The Challenge

Notes:

This work is part of my "Obsidian's Hoard of Lovers" series, a loose collection of stories that all involve a dragon's romantic escapades. They are not meant to be read in any particular order, but if you like what you see here, there's more to be found in my profile.

While I try to keep revising my work to avoid annoying typos, I tend to miss some. If you spot any, please let me know down in the comments.

Enjoy!

_______________

It was another typical day at Obsidian's Lair, or at least, as typical as it gets.

The dragon himself was in the Lair's main-room, listening to reports from his kobolds and other assistants about the state of things in and around his home.

It was during one of these reports that a couple of kobold guards came rushing into the room, interrupting the current session by calling for the dragon excitedly.

"Master, Master!" said the kobolds in their excited yappy tones. "Big cat lady at the entrance! Very tough! Demands to see you!.

Obsidian cocked his head like a cat while listening to the kobolds, his huge and shiny magma-like eyes half opened while he thought.

Having guests, visitors or petitioners at the Lair was nothing new, and definitely not something to get this excited about. Whomever this "big cat lady" was, had made quite an impression on his kobolds.

"Have you invited her in?" Obsidian finally asked, suspecting, however, that it wasn't that simple.

"We tried!" said one of the cute humanoid dragonlings, "but big lady refuses to come in! Says you have to step out, that you have something of hers!"

Obsidian was now really curious about this interloper. It took some guts to come to a dragon's home and demand they come out to see you. Also, he had something of hers? While Obsidian did have a rather impressive collection of artefacts and antiquities, he was not a thief, so he found it rather unlikely that he had something of hers.

Regardless, it seemed that he would need to resolve this in person.

He rushed through the tunnels of the Lair towards the exit, and not long after he found himself outside.

The entrance to the Lair laid on the side of the old, sleeping volcano. It was a natural tunnel that had been enlarged and carved by Obsidian and his followers to resemble a beautiful gate, engraved with draconic symbols and decorations.

His kobolds had also built a couple of small dragon statues by the sides of it. Obsidian had not requested this, but he had to admit that they looked good.

The area outside the gate was a flat bit of land that had been cleared of vegetation, as sometimes guests and petitioners preferred to camp outside rather than ask for hospitality.

It was here that he saw the small crowd of kobolds and other Lair inhabitants that had gathered around the visitor, this "big cat lady" as the guard had referred to her.

And she was big, no doubt about it.

In the middle of the field, waiting defiantly for him, was a leonin woman with utterly striking looks and physique.

She towered over the kobolds, probably almost two meters in height. Her body was the picture of amazonian beauty, firm and sleek with clearly defined muscles that looked almost like steel wires under her skin and fur.

Her head was, unsurprisingly, like that of a lion, but proportional to her anthropomorphic body, with soft fluffy ears that twitched as they took in the surrounding sounds, a short muzzle and strikingly deep green feline eyes.

She held over her shoulder a mighty axe, and wore little asides from a chest-plate and a short skirt made of chain mail.

Obsidian thought that such armour was more for convenience than defence, as she probably relied on her reflexes more than any steel on her body.

She wore no shoes, her cushioned feet giving her more than enough support and protection, though she had bandaged their softer areas.

Her fur was short and the colour of warm sand, and it hid well the many scars covering her body.

Both her hands and feet sported fearsomely sharp retractable claws.

As Obsidian approached, she lifted her axe towards him and spoke with a deep, yet feminine voice that reminded Obsidian of a half uttered roar.

"Dragon!" she said in a surprisingly threatening tone, "I know you have the Crown of Amana, I challenge you for its ownership!"

Obsidian was taken aback by this. The crown was a beautiful ancient artefact that he had recovered years back, but it wasn't magical or dangerous, so he would have been happy to negotiate for it or even give it to her if her claim was legitimate.

"There is no need for a challenge, visitor, for...," Obsidian couldn't finish, as the woman interrupted him with a shout.

"Coward! You dare try to wiggle out of my challenge?!" she said, glaring at him.

Obsidian did the draconic equivalent of raising an eyebrow. What was her deal, why the need for a challenge?.

"Just who are you?" he asked, still trying to evaluate the situation. He could sense no magic or spell on her.

"My name is Zuri!" she took a step forward, "do you accept my challenge or not?!"

The onlookers jumped as she slammed her axe against the ground in a threatening motion.

Obsidian facepalmed and then proceeded to do a long cat stretch before answering. He hadn't had a chance to spar in a while, and his gut told him this woman, Zuri, was way over her head, so he decided to raise the stakes to see how she reacted.

"If it's a challenge you want, Zuri, I'll be happy to oblige," he said with a grin. "These are my terms, we fight till one of us is knocked out or submits, as I don't think you're the kind to fight for first blood."

Zuri bared her teeth excitedly at this.

"If you win, I'll hand you over the crown, but if I win, I demand YOU as my prize," Obsidian lifted a claw and pointed at the woman, "I will own your body, mind and soul as one of my wives."

Obsidian smiled, hopefully this will give her pause and make her reconsider.

"I accept! Choose your weapons, dragon!" she said without a microsecond of hesitation.

Well, so much for her rethinking the situation.

Frustrated with the woman, though actually relishing the chance to spar, Obsidian shook his head and used his innate magic to change his body to a more anthropomorphic shape.

"Lovelies," he said, turning to his kobolds, "go get my sword, please."

The small lizards shot off into the Lair to do what he had ordered, and not long after came back carrying a huge two-handed sword amongst three of them, who yipped happily at Obsidian to take it.

He did so with one hand, lifting the blade as if it was made of paper, and patted his kobolds on the head as thanks. The little creatures almost melted with delight at the praise.

Obsidian took a couple of swings, feeling the weight of his weapon once more. Sharp, balanced, precise... just as he remembered it.

His mind was flooded with a deluge of memories from his time as an adventurer with his brother and friends. It felt like another life, so distant, yet so close.

He pointed the sword at Zuri, but under his breath he muttered a spell, just a little trick he learned ages ago for situations where he didn't fancy being lethal against his opponent. The spell would make his blade incapable of killing the lioness, but by no means it would dull the pain it could cause. Somehow, he suspected Zuri would approve of this, even though he didn't really know her yet.

The lioness stepped forward, brandishing her axe. Obsidian could taste her excitement, but also slight apprehension, he suspected not everything here was as it seemed.

Obsidian held his blade aloft and readied himself. His muscles tensed. Zuri's green, predatory eyes were locked with his, looking for the best moment to pounce.

And pounce she did, with a mighty push of her legs she leaped forward like a cannonball, axe raised over her head.

The axe came down like an avalanche, but Obsidian deflected it with his own blade as a thunderous clang resonated over the mountain. He pushed her back with a swift movement and as she regained her balance, he cleaved with his sword towards her midsection.

Zuri rolled under the blade at the last second, regaining her combat stance as soon as her feet touched the ground again. Obsidian twirled his sword back into defensive position, properly impressed with the lioness' reflexes.

His challenger, however, was not one to fight on the defensive, and as soon as she saw an opening, she swung her axe low, trying to chop at his legs.

Obsidian quickly shifted his stance, bringing his blade like a barrier between her axe and him. The shaft of Zuri's axe slammed against Obsidian's sword, and as she tried to pull it away, it got trapped against the edge of his blade.

She pulled the shaft towards her, pulling both Obsidian and his sword towards her, if only by an inch. As the dragon came to a still, she clawed his chest with her razor sharp claws, which made a grinding metallic sound against his scales.

A nasty move, had his body not had such natural armour, he'd be bleeding like a pig now.

But this had also been a mistake on her part, for now she was dangerously close to Obsidian, who wasted no time and returned the favour by headbutting her with his nose-horn.

The lioness staggered backwards, stunned by the sudden attack, but quickly regained her balance and swung her axe again, this time against his head, which was still low from delivering his attack.

Obsidian quickly ducked under the axe, which missed his horns by a hair, before lunging forward against her and punching the plate over her stomach as hard as he could.

Air abandoned Zuri's lungs for a second from the nasty punch, which had hit her with such force that it had even dented her armour, much to her shock.

She tried to regain control of the fight by jumping backwards to gain some distance, but that second of delay was all that Obsidian needed.

With a wide swing, he brought down his sword against her head, which hit her with a bone breaking crunch that launched her sideways, spinning in the air like an out of control kite.

The lioness fell to the ground and tried to push herself up, but it was obvious her ears were ringing, and her senses were still recovering from that last swing.

Had it not been for the spell Obsidian had put on his sword, half of her head would be littering the field at this moment.

Obsidian grabbed her axe before she could recover it, and knelt on her back, pinning her against the ground while he choked her with the shaft of her own axe.

"Submit!" Obsidian said, the excitement from the duel palpable in his deep voice.

"Never!" said the lioness, struggling against him in vain.

The dragon realized that she needed to be truly and completely beaten before she'd admit defeat, so without hesitation, he brought her head down against the dirt, the lioness yelping and growling in pain as her face slammed against the ground.

Obsidian then raised his fist and punched her as hard as he could, the onlookers wincing in vicarious pain as his massive fist hammered her head against the mountain soil.

Zuri spat blood, her right eye purple from the punch. Her body was giving up, but the lioness still could muster some defiance.

"That all you got?" she said with a broken voice as blood dribbled out of her mouth.

Obsidian grinned, he liked her iron will, and realized she would not submit like this, it was knockout or nothing.

As you wish, he thought to himself, and brought his fist down again on the lioness, her green eyes still looking at him defiantly as he knocked the stuffing out of her.

The onlookers, most of them inhabitants of the Lair, cheered at Obsidian, who was honestly more concerned with checking the damage on Zuri. He had healing magic at his disposal, but it was always good to ensure things were not too bad.

He picked the lioness up in his arms and made his way into the Lair, looking for a comfortable guest room where she may rest. While doing so, he asked his kobolds to fetch some healing potions and salves.

Once he had found a proper room, he laid the gorgeous amazon on a pile of comfortable cushions, and cast a few cleaning spells on her to ensure none of her wounds got infected.

Finally, he instructed the kobolds to help her drink some healing potions and to bring food and water for when she regained her senses.

This didn't take long, actually, and the lioness grunted awake while holding her head, which was probably still horribly sore. Healing potions fixed the damage, but not the pain.

She looked around the room and spotted the jug of water that the kobolds had left next to her, and she gulped it down with a mighty need.

Once sated, she sat up on the cushions, and looked at Obsidian. While still half open and rattled from the fight, they still shone like emeralds in the room.

"Well fought, dragon," she said, holding her head with one hand. "Though I hate to admit it, you won."

Obsidian smiled at her.

"You fought like a beast, I haven't seen reflexes or strength like yours in years," Obsidian's words were not empty compliments, he was truly impressed.

"Thank you," she said, lying back down onto the cushions, trying to regain her composure.

"Honestly I expected a tough fight," she said looking at the ceiling, "but that was something else."

Obsidian purred to himself, the whole thing still felt silly to him, but he was fond of compliments.

"Now please," he said trying to sound serious, "what's this about? I would have happily given you the crown if you have a legitimate claim on it, no challenge needed"

Zuri shook her head and sat up again.

"I come from the lands where Amana ruled, centuries ago," she said, her eyes studying the room with feline curiosity. "A new king has risen there, one who claims to descend from Amana herself."

"Bold claim," said Obsidian, who knew a bit about the story of these lands. "Amana had many descendants, but her wish was for her kingdom to be no more. She gave her land back to the clans, and asked for the crown to be buried at a secret place."

Zuri nodded at this.

"The new king claims the splitting of the kingdom was a mistake, and wishes to unite the clans again," said the lioness, getting once more comfortable on the cushions, she obviously liked them.

"And you wished to claim the crown back to help him?" Obsidian said, sitting close to her.

Zuri shook her head.

"I just wanted to be in the king's guard!" she almost jumped as she said this, "my family had always been poor, farmers and hunters from the lowlands.

"This was my chance! I have been fighting my whole life, so I barged into the new king's court, and offered him my axe."

Obsidian now could see where this was going.

"And he ordered you to claim the crown back?" Obsidian said.

"Aha," said Zuri, obviously far more awake now.

"Not only that," she said, "but I had to get it through trial by combat! To prove I was worthy to be in the royal guard!"

Obsidian shook his head.

"So they sent you to get the crown back from me, alone, and via combat," he said as he laid down on the cushions too, looking at the ceiling to see what was so interesting about it.

"Aha," she said, without adding anything else.

Obsidian sighed.

"My dear, I think they sent you on a suicide mission," he said, knowing Zuri would not appreciate half-truths.

"I know," she said to his surprise, "that's why I challenged you!"

Obsidian looked at her puzzled.

"Had I rejected the quest, my family and I would be dishonoured, but I knew storming a dragon's lair on my own was suicide," she turned on her side again, looking straight at him.

"So I thought, if I challenge him to single combat, I *might* have a chance," she gave him a wry smile.

"Definitely more of a chance than against your whole Lair and your bodyguards!" she chuckled.

Obsidian smiled at her, allowing himself a small laugh.

"OK, now it makes more sense," he said to the lioness, who was looking at him now with a more coquettish face.

"Now," she said, standing up and moving in front of him. "I believe we made a deal when I challenged you."

Obsidian sat up looking at her, and as he did so, she bent on one knee before him, looking right into his eyes.

"As agreed in our duel, I am now yours in body, mind and soul, take me as one of your wives."

Her voice showed no hesitation or doubt. She patiently waited for Obsidian to talk, who was somewhat taken aback by this.

"Zuri, you were pushed into our challenge, and I just said that to try and dissuade you, you don't need to swear fealty to me," he said, for as much as he liked the idea of her amongst his wives, he didn't want anyone forced into that position.

But Zuri shook her head and looked back at him as defiantly as during their duel.

"I should be dead, it's by luck and your mercy I'm even alive now," she said, her hand closed into a fist, "you bested me, and gods know if I had bested you I would have claimed what I demanded."

"So don't hesitate, take me, I have no regrets, and you have proven you will be a noble lord to serve," she smiled at him, her determination was rather infectious.

Obsidian stood up and offered her a hand. She gripped him firmly and allowed herself to be pulled into his arms.

"If that's the case, and you have made up your mind... I'd be a fool not to claim a woman such as you for myself...," he said while caressing her fur.

Zuri smiled and slowly unbuckled her chest plate and untied her chain skirt, which fell to the polished floor with a delightful metallic cling.

"Tell me, husband of mine, do you mark your wives in some way before taking them?" she said as her claws caressed his chest.

"Now that you say so," said Obsidian, who was struggling not to get lost in her eyes, "I love to brand my wives with my magic sign."

She bit her lip at this, and grabbed his hand, pushing it against her warm and inviting body.

"Where do you brand them, my lovely husband-to-be?" she said, teasing him by pressing her supple and firm breasts against his chest.

"Here," he said, caressing her mound, his lips kissing every inch of her that came too close to his mouth.

"You wouldn't have that branding iron at hand, would you, my husband-to-be?" she said while licking his neck with her warm feline tongue.

"I actually use a spell, normally. No pain, all pleasure," he said, nibbling her lovely twitchy ears.

Zuri scoffed at this.

"I'm a warrior, please brand me properly like one," she grinned at him, and he knew she was utterly serious.

"So be it," he said as he pushed her onto the cushions.

She got comfortable, her sinuous feline body wriggling expectantly as she spread her legs for him, pushing her mound upwards as an invitation.

Obsidian used his magic to move one of the metallic candelabra in the room towards him, and with another spell he transmuted it into a beautiful branding iron bearing his draconic symbol.

Zuri purred in excitement as Obsidian used his fire breath to heat it up until it was incandescent white.

He dipped his fingers into the jug of water and caressed the tip of the branding iron, steam sizzling out as he did so, abusing the fact that such heat could not burn him.

Obsidian aimed the brand towards Zuri's mound, as she once again pushed it outward to meet it.

Her skin and flesh sizzled like meat on a barbecue as the brand was burned onto her, the lioness clawing at the cushions while she moaned with a face that was equal parts agonizing pain and delight.

She panted as the deed was done, and Obsidian cooled the sizzling brand on her flesh by licking it, and as he did so, cast the spell that accompanied every brand on his wives, binding her to him for the rest of time.

"Mine," he said to her as she looked back at him with a grin of satisfaction.

"Yours, husband," she said, her hands caressing his face and horns.