Tenderfoot Part Sixteen
Distractions
Brunilda the Centaur trotted gently down the road that left the Fae and entered the more neutral Giantus realm. Peter the Peddler was on her back and he stared blankly ahead without any concern as to where he was or where he was going.
Their faces were covered with silver Pixie Dust of Forgetfulness. They rode on with no clear idea of what had happened and no clear idea of where they were going, but thankful to be free of the Fae Realm.
Crimson watched them leave with Squadron Leader Jade at his side. He was pleased to see that they were leaving. He was only sad that they would not recall their bitter defeat at the hands of the Rainbow Company and they would not spread the news of the Company’s greatness.
“It’s strange the Queen would let these two go, don’t you think, Commander Crimson?” Jade asked. The green pixie like her red counterpart was still in full battle gear and fully battle ready should the call be made for the Rainbow Company to assemble.
“Amber interceded on their behalf,” Crimson said. “They were of no use anyway for the Queen so she sent them back, just as a fisherman sends back a fish that is not big enough.”
“Amber and Indigo both pleaded for the Scourge as well,” Jade observed, “but she was not released.”
“The Scourge is a too big a fish to send back to the pond,” Crimson said with a grin.
Jade nodded in agreement.
“Has Blue Squadron Leader Royal reported back yet?” Crimson asked.
“Not yet, sir,” Jade replied.
“Those obstinate Blues,” Crimson said shaking his head but smiling grudgingly. “They’ll track that Demon all the way back to Demonus before giving in.”
“They have their uses those Blues,” Jade said smiling.
“Let me know when they return,” Crimson asked as they watched the Centaur and the dinosaur headed Animus leave their Realm.
“Yes, sir!” Jaded replied.
* * * * *
Esmeralda pressured Orion for more information regarding Queen Melca, the Fae and how to return to the real world, but he refused to speak more of the topic.
Esmeralda was not however the kind to give in easily. The wine flowed freely and she began to flirt a bit with Orion. He was handsome and good-looking so it wasn’t that hard and she used all her charms available.
“I feel at a total disadvantage,” Esmeralda said. “You have tickled me but I have not had the opportunity to tickle you.”
“We’ll have to remedy that,” Orion replied as he removed his robe and invited Esmeralda to tie him down to one of the large beds in the safe house. She used some soft silk sashes from the wardrobe and had him firmly tied down eagle spread to each of the four posts of the bed.
“This is quite a bit of trust,” Esmeralda said admitting that he had indeed placed himself in her hands. “I mean, I could leave you here and escape with little difficulty.”
“But you won’t,” Orion replied smiling. He was already barefoot and his black shirt was unbuttoned revealing his firm abdomen and wide chest.
“You’re right. At least not until I get a chance to do this,” she said as she drew her nails along his bare soles.
Orion laughed heartily. He did not try to resist at all and Esmeralda did not hold back either. She was merciless in her attack and she did not let up for a moment. She watched his face turn red and listened to him beg for mercy.
“I see someone is ticklish,” Esmeralda taunted as she scratched her nails against his soles. “I can’t let a pair of ticklish feet go to waste, can I?”
Esmeralda attacked every inch of his feet as she was taught and she beamed at the strong healthy laughter she was extracting. Between the toes, beneath the toes, the arch, the heel… no part left without her attention. She even nibbled on his toes watching with satisfaction as he bucked helpless on the bed and screamed once again for mercy.
When mercy came it came in the form of submission and exhaustion and a dark red globe of magic above the spell caster’s third eye.
Esmeralda pondered for a moment whether she should take the magic and use it to escape. The powerful spell caster was after all bound and drained of his magic. Patrisa might be more willing to help her meet the Queen of the Fae.
She decided against it however and pressed gently on the gem sending the magic back into the spell caster.
Orion recovered quickly and realized he was still restrained.
“We’re about even now, don’t you think?” Orion asked smiling.
“Perhaps,” Esmeralda said. “Why don’t you tell me how you were able to convince Queen Melca to send you back?”
“And if I don’t?” Orion asked.
Esmeralda placed her hands on his torso and tickled earnestly.
Orion twisted and laughed hard.
”Okay, okay,” he said. “I cheated. I tricked her into receiving a gift that bound her glamour and allowed me to coerce her into releasing me. She will never fall for that again, so don’t waste your time.”
Esmeralda tickled and Orion howled with laughter. She noticed by the bulk in his trousers that indicated Orion was quite aroused.
“Why are you so afraid of her?” Esmeralda asked.
“She’s an Enchantress. A Seductress. Her Glamour makes her will impossible to resist. She cannot be attacked. She can read you mind if you are not careful and she can see anywhere she desires to see with her Third Eye,” Orion explained. “She despises me for having tickled her and she has brought me back with the sole purpose of harming me and anyone I befriend. If you go there, it is certain suicide.”
“Help me,” Esmeralda urged.
“No,” Orion said.
Esmeralda drew a short dagger and held it menacingly in front of Orion’s face.
“Not impressed,” Orion said.
Esmeralda did not say anything. She took the dagger and cut away all of his clothes leaving him naked and at her mercy. This was clearly exciting him and although that was the idea, Esmeralda found it hard to also resist the excitement herself.
“I am going to tickle you until you agree to help me,” Esmeralda said.
”Do your worst,” Orion replied defiantly.
Esmeralda tickled Orion’s sides and underarms and he struggled a bit as he was holding it in. She was finding it more and more difficult to tickle him as he pitted his strong will against her tickling. Even without the laughter, she still enjoyed the watching the twitching and the helplessness. Clearly Orion was enjoying it as well.
Esmeralda tickled his entire body from head to toe. She got some reactions by tickling the insides of his thighs and while he laughed his excitement grew even more and Orion had no way to hide it.
Esmeralda cast off her robe and straddled Orion’s torso.
Orion watched this beautiful woman and was mesmerized by her gorgeous dark hair and intense green eyes. He frowned for a moment. “There’s no need to go that far,” he said seriously. “You have my word that I will help you get home. You don’t have to continue.”
“Always the gentleman,” Esmeralda said, “but I choose to continue.” She leaned over and kissed Orion deeply and he kissed her back passionately. She dug her fingers into his underarms as they kissed and Orion laughed into the kiss.
“You will laugh helplessly for me first,” she promised, “and then when I am finished with tickling you, I’ll have to do something about a friend of yours who just won’t stay down.”
Orion laughed heartily and as Esmeralda carried out her promise, he wondered to himself if Esmeralda did not possess some sort of enchanting Glamour herself.
* * * * * *
Haydeen was laughing.
It was a laughter mixed with terror though. It was the kind of laughter she extracted from her countless victims over her years as an Interrogator.
She was stretched out in the air by powerful magical vines cast by the Elfing Serge. The Elfling Lea was smaller and she climbed the vines to have access to her bare underarms. The Elfling Gabrielle had cast a spell that held her toes motionless but not insensitive.
She was being attacked by the trio of Elflings that had been responsible for bring Esmeralda into the Elfling King’s Dungeon.
They apparently were already on better terms with the Elfling King.
Haydeen most certainly was still on ill terms with her liege.
She held the Red Panther Xavis hostage until it was agreed that she and the slave girls would be granted safe passage. Lady Ela herself was guaranteed safe passage and she pardoned all those involved. The whole incident was blamed on the Tickle Scourge and the Shade.
Lady Ela took the place of Lord Xavis since the Animus could never respect a ruler who had given in so easily to their enemies. Haydeen parted with Ela on good terms despite the circumstances and Ela saw that she was given swift transport back to the Elfling Wood. In less than two days she was back at the Elfling King’s Court.
She met with a rather rude welcoming however.
“Where is Orion?” the Elfling King boomed. “Where is that Tenderfoot Esmeralda?”
Haydeen assumed that Orion would have returned before her with his prize, the Tenderfoot Esmeralda.
She was wrong.
“You must know where he is,” the Elfling King sneered as the other Elfling continued to tickle her feet and underarms with their small fingers.
Haydeen was not used to being tickled and not being able to move her toes or feet made the tickling worse yet. Gabrielle exploited this and used the point of her star tipped wand to tickle her worst spots on her feet. Serge tickled her waist and was quite successful finding ticklish spots and Lea was also successful at attacking her underarms.
Haydeen was falling apart.
“I don’t know, I swear, my lord,” she said breathing heavily between the tickling. “I helped bring down Lord Xavis’s reign. I humiliated the Animus Lord. Does that not count for something?”
“You little fool,” The Elfling King said pointing an old bony finger in her direction. “Xavis is nothing. Just a nuisance. I had the Tenderfoot and you let her go, I had the Shade and I let him go and now I learn that Queen Melca has the Scourge! I should never have listened to that witch!”
“You did nonetheless,” said a voice belonging to a woman who entered the King’s chamber unannounced. “And you will not regret it.”
“Jordanna!” he hissed unpleasantly at the Elfling spell caster. “All is lost! The Scourge has returned the Gem to Melca of all people. The Shade is vanished along with the Tenderfoot. I struggle to think how this could be any worse.”
“First of all, your interrogator is loyal,” Jordanna said casting a spell to release the young girl from her bonds. Haydeen fell to the ground with a thud and gratefully massaged her wrists and ankles. She cast her Elfling tormentors a fierce gaze and they scattered away from her.
“Second of all, Orion is naïve. He will keep his word and deliver the Tenderfoot whether he wants to or not. I trained him myself.
“Third of all, Melca is a fool. She will take care of the rest for us.”
“She will not send her Gem out of the Fae ever again,” The Elfling King muttered.
“That matter will also be resolved, Elfling King,” Jordanna mentioned mysteriously.
The Elfling King was not used to being kept in the dark. He bit his lip in frustration and looked for a target on which to vent his rage. Someone had to pay!
His eyes narrowed on Haydeen.
Haydeen’s eyes narrowed back on the Elfling King in defiance. The Elfling King finally broke the stare and chuckled softly to himself.
“Guards!” he called and in a moment the hall was flooded with sentries.
“If you are loyal, then you should not be punished,” he said facing Haydeen. He turned to the sentries and commanded: “Guards, take these three Elflings to the dungeons.”
The Sentries took Serge, Lea and Gabrielle prisoner. The three Elflings protested but they were held firmly.
“’Interrogate’ these traitor Elflings,” the Elfling King ordered. “Make their laughter reach my throne room, Chief Interrogator Haydeen.”
Haydeen smiled looking at the terrified Elfling trio.
“It would be my pleasure,” she said straightening out her bandolier.
* * * * * *
Esmeralda and Orion tickled each other until they were both breathless. Their tickling and love making bouts kept them exhausted and oblivious to what was happening in the world. Esmeralda rested in his arms and although just a day ago she was firm on returning to the real world, she was now not so certain she was willing to return.
That was until reality knocked at their door.
Literally.
There was a hard pounding on the brick walls of the safe house and Orion frowned.
"I left the wormhole closed," he said irritably pulling out of bed and placing a dark robe over his shoulders. "Only a handful of people know the way here."
"Patrisa?" Esmeralda said hopefully remembering her mentor.
Orion shrugged. “Maybe. But if not, here," he said tossing Silk through the air. He had kept Silk in his possession until now knowing that most of Esmeralda’s powerful magic was dependent upon the artifact. "If it is someone else, I might need your help. I'm still not one hundred per cent."
He really trusts me, Esmeralda thought with a smile as she prepared a series of defensive spells with which to defend herself from a potential attack.
Orion drew a circle on a bare part of the wall and a dark shadowy corridor appeared. A dark figure tumbled through.
It was Danea and she was covered with nicks and cuts all over her body. Her leather armor was torn to shreds.
"I thought I'd find you here," she said before collapsing into Orion's arms.
* * * * *
Patrisa could only describe the past few days with one word: Bliss.
Despite her reservations, Queen Melca was a kind and fair ruler. The Queen tickled her mercilessly on her sensitive sides. Usually Patrisa would kick the living hell out of anyone tickling her without restraint but Melca tickled viciously and any attempt to lash out seemed neutralized. What other proof was there that she was a magnanimous leader?
Melca tickled her to submission time after time. She would be exhausted but they would not let her sleep. Melca would caress her body with the help of her Nymph subjects. Together they would massage her feet and shoulders and aching muscles from the tickling. Then they would arouse her with their soft delicate hands exploring all her body until she exploded with violent passion. Then the process was repeated.
Patrisa could not understand how she was able to maintain the cycle. She could neither understand why she had been so reluctant to meet the Queen. Everything was so beautiful. The Queen was so beautiful.
She could not resist such beauty. When the Queen came to tickle her she simply raised her arms to give the Queen better access to her ticklish spots. The cycle went on again and again.
Finally Patrisa could no longer resist. She bowed on her hands and knees and worshipped Melca Queen of the Fae.
“My Queen, I adore you,” Patrisa said with conviction as tears streamed down her eyes. “I want to serve you. Use me to serve your ends. Ask me to lay down my life and it will be so. I will serve you until the ends of the Realms and beyond if it need be.”
Melca smiled and touched Patrisa’s hair softly.
”You will get your chance soon enough to prove your love for me,” Melca said softly.
She turned to one of her Nymph servants and whispered to her ear.
“She is ready.”
* * * * *
"The Blue Squadron of the Rainbow Company is the worst," Danea explained as Orion and Esmeralda tended to her wounds. "They are persistent like few people I know among the Realms. They followed me well into the Centaur Realm. Their magic was neutralized by my Entropy, but the spears and daggers are sharp nonetheless. I finally lost them flying threw a waterfall and using a safe house of yours. I’ve been searching relentlessly the past few days all the safe houses of which I have knowledge trying to find you two."
"What happened to the rest? Patrisa? And Peter the Peddler?" Esmeralda asked.
"Captured by the Rainbow Company," Danea said somberly. "The Fae bear a bitter grudge against the Tickle Scourge. It is likely they will bring her before Queen Melca."
"This changes everything. Now we have an excuse to go to the Queen Melca," Esmeralda said.
"This changes nothing," Orion said. "Melca is most likely baiting us. A trap to lure us all into the Fae Realm and torment us for all eternity."
"Madame Jordanna has a plan," Danea said. "It involves the Scourge and you both. Madame Jordanna means to do something so big that it threatens to shake all the foundations of the Realms."
"Not even Madame Jordanna would be mad enough to enter the Fae realm, much less meet Melca herself," Orion insisted. "Take it from someone who has been there and has returned to speak of it."
“What exactly happened between you and Queen Melca?” Esmeralda demanded.
“I’ll tell you the story,” Orion said reluctantly. “But you must listen carefully and not interrupt. To begin the story it is necessary I start at the beginning…
To be continued….
NEXT: THE ENCHANTRESS ENCHANTED (Really!)
Distractions
Brunilda the Centaur trotted gently down the road that left the Fae and entered the more neutral Giantus realm. Peter the Peddler was on her back and he stared blankly ahead without any concern as to where he was or where he was going.
Their faces were covered with silver Pixie Dust of Forgetfulness. They rode on with no clear idea of what had happened and no clear idea of where they were going, but thankful to be free of the Fae Realm.
Crimson watched them leave with Squadron Leader Jade at his side. He was pleased to see that they were leaving. He was only sad that they would not recall their bitter defeat at the hands of the Rainbow Company and they would not spread the news of the Company’s greatness.
“It’s strange the Queen would let these two go, don’t you think, Commander Crimson?” Jade asked. The green pixie like her red counterpart was still in full battle gear and fully battle ready should the call be made for the Rainbow Company to assemble.
“Amber interceded on their behalf,” Crimson said. “They were of no use anyway for the Queen so she sent them back, just as a fisherman sends back a fish that is not big enough.”
“Amber and Indigo both pleaded for the Scourge as well,” Jade observed, “but she was not released.”
“The Scourge is a too big a fish to send back to the pond,” Crimson said with a grin.
Jade nodded in agreement.
“Has Blue Squadron Leader Royal reported back yet?” Crimson asked.
“Not yet, sir,” Jade replied.
“Those obstinate Blues,” Crimson said shaking his head but smiling grudgingly. “They’ll track that Demon all the way back to Demonus before giving in.”
“They have their uses those Blues,” Jade said smiling.
“Let me know when they return,” Crimson asked as they watched the Centaur and the dinosaur headed Animus leave their Realm.
“Yes, sir!” Jaded replied.
* * * * *
Esmeralda pressured Orion for more information regarding Queen Melca, the Fae and how to return to the real world, but he refused to speak more of the topic.
Esmeralda was not however the kind to give in easily. The wine flowed freely and she began to flirt a bit with Orion. He was handsome and good-looking so it wasn’t that hard and she used all her charms available.
“I feel at a total disadvantage,” Esmeralda said. “You have tickled me but I have not had the opportunity to tickle you.”
“We’ll have to remedy that,” Orion replied as he removed his robe and invited Esmeralda to tie him down to one of the large beds in the safe house. She used some soft silk sashes from the wardrobe and had him firmly tied down eagle spread to each of the four posts of the bed.
“This is quite a bit of trust,” Esmeralda said admitting that he had indeed placed himself in her hands. “I mean, I could leave you here and escape with little difficulty.”
“But you won’t,” Orion replied smiling. He was already barefoot and his black shirt was unbuttoned revealing his firm abdomen and wide chest.
“You’re right. At least not until I get a chance to do this,” she said as she drew her nails along his bare soles.
Orion laughed heartily. He did not try to resist at all and Esmeralda did not hold back either. She was merciless in her attack and she did not let up for a moment. She watched his face turn red and listened to him beg for mercy.
“I see someone is ticklish,” Esmeralda taunted as she scratched her nails against his soles. “I can’t let a pair of ticklish feet go to waste, can I?”
Esmeralda attacked every inch of his feet as she was taught and she beamed at the strong healthy laughter she was extracting. Between the toes, beneath the toes, the arch, the heel… no part left without her attention. She even nibbled on his toes watching with satisfaction as he bucked helpless on the bed and screamed once again for mercy.
When mercy came it came in the form of submission and exhaustion and a dark red globe of magic above the spell caster’s third eye.
Esmeralda pondered for a moment whether she should take the magic and use it to escape. The powerful spell caster was after all bound and drained of his magic. Patrisa might be more willing to help her meet the Queen of the Fae.
She decided against it however and pressed gently on the gem sending the magic back into the spell caster.
Orion recovered quickly and realized he was still restrained.
“We’re about even now, don’t you think?” Orion asked smiling.
“Perhaps,” Esmeralda said. “Why don’t you tell me how you were able to convince Queen Melca to send you back?”
“And if I don’t?” Orion asked.
Esmeralda placed her hands on his torso and tickled earnestly.
Orion twisted and laughed hard.
”Okay, okay,” he said. “I cheated. I tricked her into receiving a gift that bound her glamour and allowed me to coerce her into releasing me. She will never fall for that again, so don’t waste your time.”
Esmeralda tickled and Orion howled with laughter. She noticed by the bulk in his trousers that indicated Orion was quite aroused.
“Why are you so afraid of her?” Esmeralda asked.
“She’s an Enchantress. A Seductress. Her Glamour makes her will impossible to resist. She cannot be attacked. She can read you mind if you are not careful and she can see anywhere she desires to see with her Third Eye,” Orion explained. “She despises me for having tickled her and she has brought me back with the sole purpose of harming me and anyone I befriend. If you go there, it is certain suicide.”
“Help me,” Esmeralda urged.
“No,” Orion said.
Esmeralda drew a short dagger and held it menacingly in front of Orion’s face.
“Not impressed,” Orion said.
Esmeralda did not say anything. She took the dagger and cut away all of his clothes leaving him naked and at her mercy. This was clearly exciting him and although that was the idea, Esmeralda found it hard to also resist the excitement herself.
“I am going to tickle you until you agree to help me,” Esmeralda said.
”Do your worst,” Orion replied defiantly.
Esmeralda tickled Orion’s sides and underarms and he struggled a bit as he was holding it in. She was finding it more and more difficult to tickle him as he pitted his strong will against her tickling. Even without the laughter, she still enjoyed the watching the twitching and the helplessness. Clearly Orion was enjoying it as well.
Esmeralda tickled his entire body from head to toe. She got some reactions by tickling the insides of his thighs and while he laughed his excitement grew even more and Orion had no way to hide it.
Esmeralda cast off her robe and straddled Orion’s torso.
Orion watched this beautiful woman and was mesmerized by her gorgeous dark hair and intense green eyes. He frowned for a moment. “There’s no need to go that far,” he said seriously. “You have my word that I will help you get home. You don’t have to continue.”
“Always the gentleman,” Esmeralda said, “but I choose to continue.” She leaned over and kissed Orion deeply and he kissed her back passionately. She dug her fingers into his underarms as they kissed and Orion laughed into the kiss.
“You will laugh helplessly for me first,” she promised, “and then when I am finished with tickling you, I’ll have to do something about a friend of yours who just won’t stay down.”
Orion laughed heartily and as Esmeralda carried out her promise, he wondered to himself if Esmeralda did not possess some sort of enchanting Glamour herself.
* * * * * *
Haydeen was laughing.
It was a laughter mixed with terror though. It was the kind of laughter she extracted from her countless victims over her years as an Interrogator.
She was stretched out in the air by powerful magical vines cast by the Elfing Serge. The Elfling Lea was smaller and she climbed the vines to have access to her bare underarms. The Elfling Gabrielle had cast a spell that held her toes motionless but not insensitive.
She was being attacked by the trio of Elflings that had been responsible for bring Esmeralda into the Elfling King’s Dungeon.
They apparently were already on better terms with the Elfling King.
Haydeen most certainly was still on ill terms with her liege.
She held the Red Panther Xavis hostage until it was agreed that she and the slave girls would be granted safe passage. Lady Ela herself was guaranteed safe passage and she pardoned all those involved. The whole incident was blamed on the Tickle Scourge and the Shade.
Lady Ela took the place of Lord Xavis since the Animus could never respect a ruler who had given in so easily to their enemies. Haydeen parted with Ela on good terms despite the circumstances and Ela saw that she was given swift transport back to the Elfling Wood. In less than two days she was back at the Elfling King’s Court.
She met with a rather rude welcoming however.
“Where is Orion?” the Elfling King boomed. “Where is that Tenderfoot Esmeralda?”
Haydeen assumed that Orion would have returned before her with his prize, the Tenderfoot Esmeralda.
She was wrong.
“You must know where he is,” the Elfling King sneered as the other Elfling continued to tickle her feet and underarms with their small fingers.
Haydeen was not used to being tickled and not being able to move her toes or feet made the tickling worse yet. Gabrielle exploited this and used the point of her star tipped wand to tickle her worst spots on her feet. Serge tickled her waist and was quite successful finding ticklish spots and Lea was also successful at attacking her underarms.
Haydeen was falling apart.
“I don’t know, I swear, my lord,” she said breathing heavily between the tickling. “I helped bring down Lord Xavis’s reign. I humiliated the Animus Lord. Does that not count for something?”
“You little fool,” The Elfling King said pointing an old bony finger in her direction. “Xavis is nothing. Just a nuisance. I had the Tenderfoot and you let her go, I had the Shade and I let him go and now I learn that Queen Melca has the Scourge! I should never have listened to that witch!”
“You did nonetheless,” said a voice belonging to a woman who entered the King’s chamber unannounced. “And you will not regret it.”
“Jordanna!” he hissed unpleasantly at the Elfling spell caster. “All is lost! The Scourge has returned the Gem to Melca of all people. The Shade is vanished along with the Tenderfoot. I struggle to think how this could be any worse.”
“First of all, your interrogator is loyal,” Jordanna said casting a spell to release the young girl from her bonds. Haydeen fell to the ground with a thud and gratefully massaged her wrists and ankles. She cast her Elfling tormentors a fierce gaze and they scattered away from her.
“Second of all, Orion is naïve. He will keep his word and deliver the Tenderfoot whether he wants to or not. I trained him myself.
“Third of all, Melca is a fool. She will take care of the rest for us.”
“She will not send her Gem out of the Fae ever again,” The Elfling King muttered.
“That matter will also be resolved, Elfling King,” Jordanna mentioned mysteriously.
The Elfling King was not used to being kept in the dark. He bit his lip in frustration and looked for a target on which to vent his rage. Someone had to pay!
His eyes narrowed on Haydeen.
Haydeen’s eyes narrowed back on the Elfling King in defiance. The Elfling King finally broke the stare and chuckled softly to himself.
“Guards!” he called and in a moment the hall was flooded with sentries.
“If you are loyal, then you should not be punished,” he said facing Haydeen. He turned to the sentries and commanded: “Guards, take these three Elflings to the dungeons.”
The Sentries took Serge, Lea and Gabrielle prisoner. The three Elflings protested but they were held firmly.
“’Interrogate’ these traitor Elflings,” the Elfling King ordered. “Make their laughter reach my throne room, Chief Interrogator Haydeen.”
Haydeen smiled looking at the terrified Elfling trio.
“It would be my pleasure,” she said straightening out her bandolier.
* * * * * *
Esmeralda and Orion tickled each other until they were both breathless. Their tickling and love making bouts kept them exhausted and oblivious to what was happening in the world. Esmeralda rested in his arms and although just a day ago she was firm on returning to the real world, she was now not so certain she was willing to return.
That was until reality knocked at their door.
Literally.
There was a hard pounding on the brick walls of the safe house and Orion frowned.
"I left the wormhole closed," he said irritably pulling out of bed and placing a dark robe over his shoulders. "Only a handful of people know the way here."
"Patrisa?" Esmeralda said hopefully remembering her mentor.
Orion shrugged. “Maybe. But if not, here," he said tossing Silk through the air. He had kept Silk in his possession until now knowing that most of Esmeralda’s powerful magic was dependent upon the artifact. "If it is someone else, I might need your help. I'm still not one hundred per cent."
He really trusts me, Esmeralda thought with a smile as she prepared a series of defensive spells with which to defend herself from a potential attack.
Orion drew a circle on a bare part of the wall and a dark shadowy corridor appeared. A dark figure tumbled through.
It was Danea and she was covered with nicks and cuts all over her body. Her leather armor was torn to shreds.
"I thought I'd find you here," she said before collapsing into Orion's arms.
* * * * *
Patrisa could only describe the past few days with one word: Bliss.
Despite her reservations, Queen Melca was a kind and fair ruler. The Queen tickled her mercilessly on her sensitive sides. Usually Patrisa would kick the living hell out of anyone tickling her without restraint but Melca tickled viciously and any attempt to lash out seemed neutralized. What other proof was there that she was a magnanimous leader?
Melca tickled her to submission time after time. She would be exhausted but they would not let her sleep. Melca would caress her body with the help of her Nymph subjects. Together they would massage her feet and shoulders and aching muscles from the tickling. Then they would arouse her with their soft delicate hands exploring all her body until she exploded with violent passion. Then the process was repeated.
Patrisa could not understand how she was able to maintain the cycle. She could neither understand why she had been so reluctant to meet the Queen. Everything was so beautiful. The Queen was so beautiful.
She could not resist such beauty. When the Queen came to tickle her she simply raised her arms to give the Queen better access to her ticklish spots. The cycle went on again and again.
Finally Patrisa could no longer resist. She bowed on her hands and knees and worshipped Melca Queen of the Fae.
“My Queen, I adore you,” Patrisa said with conviction as tears streamed down her eyes. “I want to serve you. Use me to serve your ends. Ask me to lay down my life and it will be so. I will serve you until the ends of the Realms and beyond if it need be.”
Melca smiled and touched Patrisa’s hair softly.
”You will get your chance soon enough to prove your love for me,” Melca said softly.
She turned to one of her Nymph servants and whispered to her ear.
“She is ready.”
* * * * *
"The Blue Squadron of the Rainbow Company is the worst," Danea explained as Orion and Esmeralda tended to her wounds. "They are persistent like few people I know among the Realms. They followed me well into the Centaur Realm. Their magic was neutralized by my Entropy, but the spears and daggers are sharp nonetheless. I finally lost them flying threw a waterfall and using a safe house of yours. I’ve been searching relentlessly the past few days all the safe houses of which I have knowledge trying to find you two."
"What happened to the rest? Patrisa? And Peter the Peddler?" Esmeralda asked.
"Captured by the Rainbow Company," Danea said somberly. "The Fae bear a bitter grudge against the Tickle Scourge. It is likely they will bring her before Queen Melca."
"This changes everything. Now we have an excuse to go to the Queen Melca," Esmeralda said.
"This changes nothing," Orion said. "Melca is most likely baiting us. A trap to lure us all into the Fae Realm and torment us for all eternity."
"Madame Jordanna has a plan," Danea said. "It involves the Scourge and you both. Madame Jordanna means to do something so big that it threatens to shake all the foundations of the Realms."
"Not even Madame Jordanna would be mad enough to enter the Fae realm, much less meet Melca herself," Orion insisted. "Take it from someone who has been there and has returned to speak of it."
“What exactly happened between you and Queen Melca?” Esmeralda demanded.
“I’ll tell you the story,” Orion said reluctantly. “But you must listen carefully and not interrupt. To begin the story it is necessary I start at the beginning…
To be continued….
NEXT: THE ENCHANTRESS ENCHANTED (Really!)
