Queen Tuya's Birthday was in only two days, but her two favorite handmaidens, Kira and Zahra – had no present yet to give the queen. It was early in the afternoon, and the queen sent Zahra to fix her a cup of wine. While preparing the drink, Zahra and Kira were whispering together about Queen Tuya's Birthday.
"Our queen is a good woman," Zahra said, carefully pouring the wine into a sparkling chalice. "We must give her a gift of some sort on her Birthday."
"I know, but it has to be a special gift," Kira reminded her.
Zahra thought about this a moment. "How? We are only handmaidens. We own nothing very spectacular."
"Oh, Zahra, don't remind me." Kira leaned over the cup of purplish red wine and breathed in the pleasant aroma.
"Oh well," sighed Zahra, sadly. "I better bring this to the queen. But you keep thinking… not that it'll do any good. What we need some reliable magic on our side."
Suddenly, Kira's brown eyes lit up with excitement. "Zahra! That's it!"
"What's it?" grumbled an unimpressed Zahra.
"Magic!" exclaimed Kira, smiling.
Zahra raised a black eyebrow, unsure of what her friend was getting at.
"What we need is some magic," Kira went on. "If we had somebody who could perform magic… I bet they could make us a very unusual present to give to Queen Tuya!"
Zahra thought about this idea. "Hm, maybe. But who around this palace knows magic?"
"Hotep and Huy, of course."
"The priests? Do you think they'll help us?"
"I don't know – but let's ask them anyway."
Zahra nodded. "Alright."
So after a while, when the two ebony-haired maids weren't busy with anything else, they went to find Hotep and Huy.
They soon found the pair together, practicing some of their new, magical methods. At first, the priests completely ignored the girls – but then Kira instantaneously got their attention when she told them her request.
"What makes you girlies think you can just waltz in here, and decide that we will assist you with our powers? Just like that!"
"But we must have a gift for the queen!" Zahra explained, anxiously fiddling with her golden bracelet.
"Yes, it's for her Birthday," Kira spoke, softly. "And it must be a special gift… you know… something well unique and… and…"
"Magical?" Huy finished for her.
"Exactly!"
But Hotep and Huy shook their heads.
"Why not?" Zahra inquired. There was frustration in her voice.
"Look, dearie, it would be deepest pleasure to help, but we're simply much too busy!" Hotep said, frowning at the handmaidens.
"Besides," Huy said, rather coldly. "If we helped you ladies make a gift, then it wouldn't really be from you, now would it?"
"Well, uh, maybe we can tell the queen it's from all of us. Please?"
"Dearies, we're terribly sorry. But it's out of the question," Hotep said as politely as he knew how. "Now please leave us."
The girls sighed heavily in defeat. Zahra nudged Kira's arm. "Come on, Kira. Let's go."
Kira and Zahra went to sulk in the small, but fancy bedroom that they both shared. "Well, Kira, I must say that sure went well," Zahra said sarcastically. "So now what do we do?"
"I haven't given up on Hotep and Huy," Kira said, in full-seriousness.
Zahra stared at her friend in disbelief.
"I think those guys can really give us great assistance."
Zahra made a face. "Kira, they didn't exactly seem over excited about the idea."
Kira slowly sat down on her bed, thinking.
"Well," she said. "Maybe we can persuade them."
"Persuade them?" Zahra almost laughed. She was skeptical. "How?"
"I have an idea," Kira said, suddenly grinning.
"Oh, my." That was about all Zahra could say when Kira told her what the plan was.
"Are you with me?" asked Kira.
Zahra giggled. "Definitely."
"Okay, first we have to get those two in our room," Kira explained, quickly.
"How?" Zahra asked again.
"I'll think of something."
The girls smirked at each other.
Ten minutes later, an unsuspecting Hotep and Huy were minding their own business, strolling down a corridor. All of a sudden, somebody sneaked up behind them and covered their mouths.
The priests yelped in surprise. Then someone grabbed their wrists and tied their hands behind their backs.
"Let us go, you miserable handmaidens!" demanded Huy, as he struggled.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hotep shouted at the maids.
The priests received no answer. Next thing they knew, they were being led away by the girls' surprisingly strong hands.
Huy felt Kira's fingernails piercing into the skin on his arm.
"Owie! That hurts!"
"Sorry," she replied softly. She loosened her grip a little.
Soon Hotep and Huy were dragged into the girls' room. The priests gazed at them, in a state of confusion.
In a flash, Kira and Zahra yanked the linen off their beds and used it to tie up Hotep and Huy.
"HEY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" the priests demanded, angrily. But the girls kept on running around them, wrapping their bodies up like mummies.
When the maids were finished, both Hotep and Huy were completely tied up in white linen from their necks down. Only their feet were sticking out.
"Whatever you're up to, you won't get away with it!" Huy warned the girls.
Zahra smirked at the nervous priests. "Here, lay down. Make yourselves comfortable…" With that, she and Kira made Hotep and Huy lay down, side by side across Kira's bed.
The guys blushed. It was all so humiliating. They had just been kidnapped and tied up by two young girls!
"What do you want?!" inquired Hotep, as he struggled.
Kira looked calmly at the two helpless priests laying on her bed. "Zahra and I want both of you to grant our request."
Hotep and Huy scoffed. "Never! Release us!"
"No way," smiled Zahra.
"You brats!" shouted Hotep, with a ferocious glare. Zahra stuck her tongue out at him. He returned it.
"Hotep and Huy, we'll give you one last chance," Kira said, firmly. "Will you or will you not assist us?"
"Forget it!" Huy sneered at her.
Kira and Zahra looked at each other and shrugged.
"Okay then…" Zahra said, with a coy smile. "You asked for it."
Hotep and Huy gulped. They were worried about what was going to happen next. "Wh-What are you going to do with us?" stammered Huy, as sweat began to form on his forehead.
Kira and Zahra each pulled over a stool and sat down in front of the priests' sandaled feet.
Hotep and Huy lifted their heads to try and see what the girls were up to.
Kira yanked off Huy's sandals, while Zahra removed Hotep's.
Now barefoot, Hotep and Huy were trembling with fear. They had an awful feeling about what was going happen.
But their fear turned into pure terror when Kira and Zahra pulled out two long feathers.
"Oh no!" Hotep gasped.
"Hotep…" Huy was whimpering. "They're g-going to… TICKLE OUR FEET!"
"NO! Let us go! Please!" begged Hotep. He and Huy struggled harder than ever to get free.
Kira had an evil grin on her face. Zahra snickered. "Well, boys, it looks like not even your magic can save you now," she taunted, waving around her feather.
A desperate Hotep and Huy resorted to calling for help, but it was no use.
Then Kira began tickling Huy's bare feet with the feather. He screamed and burst out laughing.
Zahra wiggled her feather on the soles of Hotep's feet. He exploded with laughter.
"Tickle tickle tickle," cooed Kira, as she tickled the thin priest.
"Ooh, somebody is ticklish," taunted Zahra, as she tickled the chubby one.
Poor Hotep and Huy.
"AAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHO! PLEEEASE! STOHOHOP TIHIHICKLING MEHEHEE!" begged Huy, through his laughter.
"ST-STOP IT! HAHAHAHHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAP! I-I CAN'T STAHAHAHAND IT! NOHOHOHOHOHO! TH-THIS ISN'T FAIR!" shrieked Hotep.
"Unless you yield to us, we will never stop tickling you!" teased Zahra in a sing-song voice. She then sped up the tickling – stroking the feather even faster on Hotep's soles. His laughter increased in volume.
Huy was squealing with laughter as Kira tickled his feet with the feather. But soon, Kira put down the feather and she began using her fingers to tickle. She scribbled her fingers all over the soles of his slender feet.
Huy's head flew back as he shrieked and laughed even more hysterically.
"AAAAHHHH! KIHIHIHIRA! PLEEEHEHHEHEASE! HOHOHOOHOHEEHEHEEHEHEE! PLEEEHEHEHEHEASE!"
"Will you yield to me?"
Tears flooded Huy's eyes. "I-I CAHAHAHAHAN'T!"
"Fine. Have it your way." She continued tickling his feet.
"What about you, Hotep?" Zahra smirked. "Are you ready to give in?"
"N-NEVER! HAHAHAHAHA! Q-QUIT IT!" squealed Hotep, while Zahra's fingers lightly tickled the arches of his feet.
"Well then," Zahra grinned slyly. "We'll just have to take things up a notch…"
Then Zahra took her feather and began to wiggle it under and between Hotep's toes. Kira saw this and she did the same thing to Huy.
The priests shrieked so loud that it made the girls' ears hurt.
Hotep and Huy were both outrageously ticklish on the soles of their feet, but their toes were even more ticklish!
The girls mercilessly tickled the priests' wiggling toes.
"NOHOHOHOHOHOHO! PLEEEHEHEHEASE! STAHAHAHAHHAHAHAP! YOU WIN! YOU WIN! AAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'LL DO ANYTHIHIHING! ANYTHING YOU SAHAHAHAY! JUST STOHOHOP TICKLING ME PLEEEASE!" screamed Huy, thinking he was going to die from laughter.
"You give in?" Kira asked, still tickling his toes.
"YES! HAHAHAHHAHA! YEEESSSS! I GIVE! I GIHIHIHIVE!"
"You do? Good." Kira smiled, looking at Zahra. "Well, looks like we won, Zahra."
"Not yet," Zahra told her. "What about Hotep? He hasn't surrendered yet."
"He will… just keep tickling him," adviced Kira, grinning.
Zahra nodded and kept up the tickling. She tickled his left foot with her fingers, while using the feather to tickle the toes on his right foot.
"Y-YOU MOHOHONSTERS! AHAHAHAHA! OHOHOHOHOHO! OKAYOKAYOKAY! I GIVE UP! UNCLE! UNCLE!" Hotep cried, with tears streaming down his chubby face.
The handmaidens grinned at each other in victory.
As for the poor priests, they gasped for air and stared hopelessly up at the ceiling, their eyes runny and bloodshot. In their minds, they were thanking every god they knew – because the tickle torture had finally ended.
Then Kira, being the more compassionate of the two girls, used the hem of her own gauze dress to wipe the sweat and tears off the priests' faces. "We really appreciate the help you'll going to give us, fellas."
"Yeah yeah, j-just untie us," Huy said, panting.
Kira and Zahra untied the priests. Then Kira went to fetch them a drink of cold water.
An exhausted Hotep and Huy slowly climbed off the bed, standing up and trying to get their strength back. The two priests had been tickled by Moses and Ramses only a month ago. So this was the second time that poor Hotep and Huy had to endure tickle torture.
Zahra smirked at them. "You two are the most ticklish guys I've ever met."
Hotep fidgeted. Huy covered his face to hide a blush.
Soon Kira returned with a pitcher of fresh water. The priests' throats were extremely dry from laughing so hard, so the cool water felt wonderful as they drank.
"Are you ready to assist us with the queen's Birthday gift?" asked Kira, sweetly.
"Yes," said Huy, weakly. Hotep nodded in agreed.
S-So…" the fat priest said. "Do you want us to enchant an object or what?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure… say, do you fellas think you can create something magical from scratch?" Zahra was curious.
Huy glared at the maids. "By the power of Ra, of course we can!"
Kira and Zahra shared a smile. They had a feeling that the queen was going to have a pretty unique Birthday Party.
The End