Empress (A Tickle Commission)

The Ticklish Thief

The princess examined freshly picked crops. She carried on one sided conversations with a family of pigs and fed them seed from her hand. Yuanji inspected different teas to buy with a colorful array of kettles and cups. The girl carried on, watching painters bring beautiful landscapes to life right in front of her and performers to wow her with their unique talents. Truly the village was a place of a life to be lived. While Yuanji knew of a world beyond even that, what Xian had to offer her journey was simply more than she could have ever hoped to see.

Her forward motion through the market was brought to a halt. Yuanji stopped as she witnessed several village children rushing past her. They laughed and cheered, running toward the village square.

“They caught her,” one said.

“The stocks,” cheered another.

“Let’s get her.” The children darted down the busy street, out of Yuanji’s eye. The girl adjusted her pack and set off in their direction.

She soon came up to a crowd of people all huddled around the square. They laughed and hollered boisterously, some deep in drink. The children from the market pushed through to the center of the commotion. The village square was lit ablaze with untamed laughter and frolic. One laugh appeared as a constant and sang out much louder than the rest. Yuanji approached the crowd. She peered through with mere slivers of vision on what everyone was jesting toward.

“AAAAAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! SSSTTTAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHPPPP!! NNNNNAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOOO MOOORREEEEEHAHAHAHAHAH!!!” the laughter of a young woman roared over the crowd. In the center of the square, a small platform held a set of steel reinforced wooden stocks. Inside, the bellowing girl sat with her wrists bound to her sides and her feet sticking out of the round grooves. Her feet in the stocks were bared and in a pristine, soft pink condition, vulnerable to all who surveyed her humiliation. At them, two young boys near Yuanji’s age toyed with her soles with vigorous tickles.

“Tickle, tickle, tickle!” The boys sang. The girl herself wore dark red hair that swayed back and forth. Her lips parted in a wide, open mouth smile. Tears raced down two rosey cheeks. Her voice was angelic and welcoming, even as she laughed. She appeared immaculately ticklish. Her feet swayed in their binds, yet could never escape the torment thrust upon them.

“Get her good!” one spectator said.

“Tickle the thief!” called another. Yuanji pushed herself through the crowd to the front. Wide eyed, she watched the marvel unfold with breathless wonder. The girl laughed loudly, desperately. She appeared to have been suffering hours, if not days, of constant tickle torture just as Sima Yi had described. Beside the girl, a sign read ‘Tickle the thief! Punish them as much as you want!’. Yuanji could only watch in a smiling awe as the punishment continued.

“Alright boys, let someone else have a turn,” called a woman from the crowd. The two boys raced their shallow nails against the girl’s sweat slicked soles in one final rapid assault before pulling away. Yuanji watched the girl hunched over in complete exhaustion. Her face dripped. Her cheeks glowed like waning suns. As she laid slumped in her seat, panting, Yuanji noticed a faint smile against her lips and a noticeable glimmer in her eye.

“Me next, me next,” chanted a girl of budding adolescence in the front row. The woman standing next to her, holding her hand, along with that of a slightly younger boy, bent down.

“Okay, but take your brother,” said the woman. “You two have fun, but keep in mind other people waiting.” The girl led her brother up to the stocks. She lifted the boy to put him at face level with the thief’s blushing soles. The girl wore an eager grin while the boy appeared confused at the most present.