Between Tradition and Modernity 12

In a way, the place was perfect for a trap: a little platform over a steep hill that could only be entered by climbing. So, Blacksmith’s initial plan was to place himself on the platform and draw fire until they would launch a close attack. Meanwhile, Nesrin should get to the packing horses and ride away with the captives.

Nesrin, looking at the platform, pondered:

»The moon is shining! You will be on full display! What if they shoot you, and you are wounded or dead before they even think of attacking?«

Blacksmith shrugged it off: this was the risk of being a soldier. However, there were two more problems: his own shots could endanger Lavinia and Marguerite, and if they left one or two men by the horses, she would not be able to ride away.

»It would be the best if I distracted them, and you went for the horses!«

Blacksmith laughed; then, he saw that she was serious. He put his heavy hand on her shoulder and looked at her.

»You don’t even know how to handle a rifle! What will you do, shoot once and then cower behind a rock and shout ›Boom! Boom!‹?«

Nesrin shook her head. She took a deep breath, for her idea was not only dangerous, but it would also cost her some of her dignity, too. She then explained, and though Blacksmith was hesitant, she could read from his face that he thought her plan could actually work.

***

They had no problems in finding the apparatus meant for opening the door, and Daisy concluded that the magic was done by water pressure, as she saw some pipes and a valve. The lever was gone, most likely on the other side, but she guessed that they could improvise with the barrel of Tiny Tim’s rifle. However, the Gurkha had another objection:

»The system is considerably loud! If there’s someone beside the door, they will be warned before the thing has even opened!«

After a short discussion, they had an idea: Daisy would pull the lever and hope that the door would open a little before the water in the pipes would make too much noise. Then, they could peek inside and decide what to do. Tiny Tim stood by the gap, his revolver ready to fire if someone showed up, and Sayana was also closed to the gate, trying to concentrate if she could sense any signs from her friends on the other side. She leaned against the door, and after a few seconds, she felt Tiny Tim’s hand push under her jacked, fondling her lower back. It was a tender gesture, and the memory what this hand had done to her further down sent a tingle through her loins. She forced herself to focus, and indeed, she could sense no imminent danger. So, she nodded, and Daisy carefully moved the rifle in the opening for the lever.

A murmur of water started in the pipes, and Daisy pulled the lever back. The gap in the door had widened by half an inch. Since the stone was a few inches thick, al they could see was a faint glimpse of light. Then, Sayana cringed her nose.

»I smell something sweet!«

The others also sniffed the air coming through the gap, and then, Tiny Tim frowned as he recognized the fragrance.

»Opium!«

It was a strange thing, but they had only one way to find out. So, since there had been no alarm on the other side, Daisy opened the gap for another inch. Now, they could see a figure half sitting, half lying beside a rock, and from it came the Opium smell, indicating that whoever was there was smoking a Hookah.

To Sayana’s slight disappointment, Tiny Tim now aimed at the person’s head whilst Daisy opened the door peu a peu, until the Gurkha could slip through the opening. Now, as he saw the slender arm with the bracelets, he recognized Laya, Ajala’s maid. Obviously, she had withdrawn to enjoy a little opium in private.

Tiny Tim silently put the revolver in his left and raised his right. When Laya took another draw from the Hookah and inhaled the fumes, he darted forward and hit her exposed carotid. With a sigh, the girl collapsed, dropping the pipe.

Hastily, Tiny Tim began unwrapping the Saree from the unconscious girl. Whilst doing so, he looked at Daisy.

»You are her size!«

Daisy sighed. He was right, Laya, quite tall for an Indian, was 5’7’’, like her, and disguising as her would look convincing from afar. So, she reluctantly striped down to her white panties, shuddering from the memory how the Gurkha had used these to gag Nesrin.

The Saree was gone, leaving Laya in a small Saree blouse, a silk belt to tug the skirtings into, and a piece of silk she wore as a loincloth. The man removed the blouse and handed it to Daisy who put it over her head whilst Tiny Tim tied Laya’s wrists behind her back. Then, before tying her ankles and putting her into a tight hogtie, he also handed her the belt. Sayana assisted her in putting the Saree on whilst Tiny Tim stuffed the girl’s mouth with her own loincloth, securing it with a rag tied between her lips. Above, he tied another rope, pulling her head back to secure the gag to her hogtied limbs. As a final precaution, he blindfolded Laya who was just regaining her consciousness, wondering whether she was having a nightmare from the Opium.

With Daisy provisionally disguised, they now approached the pavilions by the pond, constantly looking for signs of the other people here. Only one pavilion was lighted, and when they approached, they could also hear what they first considered talking, but turned out to be sighing and moaning that sounded quite passionate.

They sneaked forward, and now, they could see an Indian girl lying on her back. She kept her eyes closed, and she was writhing as she was pulling on two ropes or scarves in her hands. Daisy looked closer, and now, she could see the lower end of the divan, too. She shuddered when she saw the Indian was not alone.

On the lower end of the bed, she could see the bent legs and the tied wrists and hands of a girl lying on her belly, most likely hogtied. Her head and her upper body were under the skirtings of the Indian girl, and according to her wriggling and moaning, it was clear what the tied girl was doing to her with her mouth.

»Seems the men have gone!«, Tiny Tim whispered. He sent Sayana and Daisy to the bed’s sides, ready to grab Ajala’s hands if he gave the sign.

»Wait for me!«, he ordered, and he went for the upper end of the bed. The girls could see no reason for the delay, but now, Daisy could see that the scarves the Princess was pulling at were going over the lower bedframe and then between the half hidden girl’s legs. Obviously, it was a crotch rope, and by her constant pulling and loosening, she stimulated her unwilling partner, too.

»It must be Lilly!«, she thought and wanted to interrupt the scene, but she forced herself to wait for Tiny Tim’s signal. The Gurkha stood there, bent over Ajala with both his hands ready. What the hell was he waiting for?

»Aaaahh! Uuuhh! Uuhhmmmm!«

Ajala reared up, and her mouth opened to let out a cry of passion. At that moment, Tiny Tim grabbed her scalp with his left and pushed the barrel into her open mouth. Ajala let out a gurgle and opened her eyes. When she saw Tiny Tim, she wanted to scream, and now, Daisy and Sayana grabbed her wrists to keep her from struggling.

In fact, she wasn’t really struggling. Ajala, though staring at the Gurkha like a rabbit at a snake, twitched and spasmed a few times. The interruption had been too late, and so, the Princess helplessly climaxed under the eyes of her captors.

»Your Highness!«, Tiny Tim mockingly greeted her, not taking the gun from her mouth as he pulled her into a sitting position. Her skirts slid from Lilly’s back and head, and since her head was pulled backwards, she stared at her rescuers. Daisy saw the ring forced into her mouth, her reddened cheeks, and the juices covering her face that weren’t just sweat. The scent was overwhelming, and she looked at Tiny Tim:

»C-can you h-handle her a-alone?«

»I think so! The slutty Princess will do whatever I want, won’t she?«

He pushed the barrel forward, and Ajala retched as it touched the back of her throat. Sayana and Daisy carried Lilly to the pond where they freed and washed her, allowing her to sob until she had calmed down a little.

»Wha-what about the others?«, she breathed when Sayana had wrapped her into a discarded towel. Daisy sighed.

»We tied up and gagged her maid, and it seems the men are gone!«

»I-I mean our friends!«

Here, Daisy could only report that Nesrin and Blacksmith were pursuing the group that was transporting Lavinia and Marguerite.

»Last time I saw them ,they were well and alive – and I will end my friendship to Nesrin if something happens to Johnny!«

As she had hoped, this conjured a glimpse of a smile upon Lilly’s lips, and with the help of her friends, she could stagger back to the divan. Here, Tiny Tim hadn’t been lazy. Ajala, now stark naked, was lying on her belly, her limbs spread as her hands and feet were tied to the bed posts. Since she had not been wearing a loincloth, the Gurkha had forced her Saree blouse into her mouth and secured it with another scarf.

»I will now do a round to see if we are really alone, and also fetch the maid! Sayana, you want to join me?«

The witch didn’t need a translation and went to him as he reached for her hand. Before he left, he said towards Lilly and Daisy:

»You may want to punish her a little whilst we are gone! Just don’t leave permanent damage, as I still have use for a slutty Princess!«

Daisy looked at Lilly, expecting her to have sunk to her knees, or leaning against one of the columns. Instead, she stood on wobbly legs, and her expression was determined. She looked at daisy, and her voice sounded steady as she asked:

»Daisy, if I punish her now, what would you think of me?«

Daisy put an arm around her and smiled.

»As long as you don’t go too far, I would love to assist you!«

Lilly whispered something into her ear, and Daisy shivered. Then, however, she remembered what the Princess had done to Lilly, and she nodded.

»Okay, but only as long as they return!«

Lilly agreed and climbed upon the bed, taking off her towel. Ajala moaned and shook her head as Lilly now placed herself on the upper end of the bed. She grabbed the Indian’s scalp and pressed her gagged mouth against her middle; then, she loosely draped the towel over it. She nodded towards Daisy, and the Black climbed onto the divan beside Ajala’s butt.

»Now, scream for me, slutty Princess!«, Lilly sighed, and Daisy let her hand land on the helpless Indian’s exposed buttocks.

***

Jeevan knew that the escort was marching in quite a fast pace, but yet, he was impatient. These men were not directly involved in the conspiracy, and if they found out, they might decide that they were loyal to the old Nawab, not knowing that he was about to be overthrown within the next day. If they had delivered their precious freight to Jaspal Sahib, he and Amal could retreat and wait for things to come, but he hoped that this trip would be over soon.

He looked at Amal who hung a bit in the saddle. Amal wasn’t a good rider, and even an hour in the saddle was torture for him. Jeevan grinned. Perhaps, the two bundles on the packing horses could say a thing or two about torture, too – though currently, they couldn’t say anything at all. If they were trying to scream, it was drowned by the sounds of the soldiers’ boots.

Jeevan hadn’t explained to the Officer of the escort what exactly the two sacks contained. Of course, he had guessed that there were human beings inside, but he had not yet heard about the three abducted Europeans and therefore, he perhaps thought it was two maids who had fallen from grace and were now getting punished.

»There!«

They had reached the steep and narrow part of the path, and the leader of the escort had taken the lead. Now, he pointed forward, where a light was flickering in front of them. It was bigger than a torch, indicating that there was more than just a single rider. Then, they heard the clinking. It wasn’t the typical sound of the metallic parts of a saddle, but there seemed to be a rhythm. It sounded as if someone was dancing.

»Maybe, some travelling dancers!«, one of the soldiers presumed, but the Sergeant shook his head. Though it wasn’t uncommon for travelling dancers to come to Kharabad, why should they do some dancing in the dark, and in the middle of a mountain path?

The men were ordered to get their rifles ready, and the Sergeant drew his sabre as they approached. Jeevan let himself fall behind and made Amal do the same. He wasn’t a coward, but he also didn’t want to die in a random shootout with some brigands.

As they approached, they could see that on some small platform, two fires were burning – and between those, a figure was dancing. There was no music, but the clinging seemed to come from her jewellery. Then, one of the soldiers whistled: the dancer was a girl – and from all they could see, she was dancing topless.

The girl was quite small, but she had rather big boobs that bounced at her movements. She wore a skirt that seemed to consist of bright red bands, and similar bands ornated her wrists and forehead. The rhythm she was dancing to was something none of them had ever seen before.

The Sergeant called his men together and, with a broad smile on his face that showed he was lacking a front tooth, he ordered:

»Four men – up there! It seems that this girl needs the help of some strong men! I hope that you are able of this mission!«

Grinning, four of the soldiers discarded their rifles and went to climb up the hill leading to the platform. Jeevan protested, but the Sergeant replied:

»You have your mysterious luggage – but we have only seen our comrades for months! Don’t worry, it will only take a few minutes!«

The path was making a curve and would lead up to the platform, too. However, if the girl would see the climbers and try to withdraw, she would have to get to the main road, and the Sergeant now told four more men to get there quick. Now, the girl would have no escape.

»What if it’s a trap?«

Jeevan now only had Amal, the Sergeant and one more soldier with him, and he felt for his dagger. The Sergeant scoffed.

»Who would set up a trap?«

This was a good point. Nobody knew about their trip, as Ajala had planned rather spontaneously to send her surprise present to Jaspal Sahib. And a gang of brigands would not attack a group of soldiers and risk that some of their own get hurt or killed.

The four men climbing now were near the top of the hill, and the girl now withdrew a little, though she still was dancing. The Sergeant told the other group to hurry up, and he poked the side of the man beside him. As they also walked a few steps forward, Jeevan and Amal dismounted and stayed with the men.

BOOM!

Something exploded on the path, some 50 yards in front of them. One of the soldiers yelled and held his leg, and his comrades, who a moment before had been joking and anticipating hunting down the girl had thrown themselves to the ground. The climbers stared down at them, and one of them lost his grip and rolled down the hill.

Since Kharabad had been neutral during the Mutiny, its Army hadn’t seen combat since 1807, and the duties of the men consisted of escorting the Nawab or members of his family or patrolling the peaceful border. They would have known what to do if this had been some armed robbers, but now, someone had fired a grenade at them!

The Sergeant, followed by his last man, ran for his men, yelling orders like »Lookout!« and »Form a line!«. Only now, the Sergeant noticed that the rifles were still where they had left them, as they had not expected anything to happen during their girl chase. He shouted at Amal and Jeevan to get them the weapons, and since they were only armed with daggers, they did as ordered, as it was saver with the troops than alone.

When they had almost reached the men who had built an improvised hedgehog with their bayonets, something flew through the air and once again, there was an explosion. This time, the bomb caused some smoke, and then, the soldiers were over Amal and Jeevan who had reflexively thrown themselves to the ground. It took them a few seconds to realize that they only wanted their guns, and then, as the smoke cleared up, they heard a neigh, and then, two horses galloped towards them. Two or three shots were fired, luckily not hurting one of the animals that they now saw were their own. Then, Jeevan noticed something: each of them had had one packing horse tied to his saddle, but now, their horses had come alone.

»What the-«

From down the hill, they could hear a faint neighing, and the sound of hooves. The men who had now climbed down the hill approached, one of them limping, and Jeevan shouted at them, pointing down the road:

»Get after them!«

With only two horses, they could only send two of the men, and the others, including Jeevan and Amal, followed them. The one who had been injured by the first grenade had just a graze, and the one who had sprained his ankle was aided by his comrades. However, none of them wanted to stay here, exposed to whoever was with the girl that had now vanished and could open fire at them at any moment now.

Following them with a distance of some 100 yards, someone soundlessly walked down the path, too. She could walk so silent because she was wearing no shoes, and Nesrin held one arm loosely over her bare breasts to shield them.

She still wore the rag skirt, made out of Blacksmith’s uniform jacket, and the ribbons dangled from her wrists. Nesrin had, however, removed the makeshift jewellery, consisting of some brass buckles and a short chain from their package.

So far, their plan had been successful; her dance had distracted the soldiers who had indeed tried to climb up the hill. She had trembled with fear, but forced herself to continue dancing until she had heard the sound of the improvised grenade – an old bean tin filled with gunpowder and a few pebbles and hoof nails. She had then hidden and removed the jewellery, and at the second explosion, she had only hoped that the smoke grenade, made from moist gunpowder, had worked as another distraction to hide his escape with the packing horses.

Obviously, it had, as the men were now following the second horse Blacksmith had sent down the hill. She wasn’t sure where he was hiding, and she almost got a heart attack when she was grabbed from behind, and a hand was clamped over her mouth.

»You were great!«

It was Blacksmith who pretended not to look at her breasts when he reached her a jacket before leading her to the little cave where his horse and the two packing horses were hiding. She looked at the two large bundles, and she wanted to approach them, but Blacksmith shook his head and grabbed her arm to hold her back.

»Sit up in front of me! I know it is hard for you to accept, but we must get out of here before we can free them!«

Reluctantly, Nesrin obeyed, and Blacksmith, his arm loosely around her, led his horse and the two tied to the saddle up the hill, away from the soldiers they could hear in the distance. Behind the platform was another path, an extra way under normal circumstances and therefore used more seldomly. Now, however, it allowed them to circle around the escort and find their way back to the path leading to the entrance of Ajala’s hideout.

»I think we did it!«, Blacksmith finally said after they had ridden as fast as the terrain allowed for over an hour. He dismounted and led the horses away from the road before he helped Nesrin out of the saddle, too. She hugged him, now feeling how the tension left her. She sobbed a little, but more from relief. Then, she asked for the man’s knife. Blacksmith took her shoulders and looked at her with a stern expression.

»We can only free Marguerite now!«

»Hm?«

The Lieutenant took a deep breath.

»You heard what Tiny Tim said. For his plan, it is important that the old Nawab gets taken captive by Colonel Arbuckle – and therefore, I have to keep Lavinia hostage for one or two more days! I don’t like it either, but-«

He gulped and cleared his throat before he continued:

»Tiny Tim told me to keep her restrained until we see him next! He said there would be a way to keep my head clear – but it would require that Lavinia doesn’t see me!«

Nesrin shuddered. Then, she nodded.

»Well, if we free Marguerite right now, I think I can live with Lavinia being restrained for a little while longer!«

She didn’t tell him that she had been a bit angry because the redhead had treated her and especially Daisy like servants. Now, she would get a little punishment for that!

They approached the first horse, and Blacksmith opened the sack, only to see a red silk cocoon inside. Nesrin wanted to cut the ropes tying the sack to the saddle, but he stopped her.

»We must know who it is!«

He pushed his hand inside the sack, and to his relief, he felt a slight move. Whoever it was, she was still alive! There was a gap in the silk, and then, he touched something warm and soft. He groped a bit; then, he withdrew and looked at Nesrin who looked questioningly.

»It was – a female breast!«

»Well, Lavinia’s or Marguerite’s?«

Blacksmith, who had never seen any of the two undressed, just shrugged, and Nesrin pushed him aside to reach inside the silk cocoon. Soon, her hand cupped something round and firm, and she could feel a heartbeat, indicating fear and exhaustion. And yet – this breast was too big to belong to Marguerite, and she looked at Blacksmith, feeling bad for leaving the girl so tightly packed.

»It’s Lavinia!«

She lowered her head to hide her blushing, and she was glad that the Lieutenant was too confused by his decision to leave Lavinia bound and gagged that he didn’t think of asking why she could distinguish her and Marguerite by the touch of their breasts. Hastily, she cut the ropes from the other sack and when Blacksmith had helped her lowering it to the ground, she cut open the sack and then pulled a gap into the silk cocoon.

Her eyes fell on a pair of breasts, heaving slightly, and now, it was on Nesrin to feel a wave of relief. It was Marguerite, and she was alive. She opened the silk cloth, only to find Marguerite tightly wrapped into another. Her head was also hidden under layers of silk, and she asked Blacksmith to help her. When they unwrapped marguerite from the second Saree, he cleared his throat as he saw she was stark naked, and had a knotted scarf tied through her crotch. Nesrin frowned; there was a slight fragrance, as if Marguerite had not been indifferent to her crotch scarf.

She loosely draped a bit of the Saree over Marguerite’s middle and whilst Blacksmith worked on her leg ties, she removed the scarves and bandages from her head. All the time, she whispered all kinds of friendly words, not noticing whether she spoke German or French. Finally, she removed the last blindfolding scarf, and she looked into a pair of blue eyes. Nesrin bent over her, kissed Marguerite’s eyes and her forehead, and she felt the cotton wool in her ears and removed them, too. Marguerite let out a faint groan, and Nesrin fought to get the massive gag from her oral cavity. It was a dense packing, and she could see (and smell) it was a pair of knickers. More and more came out of her mouth, and Nesrin pulled when finally, Marguerite gasped and then panted, greedily sucking in fresh air. Ignoring what Blacksmith might think, she kissed her lips, again and again, until she finally allowed Blacksmith to instil her some water.

Little later, the girl was freed completely, covered with a blanket and leaning against Nesrin who caressed her and waited for her to recover enough they could continue their trip to the meeting with the others.

»Oh my God! I hope they were successful!«

The adventurous action against the escort and then freeing Marguerite had so occupied her that she could only now think of the others. Nesrin asked Marguerite about Lilly, but the girl could only answer she had seen her alive before she had been packed and wrapped. Then, she felt Blacksmith’s hand on her shoulder.

»What do you think – can you add one more brave action to your long list of today’s deeds? One more thing that would help me a lot?«

He then asked her to stay where they were now. Marguerite wasn’t yet ready to ride, and so, Nesrin should take care of her whilst he would fetch the others and return. He had expected resistance, but she agreed, and when he mounted his horse, he could see her bending over the blonde again. They kissed, and he smiled at how grateful Marguerite obviously was.

Then, he thought of darker things. One was the bundle tied to the horse he had fixed to the saddle of his. He hoped that Tiny Tim would offer a solution that allowed him to free the poor girl without being accused by her.

His worst concern, however, was that the others had failed. Or, that they had been successful, but something had happened to Daisy.

So, he was silently praying as he rode towards the entry of the hidden valley basin, hoping the best and expecting the worst.

***

Ajala’s punishment hadn’t lasted long. Once she had felt the vibrations of the Princess’ scream in her lap, Lilly had felt some satisfaction, but not enough to keep it going. So, after just three or four slaps, she had asked Daisy to stop and withdrawn from the bed.

»I am not like you!«, she told the perplexed Indian and wrapped herself in the towel again. She and Daisy sat down, side by side, and waited for the return of the others when suddenly a scream broke the silence around them. Both girls gasped and jumped to their feet, Daisy looking for the rifle. Then, there was a second scream, or rather a groan, and Daisy sank against a column, giggling.

»Seems Sayana and Tiny Tim are not just looking after Laya!«

The sound came from the other side of the valley, but as they both knew, Sayana was what some called a screamer. Daisy told her about how they had managed to open the first door, and for the first time, Lilly giggled from amusement, without any hysteria.

»Do you think they have found another door to open?«

»Maybe, or they are trying if Sayana can break through the entire mountain!«

For a while, they joked whilst Sayana reached the peak. They decided to see for Laya themselves and found the maid still tied and gagged. The disturbed sand proved her desperate attempts to get free, but obviously, the Gurkha indeed knew how to tie knots. Laya stared at them with a mixture of fear and defiance, and they half carried, half dragged her to the pavilion and placed her beside the divan Ajala was tied to. On their way back, they could hear that Sayana was obviously capable of multiple orgasms.

»I hope Johhny will be here soon! After all, I have also earned a reward!«, Daisy pouted, and Lilly kissed her cheek. She didn’t want to further talk about that subject, though, as she had to remember her last orgasm, forced upon her by Laya.

She looked at the hogtied maid and thought whether she would be able to punish her for what she had done to her when she heard approaching steps. Tiny Tim was carrying Sayana who had slung her arms around his neck. He embedded her on the sandy ground, and the girls could see that she hadn’t bothered closing her jacket.

»She suddenly felt too weak to walk!«, Tiny Tim said with a grin that didn’t even try to hide his pride. Sayana also smiled, satisfied and tired. She then stretched her arms and yawned heartily, and Tiny Tim reached for his pocket. He produced a bottle and tossed it over to Daisy. She uncorked it and cringed her nose when the smell reached her nostrils.

»Phew, is that some Nepalese liquor? It smells like chloroform!«

Tiny Tim chuckled.

»It is something similar, but it works better, and it doesn’t cause nausea after one wakes up. Would you mind collecting a cloth and soak it, please?«

Daisy frowned.

»Do you want to narcotize Ajala and Laya? I think if we tie them a little better, we can leave them here before we go and-«

She stopped when she saw the Gurkha had gotten up and raised his revolver. His expression was still friendly, but his order sounded horrifying:

»I am not talking about the slutty Princess and her maid! Instead, I want them awake for the next stake of my plan. You and your friends, however, have deserved a little rest! Please, take a cloth, soak it, and then start with Lilly here!«

Lilly gasped, and like Daisy, she stared at the man with disbelief. Sayana stammered something in French, and he looked at her, not taking the weapon from Daisy, though, and his smile was friendly and warm.

»Maybe, you would sleep without the narcotic, but I will better make sure! Don’t think I am ungrateful, dear Sayana, for I also enjoyed what we just had! However, there is also my duty towards my superiors!«

He turned towards Daisy again and in a less warm tone, he ordered:

»Now, please, do as I say!«

***