by Robin Roseau
“Good girl,” she whispered to me before kissing my ear.
Then she raised her hand. The crowd quieted. “Viella and Renalla! Come here and accept your reward for helping me to win.”
“We get a reward?” Viella asked.
“You do,” Dee said. “Tyleeza and Corale, you will come also.” And so we gathered in a circle. Olivia had no idea what was going on. “Tyleeza, Corale, Gionna, and Allium. Grab those two.” She gestured at Viella and Renalla.
No one argued with Dee, but Olivia asked, “What are you doing.”
“They cheated on my behalf,” Dee said. “And so, they shall take the same handicap that my opponent has taken.”
Everyone laughed. Even Viella and Renalla laughed. And they got tipped backwards, just like I had. Olivia poured into the waiting glass, and down went the potion.
“These two will be involved in an event today,” Dee said. “Lady Olivia to decide.” She handed the cup back to Olivia, hooked my arm, and together we strode from the ground, making it to Olivia’s box in the stands in time to hear the next event announced.
* * * *
I won’t explain all the games. But we were the last before intermission. We were led out, blindfolded as we had been for the earlier event, and when Allium removed my blindfold, I found myself on one side of one of the trenches, and Dee on the other. She, of course, was grinning, and she giggled when she saw where we were.
Olivia explained the event. Dee and I both climbed into the trench, then knelt, facing each other. As directed, I set one hand on the back of Dee’s neck and the other on her shoulder. She did the same with me. And then Olivia called begin.
Dee exploded. She tugged on me, then lifted her legs and wrapped them around me, locking them. She twisted sideways, and we both fell over into the resin.
We scrambled. I didn’t manage to unlock her legs, but I did one better; I got one ankle tied. We scrambled. We sat up, still locked together, then we splashed down again. I slid partly out of her locked legs, but she wrapped her arms around me. I began crawling for a rope for one of her wrists, but she tightened and then pulled.
And her tied leg gave her something to pull on. She dragged me off balance, and I splashed down, face first in the resin.
Dee scrambled. She got her free leg back under mine, and then she even wrapped my other leg in the rope tied to her ankle, and she pulled me further towards her tied feet.
I levered up and got some breath. She let me, but then she pulled my arm out from under me, and I went down again. And this time, she kept her weight over my back.
She didn’t let me drown. I struggled under her, and she let me up. I panted for air, and she whispered in my ear. “You could hurt me.”
“I won’t,” I panted.
She pushed me back under and held me there, then let me up. “You won’t get free, Darfelsa.”
I panted then tried to get away, and immediately she pushed me down again.
I grew increasingly tired, and so when she finally tied my wrist, I had little fight left in me. She tied it off, a little slack, but then pushed me down. When she let me back up, I didn’t fight as she tied the second wrist, and then I let her roll me onto my back. While I panted, she freed her leg then climbed from the pit and tightened the ropes on my wrist.
Three minutes later, she finished trussing me.
She climbed back into the resin and lay down with me. We lay together, me staring at the sky, her hand under my shift, teasing me. “Are you all right?” I nodded. “Look at me, Sa.”
I turned my head. “You are so beautiful, Dee.” She smiled broadly.
“You’ve been holding back.”
“I’d rather lose than hurt you, Dee,” I said. “You know that.” I smiled. “That feels so good.”
“I’d let you enjoy it, but you tend to succumb quickly, and I want the rest of our events.”
Olivia, Gionna, and Allium stepped over to kneel down. “I believe that Dee won.”
“She did,” I admitted.
“Are you going to take her like this?” Olivia asked.
“No. She’ll take the handicaps. Won’t you, Darling?”
“Yes.”
Dee gave me the tonic where I was. But then she untied my legs. My arms she tied behind my back. With the audience yelling their approval, the five of us strode from the arena.
* * * *
There was food. Dee fed both of us. We were both soaked with resin, and it wasn’t sliding off. I had grown squirmy from the events, the tonic. I couldn’t tell a difference in Dee, but she’d been taking tonic, too. But I couldn’t take my eyes from her, and she from me.
But then she began to take advantage of my handicap: she teased me, exquisite teasing, and in this, she was better than anyone I’d ever known.
“I love this,” she whispered to me at one point. “Olivia can’t bring herself to let us have this kind of advantage.”
“Her loss,” I whispered back.
“Bee and I are so very lucky that Oliva lets us play like this.” She spent a minute touching. I closed my eyes, enjoying it. Then she laid her chin on my shoulder. “Darfelsa.”
“Mmm?”
“I know Bee and I seem…”
“Joyful?”
“Childlike.”
I opened my eyes and looked at her. She didn’t move, so really, we were touching cheeks. I gave a little kiss then closed my eyes again. “Dee, you and your sister are two of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”
“Aside from the obvious, we have certain abilities.”
“I know you do. I bet you’re thinking of something specific.”
“We’re very, very good judges of people. And in a way, you’re like us.”
“Childlike?”
“Joyous.”
“Oh, Dee,” I said.
“Allium is, too, when she’s with us, but she’s usually so serious. I think you’re probably very serious, too, when you need to be. I want to ask a favor.”
“Anything, Dee.”
“Don’t lose the joyous part.”
“Oh, Dee,” I said again. “With you in my life, I don’t think that’s even possible.”
“So, no more talk about never coming back.”
“I promise.”
She spent the next ten minutes touching and teasing, which I enjoyed immensely. From the giggles, I think she did, too. “You’re so going to lose this afternoon.”
“I’m having a nice time.”
But then it was time to head back downstairs.
* * * *
Dee and I had several more mini-events, including two group events. The first was immediately after intermission, and the other players were our friends. It was a life-sized version of a game normally played across a coffee table.
Using long, wooden boards, a section of the arena was divided into a 12-by-12 grid, and the people represented the playing pieces. The goal was to capture the queen, played respectively by Dee and me. Each playing piece was assigned a type of movement. The queen could move one position in any direction, but we also had a scepter, and at any time, I could pass the scepter to anyone in an adjacent square, and she could pass it, and so on. During my turn, I could move directly to whomever held my scepter, and I had the choice of swapping places with that person or moving them into an adjacent square, assuming one was free.
Of the seven other pieces, three could move side-to-side or forward and back until blocked. Three more moved diagonally. And the last, the queen’s consort, combined the two.
Pieces could be captured in one of two ways. When it was my turn to move, if any of my pieces had no legal moves because she was surrounded by more of Dee’s pieces than mine, then she was captured.
Normally, captured pieces would simply be removed from play, but for the purposes of this game, Dee could walk over to my blocked piece and pull her to the lattice wall on her side of the playing area. Loops of rope were already waiting, and it would take only seconds to bind each person in pla
ce. In the case of more than one piece blocked, Dee would repeat that. But of course, removing one of my pieces could open a legal move for another piece, so while two might originally be blocked, she might only capture one of them.
The second way to be captured involved a chalice. Dee and I each had a chalice. They were filled with wine as well as a portion of the aphrodisiac. At the start of my turn, once Dee was given the opportunity to perform captures, I could hand my chalice to someone, and she was obligated to drink it. She was then considered poisoned and would be removed from play at the end of my next turn.
At that time, my chalice would be empty, and I needed to return to a table, occupying two squares at my starting location in order to pour fresh “poison”.
There were other rules to ensure games didn’t end in stalemate, one player futilely chasing the opposing queen around the board.
We took our places. I offered a curtsey and said, “You may move first, Dee.” And from her very first move, I learned Dee had never played this game before.
I had.
Allium was her consort; Gionna was mine. Dee passed her scepter to Allium and ordered her to move deep into my territory, and it was a huge mistake. It was clear what she was doing; she moved Allium into immediate contact with several of my pieces. On her next move, she would swap places with her consort, and I wouldn’t be able to move all my pieces away. She could immediately poison one.
Allium looked at me knowingly as she stepped to the assigned place. She was a piece, not a player, and she couldn’t tell Dee she was making a mistake.
I handed my scepter to Gionna and said, “Pass this to Claary.” Passing my scepter wasn’t a move. Once Claary was holding the scepter, I walked over to her and then told her, “Move there.”
It was now Dee’s turn. I was standing next to her consort, and I had my chalice. If she swapped places with Allium, I could poison her. Like moving my scepter, poisoning a piece wasn’t considered a move, and so after Dee drank from my chalice, I would take it back from her and move one square away. She could poison someone else, but she couldn’t poison me. In reality, I would direct Claary to pass my scepter back towards my table, and I would move all the way there.
If Dee didn’t move Allium, I could poison her on my next turn, the most powerful piece on the board.
And I had moved Claary into the square that represented Allium’s only real escape. She could move, but every available square was either adjacent to me, so I could still poison her, or they left her cornered, and I could block her, capturing her that way instead.
If Dee swapped places with Allium, I’d poison the queen and win. Otherwise I would capture her consort no later than her third move.
From her look, Allium recognized it. I couldn’t tell if anyone else did, not right away. “Dee, before you move, I would allow Allium to explain what happens if you swap places with her.”
“You’ll poison me,” Dee said.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Allium, please retreat to your original place.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I’m blocked by Claary.”
“But-” said Dee. She sighed. “You’re going to poison my consort.”
“It’s wine and aphrodisiac,” I said. “Not poison. I’m going to drug your consort, and in another minute, I get to tie her to the wall.”
Dee smiled. “Allium likes being tied.”
“Hey!” Allium complained.
Dee moved another piece, this time quite conservatively.
Allium held out her hand. I gave her the chalice. She drank it down and handed it back. I ordered Claary to send my scepter to Gionna, and then I moved to Gionna and sent her one place away.
By moving, I’d opened a path for Allium to retreat, but she would remain poisoned. Dee made another cautious play.
I set the chalice on the table then walked over and collected Allium. I grinned at her before pulling her to the wall. It took only a minute to capture her wrists, one per loop of rope. I snugged the loop then kissed her cheek. “You looked good like that.” By the time I turned, someone had given Dee her scepter back. I moved to my place, traced lines, and ordered Gionna, my consort, to move.
Into a square adjacent to Gigi and Lisolte, the two pieces Dee had moved.
Dee took her time, and then she made a reasonable move. She passed her scepter to Viella and then ordered Viella forward. It was clear on her next move, she intended to move to Viella, and if she moved Viella correctly, I would have no moves, and she could immediately capture me at the start of my next move.
“Gionna,” I said. “Swap places with me.”
I moved into position adjacent to Dee’s three pieces. Gionna, still holding my scepter, moved back to stand beside the table. Dee realized it wasn’t safe to move to me while I had poison, so she moved Penelody into place, blocking one of my open places. On her next move, she could move to one of the people adjacent to me and move that person into my last spot, assuming I used my poison.
“Sorry, Dee,” I said. I handed my chalice to Lisolte. She smiled over the top as she drank it.
And then I took my move, walking back to Gionna, and moving her to the side. “No!” Dee said.
When I could, I tied Lisolte into place beside Allium. I let them hold hands, if they wanted, then patted and kissed their cheeks. I saw later that yes, they held hands.
* * * *
I traded two pieces. I lost Corale and Olivia; she lost Gigi and Mendari. I still had myself and five of my pieces; she had herself and three, and she’d lost her consort, but I still had mine. She made a mistake, and I surround-captured Viella and poisoned Tarleet at the same time. Viella had her scepter, and she could have moved in and poisoned me at that point, but because Viella was pulled from the board and added to the wall, the scepter was returned to Dee.
Tyleeza was her last piece and was holding the scepter. I began using my pieces to push Dee around. She could have poisoned one of my pieces, but if she did, then I could safely chase her. But she found herself running out of room, so she swapped places with Tyleeza.
I moved my scepter to Bee, moved to it, then moved Bee to block Tyleeza’s escape. Tyleeza’s only legal moves put her adjacent to me. Dee could have rescued her piece if she did another swap and on her next move, poisoned Bee, but she stared a long time and then moved away from me.
I stepped adjacent to Tyleeza. Dee moved, I poisoned Tyleeza, and then began working on cornering Dee.
It took a few more minutes. Dee could have dragged it out if she poisoned one of my pieces, and I kept offering Bee to her for it. As long as she had a chalice, I couldn’t move next to her. So I cornered her until her only move was to move next to me.
She stared into my eyes. I grinned and handed her my chalice. She drank it. And then I moved Bee into her only other place she could move.
As soon as she realized I’d caught her both ways, she laughed. “You get to tie me.”
“And you’ll take a second helping besides.”
* * * *
I was so amazingly aroused. I lost track of how many cups of the potion I’d consumed. It didn’t help that Dee had spent the entire day teasing me. Even when I’d been teasing her, she’d found ways to tease me, too.
She was far, far better at it than I was, and I told her that.
“It’s who I am, who I’ve been for as long as Olivia has owned me,” she said. “And you like it.”
“I only wish I could tease you better.”
“Darfelsa, I spend my entire life teased, so to speak.”
We headed down for our second group event. We’d been added to a group of eight friends, two teams of four. Dee and I were each assigned to opposite teams, and we were a sort of wildcard.
It was to be a standard group capture event, with a twist. Dee and I couldn’t assist capturing anyone, but we could free someone. If we reached a bound prisoner from our team with no one from the opposite team within five paces, we were allowed to free her.
The ev
ent began with our teams at their home base, but Dee and I met in the middle. Bee handed Dee a coil of rope, and she used it to tie to one of my wrists. Allium gave me a rope for Dee’s wrist. Dee tied my other wrist with a coil from Olivia, and I did her second wrist with a coil from Gionna.
And then Allium and Gionna collected Dee; Bee and Olivia led me. We were each marched to the short lattices. We raised our arms up and sideways. The ropes passed through the lattice and were tied somewhere I couldn’t reach them. And that was how we began the event, our feet in the resin.
Both teams communed. Olivia called begin. My team did what I thought they should: they divided, two coming to free me so I could help, and two running to permanently capture Dee, removing her from play entirely.
Dee’s team stuck together, which was the right plan. And I thought they should rescue Dee, but instead they ran to capture me.
At that point, though, they did split. Two headed off my team members, and that became two on two. The other two ran to me, one in front, one behind. And the more interesting action would happen on my side of the field, so I’ll talk about Dee first. That struggle would be two on one, which would probably mean Dee would be caught. But she could struggle, and she did.
One of my team members released Dee’s rope where it tied to the wall in back. As soon as her wrist was free, Dee reached through the lattice and grabbed the free end of the rope as high as she could, and then she hung on tightly.
The other team member tried to pull her arm down, but Dee clung tenaciously to the rope, in effect holding her to the wall. The first didn't realize the struggle, or thought it didn’t matter, so she freed Dee’s other wrist. Dee, for her part, did the same thing on that side. So now the only reason she remained attached to the wall was because she was hanging tightly to the rope. Attempts to get her to release didn’t work, so eventually they would untie her wrists and pull her away, but that would take time. And it would take more time to pry her loose from the wall, and then she would continue to struggle as they fought to drag a very, very squirmy woman to the other wall. All that would take time, and it would turn out to be too much time.
My side went differently. Two of Dee’s team intercepted the other two members of my team, at first holding them off. That would change.