Daphne watched in terror as Malthius picked up what appeared to be some sort of pinwheel and walked over to her feet, which were locked together in the stocks.  This was the Count's favored position.  For some reason, he found the sight of a helpless damsel's bare feet locked together more esthetically pleasing than spread apart.  Curiously, his victims never seemed to appreciate the difference.  Philistines.
    "I know your feet are sensitive, Princess, but I'd like to find out just how sensitive they actually are before we begin."
    Malthius then proceeded to slowly slip off Daphne's blue ballet  flats.  What he saw took his breath away.  They were simply the most perfect, high-arched  feet he had ever seen.  Her soles were creamy white, yet deep pink in the right places.  Her toes were perfectly proportioned.  The skin was silky smooth without a hint of  corns or calluses.  He almost regretted the idea of brutalizing her delicate feet.  Almost.
    As soon as Malthius touched Daphne's right sole, she jumped.  He could not believe her feet were this sensitive.  While tickling generally bored him, he couldn't resist testing the waters.  He began digging into her right foot with his fingers.  Daphne was sent into gales of helpless laughter.  He continued tickling her helpless feet for the next ten minutes, alternating between the right and the left sole until he lost interest, anxious to introduce her to more excruciating torments.  
    "OK Princess, that was just a warm up.  Let's see how sensitive your feet really are."  He began to use the pinwheel on the ball of her right foot and was not disappointed by her reaction.  She jumped and squealed at the slightest contact with her skin.   He rolled the pinwheel over the balls of both of her feet, alternating pressure.  He noticed that lighter pressure produced giggles while heavier pressure produced squeals of pain.  He moved the pinwheel down her arches to her heels.  He noted that her heels were somewhat less sensitive and would require heavier blows.  He then explored the outer arches, which caused an increased reaction, and moved onto the toes.  Moving the pinwheel along the undersides of her toes caused all kinds of squeals and giggles, but exploring in between her toes really made her squirm.  After 20 minutes or so of this treatment all over her soles, Malthius decided it was time to move on.
    "All right, your Highness.  Time for your first break."  
    Daphne was somewhat relieved, as it gave her a moment to catch her breath.  It was hard to describe the sensations she had just experienced.  They were somewhere between tickling and pain, yet they were still intense.  It was clear she was in the power of a skilled torturer.  This realization turned into near panic as she watched Malthius light the room's furnace.  
    Seeing the fear in Daphne's eyes, Malthius attempted to set her mind at ease.  "Oh, my dear Princess,  you have nothing to worry about.  I'm just trying to warm up the room.  Rest assured, I have no intention of causing any permanent harm to your beautiful little feet…yet."  Then laughed as Daphne let out a sob of despair.  
    "Why are you doing this?" she asked, tears in her eyes.  "Is this about revenge against my father?"
    "I have to admit, revenge against your father sweetens the deal, but that's not it.  In fact, had my coup not somehow been foiled by that idiot Dirk, you would have found yourself in this position years ago.  You see my dear Princess, I'm a sadist, and while you aren't the first girl to end up in this dungeon, you are the most beautiful.  I've been planning this day for three years.  And now, with your beloved Dork gone, there's no one to save you!"
    "Dirk isn't dead!  He can't be!" Daphne screamed.  But she knew that they had been hopelessly outnumbered when they were attacked.  Whatever agony this monster inflicted, she doubted it could compare to the pain of losing her husband.   Malthius, however, was about to challenge that notion.      "Break's over Princess,"  he said, grabbing  a riding crop from a rack on the wall.  She was about to learn what real pain was.