Martyr's Bargain

Tick. Tick. Tick.

That clock. That damned clock. Emmy's eyes traced the path of the second hand as it wound its way in a circle. She was once again bound facing towards the source of her latest predicament. Her legs straddled a round post that stuck out horizontally from the beam at her back. It was just high enough that her toes barely grazed the floor. The smooth wood was nestled against her bare cunt, slowly gathering the juices oozing from her pussy as she squirmed atop it.

But the post wasn't the focus of her predicament. Sure, it wasn't the most comfortable place to sit but it, along with the straps that wrapped around her waist, her legs, and her neck, keeping her back pressed against the upright beam, were just a means to hold her in place. The true focus of this punishment were her tits.

Twelve vicious little metal clamps, six for each breast, were snapped onto her soft flesh - five in a circle around the outside, and an especially cruel sixth clamp attached to each nipple. A thin elastic cord was tied to the end of each clamp and stretched to a metal ring held a couple feet in front of her chest. A thin rope ran from this ring away from her body, through an eyebolt in line with her breasts and then to the end of the threaded bolt jutting out from the face of the clock.

This thin rope was far longer than was needed to span the distance between the ring and the bolt, and it draped down in a drooping arch between the two. But that's where the predicament begins. Threaded onto the bolt were about twenty large, chunky metal nuts. Unlike the last time she faced the clock, the threads on the bolt went the other way, meaning that the heavy nuts slowly marched to the end of the bolt where it stuck out towards Emmy. And, when one of the nuts reached the end, it tumbled off the bolt, sliding down the thin rope until - clack! - it reached the bottom of the drooping arch, crashing into the other nuts that already collected there and adding its weight to the pull on the ring attached to those insidious clamps.

Emmy had watched this process happen a few times already. The crash of each new bolt into the others struck like a hammer blow, the violent collision translated its way up the rope to the ring, yanking hard on the clamps. Thereafter, the added weight only caused the ring to pull harder on the clamps. The elastic stretched and strained to its limit, the cruel clamps pinched and pulled, and Emmy moaned.

But there was further insidiousness in the design of her predicament - the lengths of elastic that stretched from the ring to the clamps were not of equal length. This meant that the shortest pieces reached their limit for stretching first and bore a greater share of the weight. The elastic that reached towards her nipple clamps had been given the most slack of all and, even now with the weight of three nuts, it hardly tugged on those vicious clips. Whereas, two of the clamps fixed the side of her breasts, one on each, now pulled exceptionally hard, pinching and straining as it yanked her flesh towards the ring.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Emmy watched intently as another nut approached the end of its journey. Drool poured down her chin from behind the head harness bit gag that was fixed tightly between her teeth. She braced herself and held her breath. She could never tell exactly when the nut would fall, which tick would finally push it over the edge and send it sliding down to join the others.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Slowly, slowly it advanced.

Tick. Tick. Clack! The nut tumbled down the thin rope on the end of the bolt and crashed into the others. Snap! Snap! "Aaaahh!" Emmy screamed as the added weight and the force of the collision caused the hold of those two most strained clips to break free. The tight elastic sent them hurtling away from her chest. Her tits blazed in pain as the blood rushed to those two liberated spots, while at the same time their burden shifted to the ten remaining clamps that now pulled that much harder on her tits. She strained against her bonds, reaching her chest forward, unconsciously following the tug of the added weight, knowing full well that her efforts did nothing to alleviate the burden she bore.

----

Robert heard Emmy's screams from below deck and checked the scrying mirror to make certain she was okay. After all she had been through at Cloudspire he was reluctant to subject her to more punishment. Emmy insisted that she was fine, that she could handle it, that they had a job to do. Still, Robert resisted. It was only after the charge on the collar got dangerously low and Emmy threatened to take matters into her own hands that Robert was finally compelled to act.

Ever since that night after her rescue their relationship had blossomed. The dam had broken and all their pent up desires came flooding forth. They talked. They laughed. They fucked. Emmy had moved into his stateroom to stay with him. Robert had always been afraid that his feelings for Emmy would interfere with his mission, but those concerns were now far in the past. Nevertheless, they did still have a mission to do.

The Ravenwing limped along, grazing the treetops as the pair flew with all haste to the king's camp to warn him of Baron Shadeguard's plot against the kingdom. It wasn't clear whether the assembled forces of the dead baron would still march against Emmy's father, or if their treachery died with the baron. They couldn't take any chances.

The damage Thorne had inflicted on the ship with his sabotage had still not been fully repaired. They would need several days in a drydock to bring the airship back to its former glory. In the meantime, Robert did what he could, dividing his time between keeping a close eye on the helm and trips down into the bowels of the ship to perform some makeshift repairs. He didn't dare fly the Ravenwing high up in the clouds or push its speed beyond the plodding pace they currently kept. Still, they were a couple day's flight away from the king's camp.

---

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Arrrrggh!" Emmy trembled in pain. Forty minutes had passed, and the fall of a dozen more nuts. By ones and by twos the clamps affixed to her tits had snapped free, now leaving only one clamp each: those cruel little clips that clung directly to her nipples. They were designed differently and held stronger to her pinched flesh, twisting and stretching and pulling her sensitive nipples with the heavy burden of all the accumulated nuts on the rope. The pull that had formerly been distributed across a dozen different points had now been whittled down to those two agonizing spots, but the clamps held fast.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Emmy had to focus. Only three nuts remained on the slow-turning bolt. But the next nut to fall was not like the others - this one was larger, heavier, and had a resonating stone glued to one of its hexagonal sides. The stone's partner was affixed to the end of the post that Emmy sat astride. Once this nut fell, it would hang in close proximity to it and the post between her legs would start vibrating like mad.

Her hips squirmed with anticipation, rocking back and forth along the slick post. Her wriggling was enough to turn her on, but not enough to get her off, not until that next nut fell, which she both eagerly anticipated for her pussy and dreaded for her tits.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Her punishment was nearing its end, or perhaps, not. A small key hung from the eyebolt that held the ringed rope in front of her tits. It was rigged in a way that when the last clip finally snapped free from her nipples and the ring crashed into the eyebolt, the key would drop. Emmy had been bound with her elbows at her sides and her wrists cuffed in front of her and connected to the post she sat astride. When the key dropped, it was up to her to catch it and use it to unlock her wrists and free herself. If she failed she'd be trapped atop the wildly vibrating post, waiting for Robert to come release her, which, he assured her, might take a few hours given how busy he was with making repairs.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The anticipation grew with every movement of the second hand. The nut with the resonating stone crept closer and closer to the edge, but Emmy kept her eyes on the key. She didn't know if the clamps on her nipples would break free with this drop, or the next one, or the next one, or maybe even sometime in between. She had to be ready. She had to focus through the agony of the pain in her nipples so that she could make the catch.

Tick. Tick. Clack!

"Ahhhhh!" The next nut dropped. Emmy felt the agony in her nipples spike as the collision of the nuts translated up the line and the added weight pulled even harder. "Ohhhh!" Her body shuddered as the intense new vibrating sensations of the post broke through the pain in her tits. She writhed and squirmed and rocked on the post as her pussy gushed with pleasure.

No! She told herself. She had to stay focused. If she came and the final clamps broke loose she'd be too distracted to catch the key. As good as the post felt now, it would drive her mad to have to sit on top of it for hours as it ripped orgasm after orgasm from her.

She bit down on her gag and pushed the distraction from her mind. Stay focused. Stay focused. Stay focused. She repeated to herself. Her nipples blazed with pain from the fierce pull of the clamps. A sheen of sweat covered her body. Just a few more minutes.

Then, somewhere down on the ground beneath the ship there was a thundering BOOM! Before Emmy could even begin to wonder what that was, the side of the ship ahead of her exploded in a shower of splinters. An enormous metal harpoon pierced the thick hull, sailed through the cargo hold, and embedded itself in the opposite wall.

"Emmy!" she heard Robert call from up at the helm. "We're under attack! Try to hold onto something!"

Hold onto something? She was bound against a post with her feet barely touching the floor!

There was another loud boom, closer this time. Almost immediately Emmy heard the impact. The Ravenwing shuddered as it took this hit somewhere in the stern. What was happening? Who was attacking them?

Her attention was drawn back to the harpoon that still stuck in the wall twenty feet ahead of her. There was a thick rope tied to the end of it. That rope suddenly snapped taut. The Ravenwing lurched. All the cargo in the hold shifted suddenly to the right as they abruptly changed direction.

Emmy saw red as the heavy nuts on the rope swung hard to the side, twisting the clamps on her crushed nipples, but not hard enough to snap them free.

Now she could hear branches from the trees below them smacking against the bottom of the ship - they were losing altitude! She was helpless to do anything but scream. She gripped the post underneath her with her hands, bracing for impact. A few seconds later it came. The mighty airship plowed into the earth. All around her Emmy could hear rigging snapping and the beams breaking. An enormous gash was torn in the side of the ship next to her, throwing splinters and wood fragments in all directions. The impact brought them to a sudden stop. The massive jolt was finally enough to tear the agonizing clamps free from her nipples. "Ahhhhhh!" Emmy screamed, nearly losing consciousness as the pain in her tits flared amidst the violence of the crash.

Through the excitement and the terror and the pain she'd forgotten all about the key! Emmy opened her eyes now only to see that the chaotic landing had foiled the mechanism that was supposed to drop the key. It was stuck, pinched between the ring on the end of the rope and the eyebolt that had supported the rope in front of her chest. She was trapped until she could find a way to get the key to drop.

But then her attention was drawn away by sounds outside of the ship. She looked through the gaping hole in the side of the hold next to her to see a dozen dirty brigands cautiously advancing on the fallen vessel. Emmy froze. She had to do something! She had to get free!

The men drew their swords as they slowly moved closer. Her breath caught in her throat as she made eye contact with one of the men. A huge smile crossed his face and he turned to alert his colleagues.

Then she heard him.

"Stop right there!" Robert called. "Not one step closer!"

He jumped down from the deck of crashed ship, landing on the ground between Emmy and the brigands. He hadn't had time to equip most of his armor, and wore only a helmet and his leather jerkin, carrying a short sword in each hand. The brigands looked at one another, incredulous that this lone man would try to stand against all of them.

"This is your last warning," Robert threatened, rising into his fighting stance. "Leave this area now or your lives are forfeit."

The bandits spread out to give themselves room to fight, trying to form a circle around Robert. Emmy could see her protector's body tense like a tiger about to pounce. Then in a flash he rushed headlong into the center of their line. His blades moved like an extension of his body, swirling and slicing faster than the eye could follow. Two men fell dead immediately from this surprise rush before the rest recovered their wits and responded.

There was the clash and clang of steel on steel. Grunts and growls filled the air. Emmy tore her eyes away from the scene. She had to get free. She had to help Robert! She flailed and pulled and raged against her bonds, hoping to break free but they held fast. She pulled hard against her wrists, by stretching her fingers out she could just barely graze the dangling rope with her fingertips. But nothing she did could get her free or drop the key.

Then she noticed the clock. Despite the damage of the crash, the clock was still ticking. The next nut was about to tumble off the bolt. She had to hope that the drop would jar the key loose. With her heart pounding in her chest, she watched intently. She only had one chance at this.

Outside the ship the battle continued. She didn't dare to take her eyes away to see how it was going, but the fact that she still heard the clash of metal on metal must have meant that Robert still stood.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Every second felt like an eternity. There was nothing she could do but watch.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

She tried her best to calm her trembling hands while the adrenaline surged throughout her body.

Tick. Tick. Clank!

The nut dropped. She held her breath. The rope vibrated with the collision - and the key fell! It dropped right onto her waiting fingers. She couldn't believe that she was able to hold onto it! Quickly, she inserted it into the cuffs and freed her wrists. Then she attacked the straps holding her against the beam. She could hear the sounds of combat dying down. The clangs and grunts were growing less frequent.

There was one last strap around her ankles. She struggled to bend down and reach it from her position sitting astride the post. Her fingers fumbled at the buckle, wasting precious seconds before she finally got it loose. She swung her leg up over the post and set her bare feet down on the splintered deck, ready to race to Robert's aid.

She hurried to the hole in the side of the ship, her fingers working at removing the harness gag from her mouth while she stepped between shards of broken timber. She looked out to see that only one brigand remained standing. He and Robert slowly circled each other, looking for an opening to attack. Robert now only held a sword in his right hand, his left arm hung limply at his side with a nasty gash across his bicep.

Just as Emmy made it to the breach in the hull, Robert made his move. He feinted one way then lunged another, running his blade through the midsection of the final attacker. With a soft whimper, the man dropped his blade and fell dead.

Robert lowered his sword. His shoulders slumped with exhaustion. He turned back to the ship and met eyes with Emmy. Despite his injuries, the sight of her made him stand a little straighter. A smile flashed across his dirty, blood-spattered face. Emmy breathed a sigh of relief. She resumed her efforts at trying to remove the gag still strapped in her mouth.

Then she saw a shadow shift behind Robert.

Sir Thorne Blackrose crept silently out of a copse of bushes, approaching Robert from behind. His sharp dagger gleaming in the midday sun.

"Mmmmph! Mmmmph!" Emmy cried, trying to warn Robert. She pointed and gestured at the traitorous knight as he stalked up behind Robert. Robert turned. Too late. Thorne's dagger sank into his midsection up to the hilt. Robert grimaced. He fell to his knees.

"Didn't I tell you that a dagger to the ribs can do more than a hundred brave knights charging into battle?"

Thorne put his boot to Robert's back and used the leverage to yank out his dagger. Robert collapsed to the ground.

"Robert!" Emmy screamed as the gag finally fell free from her mouth.

"Ah, princess," Thorne smiled. "I was wondering where'd you'd run off to once I had heard of Baron Shadeguard's demise. I figured you'd head straight to daddy - it looks like I was right."

"Thorne," Emmy growled between clenched teeth.

"Surprised to see me, my dear?" he taunted. "Did you think that the baron had done away with me? Don't you know that there is no plot in this kingdom that I don't hear about? I am not so easily gotten rid of. The same, it had seemed, as your little friend." He gave Robert a hard kick to the ribs. "But his luck has run out."

Emmy jumped out of the crashed ship and ran to the nearest fallen brigand, snatching the sword from his limp, dead hand. She squared up with Thorne and narrowed her eyes.

Thorne laughed at the naked girl standing before him, her pussy still glistened from the arousal of her punishment. "Put that away, girl, before you hurt yourself."

Emmy kept moving towards him with a smouldering rage in her eyes. She dropped into the duelling stance that Robert had taught her. Thorne's smug smile wavered and a look of genuine concern appeared on his face. He tossed away his dagger and swiftly bent to the ground to pick up Robert's sword, then fell into his own en garde position.

Emmy dashed to close the remaining distance between them and lunged at Thorne. He easily parried her attack and countered. Emmy blocked his swing and stepped back. The two slowly circled, plotting their next moves.

Thorne attacked. His swings were hurried and easily telegraphed, not at all like when she sparred with Robert, who moved like a dancer when he battled. Emmy blocked and parried again and again, waiting for an opening to get in her own counter. Thorne, though not as skilled as Robert, was still stronger than her and Emmy was exhausted by her recent ordeal. Thorne sensed her weakness and attacked with growing confidence. Then her opportunity came. Thorne overextended himself and Emmy slashed the tip of her sword across Thorne's cheek.

"Arrrrrgh!" he cried out as blood poured down his face. He swung wildly and managed to knock the sword from Emmy's hand as he staggered backwards and tripped over one of his fallen comrades. He fell onto his back, landing on a heap of loose dirt that was thrown up when the Ravenwing crashed. Emmy grabbed the nearest weapon she could find, Thorne's discarded dagger, and leaped at him. She landed on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"You deserve far worse than a swift death," she snarled. Then she raised the dagger to plunge it into his heart. But the brief hesitation was just what Thorne needed. He grabbed a fistful of dirt and hurled it into Emmy's face. Now it was her turn to reel backwards as Thorne tossed her off of his body. She rolled away, blinded by the dirt in her eyes. She rubbed at her face and blinked away the debris, recovering just as Thorne regained his feet. She grabbed the nearest weapon she could find and faced her foe once again.

Thorne sneered at her from fifteen feet away and reached into his tunic. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," he said, drawing a pair of crystals from a pocket. "But you have left me no choice."

He took a crystal in each hand and held them out in front of himself at arm's length. Then he smashed the two crystals together. There was a bright flash and Emmy felt the air pressed out of her body. She fell to her knees, dazed.

The crystals in Thorne's hands pulsed with bright purple light for a few seconds, then crumbled to ash in his fingers. Emmy's collar, which just a moment ago had been fully charged and radiated a bright blue light, now glowed with a deep red hue.

Overhead, the clear blue sky darkened. Black, menacing storm clouds seemed to materialize out of thin air. A cold breeze blew in through the trees, and thunder rumbled in the distance.

Emmy suddenly felt incredibly tired and drained, like there was something dragging on her very soul. A deep depression blanketed her thoughts, encouraging her to surrender to the darkness. She just wanted to lay down and sleep and never wake up.

Thorne smiled and advanced on her just as a heavy rain began to pour down on them. "Don't you see?" he shouted over the howling wind and the roaring thunder. "You are merely a tool. Your purpose is to be used. It became your fate the moment you put that collar on. There is no escaping it. Take my hand, and fulfill your destiny."

The rain drenched her hair and washed the filth from her bare skin. She shivered against the cold. She felt so weak, so cold, so melancholic. The urge to surrender was so strong. How could she possibly resist such powerful magic?

She looked from Thorne's extended hand to the sword she'd picked up. It suddenly felt so heavy. The blade dipped and she could feel her grip loosen on the handle. Her other hand unconsciously extended up toward Thorne and grasped his fingers.

"Good girl," he purred. "Now let's get you to - ARRRGH!!!"

The sword, Robert's favorite sword, flashed up from below and pierced Thorne's chest right through his heart. He fell dead in an instant.

The terrifying storm continued to grow in intensity. All around her trees splintered and cracked, buffeted by winds and battered by lightning. Emmy sprang to her feet. The storm didn't scare her. She had only one fear. She ran to her fallen knight protector and knelt at his side. He was unconscious, but she could still feel his weak pulse and see his chest rise with shallow breaths.

"Robert!" she cried, her tears mixing with the pouring rain on her cheeks. "Robert, get up! Please be okay!"

He was unresponsive. The storm continued to get worse. Summoning every last ounce of her strength, Emmy dragged him back into the ship through the gash in the hold. She brought him back to her old quarters and lifted him onto the bed. She found a knife and cut away his clothes, appalled at the grievous wound that she found underneath. Emmy was no surgeon, but she did her best to clean the injury and stitch it shut. Then she bandaged it up and tended to his other injuries. There was nothing more she could do.

Outside, the storm raged. Trees were uprooted and crashed to the ground. The crashed ship rocked with the heavy winds. Water poured down faster than it could drain away and the ground was soon flooded. Inside, the cargo hold was illuminated by the nauseating red glow of Emmy's collar. She had to do something, she decided, and since there was nothing more she could do for Robert, she had to attend to the collar.

Quickly she gathered supplies. With tears in her eyes she moved with purpose and conviction, improvising a plan as she went - there was no time to lose. She took a solid metal bar that was about four feet long and hung one end from the ceiling at about waist height. She attached a long chain to the other end and ran it through a ring in the ceiling, but let that end remain resting on the floor for now. Then she grabbed the first set of nipples clamps that she could find. Only after squeezing one on did she realize just how painful the set she had selected were. But there wasn't time to switch it out, she gritted her teeth and screamed as she applied the second clamp to her other already bruised nipple.

Next she rifled through a box to find the right gag. The fierce wind blowing outside increased her desperation and she decided on a gag that even Robert refused to use after seeing how much she had struggled with it before. She shoved the dildo gag into her mouth and quickly pulled the strap tight before she could change her mind. Unfortunately now her preparations were hampered by the gags and retches her throat made as it tried to expel the invader that tickled her throat.

Now she ran to the power bank that provided electricity to the ship, another of Lord Callum's upgrades. She'd seen Robert use it a dozen times, but wasn't entirely certain what settings were appropriate. She cranked up the dials as high as she dared and ran a thick cable from the battery to the end of the dangling pole that still sat on the floor. She mashed the button to prime the device. A small red indicator light turned amber. She needed to finish her preparations before it turned green in a minute or so.

She returned to the dangling pole now and strapped a pair of resonating stones underneath it so that it began vibrating vigorously. She squatted low, facing the pole, and grabbed a short metal chain. She took one end of the chain and attached it to a nipple clamp, then wrapped the chain around the pole before fixing the other end to the other nipple clamp.

She was nearly done now. Her heart ached as she took one last look at Robert, laying motionless off to the side, seeing him on the brink of death was worse than any torture she'd ever experienced. She picked up a loose leather hood - more of a thick, dark bag than anything really - and bundled her hair into it as she pulled it over her head. A cinch with a buckle tightened it around her neck so that it could not be shaken off.

Now she was ready for the final step. After this, she knew, there was no going back. Her only chance of survival was for someone to come and rescue her. She didn't hesitate one bit.

Her hands reached blindly behind her and grasped the chain that was affixed to the other end of the pole and ran up to the ceiling overhead. She straddled the pole and began pulling on the chain, hoisting the sagging end of the bar higher. As the bar raised into a more horizontal position Emmy had to lean forward due to the chain that dangled from her nipple clamps and looped underneath the pole. Higher and higher she lifted it, inch by inch. She didn't stop until the bar nudged between her parted legs and pressed against her pussy. She could feel its wild vibrations massaging her labia and stimulating her clit. Now she reached her hands as high up on the chain behind and above her as she could reach - this is where she locked the handcuffs. With one last silent prayer, Emmy closed the cuffs around her wrists and sealed her fate.

She was now trapped, bent at the waist, straddling the middle of the vibrating metal bar with her wrists pulled so high up behind her that her shoulders ached. The chain dangling from her nipples slowly swayed back and forth beneath the bar, twisting and tugging at her cruel clamps. The gag in her mouth continued to prod at the back of her throat, sending her whole body heaving as she coughed and retched. The thick hood kept her trapped in darkness, though it did little to attenuate the sounds of the furious tempest that swirled just outside the ship. It also kept her from seeing when the indicator light on the power bank turned from amber to green, though she found that out in her own way.

"Aaaaaaahhhh!" she screamed in pain as the metal bar planted between her legs crackled with electricity. Clearly she'd miscalculated how far to turn the dials on the machine as she suffered the crippling blast. Her mind went blank for a few agonizing seconds until she remembered what she'd intended herself to do to avoid the shocks. Her shoulders protested as she pushed herself upward, lifting her arms high up behind her back and rising up onto tiptoe until her pussy cleared the hanging bar.

She was left gasping for breath. The modest control she'd kept over her gag reflex was gone and her body lurched and heaved while her throat tried to expel the dildo gag from it. The chain held from her nipples jostled along with her, until her erratic movements caused the links to make contact with the bar. Bzzzt! A sharp blast of electricity jolted her nipples. The surprise shock made her wrists drop which, of course, caused the back of the bar to rise. Bzzzt!

"Aaahhhh!" Emmy reeled as her clit ring grazed the metal bar and this next shock shot straight into her sensitive nerves. She realized now that she had forgotten to take the metal piercing into account when she had hastily arranged this predicament. The cursed souvenir from her time with the baron was the perfect conductor to deliver electricity straight into where it would hurt the most. And, due to her bent over position, it would be the first thing to make contact with the bar whenever she failed to keep herself high enough. Emmy quickly lifted her wrists and pushed herself higher up onto tiptoe. She forced herself to focus. She had to control herself.

---

Time passed slowly, measured only by thunderbolts and falling trees and Emmy's gagged screams as, despite her best efforts, she failed again and again to hold herself high enough to avoid the shocks from the bar. Her back ached. Her shoulders ached. Her feet ached. Her nipples ached. She'd been jolted so many times that her body quivered involuntarily. Not only did she have to worry about keeping the bar low enough to avoid her pussy, but she also had to be careful as she shifted her weight from foot to foot so that she didn't swing the bar into her inner thighs.

By now the inside of her hood was soaked with the drool that poured out of her gagged mouth. Her choking had subsided a bit, perhaps from better control of her gag reflex, but also from the sheer exhaustion of her throat muscles after heaving and retching so much.

More worryingly, Emmy could now feel water beneath her feet from the rising flood caused by the storm outside. They'd never let the collar's charge get so low before, not even when they'd first set out on their adventure, and it wasn't clear how much suffering it would demand before the storm finally abated. Nor was it clear how much more suffering Emmy had left to give.

She was exhausted even before this punishment had begun, from tending to Robert, from the battle with Thorne, from the other punishment she'd had earlier in the day. But she had no choice but to keep going.

In spite of it all, Emmy could still feel her body responding to the dire situation. Her cunt pulsed with desire. The heavy bar vibrated tantalizingly close beneath her. She could feel its vibrations translate up into the chain that held her cuffed wrists. But she couldn't bear to lower herself onto it and satisfy her lust - the miscalculated shocks to her ringed clit were simply too painful to withstand for any amount of time. All she could do was wait.

---

The situation outside the ship began to improve just as Emmy's situation inside the ship began to deteriorate. The waters receded beneath her feet and the howling winds calmed. Thunder no longer rattled the ship. But for Emmy, the punishing blasts of electricity grew more and more frequent. Her legs trembled as her feet struggled to stay up on tiptoe. Her shoulders blazed in pain with the effort to keep her wrists elevated. But it was all a failing endeavor. She was beyond exhausted. Her responses to the punishing blasts had gotten slower. It took a concerted effort to move herself away from the bar when it shocked her pussy or thighs or nipples.

And through it all came greater frustration. Never before had she wanted to cum so badly. Not even in the depths of her edging and denial at the hands of Thorne and the baron had she felt such a tremendous need to get herself off. Her cunt was absolutely dripping with arousal. If there was ever any doubt as to whether pussy juice could conduct electricity, it was dispelled as she felt again and again the needling sting of current shoot into her cunt whenever a dribble of her arousal stretched down to meet the bar.

Emmy was getting desperate. Her lust occupied more and more of her thoughts. Maybe if she twisted this way, or maybe if she pressed herself that way. But the overly cruel electric blast was waiting for her at every turn. She sobbed with frustration and despair. She was so tired. She couldn't go on much longer. The collar must have been charged by now. If she could just make herself cum it'd unleash a burst of magic that, hopefully, would resolve the situation. But she couldn't do it.

So this is how it will end, she thought darkly, trapped and suffering in a ruined ship. Would the collar's magic sustain her, dooming her to suffer forever? Her thoughts turned to Robert, who lay ten feet away. I'm sorry, brave knight. I've failed you.

Her body collapsed down onto the bar one last time and she was simply too weak to lift herself up again. She jittered and groaned and flailed while she was hit with a continuous and sustained blast of electric fury. She sank lower and lower, her shoulders felt like they would separate as her arms were wrenched high up overhead. The pain was incredible. It blanked her mind, demanding her full attention on the agony she suffered. Yet she could feel her consciousness beginning to slip away, her body beginning to shut down. As she lingered on the precipice of the waking world she sensed a fluctuation in the shocks that assaulted her body. Her mind was too far gone to make any sense of it. Maybe the battery had run out or been overwhelmed by this final surge, but now the current petered out, then stopped. The vibrations of the bar against her aching cunt broke through like sunshine piercing through a break in the clouds. Suddenly she felt nothing else but the pure pleasure of those sensations, and then she passed out.

---

Emmy awoke in Robert's bed, up in what remained of his shattered and broken cabin.

"Emmy! You're awake!" Robert said excitedly. "When I'd found you you were completely unresponsive, hanging from the ceiling by your wrists. I have no idea how long you were like that."

"Robert?!" Emmy suddenly sat up. "You're alive! I can't believe it! You're alive!" She threw herself into his arms.

"Good as new," he remarked. "Well, almost." He lifted his shirt to show Emmy the place where Thorne's dagger had pierced his body - all that remained was a jagged scar with a healthy pink glow around it.

"What you did was incredibly brave," he added. "Astoundingly reckless, but incredibly brave. When I woke up I saw this on the floor and immediately thought the worst had happened." He held up a metal band that Emmy didn't recognize at first, but that was because it had spent the past few months locked tightly around her neck.

"The collar!" Emmy cried out in surprise, her hands rising to her neck to feel nothing but bare skin. "But how?"

"I can't explain it. It must have come off sometime after you passed out. Maybe it was your willingness to sacrifice yourself for others, maybe you simply overwhelmed it with what you put yourself through. I'm sure the scholars will have plenty to debate about it. But what matters most is, you're free! We're free! It's over!"

Emmy couldn't see anymore through the tears of joy in her eyes. She blindly reached forward and embraced Robert. He held her close and they knew from that point on that everything would be alright.