A big thank you once again to the lovely Emma Kendrick for providing her thoughts on the chapter!
"Do they want me to service them at the training pit?"
"No," Deiara answered simply. "You'll see."
The entrance to the guards' training pit awaited ahead, the sounds of combat coming over the threshold. Gwennalyn bit her lip, hearing brutish snarls amid boisterous cheers, her imagination already conjuring up that always-arousing picture of two orcs testing each other's strength.
As the duo slipped through the entrance, coming onto the dirt floor of the small arena, she caught sight of the combatants.
Javin swung his axe, and Harrum met it with his own, those heavy blades crashing together. Both were stripped to the waist, sweat-streaked muscles straining with effort. Whereas Javin wore an expression of amused determination, Harrum boasted a steely glower.
Over to the left, on the raised dais that allowed space for gathering and observation, more guards were hollering encouragement to the combatants. Just that vigorousness made her shudder.
"How is it that their cheering alone gets you excited?" Deiara asked, glancing over at her with a knowing look.
Gwennalyn grinned as they joined those guards, the group greeting them warmly.
"It's another tournament," Deiara informed her.
"They did one not too long ago, didn't they?"
"They did. But they wanted to do another one."
The princess nodded, a dreamy smile creeping over her lips from the sight of the combatants trading blows, Javin's youthful energy matched by Harrum's veteran resolve.
"This is the final match, actually," Shen said from nearby, shooting the princess a look of amusement.
"I wonder who you're rooting for," Akeza added, offering another amused look.
"I would rather they take their aggressions out on me..."
"Never can get enough, huh?" Yogg grunted, more amusement sent her way.
She glanced around, momentarily distracted from the bout, noticing more of those same looks sent her way.
"Is there something I'm not understanding?" she asked Deiara, frowning in confusion.
Her handmaiden only smiled.
"Usually," Shen spoke up, "the winners of these little tournaments we put on get pride as their prize."
"Plus, they can crow as much as they like about their victory," Beradur added.
"Some crow more than others," Groma groused, shooting Akeza an annoyed look.
"You're just bitter because you've never won one," Akeza shot back.
"Well, I knew beforehand I wasn't winning this one, so I'm not bitter."
Shen shot him a warning look.
Gwennalyn glanced around, her confusion still distracting her from the bout.
"What is going on?" she asked Deiara.
"The winner of this tournament gets something a little more fun," Shen said.
"What's the prize?"
"You," Deiara replied simply.
The princess blinked in surprise.
"Me? But any guard can have me any day."
"Yes. But the winner of this tournament gets sole rights to you for the rest of today plus the next three days and nights. You won't whore for the guards, or for the dockworkers, or do anything besides what the winner wants you to."
"The winner can share, of course," Akeza added. "If they feel like it."
The confusion lingered, but arousal began to chip away at it.
"Does the king know?" she asked her handmaiden.
"He signed off on this, so you won't have any responsibilities for the duration of your service. Akarra knows too, so the dockworkers will stay away."
"I'm the prize for the winner?" Gwennalyn murmured, that arousal building.
"Yes."
"Four days of being theirs? Theirs and theirs alone? They can do whatever they want with me?"
"Yes. And given who is fighting in the final match..."
The princess bit her lip.
I do like Javin...but being Harrum's, only his, for four days...
"That didn't take long," Shen remarked. "She's already getting wet."
"Harrum can probably smell you from over there," Beradur teased. "Maybe he'll fight a bit harder now."
"We also agreed that the winner will get their shifts covered," Narth added. "So, he'll have plenty of time to spend with you. He'll just owe whoever covers his shifts something down the line."
"Imagine all the things he'll do to you," Akeza commented.
"She won't have to imagine," Deiara told him. "If he wins, that is."
The old, cantankerous orc had swiftly become one of the princess' favorite paramours.
Although I have a lot of favorites...I just love how he treats me. It's like he hates me.
A hand drifted to her throat as she remembered all the times he had wrapped his hand around it, cutting off her air, the resultant asphyxiation always adding to her delight. Although all the orcs she fucked with any regularity had by now recognized her love of degradation, none were as habitually and disdainfully vicious as Harrum, both in actions and words.
"I wonder how many bruises he'll leave on you," Shen drawled.
"You'll probably need so much elder salve," Yogg added.
The princess quivered, the heat of arousal spreading all across her figure.
"Now you understand why I brought you here," Deiara said.
"I do," Gwennalyn replied, smiling over at her. "Thank you."
A triumphant roar brought her attention back to the bout.
Harrum faced down Javin, but whereas the veteran guard was still wielding his axe, Javin's was behind Harrum, resting on the dirt.
She quivered again, this time at the thought of Harrum's seemingly inevitable victory.
Javin stepped forward, and the older orc immediately fell into a defensive stance.
The step was a feint, however. Javin bowed his head, smirking slightly.
"I yield."
The gathered guards erupted in cheers, but Harrum ignored them, looking over to Gwennalyn. The cheers turned to laughter as that baleful gaze pinned her in place.
He tossed his axe to the ground and stalked towards her.
Her arousal built further from that approach.
He stopped near the lip of the pit.
"Come here."
Biting her lip, she gingerly raised the hem of her dress, and stepped down into the pit.
"You know what my prize is?" he asked gruffly, coming closer.
"Yes. Sole rights to me for today and the next three days and nights."
"You're mine to use however I want. Understand?"
"Yes."
His hand lashed out and struck her across the cheek.
The impact jerked her head to the side, but he had obviously held back to not hurt her too much. Nevertheless, her cheek burned from the strike; the disrespectful gesture and subsequent rush of humiliation made her moan. The chuckles she heard from the other guards only added to that humiliation.
He came closer, looming over her, his face drawn in an expression of menacing desire.
"You will address me as Master."
She moaned again.
Ooh, this is going to be so much fun...
"Yes, Master."
"Take off your clothes."
Her dress was quickly left pooled around her feet, her nakedness exposed to the afternoon sunlight and the gathered audience. She stepped out of the puddle of fabric, and then out of her slippers, the warmth of the pit's dirt floor meeting the soles of her bare feet, her toes wiggling mindlessly. His gaze raked over her, from her slick sex past her flat stomach to the scant swells of her breasts. Bruises showed here and there, the price of constant submission, a price she was always eager to pay. The guards chuckled, their attention adding to her humiliation.
"Get on your knees."
Her obedience was again immediate.
Harrum snatched up her dress and tore a long, thick ribbon off. The dress was again discarded, fluttering to the ground. She stayed still as he leaned over to wrap that ribbon around her neck. A few deft maneuvers turned it into a leash, tied taut enough so that every breath reminded her of its presence, and with enough length left over for him to grab. He yanked at that extra length, a squeal spilling from her as she threw her hands out, ending up on all fours, her palms meeting the dirt along with her knees. The humiliation mounted sharply.