The pounding of rhythmic tribal drums filled the night. Charlie wobbled in his seat, tempted to get up and move to find a new place to sit. The Chiefess pushed a small wooden cup across the table to him. Wearily, Charlie looked to the wooden cup, its purple shade and searing stench made him gag. His gaze moved from the wooden cup to the wooden jug that contained the strong wine.

By now the Chiefess had forced him to drink a good three quarters of the wine. From the size of the jug, Charlie guessed that it probably held enough wine for at least thirty to forty people. Despite this the Chiefess was still insistent of forcing him to drink large cup after cup of the vile drink.

She kept her sadistic eyes locked on Charlie as she could see he struggled to keep awake. She pushed the cup towards him again, knowing he was near breaking point. Charlie pushed the cup back, feeling his stomach turning at the thought of another sip. Annoyed at his refusal, the Chiefess grabbed the drink and firmly placed it to his lips.

Keeping his lips tightly shut, Charlie refused her advances. Seeing his resilience, the Chiefess smiled before quickly jabbing him in the side. Unwillingly his mouth was forced open as the drink was poured past his lips and into his mouth. Charlie spluttered and coughed as the Chiefess used her fingers to massage his throat, forcing him to swallow the liquid.

Laughing, she placed a soft kiss onto his cheek. Licking a bit of the wine, she revelled the taste of his fear and salty tears mixing with the drop of wine. She licked him again on the neck before quickly retreating to allow him to recover. For Charlie and others in the crowd it was obvious what she was doing. She was simply marking her dominance over a male she had taken and interest in.

“It seems the Chiefess has taken a liking to you!” The head merchant yelled from a few seats down the table. Charlie didn’t pay him much attention as he studied the movement of the Chiefess in his best attempt to try and predict another attack.

“Don’t worry, she usually picks a young lad who is new to the caravan as her play thing for the week until we leave or she gets board. You’re just unlucky enough to have the reddish brown hair and green eyes she likes,” The head merchant said before he jumped back to chatting and trading with the native women.

The Chiefess looked a little confused as she didn’t understand the crude language of the outsiders. Ignoring the words of the head merchant, she grabbed the collar of Charlie’s shirt. Picking him up, she placed him and his chair closer to herself allowing easy access to her source of entertainment.

Seeing the Chiefess make a grab for the jug of wine again, Charlie attempted to escape the woman. He only managed to get out of his chair for a few seconds before a hand grabbed his belt. Pulling him down, she forced him to sit on the chair. Leaning over to the head merchant, she muttered something. The merchant muttered something back before the Chiefess returned her attention to Charlie.

“No run, you stay,” She said in her thick native accent. She looked at him a little confused as Charlie hesitated to sit. Assuming she simply miss-spoke the phrase, she placed a finger onto his back as she tugged at his belt.

“No run, you stay,” This time Charlie sat down, now seeing the Chiefess was armed with a new verbal weapon that he simply couldn’t pretend to not understand.

Sneering slightly, Charlie shot a look of annoyance to the head merchant. The head merchant was sitting back as attractive native women happily chatted to him. Seeing and then noticing the look of annoyance on Charlie’s face, the head merchant simply gave him a thumbs-up of apology and good luck before retreating back into the small crowd that now gathered around him.

“Battered,” Charlie muttered under his breath as the Chiefess placed a strong arm around his waist. Yanking him closer, she forced another freshly poured cup of wine to his lips.

Firelight danced across the face of the Chiefess, giving her an almost demon like look from Charlie’s perspective. Not wanting to fight with the grinning monster any longer, he accepted his fate and allowed her to give him the drink. Raising his hands to take the drink, the Chiefess quickly snatched it away. Muttering something in her native tongue, she prodded him in the side.

Forcing his mouth open, she poured the drink into his mouth. It seemed she was insistent on feeding him by hand. Like a child, she sat him between her legs as she forced him to drink cup after cup of the foul liquid. She wasn’t that much taller than him, maybe only by a few inches or so, but due to her muscle toned, yet still incredibly feminine body, it was enough to make him still look far shorter than her.

Now that he thought about it, the Chiefess was far stronger than she appeared. He even made several links to her being much like a rose. She was incredibly beautiful and feminine, yet had a hidden strength which posed danger to any man she found to her liking. Much to his dismay, it was Charlie this time who had been caught in her grasp. Reluctantly he drank the wine, praying he didn’t die of alcohol poisoning.

The Chiefess tightened her grip around Charlie. As she did so Charlie noticed something. Her arms and legs weren’t as muscular as he thought, instead they were more like that of a runner, an athlete. Well, her physique was to be expected, after all you simply couldn’t live amongst armies of Desert crawlers and not learn how to fight or run.

Charlie clasped his hand over his mouth. Jumping out of the arms of the Chiefess, he sprinted down the steps of the podium. Without hesitation, the Chiefess sprinted after him. Charlie ran through the village, dodging and weaving amongst native people and their houses, loosing the Chiefess until he reached a large area of jungle. Stumbling at speed over to the jungle’s edge, he started to feel the burning sick in his throat begin to rise. Diving through the bushes so as not to be disturbed, he started to throw up violently.

All strength had left his body as he leaned on a tree. Throwing up into the bushes, he could feel his stomach turn with every putrid spurt. About ten, maybe twenty minutes passed until he was fully aware of his surroundings. Sheepishly he looked up to see the faces watching him from some nearby bushes. Hurriedly, he tried to explain his reasons for being there, but more sick started to swell in his throat as he tried to speak. The first of the figures in the bush moved forward.

A tall woman in the tribal red and white paints approached him. Assessing his situation, the woman carefully swooped him into her arms. Making sure his head was stable, she carried him through the jungle for a while. Charlie said nothing as he saw the other two women trail off back towards the village. His weary gaze turned from the two women to the one that carried him. Her stern eyes kept moving from looking at him, to what lay ahead of them.

“Sorry for disturbing you,” He managed to croak out, knowing that many of the natives didn’t speak his language, but still he wanted to be polite.

Patting him on the head, the woman then placed a finger onto his lips. Silenced by the woman’s touch, they carried on through the jungle for a time before they came out into an opening. Moonlight poured down onto the face of Charlie as he looked up at the woman.

She had a strong gaze to match her stern features. Unlike most of the native women, she had far shorter hair that curled around her shoulders. Her long black locks looked to be far softer than the silky hair of the Chiefess or other native women. Looking down to the small outsider cradled in her arms; she gave him a warm smile as she placed a soft hand onto his forehead.

Sympathetically, but with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice, she said something in her native tongue. As the native woman moved forward, Charlie turned to look at where they were going. A large lake sat only a couple of meters away from them. Guessing roughly, Charlie estimated the lake had to be at least a couple of hundred, maybe a thousand feet, in any direction. It was such a size he assumed it was a lake, but with the thick tree line that surrounded parts of the “lake”, it was hard to be sure.

Crouching down, the woman placed Charlie next to the water. Putting out her hands she put them into a rough cup shape. After making sure he was looking at her, she made a few drinking motions with her hands. Seemingly satisfied that he had understood her actions, she dipped her cupped hands into the water. Swiftly she pulled her hands out the water and placed her hands over his head.

Charlie squeezed his eyes shut and his nose wrinkled as the woman dropped a few splashes of the cool water onto his face. Relaxing, Charlie savoured the feeling of the cool beads of water dripping down the sides of his red face. A warm smile came over the face of the woman as she saw his eyes widen and mouth open, his enjoyment clear to see.

“Thank you,” Charlie said. He knew she didn’t understand his words, but still he wanted to express his gratitude to the woman.

Seeing the bright smile of Charlie, she dipped her hands into the water again. Charlie closed his eyes and shut his mouth. As excepted, the woman dropped another handful of the water onto his face. The refreshing whip of coldness was enough to start snapping Charlie out of his drunken state. Opening his mouthed, Charlie allowed the woman to drop another splash of water onto his face. The cold water calmed his burning and parched throat as the effects and taste of the wine started to fade.

Smirking, the woman stood up and gracefully moved around Charlie until she reached his head. With careful movements, she sat down crossed legged, while also lifting his head and placing it onto her lap. Once his head was comfortably placed on her, she leaned over him to the water. Closing his eyes, Charlie turned his head to avoid her breasts pushing into his face. Noticing his subbed movement, she retracted back to her sitting position.

For a moment they awkwardly stared at one another. Charlie turned to hide his blushing red face as the woman watched him. Grabbing the sides of his face, she moved his head back to make him face her. Her eyes examined him as she scanned his face, trying to figure out how and why his face had gone such a bright colour of red. Locking eyes with the woman didn’t help Charlie in suppressing his embarrassment as he turned an even brighter shade of red.

Hurriedly she scooped up another handful of water. Carefully she started to use the water to cool his reddened cheeks. She did it with such speed it was like she was trying to put out a fire. Charlie chuckled as he noticed the look of worry on her face, as if she was somehow hurting him by making him blush. The dabs of water stopped as the woman noticed him smiling at her. Angrily she splashed the water onto his face.

Just from looking at her upturned nose and puffed out cheeks, Charlie could tell immediately she was angered at making herself look like an idiot. Not being able to stop himself, Charlie laughed again at her anger. This only fanned the flames within the woman as she got another large scoop of water and splashed it onto his face. Struggling in her arms, he tried to jump off her to avoid her attacks.

Not wanting to let him go unpunished for making her worry unnecessarily, she leapt to pin him. Just in time he managed to dodge her attack. Still feeling a little wobbly from the drink, Charlie didn’t have the motor function to retreat again when the woman leapt onto him for a second time. This time she was able to pin him down. Immediately she leapt off him again though as she noticed how pale he was in the moon light. Charlie gagged, god he shouldn’t have moved that quickly.

Charlie scrambled over to a line of bushes. Grabbing his stomach, and holding onto the bush, he started to throw-up bile into the bush. The woman listened to the noises of him being sick. Sighing, she moved over to his side. Charlie didn’t stop puking as the woman placed a gentle hand onto his back. Reassuringly, she stroked her hand up and down his back. The stench of the stick assaulted her nostrils, yet she didn’t complain as she rubbed the strange outsider’s back for comfort.

A growl came from behind the woman. Jolting around, she locked eyes with a woman. The Chiefess stood not too far from her, her face crinkled into a sneer. Swollen she raised a hand. Her finger pointed to Charlie who sat behind the woman. Turning up his face from the bushes to see what was happening, he felt his heart sink as he saw the Chiefess glaring at him. Her index finger jabbed towards him.

“Give the male!” The Chiefess barked in her native language. The other woman hesitated for a moment. Turning around she looked down to the sickly looking Charlie. It didn’t take long for the woman to realise that it was her Chiefess’s fault for the boy’s state. Seeing Charlie’s eyes widen with shock, she understood his situation.

“My Chiefess, he is in very poor condition right now. I suggest we find him a place to rest,” The woman replied in her native tongue.

“I am the one to decide what condition that man is in, not you,” The Chiefess replied as she strutted forward. The Chiefess stopped. Looking down, she saw the hand placed onto her chest by the woman.

“Move,” the Chiefess said sternly, but the woman didn’t reply as she strengthened her grip on the Chiefess.

“He needs care, he needs rest,” the woman said, still not allowing the Chiefess to pass. Charlie felt a new wave of sickness taking over him as he watched them, not understanding a word of their language. The Chiefess stared at her for a while longer.

“Fine Qurupadia, I’ll give the human some rest in my chambers tonight. Happy now,” The Chiefess spat at her. Qurupadia looked back to Charlie, then to her leader again.

“Promise?”

The Chiefess smirked and nodded her head, “Promise,” she said as she strode past Qurupadia and over to a trembling Charlie. Without hesitation, the Chiefess swooped Charlie into her arms. Brushing back his sweaty strands of hair, she placed a soft kiss onto his forehead. Muttered a few gentle words in her native language to him and pulled him in closer.

Glancing over the shoulder of the woman, Charlie looked to the warrior with the arrows painted on her. He didn’t understand their language, be he guessed from how they talked that the woman’s name was Qurup…, no Qurupadia, yeah that was it. Or something like that. Smiling and fatigued, Charlie allowed himself to sink into the arms of the Chiefess. Looking at Qurupadia, he made a mental note that she didn’t seem like that bad of a person. He hoped he could see her again in the future.