Orc Dominion: Elfin Descent Ch. 12

The air had already begun to turn cold as Trogar sat upon his steed at the top of the hill. A bitter wind pushed through his silk shirt, but the orc steeled himself against it. I won't shiver he thought. The orc prince surveyed the country outside Ruar looking for signs of the princess. She wouldn't dare stand him up again, would she? Trogar took a deep breath to help settle his anger. So, she still thinks she can defy me, he thought. But that didn't make sense; why would she have submitted to him earlier if only to defy him now? That made him apprehensive, and he began to worry that someone else may have intervened.

I had better find Dorian; he should know where she is. His mother's bodyguard was supposed to have people watching her. They had better be doing their job. Trogar gave his horse a kick and began galloping back toward the city. The sun was already setting and if the princess had been kidnapped every moment he delayed would allow them to get farther away.

His mind was spinning as he rode back towards the castle. What did it mean? If the King of Heste, no, that was his brother, if Henry Ousten had kidnapped her, what was he planning? Where would they go? The pretender was a pirate, he would be using a ship not riding for the border. He doubted that Henry would be so bold as to sail his ship into Ruar, which meant that he had to be hidden along the coastline.

Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, maybe there were other options. She could have left the city. Had he pushed her too far? He didn't think so. She believed that there would be war if she did that and she wouldn't allow so many of her people to die just to salve her pride. She had come this far, she'd go farther yet.

What else could it be? Would she have checked back in with that pimp to see if he had any other contacts who would help her? It would be easy enough to find out. But he doubted she would go down that road again, not after it ended so poorly with Sylvia. Thinking of the whore made him clench his teeth. He couldn't believe that all the time they were together she was playing him.

Of course, to an extent of course all whores played their clients. But that she had betrayed his confidences to Lyriena! She had nearly ruined everything. She paid for it, though. He was certain she wouldn't do that again. I'll have to move up Lyriena's training when I get her back. There's no sense in getting a new mistress at this point. There were the twins as well, he supposed, but they were much more fun being used as a tool against Lyriena than fucking them in their own right. One day though, he'd have the princess begging for his cock while he gave it to the twins. That would serve her right!

Trogar clenched his fist, digging his nails into his palm. I'm getting ahead of myself. First I have to get her back, and then I have to make her mine. One step at a time, one step at a time. When Trogar reached the castle stables he jumped off the horse and began making his way to the Queen's chambers. Wherever his mother was, there too would Dorian be.

The Queen's footman Daniels was exiting her chambers as he arrived. The human looked flushed and moved stiffly. He couldn't look Trogar in the eye as they passed. Mother is up to her tricks again he thought. Probably celebrating with the tourney victors. "I need to find Dorian" Trogar told the guards outside Jeanette's room, "It's important."

The guard went inside, and a moment later returned to usher the Prince into his mother's chambers. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the reeking scent of sex and cum that was permeating the chamber. Jeanette waited for him in a semi-transparent night robe that ended just below her sex. The red garment was barely tied at the waist, providing only minimal covering for his mother's tits and occasionally flashing her sex when her thighs moved.

"Trogar! What brings you here so late? Is something the matter?"

"I'm looking for Dorian, mother." He paused. "It seems that Lyriena has vanished."

"Vanished? How can that be?" She asked.

"She was not at our agreed upon meeting location. Has she shown up at Faerie Lights? Or at the docks?"

"I've not heard anything like that." Dorian said as he stepped out from the shadows. He opened the door to the Queen's suite and sent one of the guards off to check with his informants. "If she had gone anywhere out of the ordinary I should have been informed."

"We should start gathering a search party, in case she is missing. We won't have a moment to lose if Henry has taken her." Trogar clenched his jaw again at the thought. What was he going to do if she had been taken by Henry? His brothers would never let him live it down, and he would never get out of this castle.

"Do you really think that's necessary? Surely Henry couldn't operate this close to Ruar without being caught." Jeanette gave Dorian a hard look. "Could he?"

Dorian remained silent for a moment. "He might. We've always had problems tracking and catching him. We assumed that his friends in Heste were helping him, but he might have friends here as well."

The Queen gave him an icy look. "Preventing traitors and malcontents from aiding foreign warlords was exactly the reason I hired you, Dorian."

"We can point fingers later" said Trogar. "For now we need to find the Princess. We should at least start gathering members of the guard. We will want to be as organized as possible when we hear back, even if it that she is safe and sound."

"Very well, do it."

"Yes Your Highness." Dorian gave word to the other guard, who left to begin rallying his fellows.

A moment later, the first guard returned looking dour. "Your Highness, it seems the man set to following Princess Lyriena has been found with his throat cut just outside the city gate."

"She has been taken, then. Where could they have gone?" Jeanette asked Dorian.

"He hasn't sailed into the city, that is for certain." Dorian unrolled a map of Ruar and the surrounding countryside and placed it on a table."

Trogar felt a grim sort of satisfaction to see that something had finally shaken Dorian's confidence, but now was not the time to gloat. "He has to be planning to take her away by ship, and the ship can't be more than a few days ride. That leaves a space of roughly here to here." Trogar traced out a stretch of coastline from the west of the city to the east.

"This cove here is closest to the Elfish Isles, and would give him the fastest jumping off point to return to his friends in Heste." Jeanette pointed to a cove west of the city.

"True, but he will know we know that. I expect he'll go east of the city, to here." Trogar pointed to Bartlett Cove, east of the city.

"I agree. Bartlett Cove is close enough to Bayton that his crew could get fresh supplies while Henry snuck into the city" Dorian agreed with the Prince.

"As you wish, we'll focus our search there. Send out my ships to try and catch his on the water. Perhaps we can end this pretender now. We'll send a third of our men west, and the rest to the east. Trogar, take a group and find your Princess. We cannot allow her to be spirited away; it will make us look weak. And Dorian, take the other group and find Henry and his crew. I want them dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes Your Highness."

****

Trogar led a group of 12 guards through the Boronian forest. The Princess-Knight Amelie, who had delayed departing the city until Lyriena could be found, let another dozen men. Dorian had taken his group further ahead by boat in an attempt to cut off Henry and the princess.

Fortunately it was a full moon tonight, so they had plenty of light to guide their way. Even still, each man carried a torch to help navigate through the forest. Though the land had been gifted to his father as part of the marriage agreement, the orcs who chose to settle in Zentara built further to the east, wanting to steer clear of the populous human city.

The search party had another important advantage over Henry. They had brought along extra horses, so they could keep a brisk pace and switch as necessary. Their trackers believed that Henry and Lyriena had only two horses, so they would be required to stop and rest their mounts. That would give them time to catch up and narrow the several hour lead that they had.

The Prince clutched the handle of his axe tightly. He had picked out a new one from the armory, one that would be better suited for actual combat. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but he wanted to be prepared. If they could catch up with Henry before he reunited with his crew it would be thirteen to one and he wouldn't have to worry about it. If not, he could have a pitched battle on his hands.

He hoped to avoid that. Henry had done well in the joust, and by all accounts was a skilled fighter. He didn't want to make the mistake of picking a fight he wouldn't win when his life was actually on the line. As desirable as making Lyriena his bride was, he didn't want to lose his life for her.

Just the brief thought of dying for Lyriena woke another troubling thought. What if she had left willingly? She certainly had motive, he reflected. At this point, life with the pirate would probably seem more attractive than as his pet. But agreeing to be Henry's wife would mean war which is something she wants to avoid. He ruminated on that for a moment. No doubt the putative King of Heste told her that war was inevitable anyway; that she could either marry Trogar or go to war.

That was probably true, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Perhaps there was another way to resolve things with Lyriena. It was obviously too late to 'start again', but maybe he could ease up a little bit. Perhaps play upon her anger at Soleil and make common cause against the servant. Alternatively, he could go all out in attempting to bend her to his will. No, that wasn't the right way to look at it. Trying to break her wasn't working; he needed to redirect her passions.

Clearly, she was responsive to some of the treatment. To even his surprise, she climaxed while being forced into pony play. He just had to find the right balance of pushing her buttons while not overwhelming her. The Prince suppressed a chuckle. But first he had to get her back.

They rode hard through the night, and then into the next day. It wasn't until the sun began to set again that the trackers began to see signs that they had closed the gap. Trogar and his men pushed even harder into the night, until finally they found their quarry. Shit, he's already united with his crew! Trogar cursed silently as he tried to count out how many of the pirates there were. Fortunately, there appeared to be less than a dozen, so they would still have numerical advantage. And when Amelie and her forces arrived, they'd have over twice as many.

He just had to keep Henry at bay long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Trogar watched a moment longer as Henry and Lyriena carried out a whispered conversation. He wished he could hear what they were saying, but they were too quiet and the night too still. Finally, he turned and gave the order to blast the trumpet to signal their location.

Trogar spurred his horse forward, charging directly towards Henry and Lyriena. The sooner he separated those two the better! The Prince held his axe in one hand and a shield in the other. He wouldn't be able to enjoy the full reach of it with just one hand, but in the close quarters fighting he expected it shouldn't make a difference.

****

"Form up!" Henry shouted at his men, who hastened to obey. They formed a wall to intercept the charging Zentaran forces. Though the Zentarans had the advantage of being on horseback, the Hestens were able to rally in a dense copse of trees that helped nullify it. The ringing of steel began to fill the night as Henry grabbed Lyriena by both arms. "Lyriena, there are going to be more of them out there. I may not be able to protect you. Listen to me! If we get separated and you're brought back to Ruar, look for my agent. You'll know him by my sigil; he'll greet you with reference to a lion."

"A lion? Alright Henry, but please, let us keep going now. I do not want to go back there."

"I can't leave my men to die. But listen, if you go back, meet with my agent. Help him rescue Sylvia, and get to the next ship sailing to Deznessuian. He will know how to signal me and I'll intercept the ship. Remember the lion!"

A mighty roar, followed by a horrific scream peeled through the air as Trogar cleaved through one of Henry's pirates with his great war axe. The orc Prince threw aside the body and broke through the lines. The orc Prince opened his mouth, but before he could deliver whatever taunt he intended Henry charged forward, pressing Trogar with a furious attack.

The would-be King of Heste was armed with sword and shield, and used them to good effect against the Prince. Lyriena struggled to keep up with the flurry of blows as both combatants hacked, slashed, chopped, and parried each other. She was no great lover of melee, nor was she well educated in tactics, but she could sense that Trogar was fighting differently than at the melee. For one, he was now holding a shield, which made wielding the battle axe more cumbersome. But he was also more reserved, not making the big, sweeping attacks he did. What was he up to? She looked out into the darkness, wondering whether to ride off while she still could.

Though the orc was taller than Henry by a hand and thicker of body to boot, the human kept up with Trogar blow for blow. His blade sang as it cut through the air, snapping and chopping in rapid cuts as it sought a weakness in the orc's guard. The princess suddenly realized that this could be it; Trogar could actually die here, and now. It would all be over! She turned back towards the combat, clutching the reins tighter in her hand as she leaned forward to watch more closely.

Even though Henry was holding off Trogar, she could see that his men were beginning to give ground. They weren't as heavily armored as the Zentarans, and were fighting without the benefit of horses. Though they were rectifying that, by striking at the horses. Several Zentarans had already been dismounted this way, but it wasn't keeping them from being pushed back.

The battle got closer and closer as the Hestens, except for Henry, were forced back. As the battle passed by the two commanders, she got a flash of insight and instinctively knew what would happen next. Henry somehow moved his horse in a horizontal pivot that allowed him to flank Trogar and smashed the orc in the side with his shield. Trogar tumbled off his horse and fell to the ground with a thud.

But before Henry could crush him beneath his mount's hooves, the orc took a leaf from the Hesten's book and with a mighty swing severed the foreleg of Henry's horse, sending both to the ground. Lyriena held her breath as Trogar scrambled to his feet, holding the bloody axe over Henry as the latter tried to disentangle himself from the saddle.

****

Trogar grinned as he watched Henry struggle. This was too good! He didn't think he'd be able to defeat Henry, but now he was at his mercy. Not only was he going to rescue Lyriena, but he'd have the pleasure of delivering the outlaw's head to his mother. This wasn't turning out too badly for his first real battle. He gripped the axe with both hands and raised it above his head to deliver the killing blow.

It fell with a mighty swoosh and sunk into flesh, spraying hot blood over his face. With a guttural roar he pulled the axe out from the horse's carcass. Henry had moved at the last instant, causing him to cut the leather strap tying him to the horse and freeing the human to grab his sword and shield. Bastard! Trogar glanced at his own shield, but it was too far away to be of any use. He was going to have to face Henry without it.

The orc Prince met the human's charge with his own, using the metal shaft of his axe to smash into his shield, breaking Henry's momentum. Time to go back to the plan; keep him occupied. Amelie and her men should be here any moment. He resumed his defensive stance, blocking and parrying Henry's attacks. He couldn't stay like this forever, but he didn't have to. If his reinforcements didn't arrive he was sure his many would prevail over the Hestens and he'd still have a numerical advantage.

"You should surrender now, Ousten. You can't win. I'll make sure you die quick." He gave a sharp laugh. "You won't share your cousin's fate."

Henry snarled and attacked with renewed vigor. Trogar winced in pain as the human's shield smashed into his hand, almost making him drop the axe. Apparently the King of Heste isn't above fighting dirty. He bashed Henry's shield again, and then tried to hook the blade of the axe around the side and rip if from his hand.

But Henry tilted it away, freeing the axe and while bring his sword down in a vicious chop. Trogar pivoted away and swung the axe again, but only managed to slam into Henry's back with the broadside. He quickly spun it to try again, but Henry had already recovered his position. "He isn't entirely forgotten, you know. Once a year, maybe twice if he's lucky, my mother takes off the cock cage he wears and lets him spill his seed. I hear he begs like a dog for it and kisses her feet in gratitude."

Henry didn't rise to the bait this time. "He always was a fool. If only he had died in battle like his father. Had I been King your whore of a mother would never have stolen the Kingdom for your bastard brother."

"Hah, you'll have to try harder than that to insult me. You think I haven't heard her called whore a hundred times?" Trogar kept his cool, and stayed on the defensive.

Henry was ready for that though, and with a strong kick collapsed Trogar's knee. He slammed down with the shield to knock the axe from his hand. But before he could follow through with a killing blow a sharp whistling brought his shield up. A javelin deflected off it and grazed his shoulder. The Princess-Knight Amelie charged onto the battlefield, readying another javelin.

"Here, take this." Henry said as he pulled a small strip of cloth from his pocket. He dropped down Jeanette's soiled panties from the joust on Trogar's face. "I don't need the Whore Queen's favor. Thanks for the horse." He raised his shield again and another javelin slammed against it, puncturing the metal and getting stuck halfway through.

Henry threw it aside and hopped on Trogar's horse. "Thanks for the mount." He quickly scanned the battlefield, but seeing that Lyriena was cut off from him and his own people dead or dying he turned his horse and rode into the night with Amelie in hot pursuit.

****

A feeling of dread descended upon Lyriena as she found herself back in the Prince's quarters. She had hoped never to see this place again. But here she was, with the Prince no doubt planning some new humiliation to inflict upon her. She had been so close to freedom; for a few glorious hours she thought she had escaped this wretched city. But the wages of sin is a chain that drags you into the Abyss, or so the saying goes. Her own chains had dragged her back into Trogar's grasp.

"Here we are, safe and sound" Trogar said as he regarded the princess with a leer. She was still in the short red dress from the tournament, and it had been even further disheveled by the day of hard riding. "Looking a little worse for the wear; did that brute harm you?"

He has some nerve, calling Henry a brute. "He was a perfect gentleman, actually." She looked at him pointedly, but if he received her implicit message he didn't acknowledge it.

"I do hope that's the case." For a moment it looked as if he was going to say something more but stopped himself. After a minute, he continued. "I found myself most put out by your abduction." The Prince stepped closer. "You probably don't want to hear this, but our time together has left me feeling somewhat possessive and responsible for you."