dentrag1231
TMF Expert
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It was fairly average, unassuming house. 2 stories, modest size, with a small vegetable garden in front. A bit run down, but still in fairly good shape. Nothing out of the ordinary, save for its location. This house just happened to be in the middle of the forest, with no paths leading to it. The cloaked figure hiding in the bushes didn’t dwell on this.
The figure, cloaked in black, stood only 5 feet tall. Her long white hair was hidden under her hood, save for the 2 braids which fell down to her chest, each tied off with a black bow. When she looked towards the sky, her equally pale face shone in the moonlight, her red eyes a stark contrast to the pale skin and hair caused by her albinism.
“Looks like my luck has changed” she thought with glee. The thief, who went by “Ghost”, although her name was Alice, had been wandering around the forest for the better part of 3 days, after being run out of the last town she had visited by the guard. She had been forced to leave her loot behind, and flee into the forest. By the time she realized she had also forgotten her pack, with all her food and money, she was hopelessly lost, with only her clothes, and equipment, which she kept on her belt so she wouldn’t leave them behind. She had been forced to spend the last 2 days foraging and trapping for food, and though she was by no means a poor forager, she certainly wasn’t the best.
“First, I’ll tie up the owners” the small thief thought to herself “Then, I’ll help myself to some food. Then, I’ll make them tell me where the valuables are.” She smiled at the thought of the last part. She slid her cloak back behind her, freeing her arms, which gripped the hilts of her daggers. Underneath her cloak, she had a dark, sleeveless top, that although not overly tight, showed her figure off quite well. Not the most modest of outfits, but anything that could distract a man for a split second, if not allow her to charm her way out of a situation entirely, were well suited to her line of work. Although the enchanted fabric was quite durable and well insulated despite its thinness, it didn’t offer quite enough protection or warmth to go sneaking through the brush. Thus, the cloak. Her tights pants were made of a similar material, and together they allowed her to move silently. Though her leather boots appeared noisy, the material was surprising soft and flexible, making her silent as the wind. They padded inside also had the effect of keeping her small pale feet soft and smooth. Though as a child she had been teased for her ghost-like appearance, she took pride in her skin, and kept it as soft and clean as possible, even adopting the name “Ghost”, which was such a better thief name than “Alice”.
She crept around the house, testing each window, before taking out her lock picks. To her surprise, however, the door had no lock, and when she tested the knob, it turned and the door opened, albeit with a louder creak then she would have liked. Sneaking inside, she shut it behind her, and after waiting for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight filtering in through the windows, headed upstairs, where she presumed the owners would be fast asleep. When she reached the top and turned down the hall, she was so startled to be face to face with a little old lady she couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Can I help you, dear?”
“Oh, um, I-I’m Ghost, The Tickling Thief! Surrender yourself and the location of your valuables, or feel my wrath!”
“Oh. Well, I’m sorry dear, but you’ve made a wasted trip.”
“Um, pardon me?”
“Well, I live out here because I don’t have a whole lot, much less anything worth stealing”
As Alice absorbed that information, she took a look around the old house. The wallpaper was peeling, the few paintings on the wall were coated with dust, and the open door to her left revealed a sparse room, the few pieces of furniture inside coated with dust and cobwebs. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Still, you don’t seem like too bad a person. And you look hungry, you poor thing. It’s been so long since I had company, won’t you join me for breakfast?”
Despite herself, Alice felt a pang of guilt for the old woman. Combined with a growling stomach, it convinced her to accept her offer. Though fairly skilled at thievery for her age, she was still somewhat naive, and never thought twice about how out of the ordinary it was to offer a thief breakfast, especially when the sun hadn’t even risen.
The old lady, who introduced herself as “Hazel” proved to be a good cook, and Alice hungrily gobbled down the food. After it was all gone, Hazel offered her a cup of tea, which she gracefully accepted. It had a bitter flavour, but she didn’t want to be rude, so she drank the whole cup. No sooner had she finished the last drop, though, when she felt extremely tired, and started drifting off to sleep. So tired, in fact, that she didn’t contemplate that she had been poisoned, but not too tired to notice Hazel. Before Alice’s eyes, she transformed into a stunning young woman, who smiled at her and said “Didn’t your mother teach you not to take drinks from strangers?” Then everything went black.
“When will they learn?” asked Hazel, though no one was listening anymore. Alice was still sitting at the table, although her eyes had an unfocused look about them. “Still, I guess if it wasn’t for gullible thieves, this place would never get clean. You, stand up” Alice did so, without a word. “Start by washing these dishes, then I’ll have you get to work on the cobwebs upstairs.” And so it was that Alice, unaware, obeyed Hazel as she had her dust the whole house, swept away the cobwebs, and other various tasks. By the time she was done, it was almost noon. Hazel was about to prepare the mixture that would erase Alice’s memory of this place, so she could be sent on her way none the wiser, but she stopped.
“Hmm, you know, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone as cute as you under my spell” said Hazel with a sly smirk. “Too cute to just let go. I want you to feel your punishment.” Alice, of course, did not respond. Hazel set to work, quickly mixing together several different coloured powders. She then held up a candle, and sprinkled the powder onto the flame. It burned a dark magenta, and gave off a sweet scented smoke, which Hazel blew at Alice. Almost instantly, the dull gaze vanished from her eyes, and was quickly replaced with one of confusion.
“AHHH! What’s going on, where am I?” she shouted in a panicked voice, before she realized she couldn’t move. She looked around in a panic, before settling her gaze on Hazel. “YOU! What did you give me!” she demanded, trying not to sound scared.
“Oh, just a potion to make you my servant. But you were so cute, I just have to teach a lesson you won’t forgot.”
“What are you talking about? What the hell are you?”
“Oh, isn’t it obvious dear? I’m a witch, of course”
Upon hearing this, Alice’s eyes went wide with fear. “A w-witch? Wh-what are y-y-you g-going to d-do t-to me?” Though basic magic was fairly commonplace, those who had greater control over it were well respected. Or feared, in the case of practitioners who didn’t integrate with society, for one reason or another.
“I’m just going to teach you what happens when you going around stealing. Now, lift your arms up, please.”
To her shock, Alice arms reached up high on their own accord, and she couldn’t pull them down. “Wait! What are you going to do?” Ignoring her question, Hazel gave a pair of sharp pokes to her ribcage, making her yelp.
“Oh my, what sensitive sides. And now you can’t protect them at all, can you?” Hazel grinned as she again moved her hands towards the vulnerable spots.
“NO! Wait! What are you doing!?”
“Well, I think it’s obvious. What better punishment for ‘The Tickling Thief’ then… with… tickling!” as she finished her sentence, Hazel lightly scratched between Alice’s helpless ribs, the thin shirt doing little to protect them.
“EEK! St-stop! Hehe, I’m, he, ticklish there! Ehehehe!”
“I noticed. But then again, that’s kind of the point.” Hazel dug her nails in slightly harder, smiling as Alice’s gritted her teeth and tried to keep from laughing more, to no avail.
“Hahaha, stop haha please, hahaha, I’m sorrEEEEEHAHAHAHA!” Her pleas were cut off when Hazel started squeezing her sides, making Alice break down into ticklish laughter.
“Sorry? I’ve barely even gotten started. You don’t even know what sorry is, but you will!”
“AHAHAHAHAHANNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHAHAHA!” Poor Alice was going nuts. She was horribly ticklish, though her agility and ability to easily wiggle away meant that she never had to endure being on the receiving end for long. But now she was completely unable to escape or protect herself from the witch’s tormenting hands. All she could do was laugh.
“Hmm, your armpits look so smooth and soft. And your top leave them completely uncovered, it’s almost as if you want them to be tickled. I wonder if they’re as ticklish as your sides” pondered Hazel, as she slid her hands up and began to dig her nails into the smooth hollows. The answer became apparent when Alice started screaming.
“NOT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THERE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MY HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ARM HAHAHAHAHA PITS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ARE HAHAHAHAHAHAHA TOO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TICKLISH!” Her underarms had always been extremely ticklish, so she made sure to keep her arms down whenever possible. But now they were all the way above her head, and there was nothing she could do to lower them.
“My, those are cute little braids you have. The tips of them almost look like white paintbrushes. Do you want your armpits tickled with them?”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH HAHAHA PLEASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOT HAHAHAHAHAHA THAT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Well why else would you tie them up like that? And you keep them at the perfect height too.” Ignoring Alice’s further pleas, Hazel took her braids and began to gently brush away at Alice’s armpits. Alice, already past her limit, laughed even harder.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOOOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DON’T HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DO HAHAHAHAHAHA THAT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT’S HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TOO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MUCH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Music to my ears” taunted Hazel as she continued to tickle away. She was greatly pleased with how ticklish Alice’s armpits were, so pleased that she just kept tickling away for a good hour without pause, Switching between her ribs and armpits, her fingers and Alice’s own hair. Alice kept laughing the whole time, although by the end she was so tired even she couldn’t even laughing was proving hard.
“Have you had enough, my ticklish little thief?”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“I can’t quite hear you. Did you say ‘keep going’?”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP!”
“I’ll stop if you tell me you name”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA GHOST HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW HAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP!”
“Ghost isn’t a name. Maybe I should keep you tickling you for a whole day as punishment for being a liar!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALICE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT’S HAHAHAHAHA ALICE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP NOW! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“That’s better” said Hazel, as she finally slowed her tickling, then stopped. “But I have some bad news.”
“What, hehehe, now?” asked Alice, still giggling from the intense torture, her arms still up in the air. By this point her pale face was red from laughter, and she had tears running down her cheeks.
“Well, you see” said Hazel, as she began to tickle Alice’s ears with her hair, making Alice break out in giggles as her ears went bright red. “When a witch knows someone’s name, she can exert her full power over that person.”
Alice’s eyes went wide from fear. She started stammering out pleas and apologies through the giggles, but the witch just stopped her tickling and blew some foul smelling smoke from a burning leaf into her face, and Alice found herself unable speak. She could only watch as Hazel took out a bowl, and placed inside it a feather, some string, a few strange plants and fungi, and finally, a piece of paper with “Alice” written on it. She then lit it on a fire, and with a puff a white smoke, the content of the bowl vanished.
“From this day forward” said Hazel, all amusement gone from her voice “you are cursed. No one shall have any desire to harm you, be they human, animal, or monster; not even the most vicious of thieves or hungry of wolf. But, every woman you meet will feel the urge to immobilize and tickle you.” Alice’s eyes went wide. “For most people, the urge will just pop into their mind as a thought, and vanish almost as fast. But for those that have darkness in them, from bandits to intelligent monsters, the urge will be overpowering, and they’ll be able to think of nothing else until they’ve tickled you. Even some who might not actually hurt you, like a thief that doesn’t actual have the nerve to kill, or a countess who might simply refuse you shelter, will be driven to torment you with helpless laughter. But no matter how much you laugh, or long they tickle you, you will never get respite from passing out.”
“I suppose you want to know what it will take to make me remove it?” Alice couldn’t answer, but what she would have replied with was obvious.
“This” said Hazel, taking out a glass bottle, and a pouch with some kind of powder in it “is filled with the same potion I gave you earlier. Normally, it last only a few hours, but when mixed with this powder, lasts longer, at the expense of the subject having more control over themselves.” She poured the powder into the flask. “One sip of this will last you about a day and a half, and you’ll have full control of your action, so long as they don’t involve disobeying my command. You will take a sip every morning. This will last you a week, but you won’t need it that long.”
“About half a day from her, you’ll find a village, with a unique tradition. Every year, they have a contest to see who can get tickled the longest without giving up. This year’s is in 3 days. Although my needs are simple, I still have some use for money, so you’re going to win it for me. I command you to take part in that content. The prize increases based on how much time passes between the second last person giving up, and the winner giving up, so you are forbidden from giving up until you win the maximum prize. Oh, and you cannot tell anyone about me, or the curse.”
Finally, she took out a satchel, and placed within it the flask, some wrapped cheese and bread, and a small pouch of coins. “This is for you to get room and food before the contest, as well as the entry fee. There’s other thieves in the woods, but this satchel has been enchanted so people won’t notice it unless they can’t ignore it for some reason. Even then, they’ll forget about it as soon as it’s out of the way, and no one will ever separate you from it. You’ll also find it can hold quite a bit more than its appearance would suggest. Now, off you go, if you want to make it before night. Just follow the flow of the stream, until you reach the road. From there the village is just half a kilometre away.
Alice wanted to object, but still unable to talk, she could do nothing but walk out the door. She saw the stream Hazel had mentioned, and began walking in the direction it flowed. Despite trying to keep a quick pace, she was still in the woods when the sun went down, and was soon surrounded by darkness. The trees parted by the stream, letting in the moonlight, but the forest beyond was cloaked in impenetrable blackness. Despite what the witch had told her about the curse, she quickened her pace, fearful of wolves, and worse things. Suddenly, she heard a rustling in the leaves, and then saw a soft glow on the ground in front of her, being projected from behind.
“Well well well, what have we here” said a high pitched feminine voice, with a hint of malice. “A little human, lost in the woods” Alice turned, and gasped.
The figure, cloaked in black, stood only 5 feet tall. Her long white hair was hidden under her hood, save for the 2 braids which fell down to her chest, each tied off with a black bow. When she looked towards the sky, her equally pale face shone in the moonlight, her red eyes a stark contrast to the pale skin and hair caused by her albinism.
“Looks like my luck has changed” she thought with glee. The thief, who went by “Ghost”, although her name was Alice, had been wandering around the forest for the better part of 3 days, after being run out of the last town she had visited by the guard. She had been forced to leave her loot behind, and flee into the forest. By the time she realized she had also forgotten her pack, with all her food and money, she was hopelessly lost, with only her clothes, and equipment, which she kept on her belt so she wouldn’t leave them behind. She had been forced to spend the last 2 days foraging and trapping for food, and though she was by no means a poor forager, she certainly wasn’t the best.
“First, I’ll tie up the owners” the small thief thought to herself “Then, I’ll help myself to some food. Then, I’ll make them tell me where the valuables are.” She smiled at the thought of the last part. She slid her cloak back behind her, freeing her arms, which gripped the hilts of her daggers. Underneath her cloak, she had a dark, sleeveless top, that although not overly tight, showed her figure off quite well. Not the most modest of outfits, but anything that could distract a man for a split second, if not allow her to charm her way out of a situation entirely, were well suited to her line of work. Although the enchanted fabric was quite durable and well insulated despite its thinness, it didn’t offer quite enough protection or warmth to go sneaking through the brush. Thus, the cloak. Her tights pants were made of a similar material, and together they allowed her to move silently. Though her leather boots appeared noisy, the material was surprising soft and flexible, making her silent as the wind. They padded inside also had the effect of keeping her small pale feet soft and smooth. Though as a child she had been teased for her ghost-like appearance, she took pride in her skin, and kept it as soft and clean as possible, even adopting the name “Ghost”, which was such a better thief name than “Alice”.
She crept around the house, testing each window, before taking out her lock picks. To her surprise, however, the door had no lock, and when she tested the knob, it turned and the door opened, albeit with a louder creak then she would have liked. Sneaking inside, she shut it behind her, and after waiting for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight filtering in through the windows, headed upstairs, where she presumed the owners would be fast asleep. When she reached the top and turned down the hall, she was so startled to be face to face with a little old lady she couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Can I help you, dear?”
“Oh, um, I-I’m Ghost, The Tickling Thief! Surrender yourself and the location of your valuables, or feel my wrath!”
“Oh. Well, I’m sorry dear, but you’ve made a wasted trip.”
“Um, pardon me?”
“Well, I live out here because I don’t have a whole lot, much less anything worth stealing”
As Alice absorbed that information, she took a look around the old house. The wallpaper was peeling, the few paintings on the wall were coated with dust, and the open door to her left revealed a sparse room, the few pieces of furniture inside coated with dust and cobwebs. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Still, you don’t seem like too bad a person. And you look hungry, you poor thing. It’s been so long since I had company, won’t you join me for breakfast?”
Despite herself, Alice felt a pang of guilt for the old woman. Combined with a growling stomach, it convinced her to accept her offer. Though fairly skilled at thievery for her age, she was still somewhat naive, and never thought twice about how out of the ordinary it was to offer a thief breakfast, especially when the sun hadn’t even risen.
The old lady, who introduced herself as “Hazel” proved to be a good cook, and Alice hungrily gobbled down the food. After it was all gone, Hazel offered her a cup of tea, which she gracefully accepted. It had a bitter flavour, but she didn’t want to be rude, so she drank the whole cup. No sooner had she finished the last drop, though, when she felt extremely tired, and started drifting off to sleep. So tired, in fact, that she didn’t contemplate that she had been poisoned, but not too tired to notice Hazel. Before Alice’s eyes, she transformed into a stunning young woman, who smiled at her and said “Didn’t your mother teach you not to take drinks from strangers?” Then everything went black.
“When will they learn?” asked Hazel, though no one was listening anymore. Alice was still sitting at the table, although her eyes had an unfocused look about them. “Still, I guess if it wasn’t for gullible thieves, this place would never get clean. You, stand up” Alice did so, without a word. “Start by washing these dishes, then I’ll have you get to work on the cobwebs upstairs.” And so it was that Alice, unaware, obeyed Hazel as she had her dust the whole house, swept away the cobwebs, and other various tasks. By the time she was done, it was almost noon. Hazel was about to prepare the mixture that would erase Alice’s memory of this place, so she could be sent on her way none the wiser, but she stopped.
“Hmm, you know, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone as cute as you under my spell” said Hazel with a sly smirk. “Too cute to just let go. I want you to feel your punishment.” Alice, of course, did not respond. Hazel set to work, quickly mixing together several different coloured powders. She then held up a candle, and sprinkled the powder onto the flame. It burned a dark magenta, and gave off a sweet scented smoke, which Hazel blew at Alice. Almost instantly, the dull gaze vanished from her eyes, and was quickly replaced with one of confusion.
“AHHH! What’s going on, where am I?” she shouted in a panicked voice, before she realized she couldn’t move. She looked around in a panic, before settling her gaze on Hazel. “YOU! What did you give me!” she demanded, trying not to sound scared.
“Oh, just a potion to make you my servant. But you were so cute, I just have to teach a lesson you won’t forgot.”
“What are you talking about? What the hell are you?”
“Oh, isn’t it obvious dear? I’m a witch, of course”
Upon hearing this, Alice’s eyes went wide with fear. “A w-witch? Wh-what are y-y-you g-going to d-do t-to me?” Though basic magic was fairly commonplace, those who had greater control over it were well respected. Or feared, in the case of practitioners who didn’t integrate with society, for one reason or another.
“I’m just going to teach you what happens when you going around stealing. Now, lift your arms up, please.”
To her shock, Alice arms reached up high on their own accord, and she couldn’t pull them down. “Wait! What are you going to do?” Ignoring her question, Hazel gave a pair of sharp pokes to her ribcage, making her yelp.
“Oh my, what sensitive sides. And now you can’t protect them at all, can you?” Hazel grinned as she again moved her hands towards the vulnerable spots.
“NO! Wait! What are you doing!?”
“Well, I think it’s obvious. What better punishment for ‘The Tickling Thief’ then… with… tickling!” as she finished her sentence, Hazel lightly scratched between Alice’s helpless ribs, the thin shirt doing little to protect them.
“EEK! St-stop! Hehe, I’m, he, ticklish there! Ehehehe!”
“I noticed. But then again, that’s kind of the point.” Hazel dug her nails in slightly harder, smiling as Alice’s gritted her teeth and tried to keep from laughing more, to no avail.
“Hahaha, stop haha please, hahaha, I’m sorrEEEEEHAHAHAHA!” Her pleas were cut off when Hazel started squeezing her sides, making Alice break down into ticklish laughter.
“Sorry? I’ve barely even gotten started. You don’t even know what sorry is, but you will!”
“AHAHAHAHAHANNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHAHAHA!” Poor Alice was going nuts. She was horribly ticklish, though her agility and ability to easily wiggle away meant that she never had to endure being on the receiving end for long. But now she was completely unable to escape or protect herself from the witch’s tormenting hands. All she could do was laugh.
“Hmm, your armpits look so smooth and soft. And your top leave them completely uncovered, it’s almost as if you want them to be tickled. I wonder if they’re as ticklish as your sides” pondered Hazel, as she slid her hands up and began to dig her nails into the smooth hollows. The answer became apparent when Alice started screaming.
“NOT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THERE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MY HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ARM HAHAHAHAHA PITS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ARE HAHAHAHAHAHAHA TOO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TICKLISH!” Her underarms had always been extremely ticklish, so she made sure to keep her arms down whenever possible. But now they were all the way above her head, and there was nothing she could do to lower them.
“My, those are cute little braids you have. The tips of them almost look like white paintbrushes. Do you want your armpits tickled with them?”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH HAHAHA PLEASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOT HAHAHAHAHAHA THAT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Well why else would you tie them up like that? And you keep them at the perfect height too.” Ignoring Alice’s further pleas, Hazel took her braids and began to gently brush away at Alice’s armpits. Alice, already past her limit, laughed even harder.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOOOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DON’T HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DO HAHAHAHAHAHA THAT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT’S HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA TOO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MUCH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Music to my ears” taunted Hazel as she continued to tickle away. She was greatly pleased with how ticklish Alice’s armpits were, so pleased that she just kept tickling away for a good hour without pause, Switching between her ribs and armpits, her fingers and Alice’s own hair. Alice kept laughing the whole time, although by the end she was so tired even she couldn’t even laughing was proving hard.
“Have you had enough, my ticklish little thief?”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“I can’t quite hear you. Did you say ‘keep going’?”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP!”
“I’ll stop if you tell me you name”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA GHOST HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW HAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP!”
“Ghost isn’t a name. Maybe I should keep you tickling you for a whole day as punishment for being a liar!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALICE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT’S HAHAHAHAHA ALICE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STOP NOW! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“That’s better” said Hazel, as she finally slowed her tickling, then stopped. “But I have some bad news.”
“What, hehehe, now?” asked Alice, still giggling from the intense torture, her arms still up in the air. By this point her pale face was red from laughter, and she had tears running down her cheeks.
“Well, you see” said Hazel, as she began to tickle Alice’s ears with her hair, making Alice break out in giggles as her ears went bright red. “When a witch knows someone’s name, she can exert her full power over that person.”
Alice’s eyes went wide from fear. She started stammering out pleas and apologies through the giggles, but the witch just stopped her tickling and blew some foul smelling smoke from a burning leaf into her face, and Alice found herself unable speak. She could only watch as Hazel took out a bowl, and placed inside it a feather, some string, a few strange plants and fungi, and finally, a piece of paper with “Alice” written on it. She then lit it on a fire, and with a puff a white smoke, the content of the bowl vanished.
“From this day forward” said Hazel, all amusement gone from her voice “you are cursed. No one shall have any desire to harm you, be they human, animal, or monster; not even the most vicious of thieves or hungry of wolf. But, every woman you meet will feel the urge to immobilize and tickle you.” Alice’s eyes went wide. “For most people, the urge will just pop into their mind as a thought, and vanish almost as fast. But for those that have darkness in them, from bandits to intelligent monsters, the urge will be overpowering, and they’ll be able to think of nothing else until they’ve tickled you. Even some who might not actually hurt you, like a thief that doesn’t actual have the nerve to kill, or a countess who might simply refuse you shelter, will be driven to torment you with helpless laughter. But no matter how much you laugh, or long they tickle you, you will never get respite from passing out.”
“I suppose you want to know what it will take to make me remove it?” Alice couldn’t answer, but what she would have replied with was obvious.
“This” said Hazel, taking out a glass bottle, and a pouch with some kind of powder in it “is filled with the same potion I gave you earlier. Normally, it last only a few hours, but when mixed with this powder, lasts longer, at the expense of the subject having more control over themselves.” She poured the powder into the flask. “One sip of this will last you about a day and a half, and you’ll have full control of your action, so long as they don’t involve disobeying my command. You will take a sip every morning. This will last you a week, but you won’t need it that long.”
“About half a day from her, you’ll find a village, with a unique tradition. Every year, they have a contest to see who can get tickled the longest without giving up. This year’s is in 3 days. Although my needs are simple, I still have some use for money, so you’re going to win it for me. I command you to take part in that content. The prize increases based on how much time passes between the second last person giving up, and the winner giving up, so you are forbidden from giving up until you win the maximum prize. Oh, and you cannot tell anyone about me, or the curse.”
Finally, she took out a satchel, and placed within it the flask, some wrapped cheese and bread, and a small pouch of coins. “This is for you to get room and food before the contest, as well as the entry fee. There’s other thieves in the woods, but this satchel has been enchanted so people won’t notice it unless they can’t ignore it for some reason. Even then, they’ll forget about it as soon as it’s out of the way, and no one will ever separate you from it. You’ll also find it can hold quite a bit more than its appearance would suggest. Now, off you go, if you want to make it before night. Just follow the flow of the stream, until you reach the road. From there the village is just half a kilometre away.
Alice wanted to object, but still unable to talk, she could do nothing but walk out the door. She saw the stream Hazel had mentioned, and began walking in the direction it flowed. Despite trying to keep a quick pace, she was still in the woods when the sun went down, and was soon surrounded by darkness. The trees parted by the stream, letting in the moonlight, but the forest beyond was cloaked in impenetrable blackness. Despite what the witch had told her about the curse, she quickened her pace, fearful of wolves, and worse things. Suddenly, she heard a rustling in the leaves, and then saw a soft glow on the ground in front of her, being projected from behind.
“Well well well, what have we here” said a high pitched feminine voice, with a hint of malice. “A little human, lost in the woods” Alice turned, and gasped.
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