The Hunters Companions Ch 12

Author's Note: Firstly, thank you to everyone for reading and for the patience. This story is finished, and I am just posting as I get the chapters edited.

Secondly, and more importantly, a warning; this chapter contains a vivid scene with some magically forced consent. If this bothers you then it may be a good idea to skip the scene.

~*~

Belcarm and Kalendras had remained at their table at the tavern for a long while after Livinia had left. At first the silence between them was due to their mutual shock. While Belcarm couldn't say for certain that Livinia was going to chose him, he would not have imagined that she would make the decision she did. It was a long time before either of them had spoken, but it was Kalendras who broke the silence.

"I will not give her up." Kalendras said, Belcarm turned and looked at the Tauren appraisingly.

"Nor will I," Belcarm responded. The two of them looked at each other, the sense of competition between them gone. Livinia had clearly stated that she had no desire to choose. If Livinia couldn't pick one how on earth were they supposed to pick between themselves?

"It appears we're at a stalemate," Belcarm said with a frown, Kalendras nodded.

I'll take one of you, or both if you are so inclined,

. Livinia had told them the possible solution to their problem.

To say Belcarm had woken early would be a lie. He had never truly slept. As he turned the corner that led to the Orgrimmar portal it was still dark outside. He wanted to get there early, hoping to be the first. If he arrived he might get one last chance to talk Livinia out of this decision. When he rounded the corner he could see Kalendras already waiting and he groaned. The Tauren had beaten him to the portal as surely as he had beaten him to Livinia's heart.

"Belcarm..." Kalendras sighed as the Blood Elf approached the portal, his snout twisting into a wry grin.

"Kalendras," Belcarm gave him a curt nod and they both turned and waited for Livinia to arrive.

"I do wonder something," Kalendras begun, Belcarm looked at him curious at the instigation of discussion. "Who was the shield and who was the mace?"

The comment made Belcarm laugh. It shouldn't have, but it did. After the month he'd had he needed something to laugh about. He looked up at the Tauren who grinned back down at him. Slowly, the sun began to rise into the sky and they were both nervously awaiting their woman. However, an hour after sunrise she was still not there and their nerves were strung taut.

Belcarm had been unsure of his decision all night. He wanted Livinia. He had waited for her for five years and he had come too far to give up on her now. He wanted to go to that portal with all of his heart. However, he didn't know what he would do if Kalendras had decided the same thing. The thought of sharing Livinia with the Tauren was disturbing, but when he really thought about it, he had been sharing her for the past month anyway.

Livinia had said that she couldn't choose between them. Belcarm couldn't understand it, but Liv was always so determined and sure of herself that this indecisiveness was uncharacteristic. When she had told them the night before that a part of her would always love both of them he realised that, no matter what, he would always be with Liv knowing that she missed Kalendras. He didn't know what that would do to her; to have to hold back that constant longing for someone else. The worst case scenario was that it might make Liv resent him for forcing her to make that decision. So, he decided to leave it up to fate. He would go to the portal, and if Kalendras was there too then there was nothing he could do about it.

"She did say dawn?" Belcarm asked, snapping out of his tired reverie. He hadn't meant it to sound like a question, but it did.

"Yes...." Kalendras confirmed as he looking around as if it would make her appear out of thin air.

"Maybe she got caught up," Belcarm said with a shrug.

"I thought she would be here well before us even," Kalendras murmured, and Belcarm didn't admit out loud that he had thought the same thing.

"Kalendras Totemrunner.... Belcarm Sharpsword?" A voice came from behind them and the two turned around to see a host of Silvermoon City Guardians standing there with their hands on their weapons.

"Yes?" Belarm confirmed warily, looking at the Tauren out of the corner of his eye.

"We are here to arrest you both under suspicion of high treason and conspiring with the known traitor, Livinia Sunspeaker."

Belcarm was too stunned to move. Livinia a known traitor? Impossible. Luckily, Kalendras was not so fazed by the accusation. How could his Belcarm's father allow his men to arrest his only son without so much as a warning?

"Whose orders are you here on?" Kalendras growled. Belcarm knew the druid well enough to see how his body tensed, poised to fight at a moment's notice.

"The Chief Warlock has sent us to apprehend you," The leader responded dispassionately. Belcarm's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You answer to the Master of Sword not the Chief Warlock."

"We were sent by the Chief Warlock," The Guardian repeated evasively. Belcarm and Kalendras exchanged a look and they both understood what was going on. The Chief Warlock, Mitrae Swiftspell. The only real question that now ran through Belcarm's mind was,

where is Livinia?

If these brutes were here to arrest them, then he didn't want to imagine that there was someone who had done the same to her. The Guardians moved forward and made to grab them but Kalendras danced back out of their reach.

"I'm afraid you are ill informed," Kalendras said, voice strong "As the son of the Tauren Envoys, Zuroc and Timbra Totemrunner, I have diplomatic immunity. You cannot arrest me."

"What?" One of the guards asked, looking at their leader in confusion.

"As the son of the Tauren Diplomats I am exempt from being trialed for treason or any related crimes under Silvermoon City's jurisdiction. Any matter of such nature needs to be taken up with High Cheiftan Baine Bloodhoof," The Blood Elves looked at each other in anger and Belcarm's jaw dropped open.

"Well, you might be covered by diplomatic immunity, but Sharpsword has no such boon. Rest assured that Baine will hear about this," The leader said to Kalendras before turning his attention to Belcarm. "Arrest him."

The six Silvermoon City Guardians converged on Belcarm and he tried to retaliate. He swung out with his fist as one lunged at him, his fingers cracking the male's nose with a satisfying crunch.

"Belcarm, stop!" Kalendras order boomed through the noise of the scuffle. Belcarm looked at him questioningly and it was all the time that the Guardians needed to push him onto the ground and restrain him.

"You'll pay for that you bastard!" The man with the shattered nose spat through his blood and tears.

"Get off me!" Belcarm yelled, struggling in vain to be free of them.

"Paladin! Stop!" Kalendras barked again. "I will sort this out."

"Where's Livinia?" Belcarm asked, turning to face the leader of the group.

"Who?"

"Forget it. Belcarm; just go with them." Kalendras said, his tone quickly becoming exasperated. "I will get to the bottom of this mess."

"You have ten seconds to use that portal or we will arrest you as well."

"And Totemrunner?" The leader said, just as Kalendras was about to step through the portal, "If you are seen in Silvermoon City again you will forfeit your right to diplomatic immunity and you will be arrested... just as we arrested this scumbag."

"Never fear, Elf," Kalendras said dangerously, Belcarm could see the fury in his eyes and knew that Kalendras would kill each and every one of them, slowly, if given the opportunity. "I give you my word that I will never step foot in your city."

With that Kalendras turned and made his way through the Orgrimmar portal without so much as a backwards glance.

~*~

It took all of five minutes for the Guardians to drag Belcarm through the streets of Silvermoon. However, as they passed through a forgotten back alley the leader called a halt and turned, grinning at the man with a broken nose like a lunatic. That was all the warning that Belcarm had before they pushed him into the ground and begun to punch and kick him like he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. When they finally dragged him through the doors of the jail he looked as though he had been through a war, and he felt much the same.

Unbeknownst to Belcarm or the guardians a swift-flying silver hawk swept through the Orgrimmar portal just as they threw him into his cell. The bird's powerful wings carried it his above the city, when it was high enough, it tucked its wings into its body and begun a quick but controlled dive into the thick forest surrounding the Elven capital.

~*~

When Livinia came to her entire body was aching as though she had just been in battle. She opened her eyes, but all she could see was black. After a few tentative tugs of her sorely stretched limbs she determined that her arms were tethered to the wall above her head and her legs were chained to the stone wall behind her back. She wondered how she even managed to sleep in such an uncomfortable position; whatever spell they had used to knock her out must have been incredibly powerful. She strained her ears and could hear the sound of footsteps approaching, then a door creaked open, more footsteps, and then a door slamming shut again.

Bright light flared to life in the room and Livinia hissed as it burnt her retinas. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening them again. Coloured spots danced a merry jig before her for several minutes before her sight adjusted. In one corner of the room stood a sturdy wooden desk and a carved oak chair, but aside from that the room was all stone walls, floor and cobwebs.

"You have to be fucking kidding me!" Livinia groaned when she saw the two men standing by the door.

"Language, Livinia, language," Mitrae Swiftspell tutted, his watery blue eyes surveying her appraisingly. "Such a foul mouth for such a pretty woman."

"What the hell am I doing here?" Livinia snapped impatiently, the sound of his voice alone was enough to make her skin crawl, so the fact that he was grinning at her like trapped prey made her stomach churn.

"We tried to do it the easy way, we really did," Mitrae said with a frown, "But you forced our hand. We told your mother that we would give her three days to turn you around. However, at the first chance, you snuck out to meet up with the Bull and the pathetic low born. We couldn't very well have you running around like a slut when you are supposed to be marrying Rioden!"

Livinia's face scrunched up with confusion.

"What are you even talking about?"

"The betrothal between you and Rioden, of course," Mitrae said as if she were a few arrows shy of a quiver.

"There is no betrothal."

"Unfortunately Sunspeaker, that is not up to you," Rioden snapped.

"A bit hard to have a betrothal with only one interested party, isn't it?" Livinia's comment made Mitrae laugh.

"I am sure you will be interested soon enough," Mitrae told her, tapping his nose with his finger knowingly. "Like I said, it is regretful it has come to this, but after your performance at the ball and your eagerness to resist our kind offer we really had no choice," His voice clawed at Livinia's aching head and she wanted to scream in frustration.

"What in the name of the Sun Well are you talking about?" She groaned.

"Didn't your mother tell you?" Rioden asked sarcastically "No, I don't suppose she would have."

"What?"

"Your mother promised that you would marry Rioden in exchange for a favor of sorts..." Mitrae said with a wicked grin.

"She would never-"

"Well she did, and here you are," Mitrae gave nonchalant shrug. "You see, I caught her with some rather incriminating documents... Something that might see her expelled from Silvermoon City, if not executed."

Livinia's mouth fell open end her eyes wide with disbelief. Her mother might be manipulative and thoughtless at time but she wasn't stupid. She would never get caught with anything suspect because she wouldn't be involved with it in the first place.

"I don't believe you," Livinia said, sticking her chin up in the air defiantly despite the pain coursing through her body from being in such an awkward position.

"I don't care if you do," Mitrae told her "But you will marry my son."

"Over my dead body," Livinia snapped, tone dripping with disgust.

"Now now, that won't be necessary. We want you alive and not dead. Plus, you wouldn't want to see your dear mother's head on the execution block, would you?" Mitrae asked, Livinia was tempted to tell him that it didn't sound like a bad idea right about now but she pressed her lips together tightly. "You need another reason, do you? What about if I tell you that I currently have a small host of Guardians arresting your pathetic lovers under suspicion of treason?" Livinia's heart skipped a beat, but she refused to believe it. Surely it was just another lie.

"What treason?" She laughed.

"We have decided that the documents we found your mother with could also be used against you. If you choose not to marry my son we will give the papers to the council and your lovers, both of them, will be hanged." Livinia looked deep into his sickly green eyes and she could tell that this was not an empty threat. The thought of Belcarm or Kalendras dangling from the gallows made her stomach twist and bile rise in her throat.

"Why me?" She asked looking between the father and son. She kept the fear in her voice in at bay, sounding merely curious instead. "Surely there are plenty of stupid wenches desperate to be part of your ridiculous high society drama."

"Why indeed?" Rioden asked with a laugh. "You are a Sunspeaker, Livinia. The youngest heir to a family as old as our history. Those other wenches are nothing but whores, they do not deserve to bear Swiftspell heirs."

"I'm sure the Brightspells or the Wellmaker family would have someone to offer you, someone who wouldn't find you so repugnant," Livinia supplied, Rioden glared at her but Mitrae merely laughed.

"Brightspells, Wellmakers and Sunspeakers... they would never lower themselves to Swiftspells," Rioden said, "We need someone to produce heirs that we can place in every office of society. We will fill the Sin'dorei government with our people. Never again with some low-born upstart like Sharpsword ever take a position destined for a Swiftspell."

The words swirled in her mind and she remembered back to the ball. The way her mother had introduced her to Rioden, and when she had threw the knife at him, the way he had gone running back to his father. Her Mother's insistence was rare also, Livinia had no shortage of suitors to be sure, but the way her mother had constantly come back to Rioden made sense. If this was true,

if

, then her mother's actions made complete sense.

"You're forgetting one thing," Livinia said, a spark of hope burning in her heart "The marriage ritual requires that the two participants are willing. That will never happen," She told them defiantly. She just needed to buy time. She knew that Belcarm and Kalendras would be looking for her, and that this would be sorted out, but she just needed to give them as much time as she could.

"Really?" Mitrae asked, "We shall see, Livinia, we shall see," He smiled crossed the room. He looked her body up and down and she shuddered in disgust.

"Such ugly clothes, dear, no wonder you stooped so low as you did."

Mitrae reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew a ceremonial knife, the handle of which was encrusted with deep rubies and garnets that twinkled prettily in the bright light. Slowly Mitrae brought it up to her stomach. She struggled against her chains but they held her pinned in place. With a sick smile he reached forward, grabbed her shirt, and cut a small hole in the bottom. He stuck his fingers through the hole and ripped the fabric in one move, exposing her pale skin to the dungeon air. Mitrae hummed appreciatively.

"Get the fuck away from me," Livinia warned, her vision swam red as rage overcame her.

"While you're thinking about our offer you might as well start your marital duties dear, because you

will

marry my son. And we want heirs from you, lots of pretty little girls and strong handsome boys."

"You are

disgusting

." She spat. Mitrae simply laughed as he slipped the knife into the waistband of her pants. This time when he cut the fabric he also cut skin, tearing a line in her stomach before tearing ripping her linen pants apart. He grunted in a disgustingly animinalistic way when he saw her womanhood and Livinia was reminded of an ogre on heat. He put his knife back in his robes and then brought his fingers up to cup her mound, she moved her hips backwards to avoid his touch but he had her pinned up against the wall.

"You should have fun with this one, son. Do you remember the chain commands?" Mitrae asked wistfully before turning on his heel and facing his son. Rioden nodded. "Very well. You tend to your future wife while I go and eliminate the competition."

Mitrae left the room, the door slamming loudly behind him. As he left a tiny amount of malice left with him, but when Livinia looked at Rioden she knew that his intentions were likely to be just as foul.

"Don't you even think about it," Livinia warned, looking at Rioden with wide eyes.

"You are ever so pretty." Rioden said, ignoring her warning before leisurely crossing the room.

"I'm sure that, in time, you will come to respect me even if you don't love me," He stopped in front of her and put his hand on her abdomen "And you will make very good looking children."

"If you so much as put your filthy prick near me I'll cut it off," She growled with all of the venom she could muster, but he laughed it off.

"I see no knife, dearest Livinia. Pray tell, what do you plan to castrate me with?" He asked innocently.

"When I get out of these chains..."

"You will be my bonded wife. I shall see to it."

"Not even in your wildest fantasy."

"Oh no? Do you have any idea of what my father is doing right now? Do you?"

Livinia pursed her lips together and refused to look at him.

"Right now my father is having Sharpsword and Totemrunner arrested. Once in possession not only will they be unable to save you, but they will be on trial for treason. Do you know what the punishment is for that? Do you?" Livinia tried to pull away from him but his cold fingers grasped her face and turned it to him. "They will hang them both Livinia. They will both be dead and fucking cold within three days if you disobey us."

Livinia gritted her teeth and tried to dismiss the thought of seeing Kalendras and Belcarm hanging from the gallows, necks broken and thick purple tongues lolling out of the corner of their mouths.

"You will never get them."

"My guess is that we already have them," Rioden said complacently, his characteristic cockiness shining through . Livinia could only hope they didn't. She hoped that, when she hadn't arrived, they had thought that she had left without them. Or that she had already gone off with the other. Either way they would be difficult to find.

Unless, of course, they had both decided to share her, and they would have been waiting by the portal like sitting ducks. Suddenly she cursed her stupidity.

What have I done?

she thought to herself.

Livinia closed her eyes and leant forward slowly, as if to kiss Rioden on the lips, but at the last moment her eyes snapped open and seared into his.

"FUCK YOU!" She yelled, her spittle littering his skin. His face contorted with rage and brought a hand up and pinched her nipple, hard, making her cry out.