Empress (A Tickle Commission)

Ticklish Festival

"Alright, you two," Tian said, concluding their assault against Meiling's blushing soles, "let someone else have a turn." Tian had donned a special armor that her father had made for her personally. It was light and practical, yet rested against her as more of a costume than for any means of legitimate defense. She posed as her father's role, captain of the guard and facilitator of Meiling's ruthless, ticklish punishment.

"Thank you," the couple said, bowing deeply. They smiled and moved on. Meiling heaved through heavy breaths, sweat trickling down her face. Her hair had loosened. It clung to her skin. Her eyelids fluttered. Her feet tingled with rising sensitivity. Hours of the scene had toiled away. The sun dropped out of the sky since she had assumed her public throne. Still, Meiling managed to smirk.

"What do you have to say for yourself, thief? Tian asked loudly. Her delivery was comically unnatural, yet she made little effort to hide it. Meiling snickered.

"You will never break me," said Meiling, similarly stagnant. "None of you will. Tickle me all night, I'll never give in!" The crowd snickered. It occurred to many that the display was more for entertainment purposes than a genuine punishment trial. The audience responded, gladened to have such a ticklish and willing participant as Meiling and the beautifully powerful Tian leading the charges.

"Very well, thief," Tian projected toward the crowd. She was not a student of theatre, yet the disingenuine delivery made the spectacle all the more amusing, especially for those less sober festival visitors. Tian turned back to the crowd. Her voice was booming and regal. It was clear to Meiling that she was doing her best imitation of her father, adoration at its finest. "Then we shall continue the torment. Who else would like to tickle the thief until she's repented for her crimes?" The audience seemed to explode with rowdy patrons shouting and throwing up hands. Some spilled from the bottles of baijiu and pushed to get a better chance. Tian paced in front of the stocks. She turned back to Meiling and gave her a quick wink before swiping her fingers across her exposed, blushing soles. Meiling squeaked and jerked. She shot Tian a grinning snarl before Tian's attention fell back on the audience. "How about you?" Tian gestured to a woman standing beside her two teenage daughters. The hands fell with soft groans. The woman stepped forward, her daughters snickering excitedly behind her.

"Much appreciated," the woman said with a bow. Her daughters bowed behind her.

"Of course," Tian said. "You're new here, I presume. What's your name, fair maiden?"

"Li Jai," the woman said. She was stunning in her festive gown. An older woman, yet still boasting attractive qualities of women half her age. Her two daughters behind her were equally as beautiful. "This is Li Lin and Li Liu."

"Very pretty," said Tian, doing her best to balance being a hospitable host along with being the sadistic force behind Meiling's punishment, a role that did not come naturally. "Now then, teach this ticklish thief the respect she refuses to give the royal family." Meiling groaned as she watched the women approach her in the stocks. Her feet felt even more sensitive after the breaks. Each new torturer approached her soles in their most exposed position, their hungry stares acting as their own ticklish teasing. Even when volunteering for such a performance, Meiling still had to endure her own ticklish sensitivity. Being presented as the public's tickle toy was still a rush for the girl, yet it failed to live up to the excitement she got from Cao Lee's devious fingers.

"Go on," Li Jai said, waving her girls forward. The daughters giggled and approached the stocks, eager to play with the dastardly criminal. Meiling watched them come up closer, their eyes feasting on every inch of her vulnerable soles. Soon after, twenty scribbling fingers fell on the focused, delicate spots all at once. The surge of tickles forced wild laughter back out of Meiling. She squealed and snorted like she always had when caught in the tempest of her own ticklish hysteria. The girls, taken back by how responsive the thief was to their inexperienced scribbling, giggled with one another.