by Robin Roseau
I ran, and I was faster. As tired as I was by then, I was sure they were letting me escape. Then I cut across a yard and then got my feet tangled in some sort of netting stretched across the yard. I tripped and fell, and while I struggled to climb to my feet, Luradinine was right there along with several of her friends. The pulled the netting over me, tangling me throughly, and while I struggled, they drew it tighter and tighter until I lay on the ground, panting up at Luradinine.
"I believe you literally didn't see it coming," she said, staring down at me. "I believe I won."
I smiled. "How?"
"Oh please. I had people tracking you every second. The entire village is out tonight. You can't get ten steps inside Beacon Hill without being seen. I've got seven of these set up in various places, and I knew we could keep you contained until finally I drove you into one or the other."
I laughed. "Was I at least a good chase?"
"The best," she said, laughing. She knelt down. "If you agree to cooperate, we'll bind you here, and there will be a carriage ride home. If you do not promise to cooperate, we'll drag you in the net."
"You wouldn't!"
"I certainly would," she said.
I sighed. "I'll cooperate."
I hadn't had so much fun in a long time.
* * * *
She tied me in the galatzi fashion, including a gag. Once I was entirely bound, she said, "We already caught everyone else. Your fellow prisoners are waiting for us, and we will parade all of you through the streets, and then we'll go home."
They picked me up, carried me back out to the street, and gently set me in the waiting buggy. Luradinine climbed up beside me, collected the reins, and we set off. It was a short trip until we came upon the gathering of six other buggies waiting in a row. We rode past each of them, and when I looked, each held a galatzi prisoner, tied the same I was, with their new partners beside them. I received what I thought might be surprised looks to be seen like this, but Luradinine offered no explanation. She moved to the front of the line, and then without even pausing, the other buggies began to follow us.
She drove us up and down the streets. Here and there were pockets of people, and they cheered as we were all carted past them. Many offered rather lurid suggestions of what should happen to us next, but when a few of the suggestions were a little too crude, Luradinine brought the buggy to a stop. She stood up and faced her people.
"These are not prisoners of some war. Tonight was about fun. Everyone caught here tonight agreed to these games we play. Six of them are to become part of our village, people we will grow to love, and we would never, ever abuse them. This one, the one sitting beside me, is a dear friend to the village, and she agreed to this as well, as fun for her and me and many of you tonight. We treat them with respect and honor."
She spoke for another minute, reminding them that we were all far from home, and we should be thanked for our galatzi sacrifice.
One elderly woman stepped forward. She bowed towards us, then yelled, "Former residents of Sudden, thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice, and thank you for the fun you gave us tonight. Three cheers for our friends from Sudden!"
The greatest assembly of people was outside of Luradinine's home. Again, we came to a stop. She offered another speech, thanking everyone for engaging in "tonight's good natured fun". She thanked her prisoners and the Vendart of Sudden for the entertainment. And then she reminded them what we had given up, and how scared some of us were.
Then she called people forth to help us down from our buggies. We were each carried amongst the villagers, who reached out to touch us as we passed, finally being placed on our feet at the front of Luradinine's home.
"To all of you," she said, then stopping by and patting my cheek. "Welcome to Beacon Hill. You will be cherished. You will be loved. You will be deeply cared for. Thank you so much. I am so proud of each of you."
She went down the row, caressing each of us, giving us each a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and saying something quietly to each as well.
Finally she called for one more cheer. Before it even died down, my fellow prisoners were being carried back to their buggies. Darratine kept possession of Farratain, and I stood beside Luradinine as we watched the others drive away.
"We need these prisoner carried to our bedrooms," Luradinine ordered. "Don't drop them."
I screeched into the gag as a group of them picked me up. They ran into the house, bouncing me as we ran along, but it was only a moment before they lofted me onto the vendart's bed. I nearly bounced back off, but two of them were waiting for that, and they settled me into place before, laughing, they all departed.
Luradinine stood in the doorway to her room, watching and listening. I heard Farratain giggling into her own gag, but a door closed, cutting off the sounds. The house grew quiet.
She turned to me as I watched her, entirely helpless. She smiled. "That was fun. Did you have fun?"
I nodded.
"I was almost sorry when it was over," she said. She closed her bedroom door and began shedding her outer clothes, setting them aside, then came to sit on the bed beside me. "I know you can't duplicate what we did tonight. Were you surprised by our numbers?"
I nodded. In Sudden, we had never used so many, but we had never taken so many in one night, either.
She caressed my cheek. "Well, I get to keep you for the night, but you're wearing far too many clothes. I will give you a choice. If you agree to cooperate entirely, I will untie you, remove every stitch of clothing, and then retie you in a far more pleasing fashion for both of us. If you do not agree, I will simply untie your legs, very carefully of course, but leave your arms the way they are. I will tie your legs in a very, very spread fashion, and then I will take my pleasure. Consider carefully. Will you cooperate?"
I nodded.
And I did.
* * * *
She kept me up most of the night, and I entirely lost track of the number of times she took me. She loved teasing me until I was completely aquiver and then making me beg and plead. I didn't mind in the slightest.
She tied me in different positions periodically, only requesting my cooperation the first time. She made the changes in stages, and I remained utterly helpless; she did whatever she wished to me. A few times I struggled with her, but she only laughed and did what she desired, anyway.
She was quite ingenious.
At one point I found myself on my stomach, and then in stages she moved me until I was on my knees with my ass in the air and my chest pressed in the pillow. The things she did to me while I was like that... Sigh.
She marked me, repeatedly, both with her mouth and her scent. She marked my entire body with her scent, even my hair, laughing while she did it.
And she took from me her own pleasure as well, crying out in joy at the end.
But finally neither of us could take more. I lay, limp and utterly submissive, while she retied my hands one more time, bound to my body in the same fashion we would use with our own galatzi prisoners by morning, and then she bound my legs together before she lay down beside me, pulling the covers over both of us.
She grew tender, caressing me lightly.
"If you were to let me keep you," she said, "this is how I would treat you. Not every night, of course, as we would never sleep. But often. You would never doubt you were mine."
"I believe you," I said.
She waited, and then she sighed. "You do not ask me to keep you."
"I'm sorry."
She covered my lips. "I had to offer, but I admire your ability to resist me after what I've been doing to you for most of the night."
We laughed together, and then she cuddled against me until we slept, only a few minutes later.
* * * *
She woke me, and I discovered she had managed to tie my hands to the bed again and was just finishing with my legs. I opened my eyes and looked at her.
"One for the road," she said with a grin.
She lied. It was more than one
.
* * * *
Our own raid was nowhere near as elaborate or carefully planned as the raid Luradinine executed upon us. Of course, we didn't have remotely the numbers she had, and it wasn't our town, either.
Instead, we simply lay in wait along the agreed upon path, and in ones and twos, our galatzi trades walked into a simple ambush. I do not know what we would have done if they had chosen to play harder to catch.
They all fought, and as we acquired more and more prisoners, requiring more of our own numbers to assure they remained prisoners, the struggles became decreasingly one-sided. The second to last pair were the sisters, Reannaine and Riardarn, and they actually won free of us. They led us on a short chase until they both came to a stop, spinning around and holding out their hands.
"Stop!" Reannaine yelled. "Parley!"
We came to a stop, perhaps ten paces away.
"Back up to the distance we were at when we stopped," Riardarn demanded. "Or we'll lead you into a trap when we run. I believe the rules of galatzi say if we catch you, we get to keep you."
There were no such rules, but laughing, we retreated a short distance.
"There's no trap waiting for us."
"There certainly is," Reannaine said. "We can't keep you forever, but we could keep you for the rest of the night, and then you won't catch the rest. Nor will you have caught us, and you will return to Sudden short of our agreement."
Riardarn asked, "So what are we offered if we let you catch us?"
"We'll walk straight into your arms and let you bind us," Reannaine clarified.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Two things," Riardarn said with a glance to her sister. "First, we want a vow of friendship from you, Vendart's Daughter, to us. We wish you to pursue a close friendship with us."
I smiled. While I was nearly ten years older than them, I had liked them, and I immediately agreed.
"Second. We want temporary possession of your tablet during any stops in the journey to Sudden."
"We want to begin learning English," Reannaine added. "You will show us."
"Agreed," I said.
They walked straight to us and held out their crossed wrists.
* * * *
The Vendart was the last to leave, Kalorain and Larimarn with her. We were back up to seven, carefully securing our prisoners and leaving six to watch over them. Luradinine walked directly into our ambush, but then the three of them put up fierce resistance.
We finally managed to pull Kalorain away from her mother and bore her away. But it took four of us to control her struggles, and so I was facing two with only three of us.
Luradinine twice tried to rescue her daughter, and while we were able to prevent that, the girl was struggling so much, they couldn't get her tied.
"Vendart's Daughter!" Luradinine eventually called out. "If you do not manage to capture both of us by first light, then my entire village will pursue you, and we will take back all your prisoners, and we will claim you as well."
I thought perhaps she was serious.
"Furthermore, if you choose to cut your losses and run with the six you have, we will be on you as well. You will not win free of our territory unless you have all of us."
Then the two turned and ran. Three of us set off in pursuit. They were only two blocks from Luradinine's home when finally I managed to catch my fingers in Larimarn's cloak. I tugged, slowing her, and then we had her. She struggled with us, but the three of us picked her up and bore her away. Luradinine didn't attempt to free her, but she called out, "Remember what I said, Vendart's Daughter. If you do not capture me, the entire village will soon be after you. And when we capture you, I am claiming you. You know I am not bluffing."
We finally subdued Larimarn, tying her properly and delivering her to our main force. By then, Kalorain had also been subdued and tied, and my forces clustered around me. "Is she bluffing?"
"No," I said.
"We should take what we have and run."
"I don't think she's bluffing about that, either. But she'll give me a chance. She knows we were at a distinct disadvantage raiding her town. If I ever do this with so many again, we will take twice these numbers. All right, here's what we're going to do..."
* * * *
Twenty minutes later found me at the back of Luradinine's house. With me were just Tarsorid and Misopid. They were not the strongest of the men I could have with me, but they were fast and agile. Even better, Misopid could climb like a spider.
There was a light from Luradinine's window. That bode well for our plan.
We waited the agreed upon time, and then from the front of the manor, I heard Tisarine, Misopid's partner, call out loudly. "Vendart of Beacon Hill, I come under white flag to parley."
We waited another minute, and twice more Tisarine called out to Luradinine. And then, whether Luradinine appeared at the front of the manor to parley or not, the three of us moved against the back of the house. Misopid, carrying a stout rope, scrambled up the back of the house. I couldn't have duplicated his feat, but he managed to scale the house and let himself into Luradinine's bedroom as well.
This was the dangerous part, as she could have laid a trap. But then he poked his head out and dropped the rope down.
I wasn't sure I could climb the rope, and we didn't think Misopid could lift me, and so Tarsorid scrambled up, disappearing inside. As soon as his weight was off the rope, I tied it about me, underneath my arms, and a few heartbeats later, the two men lifted me slowly to the bedroom window.
It was awkward climbing in through the window, but finally I was inside, panting heavily.
Tisarine's parley was legitimate, after a fashion. Her main duty was to delay Luradinine. She presented two laughably inadequate offers to the Vendart, but the third was quite legitimate and perhaps a tasty treat besides.
I offered myself for a week if she agreed to let my raiding party return to Sudden with the prisoners they had already taken. Tisarine was to stress those were the only two conditions to my surrender: she must allow the rest of them to return with our prisoners, and she must release me in a week. And then she was to say, "She is quite smitten, and after a week, you might convince her to remain forever."
If Luradinine declined all three offers, Tisarine was to plead for her to reconsider, pointing out that it had been a difficult trip for us, and that I personally would be deeply shamed if we gave up our galatzi offer with nothing to show for it, and lost the Vendart's Daughter in the deal besides.
And I would have been shamed, but this was the nature of a galatzi raid, and if I had been overstretched, that was my own fault. By the tradition, Beacon Hill would not have presented me with overwhelming odds. But if I had such underwhelming forces at my disposal that I couldn't capture the entire agreed trade, it was my own fault, not hers. I actually wouldn't have held a grudge.
If Luradinine agreed to any of our offers, or even negotiated an arrangement that Tisarine thought I could accept, then she would tell Luradinine where to find me, and she would capture me in her own bedroom. But I would have walked right into her hands, sending Tarsorid and Misopid away to deliver our prisoners. I would follow in a week's time.
Instead, the three of us set up in Luradinine's bedroom. And then we waited. I thought she would seek to barricade herself inside, using her villagers to track us. I hadn't caught any of them yelling out our position, so she was playing very fairly with us, but I was sure if we attempted to leave without capturing her first, they would be upon us, and it would be hopelessly one-sided.
Tarsorid and Misopid hid carefully, Misopid under the bed and Tarsorid in the closet. I waited behind the door, and I held a large blanket. The men would be available if I needed them, but I wanted to try to do this without their help.
It took longer than I wanted, but finally I heard a key in the lock, and then Luradinine slipped into the room. I was on her immediately, throwing the blanket over her head and wrapping my arms around her tightly. She struggled with me, b
ut I held tightly and tugged her until she fell across the bed, me on top of her.
"Parley," I said in the general direction of her head. "It's Chaladine. Parley, Luradinine."
She grew still. "Parley," she agreed. "Let me go and we'll talk."
"Uh uh," I said. "Just like this."
"Fine," she said. "Did you come to negotiate your surrender to me?"
"What do you want to allow me to tie you with no further resistance?"
"Ha! You have the upper hand, but you won't win. As soon as our parley is over, I'm going to start screaming, and you're going to be overwhelmed with my forces. Offer yourself to me, and I'll let everyone else leave."
"I wish I could," I said quietly. "But I made a promise to the Governor."
She sighed. "I wish you hadn't."
"You know? So do I. Agree to let them leave, and I'll surrender for a week."
"Tisarine's offer was real?"
"Not the first two. The third one was."
"I thought she was luring me further from the house, into ambush. I actually let her draw me away, but if she had violated the white flag, I'd set orders to capture you all."
"Ambushing you that way would have been cheating," I said. "Let them go, and I am yours for a week."
She said nothing for a minute. "You can't tie me alone," she said finally. "I wanted to capture you myself, but I have twenty people guarding me here. You won't win, Chaladine. Six months."
If I gave her six months, I knew I'd never leave, if she continued to treat me the way she had. I also thought that was a severe violation of my promise to Cecilia.
"I wish I could," I said with a sigh. "You're not even going to consider surrendering?"
"I've won, Chaladine. Six months. You'll enjoy it. I promise."
"I know I would," I said. "If I have to take you without cooperation, then once you're bound, I have to lower you out the window. I might drop you."
"We seem to be at an impasse. Chaladine, if we do not come to an agreement, and I capture you, I am then free to take all your prisoners from you. You will lose everything."