" Ferra and Jasmine hung their heads and sobbed violently as the crew stood around them and leered at them, their chins dripping with lust." Ferra and Jasmine hung their heads and sobbed violently as the crew stood around them and leered at them, their chins dripping with lust. The ship set sail for Britain shortly thereafter. Lady Anne was no more generous to the stolen princesses than Trmayne when they reached Castle Thorne. One look at their supple hips and their firm globular breasts and she knew that this tale of ransom must be the purest lie. She kept them chained and gagged in the dungeon at all times and mistreated them cruelly whenever it pleased her to do so. She tortured them with various punishment devices and kept them from sleep for days at a time. They were fed from the bowls of animals and even then only when the animals had eaten their fill. Within a few months, they perished from Lady Anne's vicious maltreatment. Sir Jeffrey was told, when he returned the following year, that they had died of the plague. The news broke his heart, for he had truly fallen in love with them, or at least their memory, and had longed for them and dreamed of them through his travels. Lady Anne laughed inwardly, as outwardly she at least bereaved the loss of the hostages and the ransom they would have brought. "Legend has it that Sir Jeffrey still roams the castle at night; searching for his lost arabian princesses. We don't, of course, believe in ghosts, do we girls?" asked Lady Miranda. Terry and Sue shook their heads dutifully. "But we do believe in money. That's where you two come into the picture. As tour guides, and as demonstrators of the bondage equipment, you will play the parts of the princesses. You will be Ferra and Jasmine for whom Sir Jeffrey pines away." Having ended her story, Lady Miranda did a very surprising thing. She released Terry and Sue from all their bindings and gags and bid them to lay down on the bed. She said that they had earned a good rest and that nobody would disturb them since they needed to be fresh and cheerful for the party the following evening. They climbed under the covers quickly, and once Lady Miranda left, they talked at length. They had kept silent for almost three days straight. "Sue, I'm so glad you're here with me. I was so scared when Niko came out of the maze. |