Nothing much to say at the start here. Hope you're enjoying the way things are turning out! We're finally getting near to the end, and who knows what will happen to the royal family? Stay tuned for more :)
Once again, thanks to my editor moncrifelle for the great editing work.
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Perthias rubbed his eyes, yawning loudly. He had just had the strangest dream in which he and his family were ousted from their home and transformed into sex slaves, and then he had joined a resistance group to fight against the man who had . . . wait.
That was no dream, but reality. He was aware of a sudden softness pressing against him and looked down to see the arms of (and breasts) of Cythea around him. He must have fallen asleep during one of their lovemaking sessions. He reached down tenderly to caress her long silver hair, delighting in the little coos and murmurs his lover made as she shifted slightly. She was even more attractive in repose than in the act of coitus. He hadn't thought it possible that he would prefer her sleep-filled sighs to her cries of passion, but there it was.
It was strange. All this time his sister and mother had pestered him to get married and he had ignored their words, choosing instead to chase tail in the many inns and taverns of Erecia. He had bedded his fair share of maidens both slight and buxom, but none had been anything more than a passing fancy. And then, from nowhere, a beautiful elfslut appeared and captured his heart. It was strange indeed, but no stranger than being turned into a hulking giant of a man and pressed into military service against the mage who had stolen his home and kingdom.
Which reminded him—it was time to go to work. The transformed prince reluctantly disengaged himself from Cythea's arms, smiling a little at how she murmured in her sleep. Gods, she was so beautiful, and it wasn't just her body either. He loved her lilting laugh and tinkle of her laughter, her cheerful smile and enthusiastic nature.
He realized, too, that he didn't even know her that well. All he really did know about the voluptuous creature sleeping next to him was that she was an elfslut who was working with the resistance in some capacity. He hadn't even known her name until a day or so ago.
And yet, he couldn't deny the feelings that coursed through him when he looked at her. He felt affectionate, protective, and tender all at once. His heart beat faster, and he felt a stirring within his breast that he could feel all the way down to his toes.
Was this love? It certainly felt like it. He had no real basis for comparison—none of the other women he had slept with had elicited even a fraction of the emotions that he now felt. But if it were to cast his mind back to what the bards and minstrels sang of back in his other life, then yes, it very well might be— something that broke hearts and mended them, that lifted the spirit to heights beyond reckoning. And it seemed that for now at least he was its prisoner.
He slipped out of the huge feather bed that the resistance forces had kindly prepared for them. Strong though he was, he much preferred to make love on a proper bed rather than the cold stone floor. He stretched a little, loosening his muscles, and then exited the room, casting a last fond farewell glance at the sleeping Cythea. He would much rather spend the day in her caress, either asleep or making love, but he had a job to do. The word of a noble of Erecia was not something lightly given, and he planned to fulfill his duties appropriately, sex slave body be damned.
He emerged into the main hall of the mansion to see a council of war already in session. The hooded figure (Tyzhe? they all looked the same to him) was seated at a bench with some other men clad in plate and chain armor—soldiers, he assumed. They were assembled around a massive round table that took up most of the room. On top of it was a large weather-stained map of the castle of Erecia and its environs. Colored pieces of wood were strewn around its surface, and Perthias recognized them immediately for what they were—markers indicating troop positions and strength.
He spied Daphnia sitting at the edge of the table, and moved to join his sister. She waved at him absent-mindedly, intent on the display in front of her. Daphnia had never been one for military strategy, always preferring spells to swordcraft, but her keen mind could generally be relied upon to analyze any given situation and come up with a workable solution, which is what he guessed she was doing.
Tyzhe and the other men-at-arms were involved in a heated discussion regarding the finer points of their eventual deployment, but all of them looked up at his arrival, nodding their heads to acknowledge his presence. He nodded back and directed his attention to the map in front of them. There was no time to waste in pleasantries. He assumed they knew who he was, and he was in no real mood to introduce himself, anyway.
Perthias took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the terrain displayed in front of him. It was something he knew well enough—he was the prince of the land, after all, no matter how many lectures he had accidentally slept through. These were the hills that he had climbed as a small child, the forests he had hunted in, and the rivers that he had conducted many a training exercise around. But it was slightly unnerving to realize that this time he would be leading an assault against his homeland, and not defending it from an outsider.
Red for archers, blue for infantry, green for catapults . . . the prince's practiced eye scanned the map at length, committing every detail to memory. From what he could tell from the pieces arrayed in front of him, the resistance's forces were severely outmatched. They had the advantage in one area only—they could muster more cavalry than Rampillion, but the usefulness of horses was limited in forested areas. The resistance had better have a trick or two up its sleeve, or their planned rebellion would be a short one indeed.
"Do not worry, your Highness. We do indeed have something planned."
Perthias looked up into to meet Tyzhe's eyes. Or rather, where its eyes would have been if one could see past the inky blackness of his hood. It was as if he had read his mind. For all he knew, he did indeed do that.
"And would you care to share that with us?" Perthias tried and failed to keep the sting out of his voice. He was not the only member of the royal family that felt more than a little resentful of the way that the hooded figure/s seemed to pre-empt their thoughts and actions. While it was true that they had little choice but to cooperate now, the prince himself wished for a little more due consideration.
"Of course." If Tyzhe heard the implied criticism in his tone, he chose to ignore it. It was hard to tell—a large hood does wonders for hiding one's facial expressions. "We have enlisted the assistance of a powerful mage, who will lead our initial assault on the castle. Besides disabling the shields that Rampillion will no doubt erect upon noticing our forces, he will provide support in the form of fireballs that will be cast upon the fields directly around the castle. But beyond that, we will be on our own."
That changed matters a little. As the other men at the table fell into excited chatter, Perthias mused on how this might change his conception of the upcoming battle. He had never led a charge backed by magic before, but there was a first time for everything. Place the infantry behind the hills so that they would be able to attack after the fireballs had been cast, then move the cavalry into position behind them, archers to the rear to support . . . yes, yes, he could see how it might work.
"Princess Daphnia." Tyzhe's voice cut through the fog of his rumination. "We will require your assistance as well."
"Me?" Daphnia looked up, startled. "But I have no magical powers left. In this body, I couldn't so much as cast a simple light spell."
"But you do still possess your arcane knowledge, do you not? That is something that Rampillion's magic could not steal from you, and that is what we have need of."
All eyes at the table turned to the princess, who met them with a steely gaze of her own.
"What would you have me do? Come up with some new spells? I could easily do so, but I would have no way of casting them."
"Nothing so drastic, your Highness. We would simply require your assistance in a ritual of our own devising. Also, I believe the usurper has not cut off your connection to the mana flow entirely. There may yet be a way out of your predicament, but it is too early for us to say."
"Is that true?" Daphnia fought to keep the excitement out of her tone. "Can you restore my magic to me?"
"Patience, your Highness. I know that it wears on you, but this is something will take time to effect, if it is at all possible. We do not wish to tantalize you with false hope. All I can say at this moment is that your assistance will be required in the ritual magic that will help us overtake the castle."