Paladin Princess

To my faithful readers: This is a story requested by an anonymous reader. I always asked for new ideas and this story was spawned from that request. I can't help myself and, in the end, it winds up being a love story, but it has lots of twists and turns getting there.

I have received many other requests and Medieval fantasies, continuation of Venus Ascending and a new version of Model Slave are all in the works. Other ideas are welcome even if you remain anonymous. I love your positive feedback and thank you for reading.

Paladin Princess

Chapter 7

Eragon watched the two lovers, and he was happy that his long-time friend had found someone he could love. Their lovemaking was frantic and desperate, and he knew that it was the result of the attack. Both felt like their time together was limited and each second, they had together had to be special. He knew how they felt because his bond with Geoffrey was like that.

His bonding with female dragons was for procreation and he had several offspring. But the bond forged in combat with Geoffrey was a meaningful time for him. He was not jealous of Geoffrey's time with Ruth because he still had the warrior's bond, and they would always be brothers. Eragon flapped his wings and rose into the air searching for anything that might portend danger to his brother and his woman.

Geoffrey and Ruth clung tightly together basking in their lover's afterglow. Geoffrey heard Eragon fly away to patrol the area. He looked at his lover and his queen saying, "We got lucky today and the king's army is always going to have more soldiers than we will. We need to find ways to instill fear in the hearts of the soldiers."

"Obviously Eragon is one way to instill fear, but we need other tactics. My Queen, I recommend the same tactics that the Scots used in the war for independence. Fly the dragon flag, meaning no quarter, ambush them whenever we can and use the land to our advantage, meaning never fight an open field battle."

Queen Ruth listened to her warrior lover and understood what he was saying, but something bothered her. "Geoffrey, I understand what you are saying, but these tactics throw away the chivalry and traditions of war. I am not sure I want to regain my crown this way."

Geoffrey stared at her, realizing what an incredible Queen she would be. Her kingdom would become a very special place with her leading it. However, if they followed the chivalrous code of war, she may never get her kingdom back.

He thought for a minute and proposed, "How about we still use the land, forests, bogs and hills to our advantage, only go into battle when we have them surrounded and have a strong chance of winning the day?"

She gave him a loving look and said, "We have a deal, but the devil is in the details. Now let us round up an army. Then once we know what kind of army we have, we can figure out tactics."

The attack by the knights sped up all their planning and Eragon was needed for rapid transport. Eragon had carried Geoffrey into combat before, but he was very near the limit of his lift capacity, therefore Geoffrey and Ruth would have to be transported separately. Geoffrey went first to round up any army leaders still left, and Queen Ruth would follow at sunrise the next morning.

Eragon dropped off Geoffrey and carried back a basket of outfits Gisele had gathered for the queen. While Ruth was trying on the different royal customs, Geoffrey was meeting with several leaders of the kingdom's former army. Most were not enthusiastic about going to war with the king that had thrashed them so badly before, but Geoffrey persuaded them to meet with the queen and her secret weapon in the morning.

Geoffrey spent the night skulking around the taverns and pubs trying to pick up any of the rumors about the queen, her army or the king's opposition army and their movements. He missed sleeping with his lover in his arms but keeping her safe was more important at this point. He heard rumors of a dragon that Queen Ruth rode and this seemed to excite the people. They thought with a dragon on their side they might have a chance to win the war.

However, there were many other rumors about the amount of gold for the queen or the queen's head. These rumors bothered Geoffrey and he felt that his queen needed to find a new place to stay. These same rumors talked about queen Ruth hiding in a dragon's cave. Tomorrow morning, he needed to talk to his queen about switching locations away from the cave to a place he knew deep in the forest.

In the last tavern he scouted he found a group of mercenaries and as he listened to their boastings, they let it be known that they were here for the former princess and the large gold reward. Fortunately, they didn't believe any of the rumors about the dragons being on the side of the queen. Geoffrey knew someone had violated their oath to the queen and passed information to the king's forces. Geoffrey left and went to see Gisele and fortunately she was home.

When Geoffrey explained what he had found out and that the queen would be in danger in the morning, Gisele was very distressed and immediately suspected who betrayed the queen. Tomorrow will be the tell. Gisele spent the night bringing Geoffrey to the generals she trusted, and they formed a new plan along with a new meeting place.

In a prearranged signal, Geoffrey mounted on a horse meant danger and when Eragon saw him mounted he flew very high away from the planned meeting area. Eragon watched as Geoffrey rode to the new isolated meeting place. It was an hour's ride, but Eragon and the queen followed until Geoffrey stopped and dismounted his horse. Only then did Eragon and the queen come in for a landing.

The arrival of the queen atop a dragon brought a gasp from the gathered generals and they fell to their knees with their heads bowed. Queen Ruth descended from the top of Eragon in a beautiful yellow dress that Gisele had given her. The dress was at the same time royal while showing off her elegance and beauty. Her entrance on Eragon plus the royal gown stunned everyone and they knew this was indeed their queen. Geoffrey knelt before her and when he arose, he guided her to meet the generals of her army. She proudly linked her arm in his and as they walked the train of her dress whispered quietly in the grass.

The generals kissed her hand when it was offered and stood when she bade them to do so. The generals looked completely flabbergasted and at the same time astounded and stunned as they kept looking back at the dragon keeping watch over the queen. Geoffrey watched closely for any kind of deception and found one of the generals that kept looking around like he was trying to find a way to escape. Geoffrey knew that this was the person that betrayed his queen.

In his mind Geoffrey wanted to run the general through with his sword. He envisioned jumping from the queen's side and pinning the nemesis to the ground with his sword against his throat. Geoffrey hissed, "You are the one that betrayed my queen and told her enemies where she could be found. Confess or I will feed you to this hungry dragon." But he thought of a better plan, a devised plan that would make him a traitor on both sides.

The adversary kept glancing at the trees, as if waiting for an attack. Geoffrey watched the enemy general and whispered in Ruth's ear that she needed to get out of here. After the basic meeting between the generals and the queen, Ruth remounted Eragon, and they flew off to find a new home location. They would scout the location Geoffrey thought about, but both Eragon and the queen had other ideas too.

After Queen Ruth and Eragon had flown away, Geoffrey laid out a battle plan that revolved around a traditional head-to-head clash of armies in an open field about a mile from their current location.

The generals, realizing that they were outmanned and outgunned, argued against the plan, but Geoffrey persisted that this is the way it would be. He dismissed the generals but kept three of the highest-ranking generals behind on the pretext of asking for some favors for the queen. After the traitorous general had left, he told the remaining generals the real plan and after they heard it, they were flabbergasted. The next hour was spent explaining the reason for the deception and working out the plan's details.

After everyone had left, Geoffrey waited until Eragon returned and he carried him to the queen's new hideout. They had chosen a location he knew nothing about and from the air he loved it. It was virtually inaccessible from the ground and the queen had made it very homey on the inside. Eragon had ferried all the items they had accumulated in the dragon's cave, plus a few that Gisele had found to make life in exile more comfortable.

That night Geoffrey held Ruth in his arms and explained his plan for the upcoming battle. The fact that he was fairly sure he had located the traitor made Ruth thrilled with Geoffrey but angry at the traitor. She thought it was ironic that his name was Judas.

Geoffrey held his queen lovingly in his arms as they talked, but his hands couldn't stop caressing all of Ruth's sexily inviting body parts. Soon Ruth couldn't listen anymore, his caresses had lit a fire in her and she needed her lover to prove his love once again. She began her seduction of her lover with kisses over his neck and chest. Very quickly Geoffrey couldn't speak anymore and could only think of making love to his queen. As he began his own kisses over her inflamed skin, he knew that he wouldn't stop until he pushed her into frantic rapture and observed her writhing in explosive ecstasy.

Eragon watched attentively all the human interactions and through his bond with Geoffrey understood the deep abiding love between the Paladin and the Queen. He also understood what was going on with the battle between the different groups of humans and tried to recruit additional dragons for the upcoming battle. Unfortunately, few of the dragons wanted anything to do with humans. They still had bad memories of humans driving them off their land and out of their caves. However, he did find two other dragons that would do anything to kill humans but controlling them was a real problem. He was afraid that they would kill any human and not just the enemies of his queen.

Geoffrey and Eragon shared their own worries and trepidations with each other, but not with the queen or any of the generals. Between the two of them they developed plans just in case things went wrong. Their main intent would be to save the Queen but riding on top of Eragon she should be safe, and he could always flee with her on top of him.

The next morning Geoffrey reluctantly rolled out of his queen's bed and left to begin the preparations for the battle between the two kingdoms that would take place in one weeks' time. Eragon air lifted him to the area of the battle, and he met with the generals to begin setting the trap. Geoffrey inquired about the traitor and was told that he had been slain by the queen's army after reporting to one of the king's generals.

The spot chosen for the upcoming battle was a large U-shaped area that was three leagues long and one league wide, surrounded by thick forest. The plan was to draw the army into the top of the U, with the queen's army at the bottom of the U. As the king's army began marching towards the bottom of the U, the dragons would appear behind them, panicking the troops and driving the terrified mob into the traps.

He looked at the expectant faces of the army. Not only were the generals and senior staff there, but the troops had gathered to hear what he had to say. He took a deep breath and began, "We are going to fight a larger, better equipped army, but we are fighting for our home. Don't forget this king slayed the entire royal family except for our queen and he has her under a death threat. We must fight to protect our queen, our families and our homes."

"Most of you don't know me, but I protected our queen when she was a captive of the king we are about to fight. I helped her escape, and I am sworn to protect our queen with every fiber of my being. Our queen is strong and worthy of all your best and she will join us on the battlefield." A mummer passed through the troops and glances were passed between the generals and the troops.

"I told you earlier that we are facing a larger army and determined foe, but we have a secret weapon. Our queen has forged an alliance with dragons, and to prove this alliance our queen will ride into battle riding a dragon. The dragons will drive the enemy towards us and into our traps. They will watch our flanks and rear while preventing the enemy from escaping, so we must all be ready to spring our trap on the enemy."

Geoffrey watched the faces of the troops turn from a frightened army into excited warriors. Satisfied he finished, "Now to work, we have preparations for battle to create."

Geoffrey and the generals agreed that the trap would need to be baited with all the troops lined up as if ready for battle. They also agreed that the enemy cavalry would lead the charge in the middle of the field, and once the charge began the queen's troops would scatter into the bottom of the U or in the surrounding forest. The cavalry would be forced into a trench filled with wooden spikes by the troops and dragons. The remainder of the battlefield would be a bog of thick, gooey, mud and anyone caught in the mud would be targets for archers. There would of course be hidden pathways through the marsh for the queen's troops to use. The troops in the forest would close in on the remaining enemy and they along with the dragons would finish off the king's army. At least that was the plan.

For the next six days the troops built traps, bogs and trained on the field of battle. The royal surgeons practiced triage and soon everyone was ready. Geoffrey became the leader and even the generals followed his orders cheerfully. On the sixth day, Queen Ruth flew into the battlefield on top of Eragon and all the troops stood in silent awe as their gorgeous sovereign arrived on the back of a fearsome beast. Her arrival was a mixture of reverence and admiration, while Eragon's arrival was fear and amazement.

Queen Ruth walked through the camp, observing all the preparations, talking to her soldiers, before meeting with the generals. They discussed the upcoming battle in glowing terms and felt confident that they would be victorious. After her meeting with the generals, she grabbed Geoffrey's hand and led him to an isolated tent. The way their fingers intertwined all the generals, and the soldiers now knew there was a special bond between their leader and their queen.

Inside the tent, Geoffrey sat on a stool and Ruth snuggled in his lap. The queen gazed lovingly into her lovers' eyes knowing that after tomorrow's battle, he may never be able to hold her, kiss her or make love to her. They both wanted to consummate their love one last time just in case, but with her army outside there was no way that could happen. She kissed him lightly, but neither could settle for that, and the kisses became hungry, demanding and voracious.

They separated only when their air starved lungs forced them to. They held each other tight, kissed one more time, then Ruth whispered in Geoffrey's ear, "Come back for me after the battle. Do not let this bastard king take the only beautiful thing left to me. I love you Geoffrey and if we survive this battle, you will be my king."

Geoffrey nuzzled her neck sending erotic chills all over Ruth's body, grabbed her ear with his teeth whispering, "Yes, my queen. I will never disobey my queen's edict."

Ruth knew she was about to break out crying, so she quickly rose and exited the tent. She walked with regal purpose to Eragon, mounted him and they flew off. Ruth couldn't see the soldiers waving goodbye to her because her eyes were filled with tears of loss and longing. She knew as the last royal it was her obligation to regain her kingdom and she would fight to the death tomorrow. But all she really wanted was to spend the rest of her life in the arms of the only man that touched her heart, her soul and the man her body couldn't live without.

Geoffrey watched as Eragon flew away and the ache in his heart almost took him to his knees. He gritted his teeth, straightened his back and walked towards his generals. Something had changed in their eyes and as he came closer, they bowed, knowing that this warrior would be their king if they win the morrow. Geoffrey felt his whole being lurch in his heart.

His entire life had led him here. His prayers to God to help him find his place in the world had finally been answered. These were his people, Ruth was his queen and his love, but all his skills would be tested to save these people and his queen's kingdom. He straightened his back and strode towards the generals' barking orders and everyone got to work with a new sense of purpose. Everyone knew tomorrow they would win the day.

~~~~

Eragon flew high in the sky with the queen riding on his back, clad in her skimpy warrior outfit. She was high enough that no one saw her, but if they had, they would have stared with mouth agape at the gorgeous vison riding the dragon. He and his other two brother dragons were watching for the king's army when Ruth yelled to Eragon over the noisy wind, "Save Geoffrey, save your friend and my lover. I can't live without him."

Eragon felt her tears on the scales of his neck and knew the queen was only afraid of one thing, losing Geoffrey. If she lost him the battle didn't matter, she wouldn't have anything beautiful to live for. Eragon heard her whispering a prayer to her God, asking to save Geoffrey and help her army win the day.

Then the king's army appeared, and it was indeed massive. As they entered the top of the U-shaped battlefield, she saw them fill almost half the battlefield. There were at least four soldiers for every one of the queen's armies. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach but in her heart had confidence in the plan that Geoffrey had created. They could still win the day.

She watched as they brought large towers and positioned them close to the front lines and then a large number of archers climbed to the top of the towers. Then the calvary lined up at the front of the line with the troops. The archers on the two towers loosened a cloud of arrows that blocked out the sun. Ruth heard Geoffrey's voice and a thousand shields went up creating a defensive cover for the soldiers underneath. A few arrows got through, but not many, the shields were lowered, and another volley of arrows were fired, but the shields went back up and stayed up until the calvary began its charge.

Queen Ruth saw the archers targeting her generals and began targeting their generals. As she scanned for targets, she noticed none of the royals were present. She looked closer and didn't find a single royal and thought, "Cowards ... nothing but cowards". She knew this was only the beginning of the war and they needed to attack the evil king's castle.

The dragons stayed high above and behind the king's troops so as not to be seen, but when the calvary charged two dragons dived into the line of horses. The horses and their riders panicked with the charge dissolving into a chaotic rush to save themselves. The two dragons tore into the calvary ripping men from their horses and dashing them against trees or rocks. Within minutes the calvary was fleeing for their lives, running into the edges of the forest and into the traps set for them. A cheer when up from the queen's troops and morale was high.

The dragons regrouped with all three dragons herding the king's troops towards the waiting army. The archers in the towers fired another volley of arrows and once again they landed mostly on raised shields. Now the king's army was running away from the dragons in the rear and towards the waiting queen's army. The archers in the towers continued to fire on selected targets, looking for officers, generals or anyone acting as a leader.