A War Dawning Ch. 02

The guilds were a hidden underbelly in society; mercenaries for hire that dealt in all manner of things, at best unfit for polite society, and, at worst, immoral and highly illegal. From a healer for a poor soul who couldn't afford a legitimate one, to their own special brand of assassin, the guilds could manage it. Guilds stuck to their own regions for the most part, the only true thread of cooperation between them was in keeping themselves secret. If the world at large knew they existed to the extent they did and that they practiced all manner of forbidden magics there would likely be a bloody purge to rid the world of them all.

She slept between her mates often. It gave security to know that no matter where she turned in the dark of night there was someone she loved to hold who loved her back in full measure. As the light of the day began to give the thick drapery a halo, she caressed his thick, powerful arm as it draped across her chest to burn the feel of it to her memory before her fingers ran through his close-cropped hair, now just thick enough to be still be soft rather than prickly. That smile. That smile that suggested he took nothing seriously was there to keep her from worry, not that it would.

The fingers of her right hand ran through the thick, blonde tresses of Bryana whose head rested on Neral's belly. "You will be careful, both of you."

"An interesting notion, dear," he began. "Caution? And here I had just planned to rush to and fro like a rabid animal. Now that you suggest otherwise, I might see how being cautious works out."

"I was more talking to this one," she said, which got her a defiant squeeze from Bryana.

"I do not foolishly risk my life anymore than you do, soldier dear, but I do what must be done." She turned her head to kiss Neral's breast before letting her tongue swirl around the nipple before sucking it in to bat it about so she could take the sound of Neral's hiss with her. "I have too much to lose to game with my life now."

"See to it that you remember that, as...I need my two."

"And we shall return none the worse for wear," he told her with a certainty that she could feel. She latched onto it, true or not, because, for now, that's all there was.

Breakfast proceeded mostly as normal with chat about the day. There was so much back and forth at the table between the three of them, Khylen, and all the others that had found their way to call themselves part of House Jaye. From Tessa, to Cassea, the House Liaison to High Court, to Vessen Elan, soldier and now forever tied to Deres. Between Vessen, Cassea, and us, he seems to be building a stable. Neral thought wryly, but sometimes that had benefits all around.

Neral let Deres and Bryana have their goodbyes with Khylen in the house while she and Elan traveled the stone walk in front of the manor, which was only not called a castle because the queen's dwarfed it. The day was dark and gray with a mist hanging over everything, It seemed appropriate somehow.

Elan was in her full leather armor that fit well to her slight frame. She looked as though a strong wind might blow her away, but Neral knew better. Elan was a wisp of young woman and soft spoken as though she didn't want to disturb anyone, but she was like iron when and where it counted.

"I know they can take care of themselves, but the moment may come when they need a warrior's skill or perspective."

"And they shall have both."

"You might have to raise your voice, you know."

She was thoughtful, her ice blue eyes looking away for a moment. Their color made for an added contrast with her long white hair. Kylen occasionally teased that she looked like a wraith."I'd like to think I have made strides there, General. Our home doesn't abide silence."

That was true enough. She was not quite the nervous recruit she was years ago when Elan joined Neral on a quest to end a witch that threatened to corrupt the world. That experience and a few in the intervening years where Elan experienced her first tastes of leadership had forced her to find her voice even though she still chose her words carefully.

Neral nodded. "This is so."

She tried to force back the trepidation from his voice and was largely successful. "Please take care of them."

She did find that firmness in her response."General. I am his in all things. I am content and happy in that. If he were to demand my life or circumstances demanded I give it to save his, I would do it gladly. I would give it for Bryana because she is a friend and I don't think I could bear to see his heart broken without her."

"I would prefer you came home as well as I am fond of you."

"You honor me, General." She placed her fist to her heart and straightened in salute. "And I am fond of you."

After sharing a quick, fierce hug, they walked together before Elan mounted her horse waiting. A short time later Neral stood next to Khylen as she finally let her father and second mother go with weeping eyes and a stiff lip. Neral knew her pain. As the daughter of a soldier, she had lived through that ache often, until the last time. She looked down at those tearing eyes and hoped with all her might that she would see the tearful reunion come before rather the alternative for her sake alone.

She scooped the girl up and held tightly as Elan, Deres, and Bryana waved goodbye and led their horses to the street. Neral heard her sniff before kissing her cheek, "It's all right to be sad. Don't hide from it, my sweet. It's easier to handle if you face it."

Her eyes wouldn't turn from them until they disappeared. "I'll be all right."

"No doubt. I could use a hug though."

They clutched one another tightly as Neral walked her back to the manor. She didn't have to look to know that Khylen's eyes were still on the road until there was nothing more to see but empty street.

***

As soon as they left the city proper and the outlying farms that helped feed it, far from eyes that might see, report it and lead to his trial and execution for the use of forbidden magic Deres drew his talisman and began weaving a spell. Before them the chill air stirred as the fabric of reality rippled on the path ahead like ocean waves. As they passed through, they went from gray, cool, and drab to snow falling in large, wet flakes that found a home in every crease of their cloaks and covered the path before them.

They were now about two days ride from home and the snow had been falling enough to cover the path as well as having settled on the bare limbs creating what looked like a lattice of spider webs overhead. Bryana loved the way it looked, wishing only that she weren't quite so cold. She shrank into her cloaks as they rode, looking at the stoic manner in which the two followed on either side of her with a twinge of jealousy over their endurance. "Don't suppose either of you are actually cold."

"It's cold," Deres agreed in a matter-of-fact tone. "No reason to belabor it much. It's not that far to a hearth."

She looked to Elan on the other side of her, bow and quiver on her back, close quarters blades at her hips. "Immune to cold, waif?"

"Deres is right. We don't have to travel far now. Besides, it's not that cold. The breeze is light, and it's at least not too cold to snow. I've been out in far worse."

"Neral does enjoy seeing her troops suffer."

"General Jaye builds character and prepares her troops for anything they may face. Ignorance kills."

"So does cold."

"You're not cold," he admonished, "you just like complaining."

"It keeps me warm."

"I'll warm you later," he promised.

She looked into those blue eyes. "I expect you to, though I'm sure it won't be without play."

"You are free to tell me no as you always are." He couldn't stop that bashful smile, "but I love you and you are beautiful. You can't fault me for wanting you."

She flushed at the praise. "You're right, I cannot fault you, but, Master, you have so many." Her voice became all tease. "Neral, me, Elan, Cassea, and occasionally Tessa. Now that I think of it you may be more desperate in the coming days, as you'll be down to two lovers."

"I'll endure it...somehow."

"You're so brave."

"What's the likelihood that we will find what we seek?"

"I do not know, Elan. It is just the best place to begin. I hope what we need will be there."

"I have faith that the Guild Mistress will be successful."

"I do like the sound of that," Deres told Bryana. "It has always suited you somehow."

As a member of the guilds before that position put her in the path of Deres and Neral and changed her life in so many ways, she had done her fair share of dark deeds with the guild. After a stronger magic than she could conceive changed her and bound her to them she maintained her place with them, if for no other reason than to try to control them as much as she could, and so she could be in a position to give intelligence on their doings to Neral. The circumstances of now were proof enough that they could be dangerous. It was hard to imagine that what was done could be done without them.

Bryana had spent the intervening years rising in the ranks of this particular guild until she stood as its most senior member in terms of both skill and time served. Of course, to keep her place she had had to engage in a fair number of gray area activities but she was always careful to bring harm to as few as possible. Even those few gave her guilt, but, now, as Guild Mistress, she had her pick of jobs as well as the ability to guide her own guild and influence others to more benign paths.

"Because part of you has always been amused at the thought of me being an evil sorceress."

He played with the thought, and it did indeed please. "It adds to your allure."

They veered left, making tracks in the fresh snow that tiny cyclones of wind were kicking up already fallen snow erasing them almost as quickly as they were made with Deres applying the magic almost without considering it. Another couple of miles led them to the remnants of a castle. Having been abandoned over a century before, it had spent the last decades being stripped of its stone and anything else of value until all that was left was something of a maze of gray and white stone that they could let the horses weave through while providing them some concealment from a distance.

They dismounted and made their way to the eastern ruins and the remnants of a turret base to a specific set of rocks on that wall. Bryana's fingers touched them in a pattern of swirls and curls, layering one upon the next until the rocks vanished, revealing stairs and a path underground.

They took the winding, narrow path down the stairs to the tunnels beneath the castle that most had to allow the inhabitants to evade and escape invaders. Bryana was happy to be out of the cold and descending towards the torch light far below. Once they reached bottom they were met by Trace, a young mage apprentice that spent his time between studies being helpful where he could to the more learned mages. He was a small, lean young man with long, dark hair that he sometimes had to fight to keep from his eyes.

Bryana liked him. He was sweet and kind. He was never going to be able to do some of the darker things a guild mage could be asked to do, but he could make a comfortable living all the same, and that's all he really wanted. "Greetings, Mistress."

She took a step to the side as she removed her cloaks and shook off some of the wet before handing it to him. "Thank you, Trace. I trust all is well?"

He froze for a moment. He had met Deres a few times before, but Elan was a new face and those were generally unwelcome in a guild proper. Elan simply met his nervous gaze without reaction. "Umm...yes, Mistress."

Bryana read his concern. "Yes she is a soldier in our midst, but she is also with me. She can be trusted."

His cheeks reddened at her words, "I—I'm sorry, Mistress. I didn't mean to imply anything untoward. We just...rarely get...visitors. Can I get you anything?"

Deres and Elan shook their heads while Bryana rubbed her hands to banish the last of the chill. "No. I expect everything I need will be in my chambers, which is where I'll be. I'll let you know if I need you."

He gave a quick bow. "Yes, Mistress. Oh, and Devon asked to speak with you if you are able before he departs."

She was already walking down the corridor, "I'll remember. Thank you."

Deres and Elan followed behind as she weaved through the pathways to the thick time-worn door that led to her chambers. With some effort and a squeak of protest it opened to reveal her inner sanctum Books lined the walls as a fire roared. There were several desks around the room, one opposite the door that was reasonably clear in that it allowed her space to work with the other smaller desks around the room stacked with papers, some loose and others bound with twine.

"I never have figured out how you keep track of anything in this, dear heart."

"It only looks disorganized to you. I know where everything is and always have, same as at home."

"Yes, Majesty."

She turned to him, her eyes questioning. "Meaning?"

"You are queen here and you wear it well."

She did like the feel of power in her position. The old her reveled in having power in the guild and sought it for its own ends. Now, it was a pleasant necessity, especially here as the guilds and their members sought weakness to exploit in order to benefit their own positions. It was a delicate dance and it was one that brought her closest to her old life. That said, it brought her peace that she didn't need to wallow in it as she once did. "I do what I must to maintain my position because that position serves us."

She shooed them towards the door, "I don't need you hovering over me while I look over the books. Find some warm rum and a bath or read. I'll call for you when I find something."

"Yes, Majesty."

He turned for the door so he didn't see her glare back at him as he headed out with Elan just behind. When the door closed with a heavy thunk he took stock of the situation, "Since there is nothing to do but wait, how do you suggest we fill the time?"

"I suggest we take what luxury we can get while we can get it, since, who knows when the opportunity might come again. I smell a nice stew, so we should perhaps take in a hot meal?"

He looked into those eyes and looked upon those soft lips with that natural pout to them and cursed inwardly just a bit at Bryana for being more right about his temptations than she probably should have been, but he was the man he was, "Then perhaps that bath?"

Slave. Even though he only usually used the word to drive her insane with pleasure as he drove his cock home over and over, she heard it almost every time he spoke to her and, while with Cassea the word brought with it heat and shame that drove her passion with him, with Vessen Elan, it brought contentment. That fueled her passion, yes, but she enjoyed the certainty that came with it. She still dreamed of that moment years ago when he claimed her to save her from a mage far darker than he with designs on the world. She was lost in a sea of lust, mind broken legs wide as he drove into her, waiting for his whim to reshape her into anything from empty-headed slave, to soulless killer, or anything in between, but he needed her skill as the friend and soldier he'd journeyed with so he demanded she be herself, so she obeyed as much as she could.

She was herself and she was his. She would still become whatever he needed and do whatever he wanted done, but he had yet to ask her to do anything that fundamentally went against who she once was. Her nipples were pressing against the gray linen beneath her armor, scraping against the fabric, the discomfort causing as much pleasure as anything else. "Yes, Deres." She could have gone on at length about how much she craved and wanted it. She could have cried even now about how her skin tingled in anticipation, but simple acceptance of what he wanted and that it would happen was enough.

'Yes, Deres,' was simply what a slave would say.

***

Some time later, their bellies were full as she slipped into the still hot water that, with the oils present, gave the small room a citrus scent. Her left leg slipped into the water between his legs and the rest of her followed suit. She splashed the water over herself more than once drenching her hair and body, rivulets making trails down her form as they caught the candlelight. Her prominent nipples seemed to never stop being erect. Her breasts were but a gentle sloping of her frame, but there was no denying her femininity.

She slid up his body, the feel of his muscle against her skin. His strong hands ran down her back to her ass, his cock pressing against her, already needing. She let herself feel the moment. He would tell her what he needed or guide her when he pleased. Such was one of the benefits of being a patient soul. That said, the anticipation drove her as much as anything, teasing herself with, "Anything special that you'd like?"

"Time with you is always special, Vessen." Those eyes were such a unique blue. He could catch himself staring now and then. That the sky was the limit in the asking didn't bore and he didn't understand how it could. She was his and that was intoxicating and, in it's own way, as intense as it must be for her. "What did Neral ask of you as we left?"

"To watch over you, as I would do anyway, even if I were not owned by you because my general asked it of me."

He sighed, kissing her because there wasn't really anything else to do. She whimpered, giving back fiercely and he relished the taste of her tongue and the animal in him growled at the promise of her. "I've looked forward to time alone with you. I've been spending a lot of time of late trying to think of ways to please one I adore."

"To be yours is more than I could ask for, Deres."

"That pleases me, but I need to give back, sweet. If not, I feel it is disrespectful to who you are." He kissed her again. "It would be like treating you as a vessel and I do not wish to do that. I know what you like and want to please you, but what you truly like is somewhat...difficult to cater to."

She kissed up the bridge of his nose to his forehead. "Tell me what I like."

"You don't know?" He tormented sweetly, questioning as he pulled those nipples, making her quake.

"I like when you use the words." Anxiousness fought with her patience and both nudged her heat. "If pleasing me matters, please use the words."

"You like me in your mind. You like my presence and power milling around in your mind, capable of doing anything; adding memories and thoughts as I please. You liked me in your mind demanding that you become who I please, even if what I wanted was you before."

Elan sighed softly.

"Knowing that my power over you is absolute. I can tell you something to remember and your mind will make the picture and it will be perfectly true, even if it never happened."

Her tongue dove for his mouth again, feasting on the taste of him, the tang of the air and the sloshing of water in the large tub as her nails raked his chest. He spoke as she nibbled his neck. "In your mind completely, knowing that I could smooth it to nothing, turning you into an empty little machine that just waited to be told what to do."

The next sigh became a moan. He wouldn't do it. It wasn't the man he was and she knew it. But he could. He could wipe her clean and she would just stand there and let everything slip away until she forgot to care that everything was slipping away. It terrified her that it could happen and, worse, it terrified her that it thrilled her. It made her supremely grateful that she had become his over the witch, even if there was some hint of herself that might have...loved it. "I love you being in my mind, even as just a presence.