Bowstring and Steel: Ep. 02

Foreword: For those looking forward to new stuff, I have a thread on the Forum:

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?p=43181618#post43181618

It's where I will be announcing any future tales or additional stories. After this Episode of Bowstring and Steel, I'm taking a bit of a break from it. Right now I'm working on more Solar Wind episodes and my new series: 'Caliburn' which takes place in the DC Universe. I hope everyone enjoys the ride, as always. :)

I.D.

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Episode 2: The Crown and the Ring

With the assassination thwarted, Empress Raelina convinced me not to resign as a Ranger, but to take on a diplomatic mission for her. Hanelor was to go with me after she finished her Final Confession and Resignation. She had went with Jalin to the Temple of Harsk here in Arethias Castle to proceed with her business.

Denna sat with me in my and Hanelor's room as we drank to absent companions.

"To Halas," she said with a sad smile. "May he rest among the trees, and return to me in the next life."

Her toast caught me offguard. Of all the lovers Denna had taken during the nearly ten years I'd known her, Halas had been with her the longest. A Southern Elf from the Kingdom of Leafspire in the south of the Empire, he had been a Prince there, as Denna was the daughter of a Duchess here in Arethor.

I raised my tankard with her. "To Halas. A damn good Ranger, and a decent guy." We drank.

When we set our tankards down, I looked at her. Her short red hair and soft doe brown eyes marked her as fully human. There had been a time when we had a night of passion shortly after I was assigned to her team, but that was long in the past. No regrets. We had a love/hate relationship which was mostly joking, even if she did sound a bit harsh sometimes in reprimanding me. I smiled.

"You really loved him, Denna." I stated. "I believe he loved you too."

She laughed sadly. "Yes I did, Jon. Look at us. Two old warhorses sitting and drinking to loss and love."

As her Master Sergeant, it was my duty to keep the lower enlisted in line for her as well as bring their concerns to her. She often told me that it brought her no end of grief to have me speak for the enlisted, while at the same time, I ran a tight unit for her. They knew that I was the only one who would joke with her.

"Denna, there's a guy out there for you, you know. Give it time, and I'm pretty sure you'll meet him." I patted her hand and she looked at me as she had during the prelude to our night together.

"Jon, I know I never gave us a chance..." She started.

"At ease that, Captain. We had a helluva night, but that was a long time ago. We both knew then as we do now that it would never have worked out between us." I smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Very true, Sergeant." She got a fond look on her face as she smiled. "That was one helluva night, though."

I laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"As well you should. You know that my family would be completely scandalized if they knew, right?" She laughed too.

Human/Elf relations were already frowned upon amongst the commoners. Humans and Elves alike regarded halfbreeds as mongrels at best, and abominations at worst. It was an ancient racism that went back thousands of years to the Great Cataclysm. The war between Humans and Elves had nearly destroyed half the world, and had created The Fallen Lands to the far west past my old home of Elaranan in Treefall.

"My lips are sealed, Denna. I'm honestly surprised that the Empress seems to approve of me being with her daughter." I shrugged.

"Empress Raelina is not Emperor Gregor. He was as racist as they get, but she has never shown anything but respect to the Elves." Denna said. "As a girl, I once watched Gregor tell an Elven Diplomat that if she didn't get the hell out of his sight, he would cut off her ears and send them back to her Human husband and their abomination of a son."

I sat up straight at that. "He insulted my mother, father, and me." I whispered.

"And now he's dead, Jon. He was not a good man, or even a good Emperor. He was scum." Denna said.

"Yeah, I know. But to hear about him saying that, and my mother, Cariana, is a Diplomat for Treefall. She's also the only Elven Diplomat in the Empire with a Human husband and a 'mongrel' son." Denna knew about my family, and she accepted it out of hand. She had also admitted her attraction to Elves when she had propositioned me that first night.

"Well, it's in the past now. I could imagine him turning in his tomb if he knew that his daughter is now with one of the 'abominations' he so despised." She chuckled and raised her tankard. "To Jon Hawke! The best 'mongrel' I've ever known."

I laughed and raised my tankard with her. "Woof woof!" I woofed and we drank.

We were still laughing when Hanelor came back in with just her tunic, trousers, and boots on. We looked at her, and I rose and went to her as I saw the look on her face. She was happy, but also nervous.

She threw her arms around my neck and I held her tight. "I'm free!" She exclaimed, and Denna hugged her as I disengaged. We were both happy for her, and Denna was happy for us.

"You two will make it. I know that much." Denna grinned at us. "What about your sword and armor?"

"I had to turn everything in when I resigned." Hanelor shrugged.

"I planned for this. Your new gear should be here shortly, sweetheart." I told her and kissed her.

"My new gear?" Hanelor looked at me in utter shock.

Denna explained. "While you were out, Jon went to the local blacksmith and commissioned several pieces be resized for you and sent over along with a new broadsword and shield."

Hanelor looked at me, and I smiled at her. "My love, you shouldn't have!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around my neck, kissing me lovingly.

"Don't worry about it, shirila. I knew you would need some new gear. I managed to work out a deal with the blacksmith." I grinned. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when her new gear arrived.

"Now, come on over and let's drink and eat some more." Denna said to her, and we all went and sat down.

"We were toasting Halas and other fallen." I told her as I poured a third tankard from the keg for her.

"To Shenala of South Cross," Hanelor raised her tankard for the lady Paladin who had died at Stone's Throw. She had been nearly as old as Jalin, and had been almost a mother to Hanelor.

"To Shenala!" We clanked and drank.

We continued honoring the dead. "To Kavorn! Slayer of Ogres and friend to us all." I toasted the man I had known since Ranger training.

"To Kavorn. He was a good man, and deserved better." Denna raised her tankard and we drank.

"He died a Ranger, Denna. It's all any of us can hope for, sometimes." I said quietly, thinking of all the friends we had lost.

We got quiet as we remembered everyone we served with who had died during the war.

It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." I volunteered. I got up and crossed to the door, opening it.

"Come in, Duff." I said to the Dwarf. Duff and I had travelled to Arethias Castle together from Quarry Rock, and I had saved his life before even becoming a Ranger.

"Gotcher gear for yer missy here, Jonny. We's even now, mate!" He said with a grin.

"Duff, you never owed me before! At least let me pay you?" I reached into my pocket for the gold I had promised him.

"Nawp, Jonny. Not gonna take yer cash. I owed ya for savin' muh life, and a Dwarf always pays his debts! Now we's even." Duff nodded, and I reached down to shake his hand. We clasped forearms in the Warrior's tradition, and Duff nodded. He looked at Denna and Hanelor. "Ranger. Paladin." He nodded at both and left.

I took the bundle off the floor and lugged it over to Hanelor. "Here it is, Hanelor. I hope it meets with your specifications." I dropped it with an audible clank. Every piece was individually wrapped in cloth.

Hanelor unwrapped each piece of armor, the shield, and the swordbelt with scabbard and sheathed broadsword. Her eyes went wider and wider with each piece she unwrapped and laid on the floor. When she unwrapped the Helm and saw the black-gold Angel's face on the visor, she started crying.

"Dragonsteel! Jon, you got me Dragonsteel armor, sword, and shield!?" She asked with awe in her eyes.

"You deserve the best, honey." I drew her to her feet and kissed her. She kissed me back passionately and deeply.

"Ok, guys. I'm gonna get out of here before I get too drunk to resign my commission in the morning and go tell my mother off for trying to marry me off in the first place." Denna stood and smirked, a bit on the tipsy side.

"Thanks for drinking with us, Denna." I nodded to her. "Give her hell from me."

Denna laughed. "I might just do that, Jon. If I don't see you again before you leave, good luck out there." She hugged us both and left, wobbling slightly from all the beer.

Hanelor grinned as Denna shut the door and loudly proclaimed that the guard patrolling in the corridor was 'a real stud'. I laughed outright at that.

"Sounds like Denna has herself a bedwarmer for the night." I grinned.

"Speaking of bedwarmers, I think I owe you a little something for these new toys you got me." Hanelor had a sultry look in her eyes as she moved towards me and slipped her arms up around my neck.

"Shirila, I think you've saved my life a few more times than I've saved yours." I smirked and kissed her. "You owe me nothing. I love you."

"I love you too, Jon." She returned my kiss passionately. As we broke the kiss off, she asked something I didn't expect.

"Jon, were you and Denna ever....?" She left the question hanging.

"We had a night together shortly after I was assigned to her squad. It was a one-nighter that neither one of us regrets, but neither one of us wants to happen again, if that makes any sense." I admitted. No secrets.

"Ok. I knew I wasn't imagining the way she was looking at you." Hanelor laughed.

"She gets nostalgic sometimes when she drinks. Especially since Halas was one of the fallen we were toasting." I shrugged.

"Hmmm. She has a thing for guys with pointy ears, doesn't she?" Hanelor raised her eyebrow and smirked.

"Takes one to know one, sweetheart?" I asked with an answering smirk. Hanelor blushed.

"I fell in love with you, baby. Not your ears or your eyes or your hair... ok, I'm lying. I fell in love with all of you." She giggled.

"Well, I'm glad you're back, baby. I have some news. Bad news first. I'm not resigning as a Ranger. Good news, I'm now working directly for your mother as a Diplomatic envoy. If you'll come with me, our first assignment is to Treefall, where we will be escorting my mother Cariana here to meet with Empress Raelina." I took a deep breath.

It took Hanelor a couple seconds to process that. "Of course I'll go with you! So I get to meet your parents?" She grinned.

"It's only fair, and I want to see my home again. I've been gone from there for ten years." I kissed her. "I have a feeling my parents will approve of you."

"I hope so, Jon. I'm just glad my mother approves of you! My father would have already skinned you alive." Hanelor had a disgusted expression on her face as the mention of her father.

"Denna told me about the time Emperor Gregor insulted and threatened an Elven Diplomat. Turns out that ONLY Elven Diplomat in the Empire at that time was my mother." I shrugged.

Hanelor just shook her head. "The Ogres did us all a favor the day they killed Emperor Gregor."

"From what everyone has said, you're right. I never met him, personally." I said.

"Be thankful for that, my love." She hugged me.

"I am, but I'm more thankful that I met you, shirila." I held her close and kissed her. "Want to try on your new gear and show me how good it looks on you?"

Her face lit up at that. "Yes!" She giggled like a girl and went to put on her gear. I watched as she dressed, and she had to get used to the chainmail undersuit being built in to the armor pieces themselves. She quickly discovered that Dragonsteel armor is much lighter and easier to move in than Paladin plate. It's also far more durable.

She put on her new armored boots and leggings, then her new codpiece. She dressed from ground up, as it must be while wearing full plate armor. She donned her new breastplate, sliding it on over her left shoulder and buckling it on her right side. She then buckled all the pieces thus far to the next, creating a chain effect that the Paladin plate didn't possess. She had much more freedom of motion than she did before with her old suit of armor. She slung the new large roundshield across her back and buckled on her sword belt before donning her gauntlets. Once those were buckled in place, she tried on her new helm.

The gold-tinted black armor looked amazing on her, and was much less bulky than her old plate as well. She grinned at me before closing her visor and looking at me through the panther's eyeslits.

Hanelor moves with a grace little seen in full plate armor, yet now she moved like water as she quickly drew her broadsword and went into a complicated sword kata. Her precision was amazing to watch as she turned and cut, blocked, thrust, slashed, riposted, and twirled around to strike in exactly the same spot five times in a row. She then twirled the sword up and back and scabbarded it without looking as she came back to the Position of Attention, where she had started.

She removed her helm and was amazed at how she had done. "It's like a second skin, Jon!" She exclaimed.

"That's Duff Treadstone's best work, Hanelor. That Dwarf is a Master Smith with Dragonsteel." I explained about how Duff and I had first met over ten years ago, and we'd kind of saved each other's lives when some brigands attacked his wagon. At the time, I only had my old recurve bow, and about twenty arrows. I'd shot most of the brigands down before they got into melee range, but ended up fighting hand to hand with my bow as a melee weapon. Duff had used a Dragonsteel shortsword that he'd forged himself to kill a brigand that was about to run me through from behind while I was busy fighting his buddy. He'd saved my life, but I'd saved his livelihood by protecting his wagon full of goods. He'd given me the shortsword and twenty Dragonsteel tipped arrows as payment, and added that if I ever needed anything from him, it was on the house. I hadn't expected him to remember that when I had went to buy Hanelor's armor.

"So he's been a Dragonsteel Smith here for the past ten years?" Hanelor asked.

"Longer. He was coming from a family reunion at Quarry Rock when the brigands attacked. He's had his business here for at least fifty years, from what he told me on our journey." I like the gruff Duff. He's a good Dwarf, and a decent warrior in his own right.

Like Elves, Dwarves live much longer than the usual Human lifespan. They even live longer than Elves if they can avoid dying in battle. They're tough fireplugs that have served as frontline infantry in the Imperial Army since time immemorial.

Even Emperor Gregor had nothing bad to say about Dwarves... at least not in public. What he thought or said in private is on him. All I knew about him was that he despised Elves in general, and my mother in particular.

While I was talking, Hanelor had shed the rest of her armor and weapon belt. She walked toward me slowly, undoing the buttons on her tunic as she approached. I smiled at her and undid the buttons on my Dress Black tunic and stepped toward her.

We shed our clothes and boots as the urgency became overwhelming. I was hard as steel for her, and she was breathing heavily with her eyes half-lidded in lust.

She pushed me back onto the bed and crawled over me like a tigress coming for her meal. Hanelor straddled my hips and my arms went around her as she kissed me lovingly. "I want to make love to you now, my love." She declared sultrily.

I smiled. "Yes, shirila." I would not deny her.

Hanelor reached down and grasped my manhood, rubbing her wet pussy with my cock head. I could feel how wet she was, and then she closed her eyes as her mouth opened in a sweet soft moan of pleasure when she slid down on me, impaling herself onto me. She leaned forward and I took her left nipple into my mouth as my hands went to her hips. We moaned in pleasure as she rode me slowly.

She moved slowly and with the same grace with which she walked, ran, and fought. Only this time she used her sensual grace for lovemaking, and she was glorious. She looked down at me through eyes half-lidded with love and lust. Her breathing quickened as she moved a bit faster, feeling her orgasm coming on. I moved with her, catching and keeping her rhythm as I thrust back into her on each of her downward strokes. She was getting even wetter as we made love more urgently. I could feel my own climax building along with hers. She looked at me pleadingly, whimpering and moaning in pure pleasure as I filled her with my throbbing cock. I flexed inside her and she screamed. "OH JOOONNNNNN YESSSS!"

She crashed around me, setting me off inside her convulsing pussy. She milked me and massaged me inside her as I erupted. "YYEEESSSSS HAANNNELLOOORRR!" I shouted as I came deep inside the woman I love, filling her to overflowing. I lost count of how many times I shot into her, every shot like an arrow of pure ecstasy loosed from my pulsing cock.

We came down from our peaks together, and I held her as she spasmed on top of me in aftershocks of our lovemaking.

She slipped off of me and molded her body to mine. Her eyes were heavy and so were mine. For moving so slowly and sensually, we were exhausted. Night had fallen while we made love, and we drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

I was up with the sun as usual the next morning. Another hundred push-ups followed by the recitation of the Creed of the Ranger. I stood and drew my daggers from their sheaths and started a dual dagger kata. I moved and thrusted, blocked and riposted as my feet kept moving beneath me, lunging and pivoting in circles. The kata was designed for those surrounded by enemies, and was equal parts footwork and skill with a blade.

I washed in the basin by my side of the bed and dressed just as the breakfast cart arrived. I let the servant in and thanked him as he left. Hanelor, awakened by the heavenly scent of bacon and eggs, rose and stretched her long arms and legs. She saw I was already dressed and did likewise. While I had dressed in my Ranger Leathers, Hanelor dressed in her new armor and made sure all her gear was in place before she grabbed her ruck and shield and slung them both.

"Good morning, beautiful." I kissed her lovingly.

"Mmmmm Good morning, my love." She returned my kiss with equal tenderness and love.

We sat and ate together in silence. We had grown used to eating quickly in the field, never knowing if or when another Ogre attack would come.

Once we were dressed, we went down to the throne room, where Empress Raelina was signing orders and hearing petitions. She smiled when she saw us enter. Hanelor had her helm off and carrying it in her left hand until we got on the road.

"Good morning, you two. All ready to go?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am. We'll leave immediately once we pick up a couple of horses." I reported.

Raelina nodded and looked at Hanelor. "Hanelor, will you at least consider my offer from yesterday? You would both be welcome here..." She trailed off when she saw the look in Hanelor's eyes.

Hanelor sighed. "I will consider it, mother. I make no promises, though!" She added forcefully.

"Fair enough. For this mission, you will be officially attached to Master Sergeant Hawke's detail as a diplomatic guard. You will be under his direct command. Is that clear?" The Empress laid down the law.