It was hot when Karl set out to meet the Chief of the North Hill Tribe. Karl was with five of his men, and he met the Chief at the center of the Night Witch camp with ten of the tribe's men. Karl raised a hand, his men paused their footsteps. Their hands rested on the hilt of their swords which was fastened around their waist in its scabbard.
Karl made his way to stand before the Chief, and the chief smiled at him.
"Welcome, Commander," the Chief said.
"Thank you, Chief," Karl said with his face down. He was annoyed that the Chief had chosen to meet at a time like this with no consideration for the blazing sun. He hoped the Chief and the men with him didn't see it as an insult that his face was down. He was only trying to conceal his irritation. He raised his head when he thought he had concealed his expression, and he leveled his squinted gaze with that of the Chief. "I didn't think you would want to meet in a place like this."
"I did. Custom demands it."
Their stupid custom, Karl thought. No wonder their women were ridden roughly outside their tents with them not considering whether it was hot, raining, or cold. Even worse, they did it in the sight of everyone watching, including their children. Privacy to the North Hill Tribe was a sin. And even though their children knew this, Karl and his men usually saw some of their sons close to the boundaries of this tribe committing what the tribe would call a sin with their sisters, cousins, and other girls. And Karl couldn't tell the Chief this. It would mean their deaths.
"Some of the men of the tribe are scared that your men will mislead their daughters," the Chief said. "We all consider you men of our tribe now, so stop hiding in your tents. We hear our daughters moan. Those moans are sinful. They shouldn't feel any form of pleasure at all. Empower a woman, and she would become lord over you. They feel the pain of menstruation, the pain of childbirth, they feel pain when they try to do heavy tasks, so surely, you must see they were built for pain. They can handle it."
Karl wanted to slap the Chief, but he held himself and laughed instead and kept his face to the ground. "Sorry, Chief," he said, raising his head, the hint of a smile on his face. "I am not from this tribe, and neither are my men. You may consider us so, but that won't make us acknowledge it. We come from different places, and backgrounds, and where I'm from, women are treated with respect. They are fragile creatures, and since they feel pain during menstruation and childbirth, it's only proper they enjoy exquisite pleasure through sex. Their bodies were built for it after all. Their bodies have those pleasure spots because they were meant to be pleased..."
"But they are like horses," the Chief said. "They are meant to obey you and not speak. They—"
"Horses do protest. I am not saying a woman is a horse, but horses do protest. Kick the belly of a horse hard you'll find yourself on the ground with his hoof coming in contact with your head. I don't see women as horses, Chief. I never have, and I never will. My father taught me to treat them like jewels. Sure, they can be annoying sometimes like men are always annoying," he eyed the Chief, "but women have a grace in them that should be appreciated."
"These are our daughters, Commander. And these are customs that we have lived with for ages. Women shouldn't smile. They are nothing because they were reduced so. Everything not up to a man is nothing."
Karl wanted the Chief to shut up. He wanted the Chief and the men of his tribe standing with him to feel the sting of humiliation, and this he wanted to do in the presence of his men who had come out of their tents to watch. But remembering Gina's words, he stilled himself and said, "I'm sorry, Chief. I and my men can never be part of you. We would conduct our business within our tents, and the women you have given to us are no longer part of your tribe."
"But they have our blood," the Chief said.
"I don't care. They are ours now, and they should be treated with care."
"What gives you the right to make such a demand? You are not part of our council. You are just a common man."
Karl smiled. He liked it when people underestimated him. "I am a mercenary. My only interest is in gold. Recall the past, and how you lived with your neighbours. You may say you never sent for me. But here I am, and I put down your enemies and became a deterrent to discourage future attacks. The air of safety created by the presence of the Night Witch, since you have not the gold to pay for it, you'll compensate with your women."
"The law stands, Commander," the Chief said. "Any lady from the North Hill Tribe allowing what shouldn't be done to her to be done to her, she must die."
Karl gave a head gesture. "I'd like to see you try." He had nothing more to say to the Chief. "Greetings."
Karl turned and walked away with the five men who had escorted him.
Close to his tent, Karl spotted Henry, one of his guards approaching with a letter in hand.
"What is it?" Karl asked, halting his footsteps.
"A letter for you, Commander," Henry said and handed the letter to him.
Karl unrolled the letter and read it. He took his time to look at each word, and when he was done, he rolled it back up.
"What is it, Commander?" Henry asked.
Still a bit lost in the fury of the conversation he had just had with the Chief, Karl said, "Queen Iris has sent for me."
"Orders, Commander."
Karl curtly nodded. "Prepare the men. We march south at dawn."
Two days later, Karl and his entire host arrived at Strongfall. Close to the gates of the walled city, Karl and his men pulled their horses to a halt, and he had his gaze squinted due to the glow of the sun. He looked up at the soldiers on the wall, and he could see they were all staring.Metals groaned, Karl leveled his gaze to the gate to see it was now opened. Fifty knights on horses rode out and approached Karl.The knights pulled up at a stone throw from Karl, but one approached. He was well covered in a dull silver armour, and his visor was open.Slowing his horse, the knight asked, "Welcome, commander Karl. I am general Finley, and the Queen has asked me to escort you inside the city."Karl curtly gave a sing
"The princess wishes to see you," one of Karl's guards announced.Karl gestured for the guard to see her in. Gina continued caressing him."Do you want me to leave?" Gina asked."No," Karl said. "I'll like to see how this goes."The Princess entered inside the tent with her maid. Karl saw her gaze avert from him to Gina. This made him smile."You wish to see me?" Karl asked.Alex's eyes darted upwards, and he watched her struggle to compose herself even as she stood erect with her maid doing the same behind her, her gaze returned to him. "Yes," she said.
"Will you marry her?" Lexi asked Karl over dinner.Karl choked on his wine. He hadn't seen that coming. Lexi! She always had a little mystery to her silence. Regaining himself, he asked, "What would make you think that, Lexi? She's a princess, one that should get married to a prince. I am merely a mercenary. I'm too low for her kind.""But you're a soldier.""A soldier of fortune," he reminded his wife. "A soldier of fortune.""Doesn't matter. Court ladies, I've heard do wed knights," she said.Karl shook his head. Would she ever understand? As beautiful as she was, she was also naive about a lot of things in this world. "This particular princess can't just
It got busy within the encampment of the waiting imposing, and the gallant army of the Night Witch. Men walked horses, armours were crafted, and blades were sharpened. Karl set his men to the task of secreting themselves among the citizens of Strongfall in order to bring rebels to heel."This is substantial information," Henry told Karl in his war tent which had been set up to discuss information from spies and strategy. "I believe the men are telling the truth. There's no road there."Karl was resting and on his long sword as he reviewed the map. "Still, their words can't be trusted," he said, looking up at Henry. "These men are citizens of these kingdoms, are they not?""They are.""They are mercenaries. Even if w
Sex with Gina was always a beautiful experience. Karl knew this for with her, there was no rush, and one could try anything.Karl was lying naked on his tummy on a fur mattress in his tent, and before him was a naked Gina, also on her back with her legs propped up and separated, rocking her waist to the pleasurable sensation the thrusting of Karl's fingers caused within her."I'm telling you, she's improving," Karl said, enjoying the wetness of her around his fingers. He used his thumb to caress the cleft of her core.Gina writhed in pleasure."She was talking about war and other things," he continued. "Do you know my scout even confirmed something she had pointed out to me yesterday? It was amazing she had seen all
Lexi thought of him with lust, then. But here he was with her, and he didn't want to let go of her."What do you call this?" Lexi asked."An intimate moment," Karl said."I can hear your heartbeat." Lexi pulled apart from his embrace."Is something wrong?"Lexi shook her head. "I don't know much about lust. That's for those in the south, but in the north, it's a sin. It's evil to feel such.""Do you know marriage overrides all that? A man can feel lust for his wife. Surely, you've seen some of the men of the north moving with bulges in their trousers?"
With his lips on her, Karl tasted her."Do as I do," Karl said against her lips. "Only do it to my upper lip."He returned to her lips, and she did what he wanted her to."You taste sweet," Karl said."Thanks," Lexi whispered."Can I touch you?""Where?""All over.""Yes," came her soft reply as he kissed her.Their lips continued exploring each other, Karl's hand traveled all over her clothed body. He tugged at her laced
"I'm sorry," Karl said, and kissed her lips. "It will pass."Perhaps, she thought this was the rightful pain all women needed to feel. He would prove her wrong with his gentle, and slow thrusts.And Karl was right. Soon, pain turned to pleasure, and Lexi's whimpering became sensual moans. He straightened and looked down between her legs, and on his shaft was the stain of her blood.She was his wife, and the first virgin he'd lain with. From the tales of the countless women he'd bedded, he knew about their first-time experience, and they had advised him on what to do. But this, although it had granted her access to pain the first time, was beautiful. She was tight, and stretching her out was pleasurable.She will fee