Memoirs Of Kitty Siam Ch 18

Memoirs of Kitty Siam -- The Flower of Carnage.

For those regarded as warriors, when engaged in combat the vanquishing of thine enemy can be the warrior's only concern. Suppress all human emotion and compassion. Kill whoever stands in thy way, even if that be Lord God, or Buddha himself. This truth lies at the heart of the art of combat. -- Hatori Hanzo

It had been three days since Sir Tausin approved our plan. We used those three days to prepare some basic necessities to take with us. Mostly what we would take would fit neatly into my backpack. I used the wardrobe collar to create a second backpack that I gave to Teela. It was fun watching her face as she played with the Velcro and zippers on the pockets for the first time. Sir Tausin's guards were loyal to him and even though he trusted them completely, he kept them out of the garden area at my request. I used the time to teach Teela how to use the bow.

I found out that she was quite the huntress herself and was quite proficient with the spear, and long knife. It appears that because of these skills, her village elders and the male population of the village shunned her. She was off on her own hunting when her village was sacked by a marauding band of barbarians. She talked at length at how upset she had been that she was not there to defend her family and her village. I did my best to convince her that had she been there, she may have killed a few of the raiders but in the end she would have been dead as well. When she returned to her village from hunting, the Reeve and his men had arrived, and that is how they met. With her being homeless and alone, she accepted his collar and lived as his consort. From the time that I had spent with the two of them, it was more like a father daughter relationship between them, and I could tell that they honestly loved each other even though he was thirty four years her senior.

During our final day at Sir Tausin's house in between practice sessions with the bow and our various weapons, I took time to sketch out a rough diagram on the construction of a Mongolian bow and Bodkin style tips to put on arrows. Teela helped me with the text as I wrote down step-by-step instructions on how the bows could be made. Though I believe that the English longbow was better, the history videos that I watched in our ancient weapons class detailed a four-year construction process. This was not necessary with the Mongolian bow. Over dinner with Sir Tausin I handed him my diagrams and suggested that if war was to come and this castle needed to be defended that this would be a weapon that he and his constables might put to good use. He agreed and told me in confidence that he would have his carpenters and blacksmiths start working on these but he would not share this with Lord Hetch or the reserve army camped outside the castle walls just yet.

Sir Tausin's plan started with him sneaking us back into the castle since that is where we were supposed to be anyway. We would stay in a secluded wing of the castle in several rooms that saw very little use. After a few days we would be taken to the farmhouse as originally planned, then sneak out through the forest behind the house to a waiting carriage that would take us the rest of the way to our cabin in the woods.

Sneaking into the castle was easy with Sir Tausin's men guarding the gate. The prison wagon carrying Teela and myself was waved in without incident. Teela and I hugged the floor close to the sidewalls in case anyone decided to peek in the small barred window. Once inside the castle the wagon took us to a ramp that led under the castle's west tower where we were led up many fights of steps to our rooms by Glena, a very close and trusted friend of Teela's. Once inside our room Glena handed us both a key to the door and advised us to stay inside as much as possible. We both agreed, Teela and Glena hugged then Glena went on her way.

Those in the command structure here in Grimsod Shire often met in one of the castle's bath houses, and Teela informed me that her and her owner were to attend such a meeting this evening. She wished that I could accompany them but being that I was unattached in this land and an outsider, I would have to stay in the room tonight. Hearing that a real bath was possible in this place got my hopes up, but then hearing that I was not invited put an end to those thoughts quickly. A cask of water had been provided in the room for bathing and drinking and even though it was an ample supply, I wished it were larger so that I could just start a fire under it and then just soak in it for a few hours.

Teela spent the next twenty minutes or so primping to accompany her owner. She explained that these sorts of meetings were business first, followed by socialization. It seems that these meetings sometimes end in what could best be described as a Roman orgy. Ok, well it was not as bad as that sounded, but from time to time the women would pleasure their men after the meeting, bathing, and socializing. Her explanation led me to believe that at times the men would exchange the favors of their collared girls, but that was not the norm. Teela said that her owner was a very jealous man and would not allow her to service or be used by another. I have to say, that all this talk made me contemplate sneaking out and joining them, or at least returning to my beach and those lovely flowers. It had been some time since this kitten had been able to scratch her sexual itch. Do not take this the wrong way, the night I spent with Shilka was wonderful, but this kitty needed some meat!

Sir Tausin and six of his men showed up to collect Teela. As they filed out of the room Teela waved to me as two of the Shire's constables took up guard positions outside the door. I watched them walk down the hall, the procession being led by two constables, followed by Sir Tausin, who was followed by Teela who remained about 3 paces behind her owner. Bringing up the rear were two more armed constables. I watched as the walked down the long hallway, and then I went back in side and closed the door as soon as they turned right and headed down the winding tower staircase. As I closed the door, the younger of the two constables bid me a good evening as the door closed and the latch slid into place. I stood leaning against the door for a few seconds thinking about the two young studly constables on the other side of the door and that little itch that I wanted to scratch. Kitty wanted to play but did not want to cause any trouble for the nice young men.

Once Teela and her owner had left I activated the wardrobe collar and removed my white silk dress. I had chosen not to wear under garments today as I was trying out the local custom. It felt good but I missed my bra and panties, even though both items for me were really small, they were really comfortable and felt really necessary to have on. I made use of the water and soft towels that were left for us and washed myself head to toe. Though I would have loved some shampoo, I washed my hair as best I could. It felt so good to be clean again. There was just something about riding in that confined prison wagon that just made me feel dirty.

After my wash up I wrapped myself in a towel then sat on the bed to give my long black hair a good brushing. After about ten minutes or so of tending to my hair, I heard heavy footfalls in the hallway and as the sound grew closer I felt a tingle rush though my nearly naked body. The footsteps stopped in front of the door followed by a boisterous discussion. I could hear the sound of boots striking the stone hallway floor, as it appears that several of the people outside had moved off down the hall. After a loud thud was heard, things got really quiet outside for a few moments, but I could hear the sound of whispers on the other side of the door. The fine hairs on the back of my neck were bristling, a shiver passed through my slender body as my nostrils caught of whiff of Glena's scent on the other side of the door, but there was another sent coming from the other side of the door that prompted me to move my fingers to my wardrobe collar.

I quickly dressed myself in my black Drax corporation battle suit. It had been a while since I felt the soft carbon fiber and vanderium composite cat suit caressing my body. A few taps later, my bow and quiver of arrows adorned my back, and my scabbard and Bowie knife appeared strapped to my thigh. Another tap on the collar deployed my katana lashed across my back with a belt and scabbard that matched my battle suit. I took the bow, quiver, and katana off and set it on the far side of the bed. I crept quietly over toward the door when Glena called out, "Kitty, I have brought you some food and some extra towels".

I slipped under the covers and pulled them up to my neck to hide my battle suit, but left the covers loose on the side of the bed farthest from the door where I had placed my weapons. I called out to Glena, "The door is open, come in please". The door burst open and in came Glena wielding a short knife, the short blade stained with blood. There was a look of surprise on her face when I was not close to the door like she had expected. She lunged at me and tried to dive on top of the bed and plunge the knife into my chest. As she lunged I caught her arm and twisted it in front of her, when she landed on the bed the knife she was holding pierced her left side. The blade entered her side at about the level of her naval and created a pretty nasty gash just above her hip. She let the knife drop from her hand and rolled off the bed to the side closest to the door. I rolled in the opposite direction and landed on the floor.

As my feet landed on the floor with the grace and speed of a cat, my hands gripped my bow and grabbed and arrow from the quiver. The intruders had no idea what was about to happen to them as I stood up and brought my bow to eye level with an arrow already notched. The men in the hallway had their swords drawn and as the first man entered the door with his sword ready to strike, I pulled back on the bowstring, took aim and let the first arrow fly. The Bodkin tipped arrow ripped easily through the first intruder's tunic and chainmail and lodged deep in his chest. His jaw dropped in silent scream, his sword also dropped from his hand and clunked to the cold stone floor as he clutched his chest with both hands. He dropped to his knees and pulled hard on the arrow trying to get it out of his chest. When the arrow came free, the blood pumped furiously from the deep wound as he collapsed face first to the floor. Glena screamed as his corpse landed across her torso, pinning her to the floor.

The second brute through the door did not fare any better as my second arrow hit center mass dropping him in his tracks, he also collapsed in a heap on the floor right next to the first intruder. The third man was hesitant to enter the room but was shoved in roughly by two other men standing behind him. As he stumbled into the room sword in hand I could see the faces of the men standing outside in the hallway. It was Lord Hetch's two inquisitors or should I say, "henchmen" in this case. My eyes fixed on the inquisitors for a bit too long allowing the third man to get too close for me to use my bow. As he lunged at me my I dropped my bow onto the bed and latched onto my katana, and just got the blade out of the scabbard in time to deflect the wildly swung gladius that was aimed at my head. He attacked quickly, slashing high, then low, then high again. When he went high with his swing I deflected the blow again, but ducked down low and came up to his side, as he attempted a wide backhand swing at me I grabbed onto his wrist as his sword streaked toward me. As the momentum of his sword was stopped I slipped my katana between his legs from behind then drew it quickly toward me, the business end of my sword sliced through his inner thigh close to his groin and tore into his femoral artery and sliced through muscles and tendons. He dropped his sword as he dropped to the floor clutching his inner thigh as the blood gushed freely from the gaping wound that I had opened. With my attacker on his knees before me I raised the katana high over my head and brought the blade down quickly toward the back of his neck. There was a brief second of resistance as the blade sliced through bone and sinew, and then I was rewarded by the sickening thud as his severed head struck the floor. His body remained upright for a second or two then pitched forward and collapsed to the floor near his head.

I quickly turned back toward the door, my sword in hand ready to defend and strike. The man who would have been the fourth intruder froze in his tracks and glared at the carnage and the growing pools of blood on the floor. He looked at me as I stood between the door and the bed, the blood of his cohort dripping off the edge of my sword. He dropped his sword and turned to escape down the hallway. As he turned he was bowled over by the two inquisitors as they had the same ideas of self-preservation. The inquisitors knocked the poor man to the ground and pretty much ran over him in their bid to escape. There was no way I was going to let these two escape. I tossed my katana on the bed as I grabbed my bow, slung the quiver over my shoulder before sprinting out to into the hallway. The carnage in my room was duplicated out in the hallway. After I stumbled over the henchman that had been run over by the inquisitors, I could see the two constables who were guarding my door lying in pools of their own blood. I looked down at the man on the floor, as he tried to get to his feet I warned him, "Stay down or your die!" He nodded and complied as the color had already left his face from fright. Farther on down the hall the inquisitors were almost to the entrance to the tower stairs. A younger man in good physical condition would have made it to the stairs by now, but these two were old, fat, and probably could not run too fast even in their younger days.

I notched an arrow and took aim at the first inquisitor, but instead of aiming for center mass I aimed lower and let the arrow fly. The arrow pierced his woolen clothing easy enough and lodged in the center of his back, just above hip level severing his spine. He stumbled and tried to grab onto the wall for support but his legs had become useless causing him to crumple to the floor face first. His hand groped behind him trying to pull the arrow out but as hard as he tried he could not dislodge it. As he continued to struggle I took aim at the other inquisitor. I took great delight as I let the arrow fly at the inquisitor with the missing earlobe. The arrow hit home sinking deep into the back of his right thigh. He stumbled forward but did not go completely to the floor, his first instinct was to pull the arrow out and being that the head was not buried in bone, he was able to pull it out and toss it aside. Now at this point I could have easily have sprinted to catch him as he limped toward the stairs with blood pouring from the hole in his leg. I notched another arrow, took aim and let it fly. The arrow hit the limping man's good leg causing him to lurch forward and crash to the ground. In a panic he began to crawl leaving a bloody smear on the floor behind him. As he crawled closer to the stairs, his partner reached out his hand and begged him for help. I could hear the moans and begging as I secured my bow over my shoulder and sprinted down the hall. As I passed the inquisitor with the disconnected spine, I chided, "I will be back for you in a minute!"

I quickly came up behind the crawling inquisitor and straddled his back, leaning forward my hands reached for his hair. I yanked his head back sharply. As he struggled to get free I kept a hold of his hair with one hand as I retrieved my Bowie knife with the other. I placed the sharp edge of the blade against his throat and suddenly his struggles ceased as I put more of my weight on his back. I leaned forward and hissed out, "I promised that I was going to kill you!" as I drew the knife across the front of his throat. His body convulsed against my grip as the blood began to flow freely from the gaping wound. He crashed down on his side as he hands clutched his throat as his lifeblood drained from his body.

I looked down at my right hand holding the sharp blade. My hand and knife were colored a deep crimson by the blood of the dying man. I stood fully and turned my attention to my other former tormentor. I held the large knife out in front of me as I stalked my fallen victim as he tried to squirm and crawl away from me. As I got closer he began to cry and beg for his life, which of course brought a big smile to my lips. The feeling of power was wonderful as the tables were turned and I was about to extinguish the life of one of the men who tried to kill me. I felt like the cat that was about to eat the canary as I moved over to my wounded prey and grabbed onto the arrow lodged in his back and gave it a little wiggle, which brought a howl of pain.

You know you are going to die I chided as I gave the arrow a hard tug and yanked the weapon from his back. With his teeth clenched against the pain he begged me to spare his life and tried to stay my revenge by begging me for the sake of his wife and children. He was only doing his job he pleaded as if that would placate me. I dropped the arrow then straddled him as I did his partner. I pulled the knife up against his throat which increased the intensity of his begs for mercy. Where was the mercy when I was in your control I asked rhetorically? With that he started to cry openly as I leaned in and pressed the blade against his throat with more force then hissed out, "You asked me if I was a spy, and many times I told you I was not. You would have got a different answer had you asked me if I was an assassin". With that said I drew the blade across his throat, slicing him from ear to ear. As the blood flowed freely and my victim's attempt to breathe caused sickening gurgles as the air mixed with the flowing torrent of blood. I heard the sound of footfalls ascending the tower steps and coming in my direction. I should have heard them sooner but I was too fixated on my victim.

As I released my grip on the last inquisitor, letting him fall to the floor to expire in a pool of his own blood. I reached for my bow as the first two constables rounded the corner from the spiral stairway followed by The Reeve, Teela, and his rear guard. Sir Tausin quickly looked over the carnage in the hallway and took note of my blood soaked hands. I lowed my bow, dropped to one knee and bowed my head to Sir Tausin. The Reeve ordered his men to tend to the wounded but there was no one in the hallway that would recover from their wounds, but there were still two left alive that could recount the story of what had happened.

The Reeve wanted my bow and my knife as he stood over my kneeling form and I complied willingly. He walked past me and instructed me to follow him. As I stood and walked beside Teela she asked if I was injured. I replied that I was not and was immediately silenced by the Reeve. When we got to the doorway to our room the constables dragged the surviving soldier to his knees and bound his hands behind his back. He was dragged into the room and thrown face first to the floor next to Glena. The constables with much effort dragged the dead man off of the trapped Glena. Even though Glena was a big girl, the soldier that pinned her to the floor must have weighed over three hundred pounds, and that was without his clothing and armor. The uninjured soldier tried to beg forgiveness from the Reeve, but his pleading was cut short as Glena yelled at him to keep his mouth shut.

Sir Tausin chuckled and looked menacingly at Glena and suggested that she talk, and talk quickly or he would leave her alone in the room with me for a few minutes. I so wanted to giggle as I heard this but I kept a stern look on my face. I eyed my katana, and then looked to Glena, it did not take long for her to start talking as I took several steps toward the bed. Glena confessed that she was a second cousin of Lord Hetch and used her friendship with Teela to set his plan in motion to get rid of me. The plan was that she was to wait with the soldiers for the Sir Tausin to return and kill him and Teela after they had killed me. The plan was devised by the inquisitors and approved by Lord Hetch. Upon hearing this confession, Sir Tausin dropped my knife back into the scabbard strapped to my leg and returned my bow to me.