Chapter 13

From Toreas

Taji'ra was fighting with every fiber of her being.

At the same time she was sitting with the baron and his guest in the small dining room by candle light. It had been dark outside for a short while now. Seated on her chair, next to the guest, smiling pleasantly and listening to the conversation, she gave the illusion of the perfect dinner companion.

Inside her, a storm was broiling and ripping at her like she never had felt before. She should have been friendly and welcoming, while remaining suspicious of the barons guest, for dangers to her master. Instead she felt a red hot hatred for the man whose right hand was firmly placed on her left knee.

It was a boney hand, belonging to a thin man. He was so forgettable that she thought other people would probably forget him after a day or two. His movements were a bit too fast at times, too harsh and not very controlled. He wanted to appear strong and decisive, but only appeared to be clumsy and rash the way he behaved.

"This is excellent wine, Baron", the man exclaimed, spilling some more of it as he set the cup down.

Jeremias Moran, baron of Northwood toasted to the man.

"Thank you, Cedric. I take it your entertainment is to your liking?"

Tax inspector Cedric Curtis looked over to her and eyed her up and down, like a piece of meat. That was probably all she was to him, she thought. They had put her in a dress that fit badly, but still exposed a lot of skin. She was as well dressed as a copper piece whore and clothed just as revealing.

"I can't wait to taste this delicious looking morsel of yours."

Both men laughed, while Curtis hand slightly tightened on her knee.

The inspector had come in all flustered the day before, explaining an outrage at the tax statements, demanding to see the baron and so on. As soon as they were alone, they hugged and laughed, like two old friends. From the barons demeanor though, Taji'ra was certain that he was merely tolerating the man. His guest though was oblivious to this and thought they were really close friends.

"So why did Thomas of Lionor really send you here?"

The inspector gripped a bit harder on her knee and the thought off practicing punches on his head was very present to her. It might hurt her fists more than the man though as he appeared to be all bone.

"Well, the king feels like you have been skimping on the taxes a little. If he knew that I taught you how, he'd have my head for certain. He is also sending me here to feel you out. You have expanded your forces, but you have also taken the control over the towns and cities up here. Now it is your right to do so, the king does not interfere in these things, but he is even more worried that the metal shipments wont be coming on time."

"He will get his metals, just not as much as last year though, I'm sure he'll understand. Why this sudden interest of his anyways?"

"War. The king is preparing to strike against at least one of the southern kingdoms. But of course that means that they all will be against him, since they have protection pacts."

"So he finally went crazy", the baron chuckled. "What made him do it?"

Curtis took his hand away and Taji'ra restrained herself from giving a sigh of relief. Again these conflicting feelings inside her were tearing into her core. She liked to be touched and caressed, but in this instant she would have gladly ripped the mans hand off instead of feeling his touch. It was as if some of the mans vile nature, which she felt underneath that thin cover of subservient behavior, was seeping through his skin into herself. He folded his hands and put his elbows on the table.

"You are going to love this. The princess has vanished from the summer castle. Apparently she was supposed to be on a secret coach back to the capital but it vanished. Nobody has found as much as a splinter of the coach or anyone that was supposed to be with it. His spies tell him that she is held for by one of the southern kingdoms. So now he is preparing an attack to free her."

"What a brilliant idea, I should have thought of it myself."

"Indeed it is", Curtis agreed and leaned back, taking a sip from his wine and then giving Taji'ra a leery look again.

The baron took another sip of his wine, thinking the whole thing over.

"Do you have any idea who really took her? There isn't a single head smart enough with any significant power to make something as intricate as this happen."

"No, I do not know. I think she is not even alive anymore, they must have just wanted her to vanish, but I can't see to what end. The capital is full with rumors about what happened, one wilder than the previous one."

It was of course all the baron's fault. That thought alone shook her every believe to the foundation. What was going on? Master is never really wrong in doing something the way he wants to. This made no sense at all.

The baron had not given her the right orders. His ignorance in her ways now made her suffer, but she could not offer explanations anymore, he would have to ask about it. It was maddening. All he had ordered her to do was to be a pleasant and quiet participant at the dinner and afterward make sure the barons guest would experience the famed pleasure only someone like her was able to provide. He hadn't told her to enjoy it, to serve the man like her master for the evening or anything else that might have made this task any easier or even enjoyable. From the look in the thin mans eyes, she was sure that it would not be what other guests had wanted. She was also sure it would be highly unpleasant.

"With the king busy I think your plans could progress faster than you originally thought. You could even push all the way to the plains, it's only a handful of settlements and one town anyways."

"Winter is coming my friend. I need to prepare for that first and in spring I will take the rest of the settlements up here and down the valley. Once the king is fully at war in the south, I can push for the capital and capture it."

"Excellent. I hope you will remember who would make a good financial minister once you are king of Lionor."

"Certainly."

The men started to talk about many unimportant things after that. Gossip mostly, but also animals and in the same notion, often intermingled, women. She received a lot of looks through those conversations but was forgotten again when they exchanged stories about kings, courts and other important persons. Taji'ra just sat there and pretended to listen to the barons guest. It flattered the man immensely and she knew she was pleasing her master with that. It was a good feeling, a joy she had seldom yet it irked her as well. Something was utterly wrong.

That was probably the hardest task for her these days, pleasing the baron. He used her very rarely to do anything else than stand there when he had audiences and scare everyone witless so they would speak the truth. These kinds of evenings were the occasional exception. But this was the first one where the baron pretended to like the guest so much. She wondered where they knew each other from.

The general used her more frequently. She was teaching new recruits an important lesson. They attacked her in groups with their weapons, while she was just armed with a long stick. In the end the attackers were laying on the floor groaning about the places Taji'ra had hit them, unarmed but still mostly uninjured. The lesson to never underestimate an opponent learned, most took it in good sport. It was welcome training for her, but no challenge at all.

Once some recruits tried the same, in larger numbers while they were in the city and came about the house where she was training in the yard. They tried attacking her, while she was unarmed. She broke two soldiers arms and ones leg. For that she spent two weeks with the torturer at the barons orders. The general was against it, but for her master, everything was her fault. Again the ignorance of the baron, trying to use a concept on her that could never work. That it was much worse for her to simply disappoint or displease her master, did not enter his mind.

His brother had never been that way. She had sometimes demonstrated her skills to the soldiers and even engaged in a few training fights, but she never hurt anyone this severely. She wondered if they would be laying in his chambers now if he was still alive.

Curtis hand found it's way to her knee again, but did not stay there. It wandered up and down her upper leg now, pushing the hem of her dress further up. There was something she wouldn't mind break, no shatter, this instant.

"So what if you seize the capital? You still have a war ready King out there with forces that will fall you in the back. Besides, how are you going to take the city that has not been taken in it's entire history?"

"I trust you Cedric, but these are very dangerous plans. Only a very small circle can know about all of them. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh yes of course Baron, I do understand perfectly. My lips are sealed either way. I'm looking forward to have you take the castle under your control in summer then. You will be a glorious king and bring a new age to Lionor."

Moran just nodded and took a sip from his cup after swirling it around a bit more. He was curiously restraint on the consumption of wine this evening. Usually he would empty a bottle or two all alone.

"You must be tired from your journey and there is so much work ahead of you tomorrow morning. Why don't you turn in now and enjoy your dessert?"

Again she got leered at from the thin man beside her. In some way she was sad that Moran didn't look at her that way, that he did not desire her at all, but for a strange reason she was also happy that he didn't. It disturbed her even more to have these thoughts.

She had seen sisters throwing themselves at their masters, clawing at their clothes, even though they were the vile and despicable, not desirable at all. She had done the same in the past. Was her passion waning? No she felt very strongly about Curtis, so there was no decline in passion. She realized it was the bond to her master that was weaker than it had been with others. Even with his brother it had not been as strong but with the baron now it was even weaker and getting weaker with time. Ever since..

"Graciously. I'm looking forward to enjoy it completely. I hope we won't disturb anyone."

"Oh go ahead, my friend. You won't disturb anyone. I know what you enjoy, so go ahead, you can do almost anything with her that you please. Just leave her breathing and in one piece."

"Now that opens interesting new pleasures. After all you know me better than most. So how about you girl, would you like to try out some more interesting things?"

Interesting, yes, interesting as in ripping his heart out and shove it into another opening on his body, that would be very interesting to her right now. But instead of voicing her thoughts, she replied meekly.

"Whatever my master wishes me to do for you, I will do to the best of my abilities and to give you any pleasure you desire."

The baron gave them leave, which Curtis immediately set into motion. He pulled back her chair and as soon as she was standing and turned into the right direction, he pulled her firmly against his side.

Taji'ra felt more violated by that touch than what the baron's torturer had done to her. But while she smiled at him, her insides were growling like an angry beast. She wanted to beat him into a pulp but restrained her hands as she knew she would not hurt him, but only caress his skin if she would touch him. Her orders were clear in that regard. It was impossible for her to go against her nature and never had she felt this conflicted before in her entire life. It felt like she was torn apart on the inside, every muscle and organ splitting in two in a very slow and painful way. On one side she wanted to murder him and the baron just as much, on the other side she wanted to beg them to find her appealing. A headache was brewing in the back of her mind.

Of all that, nothing whatsoever was visible on the outside.

As they walked down the corridor and took a turn towards the guest quarters they passed the general. Taji'ra nodded to the man, who gave her a short nod of his own as he walked on and entered the dining room.

He found it a terrible waste of using her like this, but then again she was a very useful tool for many things. Pleasure for the barons guests was one. Still, he could have hired a whore to be the evening entertainment. For general Olstead was clear the baron enjoyed abusing and humiliating - if that was even possible - the stunningly beautiful and dangerous woman that now went around the corner with one of their allies. He attributed it to the baron punishing his dead brother through torturing her. It made no practical sense but in some things the baron just wasn't very practical.

In the dining room he found the fat man picking food out of his teeth, examining the bounty and then licking it off his fingers. He had seen him do that as a child and knew that his bother was the better man all along. But the better man would never have listened to his suggestions of expansion. In that, Olstead found a good fit with the new baron.

"Do you expect trouble from our guest, sir?"

"No, but make sure nobody goes into his room when they hear screams tonight. He just will be a bit more creative with my possession than he would be with a common whore."

The general nodded. He also made a mental note to make certain he would give instructions to clean her up after whatever sadistic ordeal the tax man had planed was carried out. She would try to walk on her own if it was possible, but if they carried her, she would recover faster.

"But Thomas sent him here to spy on us. The fool is going to war with the south. He asked more questions than he should, probably trying to gain some leverage in case our plans don't go as smoothly as they are made."

"So shall we kill him?"

"No. He will report everything being fine in general. Some mine troubles and bandits which I took care of, so a little less metal than usual, taxes all fine, oh and I support him fully of course. Curtis knows what's best for him."

"Do we have to find something on him in case he changes his mind?"

"I already do. He has done some rather violent things with some girls in Lionor. Those bodies are well hidden but I have enough over him to send him to the gallows should the truth ever come out. So he will do as he is told. The only way he could wiggle out is to either see me on the throne or have something on me that would overrule anything I could bring up. The king would never overlook someone like him murdering citizens of Lionor."

"I don't trust someone like that."

"Neither do I, general. He is a despicable little worm that I will destroy the moment my power is established in Lionor, make no mistake about that. If he sells his loyalty that easy he would betray us the moment he would get something better offered. He will die as soon as he his outlived his usefulness."

"May I suggest using her to kill him?"

"What a wonderful idea. Yes that would be great. First he thinks he gets rewarded, treats her roughly and then suddenly she.."

The baron drifted off thinking.

"I don't know what yet, but something slow and painful would be appropriate. Yes, he will die for certain. For now his assistance will make our work so much more easy in smuggling troops into Lionor. I take it the first few have already taken residence?"

"Yes sir. I have received word that they are in place and have begun spreading rumors while they wait and scout the city and it's defenses."

"I still think my idea is just ingenious to take Lionor from the inside, don't you think?"

The general smiled, nodded and thought to himself that the baron can think that every possible idea and strategy was his all he wants, as long as he gets to be in power over the troops in the end. As general of Lionor he would command the largest standing force outside of the empire. Then they could really start to sweep up the land and conquer entire kingdoms by storm, together with what they had amassed in wealth and power.

"Yes sir, it truly is."

Happy with himself and the general's praise, the Baron smiled into the room.

"Good. Send out the messengers, I think we have to inform our allies to the south about this little war game of Thomas. Maybe we can convince them to join us in our task."

"They will want concessions."

"We throw them some bones, they will be happy like good little dogs. Make sure to inform me the moment we get replies."

"Certainly sir."

The baron dismissed him with a wave of his hand and the man started to walk away, then stopped. The general looked over his shoulder.

"Should we make sure Curtis wont kill her?"

"Oh no, that won't be needed. He has refined his tastes to an art over the years I heard and she is tougher than those whores he usually buys. She'll live."