Prisoner
of the Seraglio
A
Cordelia Delacourt Adventure
Chapter
14 Run Through the
Jungle
Cordelia had a vague memory of making love with Menelik and her two female companions at least one more time that night. She couldn’t be sure. She was sure about one thing, however, and that was when she awoke sometime in midmorning she was so sore she had to be helped out of bed by her two grinning bedmates.
“Come on, Luv,” Liz said, as she helped a wincing Cordelia to her feet. “Let’s have a bath. You’ll feel a lot better after that.”
Cordelia moaned as Penha took her left arm and Liz her right. She would almost have believed that she dreamed the whole thing if her vagina and breasts had not been so sore. She looked resentfully at Liz and Penha wondering why they did not feel the way she did and then nodded in understanding. The word “slut” flashed into her mind and then was instantly quashed. It was not fault of either girl that she was more sexually experienced than she was.
They finally made it to the pool where a bevy of serving girls descended upon them. As the most recent favourites of the emperor they were all afforded special attention and in short order Cordelia found herself bathed, massaged, and stretched out on a soft towel while exotic oils and creams were rubbed into her skin.
Slowly the soreness of her ordeal was worked out of her. She realized as food and drink was served to her that she could grow to like this sort of treatment and it was for precisely that reason that she knew she had to escape. Already it might be too late. Menelik had pumped enough of his seed into her to impregnate her a hundred times over. A few more sessions and she would be chained to the harem for life simply because she would be forced to spend her days caring for her children.
She resolved to escape the harem as soon as possible in spite of the dangers and difficulty such an action would certainly entail. But she would not force Liz to go with her. It occurred to her that Liz might actually prefer the security the harem offered. After all, it was a life where the emperor’s favourites were well cared for and waited on hand and foot. With her white skin, and sexual expertise Liz could almost certainly rank high in the emperor’s favour
It was fortunate that the emperor seemed to understand that Cordelia needed time to recover. For the next few days she received no summons. It gave her time to investigate the harem and assess her chances of escape.
As she had surmised getting out of the harem was going to be nigh impossible. Although the entire palace of the bey in Timbuctou would have fit into it several times, over it was equally secure. The harem was actually located near the back of the palace and separated from the rest of the palace by several layers of security. Getting in or out of it was close to impossible unless one had permission.
Only the back of the palace offered the slightest chance of escape, and it was a slim one. Here a rocky hillside had been sculpted into beautiful gardens, and it was in these gardens that members of the harem were allowed their greatest freedom, but it was a deceptive sort of freedom, being merely an extension of their palatial prison. The gardens were surrounded by a windowless arm of the palace. They were open to the sky, but the only way in or out of them was through the harem apartments. It appeared that any chance of escape was remote.
There was one weakness, however, and Cordelia had spotted it. Dangerous as it was, she was desperate enough to try it.
She told Liz of her plan, emphasizing the difficulties and dangers. “You are safe here, Liz. There is no reason to risk your life for me. There is a very good chance that I will be caught or even killed during the escape attempt. If I am captured I expect that the Emperor’s punishment will be brutal. And even if I somehow do manage to escape there is still the problem of getting back to civilization. We are hundreds of miles from the nearest European outpost. Our chances of survival in the wild are probably very low. It would be much better for you to simply stay here.”
“I’ve no wish to be a bird in a cage, Cordelia,” Liz replied. “Even a cage as comfortable as this one. Of course I’ll go with you. Just tell me what you have in mind.”
“Alright,” Cordelia answered, “here’s what I think we should do….”
Even at night the harem was never completely still. Most women slept but there were always a few moving about, if for nothing else than to relieve themselves in the opulent lavatories. Thus it was that even those who were still awake paid little or no attention as Cordelia led Liz toward the lavatory.
As Cordelia had hoped the lavatory was
deserted. When she had first
been shown the room she was at first confused, not understanding its use,
but it quickly became obvious what it was used
for. She had immediately found
this area of the harem intriguing.
Supposedly advanced as her culture was,
Liz looked aghast at the flowing water. “You don’t mean we’re going in there? We’ll surely drown.”
“It’s the only way, Liz,” Cordelia said. She had carefully explained her plan, but she was not surprised by the girl’s reaction. “But I don’t expect you to go. As I said, there is only a very low chance of success. It’s just that I can’t stay here waiting for the Emperor to get a child on me. I’d rather die attempting to escape.”
“I never thought I’d have to take a swim in the palace privy. How are we going to breathe in that tunnel?”
“We’ll have to hold our breath and hope that the tunnel opens up enough for us to keep our heads above water,” Cordelia answered. She was already easing herself into the channel.
“Cor blimey, I’m such a fool,” Liz said, as she followed Cordelia into the water.
Cordelia gasped as she immersed herself to her breasts. The water was much colder than she had thought it would be and the flow much stronger. She had to hold onto the side of the channel with all of her strength to keep for being immediately swept away. Liz, however, was not quite as tall as she was. The smaller women was immediately carried toward the tunnel. She let out a sharp yip of alarm and then disappeared from view.
“Damn,” Cordelia muttered. She had intended to go first so that she could help Liz if the girl decided to follow. Now that option had been taken out of her hands. She released her grip and let the current carry her after her companion.
The submerged trip through the dark tunnel was the most terrifying of her life. The rushing water swirled her about, turning her this way and that, and frequently slamming her against the sides of the tunnel. Each impact almost drove the air from her straining lungs. Again and again she tried to fight her way to the surface, only to encounter the top of the tunnel, and then just as she thought her lungs would burst, she was hurled into the air.
Cordelia realized as she fell that the tunnel had ended in a sudden drop. She could hear the thunder of falling water and had just a split second to gulp more air before she was plunged under water once again. Fighting for her life she struggled to the surface. Somehow one flailing foot struck bottom and she suddenly realized that the water she had fallen into was only four feet deep.
It also smelled like a sewer.
“Well, what did I expect?” she asked herself. She stuck out her arms in the darkness trying to find the walls of the tunnel she was in. At the same time she thought of Liz.
My God, what if her friend had drowned? She screamed the girl’s name, her cries were muffled by the sound of rushing water.
Her hand found the side of the tunnel. It was slick with slime and accumulated filth, but at least it helped her get her bearings. Slowly, so as not to fall, she moved in the direction of the current.
She realized that in spite of her exertions she was almost shivering from the cold. Stuck in blackness as dark as the inside of a cow’s stomach and with a stench to match, she stumbled forward, well aware of the fact that she had to get out of the filthy water as soon as possible.
Ahead of her the sound of rushing water changed to a growing roar. She realized that she was coming to another waterfall, but in the darkness she had no way of judging how high it might be. Slowly she edged forward, testing every step until the sound and the absence of anything beneath her forward foot told her she had come to the edge of the falls. Fortunately, the water here had shallowed to only about a foot and there was no immediate danger of being swept over the edge. However, she could not stay where she was. She either had to go back into the deeper water and the stench of raw sewage or ahead and over the falls.
She sat down on the edge, pinched her nose shut, took a deep breath, and tipped herself over the edge.
She probably only fell twenty feet, but Cordelia felt as if the fall would
never end. With a resounding
splash she plunged into water that was well over her
height. Thrashing her arms furiously
she beat her way to the top and let the current carry her through the
darkness. All the while she thought
about Liz. The girl was a much
weaker swimmer than Cordelia as she had discovered when they had bathed in
waterholes during their trek with
She was carried along for several minutes before she noted that she could make out dim shapes along either side of her. Her heart leapt. “At last,” she thought. Perhaps her horrible journey through the stinking darkness was close to an end.
The current swept her around a bend and into brilliant light. Ahead of her was the mouth of a large tunnel and the fact that she could see it clearly told her that morning had come while she had been in the underground darkness. By now her absence in the harem would be noted. She could only hope that her absence would prove completely mysterious to the Aksumi. In spite of the fact that she had escaped she was still very close to the city and any search party would have a very good chance of finding her.
A rumble ahead of her told of the presence of at least one more waterfall, but there was very little she could do about it other than let the current sweep her onward. And then she saw it, a stone abutment in the centre of the stream, large enough for someone to crawl onto; and on it the still form of a nude woman.
“Liz;” she shouted as she stroked toward the girl. She was almost at the end of her strength, but she managed to make it to the girl’s side and pull her onto the stone platform.
Liz wasn’t moving. She lay still and was so pale when Cordelia turned her over that at first she appeared to be dead. But then she gave a moan, coughed, rolled over on her stomach, and proceeded to vomit yellowish-brown fluid for the next minute.
“Blimey,” Liz gasped. “Must have swallowed half the bleedin’ sewer.”
Cordelia was so glad to see her friend alive that she couldn’t speak. For several minutes she just held onto her and rocked her gently. “I’m alright, Cordelia,” Liz said, gently disengaging herself. “But I sure wish I could swim better.”
Cordelia breathed a sigh of relief. She looked over the edge of the falls, judging that it was about a thirty foot drop. “Do you think you can go down there?” she asked. “We can’t stay here.”
Liz nodded. “I’m still game,” she answered. “Got my wind back now.”
“Alright,” Cordelia said. “We’ll try to get out of this water and then see about getting you some clothes.”
“Just me?” Liz laughed. “What about you?”
Cordelia looked down. In her excitement, she had not realized that except for her gold jewellery, her diaphanous harem outfit was gone. She was as nude as Liz. She laughed, feeling foolish and somehow exultant at the same time. At least she had escaped and was not dead. Now she would have to see about staying that way. “Come on,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’ll go first.”
She walked to the edge of the platform, took a deep breath, pinched her nose shut and stepped off. She managed to keep her eyes open on the way down and thus was ready when she hit the water. As she submerged she kicked hard, trying to fight her way back to the top. She surfaced a few seconds later and let the current carry her away from the base of the falls. Above her, Liz looked incredibly tiny, the girl did not hesitate. Following Cordelia’s example she stepped off the edge and plunged into the base of the waterfall.
A few seconds later, Liz reappeared
and struggled toward Cordelia who by this time had managed to make her way
to a small beach across the sewer
outfall. “Cor, I’m
glad that’s over,” Liz gasped as Cordelia helped her from the
water. After so long in the water,
both women were chilled and the hot sun felt
good. They stood on the beach
for a few minutes soaking it up and trying to recover their strength, but
Cordelia knew they had little time to
waste. Clothing or no clothing,
it was important to get as far away from
They were very close to the city, having exited the sewer system close to its very foundations. Just a short distance away a stone wall marked what was probably the outer ramparts of the city. It rose in successive tiers until it finally reached a crenellated wall. This side of the city the landscape was so wild that the wall might not even be manned, but there was also a strong chance that while Cordelia and Liz had stood out in the open they might have already been spotted.
Quickly Cordelia ushered Liz into the shelter of the trees, hoping that their momentary lapse would not cost them their freedom. “We’ve got to keep moving,” Cordelia said. “If we stay here, we’re sure to be recaptured.”
The question was which way to go.
Cordelia knew that the closest European settlements were to the east,
but that way also was the city of
Cautiously and painfully they scrambled up the bank of the stream. Cautiously, for fear of being detected; painfully, due to the lack of footwear. Cordelia realized that the first order of business would be to find some clothing. Otherwise any chance of escape was likely to be very short-lived.
A short walk through trees and undergrowth brought Cordelia and Liz to a rough road. Their feet already painfully bruised, the road offered a less harsh surface for their feet, and Cordelia decided to take the risk. They walked cautiously, however, mindful of the fact that anyone who spotted two naked white women was very unlikely to forget them.
A short distance down the road they had a stroke of luck. A small farm had been cut out of the forest. Hanging on a line were several robes of the sort that Cordelia had seen worn by the lower ranking members of Aksumi society. She felt a bit guilty about stealing from the poor, but salved her guilt by hanging one of the gold chains on the line in place of the garments she took for her and Liz. Now they just needed a pair of shoes.
These were not readily available and rather than risk discovery, Cordelia improvised. Taking an extra garment with her, she tore it into strips and wrapped the coarse cotton cloth around her feet, forming a pair of slippers. She did the same thing for Liz, taking the rest of the garment with her to replace their slippers when they wore out.
They then headed down the road keeping a watchful eye for anyone who might give them away. They had only gone a short distance, however, when Cordelia heard a sound that sent chills down her spine.
“Dogs!” she exclaimed. “We’ve got to get off the road.”
She knew the sound well, having ridden in several fox hunts with her father. It was one that had thrilled her when she was the pursuer. Now that she was the pursued in filled her with terror.
It terrified Liz as well. The girl turned an ashen face to her. “What are we going to do? We can’t escape dogs.”
“We can if we can find some water,” Cordelia answered. “Come on.”
In spite of the fact that neither she nor Liz had quite recovered from their ordeal in the sewers both girls ran as hard as they dared. Cordelia led them from the road into the forest and took them in a downhill direction through the thick foliage. She was hoping to find water, much as she disliked the idea of getting wet after her experience in the sewers, but she knew of no other way of escaping the dogs.
Behind her she could hear the dogs. She heard the tone of their baying change and knew that they had picked up her scent. She and Liz would have only minutes before they were on them. It suddenly occurred to her with an extra thrill of terror, that the dogs might not just find her, they might also tear her and Liz apart.
Her foot splashed as she suddenly reached marshy ground. “Thank God,” she gasped. “Liz we go this way.”
Ahead of her was the gleam of deeper water. She splashed into it up to her waist. She was in a sort of swamp. On either side were gigantic trees, their roots elevating them above the water, but she didn’t hesitate, continuing to move into the water until there was a scream from Liz.
“Something touched me foot. What’s in the water?”
Cordelia immediately thought of crocodiles. Immersed in water up to their waists she and Liz would stand no chance against such powerful creatures. She almost exploded with laughter when a large turtle rose in front of Liz and paddled serenely away. But she didn’t have much time to appreciate the humour of the situation. The baying of the dogs had changed pitch again, indicating that they were hot on their trail.
She plunged into the trees, trying to get a screen between her and her pursuers. The baying of the dogs increased in volume and then changed again as they reached the water. Mingled with their excited yelps were the shouts of men. Cordelia redoubled her efforts, fear giving her the strength to force her way through the water. It began to shallow and she headed for a thick screen of vegetation hoping to lose herself in it. Right behind her she could hear Liz panting with effort as the smaller woman tried to keep up.
Then they were into the undergrowth, ignoring the branches and thorns that tore at their clothes as they continued their now panicky flight. Trees flew by as they dashed recklessly forward, crashing and stumbling through the vegetation. They finally stopped through sheer exhaustion and fell to their knees gasping for air.
For several minutes they did not move. Behind them the baying of the dogs had receded. When Liz was able to speak she gasped out a question. “You think we lost the bastards?”
“For now,” Cordelia panted in reply. “But we can’t stay here. They’re bound to pick up our trail sooner or later.”
Liz nodded. It was obvious that the girl was close to exhaustion. Cordelia thanked the fact that she and Liz had been forced to march hundreds of miles through the African wilderness. It had given them the conditioning to last this long, but she and Liz were fast running out of reserves of strength. They needed food and rest and neither of those things seemed to be forthcoming, but they had little choice but to keep going. Wearily she rose to her feet.
“Which way now?” Liz asked.
“I don’t think it matters,” Cordelia answered. “We don’t know where we are anyway. We just have to keep going.”
She plunged on through the forest. Gradually the barking of the dogs receded until Cordelia judged that it was safe to go at a walk. She and Liz were tired, dirty, and hungry, but she didn’t stop. Today they would try to get as far away from their pursuers as possible before resting. Tomorrow she would try to find something to eat and work out their plan of action.
Ahead of her the forest seemed to be thinning a little. Cautiously Cordelia approached the opening. “Oh no,” she muttered. “Oh no.”
“What is it, Cordelia?” Liz asked, moving up beside her. And then she saw.
“My Gawd, it’s the bloody road.”
“It is, Cordelia agreed. “We’ve walked in a circle.” She felt a deep sense of foreboding. She almost wept as a score of figures emerged from the underbrush. She and Liz were surrounded.
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