Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse-Chapter 209: Cherry Jam With a Twist

[Suggested song for this Chapter – Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell]

The Emperor finally finished kissing Delphi, kissing her lightly on the tip of the nose.

She held back on the desire to bite him.

As soon as he had left the cell, she slumped to the table, resting her head on her hands.

"Have you finished your breakfast, Miss Chastain?" asked one of the female guards nastily. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"No!" she said, raising her head.

She was determined to be in the best possible shape she could be for this evening’s ’festivities’.

Someone apparently remembered that she liked cherry jam. Again, she wondered if this was Chief Consort Tang’s doing and was some kind of message to her.

She unscrewed the lid of the jar and looked underneath it, not really expecting anything.

She tried not to show any expression on her face as she spotted a tiny piece of paper taped to the underside of the lid, almost invisible, white-on-white.

She scraped the message free with a fingernail, pretending she was licking a drop of jam from her finger, then calmly buttered her toast and spread a layer of cherry jam across it.

"Just ducking to the bathroom," she told the giantesses.

The WC was the only space in the room that offered any privacy. It had a five foot high wall around it, with no door.

She tried to walk unhurriedly as she made her way to the little cubicle and ducked down below the walls, quickly unfurling the note.

’Disable the techs in the exam room. Door unlocked. Run for the water.’

She quickly flushed the note down the toilet, her heart rushing with excitement. If there was any chance she could escape before the wedding, she would give it everything she had!

She hoped that Alton had made arrangements to rescue the folk of Squeaking Point while she was locked up, or all of this pain would have been for nothing...

She emerged from the cubicle and returned calmy to her seat, finishing her piece of toast and drinking a cup of tea.

"I’ve finished with the breakfast," she announced.

The giantesses surrounded her and escorted her towards the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked them.

They didn’t bother replying to her... or maybe they weren’t allowed to. That would be a slightly kinder interpretation...

She watched every detail intently as they escorted her through the palace corridors, not sure what might become important in her attempted escape.

It seemed likely they were taking her for her virginity exam. The Emperor had mentioned the medical examination, training, then the wedding, in that order.

She started to plan out a series of possible escapes, depending on the number of technicians and guards she needed to get past.

Her adrenaline started to pump, making her limbs feel jumpy as she practised the manoeuvres in her mind.

She would fight with everything she had. She knew she wouldn’t get a second chance.

She was pretty sure the giantesses would be under orders not to harm her, so that should work in her favour. They would need to disable her without killing or maiming her, which was harder to do.

The main thing was not to let any of them use their bulk to pin her down. She would need to keep moving at all times and checking behind her for signs of anyone big readying to tackle her.

They arrived at the huge entrance doors to the palace, and Delphi could see a large number of guards outside.

The doors were opened for them, and they exited the palace. This was interesting... where were they taking her?

They seemed remarkably blasé, allowing her outside so lightly guarded. She supposed with the royal ferry being the only way on or off the palace island, they thought she wouldn’t be crazy enough to try and swim with the aquatic tubiàn.

She was lead through the royal vineyards to one of the pavilions in the grounds. She hadn’t been inside one of these since her wisdom teeth were removed, along with the other more nefarious surgeries carried out secretly while she was under general anaesthetic...

The pavilions acted as surgical pods where palace women were operated upon and would also recover for a few days in the pleasant atmosphere of the small residences with harbourside views and a balcony for fresh air and sunshine.

She did her best to remember the layout of the pods... sliding doors onto a balcony, a locked entrance door, a mezzanine floor with a large window which she didn’t think opened. The medical equipment was kept in cabinets in the former kitchens. She didn’t know if they were locked or not. She suspected they would be to stop the harem women from accessing drugs or potential weapons.

Time was up! They had arrived.

The giantesses took her to the door of a pavilion and their leader knocked on the door. A technician dressed in scrubs appeared and gave Delphi and the guards a friendly smile.

"We’ll take it from here, ladies," she said to the guards.

Delphi almost felt sorry for the woman, who was small and thin and clearly wouldn’t be up to anything much except losing, in a fight.

The leader of the guards grunted in response. "We’ll be right outside if you need us."

"I’m sure we won’t need you in here, will we Miss Chastain?"

Delphi looked at the four huge women. "Not unless any of you bat for the other side and are gunning for a view of my sugar puff."

The military women turned away in disgust, none of them willing to admit if they did bat for the other side and fancied her. She smiled to herself.

Delphi watched as the women took up positions outside the door. She assumed that meant the sliding doors to the balcony were locked and didn’t need guarding.

She wished the note’s author had told her which door would be unlocked. She would have to assume it was the main entry, which would also be the most heavily guarded.

She followed the technician inside.

"Delphi Chastain," she introduced herself.