Roderick and Gorlana Pt. 04

Gorlana gave a stiff nod and whispered, "I know."

"Oh, go ahead and feel your pride for it cousin, it worked out in the end. Even I know that great risk is often needed for great reward," Iringoll said, in a more casual, resigned tone.

Gorlana gave her a begrudging smile, and leaned back. "I almost feel bad for Faringoll, arriving after the excitement's all done. Unless she's been able to conjure another horde out of thin air."

Her smile faded as an odd silence wore on and she looked over at Iringoll who was staring at her with doubt.

"Do you have reason to think she could have added to her forces?" Iringoll asked, with a surprising pointedness.

Gorlana frowned in confusion, "No, I was just saying how she wouldn't pose any real competition now... Why?"

Iringoll sniffed and looked her over, then sighed and leaned back again, "Just an odd report, from one of the scouts. He's young and new and he's made some bad reports before, but he knows it and tries to make up for it with eagerness, so he travelled further than the rest. He's saying her army was grander than we could have imagined drawn out in a line along the river, and seemed to have no end."

Gorlana scoffed.

"That was my reaction." Iringoll said. "It's almost certainly an excited exaggeration, but... Gorlana your warriors scoured the eastern limits of your territory, right? You had said..."

Gorlana nodded, "They did. It was mostly Traulch and his band, but I sent enough of my own scouts to make sure. They didn't go as far into the foothills of the Ramparts as I wanted them to, but enough to be sure that there weren't any obvious incursions."

"Okay. So... there would be little chance Darganya and her entire force could have joined Faringoll."

Gorlana shook her head "No. Impossible. I could imagine the Rechlingers might have lied and turn back before reaching the foothills at all, but my own scouts wouldn't. From what they said they might have missed a small band, but not her entire force."

Iringoll nodded, "As I thought. She almost certainly took her clan south, joining with the territory of her mate, no doubt." she gestured back at Orthanhall behind them, implying Roderick.

Gorlana frowned, "He's not her mate,"

Iringoll gave her an odd look and scoffed a laugh, "Not if Carthala gets her way, I suppose, from what I hear." She gave a grunt and leaned back again. "Honestly it does not matter. Even Darganya's entire clan would not bring Faringoll enough clout at this point anyway. Maybe enough to make it interesting, but unlikely to win the chair. Perhaps I simply grasp for possibilities, to give myself hope."

Gorlana chuckled, "None of this is over yet."

Iringoll raised an eyebrow, "Yes, in a way our issues are just beginning. And, in a way I don't envy what lies before you as Queen, sorting out this country, what those Rechlingers will mean, and what to do with that man downstairs."

Gorlana nodded, "We will sort it out with time. We may have all winter to do so."

"Perhaps," Iringoll agreed. "He's an interesting man. I went down to take my measure of him earlier today. He smells more orcish than he looks, and he's got heat in his veins in a few ways, that's for sure." she said salaciously. "Carthala's obviously turning his handle more than I thought. You know, with her being from Southern Orthalia originally... if you declare acceptance of their mating, she could rule that region by his side and be a good link to have, regardless of who they ans-..." Iringoll sniffed and coughed before Gorlana could even think to reply. "Okay! Okay... by the Gods, Gorlana you don't need to be THAT offended, it was just a thought. You smell like you're ready to cut me down."

Gorlana tightened her mouth, angry at herself for her careless reaction more than anything. "Carthala is destined for better things than an Andralian General's mate."

"She at least seems to have made progress in turning his favour to us. He didn't sound or smell nearly as hateful to me, or us, as I imagined. Wouldn't you agree?"

Gorlana gulped, "I haven't spoken with him recently."

Iringoll frowned, "Well you should. We need to figure out what he's willing to do, or not do, in whatever negotiation we muster up."

"Yes," Gorlana admitted, nervously, "I should. Thank you Iringoll. For your honour, in all of this."

Iringoll gave her a nod and a heavy shake of her shoulder, "And to you, cousin. We'll have more word on Faringoll tomorrow. Understand that I will make my case for myself at the moot, but I will still stand proudly before you, if and when you sit on the Goathorn chair."

Gorlana gave her a friendly nod back and turned to gaze out at the brilliant late-autumn hills one last time, knowing the dark dungeon she needed to visit next.

As she descended the stairs she tried to resist predicting what his thoughts of her would be. He should not have been there yesterday. He should not have had to hear and smell all she had done. How would he judge her?

She shook her head at herself. He was the one person who's opinion did NOT matter towards the coming moot, but it was the one that mattered to her the most.

She nodded to the two guards just inside the door, "You may wait outside," she instructed them.

"Of course high-chieftain."

The heavy door shut and she walked cautiously forward into the dark. She hesitated, then took a torch off the wall, both excited and self-conscious of seeing each other's faces again now, even dimly in the torchlight. She continued slowly towards the caged door straight ahead of her. She was debating calling softly to him in case he was asleep, but she heard movement as she drew near, and suddenly his voice.

"Gorlana?"

She smiled at his recognition of her scent. His voice sounded hoarse. She needed to brew him some featherroot tea. It was too cold and damp down here, he would get sick and... Stop it! She halted her steps and took a breath, opened her eyes again and spoke.

"Yes. It's me. I told the guards to wait outside. They'll be able to hear that we're talking, but not make out our words, as long as we're quiet enough."

He paused, then said, "Thank you for coming down here," in a gentle, deferential tone that made her almost hate herself for avoiding him.

"I should have come sooner. I'm sorry... again for-..." her words stopped as he stepped forward into the torchlight, and there he was, his eyes finally meeting hers for more than a lightning-flash, as shining, gentle and handsome as she remembered.

He smiled cautiously, wetting his lips and clearing his throat, "It's good to see your face again. I don't know if you're more beautiful in the torchlight or I'm just glad to be able to look at you for more than a second."

She suddenly felt his eyes on her, like hands caressing her skin under her clothes, and a tingling nervous warmth suffused her. She knew she was doing the same though. Their eyes met again in a long stare, and without even thinking of it, she grasped her hand over his on the iron bar. He interlocked his fingers with hers and he smiled at her in what seemed like a growing relief. As if he thought she was the one who might be dishonoured by him.

"I've wanted to see you more often, and I'm sorry you had to be there yesterday-"

"Stop saying that," he interrupted. "You don't need to be sorry. Carthala explained why you couldn't spend time near me. I understood. And... I know it wasn't your doing having me there yesterday. It disgusts me what you had to do with Traulch, but... I know why you did. High politics everywhere seems to involve the same type of thing, really. It's just usually not so blatant," he said, looking away.

Guilt overwhelmed her, "I didn't mate with him truly this time, I..."

He shook his head and waved his hand, "Carthala told me enough."

She could tell he was being kind, trying to let her off the hook for her sake, masking his discomfort. She wasn't sure if she loved him for it or hated it.

He let out a breath and looked up at her again with a sudden pride, "She explained how you fought as well. How you used your weapon. It sounded... perfect. I almost wish I could have seen, if I knew it wouldn't have destroyed me seeing you so close to death."

She exhaled with a painful smile and a swell of pride lifted her bosom as she squeezed his hand again. A tear fell down her cheek. She had avoided this. She had kept herself away from him as much for her own sake as for appearances. Yet, had she not earned herself at least one more private encounter with him now? She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in his scent. Her heart and her brain both seemed to turn to mush around him, and this encounter was proving that she was not getting used to it with time. She was filled all the more with that instinctive craving. A deep driving desire for something very different than the Goathorn chair, with no mind for negotiations or fighting or... anything other than ripping this iron door off it's hinges and leaping headlong off that precipice of no return, into his arms, to consummate what felt so much like her destiny.

She saw him lift his chest in a deep inhalation and saw that same desire in his eyes, building off of hers. Before she knew it her tusks clanged against the bars as their lips met between them, only able to touch enough for a soft, shallow kiss, but he managed to send sparks tingling along her skin with his lips, being tender and passionate all at once.

Features that she might have looked down upon before, his soft skin and quiet demeanour, his gentle, understanding sincerity; it all filled her now with a prideful affection for him, and all that he was. He was too fine a man for this dungeon. He didn't belong here. He didn't belong in Orthanhall at all... she thought, sadly.

"What's going to happen now?" he whispered against her lips, their foreheads touching through the bars as he held her hand.

She shrugged and opened her eyes slowly, "I'm almost certainly going to be Queen."

He nodded, with no surprise, "As it should be. They will have chosen well."

She gritted her teeth and winced, "I know it's what I have to do, but part of me almost wishes I would fail. Then I could decide to leave Orthanhall, bitter in defeat, and run off, no one caring if I ended up somewhere far away, with someone..."

Her tears turned from sadness to passion as he kissed her again through the bars and they moaned in desire as they squeezed their hands together on the cold iron.

She made herself let go, and come back to earth, but she was driven to ask what she had been afraid to, "Roderick, you said you weren't sure if your king would agree to ransom?"

He sighed, "I said I wouldn't be sure he'd ransom me for Southern Orthalia specifically. It might not be him specifically you're dealing with though, and... it might be more difficult than it should be."

Why did she feel deception suddenly? Not a lie, but something held back. She barely felt it in the swirl of lust, and it was brief, but it made her pause, though she continued.

"In that last chiefs meeting in our travels, when you insulted Traulch. You asked me to head south instead. To have you rally Southern Orthalia for my cause, at my back. It was impossible then, but once I'm queen..."

His hand loosened on hers and she felt his hesitation and nervousness. The tearing of his feelings and she loved that he was indeed considering it, but hated that she was asking this of him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know it's wrong of me to ask such a dishonourable thing of you, when you refused to let me abandon my honour and leave with you."

"No it's... not quite the same I suppose. That was a concern for our survival as well, but still I... I don't know Gorlana."

She licked her lips nervously, and said in a shaking voice, "You said you would help me send them back to the north."

"I said it in a fit of rage. I mean, of course I WANT you to, but if Orthalia needs them for stability..."

"We don't... or at least we shouldn't." she said bitterly, "If we had Southern Orthalia back, then we wouldn't. They would be forgotten again, and then, you could rule as their high-chieftain truly."

"Under you, as a traitor to Andralia," he said, with a flat distant look.

She winced and bit her lip with her fang. Then took a deep breath in, and almost flinched away from what she smelled. Mistrust.

"I didn't plan for this Roderick. I swear. I wasn't trying to lead you to this, I... I'm just trying to find a way not to lose you... again," she said, almost begging his scent to change.

He looked at her, his beautiful eyes now seeming to delve with a heavy doubt. She furrowed her brow and gave him a pleading look back. Time seemed to stand still and she felt wracked with a soul-sucking pain until he finally, blessedly, squeezed her hand again and kissed her through the bars, the scent of his affection reinvigorating her, though he quickly sighed with regret.

"I just... I want to be with you as well, but not as your prize, or your subject."

"I know, but I don't know how else t-"

The door suddenly opened down the hall behind them, and they both let go of the bars and stepped back.

"High-chieftain. Varrhag and Zurgana wish to convene as you had planned."

Gorlana called back quickly, not wanting the guard to get any closer to their scents. "Yes I'll be finished in a moment."

The door closed again and she looked back at Roderick, who stood back from the bars now, but gave her one last admiring look, and she felt herself blush.

She took a resigned breath and said, "I will speak with you again soon, I promise. Your decisions are always your own, but I can't help but hope you might... consider it."

He nodded regretfully, but with a kind smile, and said, "Go do what you need to do."

She smiled back painfully, exhaled his scent away from her, and finally turned, forcing herself away from him again.

...

His eyes opened in the darkness. He was so tired, his head swam in the fog of half-sleep. He had not known when he had finally dozed off, his brain wracked with distress over his cracking identity, as part of him almost had begun to truly consider becoming a traitor to his country. He looked around in the perpetual darkness. There was no way it could be anywhere close to morning. Why had he woken up? There was no sound, no light, other than a dim flickering of one small torch on the wall, far down the hall near the door to the dungeon. Was there someone else here? He was the only prisoner in this section. The guards were usually posted outside the only door.

Roderick took a second breath and he realized his cock was erect when it suddenly swelled even harder. He recognized the scent in the air and suddenly sat up on the cold dungeon floor.

She was here.

His mind still felt fogged, but somehow not tired at all anymore. He stood up and spoke in a groggy slur.

"Gorlan-"

"Quiet," she whispered. "The door is closed, but the guards are not far behind it."

He was about to ask what she was doing here, but every breath he took made him more sure, and his feet walked forwards of their own volition. Forwards to the slightly darker outline of her silhouette on the bars of his cell, against the dark of the dungeon behind.

He stepped up to her, feeling like he should be asking or saying something, but his mind felt entranced. Each breath seemed to send a growing purpose out into every part of his body, that made words seem unimportant. He knew she was not here to talk.

He stepped up to her and grasped the bars. Her thick warm hands grasped overtop of his, and the caress of her claws immediately sent shivers up his arms. He brought his face forward and her warm forehead touched his between the cold iron. Their hands slid onto each other, moving their fingers along every part of their hands and then up their forearms. The bars were only wide enough to fit through up to their elbows, but they touched every part of their arms they could reach while their faces heated the air between them.

They sucked in the mixing scents of their shared breath like the bellows of a forge as their noses and lips touched lightly. They pressed their bodies as close as they could on either side of the cage. He caressed up her side, guided by her hand, and, sensing what he wanted, she leaned back from the bars so his hand could slide over her breast.

The massive taught flesh of her breast met his hand and he growled onto her lips. She grasped her thin leather top and pulled it down eagerly, bursting her bosom and bare nipples into the cold dungeon air. He palmed both of them with his hands, feeling the thick green skin give way only with a harder squeeze, into the heavy soft flesh. She gritted her fangs and they seethed their breaths through their teeth while she squeezed over his hands and then released them to let him caress her hard nipples while she slid her fingers down his abs to his twitching cock.

His ragged pants were slipped down easily by her strong hands and his erection sprang instantly into her warm grasp. She squeezed almost painfully hard and his body shook for a split second, knowing he could not pull away even if he wanted. She opened her mouth to slide a playful wide bite over his face, then eased off to caress his cock with her smooth steady hand while her claws tickled over his throbbing balls. He kneaded his hands all over the bulky uncontainable flesh of her tits and slid his teeth over hers, ecstatic at the intense almost chokingly thick scent and taste of their breaths. They inhaled and exhaled in concert, filling his lungs with her, and then filling her lungs with him. He bit on to her tusk and they snarled at each other as he held it between his teeth. She squeezed his cock down to the base and he dug his fingers as hard as possible into the pliable green skin of her orcish bosom until they finally let go with a frantic gasp and then kissed with a fire that felt like it would heat the cold dungeon stone to glowing.

His hands went between her legs and moved the loose skirt away easily, no undergarment in his way, he found her inner thighs soaking and warm, and slid up to her pussy. His fingers touched her boiling womanhood with an almost reverential care but she thrust her hips at him impatiently and pumped his cock harder, biting his lip to spur him on.

He rubbed faster and worked his fingers into her, smiling as he felt her inner folds moving for him eagerly, then sliding out to tease her clitoris. She lifted her leg to jackknife against the bars with an athletic flexibility as he worked his fingers for her and his hips bucked with a mind of their own into her pumping hand.

She gave him an almost painfully hard kiss and then let go in a frenzy to fall on her knees, reach through the bars to grasp his ass and plunge his cock into her hungry snarling mouth so fast it was like a blur. All he could do was go rigid in a surprised, excited groan and turn his knuckles white grasping the bars as she gorged herself on his length. She dug her claws into his ass painfully while she pleasured his manhood with her lapping tongue. She released him to the cool dungeon air for a moment, then his body shook as the point of her tusk slid tantalizingly along the base of his cock from his balls to his tip while she panted hot air onto it. He sputtered a breath out as she took his long pulsing erection into her warm wet mouth again, her thick dark lips sucking affectionately. She slid her hands from his ass down his legs and traced her claws along his feet and back up again, then brought one hand to herself between her own legs. Just when he thought he might erupt into her throat she let go and he watched her turn around in rising excitement.

She grasped the bars behind her back and bent over to thrust her bare pussy against them, the swollen hot flesh presented eagerly to him. He could smell the intense flavour of it permeating the air and he was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. He needed to taste her. His hands shot through the bars to grasp her thick muscled thighs and pull her even harder against the bars and he shoved his face into her pussy.