keep their mouths shut; not to draw any attention until they had reached the city and Androsch and Goran had freed them.

There was, however, this girl. Tabea felt pity for the captive, too. And if they waited until their departure, they would perhaps get no chance of helping her or even finding out who she was. It was a frustrating situation!

The night passed slowly and though from time to time they tried to see something through the hole, the only action was that after a few hours, the two men changed shifts and now, the loud snorer was sleeping. At least, they now knew that nothing would happen as long as they could hear him.

Tabea and Jelena had meanwhile collected what they could use as weapons or to break from their room, but except for the fruit knife, they had only their spoons and maybe a soap bar wrapped in a towel. Not very much against a bunch of sailors.

Early the next morning, they heard that the girl was fed again and, after being allowed to relieve herself once again, she was put back into the box. Again, they had only seen her feet and so, they only could tell that she had a slightly dark complexion and was quite small. The fact the men sometimes changed to Turkish when giving her orders allowed the conclusion that the girl was a Turk.

Jelena had decided to at least ask the servant about their neighbors when it was time for breakfast, but before that happened, something else happened. From behind, a faster ship quickly approached. When it had come close, a loud sound could be heard and they could see a dark cloud: the others had fired a cannon, though it seemed the ball had landed in the water and done no harm.

Next, they could see several people aboard the other ship, shouting and waving their weapons. The crew of their own ship, however, remained silent.

»What the hell?«

Their side window allowed them to watch the other ship. It was smaller than their own, but it had two masts with striped, triangular sails. And, according to the mass of armed men, it was well equipped with men.

»Are these – pirates?«

It was the obvious explanation, but the other ship didn`t come closer, though their cog had no cannons and only had a rather small crew. Then, Jelena saw something in the corner of her eye.

»Tabby! Look!«

She pointed at the other window that pointed to the ship`s stern. And now, there was a black shadow. First, they thought that it was a person, but then, the shadow disappeared and they could hear the sound of something land in the water.

They ran for the window and there, already some yards away, a box was bobbing in the water. And in the other room, there had only been one box.

»Oh my God! They have decided to get rid of her!«

Tabea ignored her friend. Instead, she stepped back – only to land a fierce kick on the wooden grid that barred their window. It took her two more kicks, but then, the grid fell off. Tabea jumped into the water and after a second of hesitating, Jelena followed her.

Since the sea was quiet and they both were good swimmers, they had reached the box within a few minutes. To their relief, it seemed to swim quite well.

»What now?«, Jelena gasped. She had reached the box some seconds after Tabea and looked back to the ships. It was now some 100 or 150 yards away and she could see the two men at the window, but obviously, nobody else had taken notice of what had happened. The pirates fired another shot, but a water fountain proved that they had again missed the ship.

Tabea looked to the ships, too. It had been an instinctive reaction to save the girl from drowning, but now, she had to admit that she had no further plan. At least, it seemed that the girl inside was save for the moment, as the box still did not seem to make water. However, when she reached for the lid, she could see that there was an iron lock.

»Mhhrrrrmmmmm!«

From inside the box, they could hear a faint moaning, but though Tabea said some consoling words, she knew that it wouldn`t help much. Then, however, Jelena padded her shoulder.

»Look!«

Since they were in the water, the waves prevented them from seeing smaller objects, but now, Jelena had seen an approaching rowboat. Some fishermen, perhaps. They were saved!

»Hello! Hey!«

Jelena waved her arms. Tabea hesitated for a moment, but in their current situation, they had to take whatever rescue they could get. And besides, the boat was coming closer anyway.

Two minutes later, they were pulled aboard the rowboat and then, two men tried to get the box out of the water, too. Tabea tried her best to tell the men in broken Italian that there was someone inside, but the three other men just looked at her. Tabea fell silent and knew what they saw: a black woman, for these men as exotic as a unicorn, and in addition, she was only clad in a flimsy silk tunic that had become nearly transparent now and clung to her body. She forced herself to smile and tried to tell them that they had earned to look at her as a reward for saving their lives.

Jelena, however, seemed concerned a bit. First, Tabea thought it was because her friend was nearly naked, too, but then, Jelena whispered:

»This isn`t a fisher`s boat, Tabby! It has no load, no mast and there are no nets! It looks more like a dinghy!«

Tabea looked at the men and noticed some more things that didn`t make her feel better: despite they sure had heard the muffled cries from inside the box, none of them seemed the least concerned or had tried to open it. In addition, she now saw that all these men were armed with sabers or axes. She turned her head towards the ships and what she saw made her frown:

The pirate`s ship had fallen back, obviously, it had not further tried to attack the cog or even tried to make them pay some ransom. Instead, it seemed to wait for something – the boat, for four of the men had now taken the oars and had started pulling.

»Nelly! look! Do you know what that means?«

However, Tabea knew the answer before her friend had even opened her mouth: the attack had been a fake, just a diversion so the two men could throw the box overboard unrecognized. And these men had already been waiting to pick it up. The only weak point in this plan was her and Jelena!

Longingly, she looked around. Still, none of the men had taken further notice of them or tried to restrain them, but around, there were no ships except for the pirate`s ship and the cog that was vanishing at the horizon. If they jumped overboard, they would either be captured soon or drown.

»Something tells me that we are not the rescuers in this game – and neither are these men!«

Tabea nodded and the two girls embraced each other.

»I – I thought that they would drown her!«, she whispered and Jelena just sighed, but pressed Tabea`s hand, as if to tell her that she respected her intentions, although it had gotten them into severe problems.

They had reached the ship and there was a bunch of at least 20 men leaning at the railing, waiting for them. One of the pirates, a tall man with black hair, shouted in Italian:

»Who are these two?«

Neither Tabea nor Jelena understood the whole answer, but it sounded a bit strange anyway:

»It seems that Hatice brought her maids with her!«

Tabea wasn`t sure if her translation was right, but she had surely understood the name, Hatice. It was a Turkish female name and obviously the name of the girl inside the box. The Captain seemed to think about that for a few moments before he ordered to get them aboard.

Strong hands helped them onto the ships – and more hands then tried to fondle and grope them whilst the box was lifted on deck, too. Tabea and Jelena squirmed in the grip of several men, but it was to no avail. The Captain made a gesture and his crew fell silent. They now were more interested in the box, but Tabea still felt some hands on her breasts and her hips.

With an axe, one of the men opened the lock and then, the lid was opened. Now, everyone was quiet and even Tabea and Jelena ignored the men touching them and tried to see who the ominous captive was.

Two men now lifted a female figure out of the box. Much more than her sex could not be told yet, as she had been tied up and wrapped with numerous scarves. Her feet and knees had been tied together and more scarves tied her arms at wrists and elbows and pinned them to her body. Her crumpled silk dress showed a petite, but quite busty figure and when she was standing, they could see she was indeed just some five feet high. Her head was completely hooded by another colored scarf.

Now, a man squeezed one of Tabea`s breasts and she gasped. At the same time, she noticed that the men who were handling Hatice were showing more respect. One of them held her by her upper arm, but rather to prevent the trembling girl from falling, whilst the other now worked on the knots of her hood. When the scarf fell, Tabea could not see much, as there were more cloth hiding the girl`s face. One had been tied over her head like a grandma`s headscarf and another one was covering her face from above her nose to under her chin and so, only a pair of brown eyes could be seen. Hatice blinked and looked at the men with fear, but obviously was able not to panic.

The man removed the headscarf and now, the girl shuddered and let out a moan. Tabea understood: if this girl was a Muslim, revealing her hair in front of strangers was as embarrassing for her as having to expose her breasts.

Now, the pirate undid the scarf tied over her face, only to reveal another one that covered her mouth. When this was removed, too, Hatice still had a thin silk band tied between her lips, holding a dense wad into her mouth. The Captain stopped his man from further ungagging his captive, stepped closer and bowed.

»Welcome aboard my ship, Hatice Sultan!«

Tabea exchanged a look with Jelena: she was sure that her friend also had heard the name before. Hatice Sultan was one of Sultan Süleyman`s sisters! In addition, some scholars believed that she was the wife of Ibrahim Pasha – the same Ibrahim Pasha who was a close friend of the Sultan, but who had tried to intrigue against Roxelana, Süleyman`s influential favorite wife.

When she had done her research about the Ottoman history, Tabea hadn`t read much about Hatice, but it was only known of her that she had perhaps been married to Ibrahim Pasha, this making him and the Sultan brothers-in-law, and had died somewhat after the year 1543. There had definitely not been any hint of her being kidnapped by Italian pirates!

Hatice now seemed to fight hard not to cringe under the look of her abductors. The girl – or rather woman, as Hatice Sultan was some 30 years old, though her petite body made her look younger, trembled and blushed, but she did not lower her head and glanced at the Captain. He also remained polite and said in Turkish:

»You will be brought to your cabin now, Your Highness – but I am afraid that your maids will not be allowed to accompany you.«

For the first time, Hatice now looked at Tabea and Jelena. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, questioningly.

»You could at least have feigned that we belong to you! After all, we tried to save your life!«, Tabea hissed, but the Captain just gave an order and the two men quite unceremoniously carried Hatice away. Then, he turned to the other girls.

»Do you speak Italian?«

»A little!«, both Tabea and Jelena answered in unison. He smiled and for a moment, they hoped he would give order to let them go. But instead, he stepped closer and stretched his hands to pad their cheeks. They both endured the gesture, but then, when he prised their lips apart and wanted to touch their teeth, Jelena bucked and Tabea even bit his finger. The Captain jumped back and laughed, but the look in his eyes was frightening.

»It seems you need a little – education!«

His hands shot out and with a quick move, he ripped away their wet tunics, rendering them both naked. Then, he gave some orders and the men willingly obeyed, hooting and laughing.

Both girls were wrestled to the ground, but they then just held Tabea pressed to the planks. They did use the opportunity to grope and fondle her even more, but it was Jelena who first got tied up. With hemp ropes, they tied her arms at wrists and elbows, not sparing either comments or touches as this forced her to thrust out her ample breasts even more. Then, her legs were tied at the thighs, above and below the knees and the ankles. They even tied her big toes, using a thinner cord, but Tabea hoped that these bonds would at least mean they would not rape Jelena – at least not yet.

Jelena was then hogtied, in a way they first brought her ankle ties above her wrist ties before tying them together, forcing the girl into a hideous bow. Then, they stuffed her mouth with the remnants of Tabea`s tunic. Jelena retched and though the cloth was flimsy, it was quite a mass. In addition, it still was soaked with sea water and before, Tabea had worn it for some four days. The gag was completed by one of the scarves that had previously gagged Hatice. However, the cleave gag was enforced by an additional leather belt that was buckled tight at Jelena`s nape.

Tabea wanted to protest when Jelena was then carried below deck, but now, it was her turn. In her case, they started with her gag. She got Jelena`s torn tunic forced into her throat and cheeks and the salty wet garment tasted as worse as she had imagined. Tabea had to fight her gag reflex as some vile-tasting liquid ran down her throat. Now, she waited to be cleave-gagged, but instead, a stick of some ten inches was forced between her jaws and tied off at the back of her neck, pushing the gag even deeper into her throat and forcing her to bite on the stick.

Whilst her arms were tied, another man held her hair in a tight grip and now, the Captain took his time to feel her teeth, even poking a finger inside her mouth. Tabea groaned and glanced at him, but could not help getting examined like a piece of cattle.

When he let her go, Tabea realized that they had not only tied her arms at wrists and elbows, but also midways at her lower arms and slightly above her elbow joints, torturing her shoulders even more. In addition, they had tied her thumbs with a thin cord.

They brought a bigger stick now, some four feet long and pressed it into the backs of Tabea`s knees before forcing her to spread her thighs as far as she could. Then, her knees were tied to the stick and then, her arms were secured to that, too. A sharp pain told Tabea that they had used her thumb tie to do so and she had to stretch her arms to get some relief. Weakly, she flailed with her unbound lower legs, but now, two men grabbed her ankles. They tied two cords to her big toes, tickling her soles as they did so. Tabea squirmed helplessly and grunted through her gag, fearing she would wet herself if they continued. But instead, the men pulled on the cords, forcing her in some hind of hogtie. The cords were slung over the stick between her jaws and they pulled until her feet were stretched and she had to arch back her head. Tabea now could hardly move and panted through her nose. The Captain now bent down to her and held his index finger under her eyes. She could see three small red marks where she had bitten him.

»One – two –three! That makes up thirty for you!«

»Mhm?«

Instead of an answer, two of his men now produced two leather bands. They looked like belts without buckles or holes in it and they stepped to her sides.

»One!«

Tabea bit down on her massive gag as the belt hit her right buttock. She knew that such belts were used for punishments that should not inflict lasting damage, but it hurt when the leather hit her, sending painful tingles through her butt.

»Two!«

Now, the other man hit her left buttock. The Captain and his men seemed to know what they were doing: by taking some time between the lashes, they allowed the pain to stray and thus, the spanking hurt even more. Tabea closed her eyes, bit down hard on her choking gag and tried not to scream. Her eyes watered and she could not help whimpering after the fifteenth blow, but at least, she did not wail and sob.

»Thirty!«

Tabea groaned and the Captain gave order to get her below deck, too. The load was dark and stuffy and they carried Tabea to the bow where there was a separated place. The floor was covered with straw and on it, she could see Jelena, still hogtied and gagged, but otherwise unharmed. However, they had tied an iron ring around her neck that was fixed to a chain at the wall.

Tabea was placed on her belly and was trying to cope with the straw tickling her nose. She was not spared another neck ring and so, when the men left, the two girls did not even have the chance of getting closer to each other.

»Mph! Mmhhmmmm! Mmhhmmmm!«

With her butt still tingling and suffering from her cruel bonds, it took Tabea a while to realize that Jelena was trying to communicate via Morse code. However, her message was strange:

»L-O-O-K L-E-F-T!«

With her head tied to her stretched feet, Tabea could not move much, but she managed to look and saw that they had a third cellmate. Another naked woman was half lying, half sitting at the wall, also secured by an iron ring around her neck. Her whole body was secured with at least as much rope as Tabea and Jelena together, and it had been pulled tight. They had spared her a hogtie, but Tabea could see that instead, she had a rope disappear between her legs and from the way it slightly moved, the crotch rope had been fastened to her bound wrists.

The girl`s head was covered by a black leather hood and Tabea guessed that she was massively gagged underneath, as she could hear no sound from the captive. She also did not react to their presence, indicating she could either not hear, too, or was just too exhausted.

When she examined the woman closer, Tabea noticed some more details. Her hair was hidden under the hood, but according to the light brown strip of hair she could see at the girl`s pubic mound, she guessed that she was blonde – which would also match her fair complexion. Her boobs looked firm and big.

The next detail was that the woman was tall. Sure, she measured a full six feet and she also looked quite sportive. Then, Tabea spotted another detail: On her right upper arm, this woman had a tattoo. It was a characteristic lettering Tabea had seen quite often – in her own century, though it was a relic of the 1980ies! It read:

»Metallica.«

***