October 15, 1345.St. Martin's Fort,The high town of Leithill,Border Town between Myknos and Imras.Princess Alyn Midika TuttonAs Alyn stared out over the balcony of her room in St. Martin's Fort to the Knights Pass that linked Myknos and Imras, a replay of the events of the past two weeks ran through her head. Their travels had not been smooth as was expected. They had encountered a few bandits and lost quite a number of good men and those that didn't die in the battle field eventually succumbed to the fever.They weren't lucky to have an experienced healer with them so Alyn and a few of the women who could stomach the sight of blood worked tirelessly to save their lives. Luckily, Higuain survived yet another injury and she was rather glad he had made it all the way to Leithill with her as Lord Rickard d'Estaing, the Earl of Leithill, turned out to be an impossible obstacle to their plans.They had warned him of the threat brewing outside their walls and she could still remember
15 October, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell,Capital of Myknos.Prince Nicolas Alexander TuttonFleeting images of his mother as the cold hand of death squeezed around her throat, floated in and out of his mind taunting him to try and save her. He tossed and turned on the cold stone floor of the cell Khasi had thrown him into. His mind spun and reeled with images that he tried to ignore but how could he, when his conscience kept reminding him how stupid he had been.His head pounded and his body shook with fever, combined effects of the guilt eating him up and the poison Khasi had injected into his system. She always made sure to give a fresh dose each day or so he assumed; he couldn't tell how long he'd been down there and he sure as he'll didn't want to know. It hurt him to imagine what damage had been done to his kingdom. He had never been a man of the people but that didn't stop him from feeling protective of them. He was the Crown Prince and he had a duty to
15 October, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell,Capital of Myknos.Prince Nicolas Alexander Tutton"Took you long enough." He mused, "Now let's move. My sister's guards will be upon us soon.""Yes. Lets." He said hurriedly, suddenly eager to get out of this cell before that became a reality.He tried to stand but staggered back to the floor groaning at the pain and cursing at his weakness. He hadn't used his legs in so long and his muscles protested as he tried to stand again. His vision doubled and he had to fight the urge to vomit. What Khasi had been giving him, he wondered because even when he had been down with the fever, he had never felt this helpless. His joint creaked as he moved, his head spun and he had this odd feeling in his chest like someone was squeezing his lungs.Khalid rushed at him and caught him before he landed on the floor, cursing all the while. He help Nicolas to the ground as gently as he could then handed him the wine skin to drink from.He
17 October, 1345.The sleepy town of Solen,Along the border between Tyrene and Rothwell,Wine center of Myknos.Lady Odeya Katarina BlackRiding into the small town that had sheltered her mother the past two weeks, Odeya couldn't help but think back to their escape. She had never thought her mother capable of the feat she demonstrated but then again she hadn't seen her mother for a long time.The wet mud on the narrow street sucked at Zara's feet making squelching sounds that interrupted the silence that bathed this small town.The sun had barely begun to ascend from where it hid beneath the clouds but she had already travelled three towns. Leading an army was huge work especially when said army was a company of sell swords and cut throats.Nearing her mothers hut, the maneuver she performed on the horse with the bow replayed in her head and she blinked off the image of the gracious Lady Dionea rumpling her skirts to end the life of three soldiers.The hut loomed closer and the nervo
October 20, 1345.St. Martin's Fort,The high town of Leithill,Border Town between Myknos and Imras.Princess Alyn Midika TuttonAs Alyn watched Duenna Eleftheria sip the chamomile tea delicately from a fine white china set, she struggled to keep a guilty expression off her face.In a few hours, she would have gotten rid of the huge stumbling block to her mission but at what cost? Ever since she had arrived at Leithill, Lord d'Estaing had made it his mission to avoid her at all costs and she had made it her mission to annoy him to the point where he was forced to place the older lady on extra watch duty.At first it had been bearable, but over the past few days, it had grown suffocating. She couldn't step one foot outside her door before the Duenna appeared ready to provide whatever she may need inside her room.It suddenly seemed like she was in prison. A rather comfortable one at that. To think she had thought Duenna Nefeli overbearing.The older woman's presence wasn't entirely
October 20, 1345.Cassidy's Fort,The Queen's Mound,Imras.Prince Hayden of ImrasHayden loved surprises but surprises that came with good news and not one bringing news of impending doom. And it was do that the surprise came in form of a Princess he was in love with.If anyone had told him that he'd be seeing Princess Alyn dressed in mens clothes outside his room door, he'd have called the person barking mad. But here she was shivering from the cold holding on to him for dear life.Still too stunned to speak, he pulled her gently into the room and watched as she walked to pour herself a drink.Her hands shook as she sipped the strong liquor and stared at the fire that burned brightly in the hearth. She had snuck across the border and the feat had shaken her. This impending war had caused her to do things and see things that she would never have had to face. He watched her, fully aware that she needed comfort, but not entirely knowing how to provide it. Ordinarily, he would have sa
20 October, 1345.The Walled City of Rothwell,Capital of Myknos.Lady Odeya Katarina BlackOdeya returned Nicolas' kisses with the same ferocity with which he kissed her, his soft lips igniting little fires within her body. She hadn't realized how much she needed this, needed him; his touch, his scent, his lips, his body, all the elements that made up this fine male specimen she currently had underneath her.His hand caressed her hips and slid upward to cup one of her breasts causing her to arch her back on top of him, her too tight dress digging painfully into her ribs.Reaching back to undo the ties that kept her captive in the ridiculous dress, she sank deeper onto Nicolas, her lady parts sheathing his bulge. He groaned and moved his hips causing tingles of electricity to run through her and she jerked on top of him.Hurriedly undoing the last clasp, she watched as his pupils darkened as the dress slid off her shoulders baring her breasts to him, the sight forever etched into h
October 22, 1345.Cassidy's Fort,The Queen's Mound,Imras.Prince Hayden of ImrasAs he strolled into the room, Alyn and his Lady Mother in tow, he looked over the Lords of the round table. Lords Hogan, Alastair, Michael, Boyden, Heimsworth and Gagdan.These were the elected of the noble families in Imras to speak in their best interest. Usually they were all on the same page but in this matter of war, they dallied."I am the King...""You are still yet to be crowned." Lord Hogan interrupted but with a look from Hayden he bowed his head."I am the King and you are my advisors. I choose to either listen to your advise or not." He commanded. He could feel his mother and Alyn's eyes on him but he didn't dare look lest his facade slip. "I'm going to assist my friend in this war but I'm not leaving you defenseless. You can sit here in your castles where it's warm and quiver in your boots or you could die fighting as true Imraian men. Whatever you choose I do not care."The Lords in questi
November 15, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell, Capital of Myknos.Prince Nicolas Alexander TuttonNicolas frowned down at the grinning woman in front of him wishing the baseless trial would be over with quickly so he could see her punished for her crimes."Come now, Nicolas, surely you won't give your old friend such a harsh sentence?" Khasi sang interrupting the scribe who'd been reading out her charges. He ignored her and signalled to the man to continue reading, his eyes leaving hers to the crowd where he spied a still pale Odeya glaring at Khasi.He remembered holding her as she'd cried her heart out hearing of her mother's death. Another innocent victim of the pointless war."How do you plead?" The scribe asked her.Her smile was catty as she looked around the room."How do you plead?" The scribe asked again letting loose his irritation."Not guilty." She answered earning murmurs from the assembled crowd."Silence!" The man cried. Nicolas stared down at the
October 30, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell, Capital of Myknos.Lady Odeya Katarina BlackOdeya groaned as pain flooded her as soon as she regained consciousness. She had been moving in and out of delightful dreams that were more memories pulled from the far reaches of her soul.Her favourite had been the one where she had her head in her mother's lap, her nimble fingers weaving her hair into loose braids as she sang a song of her people. Just another thing her father had stopped when he felt her mother was babying her.Her eyelids felt heavy but she pushed past the ache of disuse and tried opening her eyes, a small slit at first then wider when she noticed the dim lighting in the familiar room.She recognized the navy linen canopy of her bedroom as her vision cleared.A male groan tore her gaze from the ceiling and she sat up suddenly, biting a wince as the wound in her side stung.She placed a hand on her side as she righted herself, her eyes narrowing on the ma
October 23, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell, Capital of Myknos.Princess Alyn Midika TuttonWar was bloody stressful business especially when you spent the time cowering behind the castle walls with a group of snivelling women and babies.Alyn supposed she should be more thankful seeing that she didn't have to be the one bleeding to death on the battlefield but one couldn't help but feel a spark of envy when someone of your sex was at the forefront of the battle.She had always known Odeya was different from the moment she had seen her stand up to her brother and in some selfish way to assert that she was something, she had taken her under her wing as her Hand.Seeing how Odeya had amassed an army to save a kingdom she didn't have any obligation to had stung her in ways when she should have felt grateful.Shouts and harried footsteps outside the doors of the Great Hall they had camped caused the other women to slink back in fear and her to sit up.What was going o
Warning!Mature content up ahead!Violence, strong language and sexual abuse.October 23, 1345.The outskirts of Rothwell,Myknos.Lady Dionea BlackLady Dionea had always thought herself unfortunate for being born to a poor merchant in the Far Islands. If she hadn't been then perhaps the bastard that had taken her from her home would have treated her with more respect than she had been accorded during the duration of their marriage.The only highlight of her life had been the daughter their relationship had sired, a daughter he now wanted to kill for standing up to him.As she sat in her tent hidden in the woods of Rothwell, all she could do was twiddle her thumbs and pray that by some supreme miracle her husband would fail and her daughter would succeed.She remembered the look of disbelief that had crossed her daughter's face when she had told her that she had not been held captive and hated that she had lied to her but what was she to do when she was but a cowardly woman fearing h
October 23, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell, Capital of Myknos.Lady Odeya Katarina BlackAs Odeya crossed the gates of Stormhold, she couldn't fight the wave of emotion that overwhelmed her.Her plan was to simply draw her father out for a one on one battle, one she was are to lose, to give Hayden's army time to catch up to them but as she waited staring at the drawbridge linking the castle to the rest of Myknos, a shudder passed through her.What if she never returned to Nicolas?When she had made her plans, she had been confident in wanting to give her life up for a kingdom she had no part in but now that she had seen his face, the sole person she was fighting for, weakness overcame her.She battled with her thoughts on just turning the whole thing to an all out war but when she saw the black clothed soldiers of her father's army, she knew that the untrained army around her needed her to face her fears.The men rode to a halt at the other end of the bridge obse
October 23, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The walled city of Rothwell, Capital of Myknos.Prince Nicolas Alexander TuttonNumbness, that's all he felt as he was dragged into the courtyard with chains binding his hands and feet. The executioner stood proud with his axe stained a dark red with the dried blood of hundreds of men before him.They had murdered his father and mother and although he would like to tell himself his father's murder hadn't affected him, his stupid heart said otherwise. At least Alyn had escaped somehow, he didn't think he woukd have been able to live with her death. As they dragged him up the steps to the platform where the chopping block had been stationed, he turned to see Khasi sitting on the throne like she was already queen, smiling down at him with a victorious smirk. She spared him a few moments before deciding she had seen enough of him and with a flick of her hand, the guards dragged him forward.Blood danced in his vision and his head spun as they pushed h
October 23, 1345.Cassidy's Fort,The Queen's Mound,Imras.King Hayden of ImrasAs Hayden crossed from the rocky mountainous terrain of the Western Mountain range into the smooth grassy floors of North Walsham, he couldn't help the breath of relief that escaped his chest.Their ride from Imras was anything but smooth and he was only glad he had been able to get Alyn out of harms way.The battle to the death had taken a toll on him and even now as they continued their ride to intercept Khasi's army from Shiv'ra, the anticipation of the battle to come didn't help ease his weariness.He couldn't wait for the whole ordeal to be over so life could go back to how it had previously been albeit with slight barriers to his freedom now that he was king.He looked back at the horde he rode with, a nod from him giving the command that they were to break soon; a small riding party to guide Alyn to Stormhold and a greater part of the now combined barbarian and Imraian army with him.They must have
October 23, 1345.Cassidy's Fort,The Queen's Mound,Imras.Princess Alyn Midika Tutton"And if I don't?" She heard Hayden ask. "Well. You've already seen how accurate my archers are." Sparing her a crooked smile, he added, "And I get to keep your woman."'What?!' Alyn wondered. She was no bargaining chip but then again was she really in any position to argue. The savages had them surrounded and one wrong move from anyone would mean instant death.Her head turned to Hayden just as he looked at her, a grim look coating his usually playful face. A look she knew brought more foreboding than the rumble of thunder and lightning signifying an oncoming storm.He turned away from her to face the leader of the savages that still watched her with those piercing blue eyes that betrayed nothing akin to human emotion."For years our people have lived in harmony. A system that involved neither of us having to cross blades. Why then do you choose to attack those riding under the Kings Banner, Vae
23rd October, 1345.Stormhold Castle,The Walled City of Rothwell,Capital of Myknos.Queen Khasi Malik of Shiv'ra and MyknosAs Khasi was helped into the heavily jeweled gown she had had made for her coronation, she couldn't fight the smile that stretched across her face. It was an ornate work of gold netting that hugged her curves and left little to imagination, golden beads and diamonds dangling from where they had been sewn loosely into the material, reflecting the bright light of the seemingly sunny day and rattling with each step she took. She was sure the Mynosian nobles would have their noses turned up in disgust of her scandalous outfit, but like the cowards they were, they would do nothing more. They hadn't even been bold enough to fight for their dead King and still hadn't spoken a word about the Prince she was about to execute.Her smile widened with supreme self-satisfaction that could only be fully sealed with the beheading of Nicolas that afternoon in the courtyard.S