Agent in Distress

Dear readers,

I must apologize for taking so long. Real life must take priority over fantasy life, regretably. But your continued encouragement and support warms my heart and got me writing again after a major writer's block. This story continues to be a collaborative effort, and I would have long since given up if not for your wonderful support and kind words.

This chapter is a little different, and I hope you enjoy it. I feel like I'm over a big hurdle and have been steadily writing again, so I promise the next chapter won't take as long! And a special thanks to my naughty but sweet editor/collaborator, this chapter is for you. ;)

xoxo

Tanuki

Ch 15

It was by chance that a lone soldier on night watch spotted the woman, just as a sudden break in the clouds let the moon shine down on the outside of the castle wall, at the very moment a guard happened to be relieving himself over the battlement. He tied up his britches and leaned over the wall, to get a better look at the figure in white. She wore a strange sort of clothing, almost like a second skin, with white boots and a white jacket. It was the color that allowed him to spot her moving quickly along the wall, her stride overflowing with confidence. The sleek sword in a white scabbard across her back told the guard she was up to no good.

The guard watched the woman stop and look up the wall. He leaned back to make sure she didn't spot him, and then he watched, incredulous, as the woman in white scaled the wall, finding foot and handholds and methodically climbing up several stones at a time. Her silky dark-brown hair was shorter than seen in Dellune, with a straight bottom also unusual and exotic looking. He watched, fascinated as her hair swished and billowed in the wind as she climbed. Everything about the woman was mesmirizing. He decided to hide and watch her as she reached the top of the castle wall and lithely hopped over the parapet, landing on her feet and looking about. Then she went to the opposite side of the rampart, looked over, and leapt.

The soldier gasped, for it was a long way down. He quickly scurried to the other side and looked down, to see the woman walking toward the inner gate. Now that she was inside the wall, he decided it was time to capture her. He quietly moved to the alarm bell and rang it, several times.

In seconds, soldiers poured out of the barracks and the turrets, pulling on helmets and armor as they ran. He looked for the woman, and was shocked to see her standing in the middle of the courtyard, making no attempt to run or hide. He turned and ran for the stairs as the soldiers quickly spotted the intruder and surrounded her.

The two dozen men circled around her, some wearing helmets, some only armor, but all of them carrying swords or maces, and a few carried crossbows. The man, some of them awakened by the alarm bell, murmured about her strange clothing and exotic looking sword. One of the men stepped forward, his expression one of amusement. "Girl, why don't you throw down that sword, and strip off those . . . peculiar garments, so we can put you in slave chains where you belong."

There was a rumble of laughter from the other soldiers, and they all leared at the surrounded intruder.

The woman returned his grin. "I'm here to see Lord Nikos. I understand he is here."

The soldier's grin disappeared, and his hand went to his sword. "What is the meaning of this?" He suddenly looked up at the battelments, where another dozen men were looking down at the commotion. "Keep your eyes outward, men! She could have cohorts within the walls or outside!"

The woman's grin turned into a smirk. "I came alone, and I'm here to kill him. If you want to live, you should tell me where he is."

There was excited shouting among the men, and several of them drew their swords. The leader placed his own hand on his sword, and took a step toward the stunningly beautiful intruder. "Throw down your weapon, missy. And get on your knees, or we'll all have a go at you before we turn you over to his Lordship in chains."

"So he is here," said the grinning brunette, nodding with satisfaction. Then she raised her hand, pointing it at the leader of the garrison. Suddenly the man started to gasp, and his hands went to his head. The soldiers around him gasped in fear, as the woman slowly walked toward the stricken officer. She reached up and took his head in her hands, the man groaning in pain. "Where is he?" she said.

"He's . . . not here!" gasped the officer. "You missed him by . . . a few hours!"

The woman released the soldier, who fell to his knees, panting. "Then I'm wasting my time here. Out of my way!" she barked, moving toward the circle of soldiers surrounding her. Behind her, the officer struggled to his feet, then pulled his sword.

"You're not going anywhere, you white bitch!" he shouted. "If you won't kneel, we'll cut you down like—argglll!" The officers words turned to a gurgling sound, for the woman's sword was buried in his chest. Then she yanked it out, wiping it on his chest before she kicked him to the ground.

"Nobody calls me that," hissed the woman, bringing the sword up to her shoulder and looking around.

The men hesitated for a moment, then one of them shouted. "Kill her, men!" There was a flurry as two men lunged at the white figure with their swords, but she spun under their attack, whipping her sword in a downward arc to slice into one of the soldier's side armor. She spun and kicked a third soldier in the chest, making him fly back and drop his mace. The circle of soldiers was collapsing as men jockied for position and made lunging attacks at the spinning figure. Her sword swung in a fast blur, clipping the neck of a soldier, who grasped his neck as crimson spattered the soldier next to him. That man swung his mace at the white figure, but she leapt in the air and came down behind him, running her sword through his back to protrude out his chest.

One of the veteran soldiers saw the embedded sword and recognized her mistake, and he charged, but the woman stepped back and raised both hands, her palms facing the stricken soldier. He flew forward, while her sword flew back, out of the soldier as the woman neatly caught the sword by the hilt. The veteran soldier missed his strike, but spun, lunging a dagger hidden in his other hand. The slashing blade nicked her white jacket, cutting it open in the back.

The woman spun away into empty space, and with an angry expression, she pulled off her ruined white jacket and tossed it aside. Several of the men gasped when they saw the tight, thin white top that hugged every curve of her magnificent breasts and pushed them together into an eye-catching cleavage.

"She's truly a rare find, capture her alive, men!" shouted the veteran soldier. The woman saw two soldiers staring at her, distracted, and she shot her hand out, palm to the two men, who doubled over in pain, holding their heads. The veteran soldier again saw an opening, swinging his massive sword to try to disarm her, but the woman leapt into the air and out of the way. Another soldier, adjusting to her remarkable abilities, saw where she would land, and swung his mace low at knee level. The woman landed and immediately dove to her left, barely escaping the metal head of the mace which would have crushed her knee. She landed and came to her feet, just as another soldier lunged, kicking her sqaure in the chest.

Though powerful, Aurelia was as light as any slender female, and the powerful kick sent her flying backwards, where she crashed into a tall stack of wooden barrels. The open topped barrels of water rocked, spilling a small wave of cold water onto the back of the woman, just as she was getting to her feet. The water soaked her white top and doused her hair, and suddenly the woman stiffened, stumbling a bit before she recovered and raised her sword. As a half dozen soldiers circled her and looked for an opening, the woman shook her head, and flicked her arm, like a cat trying to shake off water. She tossed her sword to her other hand, shaking the water from her free arm.

One of the soldiers lunged, and she parried his attack, stumbling slightly as she absorbed the blow with the sword in her off hand. Behind her, one of the soldiers got close enough to grab her sword arm, trying to pull the sword away. The woman held up her right hand, and the soldier was thrown back, but only a bit, and he quickly lunged for her sword again, shouting "She's weakened, get her!"

But the woman she spun the weapon in a blur, so he grabbed the blade instead of her arm. The soldier stepped back with a howl of pain, just as two more soldiers attacked. The nimble brunette dove to the ground between them and got to her feet, then shook her head again in an odd manner, as if stunned. Her moment of distraction was enough for one of the soldiers to charge, catching her in the chest with his shoulder and driving the both of them into the pile of barrels. One of the top barrels tipped over, soaking the two of them, just as the woman in white was getting to her feet. The water seemed to knock her forward, and she stumbled, sticking her sword in the ground to keep from falling.

Suddenly a quick thinking soldier swung his mace, smacking her sword and sending it tumbling with a clatter across the stone flooring. The woman moved away, again shaking her head, though her entire body was now soaked with the frigid water. Two soldiers tried to grab her, and she struck one in the nose with a painful palm strike, then kicked the other one, but her movement was slower than normal, and he caught her leg. The woman leapt in the air, striking the surprised soldier in the face with her other white boot, but he managed to hold on to her leg as he fell to the ground, and the woman landed on top of him.

The soldier who'd tackled her into the barrels was up on his feet, and he dove on top of the woman as she tried to extricate her leg from the soldier beneath her. The soldier on top of her threw his arms around her slender torso, and the woman gasped as his wet leather armor squished water onto her mostly bare flesh. She lunged her head, trying to strike him with her forehead, but the blow glanced off his shoulder, and now the soldier holding her leg, rotated on the ground to grasp her other leg, holding them both in an powerful two-armed hold.

The wet soldier was fighting with her at the same time, trying to grab her wrists, and he succeeded, pushing her arms to the stone floor. The woman struggled, cursing them as she tried to free her arms and legs, but two more soldiers moved in to help. They were accustomed to capture females, and they flipped the slender woman over on her belly as a fifth soldier ran up and used a length of rope to bind her wrists behind her back.

"Stand her up," said the veteran soldier who'd cut her jacket. He was standing before her now, smiling down at their captive. "That's much better," he said, as they got the struggling woman to her feet. "You are powerful, woman, I'll give you that. But in the end, you're still just a female." He gestured to the men to her side.

"Cut off that absurd garment she wears on her legs, and take off those boots." The woman struggled, still seemingly out of sorts from the water, as one of the soldiers pulled out a dagger, and grinning at her, he sliced through her white pants at her back, cutting down between her ass cheeks. Then he flipped over the knife and sliced down to her boot. The other soldier did the same, cutting from her hip down to her other foot, and then they pulled the strange thin material off of her.

Beneath the odd white covering, they saw white undergarments, again of a strange, near see-through material that hugged her shapely hips and was so narrow it covered only her mound and the middle of her ass. The soldiers reached down and pulled off her white boots, tossing them aside.

"She looks a little out of it, slap her a bit. I want her to be fully aware of what comes next," said the older guard, standing in front of the near naked woman and grinning. The soldiers began to slap the woman, first on the face, then on the breasts and ass. The woman sucked in a sharp breath, but said nothing, though her eyes burned with anger. "That got her attention, thank you, boys. Now bring her to the knees, like the slut she is," commanded the soldier.

The woman struggled, but the men easily forced her to her knees on the cold stone floor. "Now spread her legs wide. When she's been through slave training, we won't have to tell her, but for now, help her out, men." The two men reached out and pulled her knees apart, grinning at the sight of her silky pale thighs, and the strange white undergarment that hugged her pussy, and even seemed to show a hint of her womanly folds. The woman shook her head again, and to the men, she looked dazed again.

The older man came to one knee in front of her, reaching out to take one of her breasts in his hands. He squeezed her flesh, looking for a reaction in her eyes, but there was none. He slipped his hand inside her thin white top, searching out and squeezing her nipple. The woman's eyes narrowed slightly, but otherwise she showed no reaction. With a grunt, the man removed his hand, then gripped her white top where it formed a deep cleavage between her milky white breasts. He tugged on the material, and it pulled away, revealing her perfectly shaped lobes, and then he let it go and it snapped back, returning to its original shape.

"Curious," said the man. "We won't cut this off, let's save it to show his Lordship." Then he reached down to touch her white undergarment, using a thick finger to stroke upwards on her covered mound. The veteran soldier saw the woman's eyes fluttered for a moment, and he grinned, continuing to stroke her up and down. "So, you are a woman after all. Why don't you sing for us?" The woman knelt there, perfectly still, her eyes burning into the soldier, but he continued as if he had all the patience in the world. After a long moment, he saw the woman's hips twitch, and her glare turned positively menacing.

"Ah," he said, "The ice queen can be reached. Why don't you save yourself some trouble, and offer to serve us." He gestured at his men. "All of us!"

"That'll be the day," said Aurelia, her intense stare joined by a wicked grin. The veteran suddenly brought his hand to his head, and his face started turning red.

"She's doing it again!" shouted one of the men to her side. She turned to face him, and he too began to shake, letting go of her arm. With one arm free, the woman spun, rising up to knee the other soldier in the stomach, then spinning in a circle, her heel catching him neatly on the chin, avoiding the metal of his helmet. He dropped like a stone, but the woman was again in motion, as she jumped in the air, bringing her knees up tight to her chest. Her arms swung under her feet, and she landed, her bound wrists now in front of her.

"Whoa," said a soldier standing in front of her. He reached for his sword, and stared in shock as the weapon shot out of his scabbard into the hands of the half naked woman in front of him. She smacked him on the side of the head with the flat part of the blade, knocking him to the ground. Then she buried the blade between a crack in the stone, and quickly sliced through the rope that bound her wrists.

"Try this, bitch!" came a shout from behind her. Suddenly, Aurelia was doused with a bucket of water. She stiffened and stumbled forward, dripping with cold water, before turning to face him. The astute soldier wasted no time, dipping his bucket into the barrel and tossing it, but the athletic brunette rolled out of the way, and the water hit the stone with a splash. Suddenly another soldier grabbed her from behind, pinning her sword arm to her chest. She snapped her head back to strike him in the nose, but the impact, and perhaps the water, dazed her slightly.

Just then, a bucketful of water struck her in the chest, and she gasped, shaking her head in confusion. The soldier still held on, pinning her sword, and then two more soldiers came, one of them punching her in the side of the head. Dazed, the woman struggled weakly as she was pinned to the ground, two soldiers coming to tie her arms behind her back, forearm to forearm in a painful position. Then they pushed her to her knees, and tied her thighs to her calfs with more rope.

The woman wasn't fighting anymore, as she knelt there, swaying slightly. The remaining soldiers slowly gathered around, looking down at the woman. She'd defeated them so easily, but had begun to lose her edge when repeatedly doused with water.

"Fetch the torturer," said the veteran, "he knows how to bind a prisoner so they'll never escape. And keep a bucket of water handy. Douse her every time she starts to get that look in her eyes. I think we need those two devils for this one."

"Henri and Varga?" said the soldier with the bucket.

"Yeah, those two bastards," nodded the veteran. "Maybe they can find a way to tame this wild bitch."

****

Henri and Varga sat alone in the large dining area, enjoying the morning spread of breads, cured meats, cheeses and, a hot drink that resembled coffee but had a much stronger effect.

"How do you think our prisoner is doing?" said Varga, his words garbled by a mouthful of food.

"Well, if the guards did their job, she's been well filled from both ends," said Henri. "But if those fools let her cum, I'll have their heads."

"Don't you wonder where such a powerful telepath came from?" said Varga, drinking more of the hot, black fluid from the tarnished and simple copper cup. "It can't be a coincidence, you think she's from the Institute?"

"I don't know, her powers seem very different from anyone at the Institute," said Henri. "I do think it's strange. Perhaps after last night, we can extract that information directly from her mind. You'll have to fuck her though, I can't focus when I'm inside a beautiful woman."

"That's a deal. Let's pay her a visit," said Varga. "I want to see what a night with the camp guard has done to her."

"I as well," said Henri, taking a drink of his cup before standing and stepping away from the table. The two men left the mess hall and walked through the corridors and down the stairs to the holding cell area. A guard sat at a table behind the iron gate, and he moved to open the gate for them when they approached.

"We're here to see the new prisoner," said Henri.

"Yes sir!" replied the guard. "She's down here." With great anticipation, Henri and Varga followed the guard past several of the large cells, which looked more like interrogation rooms than jail cells. Then the guard stopped. "Here she is, sirs," he announced. Both men looked through the bars of the cell, and saw the beautiful, naked prisoner, chained to a large bed, her arms above her head and her legs spread by chains attached to leather manacles on her ankles. Henri's eyes narrowed as he looked at the prisoner.

"She's asleep!" he exclaimed, taking a step closer. "And she's not wearing her ring gag!"

The guard looked confused. "Well, sir, uh . . ." then he pointed at a crudely written sign on the door. "You can see the sign says she is not to be disturbed."

"What do you mean?" said Henri, glaring at the guard. "I gave orders for her to be used by the night watch last night!"

"Uhh, we . . . uhh . . . nobody touched her . . . you gave us orders to leave her alone, and make her comfortable, didn't you, sir?"

"Make her . . . comfortable? You embecile, I gave no such order!" barked Henri. "You removed her gag?" he added, incredulous.

"Y-yes, sir," said the guard, visibly confused. "We all agreed you'd . . . uh . . . given us the order."