Strange Bedfellows Ch. 01

***Note: This story is a prequel/spin-off to my story "A Dragon's Tale", but this story has no spoilers for ADT. It takes place in the same world and gives the backstory for a few side characters in ADT. (One of whom you'll meet in Chapter 2). Despite the "reluctance" category, it's a true romance/love story. It's 5 chapters and finished, and I'll submit chapters every few days until it's all posted. Enjoy. :) ***

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CHAPTER 1: A noble knight & virgin princess forced together by a tyrant

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"Hurry Your Highness, they'll be here any moment!"

Princess Shara was moving as fast as she could, but the urging of one of her handmaidens was motivating her to try moving even faster. The ringing sound of steel clashing with steel outside her castle window didn't hurt either.

Behind the changing screen, she was pulling the dress off as fast as she could. After pulling it over her head, she flung it to another one of her handmaidens, who began folding it to put it away. Yet another handmaiden gave her another dress. This one was far less ornate and exactly matched the ones her handmaidens were currently wearing.

Shara pulled it over her head and took a place in the corner of the stone room with her handmaidens. Nearby, she heard one of her handmaidens begin to softly cry.

"Take heart, we'll be okay." Shara offered.

"But we all know what awaits us when the men burst through." The distraught handmaiden sobbed. "We've all heard the stories."

"We won't let that happen, princess." Said one of the four elite soldiers assigned to protect her room. They were normally stationed outside, but they had herded the women inside and barred the door once the castle had been breached. Shara wanted to believe him. He was a good man, they were all good men, but there was no way they could hold off an army.

Her handmaidens all echoed that sentiment, but she doubted they could do much while being unarmed in silk dresses versus fully armed and armored soldiers.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The solid oak door to Princess Shara's room was pounded on by what sounded like a small battering ram. They all gathered in the far corner of the stone room and the handmaidens all clustered in front of Shara to protect her.

"Ladies--" Shara began to protest.

"Your Highness." Elthia said, speaking for her fellow handmaidens. "It is our sacred duty to protect you. Please, let us do this. I would not face Illuminar, the Great God of Light, after my death and tell him I neglected my duty to my princess. Please, don't make me stand before Illuminar and tell him that I shirked my duty to protect you.

Shara opened her mouth to respond, realized no response could be made, then closed it and nodded. "Thank you."

CRACK!

The wooden beam which held the door in place cracked, but held. It wouldn't hold much longer.

"Remember girls." Elthia said to her fellow handmaidens. "The princess is one of us now and it's our duty to protect her. No longer call her 'princess', or 'Your Highness', or even 'Shara'. From now on she is merely Katia; handmaiden to Princess Shara.

"Katia." The handmaidens chorused quietly as one.

CRACK!

SNAP!

The wooden beam barring the door against the invaders failed and the doors banged inwards. Half a dozen enemy soldiers rushed in, their chainmail clinking and swords held ready. Princess Shara's -- Katia's -- personal guards readied themselves for a fierce battle... followed by their deaths.

The enemy soldiers grinned as their eyes went from Shara's protectors to the beautiful women they were protecting. Their eyes filled with bloodlust and another kind of desire too.

Shara -- Katia -- swallowed hard.

"Hold!" A commanding voice said from outside the door.

A man strode in with an air of supreme competence and confidence, but not a hint of arrogance. He was wearing the cloak of an enemy commander. The enemy soldiers seemed to both take strength from his presence and yet grow uncomfortable at it.

He wasn't particularly large or tall, but he carried himself like the nobles of the court, only without the arrogance they so often displayed. He observed the situation, and Shara got the sense that he saw a lot more than his troops wanted him to.

"I am commander Kalus of King Tyso's army." He said to Shara's guard. "Stand down; you needn't die pointlessly."

Shara's guard tightened their grips on their swords and their leader spoke. "Nay, for we've all heard the stories of what King Tyso's men do to helpless women."

Commander Kalus got a strange expression on his face. Almost derision, but it didn't seem to be directed at them.

"King Tyso's men have a reputation; mine do not." Kalus turned to one of his own soldiers. "Tell them what I told my men before we breached the castle."

The man gulped. "You said that whatever one of your men did to a woman of this city, you would use a sword's point to do the same to that man."

Shara felt a tiny glimmer of hope in her chest. Maybe, just maybe, she would escape this with her virtue intact.

Commander Kalus turned to Shara's defenders. "I swear to you on the name of the Great God Illuminar -- blessed be He -- that no harm will befall the women you protect while they are under my care. I further swear that without matrimony, none of them shall feel a man's touch so long as they are in my care."

Her protectors seemed to waver slightly, and she didn't blame them.

In many parts of the Ten Kingdoms, it was death to go back on a formal oath made by the Great God Illuminar. She wasn't sure, but she believed it was like that in the invader's kingdom as well. She didn't want to see her protectors die. They had protected her for many years and she knew them to be among the best of men. Her father trusted them with her safety and there could be no higher praise than that.

Shara nudged Elthia and gave a subtle nod of the head.

"Please," Elthia said to their protectors. "Please don't die needlessly on our account. I'm sure the princess wouldn't wish it."

Their guardians exchanged glances for several moments and then they lowered their swords, probably correctly assuming the order came from the princess.

"One more thing." Commander Kalus said. "The princess; where is she? I see naught but handmaidens here."

"Sir, our lady went out riding this morning before your surprise attack." Elthia began her well-rehearsed lie. "She was surely caught outside the walls and fled to another castle."

Commander Kalus looked each of her handmaidens in the eye. They had been trained to lie perfectly to protect their princess just in case of situations like this. Just growing up in court was training enough for her. Shara was sure none of them would give the secret away.

Commander Kalus's eyes bored into each of them for several seconds apiece. When Shara's turn came, she couldn't meet his gaze; it was piercing, intelligent, and his eyes were full of cunning and strength.

"Very well." Commander Kalus nodded but didn't seem entirely convinced as he addressed his men. "Take them into custody, and treat them gently." There seemed to be an implied threat with his tone at the end, as if to say "or else."

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Commander Kalus breathed a sigh of relief as the flap of his tent closed behind him in his army's camp. The tent was far larger than he would've preferred at nearly fifteen feet across, but a wise man didn't refuse a gift from his king; especially one as fickle as King Tyso.

He slowly began removing his bloodied chainmail, wincing at the few bruises he'd taken in combat. From his perspective, the attack had gone well. They'd taken the city with minimal loss of life on both sides since his men had infiltrated the city the previous day and opened the gate in the dawn hours. However, minimal damage didn't mean none. Of course, Tyso had insisted that he use men from every legion instead of just his own, leading him to thank Illuminar that he had arrived at the princess's room before men from another legion had succumbed to their baser instincts.

With his armor removed, he lay down on his bed, hoping for nothing more than some rest after the day's exertions.

"Commander Kalus." A voice rang outside the tent.

"Report Kyselius." He replied to his herald.

"The king requests the honor of your presence."

"I'll be there presently." Kalus sighed. A 'request' from the king was as good as an order. He stood, gave himself a quick sponge bath hoping to remove the most offensive odors, then donned some clean military clothing that was suitable for an audience with the king.

As he walked through camp to the king's tent, he surveyed the scene. The men seemed to be in good spirits, having sacked another city in this long campaign and each had added to his store of wealth taken from the city. He noticed there were rather a lot of young women being roughly carried into a soldier's tent in every legion but his own.

Most of the women looked extremely scared.

He grimaced, took a deep breath, and kept walking. He didn't control the whole army, just his legion. The king allowed each commander the autonomy to decide such things and he had no authority to override the king. Trying to help would accomplish nothing and would probably just make matters worse because then the few women he had rescued would be given to the 'care' of another. He tightened his fist at the sight and took a few deep, calming breaths.

He kept walking.

Two minutes later, the king's guard waved him into the royal tent.

It was a bright, opulent affair that was littered with the trappings of wealth that a successful king on a successful campaign accrued. Kalus himself had no desire for such trappings, but the king sure seemed to enjoy them.

"Your Majesty." Kalus said with a formal bow.

"Kalus my friend." The king boomed with a loud voice. "Your stratagem to take the city worked brilliantly. We took the city's wealth and women with barely a soul lost. May Illuminar Himself bless you."

"You are too kind my king." Kalus replied with another bow, not adding that Illuminar would likely not be pleased with the king's handling of events after the battle.

"With our airship fleet occupied with the enemy's airship fleet, you've done marvelously with the army." The king continued.

"Thank you sire." He bowed again.

"What reward would you have?" The king continued. "Anything you wish, it is yours; even to half my kingdom." He finished with the customary embellishment.

Kalus pretended to consider, something he'd gotten quite good at. "If it pleases my king, I would have a new saddle made by your majesty's own leather smith. My current saddle can cause all manner of aches on a long ride." It wasn't untrue. His saddle did get uncomfortable on long rides, but that wasn't because of the saddle itself; it was because he was riding for days at a time.

"Tosh my boy." The king said shaking his head. "We'll have none of those games today."

"My king?"

King Tyso raised his eyebrow. "How many favors such as this have I bestowed on you?"

"I am not sure my king, but your generosity certainly--"

"Oh stop." The king interrupted. "I've made this same offer a thousand times. They were sensible requests at first. A new sword, new chainmail armor; rewards befitting your service. But all you ask for lately is expensive trinkets, not a true reward. Why not a chest of gold? Why not large tracts of land back home? Why not some of the captured women to entertain you at night?"

"My king--" Kalus began, but the king held up his hand and he fell silent.

"These days, I practically have to force my gratitude on you. "The new tent, one of my own finest horses, clothing from my own tailor. You accept them politely but never ask for something more. Tell me now Kalus, and tell me true; what do you really want?"

Kalus considered. It could be death to lie to the king and for all his faults, King Tyso was an excellent judge of character.

"To end this campaign victorious and return home sire."

"Oh?" He seemed surprised. "Why is that?"

"Sire, I passed my thirty-fourth summer this year. I wish for a home and a family before age, infirmity, or a lucky strike on the battlefield take that possibility from me."

"Oh ho!" The king said with a good-natured laugh. "My best soldier turns out to be soft in his soul. What wise man would've guessed it so?"

"I don't know my king." Kalus bowed.

"Well, you should get started on that now my boy!" The king said jovially. "We have only a week or two left on the campaign, if that, and then home. Find some captured woman to warm your bed. If you like her, I'll sanction the marriage. Pick two and marry them both if that's your pleasure. You may have your choice of women, even among the noble captives."

"Your generosity knows no bounds my king." Kalus said with another bow, partially to hide his distaste for the idea of forcing a captive to marry him.

"Come, let us eat." The king called for food to be brought and they spent nearly an hour talking about the campaign and the strategy for taking the next and last fortified city that remained; the king's stronghold in his capital city.

About halfway through dinner, the king got a thoughtful expression and then whispered something into the ear of one of his servants, who then rushed off on some errand. Kalus ignored this, which turned out to be a mistake. At the end of dinner that same servant poked his head into the king's tent and nodded at the king.

"Now then, I have a gift for my most successful commander." The king said, then nodded to the servant.

The servant led a train of young women inside, none older than her teens or early twenties. All of them were very beautiful; among the prettiest women Kalus had seen.

They were also in chains.

"Now, pick one -- or more if you like -- to warm your bed tonight. If you like her, marry her -- marry two or three if you wish -- and start on those children. If not, she'll be a great reward for the men after the battle today."

"My king--" Kalus began, but he cut him off.

"I'll have no more refusals from you today Kalus." Tyso replied as he stood. "You've refused too many of my gifts already. Be careful, lest I think you're ungrateful." He finished with an implied threat.

"As you wish my king." Kalus also stood and bowed, already trying to figure out how to make it look like he'd bedded one of these beautiful creatures without sullying her honor.

"Now choose." The king waved his hand, then pointed. "That one has magnificent breasts. I'd take her myself if I hadn't promised you first choice." He pointed to another. "Or perhaps her; look at those legs and that ass. Mmm." The king licked his lips.

Kalus refrained from commenting with difficulty and kept a neutral expression on his face with even more difficulty.

"No?" Said the king. "Then who strikes your fancy?"

Kalus looked them all over, trying to decide which one of them was least likely to try and kill him in his sleep.

He made eye contact with each of the dozen women for several seconds, trying to get a sense of the people behind them. That allowed him to rule out half of them immediately. There was something slightly flirtatious behind their eyes, as if they were trying to catch his attention. Such women had surely been loose before their capture and he had no interest in women of loose morals; they tended to have less objection to murder and they would be more likely to let it slip that he hadn't actually bedded them.

He dismissed two others because the look behind their eyes was filled with rage and they might prove murderous.

That left four, three of which he recognized as handmaidens to the princess from earlier. He suppressed a grimace at that; none but the king could've removed them from their well-protected gilded cage. The girl that he didn't recognize seemed to have a haughty look about her air and demeanor. She clearly thought rather a lot of herself which Kalus found repulsive; he put up with enough of that from the king.

That left three, all handmaidens to the princess.

He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. The princess's father had a reputation for being an excellent judge of character, even if he wasn't a strong king.

He met each of their eyes. One looked to have a real spirit about her, and she was the one who had urged the guards to surrender. She was clearly scared, but also clearly determined and seemed resolute that she wasn't going to be used. He doubted that she'd try to kill him -- she seemed too gentle for that -- but best to err on the side of caution.

The next one was the opposite. She seemed terrified and was doing everything she could to hide it. She wasn't likely to pose a problem, but then people do strange things when panicked. The old proverb about cornered animals sometimes applied to captives too.

That left the last of them.

She was shorter than the rest and likely younger too. He highly doubted that she'd seen more than eighteen summers. She only met his eyes for a moment before looking down. She was scared, but not terrified like the other handmaiden. There was also a strength behind her eyes, though without the strong adversarial element of the first handmaiden.

This one had a gentleness behind her eyes. She looked rather innocent, like a lamb in a lion's den, which unfortunately was her exact situation. Behind that appeared to be some resolve though; she looked gentle but with a strong spirit. Most importantly, she seemed the least likely to try to murder him in his sleep.

She would do.

"Her." Kalus said pointing to the last woman.

"Really?" The king mused. "I thought she was rather plain, but as you wish."

"Eye of the beholder your majesty." Kalus replied. Objectively speaking, he was right. However, she only suffered in comparison to the others. She was a beautiful woman in her own right and only seemed plain in comparison to the most beautiful women they had captured from the city. She was an 8 or 9 in the company of 9s and 10s.

The king shrugged, then picked out three women for himself -- all of them among the flirtatious ones -- and retired behind a flap to the rear room of his tent where the bed was. He wasn't surprised by the king's choice; he might be a petty tyrant but he was a good judge of character.

The servant led all the other women away except the girl he had chosen, whose chains he unlocked before he left. She rubbed her wrists where they had been, as the skin was red and looked uncomfortable.

"I am Commander Kalus."

"I remember." She said respectfully.

"What's your name girl?"

She hesitated before answering. "Katia sir."

"Follow me, Katia." Kalus turned and walked out of the tent. The girl followed, shaking slightly as she did so.

They walked through that camp to his tent and he held the flap open when they arrived. He indicated that she should enter, which she did. Kalus called for his squire to bring food before following her inside.

She stood in the middle of the tent, seemingly not knowing what to do.

"You may sit." He said indicating the bed, which was the only place to sit other than the chair at his desk because he had little need for furniture.

She trembled slightly and then slowly moved over to the bed, sitting on it as if it would bite or attack her. Her whole body was tense.

Very tense.

"Listen Katia, you don't need to--" Kalus stopped as his squire entered with two trays of food. It was field rations consisting of cold chicken, slightly stale bread, and some wine cut with water. The squire set them down on the bed, staring slightly at Katia as he did so.

"You act as if you've never seen a woman before." He said to the squire, who admittedly hadn't seen one in Kalus's tent before. "You may go."

The squire left and Katia turned to look at him. Now there was real fear in her eyes. She was sitting in such a way as to make herself look as small as possible. Her one arm was crossed across her chest and her other was unconsciously covering her nether regions, even though she was fully clothed.