Bastileborn - Dragon Fire Pt. 02

"Hmm," Gavin hummed as he watched Astrum leaving. "Was it just me, or did that sentry blush when Thistle spoke to him?" he asked with a smile as he looked at Plinkon.

"Call me crazy, but I think I saw it too."

"What are you two talking about?" Thistle demanded as she did her Nora impression and put her hands on her hips.

"We were just talking about Gavin's perdy hands. I'm guessing he used to live like a nobleman," Plinkon said with a smirk.

"You best keep your mouth shut about my perdy hands if you know what's good for you, dwarf," Gavin grumbled. He realized too late that Plinkon had been testing him.

"Gavin, please come with me. We have hindered poor Nora enough these past few days," Thistle said as she tugged at his arm.

He sighed and allowed Thistle to lead him through the slaughterhouse. He kept his eyes on her tempting backside to avoid seeing animals chopped to bits around them.

"What was that encounter with Plinkon all about? I leave you alone for a few seconds, and you get into a fight! Have you always been surrounded by this much trouble?" Thistle asked in irritation.

"Pretty much. Trouble has a way of finding me," he said with a shrug.

"What did Astrum say to you before I arrived? He looked angry."

"He was telling me how much he likes you. Do you know he greatly admires you?"

Thistle gasped and twirled around with absolute shock on her adorable face. Gavin almost burst out laughing at her, but he decided not to out of respect for her innocence. He quickly felt guilty for joking about it.

"Why would he tell you such a thing? Wait a minute... you're teasing, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry. I was, but not entirely," he said quickly when he saw hurt creeping into her expression. "He seriously did get all nervous when he noticed you. And he was definitely blushing after you spoke to him. You have a powerful effect on men."

Thistle's face turned very red after that comment.

"You talk about a lot of crazy things," she mumbled as she turned and continued walking.

"Believe what you like, princess, but I promise you that beanpole likes you. I wonder what his Majesty Fumarus would say about one of his sentries liking a half-blood slave," he mused as he followed her out of the back entrance of the slaughterhouse.

"Gavin, please keep your stupid thoughts to yourself!" she huffed.

The back door led into a small enclosed yard that was set up for killing bulls and cows. They found Nora standing by the gate that led into the grassy pasture. She was tying some rope into a lasso.

"There's my new apprentice. How's the head?" she announced.

"It's not throbbing today, but I still have a headache," he sighed as he gently touched the knot on the back of his head.

"It will pass. How's yer strength?"

"It's mostly back, thanks to breakfast."

"Good. Alright, Thistle, are ya ready?"

Gavin looked to his side to find Thistle had slipped off somewhere. She walked so silently it was eerie.

"Almost!" she called from somewhere close by.

Gavin looked around in confusion until he spotted her, scurrying up a tall oak tree at the corner of the slaughterhouse. She climbed out on a limb and jumped onto the portico over the back entrance. Gavin was smiling as he watched her glide across the roof to a wooden box tucked away in the corner. His mouth dropped open when she pulled a beautiful recurve bow and a quiver full of arrows out of the box. She threw the quiver over her shoulder and quickly strung the bow. Then she loaded an arrow and took her position at the roof's edge beside a small bucket. She reached into the bucket, picked up a fat green plum, and skewered it on the end of her arrow.

"Ready!" she called down to Nora.

"She has a bow! They let a slave have a bow?" Gavin asked in surprise.

"Shush, keep yer voice down, stupid. She isn't supposed to have one. I'm sure ya noticed by now that people take an easy liking to my baby girl. She means no harm to anybody. Astrum spoke with the sentries that watch this area, and they agreed to let her have the bow since she isn't much good at wrestling bulls. You, on the other hand, get to help me wrestle bulls."

"What? Why do we have to wrestle bulls?" he asked in alarm.

"Because razorback bulls are mean as hell and tastier than any other animal in Bastileborn. Ya can't lead the demon animals anywhere. Ya have to take them by force."

"Good heavens... razorback bulls? How did they get here?" Gavin asked as he stared into the pasture with a newfound terror and respect for Nora.

"The elves brought them out of the wild and established a herd in the pastures of Carus. We bring in a beast when someone important visits the castle. Alright, Thistle, ya got the plum ready?"

"Yes, mam!" she said happily as she drew back the bowstring and let her arrow fly into the pasture. It landed about a hundred yards away in the tall grass.

"Alright, Gavin. One of those beasts will catch the scent of that plum and be heading for it any second now. When he appears, Thistle will shoot another plum closer to us. Old Tom filled the plums with a sedative so the beast will be somewhat manageable, but still very dangerous. I'll get the lasso around his left horn, then toss the rope to ya. It'll be thrashing like mad by then, but yanking it by the horns makes it stumble. I'll get the second lasso on the right one, and we can haul him into the fence. Thistle, if the beast goes mad, shoot him in the head."

"Yes, mam!"

"Why not just fill the beast with arrows and be done with it?" Gavin asked in confusion.

"The king wants the carcass in good condition. Every part of the beast is prized, so the less damage we do, the better."

"Great... what a way to die, impaled by a beast with a hide worth more than my own."

"I see one in the grass! I'm sending the next plum!" Thistle called.

Gavin and Nora looked into the pasture where the tall grass was shuddering. Thistle shot the second plum into the short grass, and the beast followed it. Gavin gasped when the creature finally appeared. It was large, like a normal bull, but it had tusks and hair like a boar. It had tall horns on its head and eight-inch tusks protruding out of its mouth.

"Keep yer head about yerself, Gavin. Here we go," Nora called as she spun the first lasso in the air and launched it at the bull's head.

The rope startled the bull when it snagged his left horn, sending him thrashing. He was obviously disoriented as he jumped and stumbled, but he wasn't weak. Gavin quickly tossed Nora the second lasso as he took hold of the first rope and gave it a hard tug. The beast stumbled before it quickly jerked the rope through Gavin's hands, giving him nasty rope burns. He let out a curse when the rope was wrenched from his grip.

"Woohoo! He got them perdy hands banged up already!" Plinkon laughed.

Gavin looked back to see an audience of slaves gathered at the back entrance, laughing right along with Plinkon. Even Astrum was watching from a hilltop beyond the pasture. Gavin could tell he had a smug look on his face.

"Ya okay there, boy?" Nora called after she lassoed the bull's right horn.

"I'm fine," he grumbled angrily as he ripped off his shirt. He quickly tore it into strips and wrapped his bloody hands. "If it's a show you bastards want, then it's a show you'll get," he huffed as he tied off his bandages with his teeth.

"What'cha getting all naked for, stupid?" Nora called.

"Just putting on a good show! What now?" he called as he glanced back at Thistle, hoping he had her attention.

She had another arrow aimed at the bull's head, but her eyes kept drifting to Gavin. She was concerned by his bloody hands and rather distracted by his pretty tanned torso.

"It's time to haul him in! We could try pulling him in by the ropes, or we can go straight for the tusks. Do ya feel lucky, Gavin?" Nora called.

"Always!"

"Alright then, let's go for the tusks. Ya go first, and be careful not to get skewered!"

"Yes, mam!" he called. Then, like an idiot, he took off running towards the bull.

"Wait for my signal, moron!" Nora called as she hurried after him.

Gavin could hear the slaves yelling and cheering for him as he ran into the pasture. His heart was pounding like mad as he ran straight for the giant beast. He quickly realized he had no clue what he was doing, and he was probably about to get injured severely. That kind of rash behavior was how he got captured by the elves, but he knew there was no going back as he listened to the slaves cheering him on. He decided he would try something stupid that he learned from a fairy tale. If it worked, he would be a hero. If it didn't, he would likely have two dislocated arms and a broken spine.

"God, I hope this works!" he breathed as he turned and ran away from the bull for a few yards.

The audience of slaves stopped cheering and mumbled in confusion as he ran away from the bull, but they gasped when he turned and ran at the bull from the side. They cheered again when they realized he had a plan. Thistle watched with her heart in her throat as Gavin ran at the drunk bull. She knew he was about to get himself killed.

Gavin let out a roar as he closed in on the bull at full speed. The bull snapped its head up to look in his direction right as he grabbed hold of its tusks. He threw all his weight into jumping over the bull's head. He jerked the bull's tusks hard to the left, throwing every bit of his momentum into it. The bull's neck made a loud pop as Gavin's weight pulled it beyond its normal range of motion. He quickly let go of the bull and rolled out of the way as the massive beast crashed to the ground beside him. Gavin knelt on his hands and knees beside the bull for a moment, staring at it in disbelief. His idiotic plan had worked. He had snapped the bull's neck.

"I don't believe it!" Nora bellowed as she stopped running and stared at the fallen bull in astonishment.

A noisy cheer erupted from the audience of slaves at that point. Thistle collapsed to her hands and knees in relief. She had never been so frightened in her life. She quickly recovered herself, hurried down the oak tree, and ran into the pasture. By the time she reached Gavin, he had collected himself and was on his feet again. She didn't know what possessed her at that moment, but she drew back her small hand and punched him in the face as hard as she could. Gavin fell backward with his hand on his cheek as hysterical laughter erupted from the slaves.

"You idiot! You scared me half to death! Don't ever do that again!" she yelled with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Gavin looked up at her in confusion as Nora hurried over to comfort her. Thistle quickly hugged Nora and sobbed on her shoulder.

"It's all right, baby girl. No one was hurt," she whispered soothingly as she pet Thistle's long, dark hair.

"What the hell? All that effort, and what do I get? I get yelled at and punched by a bony hand!" Gavin growled as he pushed himself off the ground.

"I'm sorry, you stupid idiot!" Thistle sobbed as she pulled away from Nora and wrapped her arms around Gavin. "Don't ever do that again," she wept.

Gavin stood there in confusion as Thistle hugged him and cried against his chest. That was the first time in his life that his idiotic behavior had worked out good for him. He didn't injure himself too badly, he impressed everybody watching, and Thistle was hugging him. His day was turning out really good. He happily wrapped his arms around Thistle and returned her hug. Then he looked up at the hill and smiled at Astrum.

"That little piece of human garbage," Astrum growled as he frowned at the scene. He had always wanted to be that close to Thistle.

"Ya got rope burns, didn't ya?" Nora asked in disappointment when she saw the bloody strips of shirt tied to his hands.

"Actually, the rope just tore a bunch of skin off my palms. No burns."

"That's right! You're hurt!" Thistle said in surprise as she drew away from him.

"Take him to Tom, Thistle. The last thing we need is for his hands to rot off from infection. I'll get someone else to help me haul the bull in," Nora said as she pushed Gavin and Thistle towards the slaughterhouse.

The slaves were clapping and slapping Gavin on the back as they congratulated him. No one had ever taken down a razorback that quickly before. Plinkon grabbed his bandaged hand and gave it a hard shake.

"Well done, beast tamer! I thought ya were dead for sure!" he laughed.

"Definitely close," he grumbled as he pulled his hand free.

They eventually made it through the adoring crowd and hurried back into the palace to find Tom. The old doctor sighed when he saw them enter his apothecary.

"Well, well... why am I not surprised to see you again, Gavin?" he sighed as he waved him over to a stool.

"He took down a razorback bull all by himself! Well, Nora and I helped a little, but he snapped its neck single-handedly!" Thistle said excitedly as she helped Tom remove the bloody strips of torn shirt from Gavin's hands.

"That is mighty impressive. Is that how you hurt your hands?"

"No. The bull pulled a rope out of my grip."

"That explains the messy tearing," he said as he carefully examined the wounds.

Tom made him place his hands into some clear liquid that burned so bad he cried out. Then he quickly cleaned up the pieces of flesh that were hanging loose. He instructed Thistle on how to prepare a salve that would help ease the pain. Then Tom carefully wrapped Gavin's hands in clean bandages. Gavin entertained himself by guessing what the interesting items were in the apothecary as he waited for Tom to finish. His eyes eventually settled on a row of books with exotic covers. One book, in particular, caught his full attention. The spine displayed a silhouette of a naked man and woman. They were intertwined in an interesting position. Tom sent Thistle into the hall to collect another spool of linen from the closet, and Gavin took that opportunity to ask about the book.

"Tom, where did you get that book? It looks fascinating," he said as he pointed it out.

"It is fascinating. I bartered it off visiting slaves from Leeriod. It has fertility treatments and detailed instructions on curing ailments of intimacy. The chapters on female pleasure are exceptionally detailed. Desert folk take their pleasure very seriously," he chuckled.

"Wow, might I borrow it?"

"Why would you be interested in such a book?" Tom asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Why would I not be interested in such a book?"

Tom sighed and shook his head.

"You can borrow it if you promise to get it back to me by the end of the week. Don't let Nora see it if you know what's good for you," he warned.

Thistle came back in at that point with a fresh role of linen and helped Tom finish bandaging Gavin's right hand.

"There we go. I'll need you back in here tomorrow so I can refresh the bandages and check for infection. The wounds cleaned up well, so hopefully you'll survive."

"Thanks, Tom. You've been my best friend since I got here," Gavin said with a smile.

"And you're becoming my most frequent patient. Get some rest and stay out of trouble."

On their way out, Tom slipped a small bundle under Gavin's arm and winked.

"The end of the week," he reminded him before he turned back to his work table.

Interruption

When they arrived back in the room, Gavin sat down on Thistle's bed to look at Tom's exotic book. Thistle sat at the table under the window to tie her shoe.

"You're going to be useless to Nora at this rate," she sighed as she tucked in her shoelaces.

"I took care of the bull for her, didn't I?"

"That was so stupid of you. You could have been killed."

"I know... I'm sorry. I just can't resist adventure. Would you have been sad had I died?" he asked as he flipped a page and gasped. His eyes went wide and his cock ached in his pants as he stared at the detailed illustration under the title 'Cunnilingus'.

Thistle looked at him in surprise for a moment. She watched the blush spreading across his cheeks and finally noticed the book in his lap.

"Hey, what book is that?" she asked as she walked over to look at it.

Gavin quickly slammed it closed and wrapped it in the cloth Tom had it in.

"Uh, just something I borrowed from Tom."

"One of his medicine books? Why would you borrow that? Can I see it?"

"No. Not this one," he said with a guilty smirk.

She frowned at him and shook her head.

"You're not the boss of me, Gavin. Let me see it," she said and quickly snatched it out of his hands.

"Ouch! Not so rough, I'm injured, remember?"

He watched her unwrap the book and open it. The shock that filled her eyes was hilarious.

"By the gods," she sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed, looking stunned.

"I told you not to look at it. Let me see," he chuckled as he scooted over next to her.

She had opened it to a page with a highly detailed illustration of a beautiful young woman being penetrated by a man. The woman was drawn from the front. Her legs were spread wide as she lay on her back on top of her lover. The man's shapely cock was halfway inside her as moisture dripped out around it. One of his hands was massaging her left breast while the other hand massaged her clit. Gavin felt his face burning as he examined the erotic image.

"What are they doing?" Thistle whispered with a gulp. She felt hot all over.

"They're 'deep penetrating with clitoral stimulation.' That's what the description says."

"You can read Desert Script?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes. I'm a prince, remember? Reading multiple languages is required for effective diplomacy. Also, the best erotic books come from Leeriod."

Thistle gulped, closed the book, and handed it back to Gavin.

"Good to know. I should get back to work. You should get some rest," she suggested.

"But I'm not tired."

"Gavin, you need to take better care of yourself. If you die here from your stupid behavior, it could start a war."

"There you go again, changing the subject. Just admit it, you enjoy looking at dirty books with me, don't you?"

Thistle's mouth dropped open, and her cute face turned bright crimson.

"Well, I've never met a more repugnant man in my life! Get some rest and stay out of trouble," she huffed before she stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Gavin laughed at her attempt to sound angry as he lay down on her pillow to rest. His head was pounding again, and Thistle's right hook to his cheek didn't help. He was too tired to explore his new book alone. He was getting sleepy as the crickets began chirping outside the window. He was almost asleep when the door swung open and startled him. He quickly shoved the exotic book under Thistle's pillow as Nora came in with a tray of bread, butter, and cheese. Thistle came in behind her with a tray of heavenly-smelling meat and vegetables.

"Wow! What's all this?" he asked as he hopped up to examine the feast.

"We always get rewarded with a good supper after bringing down a razorback," Thistle said as she helped Nora set the food on their small dining table.

"The other slaves were impressed with yer stupid behavior. Plinkon gave up his chicken for ya," Nora said as she pointed to an extra roasted thigh.

"Aw, how sweet of him. I thought he hated me."

Nora brought in a third stool for Gavin before they sat down to enjoy their hard-earned meal. They talked and laughed together that evening, right up to the last serving of green beans. Nora and Thistle made a bed for Gavin on the floor next to Thistle's bed since it would hurt less if she stepped on him. They wished each other a good night's sleep and laid down with satisfied stomachs.

Gavin woke the next morning when he heard Nora's feet thump onto the floor. He yawned and rolled over as Nora called to Thistle to get ready for chores.