The Iron Prince

But at last, they saw the trees break, and beyond it lay the Balatonn River. For the last hundred yards, the trees gave way to a backwater choked with reeds and thickets. The water there was stagnant and foul, gradually giving way to the flowing water of the river beyond it.

Aranthir felt the icy grip of the water as they were at last forced to abandon dry land and wade through the backwater. It crept up his leg as he moved, yet hey plunged forward all the same.

They had not gone far when Vyna became entangled with a thorny vine. She tore away from it, her frustrated desperation boiling over so close to escape, and her bodice ripped apart. The lady lost her footing and tumbled into the icy water.

Aranthir was there in an instant, hauling her back to her feet before any abominable swamp denizen devoured her.

"I thank you, half-elf," she managed through chattering teeth. Her dark hair clung to her bare shoulders, but Aranthir's eyes were drawn to her bare breasts, shining white in the cold evening. Her pink nipples stood out fresh her pale flesh, eliciting lustful thoughts in his mind. Vyna quickly noticed her state, and covered them with her hands. Aranthir tried to distract her.

"There is a boat," he pointed to a simple fishing boat floating lazily down the river. "I'll see if he will aid us." Together, they waded out into the deeper, faster flowing water along the river's edge. The river bottom sank deeper until they could no longer stand on it. Aranthir guided Vyna between branches and boulders until they reached the open expanse of the river. Aranthir pulled himself up onto a branch and waved his arm over his head to attract the fisherman's attention.

The man was lounging in his boat with a line in the water and his hat pulled down over his eyes. He was nearly upon them when at last Aranthir's shouting caught his eye. He guided the boat closer to them, staring with wide eyes at the two strangers who had emerged from the swamp. As the boat neared and they eagerly swam to him, he extended an oar to help them aboard. Vyna went first, flopping exhaustedly into the boat in the tatters of her dress. In the water, Aranthir could see the filth washing away from her body and felt the same happening to his own. He felt days of dread wash away with it all. Once aboard, he seated himself between Vyna and the fisherman, shielding her naked breasts for his curious eyes.

"By Eldrin," the man breathed as they settled themselves in the boat, "I've never seen anything like the two of you come out the Blackreach."

Aranthir huddled closer to Vyna, feeling the cold, damp clothes about him bite deep. "What have you seen come out of the swamp?" he asked after a spate of chattering teeth. The man thought a moment, still taken aback, then answered.

"Goblins, big snakes. Once a hydra. But people? Never on your life, not on this edge. You must have been through the Depths!"

"Yes," Vyna answered, wrapping an empty fishing net about herself in desperation. "Yes, we have."

"I'll pull in up there," he pointed to a cottage along the opposite bank, "I know the man what lives there an' he'll give you a fire and a bed for the night."

"Thank you," Aranthir replied. "How far is it to Pegia?"

"Pegia?" the fisherman repeated before rubbing his chin. "From here? Oh, about ten miles." his expression turned suspicious. "You aren't one of them, are you? Ah, I should have known."

"One of who?"

"Soldiers o' fortune. Mercenaries. The trouble-making type. They've been coming from all o'er the world to Pegia fer something these lay few days. I seen 'em on the road and hear tale of 'em in the villages. Something's going on, for certain. And I just hope it keeps us common folk out of it."

"Something is going on," Aranthir confirmed, "And I'm afraid we're part of it."

"Perhaps I ought to have left you two in the swamp," he muttered glumly as his boat cut sharply across the river. He said no more until they were docked at the cottage and standing on the little pier. A man emerged from the cottage with a suspicious look and the fisherman called up to him.

"Oren! I found these two strangers on the edge of the swamp. They're lookin' like they been through Tarnilaen his self and they're bound for Pegia in the morning. I thought maybe I could leave 'em with you, instead of taking 'em two more miles downriver."

Oren visibly vacillated, turning a pewter cup over in his hands. At last, he nodded. "Alright then, bring 'em up. It's not every day someone comes out of the Blackreach alive, after all."

He led them inside as the fisherman bid them farewell. The cottage was already home to a roaring fire, in front of which Oren piled all the bedding he could muster for them. Vyna and Aranthir stripped out of their wet clothes and hung them above the fire to dry. Oren retreated a safe distance, humbly averting his eyes from Vyna's nude body. She huddled beneath the blankets, as close to the fire as she dared, and said nothing.

Aranthir wrapped himself in a blanket and seated himself across from her. Once they were covered again, Oren returned to tend to the fish stew in his cookpot. Once ready, he served it to them and then withdrew into the cottage's loft above the hearth. Aranthir and Vyna ate ravenously, then went for more. The stew ran out before they were satisfied.

Still shivering, Vyna lay down before the fire, her expression contemplative. Wrapped in his blanket, Aranthir lay beside her. Vyna turned over to face him.

"Why did you agree to this task, Aranthir?" she asked. Aranthir considered a moment and then merely shrugged.

"Thirty gold marks is a lot of money."

"Is that all? You risked your life for some gold?"

"I always risk my life for gold. That is what it means to be a mercenary."

"Surely you are no stranger to this cold, then."

"Indeed, I have spent much time in places colder than this, though on a night like this it is easy to forget."

"What is it like?"

"Much as what you've seen these last few days. Sometimes there is less violence, sometimes there is more. There's also a lot of gambling, drinking, and whoring, but you seem to have missed that part."

Vyna laughed.

"The winter chill still has a hold of me, half-elf. Come and lay with me for warmth." Aranthir did, though he spared a moment's thought for her mysterious suitor who had hired him. Vyna pressed herself close to him before the fire and he put an arm over her.

"Are you still cold?" he asked.

"I am. When you've been cold in the past, what did you do?"

"Depends on who I am with. If it's a man, we might fight."

"And if it's a woman?" she asked significantly, her blue eyes staring into his with great intent.

"Are you getting married tomorrow?"

Vyna was annoyed. "Tomorrow is not tonight. Tonight, I am cold."

Aranthir pulled the blanket from underneath her. They were no longer individually wrapped in their own blankets, but two bodies under one blanket, both naked. Vyna reached up to touch his face. They kissed, her warm lips helping to banish the cold from him even as he felt his body growing hot. Vyna reached down between his legs to grab his cock, which was already hardening beneath the blankets.

As she stroked him, Aranthir bent his head down to nuzzle her breasts. He felt Vyna's breath hot on his ears, then her lips on his neck. In his mouth, her nipples were soft and tender. She threw a leg over his hips, pulling his cock closer to her body. He felt the heat of her, then the touch of his cock against her soft flesh. She bit her lip as she slid him inside and Aranthir wrapped his arms about him. Vyna kissed him again, clutching him close to her as he began to fuck.

"Hold me close," she whispered in his ear, her soft words nearly lost in the crackling of the hearth. Aranthir did so, but she repeated her command as his cock slid deeper inside her. He felt her quiver underneath him, and wrapped his arms around her soft, warm body. His hands climbed down her body until he grabbed her ass in both hands and squeezed. Vyna dug her nails into his back, biting at his shoulder as her breath came heavily to her. Aranthir thrust deep into her welcoming sex, exulting in the warm softness of her flesh. He could feel his cock throbbing already.

Vyna alternated between clawing at his back and clawing at his chest as he fucked and occasionally lowered his head to kiss her breasts when he was not kissing her mouth. She made little moans of pleasure, her brow furrowing as she whimpered and pleaded for more until at last she rolled him to his back and mounted him.

The blankets flew aside, but neither of them paid any mind, for they did not lack for warmth. Her pink nipples still stood out in the winter chill but her face flushed pink and she smiled broadly atop his hard cock. Aranthir grabbed her by the hips and ground her against his own. Vyna threw her head back and moaned in ecstasy, her white breasts bouncing delightfully on her long chest. She planted her feet on the floor, bouncing her body on his cock with long, white legs. Aranthir held her steady, watching his cock slide in and out of her pink, shaven sex.

Motion above them drew his attention and he looked up to see Oren in the rafters, staring down at them with great interest. He scowled at the man, unnoticed by Vyna, and the fisherman retreated into the darkness.

Aranthir returned his attention to the beautiful woman on his cock. He squeezed her ass in his hands and Vyna moaned again. She tossed her head, whipping her dark hair about her to swat against her back, then smiled down at him.

"I'm close," she whispered, and Aranthir set his hand to her sex, working her between his fingers. Vyna gasped with pleasure, then whimpered with delight as she lay her body against his, her hard nipples brushing against his own. Aranthir's fingers worked faster, and she jerked atop him, her hands scrambling against his chest in search of purchase as she began to shake atop him. With his other hand, Aranthir pulled her head down to his and kissed her again. Vyna bit his lip when he tried to draw away.

She came at last, her body shaking harder as she cried out. He buried her head against his shoulder to stifle the noise and continued his vigorous thrusting into her, furiously seeking his own climax. It came soon enough, and he ejaculated inside her, a hot load that he had been saving for her since he saw her by the bridge.

His thrusting and her riding slowed together until they clung motionlessly to each other before the hearth. After a pause, Vyna lifted her head and stared into his eyes with her cool blues. She brushed her hair back from her head and smiled shyly at him, suddenly bashful with a load of his cum in her. he could feel it leaking from her sex to run down his cock and balls to the floor. Aranthir ran a hand down her naked flank, stopping to squeeze her breast again.

Vyna raised her sex from his cock, trailing a line of sticky white cum between them. She smiled with delight, then lifted the cum with her finger and put it in her mouth. White cum disappeared in her pink mouth and she opened wide to show it gone. More of it dripped from her sex and landed on the floor.

She ignored it, and instead lay beside him before the fire, both uncovered thanks to the heat of passion. Aranthir spied Oren in the darkened loft again, staring down at Vyna's nude form from above. He gave Aranthir an apologetic shrug, but retreated with a start when Vyna spied him. As he vanished into the darkness, she turned to Aranthir and laughed breathlessly and softly to herself.

"Don't tell your husband tomorrow," Aranthir said after a moment of silence. "I have had enough people try to kill me recently."

"You've nothing to worry about, Aranthir of Ildranon. You're not the first man to share my bed, not that this passes for much of a bed."

"Careful, our host is likely still lurking within earshot."

"He can take my appraisal of his home as compensation for his prying eyes. Queens of old who were spied on so took the offending eyes as compensation, if the poems are to be believed."

"When it comes to old tales, I would put more faith in those that concern good hospitality than those that concern good queenly behavior. The gods have punished many an unruly guest, but kings and queens so often escape retribution."

Vyna smiled at that and lay the back of her hand against her sweaty brow. She exhaled forcefully and her beautiful chest rose slower as she slowed her breathing.

"I will take your advice about the gods to heard, for it is clear that you are favored not only by the Goddess of Luck but also by the Goddess of Pleasure. But I believe it's best that we sleep now. We've still many miles to walk in the morning," Vyna said as she pulled the blanket up over her breasts.

"Aye, we must reach your army that is gathering at Pegia." Aranthir said matter-of-factly. Vyna cracked a thin smile.

"Not mine, or not all mine. My husband-to-be will command it, but I will pay for it."

"And who is this lucky suitor, the man willing to pay an unknown mercenary thirty gold marks for your safe passage?"

"He is the prince," Vyna answered. "Petarr, firstborn son of the king. Do not look like that, dear half-elf. It is a match of convenience, not love. He wants my father gone so he can take control of the kingdom from his father, I want my father gone before he seizes my estates. Once we are married, together we will control more land than any ten lords in the kingdom put together. We will rule as we see fit, and hang the lords."

"Or he will rule as he sees fit," Aranthir cautioned. "When a king and queen quarrel, he has the advantage."

"I am no stranger to these quarrels, mercenary. You think I cannot assert myself?"

"I know what I've seen. Kings rule queens, my lady, and you must be a very exceptional woman to defy such a rule. There may come a time when he decides that your estates serve him better than they serve you. And if he decides that, you will be hard pressed to change his mind."

"Then perhaps, when the time comes, I will go looking for you."

"I will pray that you don't find me."

Aranthir awoke well after dawn, exhausted from the previous day. Oren was gone, as was his boat, which troubled him little. Vyna was still asleep, so he busied himself with making some breakfast from what remained of his traveling rations and what he could find around Oren's cottage. She awoke some time later and ate with him. Their clothes at last dry, they shed their blankets and dressed before setting out on the road. Aranthir borrowed a cloak to cover Vyna's ruined dress and left behind a few silver coins in thanks for the hospitality.

Once on the road, they soon found that what the fisherman had told them was true, traffic was thick with mercenaries heading toward Pegia. Big Hyrthanians in their fur coats, men-at-arms, crossbowmen and even some White Sisters all plied the road. As they neared Pegia, they passed a party of artillerists with no fewer than six cannons mounted on carriages. Wagons laden with grain and other provisions plied the road and similarly laden barges floated in the river. None of them spared any mind for Aranthir and Vyna, who must have seemed to them nothing more than a lone sellsword and his wife.

It was an hour past noon when they arrived in Pegia. The press at the gates delayed them until Aranthir convinced the guard that the prince was expecting them. Though the rest of the crowd complained mightily, the two of them were allowed in without even having to pay the gate toll.

They made straight for the willow tree in the center of town. There, beneath a purple awning, waited the man who had hired Aranthir in the inn three days before. Prince Petarr, who now looked more the part. He wore a vest of rich black velvet trimmed with gold, green pants, a long purple cloak, and a golden crown studded with rubies. All around him with clerks and soldiers shuffling about papers and parchments in a flurry of activity.

Aranthir stepped forward, only to find the big Hyrthanian man in his path. They met eye to eye, the giant with his axe in hand and Aranthir resting a hand on his sword pommel.

"So," the big man rumbled, "you're back."

"So are you," replied Aranthir. "Still looking for that duel?"

"Always. If we duel now, and you die, does that leave your oath unfulfilled? Will your soul wander the earth forever? Because I quite like the sound of that."

"There is but one way to find out," Aranthir retorted softly. But it was not to be, for Petarr interjected from his command post.

"Half-blood, you return! And with my bride?"

Aranthir stepped aside that he might see Vyna. She did not look the part, clad in a peasant's cloak and a tattered dress beneath and with her hair a mess from their journey through swamp and river. But despite it all, she had the poise of a queen and the eyes to match.

"Wonderful," Petarr murmured. "Come here, my dear, we're united at last."

"It was a near thing, Petarr," she replied, "I'd not have made it if it weren't for this half-elf."

"Aye, it was a stroke of luck to find you in the inn. I daresay it was a blessing from Apliss herself that our paths crossed. I will ensure that the appropriate offerings are made in thanks."

"That's not all, I'm afraid," said Aranthir, watching cautiously as the Hyrthanian Paskor strolled away with his axe and musket slung over his back. "We lost her guards on the way and left many unburied. We should offer Kanaron a hecatomb to see that they are given the eternal rest they deserve."

"A hecatomb?" Petarr scoffed, "What are you, a priest as well? We will see what the priests say and follow their guidance. I've better uses for the cattle anyway."

"They will say a hecatomb," Aranthir warned.

"Do as he says, Petarr," Vyna urged. "They were my men, I owe them as much."

"Very well," he turned to a clerk. "See that it is done. And bring the elf his thirty gold marks."

"And a horse, as well," Vyna insisted, "to replace the one he lost in the swamp."

"The swamp? The Blackreach? You took them through the Blackreach?!"

"It was the only way out," Aranthir replied confidently.

"You're braver than I thought, half-elf. A horse then. A courser? Or a palfrey? From one of my wife's stables, to be sure."

"And is thirty marks all we can do, Petarr?" Vyna sifted through the papers on the desk with one hand. "You have a lot of money here."

"Thirty marks was the price we agreed upon. But if you want something more, I am in need of captains."

"You would have me command your army?" Aranthir replied with mild surprise.

"My army? No, but a company, perhaps. A horse company, preferably. The Lord Protector's men are spread all over the country to the south, searching for us. They're nearly blind to the army gathering here; my spies tell me that they only proclaimed the retrobannum in the capital three days ago. If we ride out tomorrow, or even later today, we can catch and destroy the cream of his men while they are still scattered across the countryside. Then we can march on the capital and perhaps even take it without a fight."

"An auspicious beginning to our reign indeed," Vyna mused. "What do you say, Aranthir? Will you serve me again?"