Demetrius turned completely red. Chained with his hands behind his back, he would have given anything to be able to cover his nudity. Every person in the Palace had been woken by the commotion and he was dragged by another chain on his neck into the main meeting hall to await judgment. The women of the Palace all were quite appreciative of the show, all having been affected by the after effects of his tryst with Aphrodite. Penelope, the daughter of Menalus, could not help but lick her lips as the beautiful and strong form of Demetrius was paraded before her. She felt herself grow moist as she imagined running her hands through his dark hair as it was slaving away between her thighs. She tried to remain subtle as her father was furious. The other women of the Palace had similar reactions and there was not a dry pair of panties on any woman in the room.
The king and his guards were simply amused by his nudity. This would be thief had some nerve, he thought, not only attempting to steal his prize possession (the Phoenix) but attempting to do it naked. From the looks of Demetrius's balls it was obvious that he had gone without release for a long long time, having achieved a light shade of purple, looking like over-ripe plums. He could not have known that the blue balls were caused not only by a curse from the Goddess of love herself Aphrodite, which had kept poor Demetrius cumless for 2 years now, but prevented him ever for achieving release.
Feeling every eye studying him, Demetrius stared down at the floor in shame. Worried about what was going to happen to him, he felt new shackles attached to his wrists and ankles that were attached to one another by a chain. Suddenly he was lifted into the air and swung free, his ever hard and denied cock pointing down to the crowd below. The king, once Demetrius was properly restrained, decided to address the crowd.
"Dear subjects, witness YET AGAIN, another rogue trying to steal the Phoenix from your kingdom. The Phoenix protects us all, and it is only through its divine presence that we are able to prosper and survive. How should we deal with this infidel? What punishment would be suitable?" The guards and the other men who had gathered all chanted death. To the King's amazement, and irritation, the women, including his own daughter Penelope all chanted Mercy. Penelope, rushing to her father's side, dropped to her knees and begged for Demetrius's life. Tears welling in her eyes, she sobbed openly at his feet. She, after only seeing Demetrius for a few minutes, was already swept away by his charms and completely under the spell of the curse.
Raising his hand to still the crowd the King spoke again. "There appears to be a split amongst my subjects. Half cry out for vengeance and the punishment of death, which this rouge surely deserves. The other half, perhaps under the influence of their own feminine nature, beg for mercy." At this statement, the men in the audience screamed for death even more vigorously while the women in attendance equally vigorously cried for Mercy. The King, raising his hand again called for silence.
"I am a merciful King and have decided that the Gods themselves shall decide this boy's fate. I call for him to be subjected to the Laughing Ordeal!" At the mention of this the crowd gasped. "If this young man can withstand the torment without releasing his seed for the duration of his punishment, he will be simply imprisoned for life in our dungeons. However, if he releases, than it is the will of the Gods that he suffer the ultimate fate. His cock and balls will be separated from his body and sacrificed to Athena, our patron Goddess, and he will lose his other head as well. His fate shall be determined by his own reactions. If he can resist a week of the torment, being teased and tickled 24 hours a day, he will live. IF not, I am sure his balls, which already look quite full and desperate, will make for a very fine sacrifice to Athena."
The men in the audience all laughed hilariously at this suggestion but the women were horrified. Penelope's eyes welled up again with tears and she looked long and lovingly at Demetrius dangling naked before her. Oddly she thought she spotted a small smile come across his lips. Surely a man facing such a dire test, and having his manhood threatened, usually should at least seem nervous. He looked much calmer than she would have expected.
Demetrius did smile unconsciously as he heard the King's words. He was concerned of course by the ordeal, and knew it would be torment, but he knew he certainly would NEVER release his seed. Once again, in an ironic twist, the curse of Aphrodite served to save his life, and this time also his balls!
The king motioned to the chief Guard and commanded him to retrieve the feathers from the chamber of the Phoenix. These had been collected for decades from the remains of plumage that had molted off of the bird, and due to their magical powers they were kept under strict lock and key. Even an old feather from the magical bird had the ability to wield strong power. No human could stand the feel of the tendrils of the feathers on their skin as each stroke would feel as though a million feathers had been teased on their bare skin. It made for the ultimate torture device as it did not kill, but the victim would often pray for death.