Casus Belli Ch. 02: Fortunes of War

Her father locked eyes with Brando, "I'm going to send you west to The Forks, to take command of its defenders. Your task is to prevent the orcs from crossing, but also to conserve your forces. With the terrain advantage you'll have that should be doable. And should you lose the bridge across the Neva, they would still need to take the bridges across the Rodian and the Amunda." He pointed at Bagman's crossing on the map, "Marecomb's the only 'reserve' general readily available, and he's much better at diplomacy than at tactics, so I'm going to take command at Bagman's crossing myself." She looked at her father with alarm, he chuckled, "I'm old sweetheart, but not that old..."

She swallowed, he was right of course, the Drak was almost as old as he was, and he did a good job leading the army, And now he's in hospital, and isn't expected to live. She locked eyes with her father, and her voice trembled, "Great, so now I'll have two heroes to worry about!"

Her father walked around the desk, and hugged her close, "Don't worry, I'm going to be careful sweetheart."

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back, "You'd better be!"

He kissed her on top of her head, then let go, and both men started discussing the details of the plan. Soon they concluded that the forces currently stationed at Iriskan should be able to start moving at dawn the next morning, and that her father would best be leaving for Bagman's crossing with them. With the road from Iriskan to The Forks taking less than a day on horseback, Brando wouldn't have to leave before the next morning either. "And then you can have some practice at being Kangess," her father said to her.

She pouted, "You're doing a great job, I don't want to become Kangess for at least another twenty years..."

Her father laughed, "No no no, I'm going to retire long before that." He winked, "Let's meet in the middle, ten years. You should be finished producing all those grandchildren by then..."

***

Later that afternoon her father gathered the council and, with Brando and Marecomb assisting, informed it of the military situation, and on the plan to outmaneuver the orcs. His announcement that he was taking command of the eastern army himself was met with some consternation, but he wasn't to be persuaded otherwise. Then he had officially appointed her as his temporary replacement, which certainly resulted in some unease among the councilors. He addressed it with his usual aplomb, "She is of age, she has been trained to lead the country her entire life, and I have no reason whatsoever to question her ability to do so. You will give her your full support, or heads will roll when I return..."

Cassandra chuckled, "Don't worry father, if they misbehave they won't have heads anymore by the time you return."

It wasn't an empty threat, because with her father gone the castle's Royal Guard would be under her command, and those men were fiercely loyal to a Pryoness the older guards had already protected when she was still in diapers. Two of the Royal Guard regiment's battalions were currently fighting the orcs with the rest of the army, but the third battalion, a full eighteen companies strong, was permanently stationed at Bromodin. Of these eighteen companies six resided at the keep itself, and the remainder manned Bromodin castle's defenses. The Royal Guard effectively controlled the center of power, so whomever controlled them controlled Nigawa.

She had no doubt whatsoever that Major Coburn, the commander of Bromodin's Royal Guard battalion, in the absence of her father, would follow her orders to the letter, any requested beheadings included. Not that she would give such orders of course. Any insubordination in time of war would be handled by a military court, but that was something the subordinates in question didn't need to know. Her remark led to some soft smiling and chuckling among the gathered councilors, but she could see in their eyes that the message had hit home; the Pryoness wasn't going to accept any subterfuge from them.

When she left her father's conference rooms, not that much later, Brando joined her. He accompanied her and her escorting maidens on their walk back to her own quarters one floor up. They took the spiral stairs, and when entering the staircase she stopped Brando and sent her maidens ahead. Once they were alone she hugged Brando close, and kissed him, hungrily. After a minute Brando broke their kiss, "Gods I loved watching you going all alpha female on those councilors."

The kiss had ignited her body, and made her long for his. "This alpha female wants to make love too you, Sir Boruga. But she doesn't want it to be a rush job, so she invites you to her private chambers after dinner..." He answered by pulling her close and renewing their kiss, and she swooned in his strong arms. Then she thought of the wounds on his leg and arm, hidden beneath his clothes, and she shivered with fear, the fear of losing him in this dreadful war. With it came this incredible urge to procreate, to ensure his eternal life through her womb. But that wasn't going to be, not yet at least.

Brando broke their kiss again, and his fingers wiped the tears from her cheeks, "Are you alright my love?"

She trembled in his arms, "The alpha female becomes weak as she fears for her lover's life."

He hugged her, gently caressed her hair, "Have faith my love, it's all in the hands of the gods."

She swallowed, "The gods let my mother die, the gods let all those defenseless orcish women and children die, I don't trust the gods..."

He locked eyes with her, "Then have trust in me, and in your father, and all those loyal men fighting this war to keep you and Nigawa free."

She swallowed, "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to express a lack of faith in either you or my father or in all those men putting their lives on the line."

He kissed her on her forehead, "I know you only mean well," and then he winked, "You're forgiven." With that he let go of her, "Dinner with your father is in just over an hour, so I'd better get back to my quarters to get myself ready, and allow you to do the same."

She rose on her feet and pecked him on the nose, and then she went up the stairs while he went down them, hurrying back to her own quarters.

And then there was love

Denora and Polly were behind the reception desk when she entered her chambers' reception room. "I have to be bathed and dressed in an hour, she told them as she passed. Denora followed her into the private hallway, and then went into the maiden's dayroom for a moment while she herself walked on towards her bedchamber. By the time she entered it Denora was on her heels again, with Vala and Leavy in tow.

Once inside she turned towards her senior maiden. "You bathed this morning!" Denora grinned.

She blushed, "He will be visiting after dinner, and I want to be fresh for him." She shifted her gaze to Vala, "Go get me that very red dress with the deep cleavage, and that set of equally scandalous underwear Brando got me just before those orcs showed up and turned our lives upside down."

Vala nodded and hurried away, and the other two maidens started undressing her. Denora smiled, throwing her this knowing look. She looked back at her questioningly, and her maiden grinned, "If you get him too worked up he might forget himself... You might end up needing Korkumun tea afterwards..."

She chuckled, "Don't you worry. He knows how important remaining a virgin is to me, so he'll control himself when it comes to that." She swallowed, "But I do want him to lose control in all other respects. I want him drooling for me, and then give him something the thought of which will keep him warm when he's away fighting those orcs again."

Denora frowned, "I thought the two of you were going to have dinner with your father milady..."

She smiled, "My father will only see the dress, realize his daughter has the hots for her betrothed, and look forward to all those grandchildren that'll get him after the solstice."

Her maidens all laughed at that, and then they rushed her off to the bathroom. While they were washing her hair Leavy asked her about the scents they were using, "Angkor and Bokando are delightful scents, but also very conservative milady. Wouldn't you like to try something more..., seductive..."

Angkor was a sky blue flower growing in the foothills of the Leviathans, and Bokando was a small scarlet flower from the forests of Nigawa. The former smelled sweet, and the latter more spicy. Together they created this deliciously romantic scent she had grown to love. "No," she said, "He fell in love with me smelling of Angkor and Bokando, so that's the scent I will wear for him, for the rest of my life..."

Denora, who was kneeling behind her, chuckled softly, "I hope that Brando of yours realizes what a lucky man he is..."

The three maidens finished washing her, and then escorted her back to her bed chamber to dress her. When she entered she found Moiga and Syldan waiting for them. She dropped her bath robe and was first helped into flimsy black lace panties barely covering her butt, and then into a matching semi-sheer camisole. It was the first time she had worn the set, and once dressed in it she checked her maidens' faces. They looked..., impressed, and Denora grinned mischievously, "It's..., daring..., I have trouble believing he bought this for you, for a Pryoness and future Kangess. He clearly enjoys living dangerously..."

She turned towards the large floor to ceiling mirrors doubling as doors to her wall covering wardrobe, and took herself in. "There's no built in support whatsoever," Vala remarked behind her, "only a woman with perfect breasts, like you milady, could get away with it."

Leavy chuckled softly, "He already knew she had perfect breasts when he bought it for her..."

Cassandra swallowed, "Be honest, this is what the girls in the expensive brothels wear, to seduce their customers with, isn't it?"

Silence fell, and then Denora spoke up, her voice soft, "Well, at least you can be sure he isn't after you for your money..."

She grinned at that: "It does make me look hot, doesn't it?"

Syldan smiled, "Sizzling, milady."

She slowly turned around, with her eyes locked on her image in the mirror. She did indeed look sizzling... "Well," she said, "If he wants me dressed up like this, he'll get me dressed up like this..."

Her maidens smiled, and then they got her into the rather revealing red dress. After they laced her up she studied herself in the mirrors again. The fiery red silk clung to her curves like a second skin, and definitively revealed a lot more cleavage than the rest of the dresses in her extensive wardrobe. She turned around again and concluded the dress showed everything to perfection; her shapely thighs, her round butt, her slender waist and flat tummy, and most of all, her perfectly shaped breasts.

"You're going to be dessert again," Denora whispered into her ear, and she felt herself blush as desire made her nether regions tingle. The dress sure as hell was something she would never ever wear to anything public or official, but to prime her man with...

Leavy and Vala led her to the stool in front of her dressing table, and after she sat down she addressed Vala first, "I would like a nice sturdy braid." The redhead nodded, and she turned her attention to Leavy, "Go a bit easy on the make-up, I don't want it to be too obvious, for my father's sake."

The maidens all giggled, "I'm afraid the dress is going to give you away, and there's nothing Leavy could do with your make-up to prevent that." Denora said.

When Vala and Leavy were finished she checked the result in the mirror; the braiding started on top her head, with the many strands converging into a thick single braid just above her neck, and the skillfully applied make-up enhanced her features without being too obvious. Vala and Leavy had outdone themselves again. She beamed at the two maidens, "Marvelous, thank you." Both glowed with the praise, and her eyes went to the wall mounted chronometer, establishing that there still was some time left before dinner. She smiled at her assembled maidens, "Thank you girls, but could you leave now? I would like to have a word in private with Denora." The concerned maidens nodded, and filed out.

***

Cassandra walked over to the bed and sat herself down on it. Denora looked at her questioningly, and a bit uneasily. She patted the bed next to her, and waited for her senior maiden to sit down at the indicated spot. "Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, I just have a bit of a favor to ask from you...," she said. Denora frowned, but her mistress smiled softly, "Of all my maidens you seem to be the one with the most experience..., sexually speaking."

Denora blushed, "It's not what you think milady, I'm not..." She hesitated for a moment, "It isn't that I'm an 'easy' girl and worked myself through a whole string of boyfriends. I had but a single affair, with a much older man, just after coming of age. I was very much in love with him, and he was very experienced. It lasted five months, and in those five months I learned everything there was to learn about sex..."

Cassandra frowned, "So, if you were that much in love, what went wrong?"

Denora looked down, "I kept the affair a secret for my parents, because of the age difference, but after those five months I decided to come clean, and introduce him to them." Her voice broke, "That's when he dumped me, after disclosing he was married. I was devastated, tried to kill myself. But I overcame my despair somehow, and half a year later I became your first maiden."

Her senior maiden sat crying softly next to her, and she was perplexed for a moment. Denora was always so confident, so strong... Her heart cringed, and she hugged her close, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know, if I had known I would never have brought it up."

Denora sniffled, "It's okay. It's just... I had pushed it from my mind these past years, and you took me by surprise."

At twenty four Denora was relatively old to still be single, and considering her beauty she had always thought that was due to her being a Pryoness' maiden, but she wasn't so sure about that anymore now. "Is this why you're still single?" she asked softly.

Denora sniffled, and then she nodded, "Yes, I don't trust them anymore, men I mean."

Cassandra nuzzled her maiden's hair, "Not all men are like that."

The girl looked up at her, locked eyes with her, "Yes, I know, but I've shown myself incapable of distinguishing between the good ones and the bad ones, haven't I? I just don't want to get hurt like that ever again." Cassandra found herself short for words, so she just held her maiden instead. After a minute Denora straightened herself and wiped her wet face, "So what did you want to ask me about, milady?"

She hesitated, and Denora managed an encouraging smile. "I wanted to know if you had any tips for me, for when I'm with Brando I mean."

Denora cocked her head, "Without him popping any cherries you mean? What's the problem with what you have been doing up to now?"

Cassandra blushed, "It's always one of us pleasuring the other. We never enjoy pleasure simultaneously, like when he would be, well, fucking me."

Denora's eyebrows rose, "And it never occurred to either of you that you could get on top of him, or have him go on top of you, reversed, and pleasure each other simultaneously?" She swallowed, and Denora chuckled, "That lover of yours isn't as experienced as I thought he was... Either that or he doesn't dare point it out to you..."

She had no trouble imagining the described positions, and blushed anew, how naughty... "I think I'll go on top," she whispered.

Denora smiled, "Have you taken him down your throat already?" She shook her head, her eyes wide. "It isn't that difficult," Denora said, "you just relax, and swallow when he's at the entrance. It just takes a bit of getting used too. He'll love being all the way inside you." The idea certainly had its merits, and she nodded, blushing fiercely. Her maiden grinned, "Poor Brando, he isn't going to know what hit him..." She said nothing, just hugged Denora close again.

***

Entering her father's dining room not much later she found Brando already there, and in an animated discussion with her father. Both men looked up at her, and whatever they had been discussing clearly lost all importance. Her father was first in recovering his voice, "Honey, you look..., stunning."

Brando swallowed taking her in, his eyes not hiding what he was thinking, which caused this fluttering in her belly. "You look incredible Cassy..." He even forgot to get up and pull her chair out for her.

She sat herself down smiling, while both men were clearly still trying to come up with something to add to their previous observations, and failing miserably. She decided to end their misery, "And what were the two of you talking about?"

Her father shrugged, "The usual; how to best defeat these orcs."

She grinned, "It would be nice to be able to forget about those darned orcs for a change, so let's talk about something else while we're having dinner, shall we?"

Both men nodded their understanding and they spend dinner talking about more mundane subjects, like the weather for instance. Spring had been relatively cold up to now, which influenced seeding times, and thus the harvest. "The orcs not being interested in being bribed at least left us with full granaries and warehouses," her father stated, and then he winced, "oops, sorry..."

She laughed, "You're forgiven, just don't let it happen again..."

They finished their dinner in good spirits, but when her father invited them to join him for a brandy in his private chambers she excused herself with a wink, "You men go and have your drink, and an opportunity to discuss those orcs some more... See the both of you at breakfast..."

Her father laughed, "Do you think your father is daft daughter of mine?" She blushed, and he winked, "Do you really think I didn't get why you showed up in that sinful dress? Now take the poor boy with you and help him out of his misery."

It made Brando blush too, and she bent over to him, and kissed him full on the lips. It was a swift kiss, and she smiled at him as she rose, "Care to join me in my private chambers, dear betrothed?"

Brando got up, still blushing, and looking at her father uncertainly. The Kang grinned at him, "I was young and in love too once, future son in law..." His face darkened, "Better make sure you don't hurt my daughter though... And that includes her heart..."

Brando swallowed, "I would never... I love her Sir!"

Her father chuckled softly, "You wouldn't be here if I wasn't convinced of that. Now go and give her what she so clearly needs. If she's anything like her mother, and that dress she's wearing says she is, you'll be in for a surprise or two..."

"Father!" she exclaimed, which got her this knowing look from beneath raised eyebrows. She blushed fiercely in response.

"See the two of you at breakfast?" her father asked undisturbed.

She nodded slowly, then rushed over to him and kissed him on the head, before returning to Brando and dragging him out of the dining room behind her. They hurried out of her father's quarters, and then up the spiral stairs to her own.

***

Entering her private chambers she found Denora and Moiga behind the reception room's reception desk. Both maidens smiled, "No one will disturb you," Denora said, "I have informed the girls, and no one is going to get past this entrance for the next few hours."

She smiled back at her, and mouthed her thanks, while pulling Brando towards the private hallway. From there it was just a short distance to her bedchamber. She guided him inside, then turned to close the doors behind them, and Brando was all over her. He held her from behind, his hands slowly sliding up her sides, "Gods," he moaned, "Where did you get this dress? I went crazy watching you, begging the gods for dinner to end."