This is just a oneshot fantasy story I wrote during my break earlier this year. Hope people enjoy it!
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Fires burned all across the horizon. Parvaneh braced herself against the battlements, trying not to let it affect her. It hurt to see her kingdom on fire, but it was almost worse to try to estimate how many of them were enemy campfires. Scouts had gone to get an estimate, but they hadn't returned.
The ogres burned almost indiscriminately, so it was impossible to tell whether a light was a burning building, or pieces of a building they'd turned into a makeshift bonfire as night fell. Though it should have been dark, there was so much light from the fires that the torches on the battlements were almost unnecessary.
Thankfully, the roar of so many fires mostly drowned out the screams. Parvaneh had fought on the front lines and personally seen what the ogres did to captured women. She shuddered at the memory of the women pinned under the ogres' repulsive, bloated bodies. It had been easy to cut the monsters down, as they were rutting too mindlessly to be on guard, but the women hadn't recovered.
Parvaneh struck one mailed fist against the stone. She knew that she had to keep fighting to defend her home, but it felt so futile. They'd hoped the previous day's battle would break the ogre horde, but now... now the men were drinking themselves to death before what was coming.
She turned away from the battlements and began walking back down to the courtyard below. The fortress was a minor border station, but it was strong and had a good view of the surrounding area. If they held it to the last soldier, they could stall the ogres for days and allow the evacuations to proceed. It might not do much good, but at least they would have done their duty.
It seemed as though few other soldiers shared her commitment. Parvaneh tried not to judge as she passed the raucous clusters of them. She was just a soldier, not a commander, and what right did she have to reprimand men who were about to die? If their citizenship meant so little to them, then there was nothing she could do about it.
A horrific sight in the corner of her vision forced Parvaneh out of her disciplined neutrality. Several soldiers were chaining women near the stable. Some had been forced to bend over into the stocks, but many were bound to rings that were meant for horses. Parvaneh had expected them to be taking advantage of the local women, but to her surprise, the soldiers were first forcing some sort of liquid into their mouths.
"What are you doing?" She marched closer to them and the men groaned. One of them turned to block her path - though his body had far more fat than muscle, he still outweighed her substantially. He grinned and scratched his stomach where it protruded from beneath his poorly-tied armor.
"Sorry, girl. We're on Commander Kaveh's orders."
She folded her arms. "I just asked what you were doing."
"Sure, but we know why you came." The man jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the women. "Kaveh wants us to have a distraction ready for when the ogres breach the gates. These sluts will be so drugged, they'll spread their legs for anything, and the ogres won't be able to resist."
"And what happens if we actually hold the fortress?"
One of the other men laughed. "Then we'll get to have some fun, won't we? Assuming they aren't too worn out by then."
Parvaneh scowled. "Those are... yes, I recognize the chambermaids. How could you do this to our own people?"
"Never want anyone to have any fun, do you?" The man spat a gob of slimy phlegm onto the ground in front of her. "But we'd just be doing them a favor - they'll go mad if someone doesn't fuck them before too long. Now, are you going to raise your sword against Commander Kaveh's orders?"
She very nearly considered it. Parvaneh had sworn to serve the realm, not her commander. But if she tried to use force, they'd overpower her unless she killed them. And though she was sure she could kill this slovenly group, they couldn't afford to lose soldiers, even debauched ones.
Was that really all that was keeping her from attacking her own side? Maybe it was.
Parvaneh turned away, trying to ignore the laughter that followed her. How could Commander Kaveh allow such a thing? Though she hadn't been impressed with the man, he wasn't an idiot. He had to know that sacrificing their own civilians would gain them almost nothing. Yes, the ogres were sex-driven to the point of foolishness, but there would be so many of them...
Without warning, a soldier with alcohol on his breath stumbled into her. Parvaneh restrained her immediate killing instinct, reminding herself of what the man was facing. She lost all sympathy for the man when he then began groping at her chest.
Before she could stop herself, Parvaneh released all her pent-up frustration in a vicious strike. Her blow to his chest most likely broke a rib, and when he stumbled back she swept his feet out from under him. She nearly stomped him in the crotch, but forced herself to hold back. Drunk soldiers were better than no soldiers.
As she headed on, she repeated it like a mantra in the hope that she could convince herself. If the women in the fortress were already going to be raped, then what were they defending the fortress from? Was there anything here worth saving?
The worst part of it was, she needed sex badly. As many battles as she had fought, she was still afraid to be facing her own death. Her body ached for a hard fuck that could make her forget about what was coming for a while. If there had been even one good soldier here, they could have fucked each other and drawn some strength for the fight tomorrow. But she had no one.
When she reached the command tower, Parvaneh took the stairs two at a time on her way up. It was a narrow, spiraling staircase - another reminder of the fortress's quality. With the right group, they could hold it for days against a much larger army. Why didn't anyone else want to at least try to fight? Wouldn't it be better to go down with some honor intact?
