Here She Rules: The Chronicles of Erla: Book 1 (10 page)

His Lady quickly shed her clothing and lay them on a nearby hassock, and Taylyn gulped at the beauty of her form.
 

Cassie could almost feel the desire tinged with fear which radiated from him as he stared at her naked body.

“Come, Taylyn. I know you are afraid. Do not be. I do not expect you to perform this night. I merely want you to get used to lying with me.” She smiled and cupped his face, drawing him closer with her free hand around his middle. His body stiffened and then quivered when their flesh met.

Cassie reached down and released his loin covering and their bare bodies touched fully. Her hands roamed his back and rounded behind, squeezing gently. He felt so good in her arms, so strong and yet his skin was silky to the touch. She enjoyed his sighing groan as she touched him.

His burgeoning desire poked into her flesh as she pulled his mouth down for a kiss. She plundered his mouth gently before pulling back and letting her finger trace gently down his scar. Smiling into his eyes she gave him another, albeit quick, kiss.

“Let us retire, my Taylyn. I am very sleepy.” She took his hand and pulled him towards the bed, then snuggled up against him as she relaxed into sleep.

Taylyn lay awake for the longest time, thoughts warring in his head. Never had any woman treated him with such kindness and physical affection. The tight knot of fear began to loosen in his gut, and he tightened his arms around his new Lady, letting sleep finally take hold

VI

Cassie’s life settled into a routine over the next few days. Mornings and early afternoons were spent training, and afterwards, she had a great deal of time to explore and get to know her men.

She had made the right decision by placing Mika in charge of the household. It ran smoothly, and he had an excellent rapport with the rest of the men. She was slowly falling in love with each one of them. They were all unique and special, and she truly adored them.

Arn supervised their physical training and kept them in shape. Kai was a magician when it came to readying Cassie for social events. Aidan was a fabulous cook. And then, of course, there was Taylyn.

The newest addition to her household had been shadowing Mika in an effort to learn the finer points of providing comfort and pleasure for Cassandra in all ways . . . both inside and outside of the bedchamber. They had all been surprised to discover that Taylyn had already begun his training as a pleasure slave when his accident occurred. The resulting scar effectively terminated his instruction and turned the would-be pleasure slave into nothing but a lowly field slave.
 

Taylyn spoke little. If he was being honest with himself, he was still shocked by his recent and astounding change in fortune. He was in awe of the beautiful warrior who was now his Lady and of the elevated status he had acquired when she purchased him. His fellow slaves were decent men and kind to him, but he remained wary of them nevertheless.

His Lady had not yet had intercourse with him, but he could feel her attraction to him and was dumbfounded by it. He knew he was ugly because of his scar, but the most amazing woman he had ever seen looked at him like his face was unmarked and as if he was as desirable as her other men with their perfect features. Yet, she still hadn’t taken him.
 

Taylyn felt out of place; he knew nothing about running a home, and all of the sexual encounters he’d had since his scarring were with the occasional female slaves and were infrequent to say the least. Those encounters had hardly been more than a perfunctory easing of lust, and he was incredibly insecure about pleasing his Lady.
 

Cassie had arisen early one morning. She would begin her training today in horse-to-horse and horse-to-ground fighting, so she dressed quickly in only her leather vest, pants, and boots. In the mirror, she admired the new muscles which stood out on her arms. The sword training had made her stronger and faster.
 

As she rounded the doorway of her bedroom, she slammed into Taylyn. His strong hands reached out to steady her as cold dread filled him at the possible consequences of his awkwardness. “Forgive me, My Lady. I am clumsy.” He dropped to his knees in front of her with his head bowed, awaiting whatever punishment she would mete out.

To his surprise and great relief, Cassie replied, “No, it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention, and I shouldn’t have been running in the house.” She gently lifted his face and smiled. Taylyn lost the ability to breathe as he fell into the lovely blue-green pools of her eyes. There was no anger or cruelty in her face—only a rueful smile and kindness.

“Thank you, Mistress . . .” His whiskey voice sent little tremors of desire through Cassie, and she leaned over and kissed his lips gently.

“Stay with Mika, and I will see you later this evening,” she said, leaving him in shocked bewilderment as she bounded out the door, through the halls, then down the steps of the Palace—waving greetings to the women she passed.

She jogged to the training field, warming up her muscles. Once there, she was met with respectful camaraderie by the warriors and a grin from Kara as she bowed to Cassie.

“Are you ready?” Kara asked.

“Oh yes,” Cassie replied.

Grooms brought forth the horses, and they presented Cassie with a beautiful chestnut stallion with a white blaze on his forehead and white stockings on his feet.

“He is magnificent,” she said to Kara.

“A gift from our Queen,” Kara told her.

“She gives me too much! I am getting spoiled!”

“She values your contribution and your friendship,” Kara said. ”What will you call him?”

Cassie thought for a moment, and then she went with an obvious choice.

“Blaze. I am going to call him Blaze.”

Kara nodded in approval of the name.

Cassie grinned. “Well, let’s begin so that I can earn my keep!” Cassie swung up into the saddle and adjusted her seat.
 

She and Kara had been riding every afternoon since they had begun training, and she finally had adapted. Cassie told her she had spent very little time in a saddle during her life prior to her arrival, and Kara had done her level best to correct that deficiency. After the Queen had discovered their outings, she joined them more often than not, and the three women were forging a strong friendship together.

Cassie pulled a wooden sword from a scabbard and turned towards Kara. They rode towards one another, swords clashing. They worked like this for over an hour before dismounting and fighting on foot as, all around them, the sounds of the other warriors engaging in mock battle rang out.
 

Cassie felt so right in this element; it was as if she has been born to it. Adrenaline surged throughout her body, and every movement felt good and right. The echoes of her former life were falling from her, and each stroke of the sword brought her closer to the indisputable realization that she had no desire to return to the life she once knew. Her memories were becoming hazier, and at times, it was a true struggle to even recall how her life used to be.

The remainder of the morning was spent practicing tactical maneuvers along with hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting.
 

Leaving the fields, Cassie went to see the smithy. She was a hugely muscled woman with a dour personality. Cassie had spoken to her at some length regarding her personal sword; she wanted it to be a combination of the broadsword used by the Erlans and the samurai sword she was more accustomed to using.

Initially, the woman balked at the very idea of changing her art, but when Cassie took the time to explain the benefits, the woman softened and spoke of ways to make the blade thinner and as sharp as possible without compromising the strength of the steel.

When at last they had come to an agreement, the woman gave Cassie a grudging smile and a rough handshake, promising her it would be ready in a few days. Cassie thanked her and clapped her on the shoulder in farewell.

As she was walking back to the Palace, a handful of warriors galloped up—dirty, bloodstained, and exhausted. The leader nearly fell from the saddle, and Cassie caught her quickly.

“What has happened?” she exclaimed as one of the other warriors helped to bring the wounded woman inside the barracks located near the Palace. In addition to housing visiting warriors, the building was also the site of Erla’s main infirmary and the physician’s rooms. They took her directly to the physician’s quarters at the front of the building and laid her down on a pallet.

The warriors briefly told Cassie along the way about the skirmish they’d had with the Trevians. Before long, the Queen burst through the door and approached the badly wounded warrior while scanning the rest, taking in their minor injuries, which were being tended by the physician’s slaves. Cassie and the warriors quickly filled her in on what had occurred.

Nera scowled deeply, rage filling her, as they described how they had stumbled upon a settlement which had been conquered by and was being utilized by the Trevians. The brutes had taken over the Erlan village, and they were using it as their new home base. They spoke of women being tortured and maimed, murdered children, and a massive number of abused male slaves being held captive—all of whom had been acquired from villages scattered throughout the Queendom.

Nera swung towards Cassie and shouted, “This must stop!”

Cassie nodded soberly, fingering the knife which hung at her belt.

To the injured leader, Nera said, “I will leave you in the competent hands of my physician. Rest well, and recover.” Before leaving, she added in an almost-snarl, “I assure you that we shall avenge you and the ones being tortured by these animals!” Nera then swept from the room with Cassie a half-step behind as she headed for the Queen’s quarters.

“Your Highness, I will take a platoon of warriors, and we will hunt and destroy the Trevians,” Cassie said.

“Yes, Cassandra. Gather your warriors! Scout them out, and when you return, we will give them the war they seem to be so desperate for!” The words came out in an outraged roar, and Cassie spun on her heel, running out of the Queen’s chamber and yelling for her horse as she went.

As she descended the stairs, Cassie grabbed her mount from the slave. She leapt onto her horse’s back and made for Kara’s house.

Kara, who had been informed of what had just occurred, met Cassie halfway at a dead run.

“When do we ride?” she asked.

“As soon as you can pack and assemble the troops,” Cassie ground out as adrenaline pumped through her.

Anger burned like fire in her stomach. To see her warriors bloodied and beaten by the Trevians incensed her. It was because of her outrage that Cassie was able to set aside the healthy dose of fear she felt at the prospect of her first true battle. She intended to crush the brutish Trevians, eradicating any and all who crossed her path this day!

“We go first to scout and get a fix on their numbers and weapons, and then we will return here to muster an army which will send them straight to Hell!” Cassie’s voice rang out, and a number of nearby warriors cheered.

Kara bowed and turned, barking out orders as they readied a troop of twenty of their best fighters to accompany them on the reconnaissance mission.

Cassie dismounted from her horse and ran back into the Palace and straight to her chambers. She flung open the door and stormed into the room, shouting orders at her men, who had just been going about their normal chores.

They dropped their cleaning supplies and rushed to do her bidding. They were very frightened; their Mistress had never raised her voice in anger before.

Mika came to her, knelt, and softly asked with fear in his voice, “Mistress, would you tell me what has occurred?”
 

“It is to be war, Mika! I go to scout the Trevians, and then I will return to assemble our army in order to remove them from our country.” Her anger was simmering within her, morphing into a cold, hard rage.

Mika paled further as fear shot up his spine. He immediately sent prayers to every god he could think of to assure her safety. The other men heard what she said and quickened their paces, gathering the things she would need for her mission.

She touched Mika on the shoulder, and he rose to his feet. His fear was obvious as Cassie put her hand to his face.

“Stop it, Mika. I will return to you none the worse for wear. You must be brave and give the others courage.” She kissed his cheek gently, and he inhaled her fragrance, suddenly grabbing her and crushing her to him.

“Mika!” she squeaked, and he released her suddenly, embarrassed to have taken such a liberty uninvited.

“You forget yourself,” she growled but softened her reproach with a smile, letting him know she was not truly angry. “I will punish you properly when I return,” she grinned at him, and Mika summoned a weak smile in return.

She went to her clothing cabinet where she found Aidan putting clothing into a leather knapsack.

“Give me a shirt to put under this vest, Aidan; I don’t want to burn on the ride.” He quickly pulled forth a soft long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned her vest and helped her to redress. Cassie kissed him quickly on the cheek in thanks.

She met the others in the lounge. Kai had packed a saddlebag with the food she would need. Arn and Taylyn stood holding her sword, a pair of long daggers, and a small knife. They silently armed her; all were still reeling with shock and fear for both their Mistress and for themselves. They knew their lives would forever change should she die on this mission.

“Come now, banish these long faces and give me sweet smiles and kisses to remember you by until I see you again.” Slowly, one by one, they obediently smiled and kissed her. They followed their Lady out of the Palace to where her horse stood ready. A troop of armed warriors surrounded her mount, waiting impatiently for their chance to strike out against their foe.

The Queen emerged from the Palace, garbed in attire similar to theirs, and it was then that Cassie noted her horse, which stood nearby.

“Your Highness! Surely you do not intend to ride with us?” Cassie exclaimed.