Lena and I have always been friends, probably we where both girls of the same age and living door to door in the outskirts of town. Yet as we grew up we began to develop different interests, I joined a soccer club, while she took to singing and later also playing the violin. I was a tomboy wearing jeans, shirts or tank tops, while she would often wear skirts, dresses or blouses, like the stereotypical girly girl. Yet these differences could never separate us even if we would occasionally tease each other about them.
In my soccer team I had made friends with two other girls, Tanya and Inga, while Lena often spent her time with two girls called Julia and Jennifer (usually Jenny), twin sisters who were also in her music club. The six of us would also often hang out together. As we did that fateful summer day, the holidays had just begun, when I suggested us doing a tie up game against each other. Lena and I have tied each other up a lot since our childhood, where she would usually be the damsel in distress for my, very over the top, villainesses. Or her older sister Sarah would tie up both of us up. I´ve also did a few games with Tanya and Inga but I wasn´t sure if Julia or Jenny had ever tried it out. But they quickly agreed and demanded to be in a team with Lena.
This had me confident, I was sure my soccer friends and I could take them down easily. I think I was maybe a bit too open with my confidence as Jenny made a suggestion: "Okay, Jessie, if you are so sure you will win. How about a bet? The looser have to do all the winners household chores for a week?"
I shared a grin with Tanya and Inga, this would be even better than I had first though. "Deal," I replied confidently.
The next day we meet at Lena´s home, which, same with mine, is located right at the edge of a forest. There we would have our fight. To make things more fun we had agreed to wear costumes for the occasion. Inga, Tanya and me wore our cowgirl outfits, jeans, leather boots, checkered shirts tied above our bellies, bandanas and of course hats. We had tried to talk the other girls into wearing Indian costumes for the occasion but they had decided to wear their princess outfits instead. Not Disney princesses mind you, but actual dark green woven dresses they had bought at a medieval fair a few months ago. They also wore pearls and clippers in their long hair(red in the twins case, brown in Lena´s). While I wore my white blonde hair short, Tanya had tied hers to an auburn braid and as did Inga with her dirty blonde curls.
We also had pestered Sarah, Lena´s older sister, so she would have an eye on us and ensure no one broke the rules. Each of us girls held a water gun. "Once you´ve gotten a clear hit you need to surrender to the person who hit you." Sarah explained. I wasn´t sure how she had come up with these rules, maybe she had played similar games with her friends before? "You remain a prisoner until a member of your team who hasn´t been captured touches you, then you are free again. Captives are brought to your teams base and tied up. Once tied they can attempt to escape on their own. You win if you capture the entire enemy team. The game ends with nightfall, if one team has more captives than the other they win, if not it's a draw." She gave us a grin. We had agreed that in case of a draw the six of us would be her personal servants for the week. A prospect she was clearly enjoying.
We quickly agreed on a safe word/gesture in case someone would become too uncomfortable in their bonds, then we headed out, checking our wrist watches for the quarter hour of truce in which both teams could set up a base.
Me and my team had already agreed on where we would head and so we spent most of the way there dreaming of the relaxed week ahead of us. "One week with no lawn mowing." Tanya said grinning. "No dish washing, no laundry," Inga continued. "We should do this every week girls don´t you think?" Tanya and me nodded, never doubting for a second on how this would go.
Our base was a small glad in the forest had played a bit of soccer now and then. I was sure Lena and her friends didn´t knew it. We placed the flag we had brought there and waited. Soon Sarah came over and informed us that the truce was now over and the game had begun.
"I think it's best if we split up." I suggested. "I´m sure the three of them are staying together. If we would managed to attack them from two angles we would have an easy victory." The others nodded and we exchanged a confident glance.
So Inga and I headed out while Tanya took cover behind some bushes not too far from our base, so she could give anyone who might stumble across our base a watery surprise.
I moved quickly through the woods, confident and enjoying myself. I had spent my childhood here and knew them like the back of my own hand. And playing soccer kept me fit so I could run fast without getting out of breath. I still could only shake my head at the twins decision. Why hadn´t they teamed up with one of us tomboys so they would have at least a chance at victory? Or did they want to get tied up? But then why had Jenny suggested the bet, I...
It happened so fast I could barely react as my boot got stuck on something, probably a tree branch. Being lost in thoughts I had not been concentrated on the forest floor and so I feel, right in the dirt losing my gun and hat. But as I turned around I realized that it wasn´t even the worst. For it hadn´t been a tree branch, but a rope, and in the next second I was soaked by the fire of two water guns. Lena and Jenny appeared from behind a nearby thicket. Their green dresses did blend surprisingly well with the shady forest.
"Hands up cowgirl!" Lena ordered and I had no choice but to comply. My face was burning red, I had been captured. This wasn´t supposed to go this way! But I calmed myself, it was an accident, beginners luck. My team would free me soon.
My captors lead me, hands still raised, back through the thicket to a small clearing surrounded by thorny bushes. Jenny had picked up my hat as a trophy. It was very well hidden and if they hadn´t shown me a small gap in the bushes I would have never found it. On the clearing stood three trees, relatively young, but strong enough to hold a girl tied against them, as I soon discovered. They tied my hands on the back of the tree, tighter than I had expected but not so much that it was painful. Then they began looping ropes around my upper body, at least a dozen times so I couldn´t escape. Then they proceeded to do the same with my legs. All the while happily taunting me. I bit my lip as to not get too angry at my loss. My face burning in embarrassment.
After I was secured tightly Jenny left again and left me and Lena alone. I began to struggle against my bonds but made little progress.
"Now," Lena said with a devious smile. "I´m sure you girls have prepared some kind of trap of your own, haven´t you."
I pressed my lips together, I would not give her any information. Surely Inga and Tanya would soon have captured the twins and then we would have the advantage.
Lena stepped closer to me, and then placed her hand on my bare stomach. I knew what she was going to do and prepared myself, tightening all my muscles. A second later her fingers began to dance on my skin. "Tickle, tickle, tickle," she mocked me as I squirmed, trying my best to keep my mouth shut. But soon the laughter broke out of me.
I struggled against my bonds, threw myself against them with all my strength but it was hopeless. I wasn´t sure how long the torture took, a few minutes to be sure. But I soon had tears in my eyes and was begging for even a moment of release. "Please, ahahaha.. please." I begged. Lena continued her torture for a few more seconds, then she stopped.
"Okay, I hear."
I told her where our base was but said nothing about Tanya lying in ambush there. Maybe I could turn this into an advantage for us. But sadly Lena knew me all too well. "I think there is more to it isn´t it?" She asked and placed a finger inside my navel. Being my best friend she not only knew when I was lying but also where I was the most ticklish. The next minutes were absolute tell as she kept twisting her finger inside my belly button and I laughed and laughed. If I had been able to find a clear though I might have heard how my laughter drew in Inga who now hurried to my rescue. But I didn´t. And after a few more moments of absolute torment for my navel I finally broke and told Lena everything.
Now my last hope rested with Inga, but it was dashed a few moments later when she was lead into the clearing. While hurrying towards me Julia had gotten her with a clear salvo in the back. Soon she was as tightly tied as I was and put through some tickling as well to confirm what I had just told Lena. She held herself well as she was more resistant ant on her stomach, but as soon as Lena rolled up her short sleeves and pocked a finger into her armpits she broke as well.
Then our captors left, though not before shuffling our bandanas into our mouths to gag us. Inga and I exchanged embarrassed glances that got even worse when Sarah came to check on us. As our team had no prisoners she waited with us. Giving each of us a quick tickle on our bare stomachs, maybe out of frustration that it wouldn´t come to a draw in this game. It took a while but then Lena and the twins returned with Tanya in tow. Her face redder than her auburn hair she was quickly tied to the third tree.
And there we where, three once so proud tomboys, tied and gagged at the mercy of the three princesses we had considered easy prey. I never felt that humiliated in my life as when Sarah asked me if I wanted to contest the victory. I was still gagged but shook my head. I had let my arrogance go to my head, but I didn´t want to be a sore loser. In the next hours the three victors and Sarah had some fun with tickling and taunting us, as well as using us for target practice with their water guns, were my still sore navel proved to be a prime target.
After they untied us they forced each of us to bend the knee to them and promise them our obedience for the next week, which was a further humiliation. Though the twins ultimately proved gracious winners as they invited all of us to a barbecue at their house that evening.
For the next week, Tanya, Inga and myself where quite busy taking care of the chores in five households. To the amusement of our parents and often watched by the Lena, the twins and occasionally Sarah, who thankfully would often lend a hand to us here and now, so there was still enough free time for us to enjoy.
The experience had been quite humbling for me and my soccer comrades and all three of us felt pretty ashamed of how arrogant we had been. Though above all, we shared the same desire: That of a rematch and some sweet revenge.
