TESSA

Iolaus slept deeply and peacefully, after eating his dinner of fish and leftovers that she had left for him. When dawn came he cleaned up his campsite and decided to go and join Hercules. He wasn’t sure exactly where he was, but he knew that by heading west he would reach Corinth. So off towards the west he headed.

The forest growth thickened and travel became more and more difficult. The trees towered above him, the branches forming a canopy of leaves. It was very hot and muggy inside this dark forest. The tree roots seemed to grab his feet as the usually quick-footed Iolaus walked on. Iolaus stopped and drank deeply from his flask, wiped his brow and continued heading west.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the forest grew hotter and more humid, the thick green canopy of leaves was very effective in keeping the sunlight out, so the forest floor it was, while not dark, dimly lit. Iolaus soon began to wonder if he was going in the correct direction. He hoped that soon he would reach a clearing and he would be able to get his bearings and continue on his trek to Corinth to join Hercules.

Suddenly there was a violent rush of air and screams filled the forest. Iolaus started to draw his sword in preparation to defend himself, but was cut short by a whip-like band of leather that came snaking out of the forest and effectively handcuffed his arm. A cleverly hidden snare snagged Iolaus’ feet and soon he was hanging upside down from a sturdy branch. Before he knew what was happening Iolaus was cut down from the tree; tied up and dragged to a village in the deep dark forest.

"So, what do we have here? A small little man, who was wandering in our forest," the leader said with great distaste.

Iolaus tried to explain that he was lost and did not mean to cross into anyone’s private areas, but the gag around his mouth proved to be too much.

"Stop mumbling, little man," the leader said with a sneer. "You will have plenty of time to scream for help later. Take him away and clean him up!"

Four of his attackers picked Iolaus up bodily and took him into a small shack where they retied him, arms outstretched to their limits and his feet at an uncomfortable distance apart. It was only after Iolaus was completely tied up that his attackers removed their masks, revealing that they were women. When the tall, dark-haired Amazon removed Iolaus’ vest by slicing it off of his body, a tear fell from his eye. "Ha, look at this brave man! Crying already and we haven’t even touched him yet!" The Amazon gloated.

They weren’t aware of Iolaus’ deep attachment to the vest that Anya made for him, being the cause of his tears, not the humiliation that he was undergoing. The lead Amazon continued removing his clothing using her short sword, until he was as naked as the day he was brought into this world. Once they had him nude they began to wash the sweat and dirt off his body. They were not gentle, as his beautiful mysterious woman had been. They used freezing cold water and rough boar’s-hair brushes, scratching Iolaus painfully, and leaving red streaks in his skin. To take his mind off what was happening to him Iolaus thought back over the past days of all the joy that he had felt all the passion. The rough scrubbing continued down his back, over his buttocks, his legs and finally his feet. When the Amazon finished the torturous backside bath she moved to do the front. Iolaus didn’t think he’d have any skin left when she finished.

"Look, Attie, he bears the mark!"

"What, how can that be?" The dark-haired lead Amazon replied. "Let me see."

Attie moved closer and saw the design that the mystery woman had painted on Iolaus’ stomach with the hot oils just the other night. Attie cut the gag from Iolaus’ mouth and demanded, "Where did you get this mark, pig!"

Iolaus wasn’t sure how to handle this. He didn’t know the woman who painted it on, he didn’t know where she was, and now it seemed that his life was depending on his answer. "I met a women in a tavern, the other night. We left together and she painted this on me during the night." Iolaus decided to go with honesty.

"And you expect me to believe that?" Attie screamed back at him.

"Believe what you want," Iolaus replied calmly, "I’m really in no position to lie and get away with it."

"Get Queen Ellia, now!" Attie shouted at one of the standing Amazons.

Queen Ellia came into the shack, and inspected Iolaus’ abdomen, she saw the mark the hot oils made and saw the little bruises made by the nibbling that she had done during their passionate hours together. "Tell me, Pig. Did a beautiful auburn-haired young woman do this to you? And did this woman give you a night that you will never forget?" Ellia demanded.

"What do you want me to say?" Iolaus asked. " You have me here tied up, with no clothing, nothing to protect myself! I would say whatever you wanted just to get my pants back."

"Ah, I see, you do have a point. Ok, all I want is the truth."

"Yes, She was a beautiful young woman and I have never done such things or felt such passion with anyone in my life as I did with her. I asked her name, She never gave it to me. She said our paths would meet again. That is all I know." Iolaus truthfully told Ellia.

"The young lady you speak of is my sister," Ellia replied. "She ran away because she would rather live in a world of men than live our lifestyle. She does not see how controlling men can be or how harmful they are."

"Leave us!!" Ellia demanded. All the Amazons left the shack. Ellia took the bath sponge. Iolaus cringed, as she dipped it into the water. This time, however the rubbing was gentle and kind. Ellia went back over his raw backside taking special care not to cause further damage. When the sponge reached Iolaus' buttocks, he was beginning to wish he had his pants on. Ellia continued to wash and she started with the tops of his feet. Slowly she continued up his shins. As Ellia reached his rapidly engorging member she stopped washing altogether.

"What is it with you men? Just show a tiny bit of kindness and you assume you can have your way with women." Ellia barked at Iolaus.

Iolaus looked at her startled, "Have my way with you? Have you not noticed that I am tied up like the fatted calf? I could no more have my way with you, even if I wanted, which I don’t."

"And why don’t you want to have me?" Ellia asked.

The question stunned Iolaus. "You are an amazing woman. You have me here tied up, you are teasing me, tempting me and when I respond you are upset. Just what is it that you want from me?"

"I want several things from you. First I will need your name, or I can continue calling you "Pig." Second I will need to see if you learned anything from my sister. If you did then maybe, just maybe, you will live." Ellia declared.

"I’m Iolaus, and you are?"

Ellia’s hand flashed out and slapped Iolaus in the face. "You will only answer questions. Any information you will need, you will be given."

Ellia started washing Iolaus’ thighs and stomach, all the while keeping an eye on him. She was a tall woman of no more than 30 years, but being in charge had added lines to her face. If she would just relax she would be a strikingly beautiful woman. Her gray eyes were perfectly set off by her tawny-colored hair. She had been born to lead, and was a good leader, very protective of her band of amazons.

Iolaus glanced around the room his eyes settling on his now ripped vest, tears again began to well up in his eyes. Ellia saw that. "What is it about that ratty vest that causes you to care?" she asked.

"My wife made it for me. Before she died, she planned to add an ornament for each son we had." Iolaus responded.

"I don’t see any ornaments," said Ellia. "I guess you only had daughters, HA."

"No, daughters, only one son. Anya, my wife, died in childbirth. My son now lives with neighbors. I was unable to raise him, my grief was so deep for her. Anya couldn’t cook and didn’t like to tend the animals, nor could she sew, but I loved her." Iolaus was trembling with the memory of her loss as if it had just happened.

Ellia was wise enough to realize that Iolaus was telling the truth and found herself moved by this open, honest man. Perhaps, she thought to herself, here was the man she had been searching for.

Ellia, went behind Iolaus and rummaged through the bins in the back of the shack. When she returned she strapped a collar around Iolaus’ neck. She picked up his pants, but noticed they were beyond wearing, so Ellia reached into another bin and pulled out an old dirty barn tarp. This rough, disgusting material she wrapped around his abdomen. Then Ellia untied each arm from the posts but retied them behind Iolaus’ back; she then freed his legs so he could walk.

"Come with me, Pig, er, Iolaus," Ellia barked at him. She led him out of the shack like a dog on a leash. "Keep that wrap around your waist if you want to see the dawn tomorrow!" Ellia spat at Iolaus.

Iolaus followed the Queen to the nicest building in the compound. Everywhere he looked women were gathered to stare at him. Iolaus was not about to let the material fall from his body, not with all the eyes staring at him. Iolaus noticed that there were only 2 maybe 3 males in the whole village and they were doing heavy, backbreaking work. They did not even look up to watch him pass.

Once they reached Queen Ellia’s house, they entered quickly. "Leave me!" Ellia shouted at her maids. "Okay, Iolaus, pleasure me!"

"Wha …?"

"Are you deaf, you seemed to be able to hear just fine in the shack? I said, pleasure me."

"You mean, now, here?" Iolaus was confused, dumbfounded and extremely nervous.

"Yes, little man, here, now!" Ellia laughed at him. "Your continued manhood depends on it. For if I’m pleased then not only will I let you live, I won’t have the doctor cut you."

"C-c-cut m-me?" Iolaus stammered.

"Yes, dear, cut you. You seem to be in great shape so I think you would do well toiling in our fields. And once you are cut you won’t be a threat to any of my followers."

"Oh, well, that’s a relief. I will need my hands, and perhaps something to clean myself with, this tarp is really quite smelly and dirty." Iolaus was stalling for time trying to think how he was going to get out of this mess. He had always thought highly of himself when it came to the ladies but now his very being was on the line. He wasn’t sure he was up to the pressure.

"Yes, you do rather smell like a goat," Ellia said. Ellia led the way to her bath chambers, tugging Iolaus around on the neck leash, his hands still tied behind his back. The bath chamber was of modest size, but the tub wasbig enough for two, this gave Iolaus an idea.

"Please, Great Queen, untie my hands, I cannot do justice to you with them tied behind me." Iolaus asked. Ellia looked at him.

"You realize that my army is just outside this building and I can, with just one call have you killed." Ellia reminded Iolaus.

"Yes, I am aware of that, and I might add it doesn’t add greatly to my level of confidence. But please, my hands."

Ellia removed the leather bindings from Iolaus’ arms but left the wrist gauntlets in place, and she also left the very tight choker around his neck. Iolaus rubbed his arms to get the blood flowing back into his fingers. It was obvious that he would not be able to stall much longer. Soon he would be facing one of his toughest personal battles.