The Land behind the Forest 6

Andrina sipped from her tea and looked at the photo that hung on the wall opposite to her, in a nice frame and with a dried flower lying on the small board underneath. She still missed her grandmother, and she had loved her when she had still been alive. And yet, it was partially her fault that she was known as »crazy Andrina«.

Though their family had lived in Weißendorf for over a century, her Granny had insisted on living in the old caravan, and she had embodied almost every cliché people connected with Gypsies. Dorinel, her brother, had more and more shunned  her for that: he had, partially successful, tried to assimilate and to get accepted by the Gadje, tried to become a normal Romanian. After school, he had become a mechatronics engineer, he now worked at Aurica’s factory, and his current goal was to change his ten year old Dacia into an Audi. Andrina could understand him, but somehow, she felt entitled to worship their late grandmother’s heritage.

Granny had taught her the things that had caused her to be called, half conceptuous, half admiringly, the »village’s witch«: brewing all kinds of potions, the knowledge of herbs, and, of course, Tarot card reading. Andrina had been a willing pupil, and now, she considered herself as quite good in these skills. After all, she had time enough to practice.

Andrina had left school at 14, and for the past four years, she had been more or less idling around. Money wasn’t a problem: she didn’t have to pay rent, and Dorinel had, since she had refused to move to his house, grudgingly installed some achievements of the 21st century at her caravan: a modern oven, a better insulation, and a small generator, allowing her to load her phone (Andrina didn’t despise everything modern, and sometimes, she dreamt of the world outside her small radius that seemed to end in Hermannstadt) and to watch TV. Her brother also allowed her to take as much food as she needed whenever she visited him, and sometimes, she earned a little money from doing occasional jobs for one of the villagers. They considered her crazy, but harmless, and so, Andrina was often booked as a babysitter, loved by the kids for her stories, and because she could make flower chains and reed flutes.

Sometimes, under the protection of the night, one of the villagers also asked her to read the cards for him or her. Andrina couldn’t tell why, but the cards seemed to have knowledge of the future. She knew a bit about Psychology, and that most of card reading was to combine people’s expectations with a good story and her own knowing of her customer’s personal life. However, there seemed to be more than that, and whenever she had read the cards for herself, Andrina had found some guidance by what they said.

»Is it you, Granny? Is this your way of helping me through life, even after your death?«

Her eyes wandered to the Tarot card deck on the table in front of her, and she started to mix and turn them. As Andrina had expected, they gave the same advice:

»Changes are coming! Watch and wait!«

There were other images, including a group of strange women, but these didn’t make sense, at least not yet. Andrina sighed and finished her tea. Watch and wait. Well, she had more than enough time to do so. Today was a Monday, meaning that Dorinel would work all day and play football with his Gadje friends afterwards. However, the cards said nothing about her having to sit in the caravan all day, and since she wanted to collect some herbs anyway, she grabbed her small basket and left for an extended walk through the woods.

***

Eileen had finished her round and, covered with sweat, but feeling refreshed and ready for a nice shower, followed by a good breakfast, she entered the house, so she could get some fresh clothes before entering the shower booth. When opening the door, she saw Aurica, slightly bent over the sink and cleaning her teeth.

»Hi! Can I-«

Aurica uttered a strange gurgling sound, caused by her mouth being filled with water and toothpaste. Then, she shrieked that Eileen should stay out. Puzzled, Eileen withdrew, wondering what Aurica’s problem was. She had been dressed, and during their trip, she had already seen her both cleaning her teeth or in just her underwear.

After a few moments, the door opened, and Aurica smiled at her, with an apologetic expression.

»Sorry, Dear! It’s just – you startled me!«

Eileen could read from her eyes that this was a lie, but she decided not to ask. She went to her and Salome’s room, picking a fresh set of bra, panties and socks before asking Aurica whether today’s chores would require a dress or rather sportive clothing.

»Oh, today, I have to run some errands at the factory! Of course, you can accompany me, give my employees something to look at – btw, where’s Salome?«

The Romanian was brushing her hair, critically observing the result in the mirror above the sink. She wore it in a bob and whilst her nape was cut short, it reached over her ears and framed her face at the front. Aurica seemed a bit obsessed with her hair, and now, Eileen could remember that when she had entered, she had seen her sport a hairband for the first time. But could that really be the reason she had been so upset?

»Salome has decided to admire the view a little longer, but I think she will be here until I have showered! Do we have to hurry?«

»I am the boss, and in addition, they know I have been in Germany and that I am having guests. So, we will leave whenever you two have finished breakfast! Sorry, it will be just coffee and some rolls for today!«

Only now, she noticed that Aurica was in her underwear, plus a lacy chemise. In a corner, Eileen saw an ironing board, and beside it, her business jacket and skirt she had worn when they had first met. When walking to the shower, she understood: Aurica only possessed one set of business clothes.

»She must really have big hopes in expanding, if she scratches all her money just to engage Salome and me!«

The solar-warmed water was just enough for her to wash the sweat of her body, and after just a few minutes, she got the gratis refreshment of the water suddenly turning cold. She yelped; then, she towelled herself and put on her fresh clothes, having decided for a combination of a red sleeveless shirt and a black skirt that ended at the middle of her thighs, short enough to give Aurica’s employees »something to look at«, but long enough they wouldn’t be able to peek under her skirt when she had to walk up some stairs. For a moment, she had thought of putting on an opaque pantyhose, but decided against it: she and Salome had been hired to look sexy, and also to promote »Transylvanian Spirit«. So, she would perhaps have to pose with some of these workers, and if she started behaving too shy, it wouldn’t help the matter.

To her surprise, though she had taken some ten minutes inside the booth, Salome still hadn’t returned. Aurica, looking out of the window, was now completely dressed for business, and she seemed rather impatient than concerned.

»I am sure she ran into Bela! He thinks he can speak English, and he takes every chance he gets to practice!«

If so, it would be a harmless explanation, but when another five minutes had passed, Aurica wrote a hasty note.

»Listen. Eileen, I really have to go now! I have written down the number of the ambulance if you might need it – though I am absolutely sure that she will show up every minute, her only injury her ears bleeding from Bela’s constant talking!«

Eileen felt a bit left alone, but Aurica had already rushed out of the house. She looked at the note, seeing that the Romanian had also left her business number, so she could inform her if Salome really had a sprained ankle.

»I wonder if she really cares, or if she just fears that she has to pay though one of us is limping!«

She recalled the way from where she and Salome had separated to the house: it was some one and a half mile, the last 500 meters leading through the village. But also, the path in the forest wasn’t steep or too uneven, and there was also no cliff. However, it was of course possible that Salome had slipped and hurt her leg.

Eileen forced herself to have a cup of the terrible insta coffee and a bread roll, together with some water, hoping that Salome would show up in the meantime, apologizing for being late, but well and unhurt. However, after another ten minutes, she still was alone, and so, her concern growing with each step she didn’t see the Black approaching, Eileen followed the way back.

***

Salome knew she could no longer avoid the inevitable: her leg muscles were aflame, her toes were about to cramp, and she just needed a rest – though it would not be a rest to all of her.

For some minutes, the girl had pushed against the nails preventing her from raising, trying to escape the thing in her rear she still could feel touching her inside – not painful, just like a resting finger. She had screamed through her gag a few times, but it seemed that her captors had either left or weren’t interested, and since she could hear nothing but an occasional rustle or bird sound, she was quite sure that she was alone. Her bonds would not come off, not with the zip ties securing them, and so, the best she could do was trying to save her strength.

Now, saving strength also meant that she had to sit down, or, to be precisely, lower her body. Just a few inches, so she could relax her toes and take some weight from her thigh muscles. Salome took a few deep breaths through her nose, for the consequence would be to get further impaled.

She carefully sank down, allowing the plug to get deeper inside her rear. It didn’t hurt, as it hadn’t when her captors had showed her how it worked, and, to get over it, she sank down faster.

»Ooouuhhmmmm!«

In the one or to seconds her body needed to move these four inches, the most intense tingles shot through her body. The nails holding her down brushed over her carotids, and the feathers teased her sides, so she twitched and cringed. However, even the tickling didn’t irritate her as much as the sensation at her backdoor. The lubed rubber handle was smooth enough to not hurt, but at the same time, the rough structure of its surface caused enough friction the girl reared up and moaned. Salome, feeling how her legs seemed to sigh with relief as she was now more sitting on the hook than squatting, shuddered at the presence of this – thing inside her, and she was haunted by memories.

During their abduction, she and Eileen had been forced to share a double vibrator shoved into their rears – and Salome had reacted to it. Enjoyed it. It had been embarrassing even to admit, but she couldn’t deny it had been an arousing experience.

Since then, she had not been able to oppress her memory completely. So far, she hadn’t dared to buy any of the toys she had found on the internet, but she had watched them with great interest, and she had read about this special kink. Now, all these information seemed to come up: that it was indeed to get stimulated to climax from the backside, that it was quite a common kink, even among heterosexual men, and that there was nothing wrong about enjoying it, as long as one was careful.

»Nothing wrong about it my ass!«, she thought, chortling hysterically at the pun of what she had just thought. She shifted her position, and of course, it made her feel the presence of the plug now deep inside her. Reflexively, she rose, and whilst there was again some blissful friction, the feathers again caused her to cringe until the nails stopped her. Salome caught breath, and now, two thoughts were forming inside her. One was quite rational: it was the relief that relaxing her legs by squatting deeper would indeed not hurt. The other one was more devious, and she tried to ignore it:

»It’s inconvenient to crouch on tiptoes, pushing against these nails, and it’s also inconvenient to sit on this thing! However, moving up and down is quite entertaining!«

So, Salome sank down long before her muscles demanded it, and she moved up again little later, and on each time, the brushing over her neck, the tickling of her sides and the friction in her ass sent shivers through her, shivers that all told her that between the two inconvenient ends, there was a short exciting trip.

***

Once she had left the notary, Lioba had resisted the urge to either run away or to hide and watch the house, to see if someone would follow her. Instead, she had entered a bank nearby. Not only were there other people, offering her safety, but also, she could change the 100 Euro she had kept in the side pocket, together with her passport, into Romanian currency. Now, she could long for a few days, even with her purse and phone gone.

She withdrew to one of the standing tables and made a list on the backside of her receipt for the exchange: she would have to get to a phone and get her credit cards blocked, and she had to assure her return flight would be no problem without her voucher.

Before she could add more things to the list, she remembered that Vlad was waiting for her to report what had happened, and she darted to her car and drove off to his apartment. Here, she met him in the yard, where he was working on his bike.

»My ex always said, the good thing of these Russian bikes is that you can fix everything with a hammer and a wrench – and the bad thing is you have to do so every 100 miles!«

Vlad wiped some oil from his hands, his face showing his relief that he had not to call the Police.

»So, he knew more about maintaining bikes than relationships!«

Lioba scoffed.

»Actually, we could need him right now! He’s working for the MI6!«

»Well, that sure beats a notary!«

Lioba was glad that Vlad bent over the engine where he could not see how she was angrily biting her lip. Comparing someone to an ex was never a good thing, and in her current situation, she should better not snub the only person who had helped her so far. To change the subject, she told him about her visit at the notary.

»So, you still have the testament! That’s a good thing, though the problem is that Petrescu also knows you have it – Petrescu and whoever he will tell it!«

Lioba had considered that by herself, and she brought up another aspect:

»He mentioned someone willing to pay 80.000, maybe even more! What do you think, perhaps, I should just accept the offer, maybe try to haggle a bit, so I get 100, and call it a day!«

»A lot of money«, Vlad replied in a drawling voice. Then, he added:

»And if a businessman offers you 100-«

»The thing is worth much more!«, Lioba finished the sentence. She wasn’t born yesterday, and she had known before she had even booked her flight that everyone she would have to deal with would try to make a profit of her. Even Vlad had mentioned his 5% agency fee. However, there seemed to be more about her heritage.

»Yesterday, they assaulted me and left me bound and gagged, just to get the testament! Somehow, I doubt they are doing all this effort just to rip me off some 20 or 50 Grand!«

Vlad decided that adjusting his bike’s valve clearance could wait a bit.

»Something tells me that you are not willing to take Petrescu’s offer and withdraw to France when there is a much bigger sum that’s rightfully yours!«

He invited her in, and Lioba prepared some coffee whilst he washed the oil from his hands. When he returned to her, she noticed that he had also put on a fresh T-Shirt and she could sense he had refreshed his deodorant, too.

»So, what are you going to do now? Get to Weißendorf, just as you told Petrescu?«

Lioba shrugged.

»What alternative do I have? Get back to my hotel room, waiting for the next attack? Or hide here, hoping nobody followed me?«

The thought of people knowing where she was, so Vlad was in danger, too, hit her like a hammer, but the man just grinned a bit forced:

»Anna visits me on Friday, I need the room by then!«

Then, he brushed over her fingers holding the cup.

»You want another cigar? Somehow, you seem a bit nervous!«

She noticed that she had been holding the cup tighter than necessary, and she indeed cursed herself that she hadn’t used some of her precious Romanian money for a new pack.

»Actually, I’d prefer a shot of Schnapps! Before I visit Weißendorf, I have to get to my hotel room, though only for a short visit!«

Lioba didn’t intend to stay long at the village, but if she had to stay overnight, she at least wanted to have a fresh set of underwear and her toiletries. After all, she had to stretch her little money as long as possible.

Vlad did indeed fetch a glass and a bottle, and Lioba wondered a bit why he wasn’t having one, too. She emptied the glass and sighed.

»I must not forget taking some with me before I leave! It’s not easy to get the real stuff in France, even in Marseille!«

Vlad corked the bottle.

»You know that according to Romanian law, you are no longer allowed to drive now!«

Lioba looked up to him. Was this an attempt to keep her at his apartment, either for her own safety, or to-

»They are quite strict, especially when you are a foreigner! I mean, they won’t put you to jail, but they will of course take the chance to demand twice the fee!«

Lioba sighed, rolling her eyes.

»So, you say I should sit here, stare at the wall? Or maybe, I am even allowed to watch you fixing the carburettor?«

»It’s the valve clearance, and actually, I wanted to offer to drive you!«

Lioba felt a bit ashamed for having been so aggressive.

»To the hotel or to Weißendorf?«

Vlad shrugged.

»When I called in sick, I told the secretary that it might be for a few days. The poor girl’s a bit paranoid since Covid, all I had to do was to mention that I might be infectious, and she signed me off for the entire week!«

A wave of relief washed through her body as she now got to her feet and hugged Vlad. Then, however, she withdrew a bit.

»You now must consider me to be a helpless little girl, afraid to even go to her own room because of the monsters hiding under the bed!«

Vlad grinned.

»If so, it will be a good training for when Anna comes on Friday! Just let me pack a few things, then we can go!«

***

»Salome? Salome, where are you?«

Eileen had walked back the entire way to the point where they had stopped their jogging round. She had even found the butt of Salome’s cigarette, but no sign of her friend. An iron fist seemed to grab her heart.

She looked at the embankments, though it was very unlikely that Salome had staggered, knocked herself out and landed there. Eileen could see that there were ruins and houses around, and when she saw an old woman at one of those, she asked her whether she had seen anything. The woman spoke some broken German, but she just shook her head, as she had not seen a tall black girl running around in the woods.

»Oh my God! Where can she be?«

Eileen could imagine several options, none of them were pleasant. She could see something down the hill, a big concrete block of a building. It was Aurica’s factory, she now remembered. She drew her phone to call her, but then decided to go there. Aurica had mentioned that she had seven employees, and these would make up for a search party!

Andrina, who had watched her from a hideout behind a bush, wondered what was going on. She knew that the tall blonde was Aurica’s guest, together with her black friend. Now, she was alone, and she seemed rather concerned. Andrina thought of following her, though Aurica didn’t appreciate her presence at her property, when her fine nose caught a strange scent.

It wasn’t unusual that someone burnt something around here, but it wasn’t the smell of burning wood. It was burning petrol, and that was strange, for this was usually considered as too precious to be burned.

Andrina followed the scent, and after a few hundred yards, she could see a little clearing beside an abandoned farm. It was unusual, but not that unusual that people from neighbouring villages took one of these empty houses and tried if they could make a living there. It was how her own brother had gotten his new home. However, the two women she could see now didn’t look like locals.

One of them was a blonde in black jeans and a matching T-Shirt, stoking the fire with a stick. The other was slightly smaller and more petite, and she sported cargo pants and a black top. To Andrina’s astonishment, she threw a pair of sneakers into the small fire and then carefully poured some more petrol on them, causing a flash flame.

»There go her Nikes!«, the blonde commented, »let’s hope she enjoys the shoes Ligeia loves to see on her toys!«

None of this made sense to Andrina, but the blonde had spoken German, indicating that she was not a local, for she also sounded different than the Transylvanian Saxons with whom Andrina interacted, the reason she also spoke intermediate German.

»What do you think, will the redhead show up today already?«

»Well, there’s only one way to find out!«

The fire had burned down, and the two women kicked out the embers before they left. Andrina followed them.

»Watch and wait«, the cards had ordered her, and watching and waiting was what she did. They walked towards the old farm, and here, they removed a tarpaulin from a car. Two minutes later, the black-haired left, and the blonde disappeared in the barn. Sometime later, she came back, a strange smile on her face, and entered the house.

Andrina, who had ducked behind an old barrel, considered that she could get to the barn unseen. She was wearing her light sneakers, and the door stood ajar, allowing her to sneak inside without making a sound.

She could again sense a fragrance before her eyes had adjusted to the dim twilight. A fragrance she knew all too well, and yet, it was strange at such a place. It was the scent of female arousal, and now, Andrina could also hear heavy panting.

Her first thought was that she had stepped into a couple that had sex in secret – maybe because one of them was married. Then, however, she approached a post, and she saw the woman crouching at its foot. Andrina had to press her fist on her mouth to oppress a gasp.

It was the Black, that was for sure, even though her head was covered by some cloth hood. She was stark naked, and even in the bad lighting, Andrina could see the sweat glistering all over her body. Her ample boobs were heaving, and even though she had so far only made the experience of her own hands, she knew enough from the internet to tell that the girl had just had a heavy orgasm.

»If the blonde has got something to do with it?«

She looked closer, and now, she could see that the girl was not only hooded, but her arms were tied behind the post, in a way it forced her to thrust out her breasts, and her ankles were tied to her thighs, so she had to squat with her knees wide open, allowing Andrina to see her moist and swollen clit and labia. The fragrance was strong, and Andrina wondered what the blonde had done to her.

Now, the Black let out a throaty groan and raise her head, and Andrina shied back towards the door, anxiously looking if someone had noticed her. She watched the bound and hooded girl, and she had obviously just groaned for another reason and not noticed Andrina’s presence. To the Gypsy’s amazement, she now moved slightly up and down, cringing for some reason. Andrina knew that she should do something, for example cut the girl loose, or at least ask whether she was okay. However, Andrina decided against it.

»Watch and wait!«, the cards had told her, and Andrina withdrew from the barn and into the woods, to ask her Tarot cards for further guidance whilst trying to have an eye on the strange group that now was at that house.

***

»Are you sure you want to do that?«

At the hotel, Vlad had offered to quickly get inside and get her belongings from her room, sparing Lioba the confrontation with the location of her last day’s ordeal. Lioba had refused, but he had insisted that if someone was waiting for her, he wouldn’t know who he was, and if there was no one, it would be just ten minutes of easy work for him.

For a moment, Lioba considered a different approach: to tell Vlad that she didn’t want him to touch her underwear. However, this was ridiculous. When freeing her, he had already seen the entire collection lying around in her room. Hell, he had even seen her in her bra and panties, and he had neither suffered a stroke nor tried to throw himself upon her. So, she just leant over to him and brushed over his arm.

»Take care, please!«

With a grin, he playfully brushed over her nose, so Lioba cringed her nostrils, and she involuntarily smiled.

»I always do that if Anna is afraid that her daddy gets into danger – and it seems that it works on you, too!«

She poked his arm, but when he had left, armed with a small backpack to collect her belongings, she sighed. Partially, she felt really like a little girl, letting the man go into the terrifying witch’s castle. However, she was also impressed by how nice he was – no, more than that. Lioba wasn’t sure if he only did so because of the 5%, and she quickly checked her appearance in the rear mirror and refreshed her lipstick.

Time passed slowly, and Lioba impatiently drummed on the dashboard. She still hadn’t bought new cigarettes, and she was just considering getting out and attend the next shop when suddenly the door was ripped open and Vlad let himself sink into the seat.

Lioba was too self-controlled to scream, but she gasped at his sight.

»Oh my God, Vlad! Wha-what happened?«

Vlad’s mouth was a bloody grimace, and there were blood stains on his chest, too. He closed the door, slammed the backpack onto her lap and started the car. There was some honking and screeching of brakes when he left the parking spot, and only when they had brought some two miles between themselves and the hotel, he drove to the side.

Lioba, who had realized immediately that he wasn’t playing games, had spent the entire ride looking over her shoulder. Now, she breathed:

»I – I don’t think anyone f-followed us!«

She felt the urge to do something about his injuries. From Vlad’s apartment, they had also brought a few plastic bottles with water, and she opened one. Without looking, she rummaged through the backpack until she felt something soft. She soaked the cloth and began dabbing his lips whilst asking him what had happened.

»Well, I entered your room, and when I was just finished with collecting your things, the door opened! There was a man, and for a few moments, we were both equally perplexed and just stared at each other. Then, he jumped forward and wanted to grab the backpack, and when I refused to let it go, he became a little more persuasive!«

He forced a grin on his face; it looked a bit frightening, for his teeth were covered with blood, too. However, Lioba could see he had at least still his teeth. She made him hold the wet cloth and searched for her toiletry bag. Vlad continued:

»Before things could get more physical, some other guest heard the noise and threatened to call the Police, and so, the guy ran away! Well, since you still were in the car, I also left!«

Lioba felt her sympathy grow. Vlad had been attacked, and his first thought had been about her safety! She turned towards him, with an apologetic smile.

»I thought I had a roll of painkillers with me, but all I can offer is something against menstrual problems.«

»I will take one if there will be cramps, too!«

He now wiped the blood from his mouth and then looked at the damp wad of cloth, noticing some lace on it. At the same moment, Lioba also noticed it was one of her panties. She took the wad from his fingers, smiling wryly.

»Since it isn’t the turquoise one they used to gag me, they were clean!«

Since it wasn’t her only pair, she opened the window and threw out the blood-stained garment. Vlad chuckled, and Lioba frowned.

»Now, I can literally say that I fought for your bloody panties!«

She joined in his laugh, placing a kiss close to his swollen lips. Then, turning serious, she said:

»Vlad, I am sorry this happened! Under these circumstances, I can absolutely understand if you no longer want to accompany me!«

He looked at her with a strange grin. Most of the blood from his teeth had disappeared, but it nevertheless looked quite wolfish.

»Young Lady, you seem to forget what my first name is! Never in his life, Vlad the Impaler dodged from a fight!«

»No, he got killed in battle instead!«, Lioba thought. Obviously, her concern had shown in her eyes, for again, Vlad brushed over her nose, and again, she couldn’t help smiling, though she playfully slapped his hand.

»Now, let’s at least have a look at your heritage and find out whether it is really worth all that commotion!«

***