Nakedella:Book Five Page 2

  “Our greed binds us here. If we can perform one good deed, we will pass on. But it is not in our nature to engage in such frivolous activities.”

  Nakedella pondered a moment. “What if I could find an activity that would suit your vicious characters?”

  “We would need to be paid.”

  “That I can do.” Slowly, she moved one hand to her hair and tugged loose a few strands. As she drew her hand from her neck, coins spilled over her fingers to glitter on the ground.

  “Magic!”

  “Of course. Now, you said that there were forty of you?”

  “Um, thirty-nine, actually. Our leader is buried elsewhere.” He looked surprisingly sheepish for a murderous shadow.

  “Ah. Thirty-nine, then. One coin each, and all you have to do is come when I call. I promise that the task that you are given will be agreeable to your personalities.”

  And so, in the dark of night, Nakedella gave each of the thirty-nine thieves their payment, her plan on how to use their services and complete her own task forming in her mind.

  The ethereal hand of each of the thieves solidified as he accepted his payment and then resumed its transparency as the next in line took his place.

  “What prevents us from killing you and taking your magical tresses for our own riches?” The spokesman leered at her golden locks with greed.

  “Only my touch can work the spell to transform them into gold, and you will disappear at dawn. If you try and force my hand, the riches will not appear.” Ella was a little smug, and she thanked Rumple for building that enchantment into her hair.

  The crowd of shades rumbled in discontent. “Fine, call us when you have need of us.” As one, they faded into the darkness.

  Shaking with relief, she let her travel pouch return to its place in the ether and took a step, welcoming the feel of the magic swirling around her.

  Chapter Four

  Statues of nude males were all around her. Nakedella blinked in astonishment and giggled slightly as the erections of the nearest statuary drew her gaze. They were certainly well-endowed and had been carved in a moment of enthusiasm.

  The garden seemed to stretch on forever, rows upon rows of statues watching her with hungry eyes. She thought that she imagined it at first but as she looked behind her, statues that had been facing the opposite direction were now turned toward her, their cocks hard and ready.

  “All right, this is not what I was expecting.” She spoke to herself, needing a voice in the silence of the staring eyes. “Hey, look. There’s a castle.” Ella felt a little silly, but with only the sound of her own footsteps, she was unsure of what was going to happen next. She felt a tingle down her spine and having a sense of foreboding, she removed her shoes and summoned her travel bag. As it disappeared beneath the soil with the magical shoes in it, she heard a human voice singing a lament.

  The voice grew louder as Nakedella made her way to the castle. As the forest of stone men gave way, she saw the singer.

  A beautiful woman sat next to a pond, her dark mocha skin and blue-black hair a startling contrast to her blue and yellow eyes. Her gown flattered and hugged her curves as she trailed her fingers in the water.

  “Good day to you, lady.” Nakedella made a graceful curtsy, glad that she had chosen to re-dress herself. The woman leapt to her feet and stared at her intruder.

  “Who are you? How did you get here?”

  “I am Nakedella, and my feet led me here. I have been travelling for quite some time and have been looking for a place to rest for a few days. May I beg your hospitality?”

  The woman looked even more startled. “You wish to stay here?”

  “Yes, I will do whatever is necessary to earn my keep. I do not wish to be a burden, but I do need to rest.”

  “I must speak with the lord of the castle. Please wait here while I request his permission.” The woman scuttled off and Ella took up her place at the side of the pond. Her fingers traced the surface idly and she felt a gaze upon her. She looked around curiously and after she didn’t find anyone, her vision caught a pair of eyes looking at her in the water. They were cold, lizard-like, and watched her with a frightening intensity. They must belong to the master of the castle.

  She kept a careful expression of innocent patience on her face. When the woman reappeared, she stood to greet her.

  “The lord of the castle will allow you to stay on one condition. That you perform whatever tasks are asked of you once a day. If you fail to complete the task, you will be killed.” The cold and lizard-like gaze was now in those blue and yellow eyes.

  “Killed? For requesting hospitality?”

  “No, for enjoying our hospitality. You may leave now, or each day you will pay for the previous day’s rest with a task.”

  Nakedella pretended to ponder her options. “I will stay, and thank you both for the hospitality that you will extend.” She bowed gratefully to her hostess. “I really do require the rest and feel that whatever will be asked of me, I will be able to deliver.”

  “I hope for your sake that you are correct.” She turned to the castle and gestured for Nakedella to make her way to the interior of the property.

  Ella muttered under her breath, “So do I.”

  The interior of the castle was cool and quiet. Not one servant was anywhere to be seen, and yet all of the surfaces were spotless. Nakedella realized rapidly that there must be magic at work. Nothing else could keep a castle that clean.

  “Your rooms are in the west wing. You will find everything you need and only have to ask out loud for anything that isn’t readily apparent. It will appear within moments.”

  “What is your name, lady? If I may ask.”

  “Ariminya. Sultana of the Morivan Wasteland.”

  “Wasteland?”

  “Yes, it used to be a thriving country, and then the Sultan got out of control.”

  “Oh, how so?”

  “It is a sordid tale, and not one for polite company. I will leave you to your rest.” Ariminya stood next to a door that opened at her approach.

  “Thank you once again for your hospitality.”

  “Let’s see if you will thank me in the morning when you have been given your task.” Her hostess turned and walked down the hall heading for the east wing.

  The room was handsomely appointed. A four-poster bed made Ella nostalgic for a companion. It was a shame to waste a bed that big on one lonely body.

  A more thorough exploration of the rest of the suite revealed a sitting room and a bathing chamber similar to the one at the Stone Sultan’s palace.

  “Nice waterfall.” she muttered, then winced as the sound echoed in the marble chamber.

  A bath was just what she needed, so she shed her skirt and blouse without a second thought. She carefully placed the jewelry on top of them and folded the veil neatly, covering her jewels.

  Looking carefully around, she got the urge to try something. “I would like my clothing cleaned, please.” As she finished the sentence, her clothing disappeared, leaving the jewels in a shining pile on the floor.

  “Wow. Efficient.” She stretched luxuriously and took a comfortable seat in the tiered bath, below the waterfall, but above the lowest basin.

  The warmth of the water relaxed the muscles that had tensed when she recognized her hostess from the description that she had been given. The cold feeling in the pit of her stomach would not settle until she had fulfilled her obligations.

  Finding a cure for the Stone Sultan was what she was after, and she hoped that she could get it without any loss of life or limb. Especially her own. Djinn were dangerous creatures.

  The delicate rippling of the water against her had almost soothed her into sleep when her clothing reappeared, freshly laundered and folded. The magic here was indeed powerful if no woman had to do the washing.

  Sighing with regret, she took the magical hint and left the water after giving her body a brief and brisk scrubbing.

  A cloth to dry herself with floated to her on invisible hands and she wrapped it around her before she would step out of the pool. Let the magic servant wait.

  She wandered leisurely back into the bedroom and was completely unsurprised at the food awaiting her. A brief snack of fruit and bread, and she was ready for bed.

  The sheets wrapped around her with all the texture of warmed air. They were so smooth as to defy touch and simply floated over her, warming and covering her as she settled into a restful slumber.

  Chapter Five

  The hand that shook her awake was gentle, the tone of voice flat. “Get up. It is time for your first task.”

  Ella sat up and rubbed her eyes, the sheets falling off her body and revealing her nudity to her hostess. “This might be easier for you than I had imagined.” Ariminya muttered.

  After Nakedella was dressed and taken a piece of fruit for breakfast, she was led into a maze in the back garden. At the center of the maze was a statue, a man with his sword drawn and a scowl on his face.

  “Your task today is to bring this statue to life. His family has paid his ransom and we may now let him go.” Ariminya looked her in the eye. “If you fail, your life is forfeit. If you succeed, the maze will let you both out.” She looked over her shoulder at her guest, “Good luck, you will need it.”

  Nakedella sighed and watched the hedges close behind her, then turned to face the statue. “All right, junior, what is your problem?”

  He seemed to have been frozen in the motion of attacking someone, and he obviously hated the person he was after. His face was a frozen mask of fury.

  “Wow, you were in a bad mood when this happened.” Her hand stroked across his cheek and she blinked in surprise as the eyes seemed to flicker. She did it again, and this time, the stone eyes were firmly focused on her.
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  “Are you in there, can you hear me?” She stopped caressing him and the light in his eyes went cold.

  She touched him, and his features began to shift into something less hostile and more pleasant. Slowly and deliberately, she ran her hands down his torso, caressing the stone with as much delicacy as she would living flesh.

  A shudder went through him and she was showered in fine flecks of grey powder as the statue began to move.

  She kept her hands moving over him ceaselessly and smiled when he dropped his sword. He was moving slowly, but so was the sun. It was taking too long to wake him.

  She stepped out of his closing grip and shed her clothing. Color began to ripple across the stone and mere minutes after she had dropped the last veil, his bright blue eyes were fixed on her every movement.

  “Interesting way to re-animate a statue, isn’t it?” Ella’s hair flicked across her breasts as she shook her head to reset her purpose.

  His gaze had warmed considerably as her flesh came into view, and the color that flooded his face and hands proved that she was on the right track.

  She shifted from foot to foot as she pondered her next move. Just that small bit of movement caused more color to show around his collar and hair, so she began to dance.

  She stepped, twisted, shivered and dipped her hips while watching him out of the corner of her eye. As he began to move on the pedestal, she danced closer. His hands began to clench in response to the urge to caress all the pale, smooth flesh that was so tantalizingly out of reach. She circled around him and rubbed the hardened tips of her breasts against his back, feeling the cold stone come to heated life under the contact.

  While crossing in front of him, she kept carefully just out of reach, moving back as his hands lifted and extended on arms that were trading the grey of stone for the linen that he was clothed in.

  She kept up her seduction until at last his upper body was moving freely. Then she stepped into his grip.

  “Woman, you do not know what you are doing to me.” He pulled her against him and sealed her mouth with his. The stone below his hips became warm and pliable, and then hardened once again, this time in a manner she recognized.

  As their lips tangled in endless patterns, she shifted one thigh to ride his hip while rocking her damp pussy against the ridge in his trousers.

  A harsh groan rewarded her efforts. He used one hand to hold her against him while unbuttoning his pants with the other. In seconds his newly heated flesh was pressing for entrance to her slick depths. A short tilt of her hips and a short thrust of his and he was in her, moving quickly.

  It was a great relief for Nakedella to finally be in the arms of a normal man and not of demons. Her cries spurred him on more and more rapidly and in seconds he shuddered and arched, spilling inside her with harsh jerks.

  She was so close to release that she simply reached between them and rapidly circled her clit with one finger, her hand slipping in the juices that she had created in their coupling. Her own shuddering moan rent the silence in counterpoint to his panting and gasping for breath. As he stepped off the pedestal with her still around him, the hedge maze dissolved and his path out was clear.

  “Thank you for awakening me, fair woman. I will forever be in your debt.” With no further ceremony he dumped her on the ground, adjusted his pants and made a run for it.

  She groaned and sat up, taking a handful of grass to wipe the cum from her inner thighs. “That’s gratitude for you.”

  She cleaned herself up as best as she could, then got dressed and made her way back to the palace.

  She needed food and sleep. Her releasing the statue had drained her of more than just physical sweat. Her very soul seemed exhausted.

  As she stumbled through the halls, her hostess appeared and was startled, to say the least. She escorted Nakedella to her rooms and a warm bath was ready moments later.

  If the food that was magically brought to her room hadn’t been ready, she would have never been able to eat. As it was, she bathed, ate and slept as if weighed down by a command to rest.

  Chapter Six

  When the hand shook her awake the next morning, Nakedella rose without comment and followed her bemused hostess to another maze with another statue in it.

  This one held his sword at the ready and a shield was covering his eyes.

  “Good luck with this one. You will need even more creativity than you used yesterday. Nice dance, by the way.” Ariminya let her scorn drip from her voice, and Nakedella simply let it roll off her. She had had worse, and the comment confirmed that someone was watching her performance with the statuary.

  So she would put on a show.

  Ariminya’s footfalls grew silent after a few moments, and the show was about to begin.

  “So, you obviously can’t see me.” She pitched her voice at her most husky and seductive. “I will therefore have to give you something to listen to.”

  “First, I will describe myself. My hair is gold and hangs to my hips. My skin is pale, the color of cream and the texture of silk.” She couldn’t be sure, but she thought that the shield dropped a bit. “My eyes are the green of leaves in the spring, and standing next to you, I would come up to your shoulder.”

  There was some definite color around the fist holding the sword. Blood was once again beginning to run in his veins.

  “The clothing I am wearing is red silk, embroidered with gold, and I am removing it.” She didn’t just let the clothing fall to the ground, she rubbed it across his arms and chest, letting the sound of the rustling silk against the stone work some of its magic.

  “My breasts are bare to the morning light and I am rubbing at my nipples to bring them to hard peaks.” She let her sighs and murmurs of pleasure come forth as she fondled herself, this time knowing that his shield was dropping.

  “My hips are wide, my pussy wet and slick with anticipation as I have been planning my seduction.” A few wet slides and she heard a tremendous creak from the statue as his face was now exposed to her beauty.

  “I will now lay down over here and keep myself ready, you are welcome to join me at any time.” Following words with actions, her body found the cushion of her clothing on the grass and she began to circle her clit with lazy strokes. Never letting her arousal build to high, just keeping it simmering, her cries and moans were cutting the air, frustrating the aroused piece of granite only a few feet from her.

  With a roar of triumph he broke free and instantly was upon her, his mouth taking hers, then moving lower to suckle at her breasts as though to devour them.

  She felt the blunt heat of his cock against her and arched her hips to bring him in. He held his shaft and ran it through her moisture, finally spearing her with one hard thrust.

  She hung on as he pounded into her, moving one hand to circle her clit again as he approached his own crisis.

  As he surged into her, slamming his hips forward to bury himself within, she came as well, shrieking her satisfaction to the sky. That was more like it.

  “I thank you, good lady. I owe you a great debt. Call upon Calmun if you need assistance in the future.” And with that, he disappeared.

  Huh, he must have been of the djinn breed. How odd that they had captured one of their own.

  Once again she staggered back to the castle, and once again a bath and food were prepared for her. And like the day before, she slept the sleep of the drained.

  * * * * * *

  The third morning she was abandoned in a maze with two statues. Ariminya did not even bother with a taunt, as the previous day was proof enough that Nakedella was not to be underestimated.

  This was odd. One knight had been frozen while protecting the other. That led her mind down certain paths, and given her limited time, she needed to prove or disprove them immediately.

  She went to the defended statue and kissed him. As his lips warmed to hers she knew that in this matter, she had guessed correctly.

  Her hands ran ceaselessly down his sides and across his groin, warming him as quickly as she could. Her body was practically wrapped around him when his hands came up to hold her hips to his.