Duke Diablo
4th Level Red Feather
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- Sep 26, 2004
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Here is something I did as a request from other member (valencia_kk). Hope you enjoy🙂
«Hey Vaan!», Penelo yelled, «Would you please hurry up? You're falling behind again!»
«All right, all right», the blonde boy replied from behind. He was really falling behind, and he needed to step up his tempo if he wanted to see the party in the dense forest. Being that Fran and Basch have set up a strong, fast tempo, it was easy to get lost, and one certainly didn't want that, not in Viera's woods. «Wait for me, guys!»
«You might wish to give him a hand», Balthier told Penelo. Despite the fast tempo, he managed to walk as if he was casually strolling alongside the blonde, still not falling behind.
Penelo nodded to the sky pirate, heeding his advice and running back to get her childhood friend. The young blonde was really upset: why couldn't Vaan just keep up like everyone else? Oh, he probably could, the answer came to her head, but all of these new lands and sights were just too much for him, and he probably stood in front of every little thing just to study it. He was so goofy sometimes, she thought for herself with a cheerful smile on her face.
When she found Vaan, Penelo told herself she was right. Vaan was indeed stopping to study something: a beautiful, yellow flower, short, less than an inch above ground, with broad, large, beautiful petals sprouting in a dense formation. Vaan was looking at it with his usual childish curiosity. Penelo couldn't help but smile. That was just so him, she told herself as she patted him on the backs.
«Hey, daydreamer», she said as her palm touched her friend's shoulder. However, as he turned around and Penelo had the chance to see his face, she screamed: that wasn't Vaan.
* * *
As female screams pierced the silence of the woods, the party jumped, forming a combat circle, ready for an ambush.
«Do you see anyone?», Basch asked, his sword and shield in hands, ready for combat.
«Clever little devils», Balthier commented. The sky pirate was standing in circle like everyone else, his gun ready in his hands, prepaired to shoot anyone who would even peek from the green.
«Brace yourselves!», Ashelia shouted as the first few imperials started approaching them. The first duo was quickly struck down by Fran's bow and Balthier's gun, falling to the green grass, a pool of blood slowly forming around them. Two more followed, sharing the same fate as the comrades that went in first. The imperials started going out in large numbers, hoping to overwhelm the party with vast numbers. Many would die far away from the party, struck down by Balthier's and Fran's precise aim. Others, who would come closer to the party, were cut down by Basch's and Ashe's swift blade strikes. Wave upon wave, imperials came in great numbers, just to be struck down by a handful of brave, skillful warriors.
* * *
«Milady, we are being slaughtered!», one of the soldiers told Judge Magister Drace as she was arriving on the battlefield. «We don't know if we can keep this up!»
Measuring the soldier's words, Drace smiled with a reassuring smile, issuing her order as she placed her dreadful-looking iron helm on her head.
«Don't worry, I shall join the fray. You just press on the attack, and I will make sure they get... scattered.»
The soldier saluted the woman, and she gave him the sign to get back to his duties, combat ones to be more specific.
«I'll teach you not to mess with me», Drace said with a sinister smile on her face, invisible because of her battle helmet. Her sword was pulled out, and she began to move towards the battlefield, a dreadful-looking metal figure advancing towards the brave party.
* * *
Even after killing her twentieth imperial, Ashelia didn't show any sign of fatigue, nor did she pause for a minute.
«Damn it!», she cursed, slaying another imperial with a slash of her sword. The sword found it's way between the plates of his armor, cutting the soft, vulnerable flesh and skin at the neck, making the man fall down, choking in his own blood. Short moments after he fell, he still struggled for air, but not for long. His life ran out quickly, along with the blood that was gushing from his wound. «Where do they come from?»
That was when Ashe looked and saw the figure of a Judge Magister approaching them on the battlefield. This can't be good, she knew, as the presence of a Magister meant that this force they were fighting was large indeed, and that they will probably be overpowered, being that the magister was leading them. Ashe saw only one option: putting the magister out of the way. And she had to do it fast, before the mighty warrior lent her aid to the troops. So, without a word, Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca went to charge the approaching enemy, intent on taking her down, even if it meant sacrificing her life... and was stopped by Balthier's hand.
«Not so fast», he said, holding her shoulder with one hand, shooting with the other. He must have noticed her intentions, she thought. «Never charge in without a plan.»
Ashe sighed, eager to finish this as quickly as she could.
«What do you propose?», she asked.
* * *
Freeing herself from the sky pirate's grasp, Ashe continued with the plan: the plan was to single the magister out while the party battles with the underlings. Doing that will give Ashe a chance to kill the enemy commander, thus hopefully routing the imperial army. To do this, the party started attacking the imperials with their full force, making the imperials too busy fighting for their own lives to notice that the enemy princess was attacking their commander.
«Finally, I get to cross swords with the infamous lady Ashe», the judge commented as Ashe charged her and their swords clashed, sparks flying from the intensity of their impact.
«Shut up and fight!», the princess replied ferociously, attacking the judge with unseen vigor. The sound of clashing steel echoed through the battlefield as their swords caught each other again and again, each clash conjuring a few sparks. So intense were Ashe's attacks that Drace was, little by little, loosing more and more ground. She didn't notice it, but they have left the clearing where Drace's troops were attacking, entering the forest and cutting themselves off from the main struggle. Ashe noticed this, so she ceased her attacks for a moment, to catch some breath. All of this ferocious fighting left her tired, and she knew she would have to fight carefully from now on. She already fatigued herself to get the enemy separated from her troops. Now it was time to preserve strength.
«Heh», she said, breathing heavily, big drops of sweat forming on her face, slowly running down the smooth lines of her angry face like teardrops. «Your soldiers aren't here to protect you any more, magister.»
Much to her surprise, her opponent laughed. It was a female laughter, which really surprised Ashe. She didn't remember imperials having a female judge. Well, never mind that, now, she had to be defeated nevertheless.
«We are one on one, yes», the magister said, taking out another sword in her left hand. «But that only means that I don't have to go easy on you.»
As soon as the magister said that, Ashe took her battle stance, ready for anything judge might dish out. Or so she thought, as magister attacked her with unseen force. Ashelia barely blocked the attack from the left with the shield, but the pain from impact was so intense couldn't help but groan slightly as her hand went numb from pain.
«What the...?!», Ashe exclaimed as her hand fell numbly, almost like it was dead. She tried to lift it, but moving it caused her so much pain she had to scream.
«Oh, did I hurt the little princess?», Drace teased, prepairing another attack. Again, it was blocked, only this time with a shield. Again, same consequences. Ashe was now completely helpless, her both hands out of use. However, the expression on her face was still fierce, and she was making it clear that she wasn't done yet. No. She would fight until the end, she thought.
And that is when Drace unleashed her third attack upon now-helpless Ashe. All she could feel was a sharp pain in her stomack as the judge's knee hit her with such a force that it sent her flying backwards, hitting a tree in the process.
«Damn.... you...», princess of Dalmasca whispered as she fell to the floor, her consciousness slowly fading away.
* * *
«Rise and shine, princess», Ashe heard as she regained her consciousness. Very quickly, she became aware of the pain in her stomack, her hands and her head. They still hurt, though not so strongly as before. However, her head was pulsating and lady Ashe felt like she just woke up after a night of hard drinking. Not that she knew how exactly she would feel after that, since she didn't drink, but she had a fair idea that it would probably feel something like this.
«Wh... Where am I?», she said, trying to hold her head, to come by, but she found out that it wasn't an option, since her hands were tied high above her head, to each end of a huge... table? No, it was a rack, probably, and she knew at that very moment that she was in for a torture. She tried to move her feet but, to no great surprise, they were chained to the rack as well. Ashe silently cursed her position as her sight returned and she observed Drace sitting in front of her.
The judge was sitting near the foot of the bed, this time without helmet, so it was clearly visible that she was grinning evily towards the princess. Also, this time she replaced the iron armor of a judge magister with a more casual crimson mantle, which covered her whole body, but at the same time outlined it perfectly. The judge must have been fresh out of shower, Ashe mused. Also, it was then that Ashe noticed that she was stripped of all of her clothes except her bra and panties. This really annoyed her, so she started struggling in her bonds, trying to set herself free, even though she knew she wasn't going to escape. No, the manacles which bound her spread-eagle to each edge of the square wooden table were too sturdy and strong.
«Don't struggle, dear princess», the judge teased. «It doesn't fit your position... and you're going to need your strength later, trust me.»
«You are going to torture me?», Ashelia asked, clear despise in her voice. «I wonder what will the world say when they know the great empire uses torture on their prisoners. When I show my scars to Ro...»
«... There won't be any scars», Drace finished in Ashe's stead, an evil grin spanning wide all across her face. Ashe looked at her with a confused look in her eyes. «Dear princess, the torture I'm about to inflict upon you has several advantages: it can go on for as long as I like, it always works and it leaves no physical traces.»
«What kind of torture is that?», Ashe asked, defiance in her expression changing to surprise when she saw the judge magister taking out a pair of red feathers.
«Tell me, princess Ashelia, are you ticklish?»
No! Please, not that, Ashe thought when she observed the two red instruments of torture. Yes, she was ticklish, very ticklish, and she knew the magister was right: it left no scars so no one would believe her if she said the imperials tortured her. However, she tried to fool her captor by calming her face, and replying with a calm, sound: «No.»
Hearing her answer made Drace grin even wider.
«Oh, really», the magister said, «then I supppose you won't mind me doing this.»
Saying so, Drace started running the twin feathers up and down Ashe's soles, ever so slowly and methodically. She started at the heels, the soft, gentle tips of red feathers practically going under lady Ashe's foot, and then playfully and slowly advancing up the soft, ticklish royal soles, going along the outter line, where the sole met the foot, all the way up to the princess' baby toes, which they stopped to play with for a little. Then, the feather would slowly go down again, this time along the inner edge of the sole, gently caressing Ashe's high arches, sending many ticklish impulses coarsing through her body. However, Ashe didn't try to move her pretty feet, nor did she twitch or show any reaction. It took a lot of effort to stay calm, but she managed to do it. She didn't move a muscle and, to a casual observer, it would have seemed that the princess wasn't ticklish at all.
«I'm... not... ticklish...», Ashe managed to say, but Drace had paid her no heed. The twin feathers were still caressing Ashe's soles, making her curse her ticklishness silently. Under normal circumstances she would have moved her foot away long ago, but now she held her both feet still, not wanting to surrender. No, she told herself, she had to endure, for Dalmasca.
While she was tortured so, Ashelia decided to take a look around the room, thinking that it might help her get her mind off the tickling. It did help a little, but only a little bit. However, the positive side was that she was now fully aware of her surroundings. They were in what seemed to be Drace's private quarters. Except for the wooden rack she was in, there was an extensive library there, in the room, as well as a working table of the finest dark tree, clear masterwork of Archades' finest craftsmen, and a bed, made of same dark wood as the working table, and coated in crimson sheets upon which laid the finest red pillows. The walls were decorated with numerous flags of house Solidor, Archadian royal family. Seeing all of this made Ashe sick: she felt like she was some sort of a cheap concubine, brought here for the magister's entertainment. Well, she would sooner die than concede to her, Ashe thought as she defiantly continued the struggle against her own ticklishness, and the two feathers lightly and torturously caressing her skin.
Five minutes passed. Then fifteen. Lady Ashe was on the end of her strength and endurance. She was already sweating heavily, big drops of sweat forming all over her body. By now, her struggle was obvious, her fatigue revealing her weakness to the feather's touch, but Ashe refused to let herself in, let alone confess her ticklishness to an enemy. The feathers were still following the same pattern, driving the princess mad, making her body crave for release from this slow, never-ending torment. The worst of all was that this holding back was very hard, and Ashe had to pull on all of her forces to remain calm and not move, which fatigued her to no end. That was why she, after only fifteen minutes of tickling, already felt exhausted. Drace must have noticed that, as she had laid down the feathers, readying herself to break the captive princess.
«Still not ticklish?», she asked.
«No», the princess replied, as defiantly as the first time.
«Well, then, ok», Drace said and, just as Ashe thought she was home-free, that her torment had stopped, dug her fingers into the soft flesh of princess Ashe's soles. Lady Ashe barely held herself to scream from laughter, her face remaining still as ever, but the sensation of ten fingers dancing on her two exposed, ticklish soles was too much for her. As hard as she struggled to remain calm, to fight the reflex of twitching, her body was just too strong, the tickling too intense, and she began to struggle and twitch in her bonds. Ashe knew that laughter was soon to follow.
«Oh, so we aren't ticklish, eh?», Drace teased, her fingers rapidly dancing on Ashe's soles, between heels and balls of the feet, on lady Ashe's soft, white, high arches. «Looks to me like our little princess was lying. Such a naughty, naughty princess.»
«I... sppk... I'm... sssppphhh.... not... mmmhhhh.... tic... hhhhh.... tickli... sssshhhhh!», Ashe tried to say, but in her situation it only looked comical. She was visibly holding herself back from bursting into wild laughter, but she was still claiming that she wasn't ticklish.
«Oh, yes, such pride is what I would expect from the infamous Ashelia», Drace continued to tease her helpless captive, increasing the intensity of tickling. «Your soles are suffering, but still you refuse to surrender. Much like your people. Ah, well, this will show you how futile it is to go against the empire.»
Saying so, Drace started to tickle Ashe between the toes, making the princess no longer be able to endure this wild tickling without laughing. She was ticklish on her feet and her soles, but her toes were by far the most ticklish spot of her feet.
I surrender, she thought as she opened her mouth and a loud laughter just came rushing out, like a wild river that destroyed it's dam and was now rampaging freely, enjoying it's freedom:
«HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!»
«Oh, so you are ticklish, my little princess», Drace teased like a child. «Lady Ashe is ticklish! Lady Ashe is ticklish! Lady Ashe is ticklish!»
«HOHOHOHOOOO! NOOHOHOHOOOO!!!», Lady Ashe tried to hide her surrender, but she couldn't. She was howling with laughter, struggling in her bonds as hard as she could. Such a pathetic sight she must be now, she thought for herself. Broken under torture. How humiliating.
«Now, lady Ashe, you are going to tell me all you know about the location of the magicite, and how to use it», the female judge said, not stopping the tickling for a minute. Her fingers were back on tickling the Ashe's high arches, this time including the princess' soft heels and balls of the feet, which twitched furiously, trying to escape the torment. «But first, you are going to beg me to tickle you elsewhere.»
«HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA NEHEHEEEVERRRR!!!», lady Ashe protested, but she was returned to the world of laughter very soon by Drace's skillful, nimble fingers which were abusing the ticklishness of her soles all too well.
«Suit yourself», Drace said, continuing the tickling, dancing her ten fingers across the dancefloor of Ashe's soles. «But know this, my little ticklish princess, this isn't going to stop until you tell me all of your most ticklish spots and beg me to tickle them.»
«NEVER!!», Ashe screamed as loud as she could, returning to howling from laughter only a moment after. She was as close to hell as she could get: her pride was the only thing that stopped her from begging the imperial judge to stop. Her body was already exhausted from holding the laughter back, and the judge's methods were working wonders on her now that she finally gave in to tickling. Still, she remembered what she promised herself well: she won't break, she will die before she does. However, a voice in her head told her: «You will be dying for a long, long time, you know that?»
And so an hour passed in relentless tickling of Ashe's helpless soles, with Ashe defying her tormentor, firmly deciding never to talk. Ashe was enduring whatever tickling Drace would dish out, with judge using various techniques: from tickling the soles and the heels, to tickling her toes, to using the feathers between her toes. Many more techniques were tried on princess' feet, each one tickling more than the last, each one driving princess crazy, but her pride not letting her break under torture. And it was only her pride left that kept her from talking, but that pride came in huge quantities, Ashe being the queen of Dalmasca after all. That was why she, exhausted and broken already, still had the will to endure two more hours of ticklish sole-torture at the hands of the evil Drace, who abused her ticklishness to no end. The techniques changed, from long, slow strokes to quick, rapid, short ones, the place of tickling altered from heels, over the arches, to toes and the whole foot, the tool changing from fingers to feathers, and then back to fingers. Oh, yes, Drace knew how to tickle Ashe, and was using every tool in her power to make the princess talk.
Then, suddenly, after more than three hours of relentless torture of her soles, Ashe broke. She just couldn't take another stroke from the feather, which was dancing on her foot at the time, making small circles on the centre of her big toe.
«HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! PLEEEEHEHEHEAHAHAHASHEHEHE!!!!», she begged, «PLEHEHEHEHEAAAAAHAHAHASE STAHAHAHAP!!! NO MOHOHOHOHORE!!!»
«Oh, so the princess has something she would like to share with us?», Drace looked at her teasingly, not stopping the tickling, enjoying the reaction she got by tickling that beautiful, long, soft big toe. «Where do you want me to tickle you next?»
«NOHOHOHOOO! PLEEEEHEHEHEAAAHAHAHASE!!!», lady Ashe begged, but she recieved no mercy. If anything, it made Drace tickle her harder.
«Where do I tickle you next?», Drace demanded again.
Ashe didn't reply. She just laughed, hoping to avoid an answer. However, Drace wasn't about to let that happen, so she demanded again.
«Beg for me to tickle you somewhere else!», she demanded, her feather accenting her request by increasing the intensity of tickling, sending Ashe through the roof.
«HAHAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE HEHEHEHE... PLEEHEHEHAAASE TICKLE MY KNEES!», Ashe said, in her final act of submission.
«'Atta girl!», Drace exclaimed with a statisfied, victorious smile on her face. She stopped the tickling, moving the feather away from Ashe's suffering toes. Ashe could still feel the light tickling sensation all over her feet, itching, making her want to massage it. However, even that sensation was nullified by the dread of what was to come: Ashe's knees were every bit as ticklish as her feet, maybe even more. That meant that she was in for a world of laughter again.
Drace prepaired herself for more tickling, bringing the two feathers uncomfortably close to Ashelia's left knee, one from the each side. «Now, before I start tickling your pretty royal knees, is there anything I should know about the nethicite?»
«Never», Ashe said, breathing heavily, this being her first real stop since the beginning of torture.
«Fine... suit yourself, your majesty», Drace said, slowly bringing the feathers close to the princess' knees. Ashe struggled as hard as she could in her bonds, trying to escape the torture, but she was helpless. No matter how hard she tried to move it, her knee was just lying there helplessly, unable to escape the two feathers that slowly approached it. And then, when the twin red devils finally did touch her sensitive knee, and started to slowly move up and down it's ticklish skin, Ashe burst into laughter again, struggling in her bonds with newfound strength.
«AHAHAHAHA! PLEASE STAHAHAP!!!», Ashe tried to beg, but Drace didn't stop. She just ran the feathers across her ticklish knees, taking them on an exploration trip, to try and discover where she was the most ticklish.
«Such ticklish knees», Drace teased, «I think you wanted me to do this to you all along, right?»
«No!», Ashe yelled out in self-defence, but the judge just laughed at her defiance.
«Then, where do you want me to tickle you next?»
«HAHAHAHA... No.... AAAAA.... PLEHEHEHEHE.... AAAHAHAHAHAAA!!!», Ashe tried to beg as the two little devious feathers danced on her knees, but it did her no good.
«Tickle tickle tickle!», the judge continued to tease her ticklish captive, who was praying to gods to kill her at the moment. Drace knew that Ashe's patriotism was the only thing holding her now. However, she also knew that the Dalmascan princess was about to break, her will hanging on a thin thread. Well, it was time to break that threat, she thought, as the feathers of the color matching her mantle continuously stroked Ashe's ticklish knees, the princess pulling on the bonds as hard as she could, desperately trying to move her knees, but to no avail. The bonds were just too sturdy. «Tell me all you know about nethicite!»
Ashe didn't reply. She just begged the judge magister to stop, knowing that she would break very soon if this continued for much longer. The red feathers were driving her crazy, desperate to stop the torture she was under. Their continuous touch made one thing clear to Ashe: forever was an awful lot of time, especially when you have to endure tickle-torture along the way. In both her mind and words, she was begging her tormentress to stop, wandering what made her endure the torture for so long. Her will was completely broken already, but somehow she preservered. For Dalmasca, she thought.
«Where do I tickle you next?», Drace asked again. «Your choice, my little princess.»
«HAHAHAHAHA!!! STAHAHAP!!!», Ashe broke this time, and this time for real. «I'LL... I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU WISH TO KNOW, JUST STOP!!!»
Hearing this, Drace statisfiedly lowered her twin feathers, looking the princess directly in the eyes.
«Everything?», she asked. Lady Ashe just sniffed, turning her head around and nodding affirmatively. She didn't want the magister to see her crying. «All right. First off, tell me what's your most ticklish spot.»
Hearing this request, Ashe's eyes opened wide.
«No... no, please... please...», she pleaded, but the magister cut her off in the middle of the sentence.
«Just informative, of course», she said with a devious grin on her face. Ashe gave her a sad, pleading look.
«My... my sides and armpits are the most ticklish», she said honestly and humbly. The judge magister smiled with a sinister smile.
«There, that wasn't so hard, now, was it?», she teased. «And now, my dear princess, on to why we brought you here: where is the nethicite and how do we use it?»
«We don't know», Ashe said, feeling like the worst traitor. «We... we were flying to Mt. Bur Omisace, trying to find out how to use it.»
«You don't know?!» Drace laid her head back and laughed, her strong laughter echoing through the room. «Oh, this is good. You had the nethicite with you all along and you still don't know how to use it. What fools! No wonder you lost the war.» Then, the woman in red started untying the captive princess. Ashe tried to fight her, but it was of no use. She was too weak, exhausted from all the torture she's been through, to offer any real resistance. All she could do was stare in fear and amazement as the judge magister tied her again, this time to the foot of her bed.
«No... please... you promised», she said, but Drace wouldn't listen. She silently placed the princess' ankles in a set of manacles on the floor near the foot of the bed, and placed the princess' hands inside the two loops of rope that hung high above the forcefully-kneeling princess' head, finding a holding in the pillars on the each side of the bed. This way, princess' hands were tied high above her head, to the wooden pillars which connected the bed to the ceiling, and spread wide to disable any form of release. Also, Ashe's vulnerable armpits and sides were exposed, so that Drace had free access to them, without Ashe being able to move at all. Ashe protested and pleaded, but it was of no use, especially after Drace finished tying her up, as she placed a black rubber ball-gag inside her mouth as soon as the final knots were complete.
«Nothing personal», Drace said, «Vayne wants you to obey like a nice girl when we come to Archades, that's all.»
Saying so, Drace knelt behind Ashe. The princess couldn't see what was coming to her, which made her even more nervous. Also, the very fact that this judge knew her most ticklish spots had placed a lot of pressure to Ashe, who was scared to death of what she knew will follow: more torture by tickling. Only this time, she wasn't going to be able to save herself by talking. No. This time she was completely at Drace's mercy... if that woman knew the meaning of the word at all. That was why Ashe started to beg her captor as hard as she could, offering her anything she wants in exchange for her freedom. However, it was of no use, as all she could do was droll and mumble like a baby, her tears running down her beautiful face. And when she saw the two feathers again, the two little instruments hell itself spawned just to torment her, Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca used all of her remaining strength to try and set herself free, pulling at her bonds with surprising fervor, trying to mumble out pleas for help, but there was naught she could do. The feathers started approaching her from the sides, slowly but surely closing the distance between them and Ashe's ticklish skin. Ashe started laughing even before they touched her skin. And, when they finally made contact with her, Ashe almost broke out of her new bonds. Drace never could have imagined how valuable info she got from lady Ashe back when she found out her most ticklish spots. These were so extremely ticklish that she, even exhausted, still had the strength to fight the bondage, and fight fiercely, only to stop the horrible torture. Even the slightest touch of the feathers on those soft, smooth armpits and the firm, strong, yet ever-so-tender sides was enough to send Ashe through the roof, screaming and drolling from behind her gag. Quite an accomplishment, she thought for herself, breaking this princess down. Before, Gabranth made a bet with her that she would never be able to break the mighty Ashelia. Looking at her now, she smirked at the thought. The princess was broken all right, her former pride nowhere to be seen. All that remained were futile tries to escape this hellish torment. Drace looked at the princess' backs with enjoyment. All the muscles were tense, flexed in tries to bring her arms down, her armpits sinking deep into her skin, offering two nice cavities for her feathers to explore. And so they did, guided by judge magister's skillful hands, the twin feathers explored every little bit of Ashelia's ticklish skin, while the princess was going insane from their ticklish touch, cursing the day she was born.
«And now it's time for you to...»
How Drace meant to finish the sentence, only she will probably know, as a hollow object hit her in the back just then, rendering her unconscious.
* * *
«Balthier!», the princess exclaimed happily as the party removed the gag and set her free. She practically flung herself in the man's arms.
«Never make a plan you can't alter», Balthier said, pushing the princess back. «Are you allright, princess?»
That was when Ashe remembered her manners and position. She regained her former holding, proud and defiant.
«Yes... I'm all right», she said, turning to her former captor. The judge magister was unconscious now, lying on the floor helplessly. «What about her?»
«Suit yourself», Balthier said. «We have taken the ship after the combat, using your howls of laughter as a disguise for combat. Of course, first we had to fight the imperials off, find Vaan and Penelo, and then board the airship using their armors as a disguise. It was a rather messy thing, the plan, but we command this ship now.»
«I see», Ashe said, an evil grin forming on her face. «So, what you are saying is that she is my prisoner now?» Balthier nodded. «I see... Fran, Penelo, could you lend me a hand here, please? I'm going to need your long fingernails... especially yours, Fran.»
«Hey Vaan!», Penelo yelled, «Would you please hurry up? You're falling behind again!»
«All right, all right», the blonde boy replied from behind. He was really falling behind, and he needed to step up his tempo if he wanted to see the party in the dense forest. Being that Fran and Basch have set up a strong, fast tempo, it was easy to get lost, and one certainly didn't want that, not in Viera's woods. «Wait for me, guys!»
«You might wish to give him a hand», Balthier told Penelo. Despite the fast tempo, he managed to walk as if he was casually strolling alongside the blonde, still not falling behind.
Penelo nodded to the sky pirate, heeding his advice and running back to get her childhood friend. The young blonde was really upset: why couldn't Vaan just keep up like everyone else? Oh, he probably could, the answer came to her head, but all of these new lands and sights were just too much for him, and he probably stood in front of every little thing just to study it. He was so goofy sometimes, she thought for herself with a cheerful smile on her face.
When she found Vaan, Penelo told herself she was right. Vaan was indeed stopping to study something: a beautiful, yellow flower, short, less than an inch above ground, with broad, large, beautiful petals sprouting in a dense formation. Vaan was looking at it with his usual childish curiosity. Penelo couldn't help but smile. That was just so him, she told herself as she patted him on the backs.
«Hey, daydreamer», she said as her palm touched her friend's shoulder. However, as he turned around and Penelo had the chance to see his face, she screamed: that wasn't Vaan.
* * *
As female screams pierced the silence of the woods, the party jumped, forming a combat circle, ready for an ambush.
«Do you see anyone?», Basch asked, his sword and shield in hands, ready for combat.
«Clever little devils», Balthier commented. The sky pirate was standing in circle like everyone else, his gun ready in his hands, prepaired to shoot anyone who would even peek from the green.
«Brace yourselves!», Ashelia shouted as the first few imperials started approaching them. The first duo was quickly struck down by Fran's bow and Balthier's gun, falling to the green grass, a pool of blood slowly forming around them. Two more followed, sharing the same fate as the comrades that went in first. The imperials started going out in large numbers, hoping to overwhelm the party with vast numbers. Many would die far away from the party, struck down by Balthier's and Fran's precise aim. Others, who would come closer to the party, were cut down by Basch's and Ashe's swift blade strikes. Wave upon wave, imperials came in great numbers, just to be struck down by a handful of brave, skillful warriors.
* * *
«Milady, we are being slaughtered!», one of the soldiers told Judge Magister Drace as she was arriving on the battlefield. «We don't know if we can keep this up!»
Measuring the soldier's words, Drace smiled with a reassuring smile, issuing her order as she placed her dreadful-looking iron helm on her head.
«Don't worry, I shall join the fray. You just press on the attack, and I will make sure they get... scattered.»
The soldier saluted the woman, and she gave him the sign to get back to his duties, combat ones to be more specific.
«I'll teach you not to mess with me», Drace said with a sinister smile on her face, invisible because of her battle helmet. Her sword was pulled out, and she began to move towards the battlefield, a dreadful-looking metal figure advancing towards the brave party.
* * *
Even after killing her twentieth imperial, Ashelia didn't show any sign of fatigue, nor did she pause for a minute.
«Damn it!», she cursed, slaying another imperial with a slash of her sword. The sword found it's way between the plates of his armor, cutting the soft, vulnerable flesh and skin at the neck, making the man fall down, choking in his own blood. Short moments after he fell, he still struggled for air, but not for long. His life ran out quickly, along with the blood that was gushing from his wound. «Where do they come from?»
That was when Ashe looked and saw the figure of a Judge Magister approaching them on the battlefield. This can't be good, she knew, as the presence of a Magister meant that this force they were fighting was large indeed, and that they will probably be overpowered, being that the magister was leading them. Ashe saw only one option: putting the magister out of the way. And she had to do it fast, before the mighty warrior lent her aid to the troops. So, without a word, Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca went to charge the approaching enemy, intent on taking her down, even if it meant sacrificing her life... and was stopped by Balthier's hand.
«Not so fast», he said, holding her shoulder with one hand, shooting with the other. He must have noticed her intentions, she thought. «Never charge in without a plan.»
Ashe sighed, eager to finish this as quickly as she could.
«What do you propose?», she asked.
* * *
Freeing herself from the sky pirate's grasp, Ashe continued with the plan: the plan was to single the magister out while the party battles with the underlings. Doing that will give Ashe a chance to kill the enemy commander, thus hopefully routing the imperial army. To do this, the party started attacking the imperials with their full force, making the imperials too busy fighting for their own lives to notice that the enemy princess was attacking their commander.
«Finally, I get to cross swords with the infamous lady Ashe», the judge commented as Ashe charged her and their swords clashed, sparks flying from the intensity of their impact.
«Shut up and fight!», the princess replied ferociously, attacking the judge with unseen vigor. The sound of clashing steel echoed through the battlefield as their swords caught each other again and again, each clash conjuring a few sparks. So intense were Ashe's attacks that Drace was, little by little, loosing more and more ground. She didn't notice it, but they have left the clearing where Drace's troops were attacking, entering the forest and cutting themselves off from the main struggle. Ashe noticed this, so she ceased her attacks for a moment, to catch some breath. All of this ferocious fighting left her tired, and she knew she would have to fight carefully from now on. She already fatigued herself to get the enemy separated from her troops. Now it was time to preserve strength.
«Heh», she said, breathing heavily, big drops of sweat forming on her face, slowly running down the smooth lines of her angry face like teardrops. «Your soldiers aren't here to protect you any more, magister.»
Much to her surprise, her opponent laughed. It was a female laughter, which really surprised Ashe. She didn't remember imperials having a female judge. Well, never mind that, now, she had to be defeated nevertheless.
«We are one on one, yes», the magister said, taking out another sword in her left hand. «But that only means that I don't have to go easy on you.»
As soon as the magister said that, Ashe took her battle stance, ready for anything judge might dish out. Or so she thought, as magister attacked her with unseen force. Ashelia barely blocked the attack from the left with the shield, but the pain from impact was so intense couldn't help but groan slightly as her hand went numb from pain.
«What the...?!», Ashe exclaimed as her hand fell numbly, almost like it was dead. She tried to lift it, but moving it caused her so much pain she had to scream.
«Oh, did I hurt the little princess?», Drace teased, prepairing another attack. Again, it was blocked, only this time with a shield. Again, same consequences. Ashe was now completely helpless, her both hands out of use. However, the expression on her face was still fierce, and she was making it clear that she wasn't done yet. No. She would fight until the end, she thought.
And that is when Drace unleashed her third attack upon now-helpless Ashe. All she could feel was a sharp pain in her stomack as the judge's knee hit her with such a force that it sent her flying backwards, hitting a tree in the process.
«Damn.... you...», princess of Dalmasca whispered as she fell to the floor, her consciousness slowly fading away.
* * *
«Rise and shine, princess», Ashe heard as she regained her consciousness. Very quickly, she became aware of the pain in her stomack, her hands and her head. They still hurt, though not so strongly as before. However, her head was pulsating and lady Ashe felt like she just woke up after a night of hard drinking. Not that she knew how exactly she would feel after that, since she didn't drink, but she had a fair idea that it would probably feel something like this.
«Wh... Where am I?», she said, trying to hold her head, to come by, but she found out that it wasn't an option, since her hands were tied high above her head, to each end of a huge... table? No, it was a rack, probably, and she knew at that very moment that she was in for a torture. She tried to move her feet but, to no great surprise, they were chained to the rack as well. Ashe silently cursed her position as her sight returned and she observed Drace sitting in front of her.
The judge was sitting near the foot of the bed, this time without helmet, so it was clearly visible that she was grinning evily towards the princess. Also, this time she replaced the iron armor of a judge magister with a more casual crimson mantle, which covered her whole body, but at the same time outlined it perfectly. The judge must have been fresh out of shower, Ashe mused. Also, it was then that Ashe noticed that she was stripped of all of her clothes except her bra and panties. This really annoyed her, so she started struggling in her bonds, trying to set herself free, even though she knew she wasn't going to escape. No, the manacles which bound her spread-eagle to each edge of the square wooden table were too sturdy and strong.
«Don't struggle, dear princess», the judge teased. «It doesn't fit your position... and you're going to need your strength later, trust me.»
«You are going to torture me?», Ashelia asked, clear despise in her voice. «I wonder what will the world say when they know the great empire uses torture on their prisoners. When I show my scars to Ro...»
«... There won't be any scars», Drace finished in Ashe's stead, an evil grin spanning wide all across her face. Ashe looked at her with a confused look in her eyes. «Dear princess, the torture I'm about to inflict upon you has several advantages: it can go on for as long as I like, it always works and it leaves no physical traces.»
«What kind of torture is that?», Ashe asked, defiance in her expression changing to surprise when she saw the judge magister taking out a pair of red feathers.
«Tell me, princess Ashelia, are you ticklish?»
No! Please, not that, Ashe thought when she observed the two red instruments of torture. Yes, she was ticklish, very ticklish, and she knew the magister was right: it left no scars so no one would believe her if she said the imperials tortured her. However, she tried to fool her captor by calming her face, and replying with a calm, sound: «No.»
Hearing her answer made Drace grin even wider.
«Oh, really», the magister said, «then I supppose you won't mind me doing this.»
Saying so, Drace started running the twin feathers up and down Ashe's soles, ever so slowly and methodically. She started at the heels, the soft, gentle tips of red feathers practically going under lady Ashe's foot, and then playfully and slowly advancing up the soft, ticklish royal soles, going along the outter line, where the sole met the foot, all the way up to the princess' baby toes, which they stopped to play with for a little. Then, the feather would slowly go down again, this time along the inner edge of the sole, gently caressing Ashe's high arches, sending many ticklish impulses coarsing through her body. However, Ashe didn't try to move her pretty feet, nor did she twitch or show any reaction. It took a lot of effort to stay calm, but she managed to do it. She didn't move a muscle and, to a casual observer, it would have seemed that the princess wasn't ticklish at all.
«I'm... not... ticklish...», Ashe managed to say, but Drace had paid her no heed. The twin feathers were still caressing Ashe's soles, making her curse her ticklishness silently. Under normal circumstances she would have moved her foot away long ago, but now she held her both feet still, not wanting to surrender. No, she told herself, she had to endure, for Dalmasca.
While she was tortured so, Ashelia decided to take a look around the room, thinking that it might help her get her mind off the tickling. It did help a little, but only a little bit. However, the positive side was that she was now fully aware of her surroundings. They were in what seemed to be Drace's private quarters. Except for the wooden rack she was in, there was an extensive library there, in the room, as well as a working table of the finest dark tree, clear masterwork of Archades' finest craftsmen, and a bed, made of same dark wood as the working table, and coated in crimson sheets upon which laid the finest red pillows. The walls were decorated with numerous flags of house Solidor, Archadian royal family. Seeing all of this made Ashe sick: she felt like she was some sort of a cheap concubine, brought here for the magister's entertainment. Well, she would sooner die than concede to her, Ashe thought as she defiantly continued the struggle against her own ticklishness, and the two feathers lightly and torturously caressing her skin.
Five minutes passed. Then fifteen. Lady Ashe was on the end of her strength and endurance. She was already sweating heavily, big drops of sweat forming all over her body. By now, her struggle was obvious, her fatigue revealing her weakness to the feather's touch, but Ashe refused to let herself in, let alone confess her ticklishness to an enemy. The feathers were still following the same pattern, driving the princess mad, making her body crave for release from this slow, never-ending torment. The worst of all was that this holding back was very hard, and Ashe had to pull on all of her forces to remain calm and not move, which fatigued her to no end. That was why she, after only fifteen minutes of tickling, already felt exhausted. Drace must have noticed that, as she had laid down the feathers, readying herself to break the captive princess.
«Still not ticklish?», she asked.
«No», the princess replied, as defiantly as the first time.
«Well, then, ok», Drace said and, just as Ashe thought she was home-free, that her torment had stopped, dug her fingers into the soft flesh of princess Ashe's soles. Lady Ashe barely held herself to scream from laughter, her face remaining still as ever, but the sensation of ten fingers dancing on her two exposed, ticklish soles was too much for her. As hard as she struggled to remain calm, to fight the reflex of twitching, her body was just too strong, the tickling too intense, and she began to struggle and twitch in her bonds. Ashe knew that laughter was soon to follow.
«Oh, so we aren't ticklish, eh?», Drace teased, her fingers rapidly dancing on Ashe's soles, between heels and balls of the feet, on lady Ashe's soft, white, high arches. «Looks to me like our little princess was lying. Such a naughty, naughty princess.»
«I... sppk... I'm... sssppphhh.... not... mmmhhhh.... tic... hhhhh.... tickli... sssshhhhh!», Ashe tried to say, but in her situation it only looked comical. She was visibly holding herself back from bursting into wild laughter, but she was still claiming that she wasn't ticklish.
«Oh, yes, such pride is what I would expect from the infamous Ashelia», Drace continued to tease her helpless captive, increasing the intensity of tickling. «Your soles are suffering, but still you refuse to surrender. Much like your people. Ah, well, this will show you how futile it is to go against the empire.»
Saying so, Drace started to tickle Ashe between the toes, making the princess no longer be able to endure this wild tickling without laughing. She was ticklish on her feet and her soles, but her toes were by far the most ticklish spot of her feet.
I surrender, she thought as she opened her mouth and a loud laughter just came rushing out, like a wild river that destroyed it's dam and was now rampaging freely, enjoying it's freedom:
«HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!»
«Oh, so you are ticklish, my little princess», Drace teased like a child. «Lady Ashe is ticklish! Lady Ashe is ticklish! Lady Ashe is ticklish!»
«HOHOHOHOOOO! NOOHOHOHOOOO!!!», Lady Ashe tried to hide her surrender, but she couldn't. She was howling with laughter, struggling in her bonds as hard as she could. Such a pathetic sight she must be now, she thought for herself. Broken under torture. How humiliating.
«Now, lady Ashe, you are going to tell me all you know about the location of the magicite, and how to use it», the female judge said, not stopping the tickling for a minute. Her fingers were back on tickling the Ashe's high arches, this time including the princess' soft heels and balls of the feet, which twitched furiously, trying to escape the torment. «But first, you are going to beg me to tickle you elsewhere.»
«HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA NEHEHEEEVERRRR!!!», lady Ashe protested, but she was returned to the world of laughter very soon by Drace's skillful, nimble fingers which were abusing the ticklishness of her soles all too well.
«Suit yourself», Drace said, continuing the tickling, dancing her ten fingers across the dancefloor of Ashe's soles. «But know this, my little ticklish princess, this isn't going to stop until you tell me all of your most ticklish spots and beg me to tickle them.»
«NEVER!!», Ashe screamed as loud as she could, returning to howling from laughter only a moment after. She was as close to hell as she could get: her pride was the only thing that stopped her from begging the imperial judge to stop. Her body was already exhausted from holding the laughter back, and the judge's methods were working wonders on her now that she finally gave in to tickling. Still, she remembered what she promised herself well: she won't break, she will die before she does. However, a voice in her head told her: «You will be dying for a long, long time, you know that?»
And so an hour passed in relentless tickling of Ashe's helpless soles, with Ashe defying her tormentor, firmly deciding never to talk. Ashe was enduring whatever tickling Drace would dish out, with judge using various techniques: from tickling the soles and the heels, to tickling her toes, to using the feathers between her toes. Many more techniques were tried on princess' feet, each one tickling more than the last, each one driving princess crazy, but her pride not letting her break under torture. And it was only her pride left that kept her from talking, but that pride came in huge quantities, Ashe being the queen of Dalmasca after all. That was why she, exhausted and broken already, still had the will to endure two more hours of ticklish sole-torture at the hands of the evil Drace, who abused her ticklishness to no end. The techniques changed, from long, slow strokes to quick, rapid, short ones, the place of tickling altered from heels, over the arches, to toes and the whole foot, the tool changing from fingers to feathers, and then back to fingers. Oh, yes, Drace knew how to tickle Ashe, and was using every tool in her power to make the princess talk.
Then, suddenly, after more than three hours of relentless torture of her soles, Ashe broke. She just couldn't take another stroke from the feather, which was dancing on her foot at the time, making small circles on the centre of her big toe.
«HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! PLEEEEHEHEHEAHAHAHASHEHEHE!!!!», she begged, «PLEHEHEHEHEAAAAAHAHAHASE STAHAHAHAP!!! NO MOHOHOHOHORE!!!»
«Oh, so the princess has something she would like to share with us?», Drace looked at her teasingly, not stopping the tickling, enjoying the reaction she got by tickling that beautiful, long, soft big toe. «Where do you want me to tickle you next?»
«NOHOHOHOOO! PLEEEEHEHEHEAAAHAHAHASE!!!», lady Ashe begged, but she recieved no mercy. If anything, it made Drace tickle her harder.
«Where do I tickle you next?», Drace demanded again.
Ashe didn't reply. She just laughed, hoping to avoid an answer. However, Drace wasn't about to let that happen, so she demanded again.
«Beg for me to tickle you somewhere else!», she demanded, her feather accenting her request by increasing the intensity of tickling, sending Ashe through the roof.
«HAHAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE HEHEHEHE... PLEEHEHEHAAASE TICKLE MY KNEES!», Ashe said, in her final act of submission.
«'Atta girl!», Drace exclaimed with a statisfied, victorious smile on her face. She stopped the tickling, moving the feather away from Ashe's suffering toes. Ashe could still feel the light tickling sensation all over her feet, itching, making her want to massage it. However, even that sensation was nullified by the dread of what was to come: Ashe's knees were every bit as ticklish as her feet, maybe even more. That meant that she was in for a world of laughter again.
Drace prepaired herself for more tickling, bringing the two feathers uncomfortably close to Ashelia's left knee, one from the each side. «Now, before I start tickling your pretty royal knees, is there anything I should know about the nethicite?»
«Never», Ashe said, breathing heavily, this being her first real stop since the beginning of torture.
«Fine... suit yourself, your majesty», Drace said, slowly bringing the feathers close to the princess' knees. Ashe struggled as hard as she could in her bonds, trying to escape the torture, but she was helpless. No matter how hard she tried to move it, her knee was just lying there helplessly, unable to escape the two feathers that slowly approached it. And then, when the twin red devils finally did touch her sensitive knee, and started to slowly move up and down it's ticklish skin, Ashe burst into laughter again, struggling in her bonds with newfound strength.
«AHAHAHAHA! PLEASE STAHAHAP!!!», Ashe tried to beg, but Drace didn't stop. She just ran the feathers across her ticklish knees, taking them on an exploration trip, to try and discover where she was the most ticklish.
«Such ticklish knees», Drace teased, «I think you wanted me to do this to you all along, right?»
«No!», Ashe yelled out in self-defence, but the judge just laughed at her defiance.
«Then, where do you want me to tickle you next?»
«HAHAHAHA... No.... AAAAA.... PLEHEHEHEHE.... AAAHAHAHAHAAA!!!», Ashe tried to beg as the two little devious feathers danced on her knees, but it did her no good.
«Tickle tickle tickle!», the judge continued to tease her ticklish captive, who was praying to gods to kill her at the moment. Drace knew that Ashe's patriotism was the only thing holding her now. However, she also knew that the Dalmascan princess was about to break, her will hanging on a thin thread. Well, it was time to break that threat, she thought, as the feathers of the color matching her mantle continuously stroked Ashe's ticklish knees, the princess pulling on the bonds as hard as she could, desperately trying to move her knees, but to no avail. The bonds were just too sturdy. «Tell me all you know about nethicite!»
Ashe didn't reply. She just begged the judge magister to stop, knowing that she would break very soon if this continued for much longer. The red feathers were driving her crazy, desperate to stop the torture she was under. Their continuous touch made one thing clear to Ashe: forever was an awful lot of time, especially when you have to endure tickle-torture along the way. In both her mind and words, she was begging her tormentress to stop, wandering what made her endure the torture for so long. Her will was completely broken already, but somehow she preservered. For Dalmasca, she thought.
«Where do I tickle you next?», Drace asked again. «Your choice, my little princess.»
«HAHAHAHAHA!!! STAHAHAP!!!», Ashe broke this time, and this time for real. «I'LL... I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU WISH TO KNOW, JUST STOP!!!»
Hearing this, Drace statisfiedly lowered her twin feathers, looking the princess directly in the eyes.
«Everything?», she asked. Lady Ashe just sniffed, turning her head around and nodding affirmatively. She didn't want the magister to see her crying. «All right. First off, tell me what's your most ticklish spot.»
Hearing this request, Ashe's eyes opened wide.
«No... no, please... please...», she pleaded, but the magister cut her off in the middle of the sentence.
«Just informative, of course», she said with a devious grin on her face. Ashe gave her a sad, pleading look.
«My... my sides and armpits are the most ticklish», she said honestly and humbly. The judge magister smiled with a sinister smile.
«There, that wasn't so hard, now, was it?», she teased. «And now, my dear princess, on to why we brought you here: where is the nethicite and how do we use it?»
«We don't know», Ashe said, feeling like the worst traitor. «We... we were flying to Mt. Bur Omisace, trying to find out how to use it.»
«You don't know?!» Drace laid her head back and laughed, her strong laughter echoing through the room. «Oh, this is good. You had the nethicite with you all along and you still don't know how to use it. What fools! No wonder you lost the war.» Then, the woman in red started untying the captive princess. Ashe tried to fight her, but it was of no use. She was too weak, exhausted from all the torture she's been through, to offer any real resistance. All she could do was stare in fear and amazement as the judge magister tied her again, this time to the foot of her bed.
«No... please... you promised», she said, but Drace wouldn't listen. She silently placed the princess' ankles in a set of manacles on the floor near the foot of the bed, and placed the princess' hands inside the two loops of rope that hung high above the forcefully-kneeling princess' head, finding a holding in the pillars on the each side of the bed. This way, princess' hands were tied high above her head, to the wooden pillars which connected the bed to the ceiling, and spread wide to disable any form of release. Also, Ashe's vulnerable armpits and sides were exposed, so that Drace had free access to them, without Ashe being able to move at all. Ashe protested and pleaded, but it was of no use, especially after Drace finished tying her up, as she placed a black rubber ball-gag inside her mouth as soon as the final knots were complete.
«Nothing personal», Drace said, «Vayne wants you to obey like a nice girl when we come to Archades, that's all.»
Saying so, Drace knelt behind Ashe. The princess couldn't see what was coming to her, which made her even more nervous. Also, the very fact that this judge knew her most ticklish spots had placed a lot of pressure to Ashe, who was scared to death of what she knew will follow: more torture by tickling. Only this time, she wasn't going to be able to save herself by talking. No. This time she was completely at Drace's mercy... if that woman knew the meaning of the word at all. That was why Ashe started to beg her captor as hard as she could, offering her anything she wants in exchange for her freedom. However, it was of no use, as all she could do was droll and mumble like a baby, her tears running down her beautiful face. And when she saw the two feathers again, the two little instruments hell itself spawned just to torment her, Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca used all of her remaining strength to try and set herself free, pulling at her bonds with surprising fervor, trying to mumble out pleas for help, but there was naught she could do. The feathers started approaching her from the sides, slowly but surely closing the distance between them and Ashe's ticklish skin. Ashe started laughing even before they touched her skin. And, when they finally made contact with her, Ashe almost broke out of her new bonds. Drace never could have imagined how valuable info she got from lady Ashe back when she found out her most ticklish spots. These were so extremely ticklish that she, even exhausted, still had the strength to fight the bondage, and fight fiercely, only to stop the horrible torture. Even the slightest touch of the feathers on those soft, smooth armpits and the firm, strong, yet ever-so-tender sides was enough to send Ashe through the roof, screaming and drolling from behind her gag. Quite an accomplishment, she thought for herself, breaking this princess down. Before, Gabranth made a bet with her that she would never be able to break the mighty Ashelia. Looking at her now, she smirked at the thought. The princess was broken all right, her former pride nowhere to be seen. All that remained were futile tries to escape this hellish torment. Drace looked at the princess' backs with enjoyment. All the muscles were tense, flexed in tries to bring her arms down, her armpits sinking deep into her skin, offering two nice cavities for her feathers to explore. And so they did, guided by judge magister's skillful hands, the twin feathers explored every little bit of Ashelia's ticklish skin, while the princess was going insane from their ticklish touch, cursing the day she was born.
«And now it's time for you to...»
How Drace meant to finish the sentence, only she will probably know, as a hollow object hit her in the back just then, rendering her unconscious.
* * *
«Balthier!», the princess exclaimed happily as the party removed the gag and set her free. She practically flung herself in the man's arms.
«Never make a plan you can't alter», Balthier said, pushing the princess back. «Are you allright, princess?»
That was when Ashe remembered her manners and position. She regained her former holding, proud and defiant.
«Yes... I'm all right», she said, turning to her former captor. The judge magister was unconscious now, lying on the floor helplessly. «What about her?»
«Suit yourself», Balthier said. «We have taken the ship after the combat, using your howls of laughter as a disguise for combat. Of course, first we had to fight the imperials off, find Vaan and Penelo, and then board the airship using their armors as a disguise. It was a rather messy thing, the plan, but we command this ship now.»
«I see», Ashe said, an evil grin forming on her face. «So, what you are saying is that she is my prisoner now?» Balthier nodded. «I see... Fran, Penelo, could you lend me a hand here, please? I'm going to need your long fingernails... especially yours, Fran.»
