Into the Red Panther’s Palace
Esmeralda watched out the window as they finally approached the Slave Market on the very edge of Xavis’s great palace.
The Animus Realm was one of sprawling plains dotted with bushes and mesquite like trees. Esmeralda imagined they were in Africa and they were on a safari tour. But this would be no walk in the proverbial park.
The Palace was visible from miles and miles away on the flat plains and was the only building that could be seen. It seemed to be covered by a huge bluish force field that protected the Palace.
“Lord Xavis conjured great magic to seal off the entire Palace after the Scourge tickled his entire three hundred member harem,” Peter explained. “He sealed off all the wormholes in and out of the Palace so the only access is through a small front gate. The checks are so meticulous that not even a pixie could try to fly by unnoticed.”
“Three hundred?” Esmeralda asked incredulously.
“You can understand then why Xavis and myself are not on the best of terms,” Patrisa said winking and handing Esmeralda a pair of pink pills for her to take. “That heist sealed forever my reputation as the Tickle Scourge.”
“How’d you do it?” Esmeralda asked showing much interest as she swallowed the two pink pills. She was queasy about doing so, but supposedly it was their only hope of being selected to join the Lord’s harem.
Patrisa chuckled as she also swallowed a tickle pill. “If I told you, it wouldn’t seem so grand anymore, would it?”
Esmeralda shrugged but made a mental note to pursue to subject later.
“The servants are counted as is every member of the palace household. There is not one guard more nor one guard less than the exact number Xavis has declared necessary,” Peter continued to explain. “The Harem is made of three hundred slaves exactly. As Xavis grows bored, he has them replaced. It is actually a clever yet dangerous way to access the Palace the one you have chosen.”
He placed golden cuffs on Patrisa’s and Esmeralda’s wrists and ankles. The chain was pretty and elegant, but it would hardly hold either of the two women.
“Not very practical if you plan on keeping someone chained up,” Esmeralda mentioned tugging gently on the chain.
“Many things lack practicality among the Animus,” Peter responded as he donned his suit and black top hat. “Especially among Lord Xavis’s noble family. But do not doubt their ability to keep you ‘chained up’ if they so desire. They have many ways to keep the slaves of the harem in check.”
Esmeralda recalled Lucil and her restraining spells and she felt a cold chill run down her spine. The Animus would certainly present a challenge.
“Most of them are deathly ticklish, Tenderfoot,” Patrisa replied trying to calm her down. “I’ve tickled scores of Animus and none are more ticklish than those of Xavis’s household. Those of the Red Panther’s House are always ripe for the tickling but quick to tickle also. The adage holds true with them: The best defense against a tickle attack is a good offense.”
“Dressed like this, we are easy pickings,” Esmeralda said frowning at her exposed flesh and skimpy outfit.
“All the more reason to pick two hopelessly ticklish girls like us,” Patrisa said with a smile. “Speaking of which….”
Patrisa poked Esmeralda gently in stomach just above her navel with her index finger.
Esmeralda shrieked and doubled over muffling her laughter. She was normally not even that ticklish there but the tickleberry pills made her much more ticklish. She silently thought about her ribs and her feet and how ticklish they must be now. She shuddered at the thought.
Patrisa stepped behind her and poked gently with an index finger into each of her sides.
Esmeralda yelped and twisted into the air laughing wildly and uncontrollably and falling to the floor. She was breathing heavily and gasping after only three innocent pokes.
“You are ready,” Patrisa said with a smile helping Esmeralda back to her feet.
“I have a confession to make, Tenderfoot,” Patrisa said as they prepared to exit the wagon. “After taking two pills earlier, I realized that we could probably get away with just one pill.”
Esmeralda went pale under her fur. “And you let me take two?” she asked shocked.
“Let’s just say we’re even for yesterday,” Patrisa said barely unable to contain her smile.
Esmeralda’s Tiger head growled but she said nothing.
Patrisa hawkish features beamed. “What kind of Tickle Scourge would I be if I went soft on you, Tenderfoot?”
* * * * * *
The slave market was built just outside the Palace in what appeared to be an old outpost. At the center of the outpost there was a small courtyard where rich and beautiful carpets of the brightest crimson were laid down and detailed furniture was present for the rich noble representatives of the Cat Clan. The rich nobles sat in the couches while slaves fanned them with large plumed fans.
One of the nobles with a red panther head was a female dressed in a robe and seated upon a strange throne like seat.
The throne had a very wide seat and was made out of what appeared to be ivory carved into the forms of a myriad of female hands. Open palms of many such hands formed the seat and the back rest. The arm rest was made of one long arm each which was followed in each case by another arm grasping the wrist. The feet of the throne were open palms on the ground and long slender arms extended from the backrest like feathers from a peacock. The arms behind the throne reminded Esmeralda of the eight arms of a Hindu god she once read about in a book. Two hands at the top held a glowing white crystal between their palms.
Esmeralda felt a bit uneasy. Anything or anyone with two hands she considered a menace among the Realms. Anything with a hundred hands was simply mind boggling.
Peter stepped forward.
“Nobles of the Cat Clan,” Peter said bowing deeply before the nobles and then nudging Patrisa that she and Esmeralda should do the same. “Lady Ela of the Cat Clan,” she said addressing the woman on the throne and bowing still deeper.
“I, Peter the Peddler, offer you two ticklish specimens to be sold to the Great Lord Xavis’s Harem if you so deem them fit.”
“Peter the Peddler,” said the woman on the throne her blue eyes narrowing in on the peddler. “Spell caster Lucil says you collaborated with the Tickle Scourge to set her and an accomplice free after you were released from your contract. There are a couple headhunters out there just waiting for an opportunity to catch you peddling so they can capture you and bring you before my dear lord and brother.”
“Lucil speculates and wishes to place the responsibility of securing the Tickle Scourge on me,” Peter said with a measure of indignation. “She did not take the necessary precautions and I was only under contract to capture the Tickle Scourge, not secure her delivery to our Noble Lord Xavis. As for the contracts on my head I have only one thing to say in my defense. Business is business.”
“True,” she answered shrewdly, “and it was business that got you and your mate in trouble in the first place. But let us hear no more of this matter. I grow tired and all the slaves presented today are hardly ticklish enough for our needs. I would hate to return empty handed to Lord Xavis.”
“Then say no more and feast your eyes upon the ticklish Vila and Mavi,” he said gesturing first to Patrisa then to Esmeralda.
“Pretty enough and of the Animus,” Ela said inspecting the girl’s curves. “And so proud and of such noble stature. It is quite a pleasure for Lord Xavis to see the proud ones succumb to his tickling fingers.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Peter said.
“But then again I’ve seen the fairest of damsels simply fall short under the subtle inspection of an inquisitive finger,” Ela said drawing a single finger through the air as if it were sliding down a bare underarm.
“Feel free to test them, my lady,” Peter said. “I assure you that they are of the most ticklish nature.”
“We shall see,” she said standing up and stepping away from the throne. “Release them and have them both sit upon the Throne.”
“A magical throne?” Peter asked as he unlocked the golden shackles releasing Patrisa and Esmeralda.
“The Cursed Seat of Xavis,” Ela replied. “It is an artifact like none you have ever peddled.”
Esmeralda and Patrisa sat next to each other on the throne. It seemed to become even wider so by the time they sat upon the throne it was spacious enough for both of them to sit comfortably.
Rusdec teas, part ethes mitcivs! Ela commanded and the jewel above the throne glowed.
The arms and hands of the throne came to life and they grasped Esmeralda’s and Patrisa’s wrists and ankles and stretching the wrists high above their heads and their feet extended in front of them with the soles of their slippers facing the noble Ela.
The slippers were removed by the hands and Esmeralda could not believe that the simple cool breeze on the bare soles of her feet was enough to make her have to resist the urge to laugh.
“The Cursed Seat is unique,” Ela explained. “If you are not ticklish or pretend to be more ticklish than you are, the seat will shock you and release you. Lord Xavis demands the most genuinely ticklish slaves for his harem, so you are advised to simply resist. The Seat will have no trouble revealing your true ticklishness.”
Rusdec teas, ginbe! Ela spoke.
The hands came to life and they immediately went to work on the two victims. Esmeralda felt her hands being pulled open and held open. A single finger stroked her open palm. They might have been tickling her most ticklish spot, for she burst out in wild laughter that she could not contain for the life of her.
“Excellent palm response,” Ela said with both slaves responding to the palm tickling. “It is usually a good sign.”
Rusdec teas, seols! Ela commanded.
The hands gently but firmly held her feet still by pulling the toes back. That effort alone was enough to send Esmeralda into a ticklish fit. When a single fingernail was drawn slowly up and down each of her bare soles, she screamed as the ticklish sensations ran through her body like electricity. She shook her head and thrashed violently as more and more hands grasped to hold her firmly so she could not move.
Cursed Tickle pills! Esmeralda thought to herself. She was an exposed nerve! Every touch, every tingle was total torture.
Underarms followed. Then ribs and belly. It was just one index finger each time that gently stroked the exposed flesh, but it might have been a flurry of feathers and fingers. After just a couple minutes of testing, Esmeralda and Patrisa were both sweating and panting heavily.
“Remote ticklishness must be tested next,” Ela mentioned briefly.
Rusdec teas, chypse kliect!
A pair of white ivory hands rose from the chair from between Esmeralda’s and Patrisa’s legs. The hands hovered for a moment in front of each of the victims with fingers outstretched and pointed in their direction.
“No,” Esmeralda whispered unable to believe that she was indeed this ticklish.
The fingers made tickling motions in the air and Esmeralda tried with her iron will to resist but she could not. Even the threat of tickling was enough to make her double over in laughter. She laughed and screamed and twisted as much as the hands that held her would permit. It was simply incredible.
She remembered an excessively ticklish cousin who would curl up like a ball on the ground at the mere movement of ticklish fingers. Esmeralda always thought that her cousin and anyone else like that must be exaggerating. Who could be so ticklish? She realized today that not only was it possible, but that it was torturous.
She vowed that she would never again tickle a person in such an embarrassing manner, but after a moments thought, who was she fooling? If she were free she’d give Ela a double dose of this same medicine.
“Very well, I’ll take them both,” Ela said in conclusion to Peter the Peddler.
Rusdec teas, shinif! She said as the last command.
Before Esmeralda could guess what the command meant, the hands of the throne came to life and they all tickled her in union. No longer was it the single finger being drawn along her palm. The hands used all their fingers to tickle vigorously every part of Esmeralda’s body. No part of her body was spared from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Thighs and elbows, behind knees and behind the ears, buttocks and calves. No part of her body was spared.
It took not more than thirty seconds for Esmeralda’s senses to be totally overrun. She screamed and laughed like a mad woman possessed and the suddenly it was all too much and she blacked out.
* * * * * * *
When Esmeralda came to she felt tired and her body ached like it had never ached before. She saw Patrisa’s unconscious form being placed into a glass coffin.
“What is going on?” she asked looking for Peter.
“You and your friend are being placed into a glass coffin that will keep you in storage until Lord Xavis requires your presence,” Ela explained. “It could take a day or maybe a week or maybe a month until he decides to pick a new member of his harem. But worry not. Until then you will be stored in a glass coffin sleeping the Slumber of Ten Centuries. Be it a week, a month or a decade until my lord chooses you, you will not age a day, my ticklish slave. I promise.”
Ela placed a small bouquet of flowers under Esmeralda’s nose.
“Inhale the scent of these flowers,” Ela ordered. “They will induce the Slumber of Ten Centuries.”
The aroma was overwhelming. Esmeralda was too tired from the tickling bout and there was no resisting the sweet fragrance. She breathed in the perfume and she felt drowsiness crash down on her like an anvil falling through the sky. She shook her head a couple times and finally closed her eyes allowing herself to be mercifully enveloped in the darkness of oblivion.
* * * * * *
“We’re trapped,” Indigo said pounding on the glass of the coffin.
“I realize that, “Amber replied sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Esmeralda’s sleeping face thinking pensively. “The coffin’s lid is too heavy for us to move and too thick to break.”
The two pixies watched from their hiding place as Esmeralda was put to sleep and being carried by servants to be placed in the glass coffin. They flew as fast as lightning and reach the coffin as Esmeralda was being placed inside. They hid inside undetected as the heavy glass cover was placed on top.
The two coffins were taken deep into the gigantic palace and placed in a hall filled with scores of similar coffins with ticklish slaves waiting to be awakened and to serve in Lord Xavis’s harem.
“And Esmeralda won’t wake up,” Indigo said sinking against the glass walls of the coffin until he was on the floor close to Amber. They glowed each their own particular color and lit up the otherwise dark room with tones of blue and yellow.
“The Slumber of Ten Centuries is so deep that eating and even breathing is not necessary,” Amber said.
“I already tried the kiss of a Pixie Prince,” Indigo said flying above Esmeralda’s face and giving her lips a kiss. “Nothing!”
The Animus pills had worn off hours ago and both Esmeralda and Patrisa in the adjacent coffin had returned to their human heads.
“Even tickling has failed,” Indigo complained taking a large curl of Esmeralda’s dark hair and using it to tickle her under the nose. “It’s as if she were a hundred times less ticklish!”
“That’s it!” Amber exclaimed snapping her fingers. “I think I have an idea.”
Indigo flew down to her side and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“It’s about time!” he said eagerly.
* * * * * *
Haydeen followed Orion Pax through the wormhole.
The spell caster was dark and dreary, and did not have much to say. In that way the spell caster resembled the wormhole.
When they finally emerged it was dark and they were on a grassy knoll.
Haydeen looked around and realized that this was Madame Jordanna’s Academy. Although she had never been here before, the building on the hill was unmistakable.
“You fool!” Haydeen hissed at Orion. “Madame Jordanna will tickle us both to death if we’re caught. Why have you taken us here?”
“She knows where the Tenderfoot is,” Orion replied as he walked up the grassy knoll. “As for Madame Jordanna tickling us to death, well I can think of many worse ways to go.”
Haydeen realized he was teasing and she frowned. She couldn’t understand why she was there with him in the first place.
Neshi ryou gliht no em! Shouted a voice and a sphere of bright light appeared above them casting shadows in all directions.
“You had better have a good reason to be snooping around the Academy,” a tall woman in a one shoulder leather dress said drawing near. “Or else.”
The woman was unarmed except for her fiery red hair and stern eyes. She wore a necklace around her neck.
“Or else what?” Orion Pax asked his eyes narrowing on his opponent.
Lalms si tervelai, kame em het zeis fo a tiang! she said touching a necklace around her neck.
She grew to three times her size and towered over both Orion and the small Haydeen.
“Giantess,” Orion said frowning slightly.
”Loanna the Giantess,” the woman said clenching her fists and preparing to step forward.
“What is it they say about giants?” Orion asked Haydeen as he prepared to cast his spell.
“The bigger they are, the harder they laugh,” Haydeen said repeating the favorite saying and edging back behind the spell caster.
”Let’s hope the wisdom of the ancients proves true,” he said just as he cast his spell.
To be continued…
NEXT: Pursuit!
Esmeralda watched out the window as they finally approached the Slave Market on the very edge of Xavis’s great palace.
The Animus Realm was one of sprawling plains dotted with bushes and mesquite like trees. Esmeralda imagined they were in Africa and they were on a safari tour. But this would be no walk in the proverbial park.
The Palace was visible from miles and miles away on the flat plains and was the only building that could be seen. It seemed to be covered by a huge bluish force field that protected the Palace.
“Lord Xavis conjured great magic to seal off the entire Palace after the Scourge tickled his entire three hundred member harem,” Peter explained. “He sealed off all the wormholes in and out of the Palace so the only access is through a small front gate. The checks are so meticulous that not even a pixie could try to fly by unnoticed.”
“Three hundred?” Esmeralda asked incredulously.
“You can understand then why Xavis and myself are not on the best of terms,” Patrisa said winking and handing Esmeralda a pair of pink pills for her to take. “That heist sealed forever my reputation as the Tickle Scourge.”
“How’d you do it?” Esmeralda asked showing much interest as she swallowed the two pink pills. She was queasy about doing so, but supposedly it was their only hope of being selected to join the Lord’s harem.
Patrisa chuckled as she also swallowed a tickle pill. “If I told you, it wouldn’t seem so grand anymore, would it?”
Esmeralda shrugged but made a mental note to pursue to subject later.
“The servants are counted as is every member of the palace household. There is not one guard more nor one guard less than the exact number Xavis has declared necessary,” Peter continued to explain. “The Harem is made of three hundred slaves exactly. As Xavis grows bored, he has them replaced. It is actually a clever yet dangerous way to access the Palace the one you have chosen.”
He placed golden cuffs on Patrisa’s and Esmeralda’s wrists and ankles. The chain was pretty and elegant, but it would hardly hold either of the two women.
“Not very practical if you plan on keeping someone chained up,” Esmeralda mentioned tugging gently on the chain.
“Many things lack practicality among the Animus,” Peter responded as he donned his suit and black top hat. “Especially among Lord Xavis’s noble family. But do not doubt their ability to keep you ‘chained up’ if they so desire. They have many ways to keep the slaves of the harem in check.”
Esmeralda recalled Lucil and her restraining spells and she felt a cold chill run down her spine. The Animus would certainly present a challenge.
“Most of them are deathly ticklish, Tenderfoot,” Patrisa replied trying to calm her down. “I’ve tickled scores of Animus and none are more ticklish than those of Xavis’s household. Those of the Red Panther’s House are always ripe for the tickling but quick to tickle also. The adage holds true with them: The best defense against a tickle attack is a good offense.”
“Dressed like this, we are easy pickings,” Esmeralda said frowning at her exposed flesh and skimpy outfit.
“All the more reason to pick two hopelessly ticklish girls like us,” Patrisa said with a smile. “Speaking of which….”
Patrisa poked Esmeralda gently in stomach just above her navel with her index finger.
Esmeralda shrieked and doubled over muffling her laughter. She was normally not even that ticklish there but the tickleberry pills made her much more ticklish. She silently thought about her ribs and her feet and how ticklish they must be now. She shuddered at the thought.
Patrisa stepped behind her and poked gently with an index finger into each of her sides.
Esmeralda yelped and twisted into the air laughing wildly and uncontrollably and falling to the floor. She was breathing heavily and gasping after only three innocent pokes.
“You are ready,” Patrisa said with a smile helping Esmeralda back to her feet.
“I have a confession to make, Tenderfoot,” Patrisa said as they prepared to exit the wagon. “After taking two pills earlier, I realized that we could probably get away with just one pill.”
Esmeralda went pale under her fur. “And you let me take two?” she asked shocked.
“Let’s just say we’re even for yesterday,” Patrisa said barely unable to contain her smile.
Esmeralda’s Tiger head growled but she said nothing.
Patrisa hawkish features beamed. “What kind of Tickle Scourge would I be if I went soft on you, Tenderfoot?”
* * * * * *
The slave market was built just outside the Palace in what appeared to be an old outpost. At the center of the outpost there was a small courtyard where rich and beautiful carpets of the brightest crimson were laid down and detailed furniture was present for the rich noble representatives of the Cat Clan. The rich nobles sat in the couches while slaves fanned them with large plumed fans.
One of the nobles with a red panther head was a female dressed in a robe and seated upon a strange throne like seat.
The throne had a very wide seat and was made out of what appeared to be ivory carved into the forms of a myriad of female hands. Open palms of many such hands formed the seat and the back rest. The arm rest was made of one long arm each which was followed in each case by another arm grasping the wrist. The feet of the throne were open palms on the ground and long slender arms extended from the backrest like feathers from a peacock. The arms behind the throne reminded Esmeralda of the eight arms of a Hindu god she once read about in a book. Two hands at the top held a glowing white crystal between their palms.
Esmeralda felt a bit uneasy. Anything or anyone with two hands she considered a menace among the Realms. Anything with a hundred hands was simply mind boggling.
Peter stepped forward.
“Nobles of the Cat Clan,” Peter said bowing deeply before the nobles and then nudging Patrisa that she and Esmeralda should do the same. “Lady Ela of the Cat Clan,” she said addressing the woman on the throne and bowing still deeper.
“I, Peter the Peddler, offer you two ticklish specimens to be sold to the Great Lord Xavis’s Harem if you so deem them fit.”
“Peter the Peddler,” said the woman on the throne her blue eyes narrowing in on the peddler. “Spell caster Lucil says you collaborated with the Tickle Scourge to set her and an accomplice free after you were released from your contract. There are a couple headhunters out there just waiting for an opportunity to catch you peddling so they can capture you and bring you before my dear lord and brother.”
“Lucil speculates and wishes to place the responsibility of securing the Tickle Scourge on me,” Peter said with a measure of indignation. “She did not take the necessary precautions and I was only under contract to capture the Tickle Scourge, not secure her delivery to our Noble Lord Xavis. As for the contracts on my head I have only one thing to say in my defense. Business is business.”
“True,” she answered shrewdly, “and it was business that got you and your mate in trouble in the first place. But let us hear no more of this matter. I grow tired and all the slaves presented today are hardly ticklish enough for our needs. I would hate to return empty handed to Lord Xavis.”
“Then say no more and feast your eyes upon the ticklish Vila and Mavi,” he said gesturing first to Patrisa then to Esmeralda.
“Pretty enough and of the Animus,” Ela said inspecting the girl’s curves. “And so proud and of such noble stature. It is quite a pleasure for Lord Xavis to see the proud ones succumb to his tickling fingers.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Peter said.
“But then again I’ve seen the fairest of damsels simply fall short under the subtle inspection of an inquisitive finger,” Ela said drawing a single finger through the air as if it were sliding down a bare underarm.
“Feel free to test them, my lady,” Peter said. “I assure you that they are of the most ticklish nature.”
“We shall see,” she said standing up and stepping away from the throne. “Release them and have them both sit upon the Throne.”
“A magical throne?” Peter asked as he unlocked the golden shackles releasing Patrisa and Esmeralda.
“The Cursed Seat of Xavis,” Ela replied. “It is an artifact like none you have ever peddled.”
Esmeralda and Patrisa sat next to each other on the throne. It seemed to become even wider so by the time they sat upon the throne it was spacious enough for both of them to sit comfortably.
Rusdec teas, part ethes mitcivs! Ela commanded and the jewel above the throne glowed.
The arms and hands of the throne came to life and they grasped Esmeralda’s and Patrisa’s wrists and ankles and stretching the wrists high above their heads and their feet extended in front of them with the soles of their slippers facing the noble Ela.
The slippers were removed by the hands and Esmeralda could not believe that the simple cool breeze on the bare soles of her feet was enough to make her have to resist the urge to laugh.
“The Cursed Seat is unique,” Ela explained. “If you are not ticklish or pretend to be more ticklish than you are, the seat will shock you and release you. Lord Xavis demands the most genuinely ticklish slaves for his harem, so you are advised to simply resist. The Seat will have no trouble revealing your true ticklishness.”
Rusdec teas, ginbe! Ela spoke.
The hands came to life and they immediately went to work on the two victims. Esmeralda felt her hands being pulled open and held open. A single finger stroked her open palm. They might have been tickling her most ticklish spot, for she burst out in wild laughter that she could not contain for the life of her.
“Excellent palm response,” Ela said with both slaves responding to the palm tickling. “It is usually a good sign.”
Rusdec teas, seols! Ela commanded.
The hands gently but firmly held her feet still by pulling the toes back. That effort alone was enough to send Esmeralda into a ticklish fit. When a single fingernail was drawn slowly up and down each of her bare soles, she screamed as the ticklish sensations ran through her body like electricity. She shook her head and thrashed violently as more and more hands grasped to hold her firmly so she could not move.
Cursed Tickle pills! Esmeralda thought to herself. She was an exposed nerve! Every touch, every tingle was total torture.
Underarms followed. Then ribs and belly. It was just one index finger each time that gently stroked the exposed flesh, but it might have been a flurry of feathers and fingers. After just a couple minutes of testing, Esmeralda and Patrisa were both sweating and panting heavily.
“Remote ticklishness must be tested next,” Ela mentioned briefly.
Rusdec teas, chypse kliect!
A pair of white ivory hands rose from the chair from between Esmeralda’s and Patrisa’s legs. The hands hovered for a moment in front of each of the victims with fingers outstretched and pointed in their direction.
“No,” Esmeralda whispered unable to believe that she was indeed this ticklish.
The fingers made tickling motions in the air and Esmeralda tried with her iron will to resist but she could not. Even the threat of tickling was enough to make her double over in laughter. She laughed and screamed and twisted as much as the hands that held her would permit. It was simply incredible.
She remembered an excessively ticklish cousin who would curl up like a ball on the ground at the mere movement of ticklish fingers. Esmeralda always thought that her cousin and anyone else like that must be exaggerating. Who could be so ticklish? She realized today that not only was it possible, but that it was torturous.
She vowed that she would never again tickle a person in such an embarrassing manner, but after a moments thought, who was she fooling? If she were free she’d give Ela a double dose of this same medicine.
“Very well, I’ll take them both,” Ela said in conclusion to Peter the Peddler.
Rusdec teas, shinif! She said as the last command.
Before Esmeralda could guess what the command meant, the hands of the throne came to life and they all tickled her in union. No longer was it the single finger being drawn along her palm. The hands used all their fingers to tickle vigorously every part of Esmeralda’s body. No part of her body was spared from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Thighs and elbows, behind knees and behind the ears, buttocks and calves. No part of her body was spared.
It took not more than thirty seconds for Esmeralda’s senses to be totally overrun. She screamed and laughed like a mad woman possessed and the suddenly it was all too much and she blacked out.
* * * * * * *
When Esmeralda came to she felt tired and her body ached like it had never ached before. She saw Patrisa’s unconscious form being placed into a glass coffin.
“What is going on?” she asked looking for Peter.
“You and your friend are being placed into a glass coffin that will keep you in storage until Lord Xavis requires your presence,” Ela explained. “It could take a day or maybe a week or maybe a month until he decides to pick a new member of his harem. But worry not. Until then you will be stored in a glass coffin sleeping the Slumber of Ten Centuries. Be it a week, a month or a decade until my lord chooses you, you will not age a day, my ticklish slave. I promise.”
Ela placed a small bouquet of flowers under Esmeralda’s nose.
“Inhale the scent of these flowers,” Ela ordered. “They will induce the Slumber of Ten Centuries.”
The aroma was overwhelming. Esmeralda was too tired from the tickling bout and there was no resisting the sweet fragrance. She breathed in the perfume and she felt drowsiness crash down on her like an anvil falling through the sky. She shook her head a couple times and finally closed her eyes allowing herself to be mercifully enveloped in the darkness of oblivion.
* * * * * *
“We’re trapped,” Indigo said pounding on the glass of the coffin.
“I realize that, “Amber replied sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Esmeralda’s sleeping face thinking pensively. “The coffin’s lid is too heavy for us to move and too thick to break.”
The two pixies watched from their hiding place as Esmeralda was put to sleep and being carried by servants to be placed in the glass coffin. They flew as fast as lightning and reach the coffin as Esmeralda was being placed inside. They hid inside undetected as the heavy glass cover was placed on top.
The two coffins were taken deep into the gigantic palace and placed in a hall filled with scores of similar coffins with ticklish slaves waiting to be awakened and to serve in Lord Xavis’s harem.
“And Esmeralda won’t wake up,” Indigo said sinking against the glass walls of the coffin until he was on the floor close to Amber. They glowed each their own particular color and lit up the otherwise dark room with tones of blue and yellow.
“The Slumber of Ten Centuries is so deep that eating and even breathing is not necessary,” Amber said.
“I already tried the kiss of a Pixie Prince,” Indigo said flying above Esmeralda’s face and giving her lips a kiss. “Nothing!”
The Animus pills had worn off hours ago and both Esmeralda and Patrisa in the adjacent coffin had returned to their human heads.
“Even tickling has failed,” Indigo complained taking a large curl of Esmeralda’s dark hair and using it to tickle her under the nose. “It’s as if she were a hundred times less ticklish!”
“That’s it!” Amber exclaimed snapping her fingers. “I think I have an idea.”
Indigo flew down to her side and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“It’s about time!” he said eagerly.
* * * * * *
Haydeen followed Orion Pax through the wormhole.
The spell caster was dark and dreary, and did not have much to say. In that way the spell caster resembled the wormhole.
When they finally emerged it was dark and they were on a grassy knoll.
Haydeen looked around and realized that this was Madame Jordanna’s Academy. Although she had never been here before, the building on the hill was unmistakable.
“You fool!” Haydeen hissed at Orion. “Madame Jordanna will tickle us both to death if we’re caught. Why have you taken us here?”
“She knows where the Tenderfoot is,” Orion replied as he walked up the grassy knoll. “As for Madame Jordanna tickling us to death, well I can think of many worse ways to go.”
Haydeen realized he was teasing and she frowned. She couldn’t understand why she was there with him in the first place.
Neshi ryou gliht no em! Shouted a voice and a sphere of bright light appeared above them casting shadows in all directions.
“You had better have a good reason to be snooping around the Academy,” a tall woman in a one shoulder leather dress said drawing near. “Or else.”
The woman was unarmed except for her fiery red hair and stern eyes. She wore a necklace around her neck.
“Or else what?” Orion Pax asked his eyes narrowing on his opponent.
Lalms si tervelai, kame em het zeis fo a tiang! she said touching a necklace around her neck.
She grew to three times her size and towered over both Orion and the small Haydeen.
“Giantess,” Orion said frowning slightly.
”Loanna the Giantess,” the woman said clenching her fists and preparing to step forward.
“What is it they say about giants?” Orion asked Haydeen as he prepared to cast his spell.
“The bigger they are, the harder they laugh,” Haydeen said repeating the favorite saying and edging back behind the spell caster.
”Let’s hope the wisdom of the ancients proves true,” he said just as he cast his spell.
To be continued…
NEXT: Pursuit!
