Angi1a.doc

All stories by S. M. Knights are protected by the copyright laws of The United States. They are not meant to be published, printed, or used beyond their original form. Permission to reprint them beyond their original computer text file format must be obtained from S. M. Knights. Regardless of content, any similarities between actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental...

Author's Note:

This story is based on an actual incident. The time and setting have been altered as to conceal the location and prevent the possibility of this story generating a future re-occurrence of the incident. The situation did occur in a similar manner. The cycles leading up to the event in the first part of my story are of another time and place. It has been altered to set the mood. This story is dedicated to Teddy Rackspan and his very beautiful wife.

Make Her Laugh Till She Cries

Part 1: Capture and Discovery

by S. M. Knights

In the early years of the Crusades, a brave knight of the realm by name of Sir Jason Russalt, sought the Grail in the far Eastern Empire of the Saracen-Turks. His quest led him to the fabled city of Byzantium, later known as Constantinople. In those years of the Crusades, the quest for the Holy Grail had created three powerful cities of the nearly forgotten Roman Empire. These three cites of power all claimed to right to be called Rome. The cities were Rome, Byzantium, and Moscow.

A great deal of fighting and the letting Cossack, Roman, Saracen-Turk, and European blood followed those dark ages. The Renaissance was now beginning, but the Grail still eluded many righteous knights of Europe. This tale is of one Sir Theodore of Russalt grandson Jason and his lady love, Angella of Vales. The tale happened somewhat like this...

"My lady! My lady! Forgive me, but word of Theodore has just arrived..." A maid in waiting entered in a flutter of rustles and lace. Her gown flowing everywhere and stirred up nearly a whirlwind. A cozy fire bathed the room in its gentle warmth. It made the other woman's fine red hair glow in radiance. She was seated in her white laced sark and petticoats. Her skin was pure as the driven snow.

"Well! Don't just wave the message about, silly girl, give it to ME!!!" Angella opened its waxed seal. It was the seal of Russalt.

" 'My darling Angi...' he always calls me Angi", she giggled" 'I long to be with you my love. Your lovely flowing hair of the deepest auburn makes my heart yearn for you. I am wounded now, but not to the death. If only your face and warmth were here to hold me, I could speed my recovery and find the sacred cup of our Lord Jesus Christ. I would complete my quest and then we could return home. I have sent a ship for you. It carried this message and now awaits your beauty. The men I have sent are trustworthy and loyal and will fight to protect you at all costs. Please, I entreat you to follow the young messenger that I have sent. His password is "Cupid". Ask him his purpose and he will reply with that word. You will then know him to have been sent by me. Hurry my love, if you decide not to take this voyage to be with me, I may not recover. My ever loving heart for you, Teddy.' "

A tear ran down Angi's cheek as she looked at her dear maid- in-waiting, softly "We must pack and hurry! Take only my nice things. One trunk will do. I must go down-stairs... Oh, I.... I almost forgot, is there a messenger waiting downstairs?" The maid nodded and worked in a hurry. Angi went down the stairs and there, waiting for her was a young man with a cloth cap in his hand, looking about the room and then at Angi as she descended the stairs. "What is your purpose, young man?"

"I am Cupid." The young driver said.

"Wait here and Jeanene and I will be down soon." Angi replied as she turned to scurry back up the stairs.

"Yes, my lady..." The young man smiled.

It was a long voyage to the distant empire of the Saracen-Turks. The ship weathered two storms and her crew of brave men held their course and all went well until one quite beautiful day, a man in the crow's nest hollered, "Sail Ho!"

"Where away!?" called the Captain.

"Ten points off the starboard quarter, sir, and she'd turning towards us!"

Angi and Jeanene emerged from their cabin. The air was warm as it was summer in the Mediterranean. They left their hats off, and their dresses were unbuttoned two down from the top. Angi's beautiful red hair was flowing in the breeze and Jeanene's blonde curls were blowing into her eyes. The two women went to the rail to see the other ship.

Their Norman barque was a sturdy ship, but it lacked speed and maneuverability. It was armed with only five cannons; two on each side and one signal cannon on the forecastle.

Captain Hollings was taking no chances with his precious cargo of Theodore of Russalt's fine lady, The Lady Angella of Vales. He ordered the men to battle readiness. The cannons were loaded.

The ship that now grew quite near was a dromond. With only one large colorful sail it possessed both speed and maneuverability. She also carried twelve cannon plus two signal cannons. Sleek in its red, yellow and white colors, the dromond closed in and the women could hear pounding drums deep in the ships galley. The ores in this galley were being pulled by both male and female slaves. It flew no flag.

Captain Hollings ordered the two ladies below. Too late, to be hidden, Angi's radiant hair was now a dead giveaway to the Berber pirate Captain as he lowered his spyglass.

In a burst of cannons, the dromond raised the Moorish flag and then raised the black jolly roger of the Berber pirates. Captain Hollings ordered the cannons to fire. Two against six were no match. The shots rang out and nearly deafened the two ladies in their cabin. One shell hit near the cabin and splintered one of the walls. The debris that followed the impact knocked out Jeanene and stunned Angi. Angi heard only the loud squeal of wood against wood as the dromond slid next to her barque. Shouts and screams filled the air as the men fought on deck. The fight was fearsome, but short.

In a hail of shouting, her door burst open. Three very ugly brutes stormed in and pulled her to her feet. Their grip was like iron on her tender wrists. One of them was shaved bald and had a large mustache. Another wore a large earring. The third was nearly naked. He wore only a very small loin cloth and he was shiny black. As Angi was dragged on deck, she looked back over her shoulder to see the black man dragging Jeanene. He was ripping her clothes. Angi looked upon the stairway that lead to the forecastle and there stood the obvious man in charge.

He was handsome in appearance. He wore a mask of red. His short mustache peeked just below the edge of the mask. With the bluest eyes Angi had ever seen, he gazed down at her. He stared into Angi's wide hazel eyes. He was dressed in a brocade coat of white, gold and red. A wide sash of red silk wrapped around his waist. The white trousers were tapered and fit his legs with a precise tailored thread. His Saracen blade pointed down into a step of the ladder. One leg was crooked on one step and his other leg straight, supporting him on the lower step. He laughed a victory laugh.

"A Norman wench! One with hair of flame!" He took his sword and lifted one side of Angi's superb hair. A hail of shouts emerged from the men gathered around.

"Saxon be my place, pirate!" Angi tried to reply in as calm a voice as she knew how. She prayed for Teddy to rescue her.

"Nay, female, you be a Saxon on a Norman barque? What other lies may I hear?" The leader leered at Angi.

"Leave her be, take me! Use me as you like, but spare my Lady..." Jeanene shouted and struggled in the arms of the black man. She pounded his chest with her fists to let her go.

"A serving wench now. You must be of nobility, female of the red mane." the leader uttered in a mock tone.

"Jeanene is trying to protect my honor, sir. I ask that you be kind to both of us." Angi tried to reason with them. "CAPTAIN HOLLINGS, HELP US! Captain..." Angi called in a loud voice.

"Captain Hollings, help us..." Mimicked the bald man holding Angi.

"You want to see your precious Captain Hollings? Gaze and take your fill...." The leader spoke sweetly and bowed with a gesture toward the bow of the barque. Captain Hollings and three of the crew, evidently the only ones left, were hanging upside down with their wrists tied behind their backs over the open sea. The leader motioned for the two ladies to join him on

the forecastle. They struggled up the ladder. The black man had reduced Jeanene's clothing to meager rags by now. Her quite lovely blonde locks were disheveled and sooted from her man-

handling. Angi's garments had become torn in some undesirable places.

"You see ladies, you hold the key to these men and their survival. I will tell you how. The Sultan of the Turks has always been fascinated by women with red hair. He is willing to pay more than ten thousand gold dinars for a woman with red hair. She must be flawless in order to receive the money. Now, I could sell you, flawed, in Baghdad for two thousand pieces of silver and throw in your maid for good measure. Or, I could deliver you, intact, to the Sultan and get ten thousand pieces of gold. My crew prefers the gold, naturally. You would also arrive there unharmed. If you choose to allow me to deliver you unto the Sultan, these men will be let down and I will set them adrift to make for land with enough supplies to see them through. The choice is yours, dear lady. Make it quickly, as I am not a patient man." The leader was serious now.

"What is your name, I may ask?" Angi asked an unusual question considering her circumstances.

"I am Rohomanca Morta! Mask of Red Death! I have never lost a battle in over ten years."

Angi and Jeanene trembled as they looked at the fearsome pirate. They wanted to help the men who tried to save them. "Oh, Jeanene what are we to do? My instincts tell me that to give willingly is to surrender to my fate forever. I will never see my Teddy again. If I refuse, we'll be tortured and raped while these brave men will surely die." Angi was faced with a horrible decision. She looked at the crowd of pirates that had gathered about. Their eyes lusted for the charms of these two young women. They were barbaric and cruel.

"I will accept whatever you decide my Lady. If we should survive together, I will relate your story in kind."

"A true maid and friend you are Jeanene." The two women held each others hand.

"Your time is up, Lady of red hair. Have you decided?"

"What will become of Jeanene?"

"She will be taken as an amusement for my crew."

"I wish to help those men. I will concede to your wishes and help you to your goal of ten thousand pieces of gold. You must, however, agree to let Jeanene stay unharmed with me." Angi bargained like a true lady.

Rohomanca rubbed his chin and looked at the three men and the two lovely ladies before him. He could have their charms and amuse himself with them both or hold them for a greater prize. He still had yet to provide a female for his crew.

"Jeanene will have to service my crew tonight only, then she will be yours. I promise that they will not kill her. Do we have a deal then?"

"NO! If Jeanene becomes amusement for the least of your slaves then you will have to have us both for your pleasure and that will soil me as I will fight you to my dying breath."

"Agreed then, but you must remain pure to the examiners of the Sultan."

Angi looked around and then at Jeanene, "I agree." She bowed her head. Jeanene kissed her hair.

^^^^^^^^^^

"I have delivered you a pure red haired woman, oh Sultan of the Turks. Standing here before you, she meets your every requirement." Rohomanca bowed and saluted with the gift

of his head, mouth, and heart of Allah.

The Sultan stood and walked toward Angi, who was standing in a red damask cloak and nothing else. He was a man of some forty years. Like her, his eyes were hazel in color. He had a brownish gray beard. His robes were of silk and damask. The slippers he wore that curled up at the toe made Angi smile.

Parting the folds of her cloak, his eyes widened with desire. He cupped her red locks in his hand. He lifted her chin and saw her lovely hazel eyes. He wanted her, and the ten thousand pieces of gold to him were like a pouch of small coins to a merchant.

"Pay the pirate, I accept his find of such beauty."

Angi was now the property of the Sultan of the Saracen-Turks. If only Teddy could find her.

^^^^^^^^^

"Hollings! I put you in charge, as you were the most clever of all. How could you let my Angi fall into the hands of pirates?" Teddy was almost in tears.

"Sir, we did our best. All of us. We lost twenty four brave men. They died trying to save her and us. We'd have been goners, too, if it weren't for your brave lady. She agreed to go with the pirate to become a slave to the Sultan just to save us and her maid Jeanene. God bless her, sir." The young man who used the code `Cupid' praised Angi. His name was Carl Talbot.

"Who was the pirate?"

"Rohomanca Morte!" Hollings echoed.

"By the powers, I'll see him sent to hell for this!"

^^^^^^^^^^

Angi was being bathed by a couple of the Sultan's best trained slave girls. Her hair was washed and cared for with the most expensive oils and cleansers that were known in the world. As they dried her, they carefully toweled her body and hair. One of them picked up a comb made of pure gold decorated in rubies which would accent her luscious red hair.

A couple of weeks had gone by. The Sultan had not tried to force or entice Angi at all. He had left her quite alone. She was worried over what happened to Jeanene. There was a soft knock at her door. One of the slave girls opened it and in came Jeanene.

"Dear Lady!" Jeanene ran toward Angi. They hugged. Angi looked at Jeanene. She was dressed in slave girl's pantaloons, a vest and thin veil. The colors were stunning. Her pantaloons were of deep purple. The vest was magenta with blue trim and studded with sapphires. Her veil was red. She also wore a small fez of purple.

"Evidently, girls in his harem are of different rank and status. Another blond girl, I think her name was Sonya, and a black girl named Blossom, helped me to get past the guard. Blossom said some thing to him in Turkish. He let me pass. She told me I would only have a few minutes with you. I am all right. One of the older women they call Dance Mistress. She seems to be in charge. They have something special lined up for you. You are the talk of the harem. I must go now. Last week I tried to leave to find you and I got caught..." The vest slid down Jeanene's shoulder a bit and Angi gasped in horror. Jeanene had been whipped. She still had some red streaks on her shoulders.

"Those bastards! Oh, Lord, Jeanene they beat you!"

"It only hurt while she whipped me, but it's better now. Dance Mistress did the whipping. She told me that as long as I take a bath with olive oil each day, the marks will disappear. You should have seen them last week, sheesh..."

"I promise you dear Jeanene, that bastard will pay..."

"Angi, this is a small thing. Please say you won't do anything to upset the Sultan. Please." Angi didn't speak. She just sat in silence and looked at her poor, degraded maid, "I must be going. I don't want to get caught again. I don't like being strung up naked like that and pelted with her leather strands."

"YOU WERE NAKED!? That does it..." Angi stood up mad as hell and stormed for the door. Jeanene ran toward her with tears in her eyes, "STOP! ANGI! Please promise me, oh God, promise me...Angi, they'll beat you, too. They're serious here. I couldn't bear seeing you naked and being whipped." Jeanene really started to cry. She dropped to her knees and fell to the floor weeping and sobbing. Angi went back to her. She helped her up and held the shaking girl in her arms while stroking her blonde hair. She looked out her window at the evening sky. A shooting star shimmered brightly as it slowly fell, very brightly.

^^^^^^^^^^

A bright star-field filled the forward visual array on the Horizon's view screen. The tactical display in the center indicated the Horizon's decent into Earth's atmosphere.

"Steady as she goes helm. One quarter impulse speed. Cloaking device on." Captain Butler sat looking at the tactical portion of the visual display.

The ship's conflict alarm suddenly snapped on and the ship's computer voice announced, "Landing coordinates are in conflict with the projected course. Time lock out of sequence by .03 microns."

"Captain we're headed for the Mediterranean Basin and not the Caribbean Shelf, as set." a female officer announced, looking at several screens in front of her.

"Time lock interface?" Butler asked.

"Time interface locked at August 22, 1612."

"Can you compensate? Adjust the heading."

"Helm not responding, Captain. Hawk's power inoperative. We're heading for a landing in the Mediterranean Basin."

"ALL BACK FULL! EMERGENCY IMPULSE POWER TO THE DESCENT

MANEUVERING THRUSTERS!" Captain Butler ordered.

The computer voice came back on, "Surface contact in ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven..."

It continued the countdown in the background.

"Engine room, all back full, give me emergency warp speed."

A female voice from the engine room came back on, "We can't engage warp this close to the surface, sir. The kickback would send sea water ten thousand feet into the air."

The officer at the navigation position announced, "Surface craft contact, sir. Directly at our point of impact; deflectors at full."

"My God! Put it on screen, Lieutenant."

The screen revealed a old dromond class ship with a colorful sail. It was red with white trim. The detail image in the upper left corner of the forward main screen showed several men and few women on the deck of the ship. They were obviously drunk and being rowdy. One of the men wore an unusual red mask. Suddenly all of the people in the picture looked up. The screen went red, flickered and then went to an underwater image. There was broken debris and scores of bubbles rising. A red mask drifted before the screen.

The computer voice at the moment of impact had counted, "two..., one, impact. Surface minus ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters, forty meters, fifty meters..."

"How far is the bottom here?"

"The Mediterranean Basin drops to fourteen thousand feet here. Shields will hold the water pressure off the hull, Captain; all compensation systems are functioning normal."

"Any survivors from that ship that we hit?"

"Surface contacts show four alive and climbing on a large chunk of wreckage. Scanners show one male Negro about six foot six inches and three females. None of them have any

clothing."

"Angella, check the ship's period library: put together a floating package of survival gear adjusting for the time period and beam it to the surface for them. Get me some answers on why we missed our mark. Find out what ship that was by checking the scanner tapes. I want to know what harm in time we have caused by sinking that craft. Meet me in my in port cabin in one hour."

"Yes, sir." Commander Angella Russalt shook her lovely red hair, and asked herself what could have gone wrong this time?

^^^^^^^^^^

The Dance Mistress approached the door to the room that held this lovely new prize of the Sultan's. He wanted her to learn to dance the belly dance for him. That she would do. The Saracen guards at the door lowered their swords and allowed the Dance Mistress to enter.

Angi was seated on her bed with a book in her lap. She was only looking at the pictures. The words were in Turkish.

"My dear, I am your Dance Mistress. You will obey my orders as if they came from the Sultan himself. To be sure, they did! You are to learn the most important art of all, the belly dance. I will teach you and you will learn it. It is that simple. I will encourage you when you succeed and I will punish you when you fail.."

"You mean beat me, naked, when I fail?" Angi spoke with a bitterness in her voice.

"Interrupt me like that again, girl, and I assure you that I will live up to that very statement. My name is Athena. You will refer to me as Dance Mistress. My parents named me for the goddess Athena. I was born in Athens." Athena was a quite good looking woman for her years. She was obviously older than Angi. Athena looked to be about forty five. She did have a dancer's body and her balance was quite perfect. The cloths she wore suggested that she was of some prominence in the Sultan's court. Her outfit was a coordinated in black and white. She wore the pantaloons that all the women seemed to wear. She had a white blouse on with a black and white trim vest. The vest laced in the front. Her veil was black and she wore a black small fez which held the veil in place. Unlike most of the other women, she was allowed to wear jewelry all of the time.

"Your living quarters have been yours for more than a month now. You have had a chance to be tutored in some of our customs and a small amount of our language. I hope that the special comb the Sultan had left for you is to your liking. I advise you that you are never to

leave this chamber without wearing that comb. There is a legend about it. It was supposed to belong to a Siren. She sang while sitting naked on the rocks on the Island of Lesbos." She looked at Angi's reaction. "Does that make you ill?"

"It belonged to a Lesbian?" Angi took it out of her hair.

"No. I said that it belonged to a Siren. Dear girl, do you know what a Siren is?"

Angi thought on this one for a moment, "I know, she is a goddess."

"Close, but no. A Siren is a very seductive nymph. They used to sing in alluring tones to lure sailors onto the rocks to meet their end. Other legends spoke of them being half woman and half bird. Actually, they were very alluring in both voice and appearance. Greek mythology, dear."

"It is a very beautiful comb. I will thank him for it." Angi put it back in her hair.

"I will teach you the basics of the dance in a special chamber starting tomorrow. Right now I wish to see your body. Remove your clothing."

"Wait a moment. I don't want to strip for you. I have my pride..."

"Your pride is of no importance to me. Fulfilling the desires of the Sultan is. If you don't remove your clothing, right now, I will summon the two guards outside your door to assist me. I guarantee that you will not wish to put those garments on again. Now, for the last time, remove your clothing. I will not ask again."

Angi unfastened her lace, chemise, and underskirt. She was wearing only her underthings as she had been getting ready for bed. She stripped down to her fine short panties and lace corset.

"Is this enough?"

Athena turned towards the door and in a normal voice, which would be hard to hear on the outside, called, "Guards. Guards, come..."

"Stop, I'll take the rest of it off."

Angi let the corset, and then her panties fall. She stepped away from the pile of clothing and over to the candelabra. Her body was exquisite. She had all the right curves in all the right places. She timidly tried to cover her breasts and sex.

"Keep your hands at your sides. Stand straight and tall."

As Athena looked at Angi, she understood the Sultan's interest in her. Her long red hair flowed like a cascade of exhilarating color over her shoulders and down her back. In the candle light, the flames accented the hues of red and light danced from every strand of her hair. Her hazel eyes sparkled and were full of life. Her nose was classical and sloped upwards. She had marvelous cheek bones. Her mouth was shaped to appear pouting and sumptuous. The wonderful slopes of her breasts tapered to infinity; their uplifting curves rounded to a firm tip that formed the buds of her nipples. Her waist was curved inwards and fell toward womanly slender hips. Her tummy was flat with a very cute navel, just right to hold the jewel of the dance. Her arms were slender and her hands well kept with perfectly trimmed nails. The slave girls had done their work on her correctly. Her smooth thighs tapered into the shapely lines of her well toned legs. At the juncture of her mons venus, the cleft of her sex played hide and seek within the fleece of her red pubic hair. She has a natural dancer's body.

"Put your arms above your head, my dear."

Angi raised both of her arms. Athena's gown brushed lightly against Angi's belly as she raised her hands. Angi let out a sudden small but noticeable giggle.

"Wrists together, dear, back to back. That's it."

Angi adjusted to the stance that Athena was looking for. It was perfect. Now if she could only learn what to do quickly. The Sultan was asking about her more and more. Athena told Angi to get some sleep, that she could dress if she wished. She really didn't need to dress, however, as she would begin her lessons in the nude.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A beep tone at Captain Butler's door sounded.

"Enter."

"Captain, I have a new set of co-ordinates ready for the computer. I had to draw back on some of Captain Spock's old theories. You are aware that he was the one who made time travel and our business here possible?"

"Yes, commander." The captain paused a moment, looking at Angella, she seemed concerned, "Did you get the survival equipment to those people on the surface? I really hate to leave them up there. The women seemed quite attractive. Could we use any of them? Even that Negro male would be able to turn a profit if properly motivated by Nelafa."

"If they don't see the survival equipment we sent up, captain, then I recommend we beam them on board." She had more, but waited a few seconds.

"Very well, commander, will you see to it, and what is my next report?"

.

"That ship was a dromond. A pirate vessel to a ruthless man who went by the name `Rohomanca Morte'. According to the stories surrounding his end, it was said that a great ball of fire blasted his ship and he was never seen again."

"That fireball was us. Were there suppose to be any survivors?" Captain Butler inquired.

"Yes, one man, a Negro, and a Chinese girl. They drifted ashore on Malta some days later, naked and nearly dead. They told the knights of Malta that story. By the way, the Chinese girl was pregnant." Angella smiled at the Captain.

"I guess the survival package didn't make it after all."

"Beam the other two girls on board and use a very slight setting on the tractor beam to move that wreckage towards Malta."

"Yes, sir. There is more, would you like to hear?"

"Go on."

"It seems that a certain female relative of mine was a captive of this pirate. One of my distant male relatives swore vengeance on him. The fact that this dromond was reported destroyed, allowed him to make the efforts to find his future wife. Take a look on your monitor, sir. The

painting is of my relative. It was done some time after their wedding. Notice the appearance of the woman." "Computer, place overview of Commander Angella Russalt over that of Angella of Vale. Then adjust the portrait to match the hair from Commander Russalt's image." The portrait now had the hair style and cut of Commander Russalt.

"You mean that if we hadn't have gone back in time incorrectly that you might never have been born?"

"It would seem to be so, sir."

"This time thing is beginning to scare me. I just hope that sometime we don't journey back and suddenly find ourselves disappearing. I mean ship and all."

The commander looked at Captain Butler. "I guess this is why Star Fleet want's to get their

hands on us. We are all Star Fleet trained. We all resigned our commissions to start this little business. The Ferengi were able to salvage the Star-Gazer from the Space Salvage System. The Clingons sold us one of their old war bird class ships with a working cloak. The Hollings' colony was able to do remarkable modifications and thanks to Mr. Spock for leaving us all of his working formulas for time travel. Did I ever tell you why I renamed this ship the Horizon?"

"No, sir."

"A crew member of the U.S.S. Horizon left a book on Sigma Loiter 2 entitled Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. It was the reason the Federation passed the Prime Directive. Read James T. Kirk's report of what happened on the planet. He'd responded to the Horizon's distress call. Back then, he commanded the U.S.S.Enterprise, NCC 1701, Constitution Class. The Horizon disappeared in 2168, and Kirk responded in 2268. Anyway, I just hope that it all leads us to somewhere, and that it doesn't push us to the brink of self destruction."

"It would seem, sir, that we are causing our own fate."

^^^^^^^^^^^

"Theodore, I have news of that pirate. You know the one that captured Lady Angella?"

"Yes, I want him found and I want his head! I won't move on until he is either beheaded or swinging from a gallows, understand!" Teddy was nearly haggard with lack of sleep and disstraught- taught with failed efforts to find Rohomanca.

"You can call back the troops now. He's dead."

"How do you know this to be true?"

"I received this message only less than one hour ago. It's from Malta. There. You can see the crest and the figure of the great bird in the seal." He pointed to his message. "That is from the Knights of Malta. They swear on their swords that a pregnant Chinese girl and a Negro man washed ashore on their island. They were naked and nearly dead. They told a story that would be unbelievable except that they were found floating on wreckage from Rohomanca's ship. In fact, as they write it, it was wreckage from nearly one third of one side of his ship. The odd part is that it looks as if it were suddenly burned and then cooled off. The fire couldn't have lasted for more than a few moments."

"That's impossible."

"Read this last paragraph, it will make you think."

As Teddy read the last part, "The girl claimed that she saw a fireball suddenly appear in the sky. No one had time to react. It roared and then she blacked out. The Negro man who was with her confirmed her story. A strange thing happened two days later. One of our Knights was walking with the Chinese girl, comforting her in her condition, when a sea chest washed up on the beach. The Knight summoned help and took it to his home. As everyone is aware, the Knights of Malta have the most powerful blades in the world. We have struck the iron chains from many a slave in one stroke. We must concede, the lock on this sea chest has broken five of our finest blades while trying to get it open. We are going to worship this chest, as it must be a sign from God."

"Recall the fleet, use pigeons to carry the message. We will prepare to attack the Turks..."

0000000000

Angi was naked as the day she was born in the special marble chamber of the Dance Mistress. The Dance Mistress had removed her own clothing as well, not for the physical comfort of her trainee, but to show Angi how the body should look in any certain angle.

"I can't get this dance right!"

"Girl, I tell you. You must learn the dance. The Sultan ordered that you learn..."

"Oh, Damn the Sultan! Damn the dance! And Damn you! You're perverted and he's perverted, this whole thing is perverted! All you want to do is to find a way to string me up and whip me. Whip me while I'm naked! Like you whipped my maid, Jeanene!"

"How'd you know about Jeanene being whipped? I didn't tell you. I really don't think that any of your slave girl attendants did. The guards didn't tell you... It was Jeanene who told you didn't she? Didn't she!?! We'll see about this...!" Athena grabbed her robe as she put it on

to leave.

A horrible thought just hit Angi. Jeanene would be whipped again. Maybe even harder this time.

"Stop! Yes, she did. Don't punish her anymore, Dance Mistress. I know Jeanene, she just wished to visit me. There was no harm done. I love her, as she has been with me for nearly all my life. We grew up together. Look, if you were in her place and your best friend was locked up somewhere wouldn't you want to find her? Look for her and hold her? If you keep whipping and torturing her, you'll break her spirit. Then where will you be, or me!?! "Angi reasoned with the Dance Mistress.

"You are wise, woman. I will go to the main harem, but to find those who played on her weakness. I am serious about this dance you will learn. Practice the hip movements until

I get back. Use your finger bells to keep rhythm."

Angi nodded, "Yes, Dance Mistress."

In the harem, it didn't take long to find out who made the arrangements for Jeanene's trip to see Angi.

"Jeanene, remove all of your garments. Do it now!"

Jeanene removed her pantaloons, vest, veil and cap.

She snapped her fingers for a eunuch to appear. He quickly arrived and was ready for her service. "Buffalo, you will shackle Jeanene at her wrists and ankles. That will keep her from putting on any clothing for a while." He completed his job and stood by for further orders.

"Now for the rest of you. I know what little tricks two of you are up to." Her eyes roved about the room looking for that special look of guilt. A sudden ruffle of sound came from behind one of the columns. It was the blonde woman, Sonya, and under a drape near the column was Blossom.

"Out here now! You two can't hide from me. No girl ever hides from me. I am the Dance Mistress! You will do as I command!"

The two girls were contrasting in appearance. One was black and very full figured. The other, blonde and well muscled.

"On your knees."

The two knelt. They had their heads bowed and their eyes closed.

"While you are kneeling, strip your clothing off!"

The two obeyed and remained kneeling, now fully naked. "Buffalo, take these two the dungeon. Bind the blonde to the cross and wedge her. String Blossom up by her wrists and spread her legs. You may start lashing her right away. Do it slowly and use the long field whip. I will be down shortly."

Buffalo nodded his understanding. He was a big black male. A male with out his maleness. But still powerful enough to get this job done with ease. He took the two nude women and exited toward a distant hallway, the two girls whining and moaning all the way.

As Dance Mistress entered into the marble chamber. Angi was not there. Her two finger bells were laying on the floor. Athena heard a scuffle and two guards came in, hauling between their arms, towards Dance Mistress, a very naked Angi.

"Let me go. I want to get my clothing and leave here. I don't want to go to this dance school again!"

The Dance mistress looked at Angi and then eyed the two guards, "Bring her, follow me."

As they went down the hallway they passed several empty chambers. One appeared to be a large dining room. Another a type of dance and eating place. She passed a room that was filled with many books. An unusual looking chalice glowed in a glass case. Beside the huge fireplace, was a wooden door. It was locked. Dance Mistress produced a key. It opened with ease. From below, Angi smelled the mingle of sulfur, human waste, burnt flesh, and puke. It nearly made her gag at the doorway. She coughed. As they descended the large spiral stairway, she heard the sounds of a whip being wielded. A snapping loud crack and a woman's moan. It repeated itself four more times as she descended. It made her sick and it made her scared. At a huge wooden door way, Athena pounded several times. A peep hold opened and a pair of eyes scanned the perpetrator of the knock. They stopped then, and gazed full on at the lovely

nude red head being held by two guards. These eyes envied the two guards.

"I am Dance Mistress and I have another unruly one."

"All right, you may enter." The Dungeon Master spoke with an Italian accent. His name was Marcus.

Marcus claimed to be a direct descendent of a wealthy, noble, Roman family. He was dressed in a brief set of breeches which stopped just above his sandalled feet. He was shirtless, but wore a leather iron man's apron. He had on a horn-wester hat which flopped over his ears with two straps hanging down. His face was sooted and dirty. He smelled of garlic.

As the door creaked open, the first thing that caught Angi's eye was an attractive black girl strung up by her wrists and being lashed by an eunuch. The whip snaked out and caught the girl at the level of her breasts. She wailed and tossed her head. Her svelte ebony body glistened in the dim flickering light. Torch's were lit and placed along the walls. It broke up the gloom. She heard many voices, both male and female, some wails and some pleading. A blonde girl was spread-eagle against a wide `X' cross. A wedge looking device was between her legs. It bisected her sex and caused her body weight to rest on it. Angi noticed that her feet were dangling in the air. She looked pitiful. A short distance from the black girl, the two guards

began to fasten Angi with her arms spread wide to two cuffs dangling from the end of a long bar overhead. Her feet were separated by a secured bar which barely touched the floor. She was,

like the blonde, spread-eagle. It made her feel very naked and humiliated.

"I've brought you hear to let you sample what more can be in store for you if fail to coop-erate and learn the dance." Athena went over to one of the storage racks and took down a five thong soft braided whip. It would hurt, but would leave absolutely no marks whatsoever, no matter who whipped her.

"Now, this black beauty you see sweating and hurting over here is one of the girls who let your friend out for her romp. Her name is Blossom. Say hello to Angella, Blossom."

"Hello, A-Angella..." The girl was gasping very hard as she breathlessly vocalized her greeting. Her breasts bounced as she tried to breath more normally. She was streaked with

welts. There was no blood. Angi nodded to her and felt a sense of compassion.

"The other little melon, is back there on the cross. Her name is Sonya. Sonya can't really speak right now, she's trying to catch her breath from being on that wedge. It downright hurts, doesn't it Sonya?"

"Hurts awful like." She gasped and tried to catch her breath as her weight forced the wedge deeper into her sex. Her forehead crisped as her eyes pleaded with the Dance Mistress to take her off the thing.

"As much as I don't wish to do this, I am forced to give you twenty lashes for your little escape attempt." Athena took off her robe and was once again quite naked. The Dungeon Master always liked this part. Athena went to a place where she could stand closer and smell the goodness of this lovely girl. She draped the whip so that its' strands just touched Angi's breasts. Angi giggled a bit.

"I hope that you don't think this is funny?"

Angi shook her head no.

This time Dance Mistress took the long strands of the whip and drug them across Angi's shoulders. Angi giggled a little louder now. Athena now drug the lengths across both of Angi's breasts. She was obviously growing angered at Angi's ever increasing giggles.

Before, the Dungeon Master had been toying with Sonya. He had dragged his three-thong braided whip over her heaving breasts. The straps caught and dragged over her erect nipples.

Sonya fought back a giggle and her breasts bounced. Marcus thought this was odd. These two girls, one a beautiful redhead the other a bodacious blonde both thought the lashes of a very wicked looking whip were humorous. He dragged the whip ends again, this time over the blonde's tummy, then down near the spot where the wedge rested on her clitoris. She in turn, again with more effort, fought back a giggle and curled her lips upward. Marcus grew a bit angered at her response. He had wanted her to be afraid, but she mocked him, so he thought.

It was then that he saw the mark on the lower side of her right breast. It was a dragon's head, the mark of the rising moon.

His mouth dropped in disbelief. Could this be the legendary Delphi woman? Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the nude form of the Dance Mistress bounce her hand off Angi's quivering breast and raise her whip.

"WAIT! Don't whip her, Athena!" Marcus called out. He held his hand up in a stop motion.

"What? Marcus, you've never called me Athena down here. What could you possibly want? I was ready to teach this girl the meaning of obedience.

"Do you know who this blonde woman on the wedge is?"

"I haven't a clue. I only know that she was brought to us one evening by a mysterious woman in a black hooded robe. I bought her because the Sultan was anxious to have another

buxom blonde. Why do you bother me with this!?!" Athena was obvious irritated with the Dungeon Master.

Blossom, catching her breath, looked at Angi's glistening beauty strung up next to her. Her eyes met Angi's hazel shiny ones. She curled up her lip in a faint smile and shrugged as much as her bondage permitted.

Angi looked over at her and in an "I don't know" kind of look, she rocked her head slightly back and forth. Her red hair flowed slightly.

"Look Athena, Sonya has the mark of the dragon's head. The Delphi society. I know it as a `U' with its tips in circles." He lifted Sonya's right breast by it's nipple and holding a torch closer, the mark became red and very visible. Sonya gasped at the strain on her nipple. "Athena, this girl is the infamous Delphi Warrior. She is reputed to have disappeared after her humiliation at the hands of her opponent, a fiery Sardinian female by the name of Tondaleo."

"I have heard of Tondaleo. She is now a wealthy landowner in Spain. She made her fortune fighting in the arena. Yes, I remember she became powerful after the defeat of the reputed invincible Delphi Warrior. It was a humiliation the likes of which had never been viewed in the arena before."

"Wasn't her defeat due to an uncontrolled spasm of laughter?" Athena asked with a curious interest.

"Yes, it was. I saw that battle on that fateful day. I remember that Tondaleo was wearing some colorful feathers on strips of leather. She was naked except for those feathers. The longest and most colorful were around her waist. The Delphi was wearing a high `V' cloth which showed off her round ass She was topless except for an iron mesh of chainmaille which was loosely tied at her waist. You could see her breasts quite clearly peeking out between the links. The fight was ferrous at first, until Delphi caught Tondaleo with a swift blow to her thigh and sent her down onto one knee..."

"Make this short, Marcus, I haven't all day. I really don't care to hear about Amazons fighting each other secondhand." Athena rolled her eyes.

Sonya, still hurting from the wedge, was in even more pain now at hearing again of her humiliation. She rolled her eyes at the same time as Athena. The cross made a creaking noise to protest Sonya's brief strain against her restraints.

"Yes, well, to make a long story short..." Marcus spoke in an annoyed voice.

.

"Too late." Angi, Blossom, Sonya, and Athena spoke in unison.

In a grimace, Marcus continued with brevity, "WHEN, Sonya here, tried to grip Tondaleo, her feathers rubbed against Sonya's exposed tummy. About here..." He lightly flicked his thong against Sonya's stomach at her navel. That contact made her gasp and let out a quick, but quite audible burst of laughter. The wedge remind her to be cautious about sudden movements. The cross creaked even louder this time. Sonya heaved in a quick breath to control herself.

"The results, I might add from what you just saw demonstrated, proved her weakness to the crowd. Tondaleo was merciless. She ripped off her feathers and began to tickle Sonya. Spasm's of laughter rippled through her and they became uncontrolled. The crowd a first began to boo her. Tondaleo had regained her staff and with all of her feathers off and quite nude, she effectively stripped Sonya of her chain-maille and bottom cloth. Naked and glistening, Sonya

here writhed and squirmed as Tondaleo poked, and tickled her quivering body. Uncontrolled beyond belief, she laughed until you couldn't hear her laughter any more. When she regained her breath, Tondaleo started again. Sonya the Delphi Warrior was no more. She was weak as a kitten and Tondaleo controlled her completely. She made her crawl and then with a flick of the feathers, she forced her face down in the dirt. By then the audience had began to laugh with

Tondaleo. She would do a little dance with a flick and flack of her feathers on Sonya, making her curl up and roll over and over. I admit, I was laughing too. The girl I was with

enjoyed my playful strokes and pokes enough to get her very hot. You should try that some time, you may find it good."

"Well, I shall think about that." Athena put her finger on her cheek and looked at Sonya who was still sweating on the cross.

Athena was thinking in silence. Marcus broke the silence. "You know, Athena, they say that laughter is the best panacea of all."

Athena looked at Sonya, then over at Angi. She wondered...

"Athena, I think that beautiful redhead you have here is like Sonya. You could beat her, but you'll get only a marked up slave girl and no dancer. The Sultan would probably put you on the wedge."

The thought made Athena put her hand between her legs. She closed her eyes, she'd remembered the bar in the Sultan's bed chambers. "You've convinced me, Marcus. What would you suggest I do with this one, she must learn the dance?" Athena gestured toward Angi.

"Athena, I will make a trade with you. I'd like some time to myself with Sonya and Blossom here in the chamber of pleasure. I know that the Sultan does not go there on the full moon nights as he's superstitious. Give me five special nights with these two in that chamber and I'll give you my secret to forcing the beautiful redhead to comply. In fact, I can guarantee that she will be dancing like she'd been doing it all her life within two weeks. Maybe less than that." Marcus spoke with an assured manner.

What could he have that was so special? Athena puzzled. What secret device?

"You remember that fiery black haired wench, Melissa? The one you thought was fooling around with the Sultan's guardsman, Katar? You'd kept her bare naked for a month. After putting the breast clamps on her, you didn't get an answer. She sat on the bar for a week, giving you no answer. You lashed her until your arm ached, and she kept silent. Finally you brought her to me. I made her talk in less than an hour. You gained my respect, right?"

"Okay, Marcus you've got a deal. I will provide you guards at the door and your five days with these two. Now show me how to get this beauty to learn the dance and be ready for the Sultan in two weeks or less?"

Smiling, he went over to a special locked cupboard. Opening it he took out a large china vase filled to capacity. It was filled with long Ostrich and Peacock feathers, and plumes of magnificent bird feathers the likes of which no one had ever seen; a wonder to behold. Both Angi and Sonya, swallowed hard.

"These! I'm taking the risk of my life and getting these feathers for it! Marcus if you're lying to me, I swear I will have your balls for this..." Athena was looking quite angry now.

"Wait! You grow too skeptical. I'll demonstrate on your lovely redheaded lass here. I won't take away from your pleasure, and I will have Grime and Sly over there install a set of stocks and lend you a yoke to use. You might find them helpful. There is one other nice part of using these; they leave no marks whatsoever. The whip always leaves a tell-tale line or welt; the feathers, not a hint of a trace. Her skin will remain flawless, but you'll think she was horse

whipped before I'm through with her. Watch..."

He stepped up and put his face close to Angi's. He glared at her. He opened his mouth and exposed a gold tooth. He still smelled like garlic. Angi cringed as he brought a feather up and put in near her face. He held a teal tinted peacock feather. It was long and had many fingers on strands dangling from it. He made it vibrate before her eyes. Angi's heart began to beat faster and faster as he slowly lowered the feather against her cheek. She gasped as it lightly touched her smooth flushed cheek. Her red hair was now vibrant in the dim torch light. Spread-eagle as she was, she couldn't defend herself. She closed her eyes and her nostrils flared slightly.

Feeling its touch made her nearly gurgle as she tried to remain stoic. Her defenses worked hard to keep her mind in a distant focus away from the feather. Shakespeare once wrote that the feather was the key to the knowledge of the world. In the years to come after his death, Shakespeare was usually portrayed as a man seated at a desk writing with a feather. Perhaps he meant that the feather, when properly used, could reveal every secret in the world. It was about to on poor dear Angi.

As Marcus slowly lowered the feather down Angi's cheek to her lovely neck, she began to quiver and her defenses were weakened once more. In its travel down to the valley of her breasts it stopped and rested at the apex of her curves. Her defenses had now dropped to a meager token. Her mouth was beginning to open and her forced frown gave into a softer, but fighting smile. Her eyes slightly watering. In a simple flick of his wrist, the feather brushed

over both of her nipples three times. That was it. Her shields were gone. With a burst of laughter, her breasts bounced and shook in spasmodic heaves.

"OH, HA HA HA, HEW HEW..." Then silence fell as she lost her breath. Her head rocked from side to side and the leather cuffs gritted as she strained. The rafters that held the chains which were attached to her wrist cuffs, began to groan slightly under her pull. Marcus looked up, somewhat amazed. Her breasts still bounced up and down as the laughter rippled itself still in her chest. It was a subtle but noticeable deep chuckle. He had taken the feather away from her breasts and held it in the air as the ripple slowed down. It seemed to be an eternity before Angi could take a breath. He playfully slapped her behind. Like a newborn infant, the light slap on the fanny produced a deep gasp of breath for Angi. She could now take on air.

"AAAAAHHHH. PLEASE, OH PLEASE NO MORE!!!" Angi in a show of anxiety, pleaded with Marcus, "I can't take much of that..."

"I know you can't!" he jeered. In a move quicker than a wink, he flicked the feather across her loins then up to her navel, facing Athena as he did this. Angi let out a hoot and drew tight on her bondage. Another uncontrolled burst of laughter came. It went more quickly this time as the feather was only on her body for a few seconds. Marcus looked back at her.

"See what I mean? I could have her completely in sweat, full of tears with a puddle of pee at her feet within ten minutes. In twenty she'd have told me how to get all the wealth that she

knew existed in the world into my hands. In thirty minutes, she'd have made love to the entire Sultan's army. In forty, she would have..."

"OKAY, MARCUS! I'm convinced." Slow down, man. You have truly opened my eyes."

"Not every woman is so sensitive to the feather. Some are strong enough to withstand its effect. But when you find a strong willed girl, usually she will cave in to the feathers. Some do take longer, but most will give in soon."

Athena took the feather and went over to Angi. She looked at her and began to tickle her, but she didn't react quite as violently as she did with Marcus. Athena looked a bit disgusted and stopped. She looked over her shoulder at Marcus.

"You have to set the mood of the feather. Like this. Hold it up for her to see it. Then lightly at first, brush it along her body. It takes away her defenses. Watch."

He lightly stroked her tummy and navel. Then deftly he pressed it into her navel. She lit up with a spasm of laughter that began to build into a more serious problem of control. She felt her sphincter burn a little. A very tiny amount of yellow fluid ran down her thigh. There was more,

but she forced herself to hold it back. How degrading to be made to pee like that. She might even bloom into an orgasm with enough time, but not much more time, however.

She began a tingling flush feeling, her heart pounding wildly. Her nerves were sensitive to the point of being at their peak. She tried to focus. She pleaded with her body not to make her shiver and gasp. In a subdued, subtle set of movements, she had a very controlled orgasm. Sonya saw the relieved look on her face.

"Understand, Athena, lightly at first, then more and more until the desired effect is achieved. You'll think you are killing her. She will think that you are killing her. You won't be killing her. Just driving her to the brink of insanity, that's all." Marcus gave an evil kind of laugh like a man who's power is beyond belief. "Oh, you can use a blindfold on her and that will enhance the effect. It has one drawback; you have to let her see the feather for a while before you blindfold her. I'll work on my two new toys to kind of get them ready for me, he he he... Oh, I almost forgot, you can have some, not all, of those feathers to use. On her, I'd recommend the Ostrich and peacock feathers. You might take a few of the exotic bird ones, those firm ones. They came from Egypt."

Athena's eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a smile. Now she could do some teaching. Angi's laughter mixed with a fevered pitch of squeals and titters that echoed throughout the

dungeon. Sonya began to weep for poor Angi. She knew the awful tight feeling caused by the feathers. Those damn birds!!!

Bathed in sweat and a considerable pool of pee at her feet, Angi sobbed and laughed at the same time. Her muscles ached and her body shivered in more spasms. She was racked with grief at having been forced to piddle like a whimpering little girl. Another orgasm still warm within the deep recesses of her sweet sex emerged. Her clitoris was swollen and quite sensitive.

She agreed to not only learn how to dance, she would do so nude and at any time the Dance Mistress ordered. Just no more feathers, please no more feathers.

Clean and bathed, Angi swayed her naked hips and undulated her be-jeweled belly in an absolute flawless rhythm. The Dance Mistress was awed at her progress. In only two days! She knew this girl was a natural dancer, through the courtesy of The All Mighty Allah, given her body and grace.

It was on the fifth day that Angi grew tired of being constantly nude when doing the dance. It felt good to be free of clothing, but she now wanted the feel and reality of doing the dance the way she would before the Sultan. The morning practice went slow and poorly.

"You can do better than this, Angi! What is wrong with you?" Athena was obviously worried as well as concerned.

"I want to wear the silks. I want the jewelry and all that I will wear before the Sultan next week. I'm tired of being kept nude all the time in this room." Angi was very beautiful in her pouting mood. Her lower lip slightly out and her eyes cast slightly downward. She traced a pattern with the big toe of her right foot on the smooth marble floor.

"I will say when you are to be dressed. I want to make sure your muscles are properly toned and your breasts move the right way even in the par..."

"No! I want the silks, or I won't dance!"

Angered, Athena took Angi's delicate wrist in her hand. She dragged her into the corner where the unused stocks stood waiting for their lovely captive. Instead of putting Angi into the stocks, she lifted up the heavy yoke and put it over Angi's shoulder and closed her neck and wrists in the holes provided. She locked it shut. A set of shiny steel shackles had been locked around her delicate ankles. Athena placed a leather paddle in front of her. Then her very own Chinese vase, chock full of feathers. Angi noticed that a couple of wicked looking oleander switches had been put into the vase along with the feathers. This made Angi's heart flutter and her body shiver. Her breath quickened and a horrible thought occurred to her. Maybe Athena would both whip her and use the feathers. A tear formed in the corner of Angi's right eye. She

wished she would have gone to the bathroom before she protested about the outfit. When would she ever learn ?

Angi, by now, really wished she had used the toilet. Her little bladder was beginning

to hurt her and she knew that if the Dance Mistress came back and started to work her over, she'd be a goner.

This yoke was awkward and heavy. She leaned against one of the huge support columns. She was nude and full of woe, standing against the column with her arms outstretched and her head locked in the yoke. She posed the picture of a punished slave girl. Her ankles were locked in a short but walkable set of shackles. The late morning light poured in to the marble chamber. Her hair shimmered in the sunlight. A warm breeze blew it softly about. Her breasts rose and fell slowly with her breath, their nipples standing ridged in their exposure. She knew that she presented an obscene pose, but she felt very female and alive.

The training of the dance had made her muscles feel strong, vibrant and womanly, not

like those of a warrior girl or a female field slave. Closing her eyes now, she thought of Teddy. What would happen if he saw her now? He might not have released her, yet. Maybe he would feel her charms and touch her, or take her into his arms and kiss her while she stood bound before him, naked and chained. His slave girl now. And he'd take her away from her cruel owner, the Sultan...

The sounds of splashing and giggling woke her from her daydream. The other harem girls were playing about the pool in the Sultan's private garden. The sound of the water didn't

make her situation any easier. She looked toward the balcony. On it she saw the charming porcelain chamber pot, ready and waiting to help poor Angi out of her predicament. It was

the most beautiful sight in the world to her right now. The sight that Angi offered to any onlooker would have to have been nothing short of comical. The little pot was barely big enough to be useful with hands that weren't shackled, but holding up a heavy yoke and using the pot at the same time was quite impossible.

This was a torture worse than flogging or, to a degree, even worse than the feathers. Oh! To have relief so near, yet so far!. She tried at first to stand over the pot and spread her legs. The shackles stubbed them too short, and the pee would surely rundown her soft, thighs. She forgot that the pot was between her legs and in front of the chain. As she stepped away, the little pot went flying, and then rolled away to make a loud clang against the wall." DAMN IT!!"

This outburst got the attention of the girls in the pool. Angi was quite a sight. On the balcony just above the pool was a very beautiful redhead. Her arms and neck were in a wooden yoke and her ankles were shuffling the shackles around. The loud gong could have been made by only one object in the entire world....a rolling porcelain chamber pot. Trying to duck first and hide behind something was Angi's first effort. It was obvious that they had seen her. She moved slightly toward the balcony and smiled a embarrassed kind of grin. In a quick effort to explain..."Darn chamber pots anyway, they won't stay put..."

About two dozen sets of female eyes stared up at the attractive redhead. Standing and looking about the garden, she tried to think of something intelligent to say. She cleared her

throat as if she were addressing a population of students, "I know this is unusual looking, standing here with this yoke on my neck, and my ankles in shackles. I, I, well...this chamber

pot over here..." Tears of embarrassment swelled up in her eyes, "KEEPS RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!!!" By now great big tears began to flow down from her eyes as she cried out loud, "I HAVE TO PEE AND IT KEEPS RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!!!"

Regaining some dignity, she fought to stop her sniveling. Thinking that it wouldn't hurt

now to ask, "How many of you have ever tried to pee in a pot like that one with these yokes and shackles on?" She looked down at the girls in and around the pool below. They looked

back up at her blinking their eyes like a bunch of toads in a hail storm. Not one offered her advice. Not thinking, Angi failed to realize that they couldn't see the little pot now turned completely over from their angle. Desperate now, but in as calm a voice as possible, "I need some real help up here. This very uncooperative thing has now turned itself completely over and I can't get it to go back right side up." By this time, her embarrassment had given way to desperation and her voice and composure were very matter of fact. One had to be there to appreciate her completely logical approach to this acute problem. Her description of what

she needed was quite clear to the onlookers.

Melissa was in the pool; she was the bitch of the harem. No one liked her. She stepped up and out of the pool, never taking her eyes off of the Sultan's favorite girl. She hated Angi

now was her chance to show off. She was a true slut in every sense of the word. The rest of the girls relish it when she is punished by Dance Mistress.

Dripping wet, her bronze body glistening in the hot sun, her back was crisscrossed here and there by some faint whip strokes. Still staring up at Angi, she slowly walked over to the lush green grass. Standing, she put her arms behind her neck. Closing her eyes she slowly let her head fall backwards. She spread her legs and let her urine drop in a steady stream. Even the other girls in the pool turned their heads in disgust. Such a bitch was this Melissa. When she finished, she lowered her head and put her arms down. She made a subtle little shake of her hips. Taking one small step forward, she closed her legs. She made eye contact again with a very disgusted looking Angi. "That's how you do it, female slave. We're all females here and understand the process. You don't, however. Most of the Sultan's favorites don't understand how it is to be treated like an animal. To be beaten and forced into deep torture and humiliation. Most of us have let everything out under the whip. Look at my back. You can't imagine standing over there between those two posts. Spread-eagled in the hot sun and black- snake whipped until you want to just die. Just because it amused the Sultan."

Looking now at the rest of the women in the pool, she drove her point home, "I was a fine lady myself once. I loved a Knight from Aramatheia. The Saracen's invaded our village and took all the young women to become slaves. I was chained and whipped from the first. In the last few miles we trekked on bare feet across the desert. They had stripped us completely naked to crawl across the burning sands, whipping us like animals all the way. When I arrived

here, the first thing Dance Mistress did was clamp my breasts in one of her toys. Even when I did finally fall in love with someone, it was wrong." She resumed her stare at Angi, who had become entranced at her story. This last part made Angi feel very sorry for her, "You haven't sat on the wedge yet, have you redhead? You haven't felt its' burning pressure on your most sensitive part. Sat on it for hours until they turned into days. Until your body couldn't stop twitching from forced orgasms. Orgasms being induced so that someone could place a wager on how many you could have in an hour, or in a minute. Have you ever angered the Sultan enough to have him send you off to the grain mill?" Speaking loud enough to be heard by all the girls in the garden, "That was where I learned to pee like I just did. I was shackled to a large wheel with several other girls. We shoved and pushed the heavy lever to grind the grain into flower for the Sultan's bread. Sweating and suffering, naked under the whip, in the hot sun so that he could have freshly ground flower for his bread. With only one break a day, we had to pee while we labored. I was one of the lucky ones; many of the other girls had gotten pregnant. They had to pee a lot more than I did. When we would slip in the mud formed by the urine, the wheel master would whip us. It was easy to slip." Her eyes narrowed, "Any of you ever wonder what happens when you get pregnant around here? You don't see any pregnant harem girls do you? I don't mean the favorites like her, I mean the girls like me, and you Sonya, or you Blossom, or you and you and you, Lisa. We're the ones he amuses himself with when he isn't serious. We suffer under the whip when he's in a sadistic mood. Careful, girls, watch your rhythm cycles. I, I, I... I hurt, doll girl. I suffer while you rest from his loving caresses. He takes it out one me. I am his animal, he made me that way... OH GOD, WHAT MORE DO I HAVE TO DO!?! MOMMY, HELP ME!!! I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!!! MAKE HIM STOP!!! MAKE HIM STOP...PLEASE...!" Melissa began to sob, dropping to her knees, her shoulders began to shake with even deeper sobs; she looked up at the sun, rolled up her eyes and fell into a faint.

Sonya and Blossom hurried out of the water to Melissa's side. Blossom knelt down beside her and lifted her over so that her head was cradled in her lap. "Sonya go and get Buffalo, we need to get her to the surgeon." Blossom looked up at Angi. Tears were in her eyes. Every girl in the harem, now saw Melissa in a different light.

"Ahem." Dance Mistress cleared her throat as she looked at Angi out on the balcony.

"I heard that little speech. Melissa has been here for over six years now. I'll admit that we

were perhaps more cruel to her than we should have been. The Sultan found her exceptional

in her ability to take punishment. I guess everyone has their limits." Athena became distant for a moment.

"Yes, Mistress." Angi still needed to use the pot. "Please help me with the chamber pot, Mistress. You can release me; I will do my dance as you prescribe. I promise that I won't cause any more trouble and I will dance nude as long as you wish." Angi was getting very desperate.

"Very well. You will remain nude the rest of today. I will watch your every move and curve. Tomorrow, you will spend the day with the other girls, again, out at the pool. You will dance for them and accept their criticism. On the next day you will dance for the Sultan. You need not worry about being dressed or not. The way you dance it won't make much difference. Now stand up straight while I release you." Standing and waiting for her release was the longest minute of her life. When she was free, she dove for the rude little chamber pot. Relief was never more welcome. When the ache of her needs were gone, she thought of poor Melissa.

00000000

"I want seventy long boats large enough to hold twenty men each. They'll come in from the Sea. Hollings, you work on getting those craft modified to our needs. I saw a large fleet of fishing boats that should do the trick. Go and work swiftly. The Sultan's main army will be returning from Athens soon."

"Yes, sire. How long do I have to complete the modifications?" Hollings asked. Theodore put his arm on Hollings' shoulder, "One week."

"A WEEK! Sire... All right, but I'll need extra men..."

"Take as many as you need! What you must do will spell our future success." He saluted Hollings as he left. "Now here is the plan as I see it..."

Here is Theodore's plan to rescue Angella and get the Holy Grail:

He would block the passage of the dromonds carrying the Saracens back from Athens in the Dardanelles, right at the narrow passage of Canakkaie. Their fleet and men

bottled up, he would launch his attack with the fishing fleet that Hollings was now modifying from Tekirdag. The armed knights and warriors would land at night and sneak up on the Saracens. They would be able to overcome the small garrison in the Sultan's palace. Once inside, he would be able to rescue his beautiful Angella and capture the sacred chalice. He would then arrange for three brave knights to take the chalice in the opposite direction and hide it. They would organize a caravan to take it to Alexandretta and from there, back westward toward the Valley of the Crescent Moon. One of the knights would remain behind to guard the Grail. The other two would carve the secret location on their battle shields in the ancient Celtic tongue. Both would set out in different directions, and hopefully at least one of them would arrive safely back in England, with the exact location of the Grail on his shield.

With this knowledge, King Richard could organize a larger force to obtain it safely. Theodore was afraid that it might fall again into the hands of the Saracens if the escape plan should fail. He would take the remaining forces and retreat back through the narrow passage at Gallipoli. When through, he would then block the passage to give more time to their escape. From there he would go back into Greece and join his hidden fleet of twenty six ships at Thasos. They would sail from there back to England. To further confuse the Saracens, he made arrangements for a few of his brave volunteers to go on a land passage escape route up towards the land of the Poles, along the Black Sea. Hopefully this would divert the attention of the Sultan's army to give them some additional time. The crucial element in this plan was successfully bottling up the Sultan's fleet in the Dardanelles. They would leave for there tonight. Hollings must have the fleet ready by next Friday. He must...

*******

The fighting was fearsome for a while. The knights of Theodore's army fought with precision and the Saracen's brave and well armed men could not stop the tide of determined Englanders.

"Angi! My darling..." Theodore kissed the woman of his dreams. He held her close and never wanted to let go. He didn't care if the Sultan had touched her. He knew that it was against her will. She loved her Teddy. They would be married as soon as possible.

The knights searched the palace for the Sultan. He had managed to escape. He must have a hidden chamber somewhere else in the city or in the palace. Two of the three knights Theodore selected to keep the Grail had knocked on the door of Angi's bed chamber. As they entered, one of them held the sacred Holy Grail. Plain looking by design, it seemed to glow. All were in awe at it's presence. Unnoticed, the third knight, who was the eldest, entered carrying a limp Melissa in his arms. Tears fell from his eyes. His brothers arose and Angi went to him. Theodore followed Angi as she cradled Melissa's head in the crook of her arms.

Theodore spoke first, "Here, let's put her on the bed." They lay Melissa down. She was still limp and her eyes were closed. Theodore motioned for one of the knights to bring some water. Not thinking, the youngest one took up the Grail and went to a marble basin. He picked up the porcelain pitcher and, as he looked back for moment, the pitcher clicked the edge of the Grail. The sound was like that of a distant bell. He looked out in the early dawn to see a bright shooting star fall slowly across the sky. He handed the chalice to Theodore, who put it to Melissa's lips. He opened her mouth gently, and poured in some of the water. He poured more, there was still no response. It was then that he noticed that it was the chalice that the young knight had handed him. He looked at it, and then at the young knight. The knight's eyebrows were raised and his head cocked slightly to one side in a quizzical mode. Theodore set it down on the table beside Angi's bed. Angi leaned over to listen for Melissa's heartbeat.

There was nothing. She raised her head and looked at the eldest knight. Theodore stood and went towards him, and, placing his hands upon the knight's shoulders, shook his head. The knight's eyes began to swell up tears. A large one fell down his cheek and broke up in his gray brown beard. He held his hand outward toward Melissa's body laying on the bed, it trembled.

"If only I'd have been sooner. The other women told me that she had taken ill a while ago. She'd suffered a lot. I let her down. My Lord, I will guard the Grail and my younger brothers will return to England with the secret location. I must atone for my Melissa..."

Theodore nodded to him. By now his brothers had gathered around him. Angi put her hand on his arm. All of them had their back to Melissa, except the eldest knight, who put his head in his hands and wept some more.

Angi caught a faint glow out of the corner of her eye. She looked and to her wonderment, standing to her side, was Melissa. She was not the flesh and blood Melissa that she remembered. This one was radiant, literally. A faint sound of beautiful music filled Angi's head. The rest of them must have heard it, too. They began to look around as if they heard something. Melissa smiled and walked toward the eldest knight. The rest of them stood back a couple of paces. She placed her hand on his face. The knight glowed in her radiance. She

spoke softly but clearly, "I love you my brave knight. I know that you tried to rescue me. I forgive your tardiness. We will find each other again." With those words she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Melissa turned toward Angi, "I was jealous of you. I was wrong. I degraded myself and you with my disgusting act on that day you were on the balcony. Do you forgive me?" Melissa looked into Angi's eyes. Angi nodded, unable to speak. She moved her lips that she had forgiven her, but no sound emerged.

Melissa thanked her and kissed her on her cheek. She looked at the young knight who

filled the Grail. She smiled and held his hand. The very hand that had held the Grail while

he had filled it. Turning to Theodore, she spoke softly about Angi doing all she could do to get to him. She told him that he would marry her and their union would produce many future generations. He nodded and a tear formed in the corner of his eye. Lastly , she looked at the other knight. She prophetized he will find peace in Venice.

Unseen to the rest in the room, Melissa turned to see a marvelous man in a white robe. He was radiant, just like her. He had a gentle, knowing look on His face. His eyes were of all

the things wonderful in creation. He held His hand out toward her and she saw the hollow

spot in his palm. She smiled and put her hand in His. They walked slowly from the room.

It took a few moments for them to regain the awareness of reality. Angi was still focused on the door. The young knight walked swiftly to the doorway. He looked up and down the long corridor. It was empty. He looked back at the rest of them. He didn't speak.

Everyone was awestruck. Angi and Theodore walked to where the Grail waited on the table. Angi looked at Theodore and they picked up the Grail together. It glowed and lit their faces.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Angi shut off the water to the sink in their mountain home. She looked out the window to see Teddy drive up and park his Jeep Cherokee in its' usual spot. She hurried to the mirror in the hall and put her hands up to ruffle her hair the way he liked it. She fixed her blouse by unbuttoning and then tying it up under her breasts. That always turned him on.

"Hi, I'm home... Getting ready for the big weekend, the opening of the Renaissance Fair?" He called to her from the hall closet.

"Hello, my knight of the realm." She replied to him with her right hand lifting the back

of her hair up. She sucked her tummy in a bit to accent her bust line.

"My, are we ready tonight or what!" He went to her and gave her a long, glad to be home kiss.

"C'mon in, I've been fixing chicken. I figured we could take what we don't eat to the fair tomorrow. I made potato salad, and some deviled eggs." Angi put her finger in the last of the deviled egg mix and looking up at Teddy, she put it slowly into her mouth. She licked slowly with her tongue, never taking her eyes off of him.

"God, I love it when you get these naughty ideas!" Ted went to her and put her finger

in his mouth. He flicked it on all sides with his tongue. It still tasted like the deviled egg mixture. "I gotta cool down for a moment, or we'll never get past the cooking food..." Teddy smiled at her. He truly loved this woman. "Do you need some help here right now, or do I have time to go clean up and relax? Oh, yeah, did you get your new CD with that special Belly Dancing music you wanted?" In a cooling down effort, Ted was trying to sound casual.

"Go clean up on the first question. Yes on the second question. Most of the work here is done. You can help me clean up after, okay?" Angi turned to wash her hands and go to get

the new CD.

Ted knew that he was very lucky to have such a wonderful wife. Was it all luck, he wondered. He looked at the large picture of Angi and him taken after their wedding that hung in the hall. He remembered his brother-in-law, Angi's brother, Carl. He always thought of him as being Cupid when they first met. As he started upstairs, he stopped and went into the den and looked at the mail on his desk. There were the usual bills, a few letters, and, one large envelope. The return address was from U.C. Berkeley, Department of Historical Records. He opened it and quickly scanned the documents, then read the enclosed letter:

"Dear Mr. Rackspan,

I have enclosed your request for the basic listing of your family tree. It seems

that you bear a remarkable number of similarities in appearance with a number

of your relatives.

I also looked at the photo of your wife, Angi. As you will see, I have included

a few color copies of some paintings from your family vaults. Notice the

remarkable resemblance you and your wife have to Theodore Rusalt and Angella

of Vale? If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you two had faked the painting

to fool me. There is one thing that makes this quite impossible, and that is the fact

that it has been hanging in the London Museum of Art for more than a hundred years!

Another interesting note is the painting of Ted and Angella Ruxsalt that dated

back to 1791 here in the United States. Notice again the similarities between you

and your wife and the couple in this painting.

I could go on here, Mr. Rackspan, but I think that you should know that your great-grandfather had his name changed when he moved to California in 1842. He and his

friend John Marshal traveled to Sacramento, California, where they stayed with John

Sutter. Sutter filled out a land grant for him and misspelled his name. He spelled it

Joseph Rackspan. Your great-grandfather used it instead of his real name as the

property was quite valuable.

Finally, I want you to pay particular attention to the diary entries that were found

dating back to Angella of Vale. It has some very interesting accounts of historical fact.

One of them being of some words reputed to have been spoken by a woman she identified only as Melissa. This Melissa, according to the diary, had already passed away. I found

this a bit strange, but it was exactly what Angella wrote.

I hope you find this interesting . There is one more thing Angella mentioned.

We may need your permission to pursue this with some top scientists. It seems that

a large trunk was unearthed on the Island of Malta. The strange part is that it didn't

appear to have aged at all. All of the equipment at our disposal cannot open or break the lock. Why did I mentioned this? Because Angella's diary tells of a story related to her

by her husband of the Knights of Malta discovering a large chest that washed ashore

after two survivors of a shipwreck. It further states that the Knights of Malta couldn't

open it so they thought it was a sign from God. Read on about your very unusual history.

If you have any questions call me at the enclosed number on my card.

Sincerely,

Doctor Jeannene Hollings,

Dean of Historical Research,

University of California, Berkeley"

"Honey, you remember when I sent away for that information about my family? You ought to read the letter I got back from a Dr. Hollings. We'll look it over after dinner okay?"

"Sure. Sounds great!" Angi rolled her eyes a bit. She had other things on her mind. Not reading a bunch of old notes. She took off her apron and tossed it over the back of a chair at the table. It landed on a copy of the Denver Chronicle, and an interesting smaller headline that read:

`Mysterious Chest Unearthed on Malta'

Angi put on the Belly Dancing music. Her hips began to undulate to the rhythm of the exotic music. She put her hands up and performed the dance with gracefulness of a natural dancer. She was told that by her instructor, a really nice woman who was born in Athens.

Her name was Alexandria, and through in her mid forties, she was still stunning and lovely.

Angi was glad she had seen the mailer in the Penny Wiser paper. It was an odd ad, it read:

`Learn Belly Dancing. The exotic moves of the old Saracen Empire.

Make your husband feel like a Sultan. Call Alexandra for an appointment.

Dance Mistress Studio of Exotic Dancing.'

"Hey that music should enthrall the audience. You don't think it's too exotic do you?

That seems like pretty hot stuff." She shook her head in the negative as she moved around slowly working all of her muscles and catching up in the rhythm. Ted thought that this would surely please the crowd and Angi would win the top award of the Fair.

@@@@@@@

It was a superb day. The temperature was just right. The sky had a few puffy clouds,

but there was no threat of rain. Nearly everyone had parked down by the main entrance, near the highway and walked up towards the fair. This kept the authenticity even better than last year. The producers had worked hard to set this atmosphere, and with the proper advertising everyone had even dressed as hoped, in period costume.

As Ted and Angi entered the main gait, they saw a man whom they had never met before. He was tall and dressed in black contemporary trousers and a white shirt. He had on what looked like a longish white wig, and a black hat that had the word: PILOT written across it. He had a mustache to match his wig, and in his pants pocket was a almanac. Stuffed into his trousers was a gun. Not a new one, but a very old looking one. Ted looked at Angi and rolled his eyes toward the stranger. She in turn looked at the man and raised her eyebrows.

Teddy was one of the people who had set up the fair and he felt he just had to ask the

man a few of questions. He'd used his best Renaissance tone, "Where be ye from stranger? What is that thing you have the belt of your trousers?"

The stranger stopped and looked at Teddy. He smiled a broad smile and took Teddy's

hand and shook it, "Sam is the name, Samuel Langhorn Clemens. I'm from St. Louis, Missouri. Oh, this thing, well I couldn't quite fit in here as a Renaissance man. No, sir, not me. I felt I'd be as much in place as the Connecticut Yankee. This here revolver, young fella, is a copy of a Navy Colt. That's a gun. Actually the gun that the Connecticut Yankee had was a Scoffield. Rare gun whether in real or copy. This was as close as I could find, so to speak. Oh, it won't shoot, it's only a copy. See here on the side it says `Facsimile'. Nope, I'm not a killer or a kooky nut, at least not in the way that you're thinking." He jibed with Teddy. They both kind of laughed.

Angi thought this guy was really strange. But, he seemed very genuine.

"By the way, is this little lady with you?" Sam indicated to Angi, standing radiant in her Belly Dancers costume and flowing red hair. Sam admired her loveliness.

"Oh, yes, I apologize Mr. Clemens, meet my wife Angi. Angi, meet Sam Clemens..."

Teddy introduced them.

Angi took a small step towards the man. She somehow felt at ease around him. She extended her hand thinking that he might shake it, "I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Clemens..."

Sam took her hand gently in his, and kissed it, "The pleasure is all mine, dear Angi."

Extending his hand toward Teddy, Sam asked, "I didn't recall getting your name, young fella..."

"Oh, excuse me, Teddy... Ted Rackspan." They shook hands again, "A genuine pleasure

Ted." Sam looked around and took a deep breath, "Well, I'll be off to look around the fair, and if anyone else asks me about my revolver here, I'll tell them that I spoke to you, Ted. You look like you have a hand in things around here..." Sam spoke in a manner indicating he had sort of a realistic approach to everything.

"Sure, go and enjoy and if anyone does ask about your weapon, tell them to see me."

"Nice man. Strange in a way though, I'd swear if I was to ever meet the real Mark Twain, excuse me, Samuel L. Clemens, I have a feeling he'd be just like that guy..."

Angi nodded in agreement. She was ready to do her dance routine. Over by the show

wagon, the usher for all of the acts was painted in a typical Comedia Del Arte white painted in happy face. He did everything in pantomime. The acts were announced by beautifully drawn cards explaining each act and he would shift his feet and gesture toward the card. Everyone would read:

`EXOTIC HAREM GIRL'

SECRET DANCE OF THE

SULTAN OF THE SARACENS

The music began and when Angi made her entrance, she immediately captured the

attention of many of the fairgoers. The King and Queen even gave their attention to her exotic dance. One large knight stood in front of her. He had his hood down over his face. The other men crowded around for a better look at this lovely exotic redhead. By the time she was half way through, nearly all the men at the fair had gathered to watch her. Teddy was very proud of his lovely and wonderful wife. What went unseen was that a busy little group of jealous women had gathered away from the show wagon. They began to mutter to themselves. They looked at Angi undulating and writhing in her scanty costume and how the men were watching her dreamy eyed and entranced.

The shouts heard first were those of a woman. Then more women joined in as they burst through the crowd of men. Shouting they verbally proclaiming Angi's indecent dance.

"GRAB THE HUSSY! SHE IS THE DANCER OF SIN! SHE MUST PAY FOR HER WANTON DISPLAY OF TEMPTATION! YEA, TO THE PILLORY WITH HER! STRIP HER! DISPLAY HER, I WILL MAKE HER PAY!" Were some of the shouts that rang out from the women. They raced upon the stage and grabbed Angi by her wrists. She was startled, as this was not suppose to be a part of the act. She looked bewildered at Teddy. Teddy was concerned a bit at first, but it was the opening day of the fair and things like this were part of the fun. He smiled a reassuring smile at Angi and she wrinkled up her forehead at him. At least four other women had hold of her. They were dragging her along to the pillory set up at the far end of the main avenue of booths. Amid the shouts and commotion, Angi saw the shopkeepers smile and shake their heads. The first of the fair goers was being marched off to her fate at the pillory. She felt the women in mocking gestures pretend to strip her clothing off. When they arrived, they put her into the pillory and locked her head and wrists into the holes. The leader of the bunch, an attractive blonde with a quite athletic body, slammed a new padlock into the hasp. Teddy always kept an extra set of keys for those locks. Just in case. The women began to incite the crowd and soon other women joined in shaking their fists and scolding their husbands or boyfriends out loud. The blonde leader took up a small branch with some little leaves on it. She began to lightly slap it down on Angi's back as if to whip her. Then she began to tickle her with it. This generated a new scene. Angi started to chuckle and laugh at the tickling. The blonde started to tickle more and more.

The crowd began to respond. Shouts of `TICKLE HER SOME MORE! TICKLE HER HARDER! KEEP IT UP!' began to echo in the surrounding forest. Soon the men wanted to see her laughing and more and more of them joined in antagonizing the scene.

By the time Teddy arrived in the back of the crowd, he saw three women up on the dais tickling Angi together with some thing or another. Angi was hysterical. Her bare feet were jumping all over and her breasts heaved against the thin fabric of her harem girl's costume. Angi felt the breath leaving her lungs and she gasped between the laughter. In a spasm of speech, she begged them to stop. She began to feel a tingle come over her body as her sex made a tight squeeze. Some of the effects of the tickling were going away as she rolled up her eyes and gasped that familiar gasp of orgasm.

The crowd was in a fever by now. Angi had actually climaxed in front of them. This

egged them on even more. The women now numbered four, and two of them had long feathers that they were applying all over Angi. In a loss of reality, the crowd became a barbaric scene. It wasn't the twentieth century anymore. It was 1215 and this woman would quench the thirst of the crazed crowd. Using everything they could find to tickle her more, they weren't going to stop. The blonde woman began to pull Angi's harem pantaloons down her hip to expose more of Angi's skin. A woman with a large peacock feather started on Angi's stomach. She dug it into her navel and twirled it. Angi was now completely in tears. The locks of her red hair were becoming wet from her perspiration. The effects of her orgasm dulled some of the tickling, but soon a fresh effect was growing. Another sensitivity to her skin was beginning. The blonde girl pulled Angi's pantaloons even further down. She slapped her a bit with her open palm. A girl with an Ostrich feather of exceptional plumage began to tickle under her belly again and the action was close enough to her navel to start a fresh rapture of laughter.

Teddy didn't like what was going on now. He saw his lovely wife being abused and no longer having fun. Her face, though full of laughter, showed signs of pain and suffering. "JUST A MINUTE THAT'S ENOUGH!" He shouted, but a woman and another man just shoved him down. He got mad.

"Go on with ye now, man, we're just havin' a bit-o-fun with her!" A costumed man spoke with an Irish accent.

Ted was mad, "Get your own to play with!"

Another joined in with the first, "Yea, get out of here! We won't let you stop us!"

"My God! Can't you people see she's in pain! Stop it, I'm her husband." One woman

kicked him in the groin. Ted coughed and nearly blacked out from the strength of the blow.

He looked up at the pillory and he saw his Angi being literally tortured now. She was crying and her body was bathed in sweat. She was getting noticeably weaker. Her senses were fading in and out. She remembered vaguely someone throwing a bucket of water on her. She didn't even feel it. She was starting to fade even more. The crowd began to move toward her in slow motion. Ted began to recover from his kick, he seemed a long way from his Angi. Hearing her, start to scream, he realized that he was still in the crowd, he saw a man in a knight's dress. He didn't see Teddy. He nearly stepped on him. He was engrossed with the spectacle. Angi was approaching full nudity now, but was so far gone she didn't

realize it. In her blurred vision she saw a tall knight looking at her. She felt the feathers

working at her. She was shuddering.

Teddy looked up and stood in front of the knight. He spoke to him, "What do you want?" The knight stopped and still faced Teddy. He didn't speak. Teddy looked at him. Angi had fainted again and the women were throwing water on her, not to relieve her, but to revive her to get her ready for more. Angi was just barely recovering her senses when it started again. She went into convulsions at the meager touch of the branch from the blonde woman. Teddy started to shout when another blow got him in the lip, and it started to bleed. He began to panic and was going to run to get help when all of a sudden a loud BANG went off.

Sam Clemens stood on the platform with the smoking barrel of his Navy Colt still pointing upward. The women dropped their instruments of torture and backed away. They actually looked like they didn't know what a revolver was. Teddy closed his eyes and softly said, "Thank God, Sam..."

Sam looked at each pair of eyes looking up on the platform at that moment. He turned the revolver expertly in his hand and walked to the pillory that held the still shaking and

sobbing Angi. In a single downward blow of his revolver, he broke the lock. Teddy looked shocked for a moment, that was a case hardened lock. It wasn't suppose to do that. Sam lifted the lever that held Angi in place. He put his colt in his belt and helped her, shaking and shivering out of the pillory.

Angi's back hurt worse than she thought. It ached, and she gasped for air as she moved

close to Sam. He held her in the crook of his arm. He looked around to the people still gathered at the dais. He spoke with gentle but firm words that everyone heard, "That'll do for the pillory today folks..." He motioned for Ted to come up and help Angi, as he did, Sam went on, "You know this business here at the fair, kind of reminds me of an event held out west in California. Now, I know, you folks haven't heard of California yet, but there's a town out there called Angel's Camp. They have the largest darn frogs there you'd ever want to see, yessiree. Bigger than a pie pan they are! I have this friend of mine who's a miner in those parts..."

Sam began to relate a story to the crowd. It was a story that everyone had either heard before or had read as part of a class room study in school. But the way they stood there looking at him you'd have thought they had never heard it before in their lives. Teddy had grabbed a blanket from one of the booth-keepers; Sam never broke stride with his tale, as Ted helped Angi down. Speaking in full concentration, he glanced over at Angi and smiled. She swore they flashed at her. Shivering in Teddy's grip, she sniveled, her eyes watered, and her nose began to run. She smiled at Ted, and he smiled back at her. She saw his cut lip, and became concerned.

They walked away from the scene, now fully under control by the story telling of Sam Clemens. He looked back and saw that mysterious knight still standing where he remembered him. Who was that knight..?

Angi and Teddy walked casually along together, they could still hear Sam telling the story of the Leaping Frog of Calaveras County to the gathered throng fade in the background. Angi looked at Teddy, "Sam is a good man." Teddy nodded, looking back he saw Sam wave at him. He waved back and smiled a thank you smile. Passing by the last booth, Angi noticed that the woman behind the counter was selling feathers. She looked over Teddy's shoulder and stopped him, "Wait, Teddy, look! Feathers..." She smiled.

"You know, I'd have thought that the last thing you would ever want to see again is another feather!" Teddy was aghast.

"No really, lets get some to take home. Please..." Angi was hard to resist when she really had her heart on something. She picked up several of them, "How much are they?" Angi

asked the girl behind the counter. The feather vendor had been working in some boxes and didn't notice her customers. She was an attractive girl with dark hair and tawny skin. Her eyes were deep blue and stood out like sapphires, she just noticed them standing there, "Excuse me, I was just sorting my wares... What did you ask?"

"How much are the feathers?" Angi asked in a somewhat shaky voice.

"Oh, you're the girl that was up there being tortured. I just can't charge you anything. Pick a few. They're my gift to you."

"You're very generous. Thank you. By the way, my name is Angi and this is my husband Teddy." She looked at him.

Teddy raised his hand and said, "Hi."

"Hi! Oh, OOPS, me again, my name is Melissa. Sorry, I'm such a ditz today, but that man the one talking over there who stopped that business with you, Sam Clemens I think he said his name was, anyway he gave me something to give to you. He said that he might not have the time to give it to you himself. Though I must admit, I wish I could have kept it. It's real pretty." Melissa handed Angi a pouch of purple velvet stitched in gold. On the outside were the initials `AV'.

She opened it up and inside was a comb made of solid gold with sapphires in it. It flashed in the Sun. Her mouth was agape. Melissa broke the silence, "He said that it belonged to some one with very red hair like yours. He mentioned something like it was once the property of a nymph. I don't know..." Melissa looked at Angi and she looked again. "Do I know you from somewhere? I swear we've met once before..."

Teddy looked at Melissa, he recalled the letter from Ms. Hollings. Melissa was mentioned in Angella of Vale's diary. Angi and Teddy just shook their heads.

" I don't know, maybe." Angi said, "Was it in a belly dancing class or something?"

Melissa shook her head, "No. Have you ever been to Greece? I was in that area, and I swear I saw you on the balcony of a hotel room. In fact you had made quite a show as you'd locked yourself out of your room and you were, well, in the nude. It seemed that you did try to explain what happened but the odd part was I remember your long red hair. I remember you looking down at me and a couple of other guests in the swimming pool. I shouted something up at you..? I don't know, forgive me, I just have all kinds of ideas..." Melissa rolled her

lovely blue eyes.

"Is that the last of the boxes, Melissa?" A handsome man who was a bit older than she

entered from the back. He wore a knights shirt and trousers. When he turned around one could see his gray brown beard.

"Oh, Joe, this is Angi and her husband Ted. This is my husband Joe. We've only been married for three weeks now."

"Nice to meet you both." Ted said with a wave.

"Thank you for the feathers." Angi waived good bye.

Melissa looked back at her. She had seen a beautiful redhead that looked a lot like her

on a balcony for sure. It seemed that she was in an embarrassing situation. She ought to remember, for it was last week when they were on their honeymoon. She looked into her boxes again.

Leaving the gate, Angi saw one of the carts that some of the fairgoers took up and

down to the parking lot. The young man who drove it looked at them, "Excuse me, but I'll

give you a lift down to the lot. I was watching what happened to you and you deserve to ride. It's on me folks." Teddy helped Angi into the cart. He climbed in and sat beside her. She put her quite tired head against his chest. The cart driver looked back at them. He introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Carl Talbot. I just moved into the area. I'm from Truth or Consequences,

New Mexico.

"Hi, I'm Teddy and this is my wife Angi..." Nice to meet you.

They rode along chatting together about this and that. Carl's wore a cloth cap on the back of his head. He joked about playing Cupid, while driving a surrey in Central Park, New

York. They laughed and talked as the cart made its way along to the parking lot.

****************

The knight looked at Sam Clemens speaking on the dais. His eyes focused on Sam and he slowly brought his hand up to lift his visor. The man wore a red mask.

Epilog:

The house that Angi and Teddy live in is full of life. Their voices could always be heard laughing and chuckling together. They were truly a happy couple. The feathers would make their lives even more happier. Angi made love to Teddy always as if it were their first time. Teddy would use these feathers to make Angi giggle and feel warmer. They made love the rest of the afternoon. The wind gently blew in making the curtains flutter. It blew across the desk where the papers from Dr. Hollings were still laying. A few pages flipped over here and there, but the one on top was a copy of a very old newspaper clip. It had one of the earliest known photographs of Samuel L. Clemens on it. Below it, the caption read:

`Samuel Clemens receives special reward for saving the

life of local property owner's daughter, Julie. Today, this

photo is the Sacramento Union's first photo of reporter Sam

Clemens. He is shaking hands with Edward Vale as he is

handed a brand new Navy Colt revolver. A scarce and very

collectable gun. Vale one of California's leading gun

collectors handed Clemens the colt. This model is one of

Colt's rarest guns. Vale reported it was worth two thousand

dollars. His daughter is standing in the background, she has

her hand on her long red hair.'

Shakespeare: One Hamlet to Horatio, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in yours or my philosophy..."

--The End--

(Or the beginning..?)

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