Posted by simguy on 12/25/2007, 9:25 am

BEFORE: "There cannot be TWO most beautiful women in the world," Laetitia Casta has told 'La Monde Frappe' in interviews. She tells herself that again as she watches from a large balcony overlooking the Ice Hotel's driveway circle: an endless procession of limousines and Mercedes SUVs slowly deliver Aishwarya's entire retinue. "I will add Laetitia to my harem," Rai has said, as confident of this as she was in subjugating Bollywood to her will and body. When Rai exits a limo, her eyes are drawn up on instinct to meet Casta's gaze. They stare for a moment, each wondering about the other; wondering what it will be like to own the other.

Rai in white fur bikini; white furry mukluk boots; soft white fur fighting mittens; black hair in loose tangles down her back. Casta in silver/grey chinchilla fur bikini and moccasin-style boots with fur trim; soft chinchilla fighting mittens. Ring in the main ballroom of the Ice Hotel, lit by chandeliers over top. During ring instructions, Rai reaches a mitten to caress Casta's right arm - slowly rubbing it up and down as though to warm it. "All this will be mine," Rai whispers. Casta's jaw clenches, then she answers: "Never."

During R1: Rai supple - weight on right (back) foot, hands open, palms out, torso weaving like a belly dancer as she slides away from Casta midring. Laetitia forward, fists balled at her chest as she advances. Rai tossing out a backhand left - just a flapping gesture - she ducks low as Laetitia throws a hard left/right up top, walking the French woman into a clinch around the waist. Rai turns Casta in the grasp, wriggles to push Laetitia's left arm up and over - trapping the limb across Rai's left shoulder as the girls snuggle in tummy to tummy. Rai punching right hands into Casta - digging in above the hip, striking the lower back. Fight wanders to ropes - Casta working hard to pull her left arm back, pushing that elbow down into the Rai clinch. Rai on top at the ropes, proving herself to be a sensuous master of the clinch - she's rough with her forehead in close, squirming to hold Laetitia with either arm while the free mitt places punches. Casta scowling, constantly trying to writhe her arms down inside of Rai's; feeling the hot pulse of Rai's tummy atop her own. Rai making rough use of her raised elbows - forearming Casta's head back, the better to smash at her breasts with the opposite forearm. Bell: Rai refuses to release until ref pulls her body off.

R2: Rai in that supple, loose stance, hands open, dipping and weaving at the waist. Casta tentative - can see Rai is configured to clinch: Laetitia patiently encroaching behind a stiff jab. Rai smiling, weaves French poke, sliding in off the slip to snuggle-up about Corsican hips. Tummy to tummy the girls tumble to ropes - Rai expertly managing the apparent chaos to once again emerge on top. Casta grunting, frowning - her back arched slightly over the top rope: never has she had a woman put tummy on her in quite this way. Rai working in the clinch - using her left forearm/elbow to push Casta's neck, leaving Laetitia open for right hands head and stomach. Rai will reach in underneath with her left hand, capturing Casta's left elbow and pulling the arm forward, exposing Casta's ribs to more shoveling right hands. The more Casta struggles, the more she seems to suffer - getting caught the sneaky right uppercut to chin to add to her body woes. Casta tries to slide-right along the ropes: Rai immediately bodies up, slides-with, keeping the pressure on. Midway through, it's all too much - breathless Casta takes a veteran knee, as much to sort out of the tactical situation as catch her bearings. Rai's strut to the neutral corner is unbearable: Laetitia's cheeks blush crimson; she stands immediately - scalded by the sheer insolence of Rai's swinging hips and flashing eyes. Casta attacks but is gobbled up, embraced, turned, pushed to ropes. Round ends to the sight of Rai tucking repeated right hands into Casta's tummy with furry thumps at the bell.

R3: Rai sharpshoots, nails Casta coming in a sliding right cross: French vixen stumbles to all fours, eyes bleak. Audible gasp from the audience as Laetitia is humbled - she's slow to rise, weak when she does stand. Rai smiling, wades in - engulfing Casta in a deep body clinch to push the French vixen into ropes, before jamming a right hand into squirming Corsican tummy. Laetitia whining as Rai reaches underneath to grab at either elbow while jamming away the free mitt: ref doing nothing but standing close, watching the slugging. After softening tummy, Rai invests in French breasts - left hand loose at Casta's tricep, holding her steady for right hand scrubs to jug. Laetitia blurting in pain, eyes shut tight as if to wish it all away - but she rallies, slugging short left hands to Rai's jaw in close. Final minute - Casta able to wrestle Rai into the ropes for the first time, celebrating with a pair of thick right hands buried deep to Asian tummy - Casta riding her left across Rai's back to slump her forward into the body blows. RAI GOES DOWN! Aishwarya sniveling prettily - long dark lashes beaded with tears as she blinks, gasping on one knee. Laetitia stands back, breathing hard, eyes blazing at the first sign of vulnerability from her tormentress.

R4: Again they embrace - Casta fighting on Rai's terms. The girls stamp and twirl to ropes - each squirming to be the lass on top. Hot, hard, tummy to tummy work: girls straining to push with the left elbow up top, warding the other off and exposing her to punishment. They reach for each other's hips, pulling each other in: they wriggle elbows down inside one another's clinches to renegotiate the grappling. It's all holding and hitting, or hitting-off-the-bump: the girls are in constant, grinding contact, tummies hungrily seeking out the other's warmth. Casta doing damage this round, fitting several brawny right hands into her foe's breadbasket and breasts - but Rai is a sorceress at this range - constantly finding ways to impose her will. Casta mouthbreathing at the break, clearly the more drained of the two through 4.

R5: Casta leans in - chin out over Rai's left shoulder, hands low. Casta using her left shoulder in Rai's chest while easing back - French vixen lifting her mitts up into Indian lungs, punching the breath from Rai's magnificent torso. Rai groaning, stumbling forward as Casta walks her in: it's a glorious, supple-slugging body beating and RAI GOES DOWN! Aishwarya panting/sobbing on all fours, teeth bared: she struggles to her feet, hurting and blinking, taking her 8 at the ropes. ON COMES CASTA! 'Tish driving in with her left shoulder to Rai's chest, hands low and lashing supple at Asian breadbasket. Aishwarya grunting in pain, drawing elbows in, showing face-in-gloves as she torso-rolls, trying to blunt the incoming. Casta slopping on the hurt - smearing Rai at the ropes, going at her tummy - but Rai organizing: she's swiping hooks and right hands across as she's rolling, catching Casta mighty clout to chops. Down the stretch, women brawling in close-quarters, taking turns: Rai fetches Casta a gorgeous, clapping right to jaw while twisting to the left: DOWN GOES LAETITIA! Rai visibly shaken, swaying on the spot as she seethes above Casta: 'Tish on her back, hands up over her head, desperately hurt by Indian wallop at the bell.

R6: Girls embrace - but now it's because they're hurt more than anything else. Again, Rai with a knack of turning girls in the clinch - she's negotiating Casta to ropes, getting on top of her, securing her, then patiently mauling her. Laetitia groaning with the effort of pushing Rai off so as to hook the Indian's belly or tits - brief punching-windows only as Rai is quick to tummy-up. Squirming, moist work - Rai shifting her head to either Casta shoulder, making sure to butt French cheekbones en route; Rai with the raised left elbow, pushing Casta's face back, then taking ribs with the cruel right. Rai scoring to Casta's breasts with sneaky little forearms: LOOKS like Rai's just squirming for position, but really she's putting illegal scrub on Laetitia's jugs. Tish loosening, lips parting - constant weight of Rai, constant touch and roughhouse of Rai taking a bitter toll. Aishwarya senses the weakness - rides her left arm round her foe's back; jams the heel of her right hand in snug beneath Casta's left breast, pushing all the air from her opponent's lungs. Vicious heart-strike totally illegal - and generally unknown in the West: Casta sobbing out, reaches her arms around Rai's neck, draping off the Indian.

Another heel stirke slams home: Rai grinning, her left cheek pressed against Casta's right cheek as 'Tish sputters in pain.

Another heel strike - Rai's left arm with a controlling cuddle, the right hand delivering dreadful blows to French torso: it's all too much. Casta wilts to her knees, sits on her haunches sobbing. She hugs her throbbing ribcage - goes forward onto all fours in an attempt to stand - then sits back down on her haunches. Rai strutting, hands high, tossing out her glossy black mane. 10 count passes Laetitia Casta by as she surrenders the Ice Hotel to Aishwarya Rai.

After: Main doors burst open: Casta stumbles through, arms pinwheeling - she falls to her bare knees on the icy driveway. Behind her, Aishwarya Rai is resplendent - white fur coat betraying glimpses of brown thigh, tummy or breast as she struts forward. Behind her, hotel guests stream out into the cold, drinks in hands, smiles on faces: they came to cheer a queen today; they don't care which.

Laetitia's crying, cold in her bikini alone. She gets to her knees when Aishwarya puts a mukluk to French back, shoving Casta face-down again. Aishwarya snarling, reaches down to pull Casta up by her shoulders. When Tish is standing, Rai's left hand takes hold of long French locks - right hand takes firm grip of chinchilla bottoms: Casta is given a bum's rush into the nearest snow bank.

Bawling, Casta pushes up out of the snow, only to be shoved belly-down by a mukluk in her back. Rai straddles her girl's back, knees pushing into snow either side of Casta's hips. "Give me my mittens." Rai demands: a sycophant brings them to her. First, face wash: Rai grinning cruelly as she pulls Casta's head back by the hair while left hand rubs snow across blubbering features. Then, Rai pulls Casta off the snow-mound to sit in a puddle of defeat. Rai kneels in behind - right forearm across Casta's throat, right hand cupping loose at Casta's left shoulder. Jug-wash: grinning Rai smears snow across Casta's heaving breasts - cooing "Let's cool those down, shall we?" Casta sobbing, blubbering as cold is applied.

Finally, still kneeling in behind Laetitia - Rai scoops snow and fills Casta's bikini bottoms, patting the crotch. Casta just sits there dazed and beaten, sniveling. All done with the crotch-wash - Rai kisses 'Tish atop her damp skull, stands and preens, glowing with victory.

Laetitia is left sitting in the snow, hugging her breasts, her bottoms bulging with snow-pack, shivering as Rai and the rest return to the hotel. A limo is waiting for the deposed queen. Her luggage will be sent.

Aishwarya Rai has taken the ice hotel from Laetitia Casta.

Sidebar: Note on Harem Striking Techniques

The harem fighting tradition, at least in the medieval and classical periods, was a non-striking set of martial arts. Ayurrvedic texts from the period depict all manner of ingenious submissions and smothers designed to wring defeat from an opponent without marking her in any way. This was partially due to the fact that for the most part, harem owners frowned upon physical competition which might damage an often expensive or well trained courtesan. Nevertheless, fighting was a constant (if secret) fact of life in harems, and provided valuable sources of conflict resolution and hierarchical order-construction within the seraglio world.

We know that strikiing did occur, and that it was most often seen as a cruel departure from normal, accepted protocols of conflict. We have accounts of heel-strikes being administered to kidneys and to the heart - often producing what we would think of as a knockout. Heel-strikes to the thigh and skull were also common, particularly with a well-secured opponent trapped in a restraining hold. So adept did some Harem practitioners become at these so-called "soft strikes", that they could leave a bruise BENEATH the skin, incapacitating an opponent without leaving a tell-tall blemish. This was particularly devastating, as such deep-tissue bruising could take weeks to heal - during which time a haremette's rivals could repreatedly exploit the area, thereby driving a girl well down the ranks of the seraglio pecking order.