The Witch of Aggodar Ch. 10

Maeve barely registered the route that Mhati led her on as she followed the older woman through the palace. Her head was still spinning after everything that had happened that night. She was worried about leaving Shay alone, fearful of what Katya would do now that the Princess had revealed herself to them. Any chance that they had had to walk away was gone. Katya would be coming for both of them now and with Shay wounded it was up to Maeve to keep them both safe.

Mhati led her into a large chamber that Maeve immediately recognised as the room where she had first been dressed and pampered by the Arridian upon her arrival in the city. They passed the large circular platform in the middle of the room before crossing the small courtyard with its gently bubbling fountain where they then entered another room not dissimilar in size and style to the suite in which she and Shay had been staying.

"These are my quarters," Mhati explained as she closed the door behind them. "You don't have long before the first round begins, but I thought you would be more comfortable getting ready here."

Maeve nodded. "Thank you," she said.

"The Mutes have drawn you a bath," Mhati continued, indicating the gold lined tub beneath an ornate wooden pelmet on the far side of the room. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"Could I have something to eat?" Maeve asked, her stomach growling at the thought of food.

Mhati smiled. "Of course," she said. "Get yourself cleaned up. I will be back shortly."

She waited until Mhati had left before crossing the bedroom to the bath where she began to strip off her leather armour. She was tired and covered in dozens of tiny bruises that she was only now beginning to notice but she knew she could not afford to relax with the first round of the Games so close at hand and the Princess still on the loose. She scrubbed herself clean of the dirt and the blood that stained her body before sinking beneath the surface of the hot water to wash her hair. She was just climbing out of the bath when Mhati returned with a pot of coffee and a small plate of pastries that she had swiped from the kitchen.

"Feeling better?" she asked with a kind smile as Maeve wrapped herself up in a towel.

"Yes," Maeve replied, eyeing the pastries hungrily.

"Come and sit down," Mhati said as she walked over to her dressing table. "I can sort your hair whilst you eat."

Maeve took a seat on the small red stool in front of the table as Mhati set her breakfast down in front of her. The coffee was strong and the smell of the freshly baked pastries caused her mouth to water. She knew she should thank Mhati for everything she had done but she was too hungry to think of anything to say and she tore into the pastries without a word.

"I won't pretend to know what happened with you and Lady Shay last night," Mhati said as she ran a silver brush through Maeve's peppermint hair. "But I am assuming it has something to do with the recent disappearances?"

Maeve swallowed the mouthful of coffee that she had just taken as she met Mhati's gaze in the mirror in front of her. She didn't know how to respond. She wanted to trust her but Shay had warned her not to let anyone know what they were doing. She had only told Fazah because she had needed his help but she was already worried about what Shay would say when she found out he knew.

Mhati frowned. "I'll take that as a yes," she said. "I don't know whether Shay is acting alone or if the Sheik asked her to look into what's going on but you must be careful, Maeve. Everyone in Arridia has their secrets. And the Sheik has more than most."

Maeve stared at the older woman, her mind racing with questions that she was unsure whether to ask. Mhati was no fool and she had already given Maeve the impression that she knew far more than she said she did. As the Sheik's personal Handler it was reasonable to believe she was privy to information that others might not be. She could be a powerful ally but as much as she wanted to trust her, Maeve did not know what the right thing to do was. She wished Shay was there. She wished they could work this out together and be rid of this whole place.

When Mhati had finished brushing Maeve's hair and had helped her touch up the make-up that she had washed off in the bath she helped her to her feet and led her back out into the main chamber where a pair of Mutes were waiting for them. Reluctantly, Maeve allowed them to remove her towel and help her dress in a pair of tall, wedge heels, silky stockings and a bright teal lace suspender belt. They then fitted gold cuffs to her ankles and wrists and a thin gold choker around her neck.

"I told him that colour would suit you," Mhati said approvingly.

"Him?" Maeve asked.

She smiled thinly. "Your sponsor," she replied. "He wanted something that would help you stand out from the others... Not that he thought you needed it mind."

"So someone has chosen this for me?" Maeve asked, uncertain how she felt about that. "Why?"

Mhati laughed. "I don't know how many times I can tell you how beautiful you are, Maeve," she said. "People want a piece of you, however small that piece might be."

Maeve chewed her tongue as she looked at her reflection in the mirror opposite her. She was beginning to feel anxious as the first round loomed and she wished that Shay could be there beside her.

"Are you ready?" Mhati asked.

Maeve nodded and followed her back into the palace.

****

The dining hall was a grand room with a high, domed ceiling supported by large columns of white marble. The floor was a checkerboard of black and white tiles and the walls were decorated by colossal tapestries depicting the Golden City's many triumphs over the other Arridian states. In the centre of the room were a dozen round tables dressed with crisp white linen, beautiful floral arrangements from the palace gardens and exquisite golden cutlery. A large rectangular table stood at the top of the hall where the Sheik and his advisors sat whilst the other tables were occupied by the lesser nobility, wealthy merchants and high ranking officers. The atmosphere was joyous and full of excitement and the guests were dressed in fine silks and embroidered linens and copious amounts of gold jewellery.

Maeve did not know what to think of it all as she made her way between the tables, her nipples burning from the weight of the gold tray that hung from the clamps that pinched down upon them. A jug of coffee was balanced upon the tray, its weight only adding to her discomfort. She was gagged, her hands cuffed behind her back and her ankles secured together with a length of gold chain that meant she could only take short steps.

The rules of the first round of the games was simple enough. The concubines were to serve the court without spilling the contents of their trays. Each of them had vibrators strapped to their thighs, however, the magical sparks that powered them under the control of a randomly selected table. The first three contestants to drop their trays would be eliminated and the crowd was already having fun tormenting them with the toys.

Maeve made her way to the next table where she stopped beside a large merchant with dark, wandering eyes. He took the coffee pot from her tray, the change in weight sending a stabbing pain through her tits that she admitted wasn't entirely unpleasant. At the same time she felt her vibrator turn up to the next setting and heard a round of laughter as she closed her eyes and bit down on her ball gag to stop herself moaning from the combination of pleasure and pain.

She felt the merchant return the coffee pot to her tray and swiftly moved on to the next guest before he could say anything to her. Her legs trembled as she walked slowly between the guests. She wished Shay was there. It would have been easier to enjoy the sensations and the humiliation if she had known the Witch was watching her too.

The sound of someone squealing and the clatter of dishes made her turn. A pretty girl with wide eyes that she hadn't spoken to was on the floor, her body quivering as she came, her tray and the platter of fruit that she had been carrying lying beside her. The guests cheered and whistled as her handler stood and walked over to her, waiting for her to stop shaking before helping her to her feet. The girl smiled weakly at the room as her master tugged the gag from her mouth and led her from the room.

One down, two to go.

Maeve made her way up to the top table where the Sheik was beckoning to her. He smiled broadly as she approached and she recognised the sullen face of Prince Rhan beside him.

"Good morning, my dear!" Junda said cheerfully. "How are you holding up?"

Maeve nodded her head because that seemed like the only polite way respond and he clapped his hands together happily.

"I dare say you'll sweep the competition today," he said. "May I?"

She nodded again, wincing as he lifted the coffee pot from her tray and poured himself a glass before offering some to Rhan.

"No thank you, Uncle," the Prince said bluntly.

"You'll have to excuse my nephew," Junda said as he set the pot back on the tray. "He has never been one for early rises. Still, at least he deigned to show up, unlike my dear niece."

A icy spear of fear stabbed through Maeve's chest as she looked up and down the table. Katya was indeed, nowhere to be seen. Could it be that Shay had wounded her more severely than they had thought last night, or was she using this opportunity to finish the witch off whilst everyone's attention was fixated on the first round of the games?

"I trust you liked my gift?" the Sheik asked.

Maeve frowned before realising he was referring to the suspender belt, stockings and heels that she was wearing. The colour was identical to the teal of the Sheik's turban and she even noticed that the jewels stitched to the hem of the belt were a match to the ones that decorated his tunic. She felt a strange sense of affection for the old man and wondered how rare it was for the Sheik to sponsor a contestant so openly.

Another clatter of silverware brought the conversations in the hall to a standstill as a male concubine with dark skin tripped on his ankle shackles and sent his pitcher of iced tea flying over a plump couple in matching maroon suits. They laughed witht he rest of the room as they helped the man to his feet and passed him to his trainer who silver headdress seemed to magnify the scarlet of her cheeks as she quickly led her charge away.

"One more to go," Junda said. "I told you, you'd have no trouble."

The doors to the hall suddenly swung open and the conversation died once again as Princess Katya strode into the room. She was dressed in a floor length skirt of black silk with a matching cropped top cut low to reveal her cleavage. Gold clasps set with rubies encircled her arms and neck and her dark hair was spun into an elegant braid atop her head. She might have appeared regal if it weren't for the expression of utter contempt upon her face, twisting her already hawk-like features and the hooked nose that she shared with her brother into something decidedly unattractive.

The Princess stalked across the hall, doing her best to hide the limp that was the result of the wound Shay had dealt her the previous night. Junda stood slowly and although he was still smiling, Maeve noticed the warmth had gone from his eyes.

"Katya," he said. "How nice of you to join us."

"Forgive me, Uncle," she said curtly. "I have news for you, however."

Junda's smile was thin. "Can it not wait?" he growled.

"We've waited long enough," the Princess snapped. She looked at Maeve, her dark eyes full of malice and triumph. "But first, who has this one's spark?"

"Princess Katya..." Mhati began from her seat beside the Sheik.

"Silence!" Katya screeched as she turned to face the room. "Give me the elf whore's spark now!"

Maeve watched as a man stood from the table that she knew had control over her vibrator. He approached the Princess uncertainly holding out the controller for her spark which Katya snatched from his hand and quickly ran back to his seat.

Katya walked up to Maeve, leaning in close to whisper in her ear. "I warned you to leave," she hissed. "Now I'm going to destroy the witch and you will be mine forever."

She turned the vibrator up to its highest setting, the explosion of power causing Maeve's legs to buckled and her eyes to roll back in her head. She moaned into her gag, unable to control herself as the heat between her legs grew beyond her control.

"Katya!" Junda snapped. "Stop this at once!"

"Why?" the Princess hissed. "Because she is your favourite? How embarrassing for you to learn, Uncle, that she and her mistress are traitors!"

Maeve's stomach turned but it was all she could do to keep standing as the vibrator continued to drive her crazy.

"Traitors?" Junda scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"You're weak and blind, Uncle!" Katya snapped, earning a collective gasp from the room as they watched on. "Did you never think how strange it was that the witch arrived at the same time as the disappearances?"

"Lady Shay arrived after those incidents," Junda snarled. "And I'll remind you who you are talking to, girl!"

"Are you really so stupid as to think she would be working alone?" Katya countered. "Tell me, Uncle. Where is she now? Where is Fazah for that matter?"

"Don't drag him into this foolish conspiracy as well!" Junda snapped.

"It's no conspiracy, Uncle! I have proof!"

Maeve was struggling to focus on what Katya was saying. Her head was spinning, drool oozing from behind her gag unto her burning tits. She wanted to give in and cum more than anything but she refused to give Katya the satisfaction of breaking her. Not now. Not ever.

The door opened and half a dozen guards marched into the room surrounding a man bound in chains who Maeve recognised immediately as the soldier she had fought last night, only it couldn't be. She had killed him, cutting his throat and stabbing him through the gut. It couldn't possibly be him and yet, there he was standing before her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Junda demanded.

Katya turned to the soldier, her face a twisted mask of triumph. "Tell him who you are and what you have been doing," she commanded.

"Captain Drazood," the soldier rasped, his voice sounding strange to Maeve's ears. "Of the Second Company. My men and I have been tasked with kidnapping and executing various citizens of the city.

Maeve couldn't contain herself any longer. She felt as though she was going to either pass out or explode.

"On whose authority?" Junda hissed.

"Commander Fazah's," Drazood croaked. "He and the Witch are intending to summon a Djinn to destroy the city."

Maeve came at the same time that the hall erupted. People were shouting over each other, accusations were being hurled left and right and through it all, Katya was smiling. She crouched beside Maeve who lay on the floor, twitching and quivering as the aftershocks of her orgasms shot through her again and again. Her tray was on the floor, the coffee jug on its side, its contents spreading beneath the Sheik's table.

"A pity," Katya hissed. "It looks like you loose."

****

The palace dungeons were dark and hot. Maeve didn't know how long they had left her there, her arms shackled to wall above her head. After Katya's revelation, no one had spoken to her. They had just carted her off and dumped her in a cell where they had left her to rot. She was still wearing the suspender belt and stockings that the Sheik had given her, though the latter were now torn and ragged, and they hadn't thought to remove the gag in her mouth.

Tears stung her eyes as she stared glumly at the opposite wall. She wondered where Shay was or if she was even still alive. Katya's words had sent shivers down her spine and she imagined what the Princess would have done to Shay if she had found her. Given Katya's other promise, Maeve supposed she would find out soon enough.

Keys rattled in the lock of her cell door and she looked up as a guard pushed open the door and Mhati stepped into the dingy cell. She waited for the guard to close the door behind her before reaching down to slide the gag from Maeve's mouth.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Where's Shay?" Maeve asked. Is she alive?"

"Yes," Mhati said and Maeve felt a wave of relief wash over her. "She and Fazah have disappeared. The army is searching the city for them at the moment."

"They didn't do this!" Maeve insisted. "Mhati, you have to believe me. The Princess is the one behind all of this. She is carrying out the sacrifices, she is trying to summon the Djinn! SHay and I saw her last night! We fought her. That's where we were! That's..."

Mhati held up her hands. "Hush, hush," she said softly. "I do not believe Shay is responsible for the disappearances."

"You don't?" Maeve breathed, stunned by how easily the older woman had agreed.

. "No," Mhati said. "Whatever your reason for coming to Arridia, it was not to cause harm. You should know that the Sheik is also skeptical of your involvement, However, the Princess has played her hand well and the court's approval has shifted in her favour. Junda cannot help you. Not without proof."

"Katya's leg!" Maeve said quickly. "Shay wounded her last night at the warehouse. It was magic, so should be easy enough to identify. And the soldier!"

"Captain Drazood?"

"Yes! I killed him last night," Maeve said. "I know it sounds crazy but I made sure he wasn't getting back up! Whoever that was, it wasn't the same man."

"Shapeshifting," Mhati muttered. "Interesting."

"Can you get me out of here?" Maeve asked. "I have to find Shay before Katya does."

"I will try," Mhati replied. "You don't know anything else about what the Princess' plans are?"

"No," Maeve said. "Only that she is close and that she isn't acting alone."

"She has enough gold to bribe soldiers to do her bidding," Mhati said.

"That's not what I meant," Maeve replied. "The night of the weighing, I saw her with someone else. They were worried about Shay getting in their way. The other person... She seemed to be the one in charge."

"But you don't know who?" Mhati asked.

Shay shook her head. "It could have been anyone."

The older woman nodded thoughtfully. "I'll do what I can," she said. "Stay strong, Maeve. I will send word if I hear anything."

Maeve watched her leave the cell, the door clanging shut behind her. She felt better after talking to Mhati. Shay was alive and Fazah was with her. She had someone to protect her, even if it wasn't Maeve herself. At least for the time being she could focus on her own way of getting out of the palace.

The day ticked by at a painful rate. Maeve's only indication of the time was the tiny grate in the top of the back wall of her cell through which the warm daylight gradually changed to silverly moonlight. Twice she was brought bread and cheese and water by a young serving girl who fed her by hand but refused to speak to her. She was at least glad that the guards were not the ones coming in and out of her cell.

She was dozing on and off in her shackles when she heard the door open again and she looked up in total amazement to see Shay standing in the doorway.

"Shay!" she gasped. "Thank God it's you."

The witch smiled as she hurried into the cell. As she closed the door behind her, Maeve caught a glimpse of the guard stationed outside her cell lying face down in a pool of his own blood.

"Did they hurt you?" the witch asked as she looked down at her.

Maeve shook her head. "No. But Mhati said they are still hunting you."

"I know," Shay replied. But this is the last place they'd think to look for me."

"Well get me out of these and we can work out what to do next," Maeve said. "Where's Fazah?"

"Oh... He'll be along," Shay replied, making no move to release Maeve's cuffs. "You look good like that you know," she said thoughtfully.

"Thanks," Maeve said slowly. She looked up at the witch, at the tilt of her lips and the slightly dull glow of her pink eyes. Something was wrong.

"Oh the things I'm going to do with you once this is all over," Shay mused as she leant back against the opposite wall of the cell. "We're going to have so much fun together... Or I am, at least."

An icy hand had closed around Maeve's heart. "Who are you?" she growled.

The fake Shay cackled and for a moment Maeve saw through the glamour to the hooked nose and dark eyes beneath. She recoiled as Katya leaned in and smiled at her using Shay's lips.

"I can be whatever you want me to be," she hissed. "All I need is a little blood and I can make people see what I want them to see."

Maeve swallowed as she thought back to Katya's appearance in the dining hall. "Drazood..." she breathed.

"Some common street rat who I told what to say," she sneered. "He's dead now of course... But I can always bring him back if I need him."

Maeve recoiled as the Princess shifted in front of her eyes, growing taller and broader, the dress that she had been wearing morphing into billowing white pants and a sleeveless teal jerkin. The soldier grinned down at her, his teeth yellow and his eyes full of the same animalistic hunger that Maeve had seen just last night.

The fake-Drazood rolled his neck as Katya adjusted to her new form. "What do you think, Maeve?" she rumbled in his voice. "Does it suit me?"

"Fuck you," Maeve hissed. "You wont win. Shay will find a way to stop you."

Katya laughed, the sound deep and ominous. "She can try but it's too late. The last sacrifice will be made tonight and after that, the lamp and the Djinn will be mine to command! Your witch will beg for mercy before I kill her. As for you..."

"I'll never be yours," Maeve interrupted. "if you so much as lay a finger on Shay I will spend my life hunting you."

Katya snorted. "I will enjoy breaking you," she hissed. "In fact... Why don't I give you a taste of what I have planned for you?"

She reached into Drazood's pocket and withdrew a large metal ring gag, her eye's sparkling cruelly as she grabbed Maeve's hair and pulled her head back. Maeve tried to fight her. She kicked her feet and snapped her teeth but Katya, or Drazood, were stronger. They pried her mouth open and shoved the gag between her teeth before they pulled the straps tight behind her head.

"There," the Princess growled in Drazood's voice. "That ought to shut you up."

Maeve glared defiantly up at Katya, her heart racing in her chest. She knew what was about to happen. She knew there was nothing she could do to prevent it and she knew there was no way she was going to beg Katya to sop.

The Princess tugged down Drazood's pants and tutted as she took his smaller than average size cock in her hands. "A pity," she muttered. "Still, I'm sure I can make it work."

Maeve braced herself as Katya slid Drazood's cock between her gag, pressing his entire length into her mouth. She glared hatefully up at the Princess, determined not to show any sign of discomfort or unease.

"No?" Katya said with a bemused smile. "How about we try this instead?"

Her flesh began to change again and Maeve gagged as the Princess took on the form of her own Uncle, the Sheik's cock now filling her mouth.

"He really does have a hard-on for you, doesn't he?" Katya cackled as she rammed his cock down her throat several times. "Perhaps you'd prefer this, though?"

Maeve gagged as Katya turned her body into Fazah's gigantic form. His cock filled her mouth, ramming into the back of her throat over and over again as Katya fucked her face.

"I've them all!" she cackled. "I can be whoever you want me to be... I could even be you."

Maeve's eyes widened as Fazah's cock vanished from her mouth. She looked up, cum and drool leaking from her lips as she stared into her very own amber eyes. The fake version of herself smiled wickedly as she circled her clit with one long finger.

"This might be my favourite yet," Katya hissed in Maeve's own voice. "The hair's a bit much though," she muttered as she pulled the bun loose from the top of her head. "Now let's see what it feels like when you cum!"

She grabbed Maeve's head and pressed it against her pussy, the smell of her own pussy filling her nostrils. Katya slid her fingers into her pussy, breathing heavily as she brought herself to the edge before Maeve heard herself squeal as the Princess came. Her breathing slowed and eventually she released Maeve's head and took a step back.

"Fuck," she gasped. "I guess it's true that elves have more fun than the rest of us. No wonder you're such an eager slut."

Maeve glared at the princess, cum and drool dribbling from her gag. She didn't care how, but she knew one day she was going to kill that bitch.

"I know I haven't let you finish," Katya teased as she took her own form once again. "But there will be plenty of time for that once I'm done. I'll see you later, Maeve... We are going to have so much fun together."

Maeve waited until the door had closed and she had heard Katya's footsteps disappear down the corridor before kicking her feet out in front of her. She had seen the pins fall out of her hair when Katya had taken her form. When she had pulled Maeve's bun loose she had also removed the pins and they were now exactly what she needed. She got her foot on one of the pins and slowly rolled it over the dusty floor towards her before manoeuvring it between her toes and carefully raising it to her mouth. She gripped the pin between her teeth and craned her neck to the side, pushing herself up the wall with her feet until her fingers closed around the sharp tip of the pin. She exhaled as she slumped back onto the floor, working the pin in the locks of her manacles until she heard a satisfying click and felt the first of her cuffs snap open. A moment later, the second cuff clicked open and she tore the ring gag from her mouth.

She crept to the door of her cell, pushing against the wood which swung back at her touch with a groan of tired hinges. She knew Katya hadn't remembered to lock her cell and with the guard outside dead, there was no one to witness her escape.

She looked down at herself, wearing nothing but a pair of heels, ripped stockings and a suspender belt. She had no idea where to go or what to do, but she knew Katya had to be stopped. She picked up the guard's dagger, his uniform too badly stained with his own blood to be of any use to her and crept along the corridor.

"I'm coming Shay," she whispered to herself. "Just hold on."