War of the Races

Chapter 10- Liege and Vassal

"Brother!" Gunngrul hollered as he charged into the dining room to find Hayden leaning over one of the female staff. She was bent over the table with her dress torn down the rear bearing her ebony buttocks while he held her wrists in the small of her back and forced himself on her.

"What!" Shouted Hayden as his thrusting halted and he stared murderously at Gunngrul before continuing in a hiss, "Could...you possibly want at this most inopportune time."

Gunngrul wheezed as he caught his breath before declaring, "She's escaped! I need you brother. You must come with me, and we must rally the House Guard!"

"Svyn'dahl Goddess! And, the damned women who worship her!" Hayden cursed as she released the maid and pushed himself back and withdrew leaving her crying and too afraid to reach back and gather her skirt together in case he wasn't finished, fearing the only thing worse than being raped and possibly impregnated if he thought her resisting in any way.

"No Gunngrul, I must not go with you," Hayden hissed as he calmly walked to Gunngrul as he put his privates away before patting his brother's shoulder, "I will return to the camp tonight, and you will go and rally the guards. After I have departed, post a guard at Sulabha's room. The fact that she didn't use Beatrix to escape means she is after something. However, her greatest chance of successfully escaping is the mirror. She knows this, so she will eventually return to her room. When she does, the House Guard must be there waiting for her."

"Yes brother," Gunngrul answered with a nod.

"Oh! Also," Hayden continued after a pause at the door, "Sulabha must be caught again. Alive! She is too valuable to be destroyed. She is our secret weapon against our enemies..."

"But," Gunngrul whined, "She killed Rweble. She has mother by her side now, and she may have had another that helped her escape in the first place."

"Rweble is dead," Hayden whispered in surprise as he shook his head to cover the fact that he was not horrified, rather Rweble's death was fortuitous. Locking gazes with Gunngrul and purred excitedly, "Use this brother! Rally the Guard, denounced these rebels as invaders!"

Hayden paused for a moment to Gunngrul's eyes for acceptance, then continued, "Sadly brother it is just you and I now. It is we that must continue the family line. Mother has long outlived her usefulness. Rally the guard and tell them that one of the intruders wears our dear Matron Forelain's face as a disguise to throw us into turmoil. When you find her, kill her as we did her sister's, and mother, and grandmother's. From this day hence, it is only you and I. We shall rebuild House Faline as we see fit, and we will lead this House into a new age of prosperity under the rule of our patriarchy! Instead of this dismal, stale, matriarchy that has led this House to ruin!"

"Yes brother," Gunngrul hailed, though he was sure his countenance gave away his lingering uncertainty.

"As for whomever is aiding Sulabha, dispatch this person quickly. Once you have captured her, join me so that we may kill Aalyn Abendroth and her sisters together," He answered with a smile and walked out of the dining room.

Seeing that Hayden was gone, the maid finally summoned the courage to pull her clothing together and ran from the room as Gunngrul turned to follow his brother.

——(!)——

Aldrnari was both sobbing and laughing as she ran into the kitchen only to be caught by Baoir. He turned her this way and that pulling her hands away from her dress as it fell apart revealing her maiden's blood streaming down her ebony thighs and her humiliation as he cried out, "By the Goddess girl! What has happened?"

"It was Lord Hayden," She sobbed as explanation, and indeed it was all that any of the women in the kitchen needed to hear to know what had happened to her, "But our Lord, in his arrogance, has miscalculated..."

"How so," Beinbalkr hissed as she walked up and pushed Baoir aside so she could straighten Aldrnari's dress and cover the poor girl's nudity. When she saw Aldrnari's virgin blood, she shook her head and sighed, "If only my Lady Forelain were alive. This would not stand! My poor girl, I am so sorry for you. He has reduced you to only ever being a prostitute now. Unfortunately like so many before you, I will have to pay you your wages and release you from our service in the morning."

"It matters not, because the last laugh is mine," Aldrnari crooned in rage as she shook Beinbalkr off and stepped away before turning to address everyone in the kitchen, "Our venerable Lords Hayden and Gunngrul let it slip that Matron Forelain is still alive."

"Really," Beinbalkr gasped and covered her mouth in her shock, "You are not lying? Girl you had better not be telling tales!"

"I do not," Aldrnari growled defensively, "Lord Hayden may have reduced me to prostitution, but as of yet I am not one! I tell the Goddesses truth! I swear it on my own blood, and her daughter, the heir, Sulabha is alive as well. They have escaped their bondage and are right now trying to retake, or flee House Faline. There also may be others aiding our Ladies. Lord Rweble has already been slain, Lord Hayden is fleeing like the coward he is, and Lord Gunngrul is trying to rally the House Guard that are loyal to him and Lord Hayden to kill our Matron and her heir!"

"You should not talk with such disrespect," Baoir chided with a shake of his head.

"Disrespect," Aldrnari shrieked in outrage as she flourished her dress which fell open once again to reveal her assault, "Where was the respect for me as a maiden? He didn't ask for my hand in marriage as a second, third, or even a fifteenth wife. No! He just saw me and took me like the selfish, entitled, bastard that he is! Respect! He will be lucky I don't put a dagger in his heart!"

"That is enough," Beinbaldr hollered so as to be heard, and when Aldrnari fell silent she continued in a quieter voice, "Many here know exactly how you feel girl, and would gladly place their dagger in his chest beside yours. However, a lowly pantler maid making such threats against a lord...it will only get you killed for treason..."

"Okay then, if that is settled, we should retreat to our rooms and wait for this travesty to end," Baoir said with an air of command and a firm nod, "There is nothing us servants can do but get ourselves killed now, or later as traitors by whomever gains control for this House..."

"Do as you please, but I will take my chances to get justice for what has been done to me and my sisters and countless others by those...men," Aldrnari growled as she picked up an iron skillet and a cleaver.

"I agree," Beinbalkr nodded as she looked about and armed herself with a large iron cookpot's top like a shield and another large butchering cleaver, "This is our chance to show our loyalty to our Matron Forelain. If we do nothing now, then we surely deserve the reprehensible treatment we've gotten from the young Lords and more!"

"No no no!" Baoir refuted adamantly with much head shaking and cutting the air with his hands in slashing gestures, "This is too much. We will only get ourselves killed. We must be prepared for the fact that the young Lords may maintain control..."

There was a loud gong as a skillet slammed into Baoir's head and the old svartalf fell unconscious to the floor. All the women and the few young page boys gawked with their mouths agape as Dield looked down at what she had done, and then up to see everyone's shock expressions, "I was to get married in two months time. Then the young Lord Gunngrul decided he would have his way with me... Now, I am due to bear his bastard 'barn' in two months' time and my fiancé will not have anything to do with me! I'll be damned if I don't take a stand tonight for my Lady Forelain!"

"Ae," Beinbalkr shouted with her raised cleaver, "Tie Baoir up and let him sleep this one off. He's a good Butler, and a good man, but he is limited by his gender and can't help it that he doesn't know the humiliation we've suffered from those...highly-esteemed young Lords!" She finished in dripping sarcasm.

"Tonight!" Aldrnari shouted for attention, "I fight for my freedom to say "No!", or I'll die trying!"

The sound of cheers sounded out across the kitchen and down the scullery hallways as each page and maid found cleavers, rolling pins, or cudgels. Some found small stew pots and managed to fit them over their heads while others dual-wielded iron skillets and carving knives. Once they were outfitted Beinbalkr raised her cleaver and her voice, "First we should find Lieutenant-Marshal Trina or Sergeant Urthrina. I believe they are still loyal to the Matron..."

"I've heard talk," Dield offered, "From the scullery and napery maids that Chamberlain Skyrta and Wardrobe Daokir secretly married Gunngrul and Rweble months before our Matron Forelain took to her room with illness..."

"It would have to be so," Beinbalkr mumbled as she mulled over the information, "To perform a secret coup d'état of this magnitude those boys would have needed Chamberlain and Wardrobe's assistance..." She paused as she looked every maid in the eyes then warned, "Beware the other maids we don't know who we can trust. Aldrnari and Dield take five maids and go to the Matron's room and see if she is there and still in good health. The rest with me, we are going to find Trina and Urthrina!"

"Yes Pantler Beinbalkr," Chorused the young men and women before dividing into their units and heading off in different directions.

——(!)——

Sitting in a chair in the stables, Trina Armiano sat at her desk and only occasionally glanced at the door that led to her office fifteen years ago. The office of the Marshal of House Faline. Now, and for the last fifteen years she had been reduced in rank to Lieutenant Marshal. Thankfully there was still no one better at weapons and combat than her, so they could completely discard her. Lord Hayden did however install Jafningi Erfior as his new Marshal the same day he had announced that Matron Faline had passed away from illness, and that the House's only heir Sulabha Faline, who was only three at the time, had succumbed to the same illness hours later.

She had always had her suspicions about the coincidences, but she had no evidence, and so, she bided her time...

Diligently, she discreetly followed every rumor she heard. Always careful to mask her investigation with reports of interviews with household personnel over low morale based on rumors and movements of rival Households. She used other excuses in her reports as well, and slowly she followed the breadcrumb rumors until she found eye witnesses that overheard Chamberlain Skyrta Vaoir negotiate with Hayden Faline for a formal marriage into House Faline. Of how the bargain was struck, and in a month's time there was a private ceremony where she wed Lord Rweble. Similarly other witnesses overheard Wardrobe Daokir Fagrala negotiate her marriage to Gunngrul Faline.

Weeks later Forelain and Sulabha died.

Soon after Hayden assumed control of House Faline and the Temple was closed. A few months later, when Skyrta and Daokir were confirmed to the great joy of the Household as being pregnant, they disappeared into the depths of the Nursery. Shortly after their arrival, the Governess and the mothers and 'barns' of direct relation to House Faline all fell ill to a wasting disease that ate away their skin and made their hair fall out before they all died choking as their lungs filled up with their own blood.

To date, Skyrta has presented before the Household four heirs of Rweble, three from her own womb and the last 'barn' was mysteriously motherless. Daokir likewise presented four heirs of Gunngrul, three her womb while the forth was motherless. Lastly, before the doors of the Nursery, Lord Hayden presented six 'barns' as his recognized and documented heirs. Each 'barn' was motherless, which gave hope to countless maids that had been forcibly defiled and found themselves pregnant after the assault.

After so much tragedy and death, the Household celebrated each new heir, and thanked the goddess Arachne that House Faline would continue and grow. Amidst the tragedy and scandal it also became very apparent that not only did the young maidens within the halls of House Faline needed fear Hayden, Gunngrul, and Rweble, but so too did the young pages and guardsmen. More than a few times they were caught in the midst of having relations with each other, or with various males within the house. Of course such relationships paid off for some, much like Jafningi Erfior who was appointed to Trina's position as Marshal, and so too were many other males elevated to positions once occupied by females under the rule of Matron Forelain.

The sound of sturdy boots running down the hallway outside Trina's office brought her attention from her contemplations and lifted her head up in curiosity. A heavy thud hit the door as the familiar entrance of her subordinate Urthrina Svartjarn, her once lieutenant and now the Master Huntswoman, barreled into the office.

"Something is happening," Urthrina hissed as she quickly stepped in, closed, and locked the Marshal's office door. Trina sighed in relief, anything to take her away from the mountain of paperwork she was still doing despite not holding the office of Marshal any longer while the good for nothing Jafningi sat in her chair and propped his boots up on her desk. Fifteen years. Fifteen years, and it still chapped her ass that Hayden had given her position to such an ignoramus!

Turning around she commanded the wall, "Expose displays. View windows on. Track aggressive body movements."

Immediately two panels parted and a wall of holograms filled the space like windows allowing her to see throughout the entire complex wherever she had previously installed motion image capture devices. True to Urthrina's declaration there was something happening. Shades and wraiths walked the halls killing guardsmen and household staff alike if they resisted. Nothing seemed to stand in their way for long. In another window she saw Hayden trotting towards a room she had investigated many times only to be thwarted by Jafningi or the young Lords. When she became too insistent on what might be in the room they had threatened her with banishment, which would have been fine for her but would have rendered her useless to House Faline, and so she finally stopped pursuing it. Another sequence of monitors showed Gunngrul on his way to her and the Marshal's office.

"We must leave now," Trina hissed as she left her armor on the mannequin, but grabbed her twin jagged bladed longswords, "Gunngrul is on his way. If we don't want to get caught up on the wrong side of this we must leave quickly! Urthrina, run ahead and gather all the forces loyal to you and me..."

Just as Urthrina cracked the door to obey her commander's orders, Trina shouted, "Wait!"

Another hologram window displayed Lady Forelain's private bedchambers. Moving near the door were two shades, a male jarndvergr whom she had known fifteen years ago, and a female priestess. Naked as the day she was born and now born into undeath except for a shadowy diadem, Trina knew her as well. It was Matron Forelain's great-great-great grandmother, Lumarra Faline, retired Matron of House Faline, and still the High Priestess of the Household Temple.

Her motion capture device was not at the right angle to see far into Lady Forelain's room, but just as she was about to turn away, Matron Forelain herself, a svartalf woman with wild flame red hair that looked too much like a perfect mix of Lady Forelain and Hrun'durgahl Logijarn, and an unknown svartalf male with daggers and a cloak stepped into the frame of the doorway just long enough for her too see them.

"Our Matron Lady Forelain is alive," Trina gasped in shock and a relieved laugh, "Oh thank the goddess she's alive! New plan Urthrina, go rally those loyal to us and meet me at our Matron Forelain's bedchamber!"

Before turning away from the wall of holograms she commanded, "Holograms off. Station locked on Marshal Trina Armiano's authority. Implement code; ni, tolv, atte, fem, tre, sju, fem, fee-reh, atte, ni."

Turning away she smiled grimly at Urthrina who returned a smirk as Trina growled, "They have been lying to us for fifteen years. Now we will see justice done tonight or House Faline will fall."

——(!)——

Despite Sinaan's urging, Sulabha and Forelain took nearly an hour to gather Forelain's belongings into a dimensional pouch that could hold so much more than the single item pockets of his cloak. He found himself amazed and astonished at how many magical items the woman possessed and had stashed away in a hidden room, and of course, being a woman, she had to take her entire wardrobe!

The whole time Forelain was very quiet, and even when Sinaan insisted that they abandon what was left and escape before the House Guard was upon them, she only responded to him in svartalf common sign language before turning away to continue her packing. Taking Sulabha aside he whispered, "Your mother is very quiet. Is something wrong with her?"

"I don't know, but I will have Lumarra check," She answered in a mumble.

Calling Lumarra over she whispered for a few seconds after which the shade performed Delve once again on Forelain. Afterwards Lumarra informed Sulabha that her mother was six months pregnant with triplet daughters, and her mother's tongue had been removed.

Sulabha informed Sinaan to which he hissed before asking, "Is there anything we can do? You know like in our old RPG games. A way to heal or regrow her tongue?"

"I'm not sure," Sulabha answered, "However, if there is, I would like to fix my eyes!"

"Completely understandable," Sinaan agreed, "I too would like to see your eyes..."

Realizing he was flirting with his old friend Kenny, he stopped with a click of his teeth and shut his mouth. Sulabha smirked then purred softly, "I may have been a man in my previous life Jamie, but I am all woman now!" She finished as she grabbed his ass and squeezed hard...

"I have to admit," Sinaan mumbled, "I am having a hard time thinking of you as my old friend Kenny."

"Then don't," She retorted with a shake of her head, "What we were before makes absolutely no difference now, and I would hate for a past we can't change to influence our companionship now. From now on, please, just think of me as Sulabha."

"Okay," Sinaan agreed with a nod, "I will try."

"Good," She chirped then leaned in and kissed him quickly on the mouth. When she pulled away she purred, "Nice! You have very soft lips. I like that in a man!"

Sinaan felt a weirded out chill travel up his spine and down. He couldn't figure out who liked his soft lips, Sulabha or Kenny. In the meantime, he also felt very conflicted for liking the way her soft supple body pressed against him, and the tender press of her mouth against his as he sucked on her lips.

"We have got to get out of here," He hissed, changing the subject.

"Agreed," She agreed with a nod but moved to lean into his body more as she whispered, "However, without her tongue mother can't utter any prayers. She's completely useless as a spellcaster right now."

"Then make sure she's armed," Sinaan answered.

Just then Forelain approached with Hrun'durgahl and Lumarra in tow. "I can't find Sojourner and Beatrix. Otherwise, I'm ready," She signed and patted her bag, "I never thought I would be fleeing my own House under the threat of pain and death!"

"That's funny," Sulabha laughed bitterly, "I lived under that threat my whole life, and all I have ever yearned for and worked towards has been leaving this goddess forsaken House!"

"Sojourner is in the camp I came from," Sinaan answered, "It is how your brothers are traveling back and forth, from marching to battle with us, to teleporting back here in the evening so they can sleep in their own fucking beds at night!"