the Leathermines

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She was certain that Gem was pacing the deck as Liam was Playing with her.  Laun was strapped into the frame again, facing the sloping wall, and with a line of fine needles down her back.

Laun could feel where he had hit her, full force with a fist on her hip.  She had giggled at one of his blows and she had paid for it.  He kept slapping her on the hip, her back tightening and her butt wiggling, much to his delight.

He was in process of tying thread to the needles and looping it over a hook in the ceiling.  He had said that it looked beautiful, as if she had sprouted wings.  Laun just felt the tug and sting and did not know what it looked like, but took his word for it.

A trickle of blood had finally reached the underside of her asscheek, the cooling and drying trail disturbingly annoying to Laun.  Liam finished with his last tie and stepped back.  He saw the blood trail and went to one knee to lick it off her pale skin.  He was warm against her.  It felt good and Laun was able to feel the heat come up in her again for that session.  He had almost ignored her crotch, ignored her ass, except for the caning he had put her through.

He stood and moved away.  She hung as still as possible in the frame but could not tell where Liam was or what he was doing.  There was a small draft on her and she felt a change in the room.

“I hope that my beauty likes how the session will end,” Liam breathed into her neck.

Laun tried to turn her head, but felt the bottom needle start to be drawn out of her skin, the thread not having been cut or taken off.  It was an intense feeling, making her hold her breath until it was out of her.  She felt the blood from the holes start down her back right before hands were on her hips.

Laun cried out more as the man entered her than she had while Liam had been marking her and piercing her.  It was completely unexpected and her barriers were shattered.  His cock thrusted into her womanhood as another needle was drawn out of her, the sensations changing and melding.  The man started to thrust raggedly and Laun could not do anything.   He grunted and pulled out, Laun feeling just a small splatter of his seed on her inner thigh as he came to his peak.

Another needle was withdrawn and another cock entered her.  She tried to push back, but the harness that held her that day was even more secure than the belt had been.  She bounced at the strength of the man in her, a sob and moan escaping as another needle was pulled on, the thread catching and making it difficult.

That man lasted marginally longer than the first, pulling completely out before she heard him orgasm.  There were more footsteps and Laun knew that the whole crew might have been behind her awaiting their turns.

That pushed something in her.  The danger of the unknown men and all of them waiting to fuck her.  She felt her mind change directions as the next man and next needle slid in her at the same time.  Her moans became lower and she could feel the rise in her heat that was not falling when he pulled out and came outside of her.

All of the needles were out of her back and the man behind her reached around and started to finger her nub as he used her.  Her head went back and she felt his breath on her shoulder.  He slowed, a whimper coming from her.  She could feel his chuckle and then he grunted and sped up again.  She was so close that she cried out in frustration when he pulled out, his hand going to himself and leaving her thrusting on nothing.

Another hand was around her and on her clit.  She tried to move against it, but found she was holding still as a large, cold phallus was pressed into her.  A tongue was on her back, licking at the blood as the glass cock was worked into her womanhood.  Liam reached around with his other hand and grabbed the front of the harness and started to thrust into her.  His skin slid along hers, the blood slick between them.  It hurt and stung, but the way he was using his glass phallus was more than worth it.

His mouth went to her shoulder and she felt his teeth dig in.  He started using the harness she was in for leverage and sped up his thrusts, Launs’ cries getting louder.  She felt the gold rings move and break their scabs, the little pain becoming one with all the sensations.

Her head went back and she growled.  She was close and she did not want Liam to stop.  She smiled at the thought as she knew he could use his glass cock on her forever and only have to rest, not recover from a peak.  To have that in her forever.  Pounding in her, sliding across those ridges and pushing on-

“Ahhhh!”  Laun felt her body convulse, but she could not move with the harness and frame holding her.  The contractions were almost painful as she tightened around the glass in her and it threw back the vibrations unyieldingly.  She tried to breathe, but the strength of the waves going through her made her get close to blacking out.  The colored flashes behind her eyes were amazing, matching the beat of her peak.  Her head went forward and she went into darkness.

She woke up on the bunk, a blanket around her and Liam’s arms around the blanket.  He was looking into her face, watching her and smiled when she looked back.

“That was amazing, Bella.  You were so beautiful as the angel and then my present to you...”  He kissed her and she welcomed it.

“Thank you, sir.”  Her voice was shaky when she could speak.

He shook his head.  “No collar, Highness.  This session is over.”  He held up the silver and leather collar before putting it on the bunk beside him.

Laun swallowed hard and smiled.  “I have not been able to peak in over a week.  Before that, I’m not sure.  It used to be so easy, too.”

His hand caressed her face as he looked into her eyes.  “I understand.  Truly, I do.  Now, you need to rest.”

Liam gave Laun some water to drink and laid her down on the bunk, another blanket pulled over her.  He waited until she had fallen into real sleep before gathering himself up and leaving her to rest.

Waking to her next to him had been different.  He had not had a woman sleep in the same bed as he for years.  She had not laughed, she had not derided him for his failings.  She was different and he wanted that with him.  Liam smiled as he thought of the taste of her blood in flakes in the corner of his mouth in the morning.  She had woken early, but had stayed in bed with him, reaching over him to a shelf of books and reading to amuse herself.  He found the sound of the paper turning comforting as he came awake and he watched her for a while before she noticed his eyes on her.

They had talked.  She did not press him to do things to her while in bed.  They had discussed the shipping of the Rosemond regulars and mercs back through Hamlis.  They had talked some about the stars again, Laun changing the subject when he started talking about the ShipFall.  There were a few minutes of a heated debate as to the true length a Kings Measure should be, both of them laughing as the absurdity hit them both.

Liam liked her.  She had been a prospect, someone Lady Engrid had said to keep an eye on.  He had not thought of Her for a while.  He grimaced as he thought of the years that she was his main client, and how he came to be a smuggler, by her design.  He pushed it out of his head as he pulled his boots on and went out to the main deck to see what had happened as he had been Playing.

The men who had not been below had brought the ship into a cove along the river.  Liam was informed that they were almost out of firewood and the cook insisted that they get something they did not have onboard.  One of the men also mentioned getting a measure of milk for the children, a smile flashing over Liam’s lips.  They were near one of the roads that went along the river and a small village was about an hours walk inland.  Liam let most of the men go on the excursion as Laun and her servant were now trusted and were no trouble.

The babies were in a taller corral of boxes that afternoon.  It seemed to be keeping them contained, the blonde servant making funny noises to keep the children amused.  Liam knew that he would never father children.  It was just a fact of life for him.  Having the babies with her Highness brought a small sense of family to the ship that was welcome.

Liam watched the babies play and get sleepy in their covered space.  Their watcher watched him when they settled, but did not say anything.  She did not trust him, but was there for the babies, and he could see that.  She loved her Mistress and the disbelief of the Play he was having with her was plain on the girl’s face.

It was nothing he could really explain to those who did not enjoy-

There was a noise from the road and Liam turned, expecting to see his men.  He did not.  He quickly counted twenty men and knew that the four that were left on his ship were no match.

“Bring the children.  Now.”

Gem knew that tone.  There was no time to explain.  She held the two sleepy babies to her and Liam pulled her away from the shore railing.  He went to a door that she had not seen before and they went below.

“I do not know who they are, but they had swords drawn.  I will hide you and the babies and I will try to get Bella Laun hidden, too.”

“Graze, Padrone.”  Gem nodded to his look and followed him.  He fiddled with a panel in the corridor and there was a padded space behind.  Gem laid down and the babies were placed next to her.  Liam looked at the three and closed the panel.

Liam heard the sailors fighting with the men from shore.  He had to get to Laun and make sure they did not find her.  He went through the narrow corridor and knew it was too late when there was a shout at the other end.  He did not have a sword, but he still had some of his cutting tools on his belt.  Liam had a blade in either hand as he turned towards the invaders, a grimness in him he did not like.  The bandit at the lead of the invaders came towards him and Liam cut the man on the arm, but did not stop the invaders’ blade from going through his gut.

Doors were opened, there were shouts.  Laun did not know what was happening and thought it was another session, but with some sort of a game to it.  She sat up, feeling the blanket tear at the drying blood on her skin.  The collar fell to the deck.  Laun reached for it and fell to the floor herself.  She placed the leather and silver around her neck, the latch almost catching.  She knelt there, trying to regain her breath and balance.

The door opened and it was not Liam.  It was not Gem.  It was not any of the sailors.  She cringed away from the man and looked at the floor.

“What the fuck?  There’s a bloody slave back here.”  The man went to his knee and pulled her hair to get a good look at her face.  “Not too bad-”

“We are not looking for slaves.  We are looking for a noble woman.”  The voice had a command tone to it.  A shape was in the doorway and she heard a breath sharply taken in.  “Fuck.  Who would do that?”  Someone shouted behind him and he cursed again.  “We can’t find anyone else on board.  We can bring her and see if we can sell her or something.”

The bandit let go of Laun’s hair, but she did not drop her head.  She looked at the man standing above her, tears in her eyes.  The bandit grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up with him, almost dragging her until she stood and followed them.  She had to step over Liam’s form as she was pushed and pulled along.  There was no time to do anything, and Laun knew she was in no condition to fight back.

There was at least one other body she could see on the deck.  It was not Gem.  Laun felt a flash of relief until she was pushed to the side of the ship and had to climb down into the water.  It was not deep, but they did not bother to put her into the boat as they stowed other stolen things into the smaller vessel.  She held onto the side as it was being loaded, one of the oars coming close to her as they started to push away.

The man with the command voice was beside her and grabbed her around the waist.  He waded through the water until they were at the beach, letting her go.  She collapsed, her legs giving out with no show or falseness to it.

“I told you that they had her with them.”  One of the bandits was pulling on his boots trying to get the muddy water from them.

“A noble woman would not let herself be secreted like that.  Anyway, none of them looked like a woman, did they?”

There were rumbles from the men and still a few argued.  Laun just sat and listened, her head turned to the ground and her body trembling.  There were legs next to her and she expected to feel another blade going into her, but for a death kill.

He knelt, some water coming from his boots.  “Where is your mistress?”  He was their leader.  He had the command voice, a military voice.

Laun shook her head and her trembling hand went to the collar.  “You killed him... you...”  She started shaking and she could not stop.

“She’s no use to us!  Just kill her and leave her.”  The sound of metal came to Laun, but she did not move.

“No, Korith.  We are not like those fools under her Excellency.  Look at her.  Even our nobles don’t treat our slaves so.”  His hand went to her back and she winced.  “I don’t know what we will do with her, but we are not killing her.”

“Then you take care of her.  I’m not going to loose my share from Flint because of a slave.”

Laun could not control her shivering.  She knew that she was in shock from the blood loss.  She knew that her body was not going to work the way she wished and willed it would.  She looked at the man beside her and just blinked.

“Ah, shit.”  He stood and seemed to place his feet on either side of her, claiming and protecting her from the men around her.  “If the noble is not on the ship, then she was taken off before we got here.  The men we saw leave probably have her in their midst, which means we have lost her.”

“What are we going to do now?  Flint won’t pay us for this piece of shit.”  The man waved his hand towards Laun as if he was shaking something bad from the tips of his fingers.  Laun saw the man’s boots and looked at the boots of the man standing over her.  And then up at his call thong on his belt, the silver and knots telling her more than he wanted her to know.

“We will regroup.  Get this stuff onto the horses and we will go to ground for the night.  Pitr, Newel, you two stay here and watch.  If you see the noble, come get us.”

Laun stayed on the ground as the men around her made ready to move.  The man protecting her with his presence directed a few things, the men still on the ‘Midnight Hour’ using the boat to get to shore.

He squatted and looked at Laun.  “Are you well enough to walk?”

“I don’t know, sir.  I will try,” Laun quietly said, a gravel to her voice.  He put a hand under her arm and stood, Laun being pulled up with him.  She wavered on her feet and felt the last few days under Liam’s hand in her whole body.  A tear rolled from her eye as she thought that her host died because of her, but she did not understand why Flint Master would hire men to capture her.

Laun started to walk, her bare feet seeming to find all the sharp things in the road.  She heard rude comments about her as she moved within the group, having nothing to reply with.  The bandit leader slowed his pace to match hers and then picked her up in his arms.  It hurt, but he was strong and was able to keep pace with the men with him.

Their bolt-hole was not too far away.  At least it felt like it to Laun.  She was thinking as the man carried her, looking at her capturers when she could, gathering as much as her mind would allow before the pain overwhelmed her and she was inside her mind, trying to keep from calling out at every jostle the man carrying her made.

Laun was dumped near a cold fire as the man pointed and directed the others around him.  They all seemed competent and did not need the direction, but it was his place, his job in the unit.  Laun heard bits of the language Gem seemed to know from Rosemond.  Another merc squad from the other country, but working for Flint Master.  Had she pissed off the information gatherer so much that he had paid to have her kidnapped?

A cape was dropped around Laun’s shoulders.  She did not feel the cold that had started to get to her in the shaded grove until the rough cloth was there.  The fire was started by one of the men and it seemed to be just another military encampment as they settled into their duties.

Until one of the men came to Laun and pulled her up, looking as though he was about to pull her off to the side to rape her.

“No!  Let her go.”  He was there, a hand on the other man.

“I haven’t had a woman in too long.  If she’s here, I’m going to use her.”

Laun felt something start to bleed on her back as she was pulled from the randy man.  “Keep it in your pants.  I claimed her, I get firsts.”  He pulled her to the side of the clearing and she was pushed onto a bedroll.

Laun thought that perhaps she should lay down, spread her legs.  She really did not have the energy.  He stood over her for a moment and then turned, going to talk to some of the men.  Laun did lay down, the cape around her.  She fell into a restless sleep, waking as the night came upon them and the men moved around her.

He sat next to her and pushed a metal plate with some food to her.  “Eat.  You need it.”

No ceremony, no forcing her.  She sat up and used her hands to eat the familiar gruel.  The travel cake she had on her plate was still hard.  The man had put a tankard of water near her, too, and she tried to drop the travel cake in the water, without any luck.  It was bigger than the mouth of the tankard and she did not have the strength to break it down.

He laughed slightly.  “Had this crap before, have you?  Here-”  He broke the travel cake in two and put it into the water for her.  He watched her for a while and then could not hold back what he wanted to know.  “Who did this to you?”

Laun took a moment to answer.  She looked like she was frightened to talk and chewed until she could not delay any longer.  “The owner of the boat...  You killed him...”

He shifted but did not turn away from her.  “Where is the Princess?  We saw her led to the ship.  Where did she go?”

Laun waited until she saw a hint of impatience in him to say, “Off the boat.”

He nodded.  “She is long gone by now.  We should have taken her when we first saw her.”  He looked at his hands in the firelight and gripped them together as if trying to catch something.

Laun chewed on the softened travel cake and watched him.  He was not pushing her to the bedroll and fucking her as many of the other soldiers seemed to want to do.  He was rough, but he was protecting her.  She finished what he gave her and pushed the empty plate and tankard towards him.

Looking up, he caught on the flower that had been carved into her chest.  “He had some talent, sick as it was.”  His eyes went to hers and he stopped.

“Thank you, Captain.”  She lowered her head slightly but did not take her eyes away.

“How the fuck?”  He looked down when her eyes flicked to his belt.  His hand went to his call thong, his eyes going back to hers.  “You eat military rations, you know call thong code.  Are you military?”  She shook her head.  He leaned back slightly and she saw something else on his belt that gave her more information.

She shrugged and the cape fell from her shoulders.  She rolled to her knees and put her hands on her thighs, feeling the heat from the bruises.  “How may I please you tonight?”

He blinked.  He started to lean towards her, but then stopped.  “No.  Damnit.  If I have you, they all will want a go.  I’d never get any rest.”  He waved his hand at her as if to dismiss her.

Laun visibly relaxed.  “Thank you, sir.”

He pulled the cape back over her, trying not to touch her bare skin.  He lingered as he brushed her neck with his fingers.  His hand went around her throat, pressing the collar into her, making Laun gasp, but he let go, turning away.  “Lee, You are first watch.  So the rest of us can get some sleep, Grieg, you are second.”

There was laughter from the men.  He turned back to Laun and started to pull his boots off, stuffing his belt into one of them.  He motioned and she moved stiffly so that he could pull the blanket of his bedroll down.  He brushed unseen crumbs from the thin padding and motioned again to her.  She kept the cape around her and crabbed her way under the sheeting, trying to take up as little of the roll as possible.

She saw a sideways smile as she lay down.  “We move out in the morning.  I’ll get you onto one of the horses so you don’t slow us down.”

Laun reflexively smiled.  “Thank you, Captain.”

He moved under the sheeting and blankets, facing her and putting his arm around her.  It was not gentle, but it was protective.  The flares from above had started and there were yellow shots of light that showed that he was still looking at her in the darkness.

Something in her needed to know something about him.  She did not stop her tongue as she started to say in low tones, “Captain, what is your title?”

She felt him tighten his arm around her slightly.  “I am a Captain in the Rosemond Regulars.  That is my title.”

Laun shook her head in the darkness.  “I understand that.  But, you are of the Pearl and Ruby, too.”

He went up on his elbow and looked down at her as the flares of the falling stars lit them through the gap in the trees above them.  “Midlanders don’t know about that.  Slaves don’t know about that.”  He lowered his voice and turned to see if any of his men were watching.  “How the fuck would you know?”

Her hand went between the edges of the cape and under the blanket to where his belt had been, where the small pouch with the household symbol had been.  “You wear it openly, sir.”

His hand went to hers on his stomach.  She felt his nervousness, perhaps shame.  He looked back over his shoulder and then leaned closer to her, pulling her towards him.  “I am a Count, but they don’t know.  There was a...problem and I had to go into the military.”  His arm went up her back, Laun trying not to gasp in pain as he rubbed against the needle marks.  His hand went to her throat, clasping her around the collar.  He looked at her in the pulsing light and growled, “Fuck me.  You’re her.”

Laun whispered, “I am anyone you want me to be, sir.”  His fingers tightened slightly and then he let go.  His palm went to the back of her head and he grabbed her braid.  He leaned in and looked like he was going to kiss her but he stopped.

There was a growl from him and he whispered, “Flint wants you alive.  He didn’t say anything about how alive.”  He pressed his lips to hers, their teeth clicking together as he forced her mouth open.  She was weak in her return of his angry passion, but she did not have long with him forcing her.

He let go and her head hit the thin pillow.  He laid back down and pulled her close to him.  “I will not sleep well tonight, but you are not leaving my side, Highness.”

“Yes, sir.”

The night was full of noises that woke the Captain often, each time, he would clasp the woman next to him close.  She was still there, not trying to move, not trying to escape.  Several times, other men would come close, trying to see if they could get to her.  Laun felt it and would move to wake the Captain, his growl making the men back off until they did not try any more.

The morning came, bird calls coming through the woods to the secured clearing.  Laun had not slept well, the cold of the deep night going right to her core, even with the man so close to her under the blanket.  She hurt all over and the shivering did not help.  The cape around her was sticking to some of the places that had started to ooze in the night, ripping the scabbing off when she moved.

She did move and his eyes flew open.  He looked around at the grayness of morning and swore slightly.  He sat up and looked at the camp.  His head moved so he could take in all of the bodies and piles and the cold fire.  He moved so he could see Laun and stared at her.

She sat up, keeping the cape as close to her as she could.  “Sir, may I use the latrine?”

He shook his head.  “Didn’t dig one.  I need to go, too.  We’ll find a place in the woods.”  He stood and held his hand to her, pulling her up when her own body did not want to work.  They passed by the one man at the small entrance of the clearing and pushed into the underbrush.

It was easy for her to squat down, her ass against the trunk of one of the large trees.  He did not want to loose sight of her and used the same tree.  He seemed to think about what he was doing next to the woman in his care and turned slightly as his bowels moved.  She did not care and stood back up after her bladder was empty, the cape going around her to keep the morning chill away.  She did not leave the area, but did walk to the other side of the tree to give him some privacy.

“Don’t run, Highness.”

“How far do you think I would get?”

She heard a small snort from him.  “You were badly used.  I don’t think you would get far.”  He grunted and Laun could smell that he was close to done.

She tested her body slightly and did a few stretches without his eyes on her.  “I hope you were paid well for kidnapping a Princess of the Realm, Heir to the throne of the Midlands.”

She heard him look for something to wipe with.  She tore off some leaves from a low maple, the tender things not big, but useable, before handing them to him.  “Thank you.”  He used the leaves and stood, lacing his breeches as he came around the trunk.

He looked at her in the morning light.  “I should have recognized the nose.”  He moved around her and she stood, not moving to face him.  She moved her toes in the dirt under her, making a rough symbol.  “We only got a little to start out with.  The reward waits for us when we bring you to him.”  He continued to walk around her, looking at her.

He stopped when he was facing her again.  Laun could see that he was thinking things over and it was leaving a bad taste.  “Heir?  Fuck.  We have so many Princess and Princes and Counts and Dukes in Rosemond I can’t keep track.  I didn’t know he was sending us after an heir.”

Laun’s tongue moved on it’s own before she could stop it, her soft voice asking, “Why would a puppet of Lady Engrid work for Flint Master?”

He made to step towards her, a flare of anger in his posture, and his stayed fist.  “I am a Rosemond Regular.  I do not take her orders.”

Laun tilted her head in acceptance and stayed what else her mind wanted to know before her tongue betrayed her more.  “Shall we rejoin the squad before they think you are not sharing?”

He glanced over his shoulder and nodded.  She stepped over what her toes had written in the dirt and held out her hand to him, his noble upbringing taking it and supporting her before he knew he was doing it.  They went through the woods and found their way back to the clearing, the soldier at the guard stump cleaning his boots as they passed by.

The fire was built up, the men started to move.  He had not told them that their prize was among them.  He knew there would be anger for the deception, and his keeping her for himself.  Laun sat on the bedroll until the Captain started to clear his area, and then she helped a little, picking leaves from the sheets before he folded things.  She also took a twig that she pulled from the close verge and started to scratch another symbol into the dirt between her knees as she knelt watching the men.

“No word from the watch yet.  We should go and get them before heading back to the Capitol City.”  The Captain turned to Laun and looked at her as she sat.  “You are coming with us.  Do not give me any trouble.”

Laun bowed her head and said, “I will not raise a hand to you.”

He thought and nodded, turning to his men to push them in the last things that needed to be done before they left their camp.  The few horses they had were loaded with loot, the fire was stomped and pissed out.  He came to Laun and held out his hand, lifting her to her feet.

“Let’s get you onto one of the horses-”

She shook her head.  The cape dropped from around her and she handed it back to the man.  “I can walk.”  She stepped over the symbol she wrote on the dirt and past, her naked body drawing eyes from all the men around her.

It took a moment for him to realize that he could not see her any more.  He picked up his pack and hurried after her.  She was standing next to one of the chargers that was laden down with some of the loot they had scavenged from the ship.  The usually skittish beast was nuzzling her hand and leaning into her rubs down his withers.  She ignored the Captain until he put a hand on her shoulder.  She turned, the horse tossing his mane and looking at her when she stopped paying attention to him.

He took the reins of the charger and pushed Laun in front of him.  The Captain wanted to keep an eye on her, regardless of what she seemed to promise.  She walked slowly, a stiffness that seemed to have gotten into the men around him, too.  They were looking at her in a way that predators do, and he knew that he was going to have problems before nightfall.

The squad was walking in the morning mist towards the river to meet up with the men who had been left to watch.  The Captain knew that they had not seen the Princess come back, since his hand was on her shoulder.  Another group was in the road ahead, walking towards them.

There was a bird call and Laun smiled.  “Sir, I am sorry.”

He looked at the way she dropped her head and was puzzled.  “For what?”

She stopped in the road and he bumped into her.  The horse stopped, turning slightly, blocking some of the men behind.  Laun looked him in the eye and said, “I will be breaking my promise not to raise my hand to you.”

Before he could ask her what she was talking about, the other group was clearly to be seen.  Gem was there, a basket in either hand with a baby weighing each down.  Behind her were the rest of the sailors that had been off the ship, and someone Laun had not expected to see until she had gotten back to her lands.

Hazalam took the baskets from Gem and put them to the side, one of the sailors stepping between the babies and the Rosemond bandits.  Gem stepped forward and held her hands out to the Captain with Laun, palm up.

“Give her back and we will let you go unharmed.”  Gem’s voice was steady and quiet, her face calm.

“Fuck you.”  The Captain had his arm around Laun’s neck and held her to him.

Gem nodded once, Hazalam coming to her side.  They both drew blades from their sleeves and took up a fighting stance, the beginning of a particular kata Laun knew well.  The bandits drew weapons and advanced, the sailors having ropes and other weapons in hand.

There was a flurry of combat as the assassins worked towards Laun.  The Captain pulled her back with him, frightened at the efficiency the two were going through his squad.  His free hand drew a blade from his belt as he moved back and put it to Laun’s throat.

Laun felt him change his balance weight to step back again and she said, “Thank you.”

The knife cut her chin as she dropped down, his arm not expecting her to slide through like that.  She used her elbow in his gut and reached for the knife he had just been threatening her with.  She pulled on his hand and dropped further to the ground, unbalancing him and making him trip on himself.  She raised her knees and he landed on them, his chest getting most of the blow, his breath knocked out of him.

His own knife was at his gut, her hand gripping his throat right below his jaw.  Her knee was pressing into his thigh with all her weight.  He was taken down and there was nothing he could do about it.

The voice that came out of her was calm and quiet, but the command in it was undeniable.  “Call them off.”

Her hand released some and he called out, “Stop!  I order you to stop!”

The fighting lessened and then stopped as the Rosemond bandits saw that the bloody and bruised slave had their Captain at her mercy.  Several were dead on the road by the hands of the assassins, one of the sailors was dead by a Rosemond sword.

“My cousin would be very disappointed if he knew.”  Laun still had most of her weight on his thigh, but had drawn back the blade from his midsection.

“Your cousin?”  He was very breathy and looked like he wanted to pass out.

“Ifyhed, King of Rosemond.  I am Duchess Pearl and Ruby, Count.”  She lifted off of him and stepped back into the riled horse, a snap at her and then moving away.

The Captain let his head fall into the gravel and closed his eyes.  “Merda.”

The remaining Rosemond bandits were rounded up, the rope brought by the sailors used to bind them.  They kept going towards the ship after Laun had been able to catch her breath, and get light touches from Gem and Hazalam.  There were a few words and a few hand signals and Laun knew it was not as bad as she had thought, but still dire.

Liam was still alive, but barely.  He had not died from the wound, but he was ill.  The other three that had been on the ship were dead, their fellow sailors wrapping them in cloths and lining them up on the deck for now.  Laun knew that there was a garrison in Hamlis keeping track of the Rosemond soldiers.  They now had more to be sent back.

The babies cried out for Laun when they saw her.  She knelt in the gravel and put hands on both of them.  She felt as though she should be crying, but she could not bring up the strength.  They still needed to get to the ship and down the river to help.

 

Onto Chapter 9, where the military academy welcomes Laun and her people to rest and recuperate