It had been a whole night since her encounter with the duke and still the dryad was bursting into tears at regular intervals. Every time she thought of what he had done to her a flood of sobbing came forth, and her mind could focus on little else. How he had forced her away from her home, how he had violated her pristine body. But she had one glimmer of hope to hang on to, in the form of possible revenge. So even as she wept for her lost innocence she made her way to the den of the witch whose location she had given to the cruel Duke. She would tell the witch what he had done, and she would be able to punish him justly for the vile crime he had committed.
Maiyan walked about her cottage, sweeping the floor, humming an ancient lullaby. Another day, the same routine as always. Though many needed magic they feared the price she demanded of them to grant them a wish. She looked at the rows of unusual plants and flowers out in her garden and smirked.
There it was, the witches cottage. The dryad fled towards it, becoming a blue blur against the greens and browns off the forest. She felt the tug of her home tree as she was separated further from it with each step, but she had to do this. Coming to the door she halted and then became to hammer on it with a desperation born from her torment.
"I am coming!" Maiyan opened the door and frowned when she saw who her visit was. "You are water dryad why are you so far from your tree?"
"I need your help," The dryad blurted out, tears still streaming down her face.
"What has happened?"
The dryad balked slightly at the direct question, but had expected no less. The witch was not one to waste time. "The duke of the village near here," The dryad began before her sobbing became too much and she had to take a moment to calm herself. "He raped me."
The frown on Maiyan's face changed to an angry scowl. "He did what?" The question was rhetorical. How dare the Duke harm the creatures of the forest? Especially a dryad. She had heard much about this Duke and how he liked to take what was not his. She could not, however, do anything to him at the moment because he had not caused her harm directly, such was the limits of her power. "What do you want of me, child of water?"
"He, he forced me to tell him where you lived." The dryad cried. There was another long pause as she steadied herself, "He wants a child, but either he or his wife is unable to do so. He wants you to give him a cure."
"Does he now," Maiyan purred, her mind at work on the bargain she would force him to make to get a child. No doubt the fault lay with the man. She knew the current Duchess. Kamea had always been feisty as a child. The Duke was a different story. "I am sorry that you were violated but I do wish to reward you for telling him where I live. I shall deal with him."
"I resisted him, for nothing?" The dryad asked, her tears ceasing as shock took hold. If the witch did not care she had released her location to the evil man, then why had she refused to tell him?
"You did not resist for nothing. No male should ever take from you what you are unwilling to give."
"He only raped me because I wouldn't tell him," The dryad sobbed, her tears running free again. This was all her fault, why had she been so stupid?
"If not you, then it would have been one of your sisters. Here take this," she handed her a cup of tea she had prepared. "This will ease your worry and shame."
"Really?" The dryad asked cautiously. She drank the tea down with the thirst of one lost in a desert. Maybe if her ordeal had saved her sisters, then that was something.
"Yes, really. I have heard rumors about this duke and none of them good. I will get you retribution while teaching him a lesson."
"Thank you," The dryad bowed her head slightly to the witch and then fled, her tree calling her once more. Within seconds she was gone, swallowed by the forest.
* * * *
The duke had awoken early, adrenalin pumping through his system as soon as he had awoken. He rolled gently out of his side of the large bed, seeking not to disturb his wife. She would need her rest. He chuckled silently to himself, as angry as Kamea had been at him she had nowhere else to sleep, and knowing his hands would not wander during the night she had seen fit to lie in the bed, though as far away from him as possible.
Soon he had dressed himself, making his way straight to the stable where the boy who cared for the horse was waiting for him, his favorite horse saddled and fed, with food for Jedrek to eat on the journey. Without so much as a word Jedrek placed a foot in the stirrup and swung himself onto the huge creature, grabbing the food from the stable boys hands and then slapping the reigns. His horse accelerated away, out of the courtyard, soon leaving the manor and the town behind as it's hooves pounded against the hard surface of the road.
When the road hit the forest the duke turned left onto a smaller, less well maintained track, continuing along it for some miles before he reached a prominent rocky outcrop at which he cut off the path, the pace of the horse slowing as they began to pick their way through the wild undergrowth. Eventually the duke was forced to dismount to prevent himself from laming his horse, but he knew he was close. Sure enough a small cottage came into view within the next clearing and tying his horse to a tree the duke strode confidently across the rough grass to the small stone building.
Inside the cottage Maiyan waited. The forest creatures had announced the coming arrival of the treacherous duke. She couldn't wait to manipulate this man. This defiler of flesh. Though she herself had done worse than him, he was still a male and held all the power.
Stepping up to the door of the insignificant looking cottage the Duke rapped boldly on the door, unafraid of what might lie within. He was after all the most powerful man in the town, and for many miles outside it as well.
A melodious, "Come in," greeted his knock. The witch had changed her appearance to one of a woman two decades her current age. She was ready to begin her dance of intrigue.
Ducking his head and stepping through the door the Duke smiled to see one so attractive standing before him. "Good morning," He greeted pleasantly. He could be charming when required.
"Hello. How can I help you?"
The duke was not here to play around with words and so he got straight to the point, "I wish for a child and I believe you may have a cure to the difficulties my wife and I are having."
"Blunt aren't you? How willing are you to pay the price I will ask?"
"I was hoping we could come to some sort of an agreement," Jedrek smiled back.
"I hear you are very good at making agreements. I think keeping them is not your forte."
"I'm sure that if you are powerful enough to cure my wife of her infertility," The fault, in his mind, clearly couldn't lie with him. "You will have no problem ensuring that I keep my end of the bargain."
"True." Her piercing green eyes stared into his. "Very well I will help you but only if you give me your firstborn child."
The duke appeared to consider this for a moment. His first born child? He almost laughed. What did that matter when he would be able to have so many more. "That suits me just fine," Jedrek smiled broadly and reached out his hand to shake on the deal.
"Are you sure you do not need to think about this agreement some more?" Maiyan prodded. She wanted to see if he would take more time or even ask to discuss it with his wife.
"Not at all. Your terms are reasonable, and I think it is best if I do not ask questions about your motivations." The duke smiled, offering his hand again. The thought of asking his wife about this did not cross his mind.
"We shall seal the deal in a special way. Come with me," she ordered and headed outside to the back of her cottage where chained to the giant oak tree was a nymph. This one had violet skin and large green doe eyes that were filled with fear.
"My my," The duke breathed, liking where this was going. The nymph looked as delectable as the dryad he had violated the other day, and if she was anywhere near as tight this was going to be fun.
"She's beautiful is she not? She failed to keep her end of the bargain with me and is a slave for all eternity." Maiyan emphasized the word failure. "As part of her punishment, she gets raped by whomever I choose. You can do whatever you like to her. Just make her juices flow. It will be from her juices and my garden that an elixir will be made that will get your wife pregnant."
The duke frowned slightly but soon recovered. This witch was not to be messed with. Still, no problem there as he had no qualms about holding up his end of the deal. Approaching the nymph he began removing his clothing, one piece at a time until a small heap of garments lay on the grass beside him and he was wearing just his under shorts. "Now little one, ready for some fun?" He asked in a cruel voice.
"Mistress, please! I will do anything to avoid this fate! Please! Please!" the nymph wailed.
