Spoiled Princess

Anastasia Roogervald is a spoiled princess who likes to sneak off from the palace, followed by her reluctant guardian, Terrina

Chapter 1


"Oh! If I just had wings!"


The acrobatic elven girl was balancing gracefully on the sturdy vane on top of the Lookout Tower, the tallest structure in the royal palace. She held her arms straight out from her body, feeling the wind blow softly, ruffling her long hair. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day after several days of rain. The casual pose she struck as she basked in the rays attested to her flexible limbs and natural balance.


Anastasia Roogervald was a princess of a race of elves known as the paleface whites.


Recently turned eighteen years old, with a lithe, graceful form, her wild pinkish hair was offset by her paler face. With ears long and pointy, it was easy for her to pick out low noises and court gossip. A small nose, generous lips, and a perpetual, mischievous twinkle in her eyes gave her a ravishing beauty that all the young men of the courts would kill each other over in order to take her hand in marriage. Not that she cared. Anastasia or "Stasia" as she insisted on being called by everyone except Terrina, planned on never getting married. Nope, not for her.


"Marriage is for wussies," she clapped her hand over her mouth, shocked she would say such a bad word. If her father heard her say that! By the giants of Rothmeer she'd be grounded for a month, why she-


"ANASTASIA!"


Anastasia glanced down, feeling vertigo as she did. Why did she come up here? Oh yes, it was because she wished she were a fairy. A beautiful, loving fairy. Anastasia imagined delicately beating her wings, buzzing about the palace, cheerfully getting the ball for the young ones when it got stuck on the roof of the marble buildings they used as houses. Why, she could fly so high in the sky that-


"ANASTASIA!"


She finally realized she was looking at her nanina, Terrina. Ah, dear Terrina, who was so concerned, so bossy, and so.....boring! Because Stasia was a royal princess, she was assigned a nanina until she turned twenty-four. A nanina had a basic job: keep after a princess's every want and need.  If Stasia said she wanted an apple crispy peach pie, Terrina got it immediately. If Stasia wanted to go to the nearby river or pool to swim, they went at once, dropping everything. This made it so Anastasia was an impatient young woman who seldom tended to think of others. Least of all her nanina, who looked worriedly up at her charge.


"ANASTASIAAAAA!" Terrina screamed, "GET DOWN BEFORE YOU GET HURT!"


"Allright!" Stasia was done up here anyway. Besides, she was ready for some licorice tea.



***


"Promise me you will never do that again."


"Fine, fine. I promise." Stasia said sulkily. She crossed her fingers though. She had just turned eighteen yesterday and was feeling frisky with her newfound freedom as an adult. Even though she was considered grown, the elves did not allow one to participate in politics until age twenty-four because they had to be trained in, which typically took six years. Perfectly fine with Anastasia. She never wanted to grow up, she'd rather stay young.
She was determined to stay out of politics, much to the consternation of her parents. Her nanina didn't care, she loved Anastasia for who she was, not for who others aspired her to be.


"I love this job, almost as much as I love you. I would hate to get demoted to a chamberpot maid because something happened to you," Terrina said with feeling.


They were sitting in one of the many parlors scattered throughout the main royal palace. The medium sized city was a sprawling, complex hub of political activity for which Anastasia, typically, cared not a whit. Roughly thirty square miles made up of royal homes, gardens, sports centers, playgrounds, business plazas, shopping plazas, boarding houses, etc, etc. This small but wealthy kingdom, christened Roogerville, was situated just below the Frost Mountains. Woodlands whose brush had been cleared surrounded three sides of the city, resulting in pleasant woods to travel through and make small resort homes in.


The land was mostly quiet. Twenty-five years ago there had been the biggest battle in the history of the elven race.
The Arthropoda kind,who are invertebrates and live halfway across the world, had all united under one banner: kill all the warm blooded warriors and enslave the leftovers.
Generally speaking they stand about four to six feet tall, though reports of spiders growing to seven feet tall and twenty feet in diameter had been circulated, but never verified.
For the most part the Arthropodas are humorless, cold hearted creatures who care for nothing other than eating, breathing, and breeding.
Crustaceans, arachnids, and insects gathered together on the Hill of Sparrow to wage warfare with the likes of which nearly ripped the planet in half.
Elves, humans, felinus(cat species), dwarves, small folk, fairies, werewolves, werebears, witches, even giants, orcs, goblins, and the dreaded minotaurs, all put aside their differences to destroy this threat.
The war had waged for five months of constant battle. What had saved them in the end was a brilliant battle strategy put together by none other than Anastasia's father, Warmon Roogervald.
He came home a war hero and the people revered and respected him.
He had founded this small kingdom right at the foot of their old homeland, The Frost Mountains.
Warmon was well liked and respected because he didn't discriminate, allowing any race to abide in his city and kingdom. So long as they paid the high tax rate.
People came and the kingdom grew.
Now it was years later and they had heard nothing more from the Arthropodas.
People were happy to live their lives and didn't worry about the cold blooded creatures return.
After all, they were basically wiped out, right?


What the problem was post war, battle hardened veterans were angry, especially the felinus kind,  because of the fact that the frogmen, lizardmen, wingless dragons, mermaids, molemen, medusa clan, vampires and zombies refused to lend their aid.
Granted, most of those mentioned didn't have their own kingdom as such, but it still would have been nice to have their help instead of kicking back their heels watching the show.
Warmon, Stasia's father, swore he saw several frogmen camped close to the Hill of Sparrow on the day the long battle began, relaxing as they popped dead flies in their mouth, enjoying the vicious battle .
There were also rumors of vampires revealing themselves each night of the battle to feast on the dead.


Now today,there was growing uneasiness among the inhabitants of this part of the world, and rumors of more trouble coming.
The orcs and goblins, for example, had recently broken their pact with the other races when they began sacking and raiding villages again.
The dwarves commenced to killing witches and nobody knew why.
The werewolves and werebears were slaying whomever they met, instead of bandits.


Whatever. Anastasia couldn't care less. She sipped her licorice tea thoughtfully, glancing at Terrina.
Anastasia's nanina basically raised her, with her mother busy with courtly duties.
So far as feelings went, Stasia really did love her nanina like a parent, even if she got on her nerves sometimes.
Terrina was a shade under five feet six inches, with orangish tinged skin and emerald green hair.
A grasslands elf, she was about thirty-five and had a timeless beauty about her that would have been worthy of a queen.
As it was though, she was basically a glorified babysitter. That was fine with her, apparently. Terrina was not allowed to marry until her service was fully rendered. That didn't stop lots of suitors from trying.
The woman was very attached and devoted to her young charge, but of course, Anastasia rarely gave it a second thought.
There was also her family. Liliana, the youngest and most spoiled of the family, in Anastasia's opinion. Then Marlena, the one always worried about stupid politics.
Her mother spent most of her time watching the young men and women perform at the sporting arenas.
Father was constantly busy running a kingdom, settling quarrels among his subjects, and making money hand over fist.
Her family was somewhat dysfunctional, but it was all Anastasia had ever known.


She was torn between turning eighteen yesterday, and staying in a perpetual carefree age.
Anastasia wished she could go back in time and relive the past, with her sisters.
Two tiny tears crept into each eye as she thought of the carefree childhood days.
Running, skipping, water fights, playing anything in general.
Her nanina's warm smile and soothing words when she got hurt.
A trip to the local sweet store to buy candy.
Dolls. Oh, how she had loved to play with dolls! Dressing up royally for her friend's birthday parties.
Sitting on her nanina's lap, listening to stories.
Riding with her father as he spurned his horse on, making her bounce and laugh as they jostled in the saddle.
Which brought her back to fairies. Why, she could fly away from all this growing up business! She could go live in a fairy home, with a fairy bed, and have a fairy nanina.


"I wish I was a fairy." Stasia blurted out suddenly.


"Is that why you were on top of the tallest tower in Roogerville? You don't even have to answer, I know that's why.
Anastasia, Anastasia. Last week you wanted to be a mermaid, always lying about in the pools and hot tubs hoping your legs  would turn into fins.
Before that you wanted to be a werewolf, sneaking out and sleeping with the dogs, trying their food out-"


"It was disgusting!" Anastasia interrupted. She could still taste it.


"And last month," Terrina continued, "You said you were going to be a vampire, but I think that one was just an excuse not to eat the garlic rolls at dinner." Terrina took a breath-


"I get it, I get it. Now I want to be a fairy. I don't think so now though." Stasia wrinkled her brow as she interrupted her nanina. "I was just thinking how short they are. I mean, three feet tall? I like my five foot nine height."


Terrina just shook her head.


"I've been thinking about witches the last while. How nice would it be if I had a zit on my chin and poof! Snap my fingers and it would go away!" Stasia said, growing excited.


"You never get pimples, dear." Terrina objected patiently. "Besides, magic is frowned upon for paleface whites."


"I don't care. Listen, there's a witch I recently heard about in the red forest, her name is Bertrude the Weighty. Let's go see if we can find her." Stasia impulsively proposed.


"Absolutely not! We have to have your father's permission, armed guards, and several horses to carry all our luggage." Terrina commanded.


"Fine, I'll leave without you." Anastasia stood up and began heading for the door.


"I'll have to tell your father, Anastasia." Terrina called out.


Stasia stopped cold, then looked at the curtains on the window. She smiled.



***



"Mph! Mmpphh!"

Anastasia admired her handiwork. It had been relatively easy to act like she was messing with the curtains, then casually wrap it around her unsuspecting green haired nanina's head.
She had tied and gagged the woman with ripped up curtain sheets.
Stuffing several cloths in Terrina's mouth, she covered her entire lower portion of her mouth with a long cloth wrap.
Then taking a longer curtain, she mummified her nanina and shoved her under the couch for safe keeping.
The only thing exposed in her mummified state was Terrina's nose.


"Don't worry Terrina, the servants don't check this parlor very often, so I'll have a good head start on you." Anastasia could hear Terrina's muffled, pleading response.
"Well, I'm off to see a witch!" She giggled.



***



Terrina screamed after Anastasia to stop, but either the girl didn't hear her or she just ignored her.
She sighed miserably, trying to wiggle out from under the couch.
Her stomach lurched at the thought of her young charge wandering deep into the redwoods. She had to get out!
One thing about Anastasia, she could tie a knot. Terrina remembered taking the princess down to the seaside for a few days and Anastasia's fascination(for a short time, turned out) with sailing. All the sailors took a shining to her and showed her the ropes, especially knot tying.
It looked like it was paying off, especially since the nanina couldn't feel her hands.


Terrina wasn't claustrophobic, but not being able to see, talk, and move was getting to her.
Worried more and more, she writhed and grunted in absolute panic.
Where was Anastasia now?



***



Anastasia whistled as she made her way through the forest, a simple sack pack slung over one shoulder. She hadn't changed out of her royal blue dress but had strapped on a pair of tall lace up leather boots.
Witch time! Stasia couldn't wait! True, she had no idea where this witch lived, somewhere south, is how the rumor went.
So south it was. Her plan was to stop at the village Zrandeer and ask for directions.


Two hours later, she arrived at Zrandeer.


It was a squalid little village, at least in Stasia's eyes.
Resting just before the redwoods, it had a woodsy vibe to it, like it was a village for hunters and loggers.
Stasia, in her royal attire, would definitely stand out.
She walked slowly through the village, hating it's dirtiness. Why, the cleared woodlands she passed through to get here were cleaner than this!
There were chickens everywhere for one.
Two, there were no cobblestones, just a mud dried street.
Three, the people were so…….homely! Where was the nice clothes, the expensive jewelry, the fine dining?
Anastasia knew she was used to a pampered life, but the way these people lived, yikes!
She never knew it could be this bad. Times past when she traveled it had always been in a covered, armored carriage.
Now she was an adult and felt like she was seeing the real world for the first time, it fascinated and somewhat disgusted her.


A tavern close by caught her attention, "Red Beer Tavern." What a stupid name, she mused.
The door opened and the biggest man Anastasia ever saw unfurled himself out of the tavern.


He stood in front of the entrance, seven feet tall if an inch. A huge red beard accompanied by a mustache went down to his bellybutton.
No courtly fat on this man, or even muscles gained from weightlifting in the arena.
These were honest to gods muscles, sinewy and defined.
He had kind, worn green eyes, and a huge nose.
Large lips that looked like they could kiss the a*s of a bombardier beetle and would not get scorched pursed thoughtfully as he surveyed her.
A huge woodcutter's axe was slung across his back, with two daggers at his belt that appeared to be more akin to small swords.


Anastasia stood in awe. She had never seen a giant before!
"You..you're one of the giants of Rothmeer.!"


"No princess, I am not. The giants of Rothmeer are sixteen feet in height. I am seven feet tall." The man laughed at her guess.


"How do you know who I am?" Anastasia wondered.


"Everyone knows of your father and his three beautiful daughters. Which one-"


"Anastasia. How did you get so tall?"


"My mother was human, and my father was a giant. Here I am. However," He leaned in close, as Anastasia waited eagerly, "I wasn't born this big."


Anastasia giggled in spite of herself. She liked his open, forthcoming manner. No one ever talked to her like that back home. They always treated her like she would break or like she was doing something wrong.
Anastasia, don't do that!
Anastasia, do not insult that dignitary!
She could go on and on. Instead she asked him another question.


"What is your name, seven foot tall giant?"


"Folks call me Limber Phill." He laughed.


"Ok, Limber Phill. I want you to take me to Bertrude the Weighty. Right now." Anastasia demanded.


"Whoa, whoa there princess." Lumber Phill laughed good naturedly. "I may be willing to take you, but you shouldn't go making demands of people, most times you'll just be ignored or worse, they may take advantage of you."


"No one is taking advantage of me." Anastasia folded her arms across her slender chest. "I must see her now. So let us be off." She stamped her foot impatiently.


"Shouldn't there be an armed guard around here? Are you even supposed to be alone? Where's your nanina?"


"I am an adult now, with royal blood, and I command you to take me at once!!" Anastasia's voice rose a little in pitch.


"Your wish is my command princess," Lumber Phill bowed low, seemingly realizing he was getting nowhere. "One last thing before we depart, Bertrude the Weighty is known for enigmatic solutions to people's problems. Are you positive this is what you desire?"


Anastasia gave a frosty nod. She really did like this giant of a man, he had an open, forward manner that was refreshing from stuffy palace life. At the same time, she was extremely impatient to be off.


"Well then, follow me." Lumber Phill led her through the town, on into the woods known as the red forest.



***



"Mrrffffm! Rrmmmmm!" Terrina would moan as loud as possible for one minute, then wait silently for two, straining her ears, hoping someone would hear her.


Terrina was a gentle soul, but still firm in what she believed. There were two things most important in her life: her job, and her young charge, who put her in this predicament in the first place.
She was so, incredibly, worried! Why the nerve of Anastasia to tie her up like this!
That girl didn't know anything about the real world, how dangerous it could be.
Terrina had been raised in an orphanage, not ever knowing who her parents were or even what elven race she truly was.
Grasslands elves was the race everyone guessed she was. True, she did look like a grasslands elf for the most part.
Terrina had not had a good experience at the orphanage, as she was the only one of her kind there, and elves tended to be chummy with their own clan.
She had to survive on her own, fighting for everything she had accomplished that led her to where she is today.
She continued musing.
Then the light, tinkling sound of laughter broke her reminiscence.


"In here! No one can hear us make love to one another!" A voice said. Then several giggles.


Terrina broke from her reverie and "mmmpphh'd" as loud as she could. Unfortunately the two maids who were obviously so stupidly in love were talking again, laughing, and smooching.


Terrina tried to move, or at least kick the underside of the couch. Nope. She was basically wedged in the short space between the floor and the underbelly of the couch.


Then the lovers/maids collapsed onto the exact piece of furniture she was under.


"Mmmmmpppppghh!"


She felt their weight on top, slowly sinking down until they were apparently snuggled together right on her stomach and chest.


Holy mary mother of Cuando!
She felt a blush of anger on her cheels that these stupid maids weren't even hearing her!
Terrina yelled in frustration into her curtain stuffed mouth. How could these two possibly be elves if they could not hear her!?
They should be ashamed of themselves, not even call christen themselves as one of the noble races!


She moaned loudly into her gag again. Still they continued to fondle each other.


Terrina sighed loudly.



***



Deep in the redwood forest.


"Clik, clik clik clik clik." The large praying mantis feasted on the poor logger they had found having a picnic with his wife. He clicked his gonions in contentment.
The praying mantis kind communicated only by clicking their mandibles, a form of talking that Arthropodas could solely understand.


"Mmmm! Mmmmmmmmm!" The wife, strung upside down from a tree in soft, silken webs, screamed in abject horror. She could not see as her head was wrapped in the sticky webbing. But she could hear, and she could most definitely hear the crunch of bone as the mantis finished his meal.


Two spiders, roughly about the size of a human, viewed the terrified woman through multifaceted eyes. They felt no sympathy for her, rather they enjoyed her squirmings.


A large centipede reared up on his haunches, examining the scouting party of four.
They had been sent this far north to investigate the strength of the warm blooded.
Quricuc was the centipede's name, and as he eyed the tasty morsel dangling above him, what would pass as a smile for the Arthropodas came to his face.
He looked forward to many more snacks.



Chapter 2


The centipede gnawed on an ankle bone.
Pity, humans were tasty enough, but so skinny. Elves had a certain sweetness to them, dwarves tasted like week old deer.
He continued to count off the many flavors they recently had come into contact with.

Arthropodas were not natural products of nature, at least not at first.
An insane salamander from the tribe of lizardmen, by the name of Munroe, ran amok and began mixing alchemy with black magic, creating Arthropodas after testing his mixed potions on regular invertebrates.
Munroe had loved his little children, nourishing them, teaching them the ways of the world.
The ones to gain the most intelligence were spiders, centipedes, stag beetles, wasps, and dragonflies.
They learned the native tongue and had basic cognitive functions.
However their intellectual capacity had a low limit, often resulting in some epic failures.
Their leader though, Queen Bina, was not stupid.
Raised by none other than Munroe himself, she was his pride and joy.
Arthropodas were located far south, where not many had ventured.

Quricuc had a simple job: reconnoiter and information gathering. He was not to engage.
Of course, Queen Bina had told him that if an opportunity arose, to kidnap Warmon Roogervald, or at least someone close to him.
Quricuc wasn't exactly sure what Warmon or his family looked like.
He sincerely hoped it had not been that elf he devoured on the way up here.
They would keep an eye out but mainly they neededYito see how united the warm blooded were.



***



The red forest consists of thousands of cedar trees.
They have grown so close together you cannot walk outside the path or you will be hopelessly lost.
The cedars are tall, one hundred fifty feet at least. No branches for the first fifty feet.
The pleasant aroma of cedar scents a traveller's nose throughout the two hundred mile journey west through the forest.
It is a path not oft taken, most denizens preferring the waterways of the Plutomac river.
There are not many inhabitants in the red forest, a small settlement or two of wood elves twenty miles south.


"How much farther?" Anastasia whined. She was getting tired as her and Lumber Phil had been walking for several hours.
As paleface elves, they rode giant snow eagles in the winter. The snow eagles could go anywhere in no time it seemed like.
The paleface elves had a pact with the eagles: they would feed them in hard times if the eagles gave transportation in the winter.
Summer time was too hot, unfortunately, or Anastasia would have ridden Osiris.
That was the name of her pet eagle. Well, she called it a pet but it really wasn't.
Wishful thinking.


"My legs are so tired, I wish I was a bird, then I could just fly there!" Anastasia said dramatically.


Lumber Phill glanced back, a smirk on his face. "Even birdies get tired. Do you want me to carry you?"


"Absolutely not! What do I look like, a baby?" Anastasia was mortified at the thought.


"You're starting to sound like one." Lumber Phill said bluntly.


Anastasia couldn't believe how he was talking to her. Why the nerve!
She stopped walking, putting her hands on her hips once again.


Lumber Phill noticed and stopped as well. He folded his arms across his huge, brawny chest, sensing a confrontation with the princess.


"Lumber Phill, that is no way to talk to a princess!
I would be ashamed of myself to talk to a fair lady like that! I can't believe you'd even think of it!"


"You are very bossy, I would be ashamed to talk to an older person as you do.
What you need is to learn some good ole fashioned respect." Lumber Phill intoned.


"Uh!" Anastasia glared at him. "I can't wait to tell my father about your behavior, he'll have your head for this!"


Lumber Phill looked like he regretted ever taking the princess on this short journey. "Fine then, if all your gonna do is b***h at me then find Bertrude the Weighty on your own." He turned to head back.


Anastasia stood her ground, scowling viciously at his back.


"Walking out on a princess? Here I thought you were a gentleman!"


Lumber Phill ignored her, walking on.


She wondered how she ever thought this man was so interesting. What an a*s.
She continued down the narrow path by herself, not deeming it necessary to look back at the departing giant.


Anastasia walked on, it couldn't be much farther, could it?



***


Terrina screamed in frustration at the couple sitting above her.


Finally the maids stopped.


"Did you hear something?" One asked.


"Mmmmmm!" Terrina moaned.


Terrina could feel the elven maids get up, then apparently they saw her as there was loud exclamations and then she felt herself pulled out from under the couch.


The bindings were ripped away and she sat up gratefully.


Terrina looked at the two maids. She knew if she didn't incapacitate them they would probably run straight to Warmon.
The grassland elf didn't want to involve anyone else because she knew she'd get in trouble.


Terrina has some combat experience, it's a stipulation of every nanina.
However Anastasia caught her by surprise, wrapping the sheet around her head. Besides, she could never tell Anastasia "no."
Things might have to change a bit after this.


That being said about her combat experience, it was relatively easy for her to bind and gag the two maids.
She tied them with the curtains she'd been tied with. Also doing them a service, in her opinion, by mummifying them face first, beings they were so crazy about each other.

Terrina shoved the two squirming bundles under the loveseat, then bid them adieu.

"Sorry, but I can't have you blabbing to anyone about this. At least not yet. Besides, you should use your ears, what if you'd crushed me?"


Muffled whimpers came from under the couch.


Terrina laid a white sheet over the couch, indicating in palace etiquette that it needed to be cleaned, so no resting on it.
That should keep anyone from sitting on it and possibly killing them.


Terrina dashed out of the parlor, and began sprinting.
Grassland elves don't have much in the way of upper body strength, but they more than made up for it in her leg thews.
Overall they were slightly built, but quick and adept at learning new things.
Terrina is wondering if she should learn more combat skills, especially if Anastasia was going to want to go out and see the world.


She sped along, her mind going almost as fast as her legs.


Anastasia would no doubt have stopped at Zrandeer for directions, since it bordered the red forest.



***


Anastasia skipped along, smiling to herself.
She had come to a fork in the road not fifty feet from where she parted with Lumber Phill.
There was a small sign with lettering on it that looked like it had been scratched in with a knife, which said,


"Bertrude the Weighty"


There was also a small hand crudely carved into it, one finger pointing to a small cottage just visible two hundred yards down a small footpath.


The fact that it was so close to where she had lost her temper with Lumber Phill made her wonder if he knew she would find it easy enough.
She felt a little bad for getting angry at him, but not repentant enough to chase him down and apologize.


Anastasia approached the cottage, wondering how anyone could live in such a squalid little shack.
There was a run down porch on the face of it, with a roofline that sagged perceptibly.
Chink was missing from the log siding itself, and Anastasia thought she could see wan candle light coming from inside.
An outhouse rested about five yards from the rundown shack.
Anastasia wrinkled up her nose at the smell coming from it.


She briefly considered going back, but hey, she had come all this way, tied up her nanina, and endured a half-wit's lack of manners to get here.


Boldly she knocked hard on the door.


"Stop pounding! You're givin' me a migraine!" A raspy voice said.


"Can I come in? I'm Princess Anastasia from Roogerville." Anastasia asked as sweetly as possible. Her sweet tone usually worked on Terrina.


"Whatever." The cranky voice said.


Anastasia frowned, what was wrong with these people? No respect.
She opened the creaky door, and took a step inside.


The quarters were cramped, with junk and trinkets littered about the place.
Anastasia pulled up her dress a little at the sight. She had never seen such a nasty mess!
This woman needed a good lesson in picking up after one's self.
Not that Anastasia was much better herself. She tended to forget her own flaws when observing others.


She looked at the furniture; a drafty looking fireplace, a wooden couch, a coat rack, two chairs and a small rickety table.
Anastasia clapped a hand over her mouth so the other woman wouldn't see her smiling at the utter ridiculousness of the wretched place.


The witch herself, was a felinus. Of the cat order. Hunched over the table, her face resembled a lynx, with small black tufts of hair poking out from her pointy ears.
Grey was the color of her fur, and she looked ancient.
A shriveled up nose, squinty eyes, and worn out looking fangs did not impress Anastasia.
The felinus was reading a book, not even looking up at her.


She thought Bertrude the Weighty looked like an old woman, not a witch.


"I am Pri-"


"I know who you are, don't even think about giving me a pompous speech." Bertrude said icily. "What do you want? Why are you bothering me?"


Anastasia worked her mouth, speechless at the rudeness of this b***h.


"Well, child, speak up!"


"Do NOT talk to me like that!" Anastasia yelled.


Bertrude snapped her claws and suddenly Anastasia's mouth was sewn shut!


"mmmmmmm!" Anastasia's horrified, nearly silent scream almost made Bertrude smile.


"Now listen to me." Bertrude said sternly.


Anastasia turned to run but suddenly rope like tentacles reached out, grabbing her and slamming her down in the chair opposite Bertrude.


Anastasia wriggled to no avail. She had never been tied up before!


"Now, you can sit still and listen, or I can continue to restrict your movements." Bertrude growled.


Anastasia realized she didn't have a choice. She nodded reluctantly, cheeks flushed with anger.


"Now, where was I? Oh yes, respect. Respect has to be earned, and I have most definitely earned it."


Bertrude the Weighty went on for about a half hour about respect, making Anastasia want to jump out of her seat.
At the same time though she was impressed how powerful this witch was.
Snapping her fingers and sewing her lips shut?
She literally felt the stitches in there, holding her lips tightly together.
Anastasia hoped there wouldn't be a mark.


Occasionally she would silently nod, just to make it look like she was paying attention.
Finally Bertrude finished her lecture and stared at her for what felt like an uncomfortably long time.


"You haven't been paying attention to anything I've said, have you?"


Anastasia vehemently shook her head, trying to mumble some words out.


"Oh well, child. Speak." Bertrude waved her paw and the stitching disappeared, like there was nothing ever there. The ropes remained however.


"I wish I knew how to do that, it would be handy for my sisters." In her excitement, Anastasia forgot to be angry. She wanted to be a witch!


"Child, is that what you came all this way for?"


"Yes! I really want to be a witch! I can't-"


"Stop talking" Bertrude snapped her claws. The stitching reappeared.


"mmmmmfff!"


"I imagine you want to be a lot of things. What did you want to be last week?"


The stitches disappeared again.


"How do you know that?" Anastasia frowned, then her large blue eyes widened. "You can see me through a crystal ball or-mmmm!"


Once again her lips were silenced.


"No, princess, I don't have a stupid crystal ball. Those do not work anyway. I am-" Bertrude smiled yellowed fangs at her, "An excellent people reader. It doesn't require witchcraft to figure out you're discontent." She finished proudly.


"That is none of your business!" Anastasia's lips were free once more.


"Yes it is my damn business. Tell me or I'll make you forget who you are and you will have an obsession with the frogmen for the rest of your life. A sexual obsession."


Anastasia looked into the sickly yellow eyes of the witch and knew she was serious.


"Ok, I'll tell you." And she did. She told Bertrude how she wanted to be a werewolf, a mermaid, a vampire, a fairy, and finally, a witch.


"Really?" Bertrude was silent for a moment.
Anastasia didn't say anything out of fear that she'd be gagged again.


The ropes suddenly fell slack around Anastasia, and she immediately leapt to her feet.


"You want to be a werewolf? Fine." Bertrude did a small motion with her hand.


Pff!


A puff of smoke, it whirled away revealing..


Anastasia felt funny. She could smell a thousand scents.
The old, musty odor of the witch. Her rancid breath.
Mold in the log siding, mothballs in the closet, food on the verge of rotting in the cupboard.
Mice. Ugh.
The scents overwhelmed her.


And her ears, oh! The smallest sounds, Bertrude's calm breathing, the creaks of the old house settling and resettling itself, birds chirping outside, tiny insect sounds.


Anastasia looked down at her furry hands, a werewolf!
She was a werewolf! She opened her mouth to yell and suddenly she was thrown back against the wall.
Iron manacles pinned her wrists and ankles. A muzzle appeared over her canine snout.


"Mmm, mmm!" She whined, like a puppy.


"You are going to be immobile. Get used to it."


Anastasia strained her newfound muscles. The magical bonds didn't give an inch.
She hated the feel of this body, it felt so…foreign.


"Is this what you want?"


Anastasia decidedly shook her head.


Bluish- green energy formed around Bertrude's hands, and she released it.


The energy swirled around Anastasia, enveloping her, reforming her into a mermaid.
She lay on the ground, flopping her tail in an energetic fashion.
The scaly fin was useless for walking on land, as Anastasia quickly discovered.
Her wrists were crossed and tightly bound with seaweed, and a muscle clam shell clung to her mouth, gagging her.
Anastasia thrashed around like a fish, hating the fact she couldn't use her legs.


Bertrude watched, smiling.



***



Terrina increased her speed, she was getting close, she knew it.


She came to a fork in the rough trail, saw the sign declaring there was a witch to the left, and sprinted up to the cabin.


Terrina didn't bother knocking, instead wrenching the old door open and stepped inside.


What greeted her eyes astounded her. There was a witch alright, an ancient grey haired felinus, bent over a table, nonchalantly eating jerky.
On the floor, a mermaid lay, bound and gagged, letting out muffled screams at the sight of her arrival.
Terrina would recognize that face anywhere no matter what body.


"Anastasia! What have you done with her!?" Terrina demanded.


Bertrude casually licked her claws, then pointed at some ropes on the floor.


Suddenly, almost before she could even process it, Terrina's arms were yanked behind her, folded together, and encased in thin rope from the tips of her fingers all the up to well above her elbows.
It tightened strenuously.


"Aahh" Terrina yelled. At the moment she did, a dirty cloth flew off the floor and settled into her small mouth, filling it to the brim.
A larger, off white cloth fastened around her lower face, quadruple knotting itself behind her head.
The gag was so tight you could see the form of Terrina's lips.
She tried rubbing it off, but that only made her waste precious seconds that could have been spent running.


More thin cord encased her lithe, slender legs, from ankles to her hips.
She lay on the floor, unable to move.


"........................................" Terrina frowned. Why wasn't she making a sound?
She should have been able to moan at least.
What the hell was this?


"Oh, I forgot!" Bertrude slapped her knee, the only one laughing in the room. "I gagged you with an old magical artifact."


"............................." Terrina raised an eyebrow.


Ten feet away, Anastasia screamed angrily into her seashell gag, flopping around in her new look, hating the fact she was being ignored.
Neither of them looked at her.


"Yes, that was used to gag Helen of Troy.
A perfectly lovely witch, by the name of Gladys, was hired to kidnap Helen.
Gladys knew the Queen could not be able to make a sound or she'd be discovered.
So, Gladys took her own panties and enchanted them with what is called a muffle spell.
Once thrust into someone's mouth they cannot make any noise, no matter how hard they scream, cry, shout or beg.
It magically fills the mouth to max capacity.
I have no idea if they were clean or not, but they definitely worked on kidnapping the Queen.
There are only several of them in the world, made by the long dead Gladys.
You should feel honored to have them. A nice ornament for you.
Of course, I would not want someone's panties in my mouth, who knows all the people they've gagged over the years."


"................................................."
Terrina screamed silent obscenities at Bertrude, a usually uncharacteristic trait for her.


"Hey, I can't help it that's what flew into your mouth. I just needed you quiet for the princess here."



***


Anastasia thought she was going to die. Being a mermaid sucked more than anything she could imagine.
Why did she ever think that it would be so grand? She knew under certain circumstances mermaids could go on land, but Anastasia hated the idea of it being limited to that.
She was happy to see her nanina, even if she was tied up again.


Hurry up and turn me back to my normal self, she thought in frustration.
She wanted to talk, she wanted to play tricks on her nanina. She wanted to whistle, to run, to wander around.
She wanted to be Anastasia Roogervald.


"mmrrrfffmmn!" Anastasia moaned at Bertrude.


"So, have you learned your lesson?" Bertrude asked haughtily.


Anastasia nodded vigorously.


Terrina looked to be making an attempt to speak, but no sound came out.


Bertrude stared hard at her.
"This is your first lesson. If you want to be a witch, then you must be satisfied with how you are naturally."


Goodie, thought Anastasia, now I'll get free.


Bertrude's hands once again glowed with the bluish green energy.


It swirled around her, transforming her back into her normal elven body, complete with dress and….rope?
Anastasia was bound and gagged the exact same way as her nanina.


"MMMMRRRGGGGGHHFFFF!" She wasn't muted like Terrina but it was still nothing more than a muffled grunt.
How dare this woman keep her like this?
Anastasia would have stamped her feet had she been able.
Glowering in fury, she desperately tried to loose the ropes around her arms.
The ropes might as well have been sewn on.
Whatever magic this witch used, it was powerful, and Anastasia wanted it.


"We are not done, princess." Bertrude rolled her r's slightly for whatever reason. "One more lesson."


But before Anastasia could find out what it was the poor cabin door flew open, this time breaking off the rusty hinges.


Lumber Phil stood in the doorway, in all his lumberjack glory. "What's goin' on here?" He motioned to the trussed up royalty on the dirty floor. "Are you insane?"


"Not insane, enlightened. And I'll thank you to wipe your feet." Bertrude was all business.


Lumberjack Phill snorted. "In this dump?"


"Now as I was saying, the next lesson is about this fact: if you want to learn magic, you have to start by uttering spells and incantations."


Anastasia perked up, being careful not to show it. She was still miffed about being treated and trussed up such a disrespectful manner.
Part of her was still fascinated deep down inside.


"Mmrrgdfmm!" Anastasia said hopefully.


"Stop trying to talk! Or I will gag you similar to your nanina.
I'm pretty sure I know a spell, hopefully it doesn't make your mouth disappear."


Terrina was trying to moan something, anything, however no noise was heard.


Anastasia shut up.
For now she would, she was getting pretty sick of these threats.


"Now let me finish. As I was saying, if you want to learn magic you must first cast spells by uttering them.
If you hope you will be like me in a few short years, think again.
The first test is this: you must escape these bonds before I will teach you.
How you will escape them, since they're magical, I do not know."


"Mmmrmrrgfgggffffmmppp!" What the hell? Anastasia thought. How was she going to escape these bonds?


"That seems a little unfair" Lumber Phill said, glancing at Anastasia, who in turn was kind of surprised to see him. "Yeah, I wasn't gonna leave you, had to keep my eye on the spoiled royalty."


"Ggrrnmmmpppphhh" Anastasia growled, not much of a growl since she was an elf, but it was a start.


Anastasia peered over at Terrina. The woman seemed to be in an awful fit, bucking and trying to talk.
Terrina's eyes weren't looking at her young charge.
Anastasia followed her gaze…...and began screaming helplessly into her gag.


Then all hell broke loose.


Lumber Phill and Bertrude turned to stare at her just as the old cabin fell in.
No, not fell in, more like busted open.


A huge praying mantis, Anastasia never saw one that big before, six feet if an inch, burst through the sidewall, mandibles snapping.


Terrina was the closest and made a valiant, yet futile effort to crawl away.


The mantis grabbed at Terrina, missing her by inches.
Lumber Phill had his axe in his hand, Anastasia still swore she never saw someone move that fast, swung with all his strength at the mantis.


He chopped one of the legs off, to which the mantis swung his head, knocking Lumber Phill in the stomach, sending him flying.


Bertrude began focusing her magic, but she seemed fatigued all of a sudden.


Anastasia saw the mantis go for Terrina again, who soundlessly screamed.


Anastasia, being very flexible, somehow jumped to her feet and threw her legs out in a kick at the mantis's head.
She landed hard on her pratt, but the blow was enough to distract the abomination.


Lumber Phill was on his feet again, and swung his axe right into the mantis's skull, killing it.



***



"So you knew the Arthropodas had returned?" Terrina asked.


All four of them were around the table, Lumber Phill leaned against the cabin wall, Anastasia stood arms folded across her chest.
Terrina and Bertrude each sat in a chair.
They had disposed of the mantis and were discussing the ramifications.


"I didn't know for sure, I suspected. Now that you three have come to me you must do all you can to prevent this threat.
Anastasia, you must train more in magic, it will be crucial in saving this land from the Arthropodas.
Terrina you must train in more combat skills, to protect this would be sorceress princess."


"Hey! You didn't even give me a fair chance!" Anastasia protested.


"How do you know they want to invade our region again?" Terrina asked. She was still a little pissed about Bertrude's behavior, but didn't say anything, feeling it was petty in the face of such a grave threat. Besides, she didn't want Bertrude to do another so called "test."


"Twenty-six years ago they did the same thing, sending out several scouting parties.
A year later they mounted the attack. Arthropodas multiply very quickly." Bertrude replied. "But all of you must go now. I am tired and I need my rest. Here are some books for you to study, princess."


Several big books came floating out of the bedroom, settling themselves on the rickety table.


"These will get you started in spell casting. Read all of them."


"I will" Anastasia promised. "I can't wait!"


Bertrude rolled her eyes and told them to "get lost."



***


"So, I'm going to study magic, and you will train in more combat?" Anastasia skipped along, happy she wasn't a werewolf, mermaid or tied up.
The three of them, Terrina, Lumber Phill and herself were walking along the path back to Zrandeer.


"I think I should if you want to see more of the world. We're going to need to look after ourselves." Terrina replied.


"I wholeheartedly agree with that. Especially if the Arthropodas are sending scouting parties, our land may get slightly more dangerous." Lumber Phill said in his booming voice.


Anastasia was excited. Her world was getting bigger and bigger and she couldn't wait to explore.
She was already thinking of the next journey to take.
Maybe it was time to visit the small folk. Anastasia always thought they were so cute whenever she saw them come into Roogerville.


Yes. That's where they would go next.




***



From a vantage point high in a cedar tree, Quricuc had watched the mantis, who was constantly hungry, try to break in and kill the witch.
The centipede had tried to warn the mantis not to attack a witch alone, it usually took several Arthropodas to bring one down.
What did the idiot do? Break down a cabin wall and get his skull crushed.
Quricuc would have to head home now and get more troops to support his scouting party.
One thing he had learned, and he had sent the spiders to follow them, was that one of Warmon's daughters had been in the house with the witch.
He would need more reinforcements, but he thought he could possibly capture her. Someday.