The Decoy Princesses

A loud crash got her attention. Celeste turned her head to see the carriage go end over end as its speed took it over the downed tree. She winced as she watched one coachman go flying to land amidst a few orcs who were waiting in ambush. He was hacked to pieces in an instant, redundant her opinion as the height and speed he'd gone would've been enough to kill him... even for an elf. The second coachman was spared that fate by having his neck snapped upon impact with the ground as he'd stayed in his seat.

"She's in the trees!" an orc called out.

Not having time to mourn, Celeste looked down to see the orc that she'd been lining up a blow to was pointing up at her. Not wanting to wait around to see what he was going to do, Celeste ran. She darted from tree branch to tree branch, going deeper into the forest and then turning back to the east, back the way she'd just come from.

I will have a better chance in the ruins since the orcs here own the forest, she thought.

Sure enough it threw the orcs into confusion as they'd expected her to continue going west. Celeste managed to get ahead of them a bit. There was only a small contingent of orcs back at the ruins of the village who were just milling about as they awaited further orders.

Hopping from the trees and keeping to roofs and whatever high points she could, Celeste got to the unaware orcs. She landed in the middle of them and spun. Three were dead before they knew what had hit them. Two more were ran through as they dumbly looked at their brother orcs fall before them. Celeste was slicing through the next five and darting down the road before the remainder of the orcs had drawn their weapons.

Fools, Celeste thought with glee as she went for the largest building that was relatively intact. From what she remembered from before, back before this village had fallen to the orcs, this was the inn and village hall. It was burned out but the structure was still relatively intact, towering many stories high. It was the perfect place for an ambush.

She was not a moment too soon in getting into the building as the orc riders made it to the village and found her handiwork. "Spread out! All of you! Find her and bring her to me alive!" an orc shouted.

"At once, Mighty Morok!" one orc called back. Celeste took a moment in her climbing the innards of the ruined building to glance out of a window and take a quick count. She saw ten orcs in all; nine plus the one in charge, Morok. Morok, she saw, was no fool as he found her tracks on the dusty road and his eyes settled on the building she was in. "TO ME! Surround the Town Hall!" He bellowed out.

The hall was surrounded within seconds. Seconds after that, all ten of them were piling in on the ground floor. With their maces and axes at the ready, the orcs moved with precision through the first floor of the ruins. "Where is she?" one of them muttered.

"She is not here on this floor," another commented.

Morok's eyes drifted upwards and Celeste sank back into the shadows as far as she could. "Take out the support beams!" he ordered. "She's waiting for us to come to her so that she can take us out one at a time."

As his orcs went to the main support beams on the ground floor, Celeste swore under her breath. The head orc had outguessed her. That left one other option for her before the floor was, quite literally, taken out from under her. With two great strides, she cleared the nearby railing to launch herself down to the ground floor. She let out a bellowing war cry with her sword over her head at the ready.

Landing on top of one orc, Celeste plunged her sword right through the skull of him as she came down. The orc was dead before he knew what hit him. She kept on the offensive, swinging her sword left and right to cut down three more orcs.

Now the orcs were surrounding her and Celeste parried and dodged blows from all around, desperate to stay alive. She sensed that the orcs were holding back, probably in their attempt to make sure that she lived. Using that to her advantage, she managed to get two more orcs down. The remaining three plus Morok took steady steps to surround her, admiring her for her fighting prowess. "I will enjoy taking you in to our leader, Princess." He smiled savagely. "You will make a fine trophy to add to our growing collection."

Not bothering to reply to that, Celeste feinted towards him to back him up a few steps. Then she planted her foot, pivoted, snatched up a fallen axe from one of the dead orcs, and flung it towards the orc standing by the back door. The axe thudded into his chest and he fell down dead. She made a sprint towards him to be cut off by Morok and another orc.

The third orc pressed his advantage by coming up behind her to lock her into a bear hug. Celeste reversed her sword and jammed it past her armpit, severing the gleaming white tabard a bit in the process. She didn't care. If these orcs captured her she was as good as fucked in both senses of the term. The orc behind her let out a grunt of surprise as he was ran through. Celeste broke his grip and brought the sword up in an upward sweep to catch the next orc right between the legs. She withdrew the sword long enough to take his head off.

That left Morok. While taking down the last of his squad she lost track of him. She found out where he was at a moment later when stars exploded across her eyes when his massive fist connected with the side of her head. Celeste dropped her sword from the blinding pain and staggered to the side. "You fight well, elf," Morok said, laughing.

Morok followed her as she leaned up against the nearest wall for support trying to get her bearings. She righted herself just as he got to her, managing to throw out a flurry of punches and strikes that Morok blocked easily before backhanding her. Celeste fell to the ground in a heap and struggled to keep conscious. Then she felt herself being lifted up by the back of her tabard.

"You will not need this anymore, Princess," he said, gathering the silk in his meaty fists and yanking it apart with his superior orcish strength. She fell back to the floor, moaning in pain. Then she felt herself being lifted again as his beefy fingers found the latches of her armor. Celeste feebly tried attacking but she was too weak from his punches to do anything. Morok batted her hands away as he stripped the elven armor off of her. First the form fitting torso armor was taken off followed by her gauntlets, boots, and greaves.

"Now that," Morok declared, "Is the proper way to see an elf: totally naked!" he let out a bellowing laugh as he started unhooking his own armor. He let his armor fall to the floor until he was standing there in just his tunic and loincloth. "And this is how you elven bitches should be treated!" he shouted, stripping his clothing off.

The fog in Celeste's mind cleared when she was picked up a third time and she felt his naked body press into the back of hers. Against her slim ass, she could feel the orc's cock starting to stir as it hardened. She let out a shudder and gasp of revulsion as she felt his tongue drag its way from her shoulder, up the side of her neck, to just behind her ear. "Ahhhh! Get away!" she cried, trying to push off of him. Morok's large hands were firmly on her hips, keeping her in place.

Her squirming in his grip made Morok's cock harden even faster as her ass rubbed up against it. "That's it; fight me. It'll be all the more sweet for me when I deflower you!" he hissed.

"You can't!" Celeste protested as she still continued to flee. "I... I demand to see your leader!"

"All in good time," Morok said, one of his hands coming up to cup her large breast. "He proclaimed that the one who captured you would have the honor of ravishing you. It was a great incentive for us all to catch you. Now that honor is mine! Bend over, elf!" Morok kept one hand on her hip and withdrew the hand on her breast to bend her forward at the waist. His cock grazed her pussy.

Trembling, Celeste's body betrayed her. Her sex moistened and her nipples perked up in anticipation. She made one more last ditch effort to get free but Morok was ready for it. The moment she tried to run he pulled her back, dragging her down to her knees. When she made to rise up, Morok pushed her back down, pressing her upper body to the floor and crushing her breasts up against the cold stone.

Not wasting any time, Morok straddled her body by placing his feet on the outside of her knees. He pointed his cock straight down at her waiting hole. Sliding his hands back towards her ass, he used his thumbs to part open the pink lips of her pussy before driving down into her.

"ARGH!" Celeste yelped in pain at the hard and fast penetration. She felt Morok's cock sink all the way into her until the head of his cock slammed against her cervix. Her hands clenched and released reflexively and her legs kicked from the knees down as her body tried to overcome the stress of being suddenly penetrated by his massive member. Her mouth remained open in a soundless scream as tears glistened in her eyes.

"Gods above and below," Morok breathed in pleasure, "are all you elven women this tight? If so, it will make the conquest of your lands so much the better!" He then proceeded to thrust into her, making sure to ground his hips against her ass each time he plunged in.

"Ahhhh!" Celeste cried, now scratching at the stone for some kind of handhold. At the very least she could do was grip something as she was being taken. Better yet if she could find some kind of leverage in order to get away.

But Morok kept on driving into her with his pace steadily increasing. His large balls slapped rhythmically up against her slit, hitting her clit and sending tiny jolts of erotic pleasure coursing through her body. Soon she was feeling his cock becoming even more engorged inside of her as he approached his climax. "NO!" she shouted. She'd be dammed if she let the orc release inside of her.

With a sudden burst of speed right when Morok was pulling back for another thrust, Celeste managed to drop her butt down far enough for his cock to slip out of her with one good flex of her abdominal muscles. Morok looked down, confused, and when he moved to put his cock back into her, she broke free.

"I don't think so, Princess!" Morok roared, chasing after her. He tackled her just outside of the door and they rolled on the stone entryway. They wrestled with one another as Celeste tried to get away and Morok tried to subdue her. It was Morok who came out on top with brute strength winning and he grabbed at her while positioning himself between her legs again. Celeste reached up and pushed against him but the power of his orc muscles was too much for her to deal with. She let out a cry of dismay as Morok grabbed her wrists, pinned them on either side of her head, and speared her again with his cock. This time it was so hard that she doubled up and her legs wound up straddling his waist as her pussy struggled to accommodate it again.

Morok fucked her hard and fast now, ignoring her pitiful pleas for mercy and for him to stop. He rammed into her one last time, burying his cock deep into her, as his seed blew forth. Morok howled in pleasure and triumph, riding out the orgasm and enjoying every blissful second of it.

Underneath of him, Celeste was screaming; half of it was from disbelief and revulsion at the fact that Morok's hot cum was now flooding into her womb. The other half was from the forced orgasm that came with it. Her body bucked against his and her pussy was now clamping his cock of its own volition. Even her legs betrayed her by instinctively squeezing Morok's waist to keep him close as the two rode out the climax together. Finally her body went limp under him and she collapsed flat onto the stone, totally drained and defeated.

She hardly felt it when Morok eventually pulled out of her and she just lay there in a daze, delirious from the sexual haze that now fogged her mind. Her breasts heaved from the exertion and she could feel some of Morok's cum dribbling out from between her legs.

When Morok came back, he had rope in his hands. He grabbed her wrists and tied them securely together in front of her. Then she felt the coarse rope encircle her neck. She looked at him in alarm, fearing that he was putting her in a noose to be hanged, but instead he was just looping the long rope around her wrist bindings to make it into a leash that her neck and hands were now bound to.

"On your feet, Princess," Morok said, pulling at the rope. When she was standing she looked at him fearfully. He gave her an evil smile. "It's time to return to my camp where I'll give you over to our warlord. I'm sure that he will be more than happy to make your acquaintance as I have." He pulled on the rope and she had no choice but to follow in his wake.

*

CHAPTER 3:

While her handmaidens were being rounded up in the north and the south the true Princess of Caoluna, Gwendolyn, and her entourage made it through enemy controlled territory to their destination. Her betrothed, Ellisar, was there to meet her the moment she was safely inside the castle walls of the capital city of Eshhandell. "Thank the gods that you are safe, my dear," he said breathlessly as he pulled her into an embrace. "When we'd received confirmation from our scryers that all the decoys had been hit, we feared that they'd concentrate back in the center and get you as well."

"One of us was bound to make it through, my love. We were lucky. News that... that my maidens were attacked and that they believed one of them to be me reached the orcs that were closing in on me." Gwendolyn told him with a peck on the cheek even though she was still trembling in fright. "When is our ceremony to start? When are we to wed?" It was the whole reason for the charade of five separate caravans; to make sure that Gwendolyn's, the most non-descript one out of them all, made it through so that they could marry and formally unite their kingdoms.

"At once," Ellisar said, taking her by the hand and leading her to the great hall. "The leaders of the human, dwarf, and other elven kingdoms have already arrived to bear witness. Once we are wed then we can solidify the alliance and take back your kingdom's..." he paused, "excuse me, OUR kingdom's occupied lands."

"I cannot wait for our kin to be liberated as much as I cannot wait to be married to you." Gwendolyn said with a wan smile. "I just wish that my maidens could be here to see this."

"We mustn't make their sacrifice a vain one." Ellisar replied as they walked on the carpet down the center of the hall. Up at the front, an Elven Priestess awaited them to join them in matrimony. Gwendolyn could see off to their left half of the elven kingdoms' finest warriors in their bright golden armor stood proudly next to the assembled warriors and paladins of the human kingdoms in their shiny silver armor. Well, with the exception of one warrior in tarnished black armor.

To the right was the other half of the elven kingdoms' warriors standing to the equally proud dwarven warriors whose battle axes towered above their stout bodies. Gwen knew that what the dwarfs lacked in size and stature they made up for in steel and ferocity.

"Do we know what happened to my handmaidens?" Gwendolyn asked as they got up to the altar for the ceremony.

Ellisar looked pensive for a moment. "Yes... we had been watching all of the convoys via scry crystals that we had on the carriages. Two were captured; Sharia to the north and Celeste to the south. Luminesta was killed outright from an errant arrow when her entourage was ambushed and they tried to flee. Only you and Aeira made it through to us." He said sadly, "Aeira is being attended to by my physicians. They're giving her a sedative so that she can heal and relax from her ordeal.

Gwendolyn closed her eyes and breathed a quick prayer. Only two out of five made it and the two that did make it did so only because they were dressed like common servants. The other three, all dressed up in Gwendolyn's finest jewelry, armor, and silk tunics were doomed as they rode in the royal carriages. A lump rose in her throat. "We only made it through because we were dressed like peasants like you'd suggested. They started to come our way, and had even hit our skirmishers and scouts, but peeled away when one of their riders announced that the royal carriage had been spotted nearby." She shuddered in horror when one orc had actually leered at her and told her that it was her lucky day to be of a lower class as they had 'the princess' to catch.

"But you made it though." Ellisar reiterated. "I swear to you, my love, that we will avenge their losses."

A human voice rang out from the left. "So that's it then? You're just leaving them to their fate then?" The paladin in black armor with an equally black headband pulled down low on his brow from the rank and file of the humans jostled to the front. "What kind of people are you?"

One of the human kings, King Rayden, turned and scowled at the man. "Get back into formation! Know your place here!"

"No, hold... I will answer this man." Ellisar held up his hand to King Rayden. Ellisar was offended. How dare this human presume to know the pain they have gone through to make this happen. "They knew the importance of this alliance." He said arrogantly. "They knew the role that they would play and they knew what they were going in to."

"And did they know that you were not going to come for them when they were captured?" the paladin challenged right back, glaring right at Ellisar. The human broke ranks, pushing past his king, to storm right up to the Prince, his black and battered plate armor surprisingly quiet for someone moving in so much metal. Ellisar could now see that he had a black headband on with some faded elven lettering on one side that he couldn't read. The two met each other's gaze and then Ellisar lowered his own, knowing that the man was correct; no rescue of the maidens was ever planned. They might one day recover the bodies once the elven lands were retaken, but there were no immediate rescue plans as it wasn't feasible. "Your silence is reassuring," the paladin said dryly.

The paladin shook his head in disgust. No sound was heard throughout the hall as he moved towards the weapons rack by the door. There he retrieved his helmet, shield, and an impressive looking two handed sword before heading for the double doors. King Rayden of the human kingdom looked exasperated. He was on his feet at once. "Sir Darian, where are you going?"

"I am going where they are not and doing what they're not doing; I'm going to go retrieve their maids that still live." Darian shouted over his shoulder.

"Are you insane?"

"I believe, your highness, that the Court is still out on that question." Darian said dryly with a mock bow.

"That is a suicide mission. You are to remain here and provide security for this union not go gallivanting off on some damn fool's errand!" King Rayden yelled to the retreating form of his black paladin. "Gods dammit, Darian, you are you EVER going to follow my orders?"

"Sure... when they make sense!"

Rayden collapsed back into his seat, rubbing his temples. "What did I ever do in a past life to be cursed with such a paladin?"

"Who, exactly, does he worship?" Ellisar asked, now intrigued.

"Selune,"

"The moon goddess?" Ellisar was shocked. "Aren't all Paladins champions of Tyr? Law, Justice, and Good?"

"Good, yes. Justice, most definitely. Law?" Rayden winced. "Eh, not so much."

"I did not know that Selune had a Paladin order among the humans," Gwendolyn said, "usually just we elves who worship her."

"He's... one of a kind." Rayden took a big swig of wine from his goblet and motioned for a refill from one of the servants. "He got kicked out of one of the many orders of Tyr but somehow managed to keep his holy magic. He's been... freelancing... in my kingdom for some time now."