Queen Yavara Ch. 32

"Did you enjoy the show?" Adrianna croaked. Her eyes were blue again.

"It was magnificent." Certiok crinkled her nose in a smile, and kissed Adrianna deeply.

CERTIOK

Only a few months ago, the matriarchs wouldn't have even known my name. The Protaki were so inconsequential that we might've as well have been one of the Maple tribes for all they cared. When the Terdini coopted us, the matriarchs saw me as nothing but the prize whore for Brock's son. When Brock was named Froktora, their opinion of me was only worsened, for I was still a Protaki whore in their eyes, only I'd suddenly become a threat. They saw me differently now.

The matriarchs had come to Castle Alkandra with the intent of owning the place. They had never seen a hybrid before, and so to them, hybrids were simply half-breed mongrels, and this one bore the hated name of 'Thomas Adarian.' When they first laid eyes on the hybrids, I could see the inklings of uncertainty. Something about the half-dark-elves touched a very old instinct in them, and they had not been prepared for their beauty. When Trenok kneeled, they kneeled with him, for they were not used to such ceremony, and the uncertainty guided their legs to bend. And when they traded words with Adrianna, she gave them enough of her wit for them to know they didn't have a chance of matching her.

But it is sex and violence that has always compelled orc-kind, and Adrianna bested the horde's brightest star with ease, then fucked him like a whore-goddess. They had never seen a woman move like that. They had not known Alkandra like I had; not the nation, nor the city, but the flesh of Alkandi herself. And as they watched with slack jaws and wet crotches, the realization dawned in their eyes. They were not the masters of this land. They were obsolete. And when Adrianna had proclaimed that the child Trenok put into her womb would be my daughter, the matriarchs realized that I had stepped over them all. My little Sherok would rule them all.

"It's serendipitous, I guess." Adrianna chuckled, "That your scheme would be the solution to Yavara's."

I laughed with her as we watched the table being set. The head of the table was reserved for Adrianna, and the other hybrids filled in their side of it, while the other side was filled with the matriarchs, only the foot of the table had been left empty. I was to be their leader, and speak on behalf of their interests. Only, I wasn't very interested in their interests, and truth be told, the only reason I wasn't arguing for having them all murdered was because it would be much more satisfying to have them grovel.

"How do you want to do it?" I asked.

Adrianna tilted her head in thought, a smile creasing her lips. "They're aware now that things are going to be different, and they're afraid of losing their power. If we try to implement policy that strips their control, they will leave the table and entrench themselves with their clans. So, we promise them more power, and in so doing, they freely give everything."

"What?"

"It's a trick King Tiadoa used to use in the Noble Court," she explained. "If you have a baron who is working against your interests, and you want to get rid of him, what do you do? Kill him? No, that would cause terrible upheaval and put assassins in your bedroom. Strip his lands? That could cause a rebellion. No, what you do, is make him a count. See, a count is one step above a baron, and the life goal of any noble is to climb the ladder. The aspiring baron will jump at the chance to be named a count, and so you make him the count of some northern mining province where the mine has run dry. Now the only power he has is his precious title, and he's grateful that you gave it to him."

I snorted. "There's still a little imperial in you yet, Adrianna."

"Remember, both Alkandi and Yavara were high-elves once. When Alkandi died, it was her pure-blood daughters who raised arms with war chieftains and tore Alkandra to pieces." She patted her belly, "Let's hope Sherok takes after me, huh?"

ADRIANNA

Certiok and I charmed and flattered the matriarchs, though I didn't think we needed to. They were so intimidated by me that they leapt at my every word. Still, it was good to make them think they were important. We gave them each titles and power that would (on paper) grant them all-encompassing authority over the entire populace. Only, each of their positions reported directly to one of the hybrids, making the new noble ladies of Alkandra nothing more than glorified administrators. But they would get nice seats at the new stadium, and could walk around town and bully members of rival clans with impunity, and in the end, that was all they really wanted. They ceded their power to us with big smiles on their faces, and signed the dotted line.

From there, I handed the reigns to our Population Director. Brianna collected census information from each of the matriarchs, and began assigning quarters to the populace. No tower would have a majority of one clan in it, and each floor would have a mix of all clans. The justification to the matriarchs was a glib explanation of making sure things were "fair." We could only house a tenth of the population as it was, so an equal amount from each tribe would do. The rest would make camp in the forest until all the towers were done.

Faltia then requested that each matriarch contribute four-hundred tribespeople to the city watch. Before the meeting, Faltia had told me she would want to draft them herself, but I explained the importance of optics. The matriarchs would think they were exerting their control by drafting their own people, but in reality, all anyone would see was the matriarchs willingly giving their citizens over to the watch. The same tactic was used with Alexa when she said she needed six-hundred from each clan for her construction crews and two-hundred each for maintenance, as well for Kiera when she said she needed three-hundred from each for crop distribution. Eva needed fifty each for her outreach projects, Soraya needed any literate orc they had, and Brianna needed one-hundred each for monitoring population behaviors. The matriarchs agreed easily to all of this, up until the point that Furia made her request.

"No," Nerok Kraklari said, shaking her head, "I will not have one of my citizens stand trial and be sentenced by a magistrate from the Silktari clan."

"Nor I from the Kraklair clan!" Uniok snarled back. There was a chorus of growling agreements.

Furia held out her hands amicably, "A panel then? One magistrate from each clan to vote on the cases."

"Just so that the Balktar, Waldaki and Hetaki can vote against one of mine?" Lopi Huftraki exclaimed, "I won't have it!"

Furia shrugged. "Then you'll all be judged by Ardeni orcs."

Even Certiok hated that idea. Furia waited out the yelling storm with crossed arms, then put her hand on the table. The simple action silenced the quarreling matriarchs. She paused for a moment, then said, "A panel of the Ten will be present at each court. If one of the magistrates is suspected of corruption or unfairness, then I will be notified of it. If upon reviewing the notice, I find that there is evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, then that magistrate will be drawn and quartered in the stadium the following day. Does anyone object to these terms?"

There was no objection. Furia smiled sweetly, and sat back down.

"There is one thing," Certiok said. "What laws will the magistrate be basing their ruling off of? There is no formal law in Alkandra."

It took five hours to hash out the laws for Alkandra, which was strange, since there weren't very many. In the Highlands, the lawbook was volumes thick, but the Alkandran doctrine was three sheets of paper. All drugs were legal, prostitution was legal (though pimping was not), gambling was legal, even murder was legal if done in a duel. Theft was illegal and punished by varying degrees of beating, extortion was illegal and punished by hand removal, rape was illegal and punished by castration. I found that last law odd, considering how much of Alkandra had been built on rape. None of the hybrids had willingly accepted their fate, even if they hadn't been forced as I had, and every orc village had a rape pit. Hell, Yavara herself wouldn't be the Dark Queen if she hadn't landed in Brock's merciless grasp that fateful night. I postulated that this law would've been different if the chieftains themselves were at the negotiating table.

What had caused five hours of contentious debate was the subject of slavery. In Ardeni Dreus, the orc workers had been subjected to indentured servitude, which was slavery in all but name, and they were staunch opponents of any form of forced labor. Conversely, the tribespeople thought slavery was just a fact of life. Tribes fought each other, and the losers became slaves. In their minds, it was fair. I was only able to convince Certiok and the others to drop slavery by getting Soraya to explain the economic ramifications of it. If the skilled Ardeni workers occupied the majority of the important construction jobs, and the nymphs tended the fields, and the slaves took all the manual labor jobs, then where would that leave the tribespeople? Destitute and unemployed, soon to become the lowest class of a nation they'd founded. After that, they agreed.

When we were done, the sun had set, and everyone was rubbing their eyes. Certiok escorted the matriarchs out of the castle, and we all stood in ceremonial respect and waved after them. Soraya collected the documents she'd scribbled on, and went to her office in the back of the castle to make copies.

"Need help?" Eva asked her.

Soraya turned over her shoulder, and eyed us all. "I could use a few extra hands." She assessed the hybrids at the table, "Pick an interesting combination." Then she strolled off.

Eva grinned, then sung "eeny-meeny-miny-moe," and picked Alexa and Brianna. The three of them giggled as they made their way to the back of the castle, Alexa getting on her knees halfway through so that Brianna could ride her like a mule. Kiera looked at Faltia with an inviting smile, and Furia came up behind Kiera and planted a kiss atop her head.

"Has anyone made a proper woman out of you yet, Kiera?" She asked.

Kiera bit her lip on a smile, "No, but I'm not sure you're the dick for the job. I need to be able to walk tomorrow."

"Oh, I can be very gentle," Furia whispered, and reached into Kiera's neckline to grasp one breast, her fingers pinching and rolling the nipple. That was all the persuasion Kiera needed. Faltia grinned excitedly, and took her hermaphrodite partners by their hands.

Furia turned as they were walking away, "Adrianna, are you coming?"

"Get started without me." I said, "I've got to see someone off."

TRENOK

The sky was mauve over the Great Forest, the last twinkle of the sun burning an arc on the horizon. The woodlands surrounding the fields were lit with thousands of campfires, and the torches were like fireflies between the campsites. The towers looked like jack-o-lanterns with their windows spewing light out onto the street, where revelers frolicked, fought and fucked in equal abundance. It was organized anarchy, and there had been no attempt to make it anything else. While chaos roamed in the street, the watchmen sat idly, only interfering if someone had become an unwilling participant in it. Adrianna understood Alkandra for what it was.

"You would've beaten me if I was still Thomas Adarian." She said beside me. She'd stood there for a while, neither of us speaking. "I was stronger then, but not nearly as quick or agile, and my strength would've counted for little against you."

"I still lost."

"Does it matter anymore?"

I looked down at the mother of my child. "Since the first day I could walk, I've been training to become the chieftain of the Terdini. It was preordained by my ancestors. I was to be the continuation of a line that extended long before the first Alkandra. When Dad became Froktora, it seemed like the culmination of that destiny. I would beat him in a duel, inherit his mantle, and the Terdini would finally take our places where we belonged." I put my hand on her belly, my fingers spanning her entire torso, "I thought I would raise a son like myself, and one day he would challenge and defeat me, and the great cycle would continue. But it will not be so. I will have a daughter who bares none of my likeness, who will not even be of my race, and no matter what son I put into Certiok, this elf of my blood will be his better."

"Yes." She said, putting her small hand over mine.

"We thought we had brought the tribes to their pinnacle when Dad became Froktora. Castle Thorum had been taken, Thomas Adarian had been captured, and the full might of the Great Forest and the Tundra had been united under the Dark Queen. It felt like destiny that night when we passed around your kitsune and saw the horror in your imperial eyes. How could we know that it was but the beginning of the end for us? That at our precipice, and at your lowest, the things had already passed that would reverse our fates?"

"Zander."

"Zander indeed." I chuckled, "I guess when you live as long as he has, it's very easy to see the patterns of people, and set them like chess pieces upon a board. Even Yavara is but the queen to his king."

"He chose me to be the Head-ranger ten years ago."

"And he befriended my father when he was still a boy."

"Do you think he anticipated this very conversation?"

I mused upon the idea with a smile. "Perhaps. I think it's more likely that he plays a thousand games on a thousand boards, and in each one, he is one step ahead."

"You're very eloquent for a Terdini brute. I wonder if our daughter will be a poet?"

I looked into her blue eyes, and sighed. "I wish I could hate you."

She smiled coyly. "I get that a lot."

I snorted, and slid my hand up her breast, along her neck, and cupped her cheek. She rested her head easily into my palm, staring up at me with unfettered admiration. She was like Yavara, a woman who could love without shackles. If I wasn't careful, I'd be ensnared in that love. It was dangerous for someone like me, whose heart could only belong to one. I pulled my hand away, and she smiled ruefully.

"We could've tried." She said.

"It would have ended in blood."

"I am ageless now. My life is destined to end in blood. If your horde is defeated in the Tundra, it will be all our destinies."

I regarded her for a moment, studying her face. Her features relaxed into a frown, and her eyes set in worry. "Trenok, I can tell you're deciding not to say something." She stepped forward, and put her hand on my forearm, "Trenok, is the Highland army walking to its doom?"

I nodded. "Titus has already killed their high command and delayed their advance for a week at least, and by that time, they will be forced to fight on a battlefield of our choosing. The new generals will follow a predictable battle pattern, and we will bait him with an all-out attack. Much like our duel today, we will throw them the axe, then smash into them. Only, they will not have the foresight to wear unstrapped armor beneath their cloaks. They will grab the axe thinking us disarmed, and never see us coming until it's too late. With their backs to the marshlands, it will be a slaughter."

"And then what?" She whispered.

"We've placed the Ten and their sons at the vanguard of suicide formations. With them dead, and a decisive victory under his belt, the horde will belong to the Froktora in totality, and Dad would never disobey Yavara. From there, it's up to her." I looked out at the narrow urban strip, and sighed. "Whatever she chooses, it will matter little for this place. For a thousand years since the fall of Alkandra, the orcs have been masters of the Midlands, and what have we achieved? Nothing. Now we have been conquered as assuredly as if the imperials had done it themselves, and our time is done. Now, it is the age of dark-elves and hybrids; your age, may daughter's age. Long after my bones are dust, and the Terdini name has been forgotten, you and she will still walk the earth." I watched Certiok appear from the street, and ascend the steps. I smiled to her, and she smiled back. I turned to Adrianna, "You will know our destiny, Adrianna. As for me, I have no destiny anymore." I grinned at her, "I am free."

And I rushed down the steps, and took Certiok into my arms.

ARBOR

The air smelled of sex. The orcs in the forest and those in the towers were raucous with their lovemaking. The women outnumbered the men nearly three to one, and I guessed by the morning there would be no virgin males of age. I could look into the past for ten thousand years, but I could not see the future. Even so, it was easy to foresee the trouble that would occur in nine-months' time. The women would give birth, and their warrior husbands would unwittingly embrace a babe that was not theirs. It was an unspoken casualty of war, but it was perhaps the most impactful. Warrior males were bred through the generations to be the peak of orc physicality, and when a great tribal war happened, and all the warrior males were gone, their wives were left with only those deemed too weak or too old to fight. And so, those birthmothers of great warriors would eventually succumb to the opportunists of the tribes, and the next generation would be feeble and unhealthy. It was not a concern I would ever have to deal with, for my children were by my design only.

I walked through the dark fields, and listened to the sweet sound of my sons and daughters making love. The female nymphs were the dominant partners of the pairing, as was natural in my opinion, and guided their brothers through their individual perverse tastes. Some of my daughters enjoyed being on top, some enjoyed being on their backs, some enjoyed sensual love making, and others enjoyed rigorous coupling. There were some who wanted to draw out the experience, and performed with their mouths and hands, while others were eager to be penetrated as soon as they could be. Some even enjoyed it more in their anus, which was an odd quirk. I certainly enjoyed it there, but my body was half succubus, and I enjoyed every flavor of lust. Why it was that the Good Mother above decided that we should garner pleasure from our waste hole was a mystery to me. Ah, but the design of life was best left a mystery. I had dabbled in design, and the results had been disastrous. Across the sea where my distant cousin Passion tended her forest, the nymphs procreated without guidance, and the corruption had never tainted their bodies.

My train of thought was interrupted. I heard weeping. I unfurled my wings, beat the air, and flew across the field. Rose was sitting by herself at the riverbank. She was covered in her brothers' nectar, and her holes were yawning and abused. She'd taken so many. She had her hand in the earth, and was trying to sing to the seed, but the seed would not hear her, and every passing note from her song only made her voice hoarser with grief.

"Rose?" I said, stepping behind her.

She screamed, threw the seed into the river, and folded on herself, her back heaving with sobs. "What's wrong with me?!"

"Hush, Rose." I whispered, collecting her in my arms, "There's nothing wrong with you, child. You just have an illness, but it will pass."

"I can't stop!" She blubbered, curling into my embrace, "I need more and more, but it's never enough! I can't even hear the trees anymore! I should've left with Crystal!"

"No, no, no!" I pleaded with her, "Do not say such things! I cannot lose both of you!"

"I'm already lost!"

"No," I whispered into her blonde hair, folding my wings over the both of us, closing us off from the world. I pulled her to my breast, fumbling to fit my nipple into her mouth. She sucked from me desperately, her muzzle working in fervor to pull my milk into her, and I cooed comforting words into her ears, singing songs of sunlit trees, of dandelions in the clearings, of mushrooms blooming in the hollows. She calmed in my arms, but the teeming of her flesh did no cease. Oh, how many of her brothers had she lain with? And none could satisfy her?