Shalandra's Peace Ch. 03

I like to thank Misself1 for all the time she spends on this. All her writing and suggestions only make this story better. Don't forget to comment and vote!

***

As Jin reached the rock, Gerald appeared and looked a little sheepish. When she was in arms reach she reared back and punched him in the side of his face.

Gerald was stunned and at a loss for words. The next thing he knew she was hugging him tightly and telling him to never run off again without her. He knew then where her allegiance lay. Now for the hard part, he had to ask her to leave.

"Jin, I am so glad you came. It means the world to me to have you here with me."

"Like you thought I would not come?" she tried to have an angry look but failed. "Do I get to meet her?"

"What makes you think there is a 'her'?" Gerald chuckled at how well she knew him.

"You're a man and think without using the correct head." She said a little too forceful remembering her past failure with a man.

"It's her, the girl we saw all those years ago in the orphanage. It's Shalandra." He had a dreamy look.

"So, do I get to meet the one who took down the mighty General Terrant?" she smiled.

"Ha Ha! You are funny. Of course you get to meet her. But I am afraid we must part ways soon. I need you to go out and gather troops, because the Rogue King won't wait forever. He'll march soon and he will burn, kill and destroy everything and everyone to get to us." He looked worried.

Jin gave a pensive look. "I could start in the north and begin with the Rogue King's biggest enemy. Which way will you go?"

"I must stay near Shalandra. I think one of the guards is stalking her and I don't want to be away too long."

Jin gave a confused look."Why not just eliminate the possible threat?"

"I wish it was that easy but Shalandra and her father will require proof and not just assumptions. Come let us go to the house and you can try and guess who I feel is a threat to her."

***

The Rogue King was on a rampage. All his soldiers were avoiding him if at all possible. He had already killed one messenger when they reported that there was no word from General Lazo. It wasn't like her to not report in on regular intervals. Hell he thought the same thing about Gerald. He had somehow lost his best and most loyal generals and he didn't even know why. People for the most part were predictable but sometimes they did things that made no sense to him.

As a demon he was a slave to a more powerful demon. He served without question or was punished. His master liked keeping him around because he had a special ability. He could absorb any kind of magic and transfer that power to his master. He could never absorb enough to break free of his enslavement. That was until he came across the artifact. It was a statue of the goddess Wee Jas. She was the goddess of magic, death, vanity, and law. It was used during the god wars as a protection device. It had more magic in it than he had ever seen. Nabsael absorbed all the power and felt himself grow stronger than ever before. When he returned to his master he simply reached up and drained the life force out of him. He then realized that he could absorb other demons and use their life force to fuel his power. He simply waited as the other subjugated demons showed up and absorbed them too.

As he grew in power he started to take over his level of hell. When that wasn't enough, he moved to the lower levels where more powerful demons and other creatures existed. He was too powerful for them to stop him. That was until he reached the major demons. They were ready and waiting for him. It was a spectacular battle but they had been too much for him. They trapped him in that damn gem. The same gem he now used to fuel his power. They didn't realize that the gem could entrap a soul. They thought he couldn't escape without the help of a powerful demon but they were wrong. He just needed a soul to take his place and a body to inhabit. Then Jon came along, a perfect specimen and he brought Kelsie. She still rebelled in the gem, shouting to let her free. And then there was Jon, he used to try and rise up and take back control but all Nabsael had to do was tap into Jon's feelings of betraying his love and that would be enough to force the fool into submission. Human emotions made no sense to him. They didn't serve any purpose other than weakening them.

He paced back and forth wondering where the hell his generals were. They made Nabsael so angry because they turned on him and no one did that and lived. They would suffer greatly for this betrayal. He would use their love for one another against them. He would torture one until the other begged him to stop then he would switch and torture the other. He would do this for days. He could easily keep them alive as long as he wanted and that thought made him smile. He called to his assistant, ordering him to assemble his entire army. It was time to visit the town of Norwhich. It would take time to assemble his army and then move them that distance. He figured about three months and he would be upon the town. He would torture and kill as many people as he needed to. He would find out where Gerald and Jin were hiding. Someone knew their whereabouts and that person would be made to talk.

***

Jin awoke in the morning and was bathed and dressed before day break. She headed downstairs and found Gerald checking on the guard. She nodded to him and turned toward the kitchen.

"Hello, I am Christopher. I am part of the house guard. I don't believe we have met." He said with a smile that never reached his eyes.

Jin's first thought was too pull away and plunge her dagger into him. Luckily she restrained herself and decided to feel him out. "Hi I am Jin, a friend of Gerald's. You must be a very competent warrior to warrant such a high guard duty." She batted her eyes and smiled shyly.

"I am indeed Miss Jin. Gerald thinks me important enough to have at his side always while protecting Miss Shalandra." He puffed up a little.

Jin could barley hold her laughter but allowed it instead to come out in a brilliant smile and giggled. "Oh I am sure. He has a way of keeping people who grab his interest close to him."

Just then Christopher's attention was pulled away as Shalandra entered. Jin watched him closely and saw his jaw clench. As she turned her eyes toward Shalandra, she understood why Gerald was so enamored. She was beautiful and graceful and everyone seemed to gravitate toward her.

Jin smiled as Shalandra stopped in front of her. "You must be Jin. Gerald has told me much about you." She hugged Jin tightly

"I'm sure he only told you the things that made him look good." Her smile was wide and inviting. She instantly liked this girl.

"Of course, he is a man after all. I hope your quarters were adequate." She released Jin and moved to get a plate.

"The bed was very comfortable." Jin said as she filled her own plate.

They sat and started talking and laughing as if having known each other all their lives. Gerald walked in and spotted them with their heads together whispering. They looked up and saw him and burst out laughing.

"Uh oh, this can't be good." He thought. He approached with a curious look on his face.

"Ah, he looks nervous. Is the great General Terrant afraid of two little defenseless girls?" Jin teased, which set both girls into another round of laughs.

"Defenseless my foot, I bet the two of you could rule the entire region in under a week. So I have good cause to be wary." His smile was easy. The two women who meant anything to him were getting along great and it made his heart soar. Jin saw the way he looked at Shalandra and knew he was lost. She reached over and grabbed Shalandra's hand and said, "I guess you will be my sister soon by the way he looks at you."

Shalandra gasped and Gerald sounded like he was choking, "Jin! I am merely her guard." His eyes went wide.

"Is that all you wish to be Gerald?" Shalandra pouted.

Gerald just looked bewildered as Jin and Shalandra looked at each other and burst out laughing. Gerald turned on his heel and made a hasty exit. Jin rose and followed him laughing all the way.

***

Gerald watched Shalandra and her friends laughing as they tried to cross the small stream. It had turned into a game to see who could cross over and back without getting their feet wet. Each girl had fallen into the shallow water at least once and everyone had wet slippers. The girls found their misfortune quite funny and Shalandra had the sweetest smile.

Jin had been gone for a week and he missed her but it warmed Gerald's heart to watch Shalandra enjoy life. Nobody seemed to project such enthusiasm and warmth about such simple daily activities. She often had a smile on her face leaving others to wonder what she was thinking of.

His smile slowly left his face as he scanned the area for danger and saw an insidious look on Christopher's face. Unlike the other guards who watched the women with amusement, Christopher had seemed to have other thoughts.

Gerald wished that he could read minds. He would love to read Christopher's now. The look on Christopher's face was the same look that he saw on people who were about to harm someone, a predatory look.

Gerald would have to talk to Shalandra and share his fear for her safety. He moved away from the guards farther down on the hillside to separate from the others. He could watch both scenes from this vantage point, Shalandra at the stream and Christopher with the guards.

Shalandra fell into the stream once again. She laughed and walked out dragging her soaked skirts. She dropped to her knees on the grass and tried to catch her breath.

Gerald walked to Shalandra and turned his back to the guards so he could whisper to her, "Don't look at anything except me or your hands. I am going to tell you something and if you look, then that person will know that we are suspicious of them."

Shalandra nodded and clasped her hands in front of her looking down at her entwined fingers. "I'm ready," she whispered back.

Gerald continued to use his quiet tone, "I don't trust Christopher. He looks at you in a strange way. I have not yet determined his intentions, but until we do, you need to be careful." He felt better making her aware of the situation. He had reduced the chances that Shalandra would be caught unaware.

*** The Rogue King sat in the secret library reading an ancient scroll. He chose this castle as his home base because it was once owned by a powerful wizard named Tazzle Hoff. He was known for having acquired many scrolls, manuscripts and books on magic.

The castle was in ruins when he arrived and overrun by Orcs. He single handedly cleared out the Orcs and other creatures. His ability to tap into the soul trapped in the gem gave him great power. But he was unable to take control of it completely. She resisted him limiting the amount of power he could pull out at a time.

The castle was now completely repaired and many of the lower levels were untouched. He delighted in looking for secret passage ways. Some had traps still in place. The traps had little to no affect on one such as he. He left many in place to deter others from following him.

When he found the library he knew he found the wizard's true treasure. The books on demons were entertaining. It showed how much mortals didn't know about them. One scroll was very accurate though.

It talked about trapping a demon in a star shaped gem. The biggest fear of the writer was that demon would to escape and place a human soul in the gem. The soul would give the demon unlimited power if he could dominate it. So far he was unable to completely dominate Kelsie's soul, but he felt time was on his side.

Once he tried to pull more power from her and felt himself losing control on the human body he inhabited while trying to channel the energy. Luckily the human called Jon had given up trying to take control back. He feared if Jon had tried at that time he would have lost control of the body and the energy he was drawing out. He had to focus on the energy so much because Kelsie fought him taking it from her. If he lost control it would probably consume them all.

The Rogue King was sure it was only a matter of time before he won this little tug-of-war. Kelsie's resistance was getting weaker each time. He just had to make sure her and Jon never knew of each other's predicaments. He didn't want to have to fight both of them.

*** Evening arrived and Gerald had made himself comfortable in the rafters of the hall outside Shalandra's room. The torches did not light the hall enough for people to see him. Candles were less effective than torches. He was effectively invisible.

He watched as Shalandra and another woman walked down the hall. They arrived at the door and opened it. They stepped through into darkness with only their candles giving any light. They closed the door and Gerald heard their muffled voices behind the door.

Gerald had made a list of items that he would pick up for Shalandra. She needed items that would help her stay safe. He was going to give her a small knife that she would be able to keep on her person. He wanted to get her some blades that would look like jewelry or other accessories.

Gerald's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sounds of metal from down the hall. It was quiet and most people wouldn't have noticed, but Gerald did. He heard the click of booted feet growing louder.

Christopher was trying to sneak down the hall as Gerald had suspected he would. Christopher moved as quietly as he could. He neared Shalandra's door and paused hearing the multiple voices. He uttered a curse and turned to leave.

Gerald remained hidden until late into the night. He did not want to miss Christopher trying to enter Shalandra's room. Fortunately, Christopher did not make another attempt.

He dropped from the rafters and tested Shalandra's door. It was locked. She had locked it after her friend had left earlier in the night. Gerald didn't trust the lock and knew that any thief worth an ounce of gold would know how to pick the simple lock.

Gerald was going to ask to have her door changed into a barred door. It should not take much to do so. Then he would feel much better about her security.

Gerald moved through the halls as silent as a shadow. His destination was Christopher's door. He only needed to verify that the guard was sleeping. He would move to his own room after that.

He pressed his ear against the door. Gerald heard steady breathing. He tested the door and found it to be locked. He removed a piece of wire from his pouch and inserted it into the key hole. He twisted it back and forth until he felt the tumbler shift and heard the telltale click that announced the opening of the lock.

Gerald pushed the door open a crack. He stepped in and quickly closed the door. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness and then scanned the room. He spotted Christopher's form on the bed.

He walked to the dresser and quietly opened the top drawer. He found some maps under some of the clothes. They didn't really draw his attention. He opened each of the drawers in turn finding nothing except in the bottom drawer.

The bottom drawer held a plain wooden box with a hinged lid. Gerald opened the lid and discovered various pieces of jewelry, hair clips, and other accessories that a woman would use. Gerald put the box back and exited the room.

During the walk to his own room, he pondered the meaning of all those items. Christopher did not have a woman in his life so why would he have all those things that a woman would like. Gerald had a bad feeling creeping up his spine.

He kept thinking of an orc hunter who kept the dead orc's ears on a piece of twine tied to his belt. The hunter kept the ears as trophies of his kills. Gerald really hoped that Christopher was not keeping the jewelry as a reminder of women he had harmed.

Gerald did not sleep well that night. He needed to do more to ensure Shalandra's safety. He would not share his concerns with anyone yet, because they were only suspicions and he needed to find evidence.

*** She ran through the woods blindly. She didn't have a clue where she was but her fear drove her forward. Branches and bushes tore at her arms and legs. She could feel him chasing her. Sometimes she swore he was right behind her breathing down her neck.

The Rogue King smiled as he fed off the girl's fear. He shared her fear with Kelsie, knowing it would weaken her resolve against him. He loved the chase. He liked to let the girl think she had a chance. Soon he would have her then he would devour her essence. He had been herding her toward a prepared cave.

She was getting tired and looked for a place to hide. Just then she saw a cave. She ran as fast as she could to it. Just as she got inside she heard a laugh behind her. She turned to see the Rogue King walking slowly toward her with an evil smile.

She tried to fight him but he was unaffected by her weak blows. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. He threw her down. He bent over and grabbed a handful of her dress. He pulled and it ripped it in two. She was nude underneath and tried to cover herself.

He smiled at her attempts to remain modest and protect her virtue. She had lost that the moment he chose her but she was about to learn that the hard way. He pulled several small lengths of rope from his pocket. He used one to bind her hands together. He then pulled them up to a hook in the wall of the cave. He then tied one around each foot and hooked them on poles in the floor. This left her legs spread wide and her hands stretched above her head.

He slowly removed his clothes and placed them neatly in a pile. When he turned toward the woman her eyes went wide at the enormous size of his manhood. She screamed and begged him to let her go. He just kept smiling as he reached into a chest by the wall and pulled out a whip.

The first crack of the whip hit her like a ton of bricks. It instantly brought a huge whelp on her skin of her stomach and breasts and the second made her bleed. He rained ten blows on her stomach and breasts. Her whole body was on fire and the pain was excruciating. She could just sob and beg him to stop. That made him smile even more.

It took her a minute to realize he had stopped hitting her. She looked up through bleary eyes and saw his was manhood was erect. He walked toward her and knelt between her legs. Her eyes went wide when he leaned down and tasted her. He was gentle and made her wet.

She wanted to rebel against him but he knew just how to make her feel good. He used his tongue to bring her to the peek but he would back off just before she could orgasm. She was crying with frustration and shame. She wanted him to make her cum but at the same time she hated him.

He loved this part. He would make her hate him by beating her then make her beg him to give her sweet orgasmic relief. He found it funny how one minute they shot daggers at him with their eyes then the next those same eyes begged him for sexual release. This fed his ego and power and he loved it.

He rose up and placed the head of his dick at her opening. He rubbed it up and down wetting it with her juices. "You like this don't you?"

"No! You are a monster and I hate you."

"Well your body says otherwise. It's begging for me to plunge into you. I bet that whimp of a husband of yours doesn't make you feel this good." Just then he plunged into her tight warmth. She screamed out as an unwanted orgasm racked her body.

She cried as he took her. No man other than her husband had ever known her this way. Now she was being pleasured against her will and hated herself for liking it. She felt him going in and out, going deeper with each thrust. She felt her body betraying her again as another orgasm was building.