The Talons of a Dar Heart

Chapter 2

The men surrounded Talyis and cut her arms loose each taking hold of her. Hands grabbing her body everywhere; her arms, twisting in her hair, seizing her calves, pulling her off the ground, spreading her.... She screamed, her brows furrowed as she clenched her eyes closed, they were roughly grabbing her breasts, raising her shift and squeezing her thighs so close to an area never touched even by herself.

"Stop!" the leader yelled angrily and the molestation of her body halted. Her body fearfully heaved air in and out, "Just bring her here."

She tried to stop the falling tears and make herself strong as they allowed her to stagger to their leader. He sat still on a log near the fire playing with his cattle prod that was now white hot from the flames.

"Do you know who I am?" he said in his deep voice focused only on the fire.

"No," Talyis answered in a weak whisper.

"I didn't think you would. I am the Prince of Aricin."

"I know all the royals of the surrounding kingdoms and Aricin is fallen sovereignty. It has no ruler."

"It has always had a ruler, Vile!" he eyes snapped to hers burning fire into her.

She starred back defiantly, she breathed heavily as she tried to control the flurry of emotions that always came over her when he looked at her. "What is your name?" Taylis demanded.

"My Lord, you are not going to tell this wench your name?" a man interjected standing behind Talyis protective of his leader.

"It is no matter, she does not know," he said to the man and then looked back at Talyis, "My name is Novak."

"My name is..." Talyis began

"I know your name Talyis of Onor. Enough formalities!" Novak snapped his anger mounting as he clenched his jaw glaring at her. He sighed and then turned to his men. "We will start out at sunrise. We will break the wench in tomorrow night. I am exhausted."

The men grumbled loudly and then began to turn down the camp. Talyis watched bewildered as Novak and the man who had interrupted just stood watching the rest work. She observed that the man must be of high rank, no older than Novak.

"You will sleep in the Master's tent," the man turned to her and pointed a large tent closest to the fire. She sighed, thankful to not have to sleep with the dogs on the forest ground vulnerable to the creatures of the night but fearful having to share the night near a man.

"Go girl!" Novak snapped at her and she quickly ran into the tent.

Novak sat down near the fire again and his friend joined him.

"She doesn't recognize me," Novak sighed.

"That is a good thing my friend," Gareth replied as he put his boots near the fire to warm his feet.

"Gareth, she must never know who I was. I will not let her ever get the best of me again."

"What do you plan to do with the girl," Gareth smiled a sly grin, "other than bed her?"

"The same she has done to me. She will never see her kingdom stand again, she will never live the life of a royal again and she will learn to love her new station or die."

"All this for revenge, Novak?"

"It's the least I can do for my people, Gareth," He stretched his body and handed the cattle prod to his friend, "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Gareth replied stabbing the prod into the dirt, the moisture within sizzled, "Be careful, that she doesn't kill you in your sleep, Master. That one is feisty."

Novak entered his tent and found Talyis huddled in the far corner. He scoffed at her and then removed his clothes slowly letting each piece echo in the still air as it hit the floor. She flinched with each sound and tried to keep her head down not to glance at the strong nude male body presented before her. But embarrassment flooded her cheeks; she briefly glanced up and saw him looking at her through her tear blurred eyes.

"Go to the cot," he demanded. Something within her stomach seemed to bubble nervously, she couldn't move, only hold her legs tighter to her chest. "Don't make me tell you again, Talyis." She didn't know why a whimper escaped but it did. "Vile!" He sneered and then grabbed her by the arms pits and dragged her to the cot. She screamed and fought, kicking her legs at him. He threw her on the cot and then stood over her as he watched her cower to a small corner into a tight ball. "Take that filthy shift off." She didn't move. "If you don't take it off, I will cut it from you and then you will have to walk the rest of the journey naked. I will not be able to keep my men off of you then. So, I will ask you one more time to take it off, Vile."

Talyis moaned tears and her stomach turned in such knots she was certain she would throw up. No one other than her nurses had seen her naked, never a man. Never had she shared her bed with anyone. She bit her lip in hesitation and clenched her eyes as she reluctantly pulled the shift over her body.

Novak looked down on the poor pitiful girl that used to taunt him when he was a boy. The princess's face streaked with dirt tears and her dark hair in knots and tangles instead of the long curls that flowed as she played in the gardens running after him in joyful laughter. Her skin was still beautiful to him, the warmth of browns, the reds hidden in cheeks, her big brown almond eyes that used to make him only want to smile forever. She was no longer a girl but a woman with full breast, the curves of her waist leading a path to a virginal garden hidden between her clenched legs. He began to regret what he could have tonight and had put off for tomorrow. He was drawn to the curly black hair lined at the juncture she tried to hide from him. He pulled his stare away from her. He did not to be absorbed by this wench.

He barked at her to lie down and she did, her body trembled in the cold air and of fear. He then tied her arms to the top of the cot, which renewed her tears and then tied her feet to the bottom getting the choice opportunity to see the lips that pursed at him between her thighs. He crawled up her body and lazily grazed those lips with his strong fingers-- dry. She would have to learn her new station or else she would be in for a lot of pain. He lay next to the girl bringing the sheepskin over their bodies. He tweaked Talyis's nipple and smiled in the dark as he heard her take a sharp breath in. He became more earnest and twisted it between his fingers and she whined.

Taylis trembled in blindness, the heat from his mouth warmed the back of her neck but goosebumps covered her entire body. She felt every hair on her body standing on end. Novak let his hand fall down her stomach noticing her every nerve tense as he journeyed down. Her legs were clenched and crossed, closed in rebellion to his desires. He squeezed her thigh hard, his entire hand grabbing and pulling the muscle. She cried out and loosened her legs to relive the shooting pain. He took advantage and plunged his fingers into her virginal center determined to coax a taste but she was dry. He rubbed without affection her labia and clit but the girl howling cries grew more and more desperate as if he were putting a hot poker to her sensitive areas. He stopped and rolled away. She whimpered in the dark curling into a ball against him, so near to him.

"Be quiet or I will give you something to cry about," Novak spat, "Tomorrow you will experience much more. I was doing you a favor."

Favor?

She fumed to herself.

Instead she pleaded in a near whisper, "Please let me go,"

"Go to sleep, we have a long journey in the morning."

***

"Get up!" a booming voice came broke into her nightmare and shook her physically.

She opened her eyes and remembered that everything she had known before was eternally altered. Novak stood above her already dressed. He held her shift in his hand, it was still wet. She took her shift and pulled it over her cold body which brought more ice to her skin. She followed Novak out of the tent, it was the break of dawn. Everyone was still sleeping, except for the man from last night.

"I will take you to the creek where you will bathe. You will also wash that shift clean. Take these sheers and remove that hair from between your legs," he instructed in an almost softer tone. She stared at the ground holding her arms around her icy body. "You have only a while or you will be bathing for the entertainment of my men!" he snapped at her for not moving and she shuffled quietly to the forest edge taking the sheers with her.

"Don't you dare try to run, Vile. We are watching you," Novak antagonized and scoffed.

"Lot of tears last night?" Gareth commented looking at his friend with an inquisitive smirk.

"She howls like a banshee, now, wait until tonight," Novak arched a dark eyebrow.

"The men are tired, we should reach home but tomorrow night," Gareth chimed and stretched his arms above his head welcoming the day into his body.

"Ah, my friend, the men are tired, but I think it is you who wants to reach home. Missing your woman already," Novak jested and poked his friend, "Miss the banshee in Delia, huh, the way she pulls at your blond hair?"

Gareth scowled at his friend and walked towards the forest edge and then smirked to himself. "Novak, when you get back you must choose a queen. We need an heir to survive as a people."

"Argh, Gareth not today, not this morning. Can't you just be my friend, my lieutenant?"

Gareth sighed and mooted the discussion for the time being. "My plan is to route through the Navapa which will get us to our territorial boarder by sunset... and I will see my sweet Delia late evening."

"Get the girl, we don't want to keep your precious Delia waiting," Novak teased and his lips curled in to a smile.

Gareth brought Talyis back to the camp, her eyes down-cast and her arms always hugging her body. The Aricin raiders had already started to pack up their things while other sat around the fire drinking a strong drink not really talking to each other. Novak came from his tent and stopped in his path to his horse. Talyis was stunning in the sunlight. She was more beautiful than the over-indulgent boyhood crush he had for her. The once girl now a woman had aged like the finest wine. Her features delicate and inviting, her curves enticed every nerve in his body, bringing his member to life and causing the acid of his dark heart to leak.

"Give her some scraps if there are any," he barked at Gareth and quickly proceeded to his horse.

Gareth ignored his friend's temper and gave her a cup of the dark drink the men were drinking. Talyis could not tolerate more than a sip, her stomach was in such knots from every thought she had of the night before. He insisted she try a bit of the mash but she politely refused. She sat still near the tent far from the men, her heart barely beating but rang loud in her ears. Despair had set in.

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~Thank you again for reading my story and your comments and votes. It really keeps me going. Special thanks to my editor CristalBall for her wonderful work.

T Bagley