The Dangers Of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 8. "Prelude to The Grand Party"

by Skytower

The sound was distinct. Merry had heard it on TV and heard it in a movie theatre but there was no comparison with the real thing. Count Intellect drew back his arm and with a smooth motion, one no doubt earned through centuries of practice, snapped his wrist and the whip sliced through the air. The sound was a hissing-snap sound that made Merry wince. But there was more to it. There was a slight hesitation between the hissing and the snap, a brief split second of anticipation. For the Count it was anticipation of pleasure, for Merry it was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Goddess of Justice, strapped into a torture wrack, it was just the signal that she was going to feel more pain. Merry wasn’t sure how that was possible. Goddess of Justice had been whipped for hours. No part of her body was spared. At first she had been strapped down to a rack, but then the count had suspended her from the ceiling with chains on her wrist. Another pair of chains forced her legs apart. In the light of the dungeon torches Merry could see the welts on her body. Most of them actually formed letters, or had at first. Later welts had obscured the letters. Normally that body was beautiful. Goddess of Justice stood over seven feet tall and her body matched that height. Her hips were wide and her breasts were far more than a D-cup. Her nipples, held now in clamps, were red and large. Her face was distorted with pain-no longer frustration, which had passed from her hour’s before-but pure pain.

She screamed once more and the Count paused.

"Seldom have I known such a time Goddess of Justice." He said. The Count’s face was calm but his eyes were alive and nearly glowing with joy. "But all times must end, be they good or bad." He turned and looked up at Merry. "Is that not so Mystery Woman?"

"I guess everything ends." Merry said. She clung to the brick that rested on the bars of her cage. Merry McCormick was six inches tall. She was a normally proportioned woman, indeed she was nearly the same proportion as Goddess of Justice, being just a little less chesty than the bound heroine was. They both had blonde hair, but Merry’s had been cut short. She was as naked as Goddess of Justice and just as helpless. Her body was covered in sweat but not from a whipping, rather from the fact that the hot air from the torches and the fire pit in the center of the chamber collected around the ceiling. Her cage hung over fifteen feet off of the floor of the dungeon, suspended by a chain that could be lowered by a wheel on the wall. The cage had been made for a fully-grown woman and if Merry stepped or fell off of the brick she would fall through the bars to the floor. Merry didn’t know if she would survive the fall and she didn’t want to find out.

"That is the problem with a mind that has no memory." Count Intellect said. "Wisdom often escapes it."

"What does evil know of wisdom?" Goddess of Justice voice was raspy with pain. Still she managed to raise her head enough to look at the villain. "Only those who know justice can know true wisdom."

"That is not wisdom that is conceit. Evil is true wisdom." Count Intellect said. "A wise man once said a very simple thing. He said; ‘Know thyself’. Evil knows itself. I know myself. My nature is to take what I want and enjoy taking what I want."

"But what do you want?" Merry asked. "You haven’t asked her anything yet."

Count Intellect laughed and his laughter caused the flames in the fire pit to leap into the air.

"Such pure naivete." He cried. "And yet in you my Mystery Woman I sense a true darkside."

"I… I don’t know." Merry said.

"You have not taken your eyes off of Goddess of Justice since I started." Count Intellect said. "Why can you not turn away?"

"I don’t know!" Merry shouted. She was so angry she almost fell off of the brick. "I feel… When I look at her…"

"I know how you feel." Count Intellect said. "It is the same way I feel." He ran his hand up along the inside of Goddess of Justice’s leg and eased his fingers into her vagina. "You lust for her, but not only for her body." Goddess of Justice moaned as he massaged her sex. "You lust for the power over her that I have. You envy me."

Merry didn’t reply but she couldn’t take her eyes of what he was doing. She had to fight to keep her hands from mirroring his actions. Merry truly didn’t know if this was her nature or not. It seemed to fly in the face of what she thought she should be. But her soul was confused between memories that were denied to her and feelings that were all too available. She watched as the Count released Goddess of Justice’s wrist from the chains. Too weak even to stand she fell flat on her face and didn’t do anything has he released her ankles and then lifted her over to the rack. Once she was secured he turned the wheal a few times to pull her arms and legs taunt. Then he turned back to Merry.

"But here Mystery Woman is the difference. I lust not for her body, which I can take easily, I lust for the knowledge she has contained in her mind."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal wire frame. With a smile he fitted the frame into Goddess of Justice’s vagina, forcing it to stay open.

Goddess of Justice moaned again. There was a hopeless tone to her voice and Merry saw that the Count’s frame had exposed the heroine’s clitoris. With a move that was almost too fast to see the Count took a few steps away from Goddess of Justice. His arm snapped up and the whip sliced through the air to hit the Goddess of Justice’s clitoris.

She screamed in shock or pleasure, Merry couldn’t tell which it was, and lay back against the rack completely limp. Again the whip sang out and again it struck between her legs. The Count snapped the whip again and again until Goddess of Justice was too tired to scream and lay limply sobbing. The he put the whip on a hook near the rack and grabbed her hair, forcing her face to his. Their eyes locked and after a few minutes Goddess of Justice stopped sobbing. Her eyes glazed over and her face was a numb mask devoid of life.

"You are mine." Count Intellect said in a tone that seemed to chill the air.

"I am yours." Goddess of Justice agreed.

"Can Ms. Dream find you even if you are not fully Goddess of Justice?"

"I don’t know?"

"How would she find you?"

"I would have to dream about her." Goddess of Justice said. "If I call her name out in a dream she will find me."

"Then I forbid you to do so." Count Intellect said. "You will obey me."

"I will obey."

"Tell me about the Pyramid. Is there a way to get into it unseen?"

"Through the… through the…" Goddess of Justice’s body sagged and her head lolled to one side, the eyes closing.

"Her mind seeks refuge from mine in sleep." Count Intellect said stepping back from her. "Very well. It is only the start of what she will tell me."

He stepped back and Merry realized that Count Intellect was tired. She wondered if it was from the physical work of torturing Goddess of Justice or the mental effort of hypnotizing her.

"If you keep this up she’ll die." Merry said looking at Goddess of Justice’s bruised and battered body.

"Not so." Count Intellect said. "The spell the prevents her from reaching full power still allows her some power. By tomorrow she will be healed. I will then have a body with no wounds to abuse once more. But her spirit does not have that same ability. Gradually I will wear her down, the amount of time I will be able to grasp her mind will increase."

"Is that how it worked with Alpha and Beta?"

"No. In the case of the two sisters I had to destroy one completely before the other would acknowledge me as master. It took two months of torture for me to realize that. Even after I had drained her sister dry and made her share a bed with the corpse Alpha resisted me. Until I showed her a horror she could not bear to know."

"It sounds so… familiar." Merry said.

"Have you done this to another person or has this been done to you?" Count Intellect asked. He turned and walked over to the doorway. When he reached it he turned back. "That is a question my Mystery Woman that you and I both would like an answer to. I will leave you to contemplate it."

He vanished into the shadows.

After he was gone Merry tried to get comfortable but it was impossible. The rough stone dug into her bare skin and the foul air of the dungeon grabbed at her throat. The more Merry tried to think and remember the harder it became. Her memories seemed to run away from her. In the end weariness conquered the tiny confused woman. She laid face down on the stone and fell asleep.

Merry woke up to a persistent desperate voice. She raised her head and looked over the edge of the brick. Bellow her Goddess of Justice was still strapped to the torture rack. As Count Intellect had predicted her body was healed. There was little evidence that she had been whipped. Only the mystic brand burned into the flesh between her large breasts remained. Beside the rack stood Alpha. Her body still bore the scars that came from Count Intellect’s hand. He had captured Alpha and her sister, deprived them of their power rings by chopping off their hands and killed Beta. Alpha lived only as his near-mindless slave. The only clothing she still wore was her mask. There was a huge jar of gray stuff on the floor next to the rack. She stood beside the rack and put spoonfuls of a gray mush into Goddess of Justice’s mouth. Or at least she was trying too. Goddess of Justice was trying to talk to her.

"Alpha please snap out of it! In the name of justice remember who you are!"

Her response was another spoonful, but Goddess of Justice turned her head away and it fell onto her neck. Judging from the amount that covered her neck and chest Merry guessed that the feeding had been going on for a while.

"I don’t think she can snap out of it." Merry said. "I think he snapped her in half."

"She is still in there." Goddess of Justice insisted.

"Not likely." Merry said.

"Have you been tortured?"

"I don’t know." Merry admitted. "But I think… I’ve seen people like Alpha before. Or someone like her. Someone who’s faced their worst fear and the fear won."

"The Alpha I knew would fight till the end." Goddess of Justice insisted.

"I think she did." Merry said. "I think that in the end she just lost."

Goddess of Justice allowed the zombified former heroine to put another spoonful of gruel into her mouth.

"Never." She said after swallowing it. "Alpha and Beta were too resourceful, too good to allow that to happen."

"You got caught." Merry pointed out.

"Justice will prevail." Goddess of Justice said.

Merry sighed. The words were good and it was obvious that Goddess of Justice believed them with a fanatic’s intensity, but Merry wasn’t sure.

"What does that stuff taste like?" She asked.

"It’s horrid!" Goddess of Justice snapped. "It taste like the mold that grows on the stones of this place!"

"You’ve eaten that?"

"Of course not!" Goddess of Justice snapped. "Has your wit gone with your memory?"

"Well I guess they don’t make pizza tasting gruel." Merry said. She paused. "What a minute I remember something. I like pizza for breakfast!"

"Pizza?"

"Cold pizza!" Merry said. Excitement rushed through her and she sat up. "Not real cold, but microwaved cold. That’s when you leave it in the microwave all night, heat it up in the morning and then get back to it an hour later after it’s got cold again."

"Disgusting." Goddess of Justice spat.

"It beats gruel." Merry said plaintively. "But I didn’t eat it all the time… it was… damn I can’t remember."

"I would wager a large amount of gold that you did not get that body eating pizza." Sebastion said.

Merry looked up and saw the were-wolf standing in the doorway. He was wearing a red robe with the edges lined with gold sequins and diamonds. Around his neck hung a gold chain with a red ruby. He lounged against the doorway, giving an air of aristocratic indifference. Or at least he was trying too. To Merry the effect was very much like a badly done painting on velvet.

"Stop feeding her." Sebastion ordered Alpha. He walked over to the wheel that controlled Merry’s cage and turned it. When she was shoulder height he reached through the bars and picked her up. The furs on his hand were incredibly soft, almost silk. His hand was also very warm. Sebastion carried her over to Alpha.

"Take her to Count Intellect." He said and looked at Goddess of Justice. "I will attend to the cleaning of the prisoner."

Goddess of Justice snarled as Sebastion handed Merry to Alpha. After the warmth and soft fur Merry was shocked at the cold and clammy feeling of Alpha’s skin. She watched as Sebastion removed his robe. Beneath it he wore nothing and his penis was already half erect. Goddess of Justice’s screams followed Alpha and Merry as they climbed the stairs.

The climb up the stairs was a long one. Merry’s mind slipped away from her constantly. She was searching for memories that weren’t there and it was a frustrating search. A part of her felt that she needed to escape, and help Goddess of Justice to escape. But another part recognized Count Intellect as a dominant force. A part of her said that power demanded obedience and that part reminded her of the ghoul he had burned. Merry went back and forth between them and almost didn’t realize it when Alpha carried her into a dining room.

The dining room was modest by castle standards. It could have easily seated 100 at the long table, but there were only two people there. Alpha set Merry down onto the tabletop. Then she turned and walked away. For a few minutes Merry gazed at the room. The ceiling was made of wood and brick. The wood was inlaid with gold designs and murals covered the bricks. The murals were of hellish scenes of war, sickness and torture. The walls were alternately tapestries and glass display cases. Merry saw swords, shields, mummified corpses and pieces of mummified corpses. The hands of Alpha and Beta were held under a glass dome in the center of the table. Clamps held them in place yet the rings still glowed and the hands looked alive.

"Come here Mystery Woman." Count Intellect said. "Come and meet my honored guest."

Merry walked toward them. It was a walk of a few minutes for her and on the way she passed crystal glasses that were nearly twice her size. Candles lit in gold candelabras gave off a lot of heat and Merry stepped out of her way not to get to close to them. The wood she walked on was dark and highly polished. Some instinct made Merry walk up to the Count’s plate with her head down. The Count was eating from a plate that was heaped with raw meat.

"Good morning." Merry said.

"Not quite good morning." Count Intellect said. "For it is evening, but since I allow no sunlight in my home it is an understandable error."

Merry looked up at him. His face was calm and almost serene. Only the unholy light in his eyes betrayed him and reminded Merry that he was not human, but a vampire. She wondered if the meat he ate was human.

"This is my honored guest." The Count said nodding to the woman seated across from him. Merry turned at his nod.

"Delilah!" Merry exclaimed.

"Who?" The woman asked.

"Have you gone by other names Sidonia?" Count Intellect asked.

"Hundreds." The woman said. "But never that one."

"I… I’m sorry." Merry said. "But that name… it just popped into my head."

"A memory." Count Intellect said.

"I guess so." Merry said.

"Mystery Woman may I present Lady Canoness of Pomerania, Duchess Sidonia Von Bork, also known as the Amber Witch."

"My lady." Merry said not knowing why she knew the way to address the woman and barely realizing why she added a neat little curtsy to the greeting. But it crossed Merry’s mind that she had yet to meet anyone who did not scare the hell out of her.

"She has good manors." The Duchess said. She leaned forward and studied Merry intensely. For the first time that morning Merry realized she was naked. She blushed but did not cover herself. There was something about Sidonia that was familiar.

Sidonia was beautiful. Her long hair was a very light shade of brown, almost blonde. It was held against her head by a loose gold net. Her deep brown eyes gazed from a face that had a very fair complexion, a long nose and a strong jaw. The woman was wearing a white blouse with a blue vest that emphasized her small waist but thrust her small breasts high upon her chest. She also wore a deep and wide skirt made of some cream colored fabric. Sidonia was covered in jewels. She wore a ruby necklace, her earrings were diamonds and there were gold bracelets on her wrist. Thin rings of various metals and holding various small jewels were on all of her fingers.

"So you have no memory of who you are or where you came from?" Sidonia asked. Her brown eyes locked on Merry’s.

"None." Merry said. She felt the woman’s mind searching her own and realized there was nothing she could do about it.

"You have a small puzzle here Mathew." Sidonia said. She reached out and tenderly stroked Merry’s short blond hair. Her breath was sweet and her hand was warm but Merry shuddered anyway.

"A pleasing one." Count Intellect said. "You sense it in her as well?"

"Yes." Sidonia withdrew her hand. "A soul in torment, and not just because she can not remember."

"She was found by Sebastion in the Deep Pit." Count Intellect said. "But she is human. I thought perhaps you could tell me of the spell that reduced her thusly?"

"No spell." Sidonia said. "There are many spells of course that could do the job. I’ve used them myself. But I sense no magical aura around her. This was done by science."

"But who and why?" Merry asked.

"You will find out in time." Sidonia said. "But I sense you may not like the answer."

"In the meantime you are welcome here." Count Intellect said. "You may watch as I reduce Goddess of Justice to a whimpering slave."

"Your dvd of the destruction of Alpha and Beta was highly entertaining." Duchess Sidonia said. She gestured to the glass that held the sister’s hands. "Tell me have you figured out why there is no decay yet?"

"I believe some part of the sister’s life force remains in the rings." Count Intellect said. It may take decades for the power to fade."

"Very nice." Sidonia said. "And Goddess of Justice? The seal of Krankor performed perfectly did it not?"

"The look of shock on her face when I overpowered her was one I shall treasure for all time." Count Intellect said. "I assume you will want to play with her?"

"You assume correctly." Duchess Sidonia said. "Tonight as a matter of fact, as you know I have guest coming soon and they will occupy my time."

Count Intellect frowned.

"The woman I would not mind seeing grovel, but the man… a mortal."

"As you were once Mathew." Sidonia said. "Do not think that I stopped with you and your fellow officers. My goal has long been to bring pain to mankind. Your efforts are great in that area, but still you are only one."

Count Intellect shrugged but Merry got the feeling he wasn’t happy.

"It is easier now of course." Sidonia said. "You and your fellow officers tramped over hills and through valleys to find me."

"How brave we thought we were." Count Intellect said. "Braving great dangers to find and destroy the witch."

"Thankfully you came to your senses." The Duchess said. "I would have hated to have killed you all."

"At least we braved a long journey." Count Intellect said. His tone was full of contempt. "This man simply found your web page."

"He is not the first." Duchess Sidonia replied, indifferent to his tone. "It furthers my goals and relieves the boredom. My kingdom is small. My people are small in number, which suits me, but their blood is cool. Once I attracted foolish young men and women with dozens of well paid bards spreading tales of my power and treasure. Now I simply put a little notice on the internet and it is all I can do to pick and choose who are worthy of my time."

"So I have heard." Count Intellect said. "The rich and the famous seek you out."

"They long for forbidden pleasures or power." Sidonia said smiling. "It amazes me that a person who is rich and famous somehow thinks that being rich and famous is a shield from all things."

"But where is the challenge?" Count Intellect asked. "Where is the hunt and the battle that truly makes the blood boil?"

"That is the difference between us Mathew, I have no need to hunt victims, they come begging at my castle door. You blood boils in conflict with your victims, mine simmers in corrupting them."

"I am looking forward to your party."

"So am I." Sidonia looked at Merry. "Please, don’t forget to bring your pets."

Merry started to say something but stopped herself. Merry realized that she had not quite been forgotten, just relegated to the sidelines and that was probably safer.

"I will I think." Count Intellect said. "If only to impress upon your guests how mighty I am."

"If it makes you happy." Sidonia said. She reached over and picked Merry up. "I do accept gifts you know, even if this is not my birthday party."

"What sort of party is it?" Merry asked, getting the words out despite her fear.

Sidonia ran her fingers over Merry’s breasts and playfully pinched the nipples. Merry’s body responded and she felt the flush come to her face and the moisture gather between her legs.

"In 1620 an enemy of mine, Duke Francis, had my head cut off and my body burned." Sidonia said. She placed Merry face down on the table and began to run her fingers over the helpless woman’s butt. "He thought that would end my life. I still remember the look of shock on his face when, on the night of his daughters sixteenth birthday I visited him in his chambers. There I let fall the spell that I had used." Sidonia playfully pinched Merry’s buttocks and then turned her over and pressed her finger against Merry’s vagina. "It was a spell that allowed me to switch places with his daughter. He had actually executed her in my stead."

Sidonia sat up and laughed, taking her fingers away from a gasping Merry.

"Oh how he cried that night. He could do nothing else because I bound him in an enchantment that would not let him leave the room or tell anyone what I had told. He raged, he pleaded, he cried and prayed."

"What happened in the morning?" Merry asked, pulling herself together.

"He impaled himself on his sword." Sidonia said. "And since I was still his daughter to the world I inherited his castle."

"It was not as simple as that." Count Intellect said, taking a drink from a crystal that had a deep red liquid in it. "As I recall it was some years before you claimed all."

"True." Sidonia said. "I did have to work my way through two or three sons, but that was more sport than work. And his only daughter I shrunk, not as small as you Mystery Woman, but small enough for fun. I’m not sure but I think she might still be living in the castle walls. She might be mating with rats for that is most likely all she can do."

A figure came out of the shadows and stood beside Sidonia’s chair. By now all the astonishment had left Merry’s mind. But even so she could not help but gape. The creature was barely over four feet tall. She was female but not human. Her face was very similar to Sebastion’s, with wolf-like eyes and a snout instead of a nose. Her fur was deep black. She wore a plain brown dress with a black bodice. There was a gold collar around her neck with the word; "Esmerelda" engraved on it. The creature moved with a limp and bore the scars of long term abuse. Merry spotted places on her arms where the fur had been burned off. One of her pointed wolf-like ears had been torn in half. Scars ran across the right side of her face marring what might have looked attractive. Her figure was slight and well hidden by the gray dress she wore. She carried a gold plate with a cell phone on it.

"My lady." The creature said curtsying. "A call from my lord Ultran of Nomancia."

"Must you use those things?" Count Intellect asked.

"Esmerelda is a most attendant maid." Sidonia said. "She is just not in the best of health at the moment. In our last hunt she ran afoul of a bear. It was a battle I enjoyed immensely, even if I nearly lost her because of it. But she prevailed despite her tender years."

"Not her." Count Intellect said. "I have no concern for one of Sebastion’s whelps."

"Oh you meant the phone? My dear count you must try to join this century before it grows too old. Don’t let it be like the 19^th when you refused to let a telegraph line through your lands."

"Cell phones can be traced." Count Intellect said. "I have Goddess of Justice prisoner, I do not want to battle Force Group J until I have learned all of their secrets from her."

"It is safe."

Sidonia took the phone off of the plate and opened it. She smiled at the Count and there was a patronizing tone in her voice as she went on. "Or is it that you simply don’t like Lord Ultran?"

The Count’s face turned dark and that seemed to please Sidonia greatly. She started to talk in a language Merry didn’t understand. After a moment she closed the phone and put it back on the plate.

"That was Lady Ultran. It seems that Force Group J attacked Lord Ultran’s stronghold and killed him." Sidonia said.

"How odd." Count Intellect said smiling. "They have never troubled him before."

"For some reason they thought he might be involved with Goddess of Justice’s disappearance."

"Ah well, that is the life, or un-life we lead."

"Yes it is." Sidonia agreed.

"Who was he?" Merry asked.

They both looked at her and Merry realized she had made a mistake. The wolf-girl looked at her with amazement.

"You might have called him my brother." Count Intellect said after a pregnant pause. "Ages ago during a dark and terrible winter storm a group of army officers reached the end of their journey. Their vow to God was to destroy the Amber Witch. Of their own free will they marched into her castle. None left it alive, but all of them left."

"The castle of course was mine." Sidonia said. "You might call them all my children. I made them a promise. The one who caused the most pain, the most chaos in the world, the one that hurt humanity the worst and survived would be allowed to return to my castle. And I would be his."

"There are but five of us left." Count Intellect said. "Over the centuries one after another of us has fallen prey to heroes and heroines."

"But many have also preyed on the heroes and heroines." Sidonia said gesturing at his prizes. "Well Mathew now that Lord Ultran’s castle is destroyed I see I will have to hold my party here."

"It will be my honor." Count Intellect said smiling. "And Goddess of Justice will be an entertainment unparalleled."

"I’m sure."

"Would you like to see her? Sebastion is no doubt done by now."

"I would." Sidonia said. She stood up and plucked Merry off of the table. After a pause to run her fingers over the shrunken woman Sidonia placed Merry next to the cell phone on the gold tray. Merry shivered knowing that the witch was not done with her yet. The gold tray was cold and shiny and the expression that looked back at Merry from the metal was distorted. Distorted yet tantalizingly familiar. Suddenly not wishing to know herself Merry looked away.

Now that she was closer Merry could see that Esmerelda’s human fingers ended in sharp claws. The wolf girl carried her but it was a tough walk down the stairs for the injured creature. A few times Merry almost fell of the tray and only the look of panic in Esmerelda’s eyes stopped Merry from shouting. She grabbed the cell phone before it too fell off of the tray and Esmerelda mouthed a thank you. It occurred to Merry that she could use the cell phone to call someone, but no number appeared in her head. Merry knew that she knew numbers, not a lot, but some, but she couldn’t remember any of them.

They entered the torture chamber and for some reason Merry wasn’t surprised at what they saw. Sebastion was on the floor unconscious and Goddess of Justice was nowhere to be seen.

"Henchmen." Count Intellect said. His tone did not betray any anger, merely resigned suffering. "After centuries of life and this dog still has not the sense of a goose."

"Perhaps it was a mistake to destroy Cadaverous." Duchess Sidonia said.

"She would have been no better." Count Intellect said sadly. "Why can I not find intelligent servants?" He cried. "She was in chains, helpless, yet still she got this idiot to free her!" He kicked the unconscious were-wolf.

"Lord Dresdona boast that his robot guards are immune to that sort of thing." Duchess Sidonia said.

"A machine can not torture!" Count Intellect spat into the fire pit. "You need to feel the pain, see the terror in their eyes! You must love pain to inflict pain!"

"Well what will you do now to entertain me at my party?" Duchess Sidonia demanded gently. But there was an edge to her voice and Merry guessed that she agreed completely with Count Intellect about pain.

"She has no power." Count Intellect said. "And as a precaution I hid the exit from the dungeon. She wanders now in the labyrinth and is no doubt already ensnared in one of its traps."

"Well let us go find her then." Duchess Sidonia said.

"I will lead the way." Count Intellect said. He wrenched a torch out of the wall and walked into one of the alcoves. The torchlight revealed that the alcove was actually a doorway and they followed him through it.

There really was no difference between the dungeon and the dungeon corridor. The stones had the same look and texture and the ground was a dark carpet of dirt and brick. The air was the main difference. In some places it was sweet and pure, in others so foul as to make Merry choke and cough. Count Intellect led the way, followed by Duchess Sidonia and Esmerelda with Merry on the gold tray. As they walked Count Intellect pointed out various places where he had defeated or trapped heroes and heroines over the centuries. His boast of the battles may have been just that: boasting, but there was no denying the high body count. Most of them were rotting bones, some were mummified corpses and a few looked like they were alive, but weren’t.

"This chamber." He said stopping and holding the torch closer to a door. "This is a favorite of mine. This was where Mademoiselle Liberty met her fate."

He pushed the heavy wooden door open and shown the torch inside. The chamber was small. It held no furniture. On the floor a tall woman with dark hair and pale skin was chained into an X position. She wore rags that once may have been a dark dress. Merry watched horrified as a pair of gray skinned little women assaulted the woman. The small women were copies of the bound woman. They were barely 3 feet tall. One of them stood on her chest and laughed while the other two slowly pulled tight a string that was around her neck. She died slowly with a croak of pain. But she did not die. Merry saw it in the woman’s eyes. Instead of death there was despair. Then there was a shimmering off the air and the woman appeared alive again. She was darkly beautiful, dressed in a full length black gown. Still bound she pulled wildly at her bonds as the three shrunken women approached her once more. They carried the string and also small knives.

"She was a heroine of the French revolution was she not?" Duchess Sidonia asked.

"Yes. A white witch who killed one of my agents. A radical who truly believed that her white magic was a match for me." Count Intellect said. "It might have been, if I had not had the Devil Sisters strike her down from behind. They were once her servants, bound by her white magic to serve her. The Devil Sisters’s never enjoyed their servitude and my freeing them sealed her defeat. Their vengeance for the white witch’s enslavement of them is to kill her again and again. Since I trapped her she has been held here, reliving the last few moments of her life. She is aware of that of course, but is helpless to free herself. I wonder sometimes if she keeps track of how many times she has died."

"Very nice." The Duchess said.

"Thank you." Count Intellect said.

They moved on and came to a part of the tunnel that widened.

"Ah we have found her." Count Intellect said.

Goddess of Justice was strapped to the stem of a giant mushroom. Thin vines held her body flat against it, so tight they dug into her skin. Part of the mushroom had grown over the bottom half of her face and her eyes were glazed with pleasure. A thicker vine had penetrated between her legs while two more had strapped themselves over her nipples, while the thinner vines squeezed her breasts. While all that was going on smaller vines with spines on the end of them darted in and out, spearing Goddess of Justice’s skin and pulling back.

"Interesting little plant." The Duchess observed.

"Yes." Count Intellect said. The dust from the mushroom is enchanted. It draws the victim close enough for the vines to grasp them, then the rape begins and the smaller vines draw blood. A full sized woman like Goddess of Justice can feed this mushroom for months before she dies. Before she dies, if I let it continue, Goddess of Justice will give birth to hundreds of the mush rooms."

"She sees us." Duchess Sidonia said. Merry saw it too, a vague look of recognition in Goddess of Justice’s glassy eyes.

"She is not too far gone." Count Intellect said. He thrust the torch against the mushroom and it wilted quickly. After only a moment there was nothing left but the stem and the quickly loosening vines. Goddess of Justice fell to her knees tearing the growth from her face. Gasping for air she pulled the vine out of her sex and it the rest of them from her body.

"I supposed you have to try and escape." Count Intellect said. "I’m surprised you were caught so easily."

Without a word Goddess of Justice grabbed one of the vines and snapped it like a whip. Merry saw the Count dodge but he wasn’t the target. It only took a moment for him to realize that and even less time for Duchess Sidonia to act. Her arm snapped out and grabbed Esmerelda. With a yank that sent Merry and the cell phone flying Esmerelda was pulled in front of her mistress and the sharp spines ripped across her throat. She fell gasping and when Merry looked up Goddess of Justice was gone.

"My apologies Sidonia, I did not expect her to do that." Count Intellect said calmly.

"Quite alright." The Duchess said. She bent down next to a gasping Esmerelda. "Prisoners are always doing the un-expected. It’s part of their charm."

"Aren’t you going to help her?" Merry asked staggering over to them. The fall had wrenched one of her legs. Esmerelda’s blood was still flowing and Merry had to be careful not to step into it. The wolf-girl’s eyes were filled with pain and she clutched at her throat.

"I should." Sidonia said. She looked at Esmerelda and smiled. "And I will, soon."

"Soon?" Merry asked.

"Soon." The Duchess said. She looked up at the tunnel. "Where does that passage lead?"

"That leads to a chamber of dead soldiers who I have not yet allowed to fully die." Count Intellect said. "They were French revolutionaries who came to rescue Mademoiselle Liberty. I don’t imagine that Goddess of Justice will find it an easy passage."

"Ah, then I guess I have time." The Duchess said. She reached into the fold of her skirt and pulled out a small glass bottle. The bottle seemed to shine with an Inner Light.

"The waters of the Kresginia?" Count Intellect asked. "What good will a healing potion from a holy place do for her?"

"She is still a little bit human." Duchess Sidonia said. She reached over and grabbed Merry. "Just enough for this to work, but not painlessly."

The Duchess kept a firm grip on Merry and then poured a little bit of the clear liquid into Esmerelda’s mouth. Esmerelda howled in pain and that howl quickly grew into one of agony. She thrashed around on the floor as if her body was on fire. Her claws gouged deep ruts into the floor and the walls. Only the Count and the Duchess’s quick movements spared them from being caught in the wolf girl’s convulsions. Merry looked away from Esmerelda and saw a look of pure delight on both of their faces.

"I don’t serve true evil!" Merry whispered to herself. Revulsion filled her at the sight of the sadistic glee. "I don’t! Please I don’t!"

But Merry was sure that whoever she served would do something very close to this, not for sadism, but for another reason. A reason Merry couldn’t remember.

It didn’t take long for Esmerelda to spend herself and she fell to the floor gasping for breath. A short time after her breathing stopped and her eyes cleared.

"Attend me." The Duchess ordered.

Esmerelda climbed to her knees and retrieved he golden tray and the cell phone. Then she kneeled in front of her mistress and Sidonia placed Merry onto the tray.

"Now let us see how Goddess of Justice is faring." Count Intellect said. He led the way and they followed.

Merry was beginning to wonder if the castle they were in was carved into some sort of mountain. She didn’t think it was possible for any place to have so many tunnels and chambers and not be carved from a mountain. Bits and pieces of old stories and movies flashed through her mind, but all them maddeningly distant.

They entered a large rectangular chamber. It was built along the lines of an outdoor Roman theatre. On the left were rows of stone benches leading upward on the right was a private box. In the center of the field, with a mass of rotted body parts around her, stood Goddess of Justice. Ten mummified corpses with sabers attacked her. They had once been men and they wore what were once blue uniforms. They moved slowly, their blows weak, but only by chopping off their limbs was Goddess of Justice able to stop them. Or slow them down. Merry watched as the limbs piled around her began to writhe and re-connect.

"Even after all that she can still fight." Duchess Sidonia said. Merry couldn’t tell whether or not she spoke with contempt, mockery or admiration.

"I have only begun to break her." Count Intellect said. "The seeds of despair take time to plant."

They walked along the edge of the chamber and stopped under the private box. Merry saw a doorway with stairs leading up to it. Beside the doorway were two stone gargoyles.

"Well as long as she has some fire left in her maybe I can have a little fun." Duchess Sidonia said. She raised her hand and one of the sabers flew from the hand of the zombie holding it and came to her. Duchess Sidonia examined it. "Old, but well made and balanced."

Count Intellect shouted a word that Merry did not understand and the zombies suddenly stopped fighting and drew back. Goddess of Justice looked at them confused and Merry realized that she hadn’t seen the Count and his party yet.

"You have a magnificent body." Duchess Sidonia said walking toward Goddess of Justice. "I am Duchess Sidonia of Pomerania and I charge you to kneel before me or I will make you kneel."

"Justice kneels to no one and I am Justice." Goddess of Justice said.

It was a proud and foolish boast. Merry could see that Goddess of Justice was worn out. The mushroom had done its work and the dead soldiers had pushed her even further. Merry would have kneeled and rested, done anything to wait for a better chance. But the nude heroine covered in scratches and dust stood proud and raised a sword that trembled with fatigue.

The fight was joined and after a few moves Merry could tell that Goddess of Justice was loosing. Even if she had not been tired the woman was no sword fighter. Duchess Sidonia on the other hand knew how to handle the sword, even in a dress that made movement difficult. For nearly ten minutes Merry watched as the Duchess parried and thrust her way past Goddess of Justice’s defenses. The Duchess was careful; she used the flat of her blade to swat her opponent. Her favorite target was Goddess of Justice’s ass and this she hit time and again until it was bright red.

"And you are a great warrioress?" Duchess asked drawing back from the battle. Goddess of Justice stumbled back and somehow managed to stay on her feet. "I have employed jesters who have fought better than you."

"Coward. Face me again when I am rested and you will loose." Goddess of Justice promised.

"I do not fight battles I can not win." Duchess Sidonia said pleasantly. "But I am beginning to be bored."

The Duchess raised her hand and the saber vanished from Goddess of Justice’s grip.

"Esmerelda."

Esmerelda placed Merry onto the lap of one of the stone gargoyles. Then she walked over to her mistress.

Merry did not sit down. The stone of the gargoyle statue she was on was like ice. She hugged her arms around her shivering body and tried to keep her teeth from chattering.

She watched as Sidonia made a strange stutter-stop movement with her hand and two new objects appeared on the tray. A whip and a pair of manacles. Merry thought she understood, but then Sidonia did something completely unexpected. With Esmerelda’s help the Duchess undressed and stood naked.

"What’s going on?" Merry asked.

"A demonstration." Count Intellect said. "The Duchess will wrestle Goddess of Justice into submission, chain her and then whip her."

Or at least that was The Duchess’s plan. Merry looked at the way Goddess of Justice was standing and recognized the stance of a pure fighter. Even as dog-tired as the heroine was Merry didn’t think Sidonia could beat her. Sidonia nude had an almost classic Greek statue of a body. Her hips were wide and her breast slight. She was muscular, but not lean. In contrast to Merry and Goddess of Justice, Sidonia’s muscles were large and ill defined against her pale skin. There were mystical symbols burned into her thighs and lower back. Esmerelda carried the dress back to where Merry and the Count were and then stood still.

Sidonia smiled and moved forward. As she moved toward Goddess of Justice Merry noticed a gleam of metal on the Duchess’s hand. She was still wearing a ring.

"Do you call me coward now?" Sidonia asked.

Without a word Goddess of Justice closed with the woman. Sidonia sidestepped her but the other woman had anticipated that. Even as she rushed passed Goddess of Justice struck out and hit Sidonia on the small of the back. It was only a glancing blow but it sent Sidonia off balance. But still she was ready as Goddess of Justice turned and tried to attack again. This time Sidonia bent low and grabbed Goddess of Justice around the stomach. With a heave she lifted the taller woman off of the ground and tossed Goddess of Justice over her shoulder. The Goddess hit hard but she was up quickly, only to be hit by a round house kick to the temple from Sidonia. Goddess of Justice was stunned. She was on all fours and Sidonia moved in quickly. She leapt over the prone woman and landed with both feet on the back of Goddess of Justice’s ankles. Goddess of Justice screamed and rolled over, just in time to get another kick in the head from Sidonia. Goddess of Justice was too stunned to stop her when Sidonia rolled her over onto her stomach and grabbed one of her legs. Sidonia twisted one of Goddess of Justice’s ankles while she ground the heel of her foot into the small of Goddess of Justice’s back.

"Do you still call me coward?" Sidonia taunted.

Goddess of Justice grunted in pain and tried to bring her arms into position to push herself off of the ground. Sidonia let her do it, let her start to push herself off of the ground, then she let go of Goddess of Justice’s leg and let her roll away. Before Goddess of Justice could get to her feet Sidonia was on her again. Grabbing one arm she again forced Goddess of Justice onto her stomach. Twisting the arm into the center of Goddess of Justice’s back Sidonia reached under Goddess of Justice with her free hand and grabbed the trapped woman’s large breast.

This time Goddess of Justice cried out in pain as Sidonia ground her breast into the harsh cold stone of the ground. She could not get enough leverage with her free arm to stop the woman.

While all this had been going on Merry had been becoming increasingly aroused. The cold was forgotten as the combat continued. Merry’s body was hot and her legs were slick with her own juices. Beside her Count Intellect’s eyes were ablaze and his pants were tight. Beside him Esmerelda’s breaths came in quick puffs and there was a wild look in the wolf-girl’s eyes.

But even as Merry’s body was reacting her mind was working. She watched the fight as someone who has watched many fights. And she realized that Sidonia was going to loose.

The Duchess was inflicting pain yes, but that was all. She always stopped short breaking one of Goddess of Justice’s limbs or knocking her out. Each hold she used was designed to inflict pain.

"She’s going to loose." Merry said.

"That is not in doubt." Count Intellect said. "Without her powers Goddess of Justice is a woman after all. A peasant."

"Not Goddess of Justice." Merry said, not taking her eyes off of the fight. Sidonia had both of Goddess of Justice’s arms pinned beneath her body and was sitting on her. Goddess of Justice squirmed and twisted her body as Sidonia savagely slapped her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Goddess of Justice won’t give up." Merry said. "She isn’t that far gone yet. She’ll wait, she’ll take the pain and she’ll wait for a chance."

"You speak from experience." Count Intellect said.

"I don’t know how I know." Merry said. "But I know that if you don’t win a fight in the first ten seconds then you probably aren’t going to win the fight."

"Let us see if you are correct."

For the next few minutes Merry seemed to be wrong. Sidonia played with Goddess of Justice like a cat would play with a mouse. The holds became more vicious, more painful. But the price of the pain was a sloppy hold. Sidonia’s goal was to hear Goddess of Justice cry out in pain. When that happened she would laugh and release the hold. Merry spotted that quickly enough and so did Goddess of Justice.

The Duchess pushed Goddess of Justice down onto her stomach by twisting both arms at the wrist and holding them away from her back. Goddess of Justice grunted and writhed in the hold but could not break free and slowly Sidonia twisted the heroine’s arms more and more. At last Goddess of Justice cried out in pain and the Duchess released her.

In a move that didn’t show that she had spent the better part of a morning being raped and beaten Goddess of Justice turned over and kicked Sidonia in the chin. Only the fact that the heroine stood seven feet tall and the Duchess fell a foot and a half shorter than that allowed Goddess of Justice to do it. Even so she had to lift her entire body up with her arms. But the kick connected and Sidonia stumbled back, stunned. Ignoring any pain in her body Goddess of Justice struck again. This time her kick caught the Duchess in the stomach. Sidonia bent forward into the heroines waiting arms and was pulled down to the ground. From that point it became a classic Grecian-wrestling match. Sidonia was quick, strong and determined. But that did her no good at all now that Goddess of Justice could use her greater height and weight. It took only a few minutes for Sidonia to find herself helpless. She was on her side; her right wrist bent behind her back and between her shoulder blades and her left ankle held in a solid grip that twisted it. Goddess of Justice had her full weight on the center of the Duchess’s back and there was no place for Sidonia to go.

Merry felt the orgasm coming as she realized the hold that Goddess of Justice was going to use and when the Duchess was firmly held Merry came. The wave of sexual energy drove the shrunken woman to her knees. Beside her Count Intellect emitted a low growl.

But if their reactions were of pleasure Sidonia’s was of rage and frustration. For a few minutes she tried to free herself. Then she gave up.

"Esmerelda attack!" Sidonia cried.

The wolf girl moved with a speed that was hard to see. She flashed in the torchlight and bowled into Goddess of Justice, knocking her off of the Duchess. This was not to be a wrestling match though. Esmerelda did not try any holds. Her claws slashed at Goddess of Justice’s body and her sharp teeth bit into the heroine’s skin. Unprepared for the savage attack Goddess of Justice did her best to fall back and fight the wolf girl off. But it was like fighting a tiger. She managed to get a hold on Esmerelda’s wrist but had to let go as Esmerelda sank her teeth into Goddess of Justice’s breasts. Blood flowed freely and after only a few minutes both fighters were covered in it. Goddess of Justice was on her back, her grip on Esmerelda’s neck the only thing that was keeping the wolf girl’s teeth from her throat. And that grip was failing. Slowly Esmerelda’s teeth moved closer and closer to Goddess of Justice.

"Enough Esmerelda." Sidonia called. She had gotten up and calmly put her dress back on as the battle had raged.

Esmerelda ignored her and Merry saw that there was very little humanity left in the wolf-girl’s eyes.

"Stop!" Sidonia called out in a voice that should have stopped the combat. She held her left hand up and Merry saw the ring on it gleam in the torchlight. "I said stop!"

Esmerelda ignored her. The wolf-girl’s teeth were very close to Goddess of Justice’s throat and her jaws snapped open and closed.

"Human." The Duchess said coldly. There was a flash of light from the ring and Esmerelda’s body was engulfed in energy.

Goddess of Justice threw the wolf-girl off of her and rolled out of danger. Before she could get any father a blow from Count Intellect felled her unconscious to the ground. Esmerelda didn’t notice. She was trapped on the ground as a cloud of black smoke formed around her and lightning flashed from it. She screamed and twisted but there was no escape. After a few minutes her fur caught fire and burned away. Her face twisted in agony as the wolf features were pulled back into her body. When the smoke cleared and the burning faded Esmerelda lay on the ground fully human.

"I ordered you to stop!" The Duchess screamed. Taking the whip she started to attack the young girl. Esmerelda curled up into a ball and cried out each time that the whip hit her.

"STOP!"

They all turned and saw Merry standing up in the lap of the gargoyle. Merry didn’t know how she looked. She didn’t realize that her body was trembling with fury and that she looked ready to attack Duchess Sidonia. At that moment all that Merry knew was the pure fury that was filling her soul.

"Do not harm her anymore." Merry said and if her voice was lower in volume it was higher in menace. Sidonia walked over to her. She walked right up to the gargoyle and looked down at Merry. Merry didn’t flinch or retreat in any way. She looked the Duchess in the eye and her anger seemed to impress Sidonia.

"Quite an interesting pet you have here Mathew." Sidonia said calmly. She smiled and wet her lips. "I look forward to getting to know her better."

Merry spent a night huddled on her brick trying to sort through her emotions. The revulsion she felt with herself for being aroused by the fight competed with the puzzlement over why Esmerelda’s punishment had triggered her anger. In the end there was no reconciling the two responses and Merry drifted in and out of troubled slumbers. When she woke up the last time Alpha was feeding Goddess of Justice. Goddess of Justice was passively eating the gruel. Her body was once again healed.

"Good morning." She said when she saw that Merry had woken up.

"No such thing around here." Merry said.

"Good or morning?"

"Both." Merry said. "What’s making you so happy?"

"I won last night." Goddess of Justice said. "Evil failed."

"Failed at what?" Merry demanded angrily. "Failed at making you give up? Failed at making you beg? You’ve only been here a few days Goddess. How do you think you’ll do after a few months?"

"They will never break me." Goddess of Justice said with a conviction that did more than irritate Merry.

"They won’t be wrestling you all the time." Merry snapped. "They won’t let you stay in a position where you can fight back. Last night was dinner theater for them. Don’t you understand that?"

"I know what is to come." Goddess of Justice said coolly. "I will endure it."

"Why?" Merry demanded. "Because you’re good and they’re evil? You think it’s that simple?"

"Yes." Goddess of Justice said. "I don’t know what sort of life you have led Mystery Woman, but in my life the battle between good and evil has very sharply defined lines."

"But does either side ever really win?" Count Intellect asked. He had appeared at the doorway. Beside him stood Esmerelda, still in her human body. She was dressed in a simple black robe with a red sash. The robe went down to her ankles and Merry noticed that her human feet were missing some toes. Count Intellect was carrying a large round container.

"Good wins more than evil." Goddess of Justice said.

He walked over to her and waved Alpha away.

"Good does not know what to do with itself when it wins." Count Intellect said. "It can only sit and wait for evil to arise again. Good is a passive rock on the beach. Evil is the tide that smashes against the shore again and again. Evil is power."

Before Goddess of Justice could reply Count Intellect pulled a ball gag from his pocket and stuffed it into her mouth. He laughed as she tried to speak through the gag. Then he walked over and turned the wheel to lower Merry’s cage.

"Sidonia requires you to attend her bath." Count Intellect said. He took Merry out of the cage and placed her on the golden plate Esmerelda carried. Going to the container he opened it and pulled out what looked like a glass whip.

"This is a creation of mine." Count Intellect said waving it back and forth. "This material stays at 100 degrees bellow freezing for two or three hours." He walked over to the fire pit and pulled out another whip. This one was red from the heat. "This one is made of material that will stay hot for at least the same amount of time." Count Intellect struck out with both whips at the same time, hitting Goddess of Justice on either breast.

"Now shall we continue the discussion on the twin forces of good and evil, right and wrong." He smiled. "Heat and cold?"

His arms moved and Merry was grateful that Esmerelda carried her out of the room.

As they climbed the stairs Merry got a better look at the human form that Esmerelda wore. She was a young woman, but it was impossible to tell how young. Her face was round with a pug nose and deep brown eyes. Her hair was perhaps the blackest Merry had ever seen and was cut severely short. The scars that had been evident on her wolf face were tragic on her human face. She would never have been called stunning but without those scars Esmerelda could have been called pretty or handsome. She still moved slowly, limping badly on her left foot.

"I must warn you." Esmerelda said in a surprisingly soft voice. It was the voice of someone who had never dared to shout. "That my lady thinks of you as a curiosity. You can not count on that for your safety."

"Thanks." Merry said. "What’s your story anyway? How old are you?"

"I am three."

"What?"

"I am three." Esmerelda repeated.

"Come on." Merry said. "You look like you’re fifteen at least."

"My kind does not measure age from birth." Esmerelda said. "We measure age from death."

"You got three years to live?"

"At the age of one and twenty my lady will take what she needs from my living body for her spells and potions. I will die. The rest will be tossed into the dungeon to feed the prisoners."

"What? Stop!" Merry shouted. Surprisingly Esmerelda did so. She leaned against the wall and breathed deeply, favoring one foot. "So she’s going to kill you in three years?"

"That is her right." Esmerelda said. "That is the price my father paid for his long life."

"What about your mother?"

"The Duchess is my mother." Esmerelda said. She reached over and stroked Merry’s hair. "She bore me to be in her service."

"You don’t mind?" Merry demanded. She reached up and grabbed Esmerelda’s finger.

"I think I do." Esmerelda said. Her voice turned wistful. "Like many before me I would like to live." She moved her finger along Merry’s body. "I have heard tales; the servants and visitors in my lady’s castle, talk of life and love." Esmerelda’s fingertip pushed against Merry’s breast. "You were kind to me last night, and aided me. I would like to love you. But that is for humans. Not for my kind. I was born to serve and die."

She started to climb the stairs again.

Once again Merry found herself torn in two different directions. Rage filled her but so did desire at Esmerelda’s touch.

"You are beautiful." Esmerelda said. "That may help you with my lady. A short time ago there was another beautiful woman who pleased her. She allowed that woman to play with me."

"And what happened to her?" Merry asked.

"She tricked me into letting her free of her chains." Esmerelda said. "Then she fled from the castle. In the night of a full moon. I hunted, she died. When the battle fever takes me I am no more than a wolf."

"What was her name?"

"I am not allowed to speak it under penalty of death." Esmerelda said.

"So… can you change into a were-wolf again?"

"When the moon is once again full I will."

They reached the top of the stairs and started along a corridor.

"And in a few years Sidonia is gonna chop you up for parts?" Merry asked.

"Yes."

"And you don’t mind?"

"She is my mistress. Without her I am nothing."

The tone in her voice told Merry that there was no argument that was going to work. She had heard that tone before, a combination of resignation and helplessness. It was a tone of voice that had been drained of hope.

"My voice." Merry whispered realizing that she had once said something very similar. But to who? The memory faded too quickly for her to grasp it fully.

"So what if you found another mistress?" Merry said dragging her mind back to the situation.

"No one is more powerful than my mistress."

"She lost last night." Merry pointed out.

"Last night was play." Esmerelda said. "My lady does not mind loosing at games so long as they provide her with amusement."

That’s something to remember, Merry thought as they came to a door. Another thought occurred to her.

"You’re telling me all this because she told you too aren’t you?" Merry asked.

"Yes." Esmerelda said.

"Thought so." Merry said as Esmerelda opened the door.

Get me mad; get me off balance, Merry thought, nice try lady.

The room might have been large, but it was so full of shadows that it was hard to tell. There was a large canopy bed that stood on a platform at the far end of the room. The Duchess and another woman were on the bed. The woman had her head between the Duchess’s legs and both of them were moaning with a wild passion. Merry felt herself getting turned on instantly. She grew hot and her legs parted of their own accord. Before she even realized it her hand was between her legs and pressing hard against her vagina. But even as she started to play with herself the two women on the bed finished what they were doing. Lighting actually leapt from the poles of the bed to the women and a rush of hot air and a bright red light erupted from them.

When it was over the women lay limply for a few minutes. Then the Duchess’s companion sat up in the bed. Merry recognized the other woman. She was tall and buxom, with deep brown hair. Her face was long with a fine jaw, strong cheekbones and an aquiline nose combining with arched eyebrows to given an impression of great strength. Merry knew the face well; it belonged to Stephanie Strassman. But Merry knew the woman better as Captain Becky Jane Buckinridge, Captain of the starship Explorer. The memory of every episode of Universal Adventures flooded into Merry’s mind. She could recite every line, sing every fan filk every written about the show, which many people had called: ’Star Trek’s poor twin’. The show had ended just as Merry was about to go into the police academy, but she had cited the character of B.J. Buckinridge as one of her inspirations on her application. The woman was physically like Merry but had command of a ship and was the heroine of nearly every show. The show had run ten years, bouncing around from the early days of syndication and moving to cable at the end of the run. Merry had never met her but had seen her at sci-fi conventions. Never close up. Now that she was close up and in the light of torches and candles Merry could see that age had caught up with the woman. There was gray in her hair, her large breasts sagged and some fat had worked her way onto her body.

"Did I please you Duchess?" Stephanie asked.

"You did." The Duchess said. "But the question you are truly asking is: ‘Have I pleased you enough?’"

Stephanie nodded meekly. The Duchess smiled and turned her hand. There was a flash of what could only be called ‘un-light’ and a small bottle appeared in Sidonia’s hand.

"One sip from this and those ages will melt from you. One drink and you will not have to worry about them for another decade at least." Sidonia smiled. "Drink the whole thing and for the next century you will never fear another mirror."

Stephanie swallowed hard and Merry could tell that she was barely holding herself back from trying to snatch the bottle.

"A night with me seems such a small price for this." The Duchess said.

"Please duchess…" Stephanie, said with a tone of desperation that hit Merry hard. In the ten years of the show Captain BJ had never begged.

"I don’t think so." Sidonia said and with a twist of her hand made the bottle vanish. Stephanie gave out a cry of despair but didn’t move.

"Please…"

"I have a friend." Sidonia said. "He is waiting in the dungeon even now. His greatest wish in all his life is to torture Captain Becky Jane Buckinridge of the star ship Explorer. He has seen it done in the show so many times and feels he can do it better. Now what he wants is to break you, or rather break the Captain and get her to tell him the password for ships computer."

"Gumballs." Merry whispered.

"But it’s gumballs." Stephanie said. "Season five, show four: ‘The Captain’s Treasure", if he’s a fan he must know that."

"Oh he is a fan alright." The Duchess said. "He’s a fan’s fan. And the password is not: ‘gumballs’, it is: ‘Mystery Woman’. Now if you can spend the rest of the day with him and not tell him that despite the torture he is going to put you through, then I will let you drink the entire contents of the bottle."

Merry and Stephanie gasped in horror at the same time.

"And if I break?" Stephanie asked.

"Then I will still let you drink from the bottle." The Duchess said. "But so will he, and you’ll be his slave for the next one hundred years."

"But…"

The Duchess gestured and a blue box appeared next to them. She reached and pulled out a blue tunic.

"Put it on and go down there." The Duchess ordered with no mirth in her voice. "Or leave this castle and your hope of restored youth forever."

For a few minutes Stephanie didn’t do anything. Then she got off of the bed and started to put on the costume. Merry had seen women degraded by being forced to undress, but she had never seen a woman degraded by putting her clothes on. But that was the effect. The tight blue tunic with a golden belt, the blue mini-skirt and black boots; they were made for the figure of a younger woman. Stephanie did not look terrible in them, but the feeling in the air around her was one of soreness. She could not look as good in the costume as she had looked ten years before and she knew it.

"Go through that door and down the stairs." The Duchess ordered. "Count Intellect is most likely already at work on his victim, so just follow the screams if you get lost."

Stephanie walked past Esmerelda and Merry without seeing them.

"That was a very pleasant way to spend a morning." Sidonia said beckoning Esmerelda over to her. Esmerelda walked over to the bed and put the tray down on it. "Begin the bath." Sidonia ordered.

"Yes Mistress." Esmerelda said. She bowed and walked out of the room through a doorway that Merry had not noticed.

"Can that stuff really give her back youth?" Merry asked.

"Yes. And it will either way." Sidonia said. She leaned back onto the pillows. "I have brought down many real heroines in my day Mystery Woman, but sometimes I take great pleasure in bringing down fake ones too."

"Do you think she’ll last a day?"

"A day?" The Duchess laughed. "My dear I do not believe she will last out the hour. I will take great pleasure at the party when I see her led around by a leash by a nerd who a woman like her would once have not given the time of day to!"

She laughed again and the whole bed shook. Merry barely managed to remain standing.

"I don’t want to see that." Merry said.

"Really? She must be an idol of yours."

"I don’t know." Merry said.

"What is the Explorer’s shield modulation frequency?" The Duchess asked quickly.

"4.15 Tera-hues." Merry said without thinking.

"What was Captain Buckinridge’s Space Academy score?"

"99.8." Merry said. "The highest in the academy’s history."

"You’re a fangirl!" The Duchess exclaimed clapping her hands. "Only a fangirl would know something that obscure! And I think I’ve just sent your idol to be tortured at the hands of a geek!"

This time the bed shook so much from laughter that Merry did fall down.

The Duchess took her bath in a chamber that was right out of a Roman solarium. There were even mosaics of roman gods on the walls. It was a domed chamber twenty feet around. In the center of the chamber was a sunken bath. It was kept warm by a blazing fire that was in a stone pit. The fire provided the only light in the room as well. The stones that made up the walls and the floor were black marbles, but they glistened with moisture. The Duchess walked in followed by Esmerelda who was carrying Merry on the gold tray. The Duchess hadn’t bothered to put a robe on and walked naked into the water. The scene could have been a pagan festival. The flames from the fire reflected against the walls in a kaleidoscope of red and yellow lines that had the consistency of smoke. The room was steamy. The water only came up to Sidonia’s knees and she sat on a bench that was under the water. The Duchess gathered handfuls of water and threw them on herself. Esmerelda put the tray down and then took off her own robe. The firelight was bright enough for Merry to see an incredible number of scars on the young woman’s body. Esmerelda’s body was as cleanly muscled as Merry’s own. Her breasts were slightly large for her body but taunt with youth and exercise. The small stripe of hair between her legs matched the hair on her head. Once she was nude she picked up a washcloth and put it over her shoulder. Then she picked up a small sponge. Tearing a piece of it off she handed the piece of the sponge to Merry and then carried her into the water.

The Duchess moved over to a different bench and lay down on it. This one was higher and she lay with the water covering her legs and arms, but leaving her stomach, breasts and face above the surface. From a small plastic rowboat Esmerelda picked up a bar of soap and then put Merry into the boat. The smell of the soap was a combination of rose petals and rum. Merry watched as Esmerelda worked the soap up into lather and then lightly started to spread it across Sidonia’s breasts and stomach. It was done in a straightforward manner but there was no way to disguise the eroticism of the scene. Merry could see that both Sidonia and Esmerelda were aroused and her body once again became hot. Esmerelda moved her hands in a regular rhythm over her mistress’s body, moving from the stomach to the breasts to the face. The Duchess eyes half closed and she breathed slowly.

Suddenly Merry had a flash in her mind. It was of another memory, another woman in a different bath. Merry could see it all clearly; a modern bathroom, a tall severe looking woman who wore a look of shock on her face and Merry herself reflected in a chrome faucet. The look of shock had faded to one of pleading and finally to a calm dead expression. The woman was not dead, but the drug Merry had slipped into her bath water had rendered her helpless. Merry remembered the door opening and…

"Mystery Woman?" Esmerelda asked.

Merry blinked and sat up in the boat. She had been drowsing.

"Was that a memory or a dream?" Sidonia asked. She hadn’t moved at all but Merry had the feeling that the Duchess had seen her memory.

"I don’t know." Merry said.

"It seems you are an agent for someone." Sidonia said. "A highly effective one perhaps."

"But I was caught." Merry protested.

"My dear we all get caught from time to time. You may continue Esmerelda."

"Yes Mistress."

Esmerelda picked Merry up off of the boat and set her gently on Sidonia’s stomach.

"You may do the breasts." Esmerelda said. She reached down and lifted one of Sidonia’s legs out of the water.

Merry looked at the mound before her. Because Sidonia was lying down it was flat against her chest and to Merry it was the size of a pitchers mound. Shrugging Merry took the sponge, stepped carefully so as not to fall, and started to rub it up and down against Sidonia’s breast.

"Side to side." Esmerelda said.

"Up and down is for milking a cow." Sidonia said calmly.

"Oh." Merry said.

"Tell me Mystery Woman do you think I am evil?"

"Well… yes."

"Good."

Merry kept working, moving the sponge from side to side as she moved between Sidonia’s breasts. It was a task made all the more difficult because the soap was slippery. More than once Merry fell down and each time she did so the Duchess laughed. When she laughed Merry had an even harder time keeping her balance. While Merry was washing the upper part of the Duchess’s body Esmerelda was carefully washing her mistress’s legs and arms. She would raise them out of the water, cover them with lather and then ease them back into the water. There was a current that kept the water flowing from the fire pit to drains set in the wall of the tub. Merry was just finishing the Duchess’s nipple when Sidonia spoke.

"Tell me Mystery Woman can you swim?"

"I don’t know." Merry said.

"Let’s find out."

With that the Duchess rolled off of the bench and into the water. Caught off guard Merry managed to grab hold of Sidonia’s nipple and hang on, but she kept her grip for too long and ended up under the woman’s body as it sank beneath the surface. Merry let go of the nipple and started to swim frantically toward the surface. She reached it and took a sputtering breath before Sidonia; with a wave of her hand, cause a wave that swamped Merry and drove her toward the fire pit. Merry surfaced to hear Sidonia’s laughter and feel the heat from the fire. She struck out desperately as the temperature increased. Merry managed to get a few feet away from the center before Sidonia again waved her arm and created a great wave.

Merry wasn’t sure for how long the Duchess played her game. Sidonia created wave after wave that pushed Merry toward the fire, only to let the tiny heroine swim away from it. It was only when Merry’s strength failed that Sidonia reached over and pulled her from the water.

Merry lay in the Duchess’s palm, her breath coming in gasping heaves and her arms and legs aching. Sidonia smiled and brought Merry up to her mouth. Too weak to respond Merry lay there as the evil woman licked her body. Sidonia’s tongue found it’s way between her legs and Merry moaned.

"Small but sweet." Sidonia whispered. Merry moaned and lay still. "But so frail."

Sidonia let Merry go and she fell into the water. Despite her exhaustion Merry found the strength to fight her way to the surface. Merry could not stay afloat for more than a minute before her arms and legs refused to move for her any longer. She slipped under the water again only to be pulled out by Esmerelda.

"Who are you?" The Duchess commanded. She locked her eyes on Merry’s and Merry felt the full strength of Sidonia’s mind crushing hers. It was too much and Merry screamed and blacked out.

Someone was screaming her name over and over. But it wasn’t her name. Merry pulled her mind out of the trouble oblivion of sleep and into the hellish reality she had come to know.

Duchess Sidonia had not really believed in Merry’s amnesia. Merry realized that now. That was why the bath, she wanted to weaken Merry as much as possible before an intense mental probe. It worked. But all it did was leave Merry with a lingering mental ache and a growing hatred of the Duchess. No memories.

She was in the dungeon, on her brick, in her cage and the cage was high up on the ceiling. She was lying on her back and a piece of tape across her thighs held her in place. Merry sat up and reached for the tape. It was scotch transparent tape. It wasn’t tough to tear in half but the tape hurt as she pulled it off of her skin. For the first time Merry was grateful that her pussy was hairless. Once the tape was off she turned over and looked around.

Stephanie Strassman was on her back, strapped to a torture rack. Her arms were held above her head and her legs were spread wide. Between her legs a machine moved a piston that was attached to a vibrator. The vibrator moved in and out of her sex. Her large breasts were held in clamps and were being squeezed tightly. A man stood beside her and moved a feather along her side. Merry didn’t know how long the torture had been going on. But over in the far corner of the chamber Goddess of Justice slumped against the wall. A metal cage was fitted over her head, one that kept her from speaking. A chain went from the cage to the wall and more chains pinned her arms behind her back and her ankles to her wrists. Goddess of Justice looked horrible. There were whip marks all over her body. There were whip marks on Stephanie’s body as well.

"Mystery Woman!" Stephanie shouted over and over again.

Merry looked at the man who had broken her. He was a large man, with a balding head and a thick black beard. He wore the costume of a Likranian Raider from Universal Adventures; a red fur tunic with black pants and boots.

"Say it again." The man said in a deep base voice. "And admit what has happened."

"Mystery Woman!" Stephanie shouted with tears rolling down her face. "And you broke me!"

"He broke her." Merry whispered and into her mind flashed image after image of Captain BJ Buckinridge resisting torture and mind probes for hours or even days. But that was a television show. It didn’t matter. Merry felt the sting of her own tears as the woman on the rack begged and pleaded.

"Not even the day." Sidonia said appearing at the doorway. "You lasted only four hours."

The large man dropped to one knee as Sidonia entered. She was dressed in a dark robe and looked every bit the witch.

"I knew I could do it." The large man said. "William W. Williamson doesn’t fail."

"And now that you have broken her?" The Duchess asked.

"She’s mine." William said. "I’ll have a big wedding, invite all the media, get her show going again, but this time I’ll be in it. I’ll be the one in command. I’ll show the Lirkonians winning the war against the Alliance, no miracle weapons, no dumb writers tricks, not like before."

"A fine ambition." Sidonia said as if she were talking to a small child who was planning what to do at school. Two small bottles appeared in her hands. She handed one to William. "Drink this and our bargain will be complete."

"Thank you Duchess Sidonia." William said. He took the bottle and drank it. For a moment Merry wondered if the witch was going to pull a double cross. But William’s body shuddered, his hair grew back and he seemed to loose weight. He stood up and Merry got her first look at his face. It was chubby, but not fat and there would have been an earnest charm to it, if the eyes hadn’t been shining blue and possessed of a crazed look. The beard fitted him well.

Sidonia moved the rape machine away from Stephanie and used the sleeve of her robe to wipe away the bound woman’s tears.

"Do you wish to drink still? Even hearing what William will do to you and your show?"

"Yes!" Stephanie said. It was a wail of shame but a plea as well.

"I thought so." Sidonia smiled and poured the contents of the bottle into Stephanie’s mouth. There was a pause of only a moment and then it took effect. Her wounds healed. The gray fled from Stephanie’s hair, her breast rose upon her chest and the fat that had collected around her thighs shrank. Merry guessed the woman was now no more than twenty years old. It stung how closely Stephanie’s body resembled Merry’s own.

"Well there you are." Duchess Sidonia said with a laugh. "You now have your youth and you will even have your show. I’m sure your fans will be happy to see Universal Adventures back on the screen."

"Oh we’ll have a lot of fun." William said.

Goddess of Justice stirred and tried to speak. But nothing recognizable as words could be heard. Duchess Sidonia walked over to her and unscrewed a locking bolt on the side of the cage that was around Goddess of Justice’s head.

"You were saying?"

"Only the most evil would kill a dream." Goddess of Justice said.

"Thank you." Sidonia said.

"Not you." Goddess of Justice said. "William is more evil than you can ever dream of being."

"What?" Sidonia laughed.

"He will corrupt a dream." Goddess of Justice said. "He will take a treasure that inspired millions and twist it into something grotesque. All because a woman who loved the show once rejected him. You can never hope to be as evil as he is."

"Oh yes I can." The Duchess said. "Or at the very least I will enjoy trying."

"Mistress." Esmerelda said appearing at the doorway. The tone of her voice spoke of trouble and Merry was instantly alert. "Force Group J has attacked my lord Quateral’s stronghold. The battle is on going."

"Come." Sidonia said to William. She swept out of the dungeon with William and Esmerelda following her. They seemed to have forgotten about Stephanie. Merry hadn’t.

"You pathetic bitch!" She snarled after they had gone.

"What?" Stephanie looked around and seemed to see Merry for the first time.

"How the hell could you break after four hours? Four hours!"

"Look at me!" Stephanie shouted back. "He raped me! He whipped me! He hurt me!"

"For four hours!" Merry shouted back.

"How the hell long was I supposed to take it?" Stephanie demanded.

"Till it was over!" Merry shouted back. "Captain…"

"I’m not BJ Buckinridge!" Stephanie screamed. "I’m not! I’m an actress!"

"You’re supposed to be more than that!" Merry shouted back. Furiously she got to her feet and then lost her balance. For a moment fear replaced anger as she fell through the bars of her cage. At the last second Merry managed to get her arms around the bar. Still mad she started to climb back up. "Hell I don’t even know who I am anymore but I know you’re supposed to be better than four lousy hours!"

"And yet you were the one who predicted that I would break." Goddess of Justice said. "Why do you think she who has never been tortured can endure while I who have known torture would not?"

"Because she’s Captain BJ Buckinridge!" Merry shouted, climbing back onto her brick.

"No I’m not!" Stephanie moaned. "I’m Stephanie Strassman. I’m an actress!"

"You’re…"

"An actress!" Stephanie screamed. She started to cry, sobbing hysterically and pulling at the chains that held her to the rack. "I’m a forty-eight year old out of work broke actress!" Stephanie cried. "And he hurt me! He hurt me…"

She kept crying and Merry screamed in frustration. She wanted desperately to slap the woman.

"You are harsh enough to be a servant of evil Mystery Woman." Goddess of Justice said. "Perhaps you have been so all along."

"Shut up!" Merry screamed.

"Enough shouting please." Count Intellect said appearing at the doorway. He walked over to Goddess of Justice. "Once more Goddess I am in you debt. Force Group J has eliminated another rival for me." He reached over and tightened the screw that gagged her. Then he walked over to Stephanie and began to release her from the torture rack. "Sadly it will mean one less guest for Duchess Sidonia’s party."

"What party?" Stephanie asked.

Count Intellect slapped her hard across the face.

"Slaves do not ask questions. You will go to your master and he will see to you."

Stephanie rubbed her face as she got off of the rack and then stumbled out of the chamber. There was a look of fear and helplessness on her face that infuriated Merry. She was feeling that hatred when Count Intellect looked up at her.

"Such hatred is thrilling." He said. "I hope Mystery Woman that when your memories return I am not forced to kill you."

Merry didn’t reply and he left the dungeon.

Merry looked at the empty torture rack, at the rape machine and at Goddess of Justice. Then she sat down, rested her head on her knees and started to cry.

…to be continued.

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