by Van © 2004
		Chapter 7

The Sorceress stared at Maid Dallas, then waved a dismissive hand at Princess Kellan.  "Look at these two," she sneered.  "Did you drag them across the ground all the way from Brom's realm?  I send you for a princess and you return with two draggletail ragamuffins."

"One of whom is the actual princess you requested," Duana observed, her hand still on the pommel of her sword.

The Sorceress' smile became even less friendly.  "Scratched and grubby, dressed in smelly rags, her hair a tangled nest?  This was hardly what I 'requested'."   She waved her hand again and the knapsack flew from Kellan's back.  It landed on the stone floor, yards behind the kneeling princess.  All watched as the thongs securing the pack's shoulder straps retied themselves to its base.  "Stand!" the Sorceress commanded.

Kellan flexed her sore shoulders, relishing the absence of Duana's knapsack.

"She means you, Princess," Duana said with an impudent smile.  "I'm already standing."

With considerable grace, despite her tattered costume, bound wrists, and tight gag, Kellan went up on one knee, then stood.  She favored her captor and the Sorceress with a proud stare (though truth be told, she was terrified).

The Sorceress smile brightened, but her eyes were still cold.  "That's better.  It would seem you haven't wrung all the Royal Spirit from my new possession."  She made an arcane hand gesture, first towards Kellan, then Dallas.  Seconds passed... and suddenly the princess and serving girl were lifted off the ground, as if by invisible hands!  Both struggled and mewed through their gags, but continued floating, totally helpless, in mid-air.  They drifted towards a distant door, it opened, they passed from sight, and the door closed.

Duana watched with a sad smile.  "Goodbye, Princess," she whispered; and as quickly as it had come, the whistful mood passed and the sell sword was all business.  "Well?" she demanded.

The Sorceress turned to face Duana, made another gesture, and a tiny glowing ball of light appeared before the sword maiden's face.  "Follow my servant to the guest chambers," she ordered, "and take a bath."

"My reward," Duana growled.

"Not now!" the Sorceress barked, spun on her heel in a swirl of red silk, and walked away towards a dark side passage.

Duana stared at the Sorceress' disappearing back, her hand still on her sword; then sighed, retrieved her pack, and followed the glowing guide to a different passage.  "The sooner I'm out of this place, the better," she mumbled under her breath.

Dawn pulled the pink rubber ball from Kelly's mouth and let it rest under her chin.  The attached rubber strap was still under slight tension, held against her throat but not pressing with any real force.  Blushing furiously, Kelly blinked and licked her lips.  "I am so embarrassed," she mumbled.

"What did you say?" Dawn asked, smiling broadly.

"I said I'm embarrassed!" Kelly snapped, tugged on the cuffs and ropes holding her spread-eagled on the bed, then turned her head to the side.  "Oh God!" she whispered.

Dawn reached down, took Kelly's chin in a firm but gentle grip, and turned her face until their eyes met.  "How long have you been playing this game?" she asked.

"Since I was a girl," Kelly answered, "but not very often.  This is the first time in... years."

Dawn leaned close and continued in a conspiratorial whisper.  "I'll let you in on a secret: We play it too."

"We?"

"Debbie, Dorey, myself.  We call it 'The Damsel Game', and we play it all the time."  Dawn released Kelly's chin and sat on the bed at Kelly's side.  "What's your favorite fantasy?"

"Please," Kelly said, continuing to pull on her cuffs.  "Please let me go."

"Ohhh, I see... the fantasy of being held prisoner.  By who?  By me?"

"No!  I mean... let me go... please?"

Smiling coyly, Dawn rested her hand on Kelly's stomach.  The captive jerked at the touch, then shuddered delicately.

"Please," Kelly whispered.

"You know I'd never do anything to hurt you," Dawn purred, slowly flexing her fingers and letting her palm glide in a lazy circle over Kelly's smooth, hard tummy, "don't you?"

Kelly pulled on her bonds and shivered.  "Ohhh...  Please..."

"You want me to do this... don't you?"

"No...  Yes..."

Dawn's smile turned decidedly mischievous.  "You're not gonna call the Sheriff on me, are you?  ...whenever I do decide to let you go?"

"No...  Oh..."

Dawn leaned close and kissed Kelly's lips.  The prisoner jerked in her bonds again, then relaxed and returned the kiss.  Their tongues rolled and lips smacked; then Dawn's hand slid lower.  Her fingers slid under the washcloth barely covering Kelly's sex, through the captive's pubic bush, and caressed her flushed sex.  Kelly gasped and turned her face to the side to break the kiss.  "No..." she moaned.

Dawn chuckled evilly (sending a thrill up Kelly's spine), and placed the ball-gag back between her pouting lips.  Kelly moaned and pulled on her bonds, and Dawn continued her gentle massage of the redhead's labia.  "Enough with your mixed signals, you teasing vixen.  You're dripping wet.  It's no use pretending.  You want me to do this, don't you."  She used her free hand to snatch the folded guest towel from Kelly's breasts, then seized her left breast and gave it a gentle squeeze.  "Don't you?"

Kelly squealed through her gag, pulled on her bonds with all her strength, then locked eyes with her captor... tormentor... lover, and nodded.

"All right then." Dawn purred, leaning close to tease her captive's right nipple with her tongue and teeth.  "We'll take our time with this.  I'm not particularly hungry anyway, so that dinner you promised me can wait.  Okay?"  She gave the nipple a slow, languid lick and at the same time slid her fingers between Kelly's labia.  "But why am I asking you?" she said in a mocking tone.  "You're bound, and gagged, and I can do anything I want to you, and you can't do anything to stop me, and no one will be coming to your rescue."  Kelly bucked and struggled, then shuddered and shivered in her helplessness.  "Yesss," Dawn continued.  "We'll make this first one nice... and... slow."

Kellan mewed through her gag and pulled on her bonds.  It was as if she was being carried by dozens of disembodied, invisible, floating hands.  She glanced to the left and watched Maid Dallas drift at her side.  The blonde youngster was a pitiful sight: bound with tight hemp from shoulders to ankles, gagged with cloth rags, nude, dirty, and terrified.  Dressed in boots and rags, gagged, but less stringently bound, Kellan knew she must hardly look any better.

They continued down the passage to a stairway, then down into total darkness.  Kellan struggled in the inky blackness, but it was hopeless.  Her bonds were too well tied, and the invisible hands were too strong and too numerous.  The strange journey continued for some time.  It was difficult to tell, but they seemed to be drifting deeper and deeper into the earth.  At one point Kellan heard falling water and the air was suddenly cool and humid.  Then they were past the subterranean water and approaching an opening door.

The chamber beyond was circular and large, nearly as large as the Sorceress' throne room.  It was lit by a dozen flaming braziers on tall iron stands, and the floor was covered, no, carpeted in metal objects.  Some appeared to be jewelry: bracelets, cuffs, and such; and some were curved and rounded lengths of metal rod and banding.  In addition, there was a great deal of heaped chain, ranging from thin and light to heavy and strong.  The objects were steel, silver, gold, bronze, brass, and alloys Kellan didn't recognize.  All were brightly polished and reflected the braziers' flames, bathing the chamber walls in a strange iridescence.  Kellan was stunned.  Just a small portion of the treasure in this room could buy her father's entire kingdom!

Suddenly, the rags were being ripped from Kellan's body and the boots from her feet.  Then her wrist bonds were untied, the hemp jerked from around her waist, and her gag removed.  She opened her mouth to scream, and a large, meaty, invisible hand clamped over her lower face.  With wide eyes she watched as Dallas' bonds and cloth gag were also removed.  The younger blonde was also hand-gagged by their unseen captors.

There was a metallic tinkling noise in the treasure below, and Kellan watched as a gold cuff wiggled out from under the mass and flew into the air.  It closed around her right wrist, and as she watched, the cuff's seam disappeared as it fused into one piece.  More golden accessories flew from the pile and snapped and fused around her left wrist, ankles, waist, and throat.  Kellan fought with all her strength, but the invisible hands overcame her struggles easily, positioning and repositiong her limbs and body as required.  A golden sphere forced its way into her mouth, passing through the hand still gagging her lips as if it wasn't there.  Narrow golden bands and rods followed, and a tight cage formed around her head, linking to the sphere and clamping under her chin, across the bridge her nose, and around her brow.  Her hair was pulled free of the golden grid, and it snapped skintight.  She found herself floating in mid-air, wrists linked together behind her back, ankles together, and gagged by a golden brank.  Bands of gold coiled around her upper arms, pulled her elbows back, and clicked together.  Two gold cups pressed against her breasts and were held in place by thin golden chains that dimpled the flesh of her shoulders and back.  Finally, a triangular shield fit itself over her sex and was linked by two chains to her waist belt in front and by a third chain between her butt cheeks in back.  All elements of the new costume she could see were intricately engraved with traditional knot patterns.  A triskele graced the front of each breast cup, and a stylized animal of some sort (possibly a fox) decorated the loin shield.  Kellan glanced at Dallas, and found the serving girl had been fitted with a matching set of metal restraints, only hers were steel and much less intricately decorated.

They left the treasure vault and the invisible hands carried them down another passage and into a new chamber; the strangest room Kellan had ever seen.  The ceiling, floor, and three walls were stone, but they were covered with a thick layer of melted and now solidified wax.  The wall opposite was composed entirely of wax, and was subdivided into dozens of closely stacked hexagonal cells, each about a yard across.  The entire wall glowed, and Kellan surmised the far side was open to the light of day.  Some of the cells were open, and some were sealed with wax caps.  Two adjoining cells were two-thirds sealed, with a triangular opening at the top.  The captives were carried forward and thrust through the waxy openings, each into her own cell.

Kellan barely fit through the triangle, but the wax eased her passage.  The hands released her and she fell into a vat of golden liquid!  She submerged completely, and when some of the thick fluid entered her gagged mouth, she realized it was honey!  She forced herself to the surface and shook her head violently.  The cell was like a deep horse trough or a large coffin.  She blinked the thick, clinging honey from her eyes and focused on the entrance.  To her alarm, the invisible hands were walling her in!  Fist sized clumps of wax were being added to the opening, and they melted and fused into the thick wall of the cap on contact.  Kellan kicked with her fettered feet at the thick wax cap, but it was useless.  

She found she could sit on the waxy floor of the cell and just lift her head above the honey, but when the entrance had been reduced to a small hole, more of the sickly-sweet, amber fluid began pouring into the cell.  Kellan mewed and struggled, but soon the air space was reduced to an ever shrinking, ever narrower void as the cell filled all the way to the triangular peak of the ceiling.  She managed a last breath, then the air was gone and all was honey.  Kellan thrashed weakly in her bonds and her lungs began to burn.  She held her breath for as long as she could, still fighting her bonds, then the stale, spent air was forced past her gag and through her nostrils, and was replaced by the golden liquid... and to Kellan's great surprise... she found she could breathe!  She kicked, thrashed, and rolled in the thick golden fluid.  Her skin began to burn, especially where she'd been cut, bruised, or sunburned during her journey as Duana's captive, but the burn felt good.   She drifted, and found herself growing ever more drowsy... ever more relaxed and at ease... and eventually... she slept.

Kelly was seated in one of her mismatched kitchen chairs; the strongest chair, in the expert opinion of her captor, the master carpenter.  She was dressed in a short robe of emerald satin blend, its sash secured around her waist with a tight bow.  Her leather cuffs were still around her wrists and ankles, and together with the thick, dark jade rope from the bed, she was bound in place.  Each wrist was secured to a back leg of the chair, just where it met the seat.  Rope looped her upper arms above the elbows and snugged them against the outer edges of the chair back.  Her ankles were cuffed and bound to the outer edges of the front chair legs, with her bare feet flat on the floor.  This left her nearly bare legs splayed in a somewhat unladylike pose, but she could do nothing to rectify the situation.  More rope cinched her waist against the chair back, banded her lap to the seat, and ran across her shoulders to meet several neat horizontal loops pinning her arms and torso to the chair.  The ball-gag was in her mouth, and one of her silk scarfs had been folded into a neat bandage and was tied over her eyes.

Her robe had gapped as she was being bound to the chair, and her captor had done nothing to restore her modesty.  Kelly's left breast was exposed almost to the nipple, and she knew a gloating observer leering at her from the front would have a virtually unobstructed view of her pubic bush and sex.  She was helpless and humiliated... and was enjoying herself immensely.

After several rounds of enthusiastic lovemaking on the bed, Dawn had changed back into her sundress, moved Kelly into the kitchen, and bound her to the chair.  She was now sautéing shrimp, red peppers, lemon zest, and garlic in olive oil and butter on her prisoner's stove.   Al dente angel hair pasta was drained and emptied on a platter, and the shrimp and peppers poured on top.  "We'll let that cool a minute," she told her blindfolded hostess.  "The wine's open, you're not going anywhere..."  (Kelly squirmed in her bonds and blushed.)  "...so if you'll excuse me, I've got to make a call."

Dawn pulled her cell phone from a sun dress' pocket and stepped out onto the porch.  Kelly found she could just hear what her captor was saying.  "Hiya, Brat.  I'm going to spend the night here, with Kelly...  Yeah, that's right...   None or your business, Brat!  Now, let me speak to Dorey...  What?...  You were supposed to release her at sundown; you knew that...  I don't care what she does to you!  Get your lazy little ass out there and let her go!  Okay...  Okay...  See you in the morning, Brat.  G'night."  Kelly heard Dawn return, muttering under her breath.  "She deserves everything she's gonna get, the little moron!"

Kelly's gag was pulled down and Dawn held a goblet of wine to her lips.  Kelly drank, then licked her lips.  "Thanks," she muttered.  "That smells delicious—m'f!"  A fork load of shrimp, peppers and pasta had found its way into her mouth, and it was indeed delicious.

"It's your recipe and you did the shopping," Dawn noted.  "I'm stealing it, by the way.  The recipe, I mean."

"It's good with penne too," Kelly said, then opened her mouth and was rewarded with more pasta.

"Let's make this light and quick," Dawn suggested, chewing and swallowing her share of supper and sipping from her own goblet.  "Then we can get back to bed."

Kelly blushed and twisted in her bonds, then nodded.  "You aren't going to tie me to the bed again... are you?"

Dawn took her time chewing and swallowing a mouthful of pasta... then finally spoke.  "Oh, I think not.  I'll keep you tied up, of course,  but there are a lot of different positions... a lot of different things we can try."

Kelly shivered in her helplessness, still blushing.  The meal continued, bite-by-bite and sip-by-sip.  Kelly found herself wishing she could see her captor's face.  "Dawn," she said quietly.

"Yes, Kelly?"

"Kiss me."

Dawn chuckled. "A bit pushy for a helpless prisoner, don't ya think?"

"Dawn... please."  Kelly's sudden need filled her voice.  She heard no response for a moment, then felt her captor's hand snake into her hair at the nape of her neck and her head being turned.  She had time for a soft moan, then Dawn's lips were crushed to hers, her tongue seeking admittance.  Kelly responded instantly, allowing access, and their tongues dueled and fought, their lips quivered and suckled, and the kiss continued for uncounted time.

They finally broke apart, and Kelly was gratified to hear Dawn whisper, "I wanted that too."

Kelly licked garlic, oil, and her lover's saliva from her lips.  "Uh... You think we should be going this fast?"

Dawn's hand settled on Kelly's shoulder.  "Are you scared?"

"Scared?  No... I... Okay, a little; but it's a good kind of scared... you know?"  Kelly felt Dawn's hand lift the ball-gag dangling under her chin, and complacently opened her mouth to accept the spherical plug.  

"In answer to your question," Dawn said in a husky whisper, "you happen to have caught me in a horny mood.  Or rather, I've caught you...  quite literally... while in a horny mood... so I'm afraid we won't be getting a lot of sleep tonight... and you have nothing to say about it."