By Keith Steeclif
Part 1
Queen Alexandra heard the yelling coming from the hall, and she allowed herself an evil grin, despite the fact that her courtesans could see her.
Prince Nicholas burst through the gilded doors into the Queen’s audience chamber. He was wearing breeches. His shirt was un-tucked and opened in front, exposing his impressive musculature. The Prince’s feet were bare.
“What is the meaning of this?” the Prince shouted.
“Why, what do you mean, nephew?” the Queen asked, feigning ignorance.
“Why did send these men to my bedchamber?” Two handsome youths were standing behind the Prince, their heads bowed in servitude.
“What is wrong, nephew?” the Queen always called him nephew instead of Prince, which infuriated him, “They are my two best servants.”
“And you can keep them. They had the nerve to come into my bedchamber as I was about to recline for the evening and try to tickle my feet.”
“Tickle your feet? Oh, dear nephew, you have it all wrong. I sent them merely to scratch your soles. You have just celebrated your twenty-first birthday. You are a man now, and heir to the throne when you ancient aunt passes to the other world.”
“These two men,” the Queen said, indicating the two men of about the same age as the Prince, “have been trained by Peter himself and, as you know, Peter has not only served me well as Majordomo of the palace, but he served your father well for many years. He trained these two sole scratchers as he trained the two men that used to scratch your father’s soles.”
“I know of this custom among the nobility,” Nicholas interrupted, “my father once told me that he found it difficult to sleep without it. But I am not my father and I do not need the services of these men.”
“Will you so readily shun the our traditions? A man that would be king should embrace that which defines his rank. Surely, you would not risk gossip among the nobility over something that is meant to bring you nothing but pleasure. Unless, of course, you are too ticklish.”
“My Lady,” Nicholas said sternly, “you are my Queen, but some day I will be King. And it would do you well not to insult me with your accusations. I am a man, a man ready and capable to lead. I cannot be swooned by some simple diddling on the bottoms of my feet. I simply find the tradition silly.”
“Perhaps, my Lord,” the Majordomo interjected, stepping forward, “I could humbly suggest that you give it a try. I’m sure you will find it to your satisfaction. If these two men do not please you, there are many servants at your command. Or I could scratch your soles myself.”
“No, no,” Nicholas said with a wave of his hand. He knew that this was another attempt by the Queen to put him down. He also realized that his outburst had accomplished just what she desired.
“You are correct, dear Lady, our traditions are something to be honored and cherished. I welcome your most gracious gesture. And, Peter, these two men are fine. We shall retire immediately.”
“Very good, Sir.”
“Good night, nephew,” the Queen said as Nicholas turned on his heel and left without a word of good night. The two men followed swiftly behind. When he was gone, the Majordomo moved close to the Queen.
“I hope your men have been instructed well, Peter.”
“Rest assured, your Highness. They have spent the last six months in the dungeon, practicing their technique on the young male prisoners. Knowing how ticklish Nicholas is, they will cause him nothing but unrelenting torment.”
“Excellent,” the Queen said, “Perhaps my Nephew will follow me to the throne, but have no doubt, I will make every step of the way as difficult as possible. I commend you on your suggestion.”
“I live to serve, my Lady. When I saw Nicholas and his swordsman rough housing one day, I noticed how jumpy Nicholas was to the slightest of touches. I confirmed this with his bath maidens. They told me that Nicholas is so ticklish that he has taken to bathing himself rather than to have them touch him. I am sure that he will find your little gift quite stimulating.”
“And he knows he can say nothing further without revealing his weakness. So he will have to endure their tickling night after night. Peter, your devious nature rivals my own.”
“Thank you, my Lady.”
“Now, sneak by my nephew’s chambers. I want you to report our success to me in the morning.”
Peter bowed and left as commanded, looking forward to taking his place in the secret room that spied upon the Prince’s bed chamber. From there, he would be able to watch the young Prince’s torment.
Nicholas stormed into his bed chambers, the two servants following closely behind and shutting the doors behind him. “The nerve of her!” he shouted, grabbing a pillow from the bed and tossing it across the room.
“She is doing this to torment me. She can’t stand the fact that I am going to succeed her, because the frigid Queen was too busy plotting the death of my uncle to bear her own children. That he should die from an assassin’s arrow before she could secure an heir of her own confounds her beyond reason. And now she wiles her days away looking for new ways to harass me.”
“Is there something wrong, my Lord?” one of the servants asked.
“I tell you, I don’t need my soles scratched. I’ve gone through my entire life without getting my soles scratched and I’ve done just fine. I really don’t see the point.”
“We are very good, my Prince,” the other man said, “I assure you that we mean for nothing but your pleasure and happiness.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” the Prince said, his emotions softening now that he was alone with these two men. They really were quite handsome. This was a part of the Queen’s plot, he was sure. The Queen suspected his interest in boys instead of girls and, the thought of Nicholas getting aroused by his servants would further amuse her.
“It has nothing to do with you. I just don’t want it. Why don’t you two retire and we can just say that you’ve done an excellent job.”
“Your Majesty,” the dark haired man said, “we are duty bound to the Queen, and our Majordomo, to perform this service. We have been given strict instructions to report back to the Majordomo every night. I fear that neither of us are accomplished liars.”
“Of course, of course,” the Prince conceded, “You are only doing as you have been instructed.”
The Prince drew up to the two men and clasped them around the shoulders, “Just between you and me,” he said, “my feet have been known to conspire with light touches. I myself fear that your scratching could lead to a less than princely reaction.”
“Of this, my Lord, we have no reason to speak. If the performance of our duties were to cause you a giggle or two, I see no reason to include such details in our reports.”
“Quite honorable, gentleman, quite honorable. However, I suspect that my reaction may exceed that of a jovial giggle. I must confess that I am quite, well….”
“Ticklish, my Lord?” “Yes, quite. Extremely ticklish, in fact. So you see, you may wish to scratch my soles to relax me, but it will have quite the opposite effect. At this very moment, my stomach is in knots just thinking about it.”
“Perhaps, my Prince, you will find that your ticklishness subsides after a fashion. Then, you may find that our scratching is quite soothing.”
“Very well,” the Prince said, giving in.
“I see where I have little choice in the matter any way.”
The Prince laid upon his bed. There was a bench at the end of the bed which the two servants sat upon. They each placed a velvet pillow on their laps and rested each of the Prince’s heels on the pillows. The then wrapped an arm securely around each ankle.
“Shall we begin, my Lord?” one of the men asked.
The Prince grabbed handfuls of the bedding and squeezed and said, “I guess so.”
Then he closed his eyes tight and prayed that it would be over soon.
“How long will his last?” he said before the men began. “It will take the better part of an hour, my Lord,” one man replied. Nicholas put a pillow over his face and prepared to scream.
Part 2
Peter, Majordomo of the Royal household, snuck though the secret door. There were many such hallways and chambers that ran throughout the palace, and only Peter knew them all. He had not revealed this particular chamber to even the Queen. You never know what useful information an ambitious man could pick up from eavesdropping on the heir apparent.
Closing the door silently, Peter sat upon a stool that he had brought here himself. The room was tiny, perhaps 5 x 5. There was one way in, by the concealed door, and one view out, directly into the Prince’s bedchamber. The thin slits in the brick wall were concealed on the other side by an ornate wall sculpture. This gave Peter a complete and secure view of the entire room.
As Peter was taking his place on the stool, Nicholas was taking his place on the bed. His two servants sat on the bench at the end of the bed. Peter admired Nicholas’ perfect feet. They were high arched, fleshy, and big. Peter knew from the royal tailor that Nicholas’ foot was a size twelve, but was also wide. Other men with big feet tend to be too narrow for Peter’s taste. He preferred a foot that was proportional in length and width. Nicholas had such a foot.
Peter could not count the mornings that he had spent in this room. He would sneak in with the first light of the day and admire the beauty of his Prince. Now in his twenties and a man, Peter had come to appreciate the maturity of his physique, the result of long hours of arms training. Nicholas seldom slept underneath his ample bed coverings, even on the coldest of evenings. And even when he did, his feet would invariably come poking out from the end of the coverlet, always providing Peter with a wonderful view.
But this day, Peter’s heart was racing a bit faster. It was Peter that first interviewed the bathing maidens to find out how Nicholas took to their touch. They reported his aversion to light touches. It was also the Majordomo that instructed the sword steward to begin the horseplay with the young Prince, and to give him a tickle so Peter could gauge his reaction. Quite remarkable, as Peter recalled. And now, finally, Peter was going to see his Prince put to task. That he was ticklish Peter now had no doubts. But now, Peter would see how the young heir would take to a skillful application of the tickling arts.
Peter had trained his two apprentices well. Relying on the continuous influx of handsome young men caught stealing in the village square, Peter could always persuade one of them to “volunteer” their services in exchange for a pardon. So Peter and his two charges had spent countless hours practicing their techniques on the bare soles and hard bodies on many a young thief.
And Peter had instructed his men well. “Explore his sexuality,” the Majordomo had told them, “I suspect the young Prince has leanings toward the gentlemen and I wish to confirm this.”
Peter had hand picked these two men from his staff not only for their good looks, but also for their own propensity for men.
“And draw the tickling out,” he had also told them. “Remember, you are there in the guise of loyal sole scratchers, so do not tip your hands. If the Prince is truly as ticklish as I suspect, you shouldn’t have to administer all the techniques that you have learned. However, should you be able to gratify some of the Prince’s “other needs” while tickling him at the same time, then this would be the ideal situation. I trust your judgment on this, for you both know the consequences of your failure.”
And Peter knew that such a threat was more than adequate. Both men, at one time or another, had displeased the household sufficiently to warrant punishment. And an afternoon on the rack, alone with Peter and his feathers and brushes, was enough to make both men quiver at the slightest thought of the reprisals for a second offense.
So the Majordomo settled into his seat and caught his breath as the procedure began.
Just as the two servants were about to make contact with Nicholas’ bare soles, he suddenly said, “Wait, wait.”
Both men pulled their hands away.
“What are your names?” he asked. “I am Ivan,” one man said.
“And I am Luka,” the other man replied.
“Please, Ivan, Luka, remember that I am one day to be King. As such, I am expected to conform to the highest ideals of man. I am to set an example for the entire kingdom, and instill a sense of security to my people. Such a man, such as myself, relies on the support of other men, such as the two of you. Fortunately, a man of my station has the financial and political means to reward anyone that stands behind me. “Having stated my case, I hope that I can rely on the two of you to be most discreet about anything that goes on in this room. I understand that you must report back to your master, the Majordomo, but he does not need to be bothered with too much of the detail. Does he?”
“My Lord,” Luka said, “I take orders from the Majordomo, but I serve the empire. I would do nothing to hurt the realm, or those that represent it. I can assure you that I am here to administer pleasure to you, and not to cause you undue pain.”
“Nor I, My Lord,” chimed in Ivan, not looking up at either the Prince or Luka.
“Good,” the Prince said, “Loyal and trusted men will go far in this household, I can promise you. Now, if we must begin, then proceed.”
Luka checked his grip on Nicholas’ ankle. Having been kicked a time or two during his training, he was aware of how violent the initial reactions could be. Placing his fingers at the base of Nicholas’ heel, he slowly drew them upward.
The Majordomo had instructed that he thought the Prince would be quite ticklish, but Luka instantly realized that this was an understatement. The Prince pulled his foot back hard. Luckily, Luka’s grip was secure. As his fingers moved up Nicholas’ delicate arch, his toes started to wiggle and squirm. The Prince himself had both hands clamped over his mouth. The strain of his effort was apparent.
Meanwhile, Ivan was dragging his fingers across the Prince’s other sole. Both men scratched all the way up across sole, ball and toes, and then returned to his heels for another pass. They were barely halfway up their second pass when the Prince suddenly sputtered through choked back laughter, “No, no, stop! I simply won’t be able to endure this!”
Both men stopped and looked at the Prince. “I’m ticklish,” the Prince said sullenly, “I can’t help it, I’m just damn ticklish. I don’t think that I could endure such torment for long without going completely mad. I’m afraid that I’ll just have to admit to the Queen that I’m incapable of accepting her gift.”
“If I may, my Lord,” Ivan said, standing and facing the Prince.
“Of course,” the Prince replied.
“Being an only child, such as you are, I would hazard a guess that you have never been tickled much in your life.”
“Nothing but a minor poke here and there,” the Prince confirmed.
“Then I suggest that you are so adverse to tickling because you have never been subjected to it appropriately as a child. I myself, I must admit, am the youngest of five boys. I can assure you that there was no shortage of tickling in my household when I was growing up. Although I myself am quite ticklish, I have learned to endure, and actually enjoy it. Perhaps, if you were to experience it more fully, your opinion of tickling will change.”
“What are you proposing?” the Prince asked.
“We are your humble servants,” Ivan continued, “and we swear our undying love and loyalty to you. Allow us to tickle you properly, so that you can see, in the security of our allegiance, whether or not you must yield to the Queen.”
That last sentence stung the Prince and he looked at the two men, contemplating his choices. The Majordomo was leaning forward in his seat, his face pressed up against the openings in the wall. Ivan had spoken well, and unexpectedly. Even Luka was caught off-guard, surprised by Ivan’s convincing argument. Now, all three men waited anxiously for the Prince to speak.
“I appreciate your alternative. While I must admit that it is a foreboding idea, I am not completely adverse to it. Perhaps your plan has some merit.”
“To be completely successful,” Ivan added, “You must allow us free reign to explore your ticklishness fully. I humble suggest that restraint may be necessary.”
‘Careful, Ivan,’ thought Peter, almost muttering it aloud, ‘you’ll spook him.’
“Tie down a member of the royal family, are you mad?” the Prince said.
“Restrain, my Prince, to give you a means to resist your own reflexes. You are, of course, always but a word from freedom.”
“What do you think, Luka,” the Prince said.
Luka stammered for a moment and then said, “I agree, my Lord, we will never know if we do not try. I myself know of a man that confided in me that he only engaged the services of a sole scratcher because it was the fashionable thing to do. He admitted that he found his ticklishness to be of great hindrance. But by month’s end, he’d engaged a pair of sole scratchers to join his permanent household staff.”
“And you’ll stop immediately upon my command?”
“Instantly, my Lord,” Ivan said.
“I swear, my Prince,” agreed Luka.
“Very well, I will comply. I’d have the pair of you tickle me to an early grave before I let that witch of an aunt win the day.”
The Majordomo wiped the sweat of anticipation from his brow as he watched his two young wards tie the Prince to his bed. They used the velvet cords that held back the curtains at each doorway. Within a couple of minutes, they had the Prince’s ankles and wrists tied to the four posts of the enormous bed. There was still plenty of room for a couple of men to lay at either side of him, so the two men had to sit upon the Prince’s bed in order to have access to his newly bound feet.
Without further conversation, and with the Majordomo watching intently from above, the two men went to work. As soon as they started scratching the Prince’s soles again, he burst out laughing. Now tied and helpless, he gave up any attempt to suppress his ticklishness. He laughed the crazy, unrestrained laughter of the tickled man, something he’d never been allowed to do before as Prince. This, taken alone, would have been a wonderful endeavor.
But it was not taken alone. It came with two men devilishly dancing their fingers across Nicholas’ defenseless soles. The sensation was almost unendurable. Never before had the Prince been subjected to just an intense experience. He’d not even yet had a chance to express himself sexually. And now, shirtless and barefoot, he found himself at the mercy of two very handsome men. Fortunately, the torment of his soles ensured that the royal staff would not make an unscheduled appearance.
Luka admired the Prince’s gorgeous feet from the first tickle. He’d always had a great passion for feet and tickling. When the Majordomo had picked him to become a sole scratcher, Luka almost declined, fearful of his own weakness for tickling. But he’d reluctantly agreed and discovered that tickling was very much a part of the sole scratchers repertoire. Some men requested it. Others endured it, passing it off as a part of the experience. Luka found he could indulge his love of tickling, and he was very happy. When the Majordomo had asked him to accept this special assignment, Luka again almost declined. Being the same age as the Prince, Luka had grown up with the Prince. Although he only ever saw the Prince from afar, he’d felt an attachment from an early age. After a time, he fell in love with the personage of the Prince. When Peter told him of his plan to exploit the Prince’s ticklishness, Luka’s first thought was to refuse any plot against the one he loved. But when he thought about the opportunity to actual get to tickle the object of his affection, Luka readily agreed.
Now, stroking the Prince’s sole, his decision was well rewarded. It had only been a couple of minutes and already the Prince was laughing hysterically. As Luka ran his finger around the sole, across the toes, the Prince’s foot was wiggling and jerking wildly. But his foot could not escape and Luka tickled with a passion. The prince was laughing hard and red-faced, pulling on his restraints with all his might, which was quickly dwindling. And Luka just tickled on and on.
Ivan, too, was tickling the Prince quite eagerly, but for another reason entirely. When he was a small boy, Nicholas’ uncle was still King. He’d exacted a new tax upon the people, and the tax collectors had come to Ivan’s home and confiscated half of his father’s herd to pay to new tax. Ivan’s father had to struggle hard to continue to support his family of five boys. And he worked himself to an early grave.
Ivan had come to the court when he was fifteen, hoping one less child at home would relieve some of his father’s burden. He was accepted as a page and found himself working in the household of those that had brought such misery to his own family.
When the Majordomo told him of the plan, Ivan agreed right away. The thought of being able to exact some measure of revenge upon the Royals was all the enticement he needed. When the Prince had confessed his ticklishness, Ivan feared the game would stop there. He surprised himself with his persuasive words. And now he was greatly enjoying the young Prince’s torment as the two men tickled his helpless soles. The idea that he had tricked the Prince into subjecting himself to such apparent torture made Ivan feel powerful over the royal family.
And Ivan had to admit that he found the tickling of the Prince quite enjoyable. He noticed that Luka was also having fun stroking the Prince’s extremely ticklish soles and toes. Ivan, in all the training and practice they’d done on prisoners, had tickled many very ticklish men, but the Prince was easily the most ticklish man he’d ever encountered.
Ivan started to wonder if the Prince’s muscular body was as ticklish as his feet. With hardly a thought, Ivan moved up on the bed and started to explore the Prince’s ribs. “No!” the Prince managed to spit out between fits of laughter, “My feet! You are supposed to be tickling my feet!”
“This will help you, my Master,” Ivan lied, “It will make you less ticklish if we tickle you all over.” He continued raking Nicholas’ ribs and started moving toward the armpits. As soon as Ivan started tickling the armpits, the young prince went insane. He was squirming about on the bed, thrashing about as much as his restraints would allow. Luka was still tickling the Prince’s feet, enjoying his own activities too much to notice what Ivan was doing. Ivan tickled all over the Prince’s body: ribs, armpits, washboard stomach. Every single spot was excruciatingly ticklish. What a perfect model for Ivan’s fantasy of revenge. He tickled the Prince vigorously, releasing all the pent up anger he had about his father and his family. He concentrated all his years of anger into his tickling fingers, making the Prince absolutely mad with tickle torment.
Luka was so fascinated with the Prince’s wiggling feet, that he failed to take notice of Ivan’s tickling. When he looked up from the squirming toes, Luka saw Ivan straddling the Prince, tickling him mercilessly. The Prince was red-faced and absolutely drained. He looked as if he would pass out at any moment. Suddenly panicked, Luka abandoned the Prince’s bare feet and clasped Ivan on the shoulder.
“Enough,” Luka said, “We must give him a rest now.”
“No rest,” Ivan said, digging into the Prince’s ribs anew. “He deserves to be tickled within an inch of his life!”
“No!” Luka shouted, tugging on Ivan. Ivan pushed him away. Luka was not expecting this and tumbled off the bed. Ivan went back to his tickling, moving back up into the armpits. The Prince was laughing loudly. Luka stood. Taller and stronger than Ivan, he planted his feet firmly on the floor and grabbed Ivan.
“You must stop now,” he said as he pulled Ivan off the Prince. Luka struggled with Ivan until the two men were wrestling on the floor. Ivan’s hand went up Luka’s shirt and he tried to tickle him too. Luka was quite ticklish and let out a surprised laugh. But he was able to overpower Ivan and pin his arms.
At that moment, the Majordomo burst into the room.
“Gentlemen!” he shouted, panting from his sprint from the secret room, “into the hall this instant.”
The two men suddenly stopped their struggle. Without a word, they followed the Majordomo out of the room.
Once in the hall, the Majordomo pushed them up against the wall and in a shouting whisper said, “What is the meaning of this?”
“It was him,” Luka said. “I was tickling his feet, as we had planned, but he went to tickle the Prince’s body. He wouldn’t stop when I told him to.”
“And you, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Ivan wanted to tell the Majordomo the story of his family. Perhaps then he would understand why the Prince deserved such an intense tickling. But Ivan feared that if he revealed too much, he would find himself in the very prison where he’d spend so many months tormenting the other prisoners.
“I do not know what happened, Lord,” he muttered. “I lost myself. I’ve never found a man as ticklish as he.”
“Yes, ticklish,” the Majordomo said, “Ticklish to a fault. It was a weakness the Queen hoped to exploit to its fullest. And now you may have ruined all of her plans and plotting. I seriously doubt that the Prince will ever consider having his feet touched again. And we’ll be lucky if he doesn’t call for all our heads.
“Now the two of you stand right here and don’t make a sound. I will go in and try to access the damage.”
The Majordomo entered the room quietly, leaving the two servants standing outside with sunken heads.
Part 3
The Majordomo crept quietly into the room. Prince Nicholas was still bound to the bed and the Majordomo had a sudden urge to pounce on the ticklish lad himself. But he quickly remembered his station and the urgency of the matter.
Coming up on the side of the bed, Nicholas had his eyes closed. He was tossing his head rhythmically from side to side mumbling, “No more, please, no more. I’m too ticklish.”
“Your highness,” Peter said softly. The Prince opened his eyes. “Majordomo? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see if you were alright, my Lord. My men feared they may have overtaxed you.”
“Overtaxed me? I am the Prince. I cannot be broken by a couple of mere servants. Indeed, my predicament as you see it here, I commanded it. I did it just to prove that I was superior to the challenge. In fact, where are those young imps? I think I might like for them to have another go.”
“Are you sure, my Prince?”
“Quite, quite. Send them back in. And you can go and tell the Queen that I’ve found her gift most enjoyable.”
“As you wish, my Lord,” the Majordomo said, backing out of the room. Luka and Ivan perked up their ears.
“He wishes you to attend him further. Foolish youth. He’d rather the two of you tickle him to death rather than admit his weakness. Get back in there. But mind you, take care. Remember all the work that has gone into this endeavor. And you,” he said, “poking Ivan in the chest, “You’ve already earned yourself an afternoon in my rack. I suggest you keep your head or I promise your tickling will be of epic proportions.”
“Yes, Master, I swear,” Ivan said.
“You watch him,” he said to Luka, “or I’ll have your ankles in the stocks this evening as well.”
“I will, Master,” Luka said, not completely adverse to the idea of a short stay in the Master’s stocks.
The two men re-entered the room as the Majordomo went back to his secret chamber.
Nicholas was breathing quickly. Not because of the recent tickling, he’d recovered remarkably well from that, but from anticipation. What had he done?
When he agreed to be tied to his bed, he had to admit, he wanted to know what would happen if he allowed the tickling to go well beyond anything he’d ever endured before. He had no idea how incredibly overwhelming the sensation would be. He never knew he could be so ticklish. And when Ivan started to tickle his body, Nicholas was surprised by his own thoughts. As long as Ivan stayed out of his armpits, Nicholas couldn’t help but be intrigued by this handsome young man straddling him. In fact, in those brief moments when Ivan was only tickling his stomach and Luka was being a little gentler to his soles, Nicholas even felt the slight twinge of arousal.
But now the men were coming back and Nicholas had told the Majordomo that he wanted more. He didn’t think he could take any more. He was exhausted. His lungs hurt from all the laughter. But when he found the Majordomo suddenly in his room, his pride would not allow him to ask for help. Now he could hear his two tormentors returning.
The two men looked a bit sullen, as if they had been chastised. Ivan looked particularly crest-fallen. Had they done something wrong? Nicholas thought back to when he was in the throes of his tickling ordeal, but he couldn’t recall any indiscretions. He just remembered endless, mind-jolting tickling.
But as the two men came toward him again, and Nicholas thought how totally helpless he was tied to the bed, the anticipation of more tickling made him squeamish.
“Maybe we should stop for today,” Nicholas said, “we could try again another time.”
Luka was worried. How would the Majordomo respond to that. The thought of the Majordomo tickling his feet in the stocks for a few minutes was appealing to him. The thought of the Majordomo venting his displeasure on Luka’s ticklish flesh was not. He thought quickly.
“Perhaps, my Lord,” he said, “we could demonstrate for you the results of tickling on someone more accustomed to its stimulation. Ivan here confessed to you earlier that his brothers used to tickle him often and he’d grown to like it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind letting me tickle him now to show you how much he enjoys it.”
The Majordomo smiled to himself. He thought that Luka would make a good Majordomo, getting a jump on Ivan’s punishment.
“You wouldn’t mind, would you Ivan?” Luka said, looking at him intently. Nicholas too was looking at Ivan, waiting for a response.
Ivan had been truthful; his older brothers had been ruthless in their endless tickling of their youngest sibling. However, Ivan had lied about the fact that he’d grown to like it. He didn’t mind getting his feet tickled, but hated having his body tickled. He thought now of the punishment that he would receive later by the Majordomo, and it made his skin tingle. Now Luka was going to get back at him too, and here in front of the Prince. But Ivan had little choice in the matter.
“It would be delightful,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Excellent,” Luka said, then turned to the Prince, “Your Majesty?”
“I suppose so. I’d like to see how someone else fairs.”
The Prince didn’t mention getting untied, so Luka didn’t offer. Instead, he turned back to Ivan and said, “be so kind as to bare your torso.”
Ivan removed his jacket and shirt. He was wearing long underwear under his palace uniform, so he unbuttoned the underwear down to his waist, then he wiggled his arms out and let the top part of his long underwear hang from the top of his trousers.
Luka used two pieces of the gilded cord: one to tie Ivan’s wrists behind his back and the other to tie his elbows together. Then, he turned Ivan so that his back was to the Master’s bed, and pushed him backward. Ivan fell across the bed, but with his arms tied behind him, he was propped up on his elbows, his torso stretched open before Luka. Ivan’s armpits were not well exposed, but that did not matter for what Luka had in store.
Luka remembered the time that the Majordomo had stretched Ivan on his rack. He particularly remembered that Ivan’s stomach was very sensitive, even more so than his feet, ribs, and pits. So Luka decided to exploit this knowledge now.
Standing over Ivan at the edge of the bed, Luka started by tickling Ivan’s ribs. Ivan started laughing right away. The shock of the initial touch made him laugh loudly. But as Luka continued to tickle around his ribcage, Ivan managed to gain a little more control over his laughter. He was giggling and twitching from the strokes.
Then Luka slowly made his way down toward Ivan’s washboard stomach. As soon as his fingers started to dance over the hard ridges of muscle, Ivan’s laughter began to grow. He laughed louder and louder as Ivan moved down toward his naval. Once Luka started to tickle his belly button, Ivan was laughing and begging for mercy.
Meanwhile, the Prince watched intently. His first shock was when Ivan had removed his shirt. The Prince had watched the shirtless young men in the courtyard engaged in mock battles or horseplay. But the Prince seldom had the opportunity to admire the physique of a man in such close quarters. And Ivan had a spectacular body. Nicholas couldn’t help but get a bit excited leering at his servant.
The second shock was his reaction to seeing Ivan tickled. As he watched Luka crawl his fingers over Ivan’s flesh, the Prince couldn’t help but wish it were he feeling the rippled flesh of the man. Nicholas couldn’t help himself, he got aroused and prayed that neither man would notice. And as Ivan laughed heartily from the tickling that he was receiving, the Prince grew more and more excited.
Luka was enjoying the tickling of Ivan’s stomach. Ivan’s belly really was quite ticklish, and it required little from Luka to make the man hysterical. Ivan was laughing hard for several minutes now, but there was something else that Luka wanted. So he gave Ivan a short rest as he knelt on one knee on the floor.
Ivan had fallen back on the bed, so his thighs were resting on the bed, but his calves were hanging over the side. Luka grasped the ankle of Ivan’s right boot and put it on his raised knee. Then he started to unlace Ivan’s boot.
“See how he enjoys it so, your Majesty? Please, Ivan, tell the Prince how much it delights you.”
“It feels wonderful, my Lord,” Ivan lied as he panted heavily. “My Lord, there are many of the nobility that so enjoy it when I tickle them while I am scratching their soles. Let me show you what I do.”
Luka had removed Ivan’s boot and socks. He now held Ivan’s bare feet in his arms. He stood up, so that Ivan was forced back on his elbows, his legs up in the air. Then Luka started to work his trade.
Luka knew that Ivan’s feet were not as ticklish as his stomach. So as he started to scratch Ivan’s soles, Ivan was able to enjoy it. Luka worked on bringing Ivan’s feet pleasure, utilizing his skills as an expert sole scratcher. Soon, Ivan was moaning with pleasure. Occasionally, Luka would hit a sensitive spot and Ivan’s toes would wiggle and he would let out a slight giggle. But mostly he rolled his head back, closed his eyes, and moaned.
This was no act for the Prince, Ivan was in heaven. He’d always loved a delicate touch to his soles. Even when Luka started tickling his feet to make him giggle, Luka wasn’t trying to make Ivan hysterical. Ivan enjoyed that level of tickling, giggling contentedly and moaning in delight when Luka scratched his soles gently.
The Prince watched Ivan’s reaction, growing more excited. Then he noticed that Ivan too had become aroused. The sole scratching was having an effect on him and Nicholas felt as if he was watching something more intimate, more sexual than a sole scratching. Luka was apparently enjoying what he was doing, staring at Ivan’s bare soles, watching every toe twitch, every foot wiggle. And Ivan’s moaning was growing louder as he tipped his head back and purred like a kitten.
Luka was enraptured by Ivan’s bare soles, by his reaction to Luka’s scratching. At first, Luka thought it might be an act for the Prince. But he soon realized that Ivan was not faking. Luka filed this away for future reference, hoping one day to be able to repeat the procedure when the two of them were alone. Maybe then he’d get a taste of those adorable toes and splendid soles. But for now, Luka simple scratched Ivan’s soles until he was in a state of total joy and relaxation.
Putting Ivan’s feet down gently, Luka said, “You see, your Highness, why sole scratching is such a sought-after service? It would be an honor to be able to bring you such pleasure.”
“Where did you learn such a trade?” the Prince asked. “The Majordomo taught me. He recognized my skill in such things.”
“And you?” the Prince asked Ivan. Luka had helped Ivan stand and was now untying him.
Ivan replied, “The Majordomo as well. I came here as a teenager from the Orlinsk province.”
“The Orlinsk province,” the Prince said. “I have been there. When I was a child I went there with my Uncle. It seems a tax collector in the region was gouging the people, falsely accusing the King of raising taxes. The King went personally to have the man arrested. I believe he was later executed. I remember because I admired my Uncle for taking care of the matter himself. It was then that I decided that when I was King, I too would never forget the importance of the people.”
Ivan’s heart sank. He had never heard of this before. All these years, he’d blamed the royalty for the hardships of his family. Now, he realized it was the crimes of a greedy tax collector and not the King. Ivan felt ashamed for his prior actions.
“Oh, Majesty,” he said collapsing on top of the Prince’s body, “I have wronged you. Please forgive me.” Ivan, in his fervor to atone for his actions, did not think of what he was doing and started to kiss the Prince upon the chest. As he muttered numerous apologies, he kissed the Prince’s bare skin.
Nicholas couldn’t help but respond to the feeling of this man’s bare torso pressed against his own. As he started to kiss the Prince’s skin, Nicholas melted. Years of denial were washed away and Nicholas rejoiced in the excitement that Ivan’s kisses were bringing.
Ivan too got caught up in the moment. He felt so bad for the way he had felt toward the Prince. And he couldn’t help himself as he started to kiss the Prince’s massive chest. Soon, he was licking the Prince’s skin, sucking his nipples. As the Prince started to moan in delight, Ivan started to explore the Prince’s body with his tongue.
Luka was shocked. He couldn’t explain Ivan’s sudden outburst. But he noticed what happened between the two men. Ivan was exciting the young Prince. Luka saw an opportunity to fulfill their assignment.
Moving to the end of the bed, Luka began to rake his fingers gently across the Prince’s still bound soles. Still incredibly ticklish, the Prince started to laugh, but Luka took care not to induce hysterics. And Ivan was now lapping at the Prince’s naval, moving his focus away from his feet so that he could better endure the ticklish stroking.
As Ivan canvassed the Prince’s body with kisses and licks, Luka scratched, stroked, and tickled his bare soles and wiggling toes. Soon, the Prince was thrusting his pelvis into the air. Ivan made a bold move. He thrust his hand down the Prince’s pants and started to pump, never faltering for a second in his adoring worship of the Prince’s body. This was the first time another man had ever touched the Prince in that way. He was too lost in the instinctual need to question the appropriateness of what was going on.
Meanwhile, the Majordomo had his face pressed up again the slit in the wall, longing to join the three men. In his younger days, he may have had the nerve to do so. But now, his station required a certain level of decorum. It would be inappropriate of him to intrude on this scene. But later, when those two men reported for their punishment, Peter knew that he would have his pleasures then.
With the Prince in the early throes of ecstasy, his ankles bound and bare feet helpless to anything that Luka desired, he allowed himself for the first time to go with his true desires. Without reservation, Luka took the Prince’s big toe in his mouth. The Prince, for his part, moaned even louder, but Luka didn’t even notice. He started to slurp the Prince’s toes and lick his bare soles. Even this tickled the poor, ticklish Prince, and he wiggled his toes about, his wrinkled soles brushing against Luka’s stubbled cheeks, tickling even more. The Prince was alternating between moans of pleasure and giggles of ticklish laughter. And as Ivan continued to pump his member, the Prince was nearing orgasm.
The Majordomo was startled by the screaming, moaning laugh that erupted from the Prince as he began to cum. He hoped the Queen was not in earshot. Peter’s two charges continued their pleasuring of the bound Prince as his back arched and he released his sexuality for the first time in his life. Oh how the Queen would be delighted over that. Too bad the Majordomo wasn’t planning on sharing this information. This one he intended to exploit himself.
Once the Prince had cum, Luka started to untie him immediately. He knew that the Prince would be feeling very vulnerable right now, and he didn’t want him to be put off. Ivan was enjoying his exploration of the Prince’s body a bit too much, and Luka had to give him a nudge to stop licking the Prince’s stomach and help untie him. Both Luka and Ivan were aroused, but Luka knew it wasn’t the time for the two of them to take care of their own business.
When he was untied, the two men sat at the end of the bed and massaged the Prince’s feet. They used a firm grip, making sure not to tickle him further.
The Prince lied back on his pillows, completely exhausted, but completely exhilarated. The two servants were massaging his feet with such skill, that he was totally relaxed. As the Prince thought about what he should do next, he didn’t realize that he was drifting off to sleep.
Ivan noticed that the Prince had fallen asleep and tapped Luka. The two men carefully placed the Prince’s feet back on the bed and crept out of the room. The Majordomo was waiting for them outside. He started to speak, then thought better of it, and motioned for them to follow him. They went to Peter’s private chambers.
“Well done,” Peter said once they had their privacy. “I dare say we have secured our favor with the court. I can report to the Queen that our Prince is terribly ticklish. And I can assure the Prince that his desires will remain with his loyal servants. We’ve entrenched ourselves quite well into the good graces of the royal family today.
“Luckily, for you,” Peter said, looking at Ivan, “if not for the Prince’s vanity, this day could have been a complete disaster. I hope you are prepared to accept your punishment.”
“I am yours, my Master. I am up to receiving what I deserve.”
“So I see,” the Majordomo said, giving the bulge in Ivan’s pants a quick stroke.
“And since I am so delighted in the final outcome, I have decided that you deserve a punishment and a reward. “As do you,” he said, looking at Luka.”So if the two of you will undress please.”
The two men looked at one another, a little surprised. They’d stripped for the Majordomo before similar punish sessions in the past, but always in the Majordomo’s private dungeon. Never here in his bed chambers. But knowing better than to question, the two men undressed quickly.
“Now, Luka,” the Majordomo said, “be so kind as to lash Ivan to my bed, arms out and feet together.”
Ivan moved to the bed without a word and laid down. Peter handed Luka some cords and he used them to tie Ivan securely.
“Now, Luka, lay on top of Ivan, if you would, but head to foot.”
Luka did as he was commanded, his face pressed against the tops of Ivan’s feet. Peter tied his wrists to the two foot posts. Then he tied Luka’s ankles together and secured them to the bed so that his toes dangling just above Ivan’s face.
“To begin gentlemen,” the Majordomo said, “I think the two of you should reward one another with a delicious foot bath. So start licking.”
Luka started licking Ivan’s toes immediately. It was something he had wished to do before when he was scratching Ivan’s soles, so he didn’t hesitate to apply his tongue generously.
Ivan had never licked another man’s feet before. He hesitated for just a moment. Then Luka’s hot tongue started to snake in and out from between his toes. Ivan’s arousal instantly grew. He raised his head and started to lap at Luka’s bare soles.
The Majordomo remembered that Luka’s feet were very ticklish, almost rivaling that of the Prince. So he was thrilled when Ivan’s licking was making Luka giggle. The Majordomo moved around his large bed, which was in the center of the room, enjoying the view of his two bound, naked charges servicing one another’s feet. He stopped at the head of the bed and helped Ivan’s tongue by scribbling a finger up and down one of Luka’s soles. He burst out laughing, unable to lick Ivan’s feet further until the Majordomo stopped.
Then Peter moved around to the side of the bed and reached up into Ivan’s armpit, making him laugh. He tickled for a few seconds, giving Luka a short break from his tickling licks, before he stopped and let the two men resume their foot service.
Peter moved around the bed several times, happy just to watch the activity and adding his own tickling here and there. He had this continue for several minutes before he untied Luka.
“Now,” he ordered, “turn around the other way and lay on top of Ivan again.”
Luka complied. Then Peter tied his wrists again, this time up next to Ivan’s wrists. The two men were laying together, face to face. Peter tied Luka’s ankles and then spread his legs apart a bit and tied them off. It this position, Ivan’s feet were tied together, toes pointing to the ceiling, and Luka’s feet were on either side, toes pointing to the floor. “Now, let’s see if we can’t get the two of you sufficiently stimulated.”
Taking a stiff feather, Peter started to stroke it around the four bare soles. Both men started to laugh and squirm, wiggling their toes and wrinkling their soles. Their feet were rubbing together as they moved and twitched, but the feather kept the tickling going, making the feet jump all about.
Luka and Ivan were laughing hard. Luka’s feet were horribly ticklish, and he had a real weakness for the stroke of a feather. The tickling was almost unbearable. However, he couldn’t help but get aroused by the sensation.
Ivan enjoyed the tickling of his feet. Not as ticklish Luka, the feather still made him laugh out loud but he knew he could endure this treatment for hours. What really got Ivan going was Luka’s reaction. Laying on top of Ivan, Luka was laughing hysterically. His head right next to Ivan’s, he was laughing in Ivan’s ear. And Ivan was aware of their bodies pressed tight together. He’d always had a little thing for Luka, with his black hair and dark eyes, and muscular frame. And as Luka was moving about from the foot tickling, he was rubbing against Ivan’s arousal, driving him toward ecstasy.
Peter greatly enjoyed tickling the men’s feet with his feather. Ever since he became master of the palace, he brought prisoners and misbehaved staff to his private dungeon. An hour in his stocks or rack was always good for a laugh. This feather had been employed on the soles of hundreds of men, and he could sit down right now and recount every one. But never before in his private chambers. This is the first time that he’d done this in his room before. Sure, he’d had men there before, quite a few, but they were sexual encounters that came to his bed chambers to be tickled and made love to. This was the first time he had young men in his room to administer their punishment.
And never before had he incorporated such an obviously sexual aspect to his punishing. Something about the earlier events made this form of punishment and reward seem totally appropriate, but Peter wondered if he was blurring the lines between business and pleasure. But he’d have to worry over that another day, for right now these four twitching, wiggling feet were taking up all of his attention.
It seemed to Luka that the Majordomo had been tickling his feet for hours. He had a hard time reconciling the conflicting feelings of unbearable torment and unbelievable pleasure. With every stroke of the feather across his helpless soles, he hoped it would be the last yet feared that it would end. And as it continued, Luka knew it would inevitably lead to the orgasm that the Majordomo seemed to desire.
Ivan concentrated as hard as he could. He was about to cum, but he was afraid if he did that this would all come to an end. He was enjoying the tickling of his soles more than he’d ever enjoyed tickling before. He even wished the Majordomo would come and use that feather on his tummy, although he knew that would be the ultimate in tickle torture. But he was losing his battle and he knew he would cum soon.
The Majordomo sensed that both men were nearing their limits. He tickled their soles and toes without mercy. Ivan came first, but Luka followed quickly thereafter. Peter paused his tickling while the two men spent themselves. Then he said, “Now that you’ve had your reward, it is time for the real punishment.”
Then he started to tickle their feet again.
Having just orgasmed, both men were extra-sensitive. The feather strokes across their naked feet was unbearable. Luka was thrown into complete hysterics. He was begging the Majordomo to stop. His feet were so ticklish, that Peter had to give Ivan the lion’s share of this new round of tickling. Ivan too was hysterical and pleading, but he was able to endure it better. Peter tickled both men for another quarter hour before giving them a rest.
Peter untied Luka and helped him into a chair. Luka was totally spent. Then Peter climbed up onto the bed and straddled Ivan. “You deserve a little extra for your little display this evening,” Peter said.
“I seem to recall that your stomach was particularly ticklish.”
Peter applied to feather to Ivan’s washboard abs and he went absolutely nuts. Where before he was toying with a secret desire to get his tummy tickled, Ivan now knew that such a thought was complete folly. The feather tickled his stomach beyond reason. He didn’t know he could laugh that loud and he thrashed about on the bed in complete tickle torture.
Peter watched Ivan’s stomach tense up as he laughed and laughed. He traced the lines and ridges of Ivan’s rock hard stomach with the tip of the feather. He spent a good amount of time teasing Ivan’s naval, which was the most ticklish part of his entire body. And when Ivan needed a little reprieve, Peter would use the feather to tickle his ribs and armpits, still making him laugh, but giving him a chance to prepare for the next onslaught to his ticklish stomach.
Peter didn’t know how long he tormented Ivan’s super-ticklish belly, but he finally relented when Ivan looked completely drained. Luka had recovered sufficiently to sit in the chair quietly and watch the tickling of his friend. He felt bad for Ivan, but knew that, if he were in Peter’s place, he’d be no less cruel in his tickling.
Finally, the Majordomo stood and instructed Luka to release Ivan. Once he was untied and allowed to recover sufficiently, the two men were allowed to retire to their own quarters for the evening.
As the Majordomo prepared for bed, their was a rap at the door. “Go away,” he said.
“It is me, Peter,” came the Prince’s voice. Flustered, the Majordomo answered the door in just his nightdress.
“Forgive me, my Prince,” I did not know that it was you, he said as he motioned for the Prince to enter.
“Forgive me the late hour,” the Prince said, “but there are matters I wish to clear up with you before you and the Queen have a chance to confer in the morning.”
“My Lord?”
“My experience with the sole scratchers this evening was enjoyable. I wish for them to return to me every evening. You may tell the Queen that her kind gift is most eagerly received.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Peter said.
“However, all detail about the events of my binding and pleasuring shall be excluded from your conversation. It will remain our secret.”
“My Prince, I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Please, Majordomo, I know that you were an audience to everything that transpired.
“Besides,” the Prince added, pointing to a small grate near the ceiling “you are not the only one that knows their way around the palace.”
The Majordomo sat down on the edge of his bed, stunned.
“Your Majesty, I live to serve. It is clear to me that it would benefit both of us to keep all the events of this evening between us.”
“As I thought you would,” the Prince said, “Buck up my good man, If Ivan and Luka continue to serve me well, I may be quite indebted to you for your services.”
The Prince moved toward the door, but then turned back to Peter. “Oh, and just one more thing. I think you have been working entirely too hard of late, so I’ve arranged a little surprise for you.”
The Prince opened the door. Ivan and Luka were standing there.
“Tonight you shall live like a Prince. I’ve instructed them to give you a sole scratching equal to anything that they would deliver to me.”
“But, but, your Highness,” the Majordomo stammered, “I…I can’t bear to have my feet touched.”
“Now, now, Majordomo, I’ve instructed them not to do anything to you that you haven’t done to them yourself. So, I’m sure you have nothing to worry about, right?” The Prince gave the two men a little wink as they entered the room and he exited.
The Prince was not far down the hall before he heard uproarious laughter. He smiled to himself, tempted to return to the secret chamber to watch the Majordomo’s torment. But he didn’t have the time, because he had to get ready for Ivan and Luka. He’d instructed them to return to his room after they finished with the Majordomo.
And then the Prince’s skin tingled, because he told them that, when they returned, they should bring the Majordomo’s feather with them. Approaching his room, the Prince past by the Queen’s chambers just as she stepped outside.
“Nephew,” she said, “How did you like my little gift?”
Stunning the Queen with a big kiss on the cheek, the Prince said, “Loved it, my Lady. I’m absolutely tickled pink,” and he bounded down the hall, leaving his Queen to watch him with her mouth agape.