Part 4C

Danica heard a knock on her door not long after she had risen from her bed the next morning. She answered it and saw it was Celes. She opened the door wide and let the woman in.

Danica grabbed her up in a hug once the door closed. "I was worried. I haven't heard from you in so long."

"I'm fine dearie," Celes said, breaking the hug after a few moments. "I was jus' about business an' away."

"I'm so glad you're back," Danica said with a smile. "I want to show you something," she declared, thinking about her two new outfits and the dress Damian had given her, which Celes had not seen.

"Dearie, I... Yer... Danica..." Celes sputtered, trying to get something out. When she said Danica's name, the cackling accent vanished from her voice. Her eyes misted over and she covered her mouth — sobs shaking her body.

Danica wrapped her arms around Celes again, "Celes, what's wrong? What happened to you?"

The old woman choked off her sobs and stepped back. She held up her hand and took a minute to catch her breath before she spoke. "Danica, your gift... I... It's been so long... I never thought — ever again... I-I don't know how to thank you," Celes finally managed to force out, with none of her customary accent.

Danica's eyes welled up. They fell into each other's arms and both cried for a few minutes.

"You like it?" Danica asked and sniffled.

"Dear gods, Danica," Celes said with a little shiver running through her. "I've seen that girl Andrea at the baths so many times when Zoraster was torturing me with it. I wanted her so bad. I almost left your present in the box. I was afraid it wouldn't be... I don't know. But, I broke down and put it on. I spoke the command word and she was there. Dear gods — I had half a dozen people with rooms near mine scowling at me as I was walking here. I can't imagine how much noise I must have been making." Celes' face turned bright red as she finished.

Danica laughed, and then gathered the old woman up in her arms again. They were both still sniffling.

Celes pulled away and said, "Now enough of this silly bawlin'," her accent coming back, in full force. "What were ye goin' on about showin' me, Dearie?"

Danica sniffled one more time and went to the closet, retrieving her new clothes to show to Celes.

Danica showed off the clothes, but didn't put them on. She feared that doing so would be too much of a tease for the tormented woman. They then sat down and spoke of the task Zoraster had ordered Celes to undertake. The door opening interrupted them.

Zoraster walked in and approached Celes. He pulled out his amulet and touched it to hers while she scowled at him. He then said, "Return to your quarters. I have a task for you. You will await my instructions."

Celes left, glancing back inside with a look of worry on her face as she shut the door.

Zoraster's hand curled about the amulet — his eyes closed in concentration. His eyes opened after a few moments and he moved in to touch the amulet to the one around Danica's neck.

He didn't slip into the pseudo-trance this time, but instead sat down heavily in his accustomed chair and scowled at Danica. "I would suggest you do not ever — ever — seek to circumnavigate my torments again," Zoraster spat.

He then composed himself somewhat and relaxed in his chair more. "I can still feel her torment," he said, tapping the amulet. "So, I shall not punish you. Perhaps the little false moments of release she receives from your toy will make her a little less bitchy. I will allow her to keep it. Remember my warning, little rose."

"Gods, you are an arrogant fuck," Danica muttered beneath her breath.

Zoraster crossed the room and the back of his hand connected with Danica, before she even had time to react. The force of the blow sent her spinning off the bed to the floor. She felt — and tasted — blood in her mouth.

"You little bitch, I..." Zoraster bit off whatever he was about to say and Danica heard his footsteps crossing the room, followed by him sitting down hard in the chair.

Danica groggily managed to get up to her knees. She glanced over and saw Zoraster gesturing impatiently for her to get up.

Danica slowly climbed back up on the bed. Once she was seated, she felt the amulet around her neck grow cold, quickly followed by the chill permeating her lip where it was busted. The wound closed.

"Though it is nearly time for you to return to the Castle to complete your task there, I have another for you," Zoraster said — his normal, calm, somewhat amused demeanor returning. "You shall go down into the city and seek out this man, known only as Telanor." He gestured and an illusion of a man appeared near Danica.

She looked carefully at the image. He was short, wiry, and had a cunning look on his face. He was neither handsome, nor ugly. She noticed he had a dark tattoo of a spider on his right forearm — a black widow.

"Remember him well — especially the spider on his arm. That if nothing else will guarantee you have found the correct man. Bring him here. I care not how. Then keep him here until I come for him. You shall receive the freedom to go into the city, but only with permission granted beforehand. Leave whenever you are ready, but do so quickly. I want this man within these walls before the sun rises tomorrow morning."

Danica nodded her understanding.

"Very well. Good day, little rose, and good hunting," he said with a laugh. He tossed a purse to her, which jingled heavily when it hit the bed next to her. Zoraster was already reaching for the door when the purse landed.

Danica remembered the first time he had struck her with such violence, as she watched the door shut. I take it that you don't like being called a 'fuck', Danica thought.

The man had weaknesses after all.

Danica considered how to go about her task. She slid on all her magical rings and then pulled a gown from the closet that showed off her curves. It was not too fancy to be wandering around town in, but not plain garb. The dress was in earthy tones, so it would be her and not the gown that would stand out.

Her hand brushed against her new corset and panties as she put the hanger from the gown back in. On impulse — really just wanting to wear them — she pulled them from the closet as well.

She changed her clothes, and found that the way the corset cinched her waist and lifted her breasts made the dress look even more alluring on her. She smiled and spun, letting the hem of the gown twirl around her.

Danica decided she was as prepared as she could be on such short notice. She knew she could return here for anything she might decide she needed, and so set off for the city.

She left the main building and crossed the grounds, striding confidently toward the main gate. The guards glanced at her, but made no move to impede her. She passed through the gates and stepped onto the road that led down the hill to the city.

Danica smiled and breathed deeply. Somehow, the air seemed fresher here outside the walls of her prison. She was a prisoner still — but for the moment, she allowed herself to feel free as she walked away from the complex.

Danica started looking for the man as soon as she stepped onto the city streets. She wandered around the town, stopping at various shops to browse their wares. She purchased a few small items to avoid arousing suspicion about why she was wandering around alone.

Late afternoon crept up on Danica, and she still had not seen the man she sought. How am I supposed to find one man in a city this size in one day? Danica thought to herself in frustration, adding a little mental curse.

She thought about the man's appearance, and decided that he might not be in the better part of the city. Acting on that thought, Danica made her way into the poorer quarter of town.

She was more out of place here the way she was dressed, but apparently not enough to arouse too much suspicion. The shady shopkeepers here appeared quite glad to see her, and she played the naive girl in order to reinforce their notion. She paid far more than she should have for the few trinkets she purchased here and there.

Acting on another flash of inspiration, she visited the taverns in the poor quarter. In each, she purchased wine and sat down just long enough to scan the entire room. She drank only a little of the poor wine each time she ordered, carefully disposing of the rest when nobody was looking. Still, she was becoming a little tipsy by the time she stepped outside of one tavern into the last light of the setting sun.

She cursed silently, This is impossible. She was nearly ready to give up when she noticed a large crowd lining up and waiting to enter the largest tavern in the area. It bordered on the better part of the city, and was one of the largest taverns she had ever seen.

Danica could hear an incredible amount of noise in the place, and the people just kept coming. Thinking that a large crowd might draw the sort of man she was looking for, Danica joined the queue in front of the establishment.

She noticed that every man tossed a gold coin into a glass bowl as he entered. The men at the door greeted women warmly, asking for no coin. They admitted Danica with a warm smile and an animated greeting. She heard one of the men at the doors say, "I hope she'll be tryin' for the gold this evening."

The common room was huge. There were a lot of tables within, and even more sat on balconies above the main floor. Elegant staircases led up to the balconies. The bar was a square in the center of the common room, and it was busy. Waitresses in tight blouses, unbuttoned low, swept through the crowds delivering drinks and food.

Danica noticed there were not very many women inside. The ratio was approximately twenty to one by her best guess. Some women sat alone in groups, while others sat with large groups of men who were busy ogling the women.

Danica felt eyes on her as well. She ascended one of the staircases to get a better view of the whole room. When she reached the top, she leaned against the rail and looked over the crowd. Her eyes went wide with surprise and delight when she saw a man who looked like the one she sought sitting in a corner of the tavern.

Danica quickly descended the opposite stairs and managed to find a seat nearby. She talked briefly with the two men and the woman who sat at the table. When it became obvious that Danica wasn't much interested in talking, the men turned their full attention back to the flirty blonde woman.

Glancing over at her potential target, Danica noticed the spider on the man's arm and knew she had the right one. She ordered a glass of wine, and she was pleasantly surprised to find it very good.

She drank her wine, glancing in the man's direction flirtatiously, hoping to catch his attention. He was looking right at her, but he seemed to be looking through her, lost in thought.

Danica pouted, thinking she was going to have to get up and go join him at the table to get the man to notice her. A loud cheer erupted, shaking Danica out of her thoughts. Following the eyes of the other patrons, Danica saw a big man with a long mustache standing up on the bar.

"Hoy men — and ladies!" he shouted, winking when he said ladies. "It's time to start this evening's show!"

Another loud cheer erupted from the crowd. Danica noticed the man with the tattoo turn toward the bar, and that he was watching with interest now.

The man picked up the large glass bowl used to collect the coins at the door and poured half of its contents into another bowl. This he sat on top of a barrel in the dead center of the bar's square.

"A fine prize tonight — who wants to try for it? C'mon now, don't be shy, ladies!" the big man shouted, beckoning to the room with sweeping gestures of his hands.

Danica guessed that there had to be a hundred gold coins in the bowl. A fine prize indeed, Danica thought. It was likely more money than anyone in this room saw in a month or more.

Large, muscled men cleared out the patrons nearest the bar. A few reached into their pockets, handing over coin, and they kept their seats. Others approached from around the common room and paid coin to sit in the few seats that were vacant there.

The big men — twenty or more — then surrounded the bar as the crowd pushed in closer.

"What Ho!" Danica heard the big man on the bar shout. "We have our first! Our own little Dainsey wants to try her luck tonight! She's hoping to turn the trick Gabrielle did last month, and get herself out of my employ I guess," he said with a mighty laugh.

Another cheer went up from the crowd as the man clapped and called for music. Music sprang up from the minstrels who now stood near the bar. It was a light, flighty tune — likely a drinking song — and Danica saw one of the waitresses climb up on the bar. A roaring cheer accompanied her ascension.

The woman danced atop the bar, moving around it as she danced. Another loud cheer erupted from the crowd when she unbuttoned her blouse the rest of the way and bared her breasts. She tossed the blouse behind the bar and hopped down to the floor to spin and twirl around the men seated at the bar. No man there made any move to touch her, instead clapping and staring as she danced her way around them with her bared breasts only inches away from the onlookers.

After she completed a circuit of the bar, she whirled in a tight circle and whipped off her skirt. Remarkably, the cheer from the crowd was even louder than those that preceded it.

She took a few more twirling steps and then hopped gracefully up onto the bar. She spun down to a seated position facing a well-dressed man. The dancer pulled her panties down, and then pulled her legs up high to remove the undergarment. A quick snap of her leg sent her panties sailing back behind the bar, and she then stood to dance again.

She made one more circuit of the bar completely nude. Then as the music came to an end, she slid down the bar on her side with one leg kicked up high. Again, she was directly in front of the well-dressed man — her sex scant inches from him.

The big man hopped atop the bar again to shout over the crowd. "Ho Ho! What a start for a fine evening! Now, get back to work Dainsey — you're not rich yet!" He let out another booming laugh and gestured to the room, calling, "Who will be the next?"

The blonde woman who sat at Danica's table got up and made her way toward the bar. Danica noticed the man with the tattoo watching with rapt attention.

The blonde woman had large breasts, which she revealed immediately upon hopping up on the bar by ripping open her blouse. Her dance was similar to the first dancer's, although she actually allowed her breasts to brush the patrons. The woman completed her dance and returned to the table breathing hard.

The next to accept the challenge was a dark-haired woman with small breasts. She was very graceful and flexible, which she took great advantage of as she danced.

Danica watched as two more women hopped up on the bar to dance. She saw the eyes of the man with the tattoo never strayed from the bar.

The next time the big man called for another dancer, Danica stood and headed toward the bar.

"What Ho," the big man laughed when he saw Danica walking between two of the bouncers who kept the crowd at bay. Gesturing to welcome Danica up onto the bar, he shouted, "A fresh face!"

Danica whispered into the man's ear, telling him she wished to speak with the minstrels before she danced. He nodded his approval with a wide smile, and gestured grandly toward the musicians.

Danica spoke with the minstrels and found they knew the songs she wished them to play. She told them what cues they should use to switch between the songs, and then climbed back up on the bar.

The apparent master of the show offered Danica his hand as she ascended the steps up to the bar. He then jumped down when Danica stepped onto the polished wood.

The music Danica had requested was a slow, gentle tune, such as might accompany a couple's dance. Danica spun about slowly, gliding around the bar. She ran her hands along her waist and hips, and then to her breasts as she danced.

When her hands reached her breasts, the minstrels increased the tempo of the music slightly. Danica's hands went around behind her to unbutton her gown with quick, deft movements of her fingers. She popped off one of the buttons, but ignored it without missing a beat. The tempo of the music picked up again when she reached the middle button of her dress. Her feet moved more quickly now, and cheers from the crowd grew louder as flashes of Danica's skin were revealed by her spins.

When she reached the last button, the minstrels took their cue and transitioned perfectly from the first song into another — a faster paced dancer's song. Danica's feet moved faster in response to the music. When a lilting trill of the flute sounded, Danica spun rapidly. The hem of her gown rose up and went out high, revealing her legs very well and drawing whistles from the crowd.

She pulled at the sleeves of her gown one after the other when she finished the fast spin. She pulled her arms from the short sleeves of the dress, holding it up with her arms and then releasing it.

A shout of approval erupted from the crowd when she shrugged the gown off her upper body, revealing the corset and her bare breasts. Danica slid the gown past her hips and let it pool on the bar.

The volume of the shouting rose again as she revealed more of her body. From the people closest to the bar, Danica could hear comments about her barely-there panties. The experience proved very arousing to Danica, and she knew there would soon be a wet spot on those panties.

Danica spun down to a seated position on the bar, and then slid off it. She whirled and twirled her way through the crowd, leaning over the men who had paid for their seats to put her breasts right into their faces. She brushed her panties against their arms and legs with devilish purpose. The breathless look of arousal on her face as she danced was quite real.

She made a circuit of the bar, and then — taking a cue from the previous dancers — she paid special attention to the well dressed man who sat in a place of prominence.

When she leaned over him in her dance, she let her nipples brush his shirt. When she stood back up to whirl her way around him, she let the crotch of her panties slide over his leg in a long sensual stroke. Danica let her hands caress him lightly as she moved around him, and then turned away to sway her hips back and forth in front of him.

Bending over the bar, Danica pulled her upper body up on it, looking back at the man as she did so. He was smiling wide, looking directly at the wet spot that had indeed formed on her panties. He smiled wider when she pulled them down right in front of his face and let them fall at his feet.

The crowd erupted in a roar as she popped up to her knees back atop the bar, and then rose to her feet. She spun quickly, causing her pendulous breasts to swing and bounce hypnotically. Sweat glistened over her skin, now covered only by the corset, as she continued to dance with wild abandon.

She dropped down low, and then bent over backwards. She threw her legs upward one after the other and flipped over. When both her feet came back down, she leaned low and moved her body in a wave over the bar. The crowd went wild.

Danica arched her back, jutting out her breasts as she rose from her knees, and then to her feet. She ran a finger between her labia, brought it to her lips, and sucked it as she continued to undulate and dance across the bar.

The music built to a crescendo and Danica whirled with it, spinning down to her knees, and then her back. She arched her back, opened her mouth wide, and snapped her legs wide apart when the music came to a sudden halt.

The crowd screamed and whistled at deafening volume as she got up. Beads of sweat traced down her flushed skin as she strutted with swaying hips across the bar toward the well-dressed man, and eased down off the bar.

"Excuse me," she said with a smile as she squatted down in front of him. She let her breasts slide along his leg as she retrieved her panties and stepped into them.

The man got a good look at the glistening wetness on her folds as she slowly pulled her panties up.

"Ho HO!" exclaimed the master of ceremonies as he hopped back atop the bar. "Now here's a lass who came dressed to dance! This gown certainly hid quite a surprise," he shouted as he picked it up and held it out to Danica.

She smiled and licked her lips as she retrieved her dress.

"Ha! Now there's a lass after my own heart," he commented with a wink to her, and then laughed loudly. "Now, who's next? Don't be shy ladies!"

Danica pulled on her gown and walked back toward her table as another woman ascended the bar to dance. As Danica walked, she noticed the man with the tattoo had his eyes on her. Instead of returning to her table, she walked over to his.

"You dance very well," he said as she approached him, smiling and raising his eyebrows.

"Thank you. Perhaps I might take the prize," Danica said and sat down. "I was beginning to think I looked terrible. I've been trying to draw your attention for quite some time, before the dancing began."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Surely I would not have ignored one so beautiful as you."

Danica turned to look at the woman dancing on the bar, seeing she was already nude and drawing loud cheers from the crowd. "She's pretty, and dances very well," Danica said to see how her target would respond.

Telanor glanced toward the bar for only a moment, responded, "Oh yes," and then looked back immediately at Danica.

Danica smiled when she saw this, but continued to look as if she was paying attention to the dancer, though she was paying much more attention to the man seated at the table with her. The dancer finished, and the big man climbed back atop the bar to try to entice another dancer to come up.

"I think you will win," Telanor declared.

Danica smiled and blushed prettily. "Do you really think so?"

"Oh yes. The crowd was quite enthusiastic — those at the bar most of all. I believe their vote will weigh heavily in the decision. The barkeep was also most enamored of you," he said looking into her eyes.

"We can only wait," Danica responded, letting her eyelids slip over her eyes in a demure gesture.

"No more takers?" The big man on the bar shouted. "Very well! We shall have those here at the bar who could see best cast their votes, and determine our lucky lass!"

"It appears we will not have to wait long," Telanor remarked.

The barkeep went from person to person, receiving their votes. He then stood up and scanned the crowd from atop the bar as he spoke. "A decision has been reached. It was a close thing, but we have a winner!"

His eyes fell on Danica and he said, "Come on up here, Lass, and claim your prize — for you are tonight's winner!" He waved both arms over his head in an exaggerated gesture for Danica to approach.

Danica made a little, 'Me?' gesture, which prompted the man atop the bar to laugh, nod his head, and gesture for her to come again. She stood up and made her way to the bar through the crowd, which parted for her to pass.

The showmaster dumped the gold coins from the bowl into a leather pouch as Danica approached, and then handed the pouch to her amidst loud cheers. He indicated for her to follow him to the gate of the bar. He spoke quietly to her as the bouncers moved, allowing the patrons to move freely to the bar once more.

"Lass, this is a lot of coin. It will surely make a target of you for some of the more seedy people about. I can keep the coin here for you to be picked up in daylight. You can rest assured that I will not cheat you. Or, I can send a couple of my men to escort you if you would like?"