Crossed Sword

Cassandra ran through the darkening wood along a game trail; blood pounding in her ears, lungs burning in her chest. Tattered clothes clung to her sweaty body in the stifling heat. Heedless of the branches that tore at her clothing and flesh, she crashed through the undergrowth. Her pursuers were getting closer. Their curses and taunts were like the baying of hounds. She cried out in desperation knowing full well no one would answer. She would not be able to run much longer, but maybe, if luck was with her, she could get just far enough. The Lady was fickle this evening: she tripped over a rock and crashed to the ground. The pursuit was almost upon her. She staggered to her feet only to fall back to the ground as a thunder bolt of pain shot from her ankle. Crawling along, desperate, she got up onto her one good foot and limped painfully onward. Shouts erupted from behind her. They had caught sight of her, seen her fall: they knew they didn't have to hurry anymore.

Breaking into a small clearing she fell onto her back. She had no strength to get back up despite hearing them coming. They sauntered into the clearing. They were big and ugly. In fact that's what she had called these bandits after they attacked her carriage: Big and Ugly. She had left them to figure out which was which as she bolted for the game trail. They had gotten a lot uglier since the beginning of their little run. They drew their swords. Nothing fancy for these two, their weapons were simple and functional; they would be more than enough for the job at hand. The one she decided was Ugly stepped forward.

"Here kitty, kitty, we ain't gonna hurt you, too much. Silly Kitty should have left the jewels behind maybe we wouldn't have chased you."

Big moved forward as well.

"Suit yourself, I'm gonna hurt her a lot for making sport of us. I'm gonna leave her beaten and bleeding after I've had my way with her."

Cassandra tried to scramble away as they laughed. Her hand found a rock. In desperation she threw it with all her might but Big merely stepped to the side and it landed uselessly in the wood.

"Oh my, Kitty's got claws!"

He sheathed his sword, secure in the knowledge that she would not be able to put up much of a fight, though he secretly hoped that she would. As he began to unbutton his breeches something changed in her expression. She was smiling. It was not a nice smile either, it was the smile of a predator just before it pounces. The kick came from out of nowhere. One moment she was on her back and the next her knee was solidly in his fork. Before he even had time to register the pain her elbow swung around and caught him right on the bridge of his nose with a loud crack. Blood erupted from the wound as he staggered backwards tripping over his breeches and landing solidly on his back.

"I kept the jewels because I wanted you to chase me!"

She looked down at her work quickly then glanced over to Ugly. Her eyes shone with malice. She was, in her own estimation, a born performer. Her little accident with the rock was worthy of the greatest stage and that cowering, she was remarkably good at pretending to be afraid. It had been so easy to lure the brutes here, to run just fast enough to keep them bumbling along after her but not too slowly as to have to face them in the tight confines of the forest. Here she had room. Here she could perform. She ran at Ugly and as he prepared his sword to swing at her, she jumped. The sword cut through thin air and, having over extended his attack, he was off balance as she landed behind him as quietly as a cat. He swung around just in time to see her foot connect with his nose. Another gout of blood from yet another broken nose. He swung clumsily at her as she darted back, drawing two stiletto daggers from the small of her back. A second later he fell gurgling to the ground with a satisfying thud. She tried to turn to finish off Big as well but she suddenly found it impossible to move. He slowly moved into view. His eyes burned with eldritch fire. One hand clenched around a talisman hanging from his neck the other outstretched towards her. Her eyes widened in very real fear; he was a sorcerer!

"You're gonna pay fer what you did to Burt! I'm gunna pull you apart, piece by bloody piece! But first things first."

She felt herself lifted off the ground her clothes and jewelry were slowly torn from her body as Big twisted his hand. She could see the disgusting lust in his eyes as he gazed upon her nakedness. She wanted to retch as she struggled in vain. The lewd expression on his face turned to surprise as blood began to drip from his mouth. He fell forward, two arrows protruding from his back. Cassandra felt the spell release and she hit the ground hard. Shaken, she felt a cloak fall across her shoulders. She looked up into Kalvin's smug, smiling face.

"You took your jolly, bloody time. Enjoying the show were you?"

He handed her the rest of her spare clothes.

"Cassandra of Lenvin caught off her guard, oh my yes, that will be a sight I will remember for the rest of my life."

She shot him a glance that said the rest of his life would be a great deal shorter and a lot more painful than he wanted. His smile lessened, but only a little. She stood up resplendent as always in clothing that accentuated her form while still remaining practical, always in dark grey, like her eyes. They shone out from her long sable locks as she shook a few twigs loose from their curls. She then retrieved her stilettos, kicking Big's cooling body as Kalvin was retrieving his arrows.

"I hate magic!"

He crossed his arms, cocked his head to the side and looked at the ring on her right hand. She followed his gaze.

"I hate magic when it's used against me!"

His smile broadened again.

"Like that night in Kryl?"

She looked at him with blazing fury which melted into a lyrical laugh. Her eyes danced as she took him by his leather jerkin and pulled him close for a deep kiss.

"Please tell me you still have it!"

He smiled at her but quickly banished thoughts of pleasure; there was still work to be done. He surveyed the carnage, not a bad day's work really. Finding them had been easy. The villagers they terrorized knew where they were but were powerless to do anything about them. Not surprising with half the lords of the land away in the war against...

"Cassandra, who is this country at war with?"

She paused for a moment considering the question.

"I think it's the druids of Thrull this time. Something about King Aederos killing their sacred tree wasn't it?"

Druids, necromancers, demon worshiping dervishes from Uln, it all meant the same thing for those that were left behind: with the knights gone, lawlessness was on the rise. This was, of course, good news for those, like himself. People who possessed certain skills and a penchant to fight for those who could not fight for themselves could be richly rewarded in these times.

"So, just the two then? I thought they said there were three of them. I distinctly remember because you said bad things always come in threes."

She moved so quickly all he could perceive was a blur of movement and a dull thud behind him. This was followed by a wet gurgling sound as he turned around to see the third man drop face first into the ground, a dagger buried in his chest. She strode past him closing his slackened jaw with her finger and kissed him softly on the lips. You would think he would have gotten used to this by now.

"Like I said, bad things come in threes."

She retrieved the dagger wiped the blood on the man's shirt, whose name she decided should be Dumb. Big, Dumb and Ugly had a nice ring to it she thought. She turned back to Kalvin sliding the dagger back into its hiding place.

"One day I will find out where you hide all your blades and it will either be a really, really good day, or a really, really bad day."

Kalvin lead Cassandra to where he had left their horses. They were silent as they rode back to the village, the three heads piled inside the borrowed carriage to let the villagers know their problem had been solved. Of course the bounty on these three wasn't that high, but what they had done to that girl had deeply angered Cassandra. She had made it personal and it had almost cost her dearly.

Back in the clearing a screech owl landed on the now headless body of Ugly. Its intelligent eyes darting from one prone form to another. Seemingly satisfied with what it saw, it flew back into the night's sky to report to its master.

"We're not heroes. Nothing we do will ever change what we did."

The darkness was getting to her again. Kalvin tried his best to laugh when he felt the shadows of their past tug at him, Cassandra brooded. To each their own. The celebration had been as sumptuous as the village could make. Good, simple food, better mead, and the true happiness that only relief can bring. In fact, the celebration was still going on. Cassandra was sitting at the window of their room in the small inn watching the revelry, brooding.

"I don't know, I think I'm pretty dashing if I do say so myself."

She turned and smiled at him and had to admit to herself that yes, he certainly looked the part of the dashing hero who would ride in on the charger to save the maiden. Tall, well muscled, dirty blond curls that fell to his shoulders and piercing blue eyes. Looks could be terribly deceiving. But in so many ways he saved her every day. He kept the darkness at bay.

He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder. He nuzzled the hair away from her neck and gently kissed his way up her neck to her ear. She closed her eyes to the sound of his whisper.

"You are so beautiful by candle light, Cassandra. Please come to bed."

His hands slid up to her breasts and she felt the darkness melt away. She spun in his arms and pushed him down onto the bed.

"The ring, take it off, you have no idea how strong you are with it on. You almost broke me last time!"

She laughed as she looked at the ring, a gift from her father.

"I know exactly how strong I am with this ring on and if I want to break you, I will, and you know you will enjoy every minute of it."

Kalvin smiled his acknowledgement and stretched out his arms to her and in a blur she had him pinned to the bed beneath her, his arms over his head. It was her turn to nuzzle his neck. To bite him on the earlobe. To softly whisper.

"You always complain about the strength but never about the speed and stamina."

She began grinding her hips against him as his eyes rolled back in his head. He pushed his bulging manhood up against her as she did so and her head dropped, letting her hair cascade around his face. She had bathed after the battle and the local girls had perfumed her hair. It was intoxicating. They had given her a dress that made her eyes sparkle. They had danced together after that. He loved to watch Cassandra dance. He looked up at her now, at the way she moved on top of him with such grace. She snapped her hair back across her back and kissed him deeply. Their tongues eagerly sought for each other as Cassandra loosened her grip of his wrists, allowing his hands to move across her body. Slowly, deliberately he loosened the knots from the bodice of her dress. He gently pulled it down until she was naked to the waist bathed in flickering candle light. His hands moved to her breasts as she arched her back swaying her hips.

Gently pinching and pulling her nipples she moaned and the swaying became more intense. He ached as his member strained against his breeches. He dropped his hands to her hips and lifted her off him and gently rolled her onto her back. His mouth went to her erect nipples and sucked them one at a time as her fingers ran through his hair. He pulled the dress past her hips as he kissed down her side. She slid her legs out of the dress as his lips reached her hip then slid down her inner thigh to her knee. Slowly, deliberately he licked and kissed by inches up her inner thigh. The torment was exquisite and Cassandra moaned deeply with a delicious smile on her lips. His mouth was so close now, how she ached for him to kiss her wetness her fists balled tightly, her toes curling in anticipation. She wanted to feel his tongue slip inside her. Her back arched as she could feel his breath on her lips. He stopped. He started to kiss back down towards her knee. She moaned in anguish, he knew so well how much she loved to be teased. Past her knee he kissed. He licked. He nibbled. Inch after inch. Past her ankle to her instep until he kissed and sucked each toe. He then picked up her other foot, gently kissing each toe, then her ankle. He looked down at her writhing body, her head thrashing from side to side. He almost felt guilty about tormenting her like this, almost. His mouth moved back up her other leg. His pace less measured as he was longing to taste her. Up her calf he licked. Pausing at her knee to deposit a little bite. She squealed. He was once again inches away. His breath was maddening. She refused to look down at him. She knew he would have that impish grin on his face. She was going to make him pay for this... after.

His tongue slid between her lips, tasting her sweet pleasure as it poured onto his tongue. She moaned at the tension's release.

"Sooooo, going to make you pay for this..."

The taste made him so hard it was necessary to undo his breeches for comfort's sake. Her fingers began to pull on his hair as the pleasure of his warm mouth made her gasp for breath. He slid a finger inside her and her hips jerked then continued to sway as his finger matched her rhythm. The climax that tore through her was strong and left her whole body quaking. She then sat up and threw him back against the headboard. She crawled over him, a predatory look in her eye. He swallowed hard as he watched her approach. She took one finger, licked it, then traced a line from his throat, across his chest then down into his breeches. A few firm strokes and she released it.

"I'm not as good at teasing as you are. I prefer the direct approach."

He loved her directness as much as she loved to be teased. She pulled off his jerkin then his breeches. He knew he would not be able to stop her even if he wanted to, her strength was many times greater than his. Still on all fours she gently kissed his chest, pausing to lick each nipple. her hand resumed it's stroking as her lips moved to his mouth. She could taste herself on his lips.

She knelt over him, he took her breasts in his hands, kissing them. He could feel her dripping on him as she stroked, with every stroke she swayed her hips lower until the very tip of his manhood entered her. She slowly slid down the length, moaning, gasping and whimpering with every inch as he gently thrust up into her. She took his hands in hers and pinned them to the headboard as she began to move more quickly. Faster and faster she swayed her hips as she moved up and down his swollen member. He could barely think. She began to moan deeply, he knew she was ready again. She slowed as the climax overwhelmed her and he could feel her spasms deep within her. He couldn't take it any more. He strained against her to no avail as she tightened her grip on his wrists and his hips. Her eyes were commanding as she could sense his desire for release.

"Soon, my love, but not yet. I might not be as good as you, but I'm still very good at teasing."

She slid off his manhood. She had, as always, loved the taste of herself on his lips. She craved the taste of their mixed passions.

She kissed his nipple, licked it until it was hard, and then with a wink she bit it, hard. He screamed. He writhed against her grip but it was useless. She had warned him he would pay. The scream turned to a deep moan as the bite persisted. She released his wrists and kissed down his chest and stomach as he pulled back her hair. Her hand gripped him, pulled, twisted as her lips kissed the base of his manhood. He was still soaked from her, the taste was delightful on her lips. She pulled faster and faster. She was rewarded with more moans. She slowed as she could feel him wanting to yield. She licked the head, circling it with her tongue. Beads of his pleasure began to mix with hers as his excited member pulsed and throbbed the taste of it made her moan. She slowly took his entire length into her mouth and down her throat. His head thrashed from side to side, his hands gripped her hair tightly as she began moving her mouth up and down while stroking and twisting with her hand. Faster and faster she went, unbelievably fast. His moans turned to whimpers. Once again, within a hair's breadth of release she stopped, smiled and kissed her way back up his stomach. His eyes were pleading, begging.

"I think you have suffered enough."

She lowered herself onto him. He began to thrust up into her as she rode him. HE managed to keep pace until she decided to speed up her gyrations All Kalvin could do was whimper as her hips became a blur the wicked smile on her face taunting him. And then he felt the dam within him break and he cried out only to have his cries muffled by Cassandra's breast which he gladly sucked and bit. His release had come and he exploded inside her, the spasms of his pleasure made her slow down but she did not stop. She released his wrists and he wrapped his arms around her as his climax surged and then faded. Moments later she cried out as well and she collapsed into him panting. Their bodies soaked in sweat and their love they fell away from each other to cool themselves. Trying to regain their breath their hands reached for each other and their fingers intertwined as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you."

The knock at their door came at dawn. The response Kalvin gave to it was rude, colourful, and loud. The knock came again more insistent.

He opened the door ready to spit rage in the face of anyone who dared tare him from the bliss of Cassandra's warmth. Soldiers. His sleep addled brain eventually processed that he should probably have put some clothes on before answering the door. There were probably two dozen heavily armed and armoured of them and one naked him. He recovered quickly, just in time to smile lasciviously at their shocked expressions.

"I'm not done with this one yet, gentlemen, you'll have to wait your trurns, I'm only one man."

He winked at a younger soldier and blew him a kiss, the poor boys eyes widened blushing to his neck. Kalvin slammed the door shut. The commander of the squad, who, apparently had no sense of humour kicked the door back open before Kalvin could pull the bolt home and handed him a piece of parchment. It was all curly letters and impressive seals. Kalvin could have read it but the commander thought it best, none the less, to sum it up for him.

"You have been summoned by Lord Kardrin. You are to come with us."

He couldn't resist.

"All at once, or one at a time?"

The Lord's Keep was certainly a masterpiece of military architecture. It was, in Kalvin's eye at least, a hideous eyesore. Convincing Cassandra that beating 20 men senseless without at least seeing what his Lordship wanted was not a good way to greet the morning had not been easy, she was not the kind of woman who enjoyed being compelled. Eventually her curiosity and Kalvin's pestering overcame her rage and she rode out to the Lord's keep, leaving the soldier's slower horses with Kalvin to catch up to her. They stood before the Lord in the great hall of his keep. It was austere, it was obvious there was no Lady Kardrin; the place lacked a woman's touch. There was a daughter, however, or rather there had been a daughter until two nights ago. She had been taken.

"I don't care what you are, heroes, bounty hunters, hired knives, if Dormund says you are the ones I am looking for, then that is all I require."