The Final Bondage of the Demon's Thrall
part 1 of 2
A "Woman, Green" Tale

Naked. In the city coliseum, in the dry dust and dirt along an interior barrier, the woman lay curled into a tight ball. Narrow arms gripped reddened knees. Folded lithe legs, with small, dirtied feet tucked in close behind, covered, as best they could, firm breasts and a lightly muscled torso. Long dark hair matted with dirt from days of neglect covered her bruised and bloodied face. She lay, now, in shadow, as the evening sun had fallen below the coliseum walls. She lay barely moving.

Darkness hastened. Thunderheads quickly erupted to the west. A phalanx of guards laden with spears surrounded each entrance to the coliseum. Their stoicism juxtaposed the flurry of the merchants in the plaza working hard to secure their carts before the arrival of the storms. Gusts of wind already snaked though the city streets sweeping up dust higher than the roofs of most shops. Bits of refuse tumbled up the High Street to the gates of the castle.

--

Inside the castle a muffled jangle could be heard as the Queen made her way along the marble floors of the Receiving Hall. At the far end, the King sat with one leg draped over the arm of his throne as he stared into the flicker of a torch and quietly gnawed on the tip of his thumb.

Even through the layers of robes and veils the Queens voice was clear as a mountain stream. "Your fool of a son has destroyed my father's sword."

The King glanced up briefly, then flicked his wrist slightly and resumed his oral attack on his thumb.

"With the choice of any woman of the land to bear your child, one would think that you'd choose a whore with some reasoning ability in the hopes that her offspring would have at least the sense of a goat."

"Quiet, woman! The Prince's mother was a fine woman." The King stiffened himself in his chair. "And the Prince is sharp enough. How was he to know that the sword would shatter?"

"Perhaps, having just seen the executioner's axe break like glass upon the woman's neck, he would have been provided with the proper degree of evidence." The Queen now stood at the foot of the dais.

"Aye!" the King stated. "It is the work of a demon, and this naked woman, she is its thrall."

"And after all that has happened today, you sit here still, I assume, focused on killing this woman. What other royal artifacts will you destroy before you realize this quest is folly?"

"As with every decision, I do what is best to sustain this kingdom - just as your father did before." The King's gaze abandoned the deep, purples of the queen's cape and returned to the flicker of the torch. "A people will question the strength of a king who cannot clear his lands of a simple, blasphemous temptress."

The Queen's veils ruffled briefly. "I've heard the stories about the woman. She is obviously protected by the Deities..."

"Not by my Deities!"

"Whatever!" The Queen climbed up a step of the dais. "I have heard of how, when she is adorned with clothing, within hours the garments fall to the ground in snatches of tangled thread. And when she has been shackled, the metal cracks and falls from her wrists. Once even, the land itself opened up to lay the Wester Baron's castle to rubble. And out from the wreckage climbed the naked woman from the dungeon where two days before she had been interred with heavy chains anchoring her to the cold walls. Her protection is not the act of a meddling, minor demon."

"No," the King nodded. "Not a minor demon, but a demon, none the less. What am I to do? We cannot leave the naked thrall out wandering through the countryside slowly undermining the seams of society that have been developed over thousands of years. You, my Queen, know the dangers that are stoked by the bare flesh of a woman. You have read the sacred texts which describe protocols for maintaining a civilization."

"Send her out of the country."

"A society expects their King to fix problems - not to sweep them under the carpets..." The King hesitated for a moment, then quickly glanced up at the Queen with eyes narrowing. "I understand that it is the nature of woman to empathize, but I expect you, Queen, to be less swayed by such weaknesses."

"Do you," the Queen stated softly.

"The naked thrall's presence in our land is a problem that I will fix. You have no need to concern yourself with such matters." The King paused. "But yet, here you are, interrupting my contemplation. Why is that?"

The Queen turned and started back towards the entrance. "Why am I here indeed..."

The King stood up. "Maybe the demons who control the thrall are of the cult that you worship!"

The Queen continued slowly back across the hall muttering softly, "Maybe the Prince's lack of intelligence is not his whore mother's fault."

"If you know more about this witch than you are telling me, I'm sure that the legislature will be eager to rule that a good Queen's restraints should be more confining than they currently are to ensure her safety!"

The Queen stopped and turned back towards the King, the dark, opaque silks of her facial coverings dancing with the heightened rhythm of her breathing. After a moment she turned back towards the entrance.

A guard entered the door. "Claid of the Rookery is here, your Highness."

"Good!" said the King and he returned to his throne.

The Queen, with the hems of her robes gliding slowly across the cold smooth floor, continued towards the exit. "Great! So, your plan is to bore the woman to death with a fraud's bad parlor tricks..."

A tall, thin, grey man in long robes entered the hall. "So nice to see you again, too, my Queen." The Queen continued out through the doors with no further acknowledgement.

The wizard chuckled briefly then strode across the hall.

"Claid, what do you make of the thrall and the demon's protections, good sir?" the King asked.

"Alchemy. Nothing more."

"But, did you see what happened to the Sword of Constants? It was forged so long ago and never, has the blade gone dull. Yet, when the Prince attempted to sever the woman's head it shattered into a million pieces." The King shook his head and stared at the marble floor. "Ugh! Such a loss!"

"So, it is powerful alchemy" the old man stated calmly. He paused for a moment to let the echo of his deep voice subside. "You know, destroying the thrall is not the only way to neutralize the thrall."

The King looked up. "You have a solution?"

A wrinkled smile slowly stretched its way across the wizard's face.

--

Within the walls of the coliseum the naked woman remained crouched against the pitch's barrier which afforded little protection from the driving rain. She gripped her knees even tighter when she heard the approach of soft footsteps through the puddles. They stopped some distance away. "Eleftheria?"

The naked woman moved her head even more towards the wall wishing the intruder would leave.

"Eleftheria? Do not be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." Flashes of lightening revealed a short, robed figure holding out her hand.

"I've brought some food and a cloth. Ooo!" Lightening flashed and thunder echoed around the empty stands of the coliseum. "It's ok. Here... Some bread..."

Slowly the naked woman extended her long, thin arm and grasped the offering. She took a bite and chewed briefly, pausing, then turned to get a better look at her benefactor who was now squatting an arm's length away - her robes, drenched by the rain.

"My name is Gi. I have been sent by the Queen to bring some comfort. Oh! You are so dirty. I'm sorry I cannot do more."

The naked woman accepted another bite of bread.

"Do you have a name? Some of us have started calling you 'Eleftheria'. Is that ok? Do you want some more food? Here, have a piece of meat." Gi inched closer. "I brought a cloth for you, so you could clean up a little."

Gi pulled something out of her robe. "Sorry. It's pretty wet. This rain..." She held a small square of woven cotton out to the naked woman who seemed to flinch slightly. "The cloth won't hurt you, will it? I've heard stories about how clothes fall to threads when you try to wear... Uh... It's ok." Gi gently wiped the soft fabric on the naked woman's upper arm. A bit of scrubbing revealed the smooth flawless flesh of the naked woman's well-toned arm. "See? It'll help get the dirt and mud off."

The Queen's woman shuffled in closer and started pulling objects from her robe which she placed on the muddy ground. "I've also got some lotions and ointments..."

The naked woman looked at the growing pile of vials and took another bite of the meat as the girl pattered on.

"We should take advantage of the rain. You can use this in your hair. Um... I'll just do this for you if you don't mind." Gi opened a vial and poured some of the contents into her hand, then reached up to massage it into the naked woman's hair. "This will make it easier to comb out... maybe... You have such beautiful, long hair. I've never actually seen it in the daylight, but I can tell by the way it feels. Very nice..."

The naked woman turned slightly to allow Gi to continue cleaning her hair. Occasionally, she would glance at Gi for a moment, but mainly she chewed the tough piece of meat.

Gi pulled a silver comb through the naked woman's hair. At one point as Gi fought through a scurry of tangles, the naked woman, who was still balanced upon the balls of her feet, began to tip over. She quickly recovered by releasing her grip on her knees. Slowly, she allowed her knees to settle in the puddles and mud and sat still with her arms at her sides waiting for Gi to continue. Her face was calm and expressionless as she stared out steadily at some random point across the field. Her back was as straight as a marble column. Gi froze for a moment as lightening flashes sparkled in the streams of rain running down the naked woman's breasts – her eyes transfixed upon their perfect shape and the darker tones of her areoles.

--

Niamh had been content with her solitude when the Queen's woman first arrived. The storm protected her better than any other covering since she had first arrived in this strange place. However, she had not had the taste of food in a long time and the Queen's women had treated her well before so, she allowed the advance of the garrulous girl. The Queen's women were always dressed in excessive robes, but yet they were kind to her and her nakedness unlike so many others she had encountered. If only she could be one of them, protected from the invasive eyes of people behind thick, opaque veils!

Though she was not really hungry, the food never tasted as good as the bread and meat that Gi had given to her. And the oils that she was administering to her hair smelled sweet regardless of their alien quality.

She had rarely been touched by anyone since her arrival. She hadn't wanted anyone to do so! No one she had encountered had shown any form of compassion - only fear or anger. But now, she realized how much she missed a gentle touch. The comb in her hair reminded her of safe, quiet moments with long forgotten lovers. Maybe it wasn't the food that she sought so much, but rather simple human contact.

She let Gi dab the soft cloth on her bruised face.

Gi continued massaging slippery oils into the back of Niamh's neck and shoulders. She felt the sleeves of Gi's robes fall wet and heavy against her back and arms as Gi's strong hands pulled at her muscles and bones. With the rhythm of each kneading hand there was a slight tinkle of metal from somewhere within the robes. Niamh closed her eyes and held out her arms to make the Queen's woman's task easier.

With great care, Gi washed each arm from shoulder to hand and carefully cleansed each finger.

Maybe she could live with the Queen's women. Maybe she could hide with them behind the castle walls. And, at night she could cuddle in large, soft beds amongst their warm, loving bodies.

No. It was just a fantasy.

Gi washed under Niamh's chin and moved down to her sternum and breasts.

"Oh my god!" Niamh thought, her mouth gasped open and she felt rivulets of water pouring down her face and into her lips. Her nipples hardened and a warm electricity buzzed inside her core. She arched her back and pushed her chest deeper into Gi's hands. Did she just moan?

The rhythmic caressing of Gi's hands slowed. They lingered on her breasts, raising them slightly into the night. Niamh noticed that Gi had stopped talking. She slowly turned her head and looked into the Queen's woman's eyes. But the moment they met, Gi looked down and pulled her hands away.

--

Gi resumed her ministrations, but more quickly. She made a somewhat cursory pass around the naked woman's hips and between her legs with the cloth. "I mustn't linger too long," she said. "If I were caught, the Queen would have to deny that I came here under her orders and I would be tried as a witch." Gi's eyes darted up for a second. "I'm not saying that I wouldn't want to come to you and that I'm just doing this because I have orders, I just can't... I mean... I like helping you..."

Gi looked up again to see that the naked woman was calmly watching her, still kneeling in the mud, yet statuesque in her appearance. Gi stared for a moment. "Eleftheria..."

The naked woman reached her hand into the hood of Gi's robe and placed it gently on her cheek. For a moment in time both froze as the rain splashed around them. Then the Queen's woman let forth an ecstatic moan and tumbled back into the puddles with a muffled sound of clinking metal. After a moment she jumped up and gathered her comb and vials and started to scurry away, but then she stopped, turned back and placed a small, soft kiss on the naked woman's forehead. Then she turned and disappeared into the darkness.

--

"That is good news Claid," The King said as he clasped the old man's hand. "I have faith that we will deliver an appropriate justice to the demon's thrall. In fact, based on the Queen's interest, I believe that she is afraid that our success is imminent."

The old wizard pulled on his mustache. "Do you expect our benevolent Queen will attempt to interfere with our plans?"

"Oh. Certainly not. She is crafty and such, but she knows her limitations as a woman. I sense that she has some sort sympathies regarding the thrall and I believe that she convenes with the demon who protects the naked woman."

"If I may be so bold to suggest," the wizard stated, "sometimes a Queen who has outperformed her usefulness can be, hmmm... shall I say, neutralized."

"A deal is being worked to betroth the Prince with the Princess of Dansgard in three month's time. And when the Princess arrives, the Queen will no longer be the woman of the castle. The Queen's power will diminish. So, I do not carry a high level of concern. But, if she proves to be problematic, I will seek yet another favor from you."

"As always, your Highness, it would be my pleasure... So, finally, do you believe that it is safe to touch this demon's thrall?" the old wizard queried.

The King let out a brief laugh, "Yes. I've seen a number of guards touch her. The Prince even kicked her in the face after he broke the sword on her neck. Drew blood, in fact. He seems to have survived ok."

"Interesting. And you can safely confine her to the coliseum?"

"Yes. I believe so. The demon does not incur wrath, it would seem, as long as the thrall is exposed to the heaven's above. Meanwhile, the public will be protected from her poison."

"Excellent. It will take five days for my metal workers and acolytes to make the preparations for her final, permanent home."

End part 1 of 2.