4In the Tickle Realm, Lea was drawing sketches of the many strange flowers in the castle garden. The sunshine was warm and welcoming as a gentle breeze blew. It was the perfect day to be outside. It felt like a summer day. So, Lea had on her purple tank top, jean shorts, and red sandals.
"There!" Lea put the finishing touches on her drawing. It was a flower that had long feathers for petals. The feathers were the most beautiful shade of violet. Curious, Lea leaned in and sniffed the flower. To her pleasure, it smelled wonderfully sweet.
But as Lea sniffed, the feather petals tickled her under the chin. "Hehehehehehe! That tickles!" Lea squealed as she pulled away from the flower. She giggled some more when she felt her toes being tickled. She looked down and saw several feathery flowers tickling her toes. "Hahahahahaha! Stop tickling me!" Lea stood up and backed away from the garden. She sighed. "I never should have worn my sandals today. My ticklish toes are exposed!"
As peaceful as the Tickle Realm was, Lea had to be careful. There were all kinds of fluffy things that wanted to tickle her terribly.
"Lea! Lea!" Two girl voiced called out to Lea. She turned around and saw the Tickle Twins, Gem and Jewel.
"Girls!" Lea embraced the sisters in a big hug. Gem and Jewel giggled as they nuzzled their fuzzy faces against Lea's cheeks. She giggled from the tickly feeling of their fur.
"We missed you, Lea! But we need your help!" said Jewel. She reached into her white hair and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "We need you to take this note and give it to Ben and Risa, who are in the Tickle Forest!"
"Make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands!" Gem warned. "If it does, it's game over!"
Lea gasped. "Really?!" She swallowed hard. She was aware of the evil Nitians who were the mortal enemies of the Tickle Monsters. Whatever was on this paper, she had to keep it safe.
"Can we count on you, Lea?" asked the twins.
Lea saluted to her cute and cuddly friends. "I won't let you down!" She promptly put the note in her pocket.
"Great! To find Ben and Risa, just go straight until you reach Risa's hut. Then you can deliver the paper."
"Got it!" Lea took off and ran into the forest. Once she was in, she slowed down and walked straight. She didn't want to make too much noise so she walked instead of ran. Lea thought about the piece of paper. What could be on it? What will Ben and Risa do with it? Lea was so lost in thought, she was unaware that she was being watched.
Suddenly, something wrapped around Lea's legs, making her fall to the ground. She looked up and saw two long feathers tie her wrists together. She looked down and saw the same feathers that bound her feet together.
Fearful and panicking, Lea tried to break free. But the feathers won't break.
"You there!"
Lea stopped struggling and saw a Tickle monster with lavender fur, blue eyes and wore a violet robe. In her hand was a wand tipped with fluffy pink feathers.
"Who are you?" The Tickle Monster demanded in a deep and serious tone. "I've never seen you here before."
Lea gulped. But she had to be brave. "I'm no one! Now let me go!" she ordered. But her bravado shrunk when her captor loomed over her.
"I see, very well then." The creature snapped her fingers. In a puff of pink smoke, Lea found herself in a dungeon!
"Huh?! Where am I?! Who are you?!" asked Lea.
"I am Kumi, the Tickle Enchantress. And you will tell me who you are and why were you trespassing!" Kumi ordered.
Lea wanted to tell this Kumi what was going on. But she remembered what the twins said. And she promised not to let them down. With a stern, serious look, Lea got up and looked at Kumi in the eye. "I'm not telling you anything."
Kumi blinked, a bit surprised. But she wasn't going to be denied. "Then I'll just make you talk." She pointed her wand at Lea. The human floated in the air as her feather ropes were undone. Kumi brought Lea over to a torture rack.
Lea wanted to scream and beg for mercy. But she couldn't bring herself too. She kept thinking about her promise. Kumi tied her prisoner down to the rack, making sure her wrists and ankles were restrained well.
"W-What are you going to do to me?!" Lea asked. Kumi sensed the fear in her voice.
With a cunning smile and dark chuckle, Kumi folded her four arms across her chest. "Don't worry. I won't do anything that could kill you. That is, so long as you answer my questions."
Lea looked away from the enchantress. "I will not talk."
But Kumi was undeterred. "Then I have no choice but to torture you." She took out her feather wand. "Tell me, are you ticklish?"
Lea's heart pounded like crazy. She was going to be tickle tortured! But she had to be strong. Lea scolded in defiance at the Tickle Enchantress. "I am not ticklish!"
Kumi laughed at her response. "You foolish girl, everyone is ticklish." She lifted up Lea's shirt. "And I'm going to tickle you until you're ready to talk." She started brushing the feathers against Lea's stomach. "Coochy, coochy, coochy, coo..."
Lea pressed her mouth shut. Her body twitched from the feathery touch. It tickled so bad!
"Oh, my. You're shivering." Kumi mused as she kept dusting Lea's quivering stomach. "That must really tickle." She smiled at Lea's reaction. "You must be very, very ticklish."
"It...doesn't!" Lea grunted through her lips. "I'm not...hehe...ticklish!" She started to crack a little smile.
Kumi used her magic to have her wand keep tickling Lea's stomach. She went to the end of the table and saw the human's wiggly feet. Lea almost yelped when she felt her sandals being removed. "My, what cute little feet." Kumi used her one set of hands to hold Lea's toes back. "Let's see if they're ticklish." Then, with her other pair of hands, Kumi tickled the arches of Lea's feet.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Lea exploded with ticklish laughter. Her wall had come down. Kumi smiled in success. She had the human right where she wanted her.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP! STOP! I LIED! I AM TICKLISH!" Lea confessed. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO! NO MORE!"
"Tell me what you're hiding!" ordered Kumi.
"I CAN'T!" Even though she was being tickled in her worst spot, Lea didn't want to give up.
"Then enjoy the consequences." Kumi then wiggling her furry fingers between Lea's toes.
Lea squealed with laughter. "NOT BETWEEN MY TOHOHOHOES!"
"So sensitive." said Kumi. Thankfully, she stopped. She took her wand back and watched her captive gasp for air. Kumi held onto Lea's head. "My, my, such a ticklish girl." She used her feather wand to tickle Lea under the chin, reducing her to giggles. "Well? Feel like talking now?"
"Heeheeheeheehahahahahaha! I won't!" Lea laughed.
Suddenly, loud footsteps echoed through the dungeon, followed by a deep growling. Kumi stopped tickling. "Ah, I see your laughter has awoken a friend of mine."
Lea gulped, unnerved by Kumi's knowing smile. She turned her head to the right side and gasped. Shambling out of the darkness was a massive creature with blue fur, white stripes, and six long fluffy tails. The creature flashed it's yellow eyes at Lea.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! A MONSTER!" Lea screamed.
"Not quite. This is Scruffy, the beast of this dungeon." Kumi said. "I think I'll let him play with you."
"NOOOOO! KEEP THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" Lea screamed.
"Then you're ready to talk?" asked Kumi.
"I...I..." Lea was trapped. If she didn't talk, she would most likely be tickled silly by this monster. But...she had to be strong, no matter how much she was tortured. "I will not talk!"
"Then expect no mercy." Kumi snapped her fingers. "Scruffy, tickle her everywhere."
Lea gasped as Scruffy used two of his tails to tickle Lea's armpits.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO! NOT THERE! STAHAHAHAHAHAP!" Lea was unable to hold back. Scruffy's tails were ridiculously ticklish. She didn't stand a chance. The beast used one tail to tickle her stomach and two tails to tickle each foot.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE STOP TICKLING ME! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
"LEA?!" said Two familiar voices.
Scruffy stopped tickling. Kumi turned and saw Gem, Jewel, Ben and Risa. Lea turned to them, her cheeks flushed. "Guys...help me..." She panted for air. "Too...much...tickling."
"Oh, no! Lea!" The twins hurried over to help Lea.
Kumi was shocked and confused. "Lea?! What in the world is going on here?!"
"We can explain everything, Aunt Kumi!" Jewel said as Gem freed Lea. "We were playing a war game with Ben and Risa and told her to deliver a note to them and not have it fall into enemy hands! But we didn't tell her that we were playing a game! She thought we were being serious!"
Kumi dropped to her knees. "Oh, no...what have I done?!"
A few hours later, Lea woke up and found herself no longer in the dungeon. She was laying on a lavish couch in the castle's living room. She got up and saw Ben, Risa, and the twins looking back at her.
"You okay, Lea?" asked Ben.
"I am now." Lea got up. "What happened?"
"Well, Kumi and Scruffy tickled you out and you fell asleep. That's when we had Jocu inject you with his venom so you can recover as you slept." Risa explained.
"We're sorry, Lea! This is all our fault!" Gem and Jewel said in unison. They embraced their human friend. "We were just playing a game with Ben and Risa! There was no enemies! We're really, really, really, really sorry!"
Lea blinked twice. "Playing a game?!"
Ben nodded. "Yeah, when the girls came to us asking about the note and we said we haven't seen you yet. We panicked and searched the whole forest! Then the girls picked up on your laughter with their enhanced hearing!"
Lea looked at the twins. "You have enhanced hearing?!"
The twins nodded. "We can hear laughter from miles away!"
"So, Kumi is...not a bad guy?" asked Lea.
The twins shook their heads. "No! Aunt Kumi is a good guy!" said Gem. "She's going to marry Uncle Adulato!"
"She just thought you were an intruder!" said Jewel.
Lea looked around. "Where is she?"
The twins pointed to the doorway. Lea saw Kumi and Scruffy looking deeply ashamed.
"Don't be shy, you guys. Come on out." said Ben. Kumi and Scruffy slowly walked in. Lea noticed how shameful they looked with every step.
"H-Hello, Lea." said Kumi, looking away from Lea. Scruffy whimpered a little as he refused to meet Lea in the eye.
"Uh, hi." Lea started. "Are you guys okay?"
Kumi shook her head. "No, we're just...well..."
"They feel bad about putting you through all that torture." Ben answered for Kumi.
Lea looked at them both. They really looked guilty. "Lea, can you ever forgive us? We're so sorry about everything we put you through."
Scruffy buried his face in his paws. He started to whimper until he felt a gentle hand stroke his head. He looked up and saw Lea smiling at him. "It's okay. I forgive you both." She petted Scruffy some more. "And I'm sorry I called you a monster."
Scruffy growled with happiness. He affectionately licked Lea on the cheek, making her giggle.
Kumi smiled. "I gotta say, kid, even though there wasn't any real danger, you really stood your ground when it came to helping the kids."
"Well, yeah. I don't care how much I'm tortured, I would never sell out a friend." said Lea. "That's how much friendship means to me."
"That deserves a hug." said Ben. He and all the tickle beings joined in for a giant group hug with Lea right in the middle. With a smile brighter than ever, Lea felt the love and warmth from their hugs. It was one of the many things that make friendship worth while.
