Yamara - Book 1 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A week had passed, during which I recovered my strength more rapidly then I would have thought possible. Due in large part to the efforts of the clergy of the God of Healing, Ban-Dayid, my thigh wound had recovered completely. A faint scar remained both in the front and the rear of my leg, but like all of my other scars, only by focusing carefully on it could I notice it.

My hip had not recovered as well, but that had to do with the infection that had set into it. A mere six hour injury did not, to me, seem possible to grow into such a mess. James had visited us late the next day, handing me a dagger. It was the same one that the orc had jammed into my hip. Some careful examination of it showed that it was no ordinary dagger.

A channel ran along the length of the blade, normally referred to as a blood groove to make it more easily withdrawn from a wound. In this case, it was for the delivery of more vile substances. A hidden release in the pommel allowed me to unscrew it. Looking inside I could see a opening where liquid could be stored in it. Not just liquid, but typically poison. Just from sniffing it, I could tell it had some poison in it recently.

"Odd poison," I had commented. "It worked more on the wound then a poison designed to interfere with my heart, breathing, or mind."

James nodded, eyeing me carefully. "All of the half-orcs had one. The rest were disposed of, but I figured you might want to see why you had such a hard time. Deep wound, infection from the filthy water, and poison." James left the dagger with me. I, of course, saw a use for such a dangerous weapon, and decided to keep it.

That was five days ago. With equal amounts of hard work and rest, my hip was still sore, but I could walk short distances without limping. In the privacy of my own room I studied the wound daily, noticing how oddly it healed. It seemed resistant to the healing magic the priests used, and closed slowly because of it. Still, it never bled beyond that first time, but that made the wound all the more disturbing because of it.

Brina thought it odd herself, but truth be told, she had not been around me as much the past few days. More ambulatory then I was, James had enlisted her to answer a few more questions. Her responses had apparently been successful, for she had then began accompanying him on his trips into the sewers, trying to piece together how Dagrazt's minions had been able to intrude so closely. General Andres' soldiers had rooted them out with few losses themselves, but they had been unable to determine where they had come from in the first place.

James had provided both Brina and I with some new clothing, which was good considering mine were a bloody mess and Brina's never even came close to fitting her. I did have to show her how to dress in some of them, however. Brina had never seen so many clothes at one time, and laughed outright when I told her that some of them comprised a single outfit, in the case of some of the more formal dresses. Coming from a world where it reached 120 degrees in the shade led to a decided lack in minimum clothing standards, after all.

It was in a nicely tailored set of clothes that I had chosen to wear for our official meeting with King Avercrombie. Brina and myself were being presented to him officially, or so James had told me. She returned from her room next to mine with her new garments on. Like me, she had opted for a shirt tucked into a pair of man's breeches. My newly acquired dagger rested in a sheath on my right hip, while my trusty short sword was on my left hip. Brina had a new dagger at each of her hips, but had not had a chance to acquire another sword yet for herself. Our most prized possession, or at least mine, was the very comfortable and durable set of boots that James had given me. Brina wore a pair as well, but she was having more trouble becoming used to the enclosed footwear. All I knew was that my feet were very thankful to the protection, given that our barefoot adventure in the sewers was considerably less then pleasant.

I followed her out of the room, allowing that Brina was more familiar with the layout of the palace due to her increased mobility over the past week. She had been chatting quite a bit throughout the week about the world on which we found ourselves. She had shared virtually everything she could to James in their time spent together, telling him all about Acathia and what little she knew of me that she felt free to discuss. I had to applaud her for that, she kept enough of her wits about her in her excitement to leave it up to me what I would be willing to discuss of myself.

She prattled on again on our trip to meet up with James, discussing things she had seen. How things were different here then Acathia. I had to admit, things seemed much different here, other then how tolerable the weather was compared to Acathia' harsh environment. It seemed much more like Halador to me. She spoke of seeing beings called elves that bore a passing resemblance to the pudarin of Acathia and of stunted men called dwarves. James said he had never heard of a Faradwym, the lizard-man of Acathia. Though perhaps they were similar to the evil lizard men found in swamps and marshes on Malatoria. The thought saddened Brina somewhat, since she had fond memories of her former companion.

Her musings were cut short when we reached James' office. I was grateful, not only for the ceasing of her excited chatter, but also because my hip had begun to throb with each step I took. She knocked on the door and we heard a muffled voice bid us to enter. She opened it and let me walk in ahead of her.

James rose from behind his desk to greet us. "Good to see you up and about, Yamara," he said cordially. He favored Brina with a small smile, and she returned it. I had been quite irritable lately, being nearly bedridden for several days, and my irritability increased at seeing the familiarity that James and Brina seemed to share. This, of course, caused my annoyance to grow as I realized the sparks of jealousy within me.

"What happens now, Earl James?" I said, reminding everyone of our relative stations in life.

The smiles vanished instantly. James cleared his throat and met my challenging gaze without flinching. "I see the potential for trouble in your eyes, Yamara. Do you hate me still for our meeting?"

"I made myself a promise a while back, James. I vowed that I would kill you for the way you treated Brina and I." I paused and glanced at Brina, who had a worried look on her face. "I hate to break a vow."

"But have things not changed since then," James countered, speaking casually with me. "I'd like to think we set aside our differences in the sewers. After all, I managed to put aside my dislike of the two of you over the death of Paul and my guards."

I was further irritated at him for pointing that out to me. I glanced at Brina again, hoping to draw some strength or resolve from her. What I saw there drained me of my fight, however, for she nearly had a pleading look about her.

"And after we escaped the orcs, while we both lay near death we argued with Father Justin over who should be healed first, claiming the other was in worse condition," He pointed out.

"I wanted your death to be my responsibility," I said, though everyone could tell the fight was taken out of me. I glanced behind me and saw a chair. I collapsed into it gracefully, though my hip reminded me it was not fully healed yet as I did so.

"Well enough, let me know when you feel ready for the challenge," James said, grinning at me to let me know he had figured it out. "Until that time, I would like to employ the two of you."

"The King already believes you are agents of mine, and given my relationship with him, I have considerable leeway." James said thoughtfully. "I've given it much consideration, and I believe that based upon your performance, you would make good agents, much as I told him on a whim when we first interviewed out of the sewers."

Brina seemed more then a little interested in the job offer, but I was instantly concerned. "I worked for a large organization once, employing my special skills. I rose far and fast, given my origins as the daughter of a murdered whore cast out into the garbage behind the brothel. With my successes and favor came many benefits, but it eventually faded and sent me running for my life. The long and short of it is how I ended up here."

James looked at me without surprise or compassion in his eyes. Brina had not heard so much of my very early days and looked at me with a bit of sadness in her eyes. Sadness not of me, but for me. My own gaze was hard as steel as I did my best to ignore Brina and continue to stare at James. A bit of fight had come back into me.

"I have found that running my own life is by far more enjoyable. I like to be in charge of my fate," I finished up, waiting for his response.

"There is no organized thieves guild in this city, I won't allow one to form," James said matter-of-factly. "But individual thieves do try their best to make a living, it's hard to stop every one of them."

I was not sure where he was going with that, other then to let me know that he suspected I was quite proficient at thievery. I remained silent until he continued. "Where will you go? I have come to believe, from talking to Brina, that neither of you have any previous knowledge of Malatoria. It is a dangerous world to those who know nothing of it."

I shrugged. "I have no idea where we will go, but seldom has that been a concern of mine."

Brina's mouth opened and closed silently, unnoticed by James and only barely by me. James turned to face her then. "She said we, does that mean you go with her, Brina? I had hoped at least you would see the benefit of working within the security and safety of a large nation such as Elendar."

She looked from me to James, trying and failing to hide the confusion and worry on her face. "I... um, I'm not sure. I'll need to figure that out," she finally said, frustrated and hurt.

James nodded. "Let me know what the two of you decide. First though, we must be on our way to meet the King. He has taken a break from his court sessions to meet with us in his office. Based upon the positions I had hoped the two of you would accept, I wanted your induction and commendation to be as private as possible to prevent your faces from becoming known."

I nodded and stood back up, my hip rested enough to not complain to much. Before we could leave James glimpsed the dagger on my hip. "You might not want to wear that around here, it has the Dark One's sigil on it."

I had the good grace to blush, at least. I untied the sheath from my belt and slipped it into my right boot, hiding the hilt inside the leg of my pants. I stood back up and shrugged my shoulders before heading towards the door. James followed us out of the room and then took the lead, leading us to the office where we had met the King before. Brina's face remained clouded with worry. She kept glancing at me and then glancing away quickly when I tried to meet her gaze. I felt more then a little resistant. I had no desire to handicap myself by getting stuck in another organization that would cause my freedoms to be limited.

Brina and I stood at attention when we entered the room and faced King Avercrombie. Or as close to attention as two thieves knew how to stand. He smiled warmly at them.

"Earl James has told me about you two. I am honored to have people with your dedication and abilities in my service," The King said. "Given the nature of your service, I granted his request that we hold this little ceremony in private. Hardly a ceremony, really, and for that I am grateful. Too many damned ceremonies, running a kingdom. Hard to get anything accomplished."

I fought off the urge to smirk as the king rambled for a moment. I had no doubts that life as a king was not perfect, but given the other vocations I had seen, it certainly had its perks.

"Sire," James said once the King had stopped his rhetoric. "They are undecided, but may be wishing to leave service of the crown. Their tenure has been most honorable, in spite of their youth, and if they decide to leave, they have my blessings."

The King nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Pity that, it is hard to find good help. But given James' praise, should you choose to leave, I wish you nothing but the best of times in life."

He motioned to the page behind him to summon him. The young man came forward and held out a sword to him. The king took the sword from him and turned back around. "Brina, We present this sword to you to replace that which you lost in the sewers. It is Our privilege to honor you for your service to all of Elendar. You have Our thanks and earnest hope that you continue your service to the Crown."

Blushing furiously, Brina hesitantly took the shortsword from King Avercrombie, then tried to curtsy, a procedure she had glimpsed a few times in the palace. She did a halfway decent job, I had to admit, especially for someone who had never seen the maneuver prior to a few days past.

She stepped back from a smiling King, all the more embarrassed for it. The king then took the other item the page held out for him. It was a dagger. Finely made, I figured it would be useless in practicality, though I could probably sell it for a decent amount. I took it from him and curtsied myself, though my training allowed me to perform the unbalancing move with grace.

"Well, the royal patrons of Elendar await their King, I must return to them, I suppose. James, should they decide to go their own ways, see to it that they receive an extra months pay as thanks from the Crown."

"Yes, My Lord," James said dutifully. He bowed and Brina and I curtsied again before following James back out.

In the palace halls James stopped and turned to us. "Well ladies, I leave things to your discretion. You may stay here as long as you feel welcome, and my offer stands as well. Should you decide to leave, then I shall make good upon the King's offer. You will receive 200 gold, a months worth of wages."

He turned then and left us alone. I was stunned. That was a lot of money for a months worth of work. Far more then I made working for the Ornithrym. For that matter, it was more then I would make in a year in the Ornithrym. Well, more then what they would pay me. Plunder along the way served to pad my income quite nicely back then, and I was certain it worked similarly here.

Brina looked at me, near to tears. I smiled at her and headed back towards our rooms. She followed me, saying nothing when I began to limp. Finally we reached my room and filed into it. I sat down heavily in a chair and took the dagger the King had given me out to examine it.

It was very finely crafted, there was no doubt about that. The crossguard had a design carved into it of unknown origin, but set within the center was a sizeable sapphire, worth a kings fortune by itself, I wagered. The warp around the hilt was made of a fine leather as well. What impressed me the most about it was the blade though. Always a woman of practicality, I started with the blade and ended with it. It was forged of the same special metal that the orcs brooches had been made of, mithril. Though in the case of the dagger, it was a much finer job. The edge was what impressed me the most, for my initial doubt of it's usefulness caused my thumb to receive a cut. I viewed the dagger with more respect after that!

Brina cried out as she saw the blood well up on my thumb. She knelt down beside me and grabbed up my hand, handling it gently and sucking it into her mouth to try and stop the bleeding or something. I was not really sure, other then I knew she had done it out of concern for me. Misplaced concern, perhaps, I was not sure anymore now that I had recovered from my debilitating injuries.

She looked up at me then, anguish in her eyes. Something sparked in me, some of it good and some of it not. Yet again I was surprised at my own dualities. A part of me felt disgusted by the depth of her need, and another part of me cried out at me to give in to it. I pulled my thumb out of her mouth and noticed that some of my blood had fell on her lips. I leaned over towards her and she leaned up at me, as though drawn together by a loadstone. We kissed then, and I could taste the coppery taste of my blood on her tongue and lips.

The kiss was fevered and passionate. I felt something explode within me, my frustrations and rages vented and gave me a fierce energy. I stood up, breaking the kiss, and pulled her with me towards the bed. We fell on to it, my wounds forgotten altogether. Our clothes were quickly strewn about the bed and the floor so that we could more properly get at one another's body.

Wherever my mouth touched her body I left marks, nipping at her skin, whether it was her lips, her throat, her breasts and nipples, or even further down her sexy body, along the soft folds concealing her pussy. I was rough, my fingers rubbing against her and driving into her with a fevered passion. In no time, Brina shuddered against me, taken quickly over the edge of orgasm by my animalistic tongue thrusting into her with more force then it should have been able to. It was the first of many for her.

After I had sated my almost dangerous desire to inflict pleasure to the point of pain on her, I crawled up her body, feeling my rock hard nipples brushing over her darkly tanned skin. I settled finally over her face, my knees locked against the sides of her head. I settled myself down on her, using the oak headboard of the bed to hang on to with one hand. My other hand reached down and spread myself open for her tongue, which she tentatively stuck out and sampled me with. Brina had tasted sweet and young and pure, while I suspected that I had a bit of a tangier taste to myself. I was very flexible, but not nearly flexible enough to taste myself, yet from my experiences over the years with men and woman, I had gotten a taste now and then. Be it from a still wet finger or other, more masculine digit, or perhaps on a tongue or lips.

On Acathia, when we had made love it had been a gentler session of soft kisses and probing fingers, now I introduced her to the full passions of a lesbian encounter. Her tongue fluttered over my clit, learning as she went along. I rode her face hard, I admit, far harder then I should have for her first time in this type of encounter. But I needed the release and I was still full of angry energy. I growled and groaned as her inexperienced but enthusiastic tongue worked me over, but still it was not enough.

I reached down with the hand I had used to keep my balance and grabbed one of her hands away from my breast. I had not even consciously realized that she had the presence of thought to reach up and try to help me along by twisting and fondling my nipples with each of her hands. I pulled her hand down and led it towards my pussy from behind my, since my thighs were already above her shoulders.

I let a deep and throaty growl out of my throat when her fingers brushed against my pussy. She interpreted my lust induced sounds correctly, and quickly jammed two of her fingers inside of me as deeply as she felt she could safely. It was not enough for me. I wanted more, and I wanted it to push me over the edge. I wanted it to hurt. I groaned again and grabbed her wrist beneath my, trying to show her through action what I wanted.

To Brina's credit, although relatively inexperienced at treating another woman to carnal pleasures, she learned quickly. I actually heard myself purr deeply when she forced a third finger within me and drove them in with more force then before. Again and again she thrust herself into me, each thrust harder. I began to raise my hips up and smash them down on her, reveling in the force of the blow and the pressure it built up within me.

Finally, I came down and knew I was almost there. She had all but given up trying to suck and lick my clit because of my erratic motions, but that was now what I knew I needed. I ground my pussy against her face, rubbing my clit over her lips and up to her nose while her fingers writhed and thrust within me. I stiffened as I finally mastered the waves of pleasure within me, feeling my orgasm build to nearly painful proportions. I blacked out for a few seconds then, and when I regained full consciousness I realized I was laying on my back and side and my legs were bent painfully under me.

Brina crawled out from under me and cuddled up on top of me, helping me reposition my legs. She embraced me in a loving gesture that I was too tired to properly respond to. I just lay there, reveling in the after-shocks of my orgasm that washed over me, making my limbs jerk and my pussy clench and unclench. Brina placed small kisses on my neck, shoulders, face, lips, and anywhere else she could reach. Finally I reached up and placed my hand on her back to comfort her. My lustful rage was spent, my frustrations having been drained out of me by the encounter.

"That was so much better then before," Brina finally said, breaking the thought provoking silence we had endured for many long moments. "I thought it was incredible before when we did it, but it was nothing compared to feeling your.... To when you..."

She trailed off, embarrassed to finish her sentence. I chuckled softly. "Aye, it is a world of difference the feeling of a finger versus a tongue."

She nodded and smiled, her face red from embarrassment and the flush of sex. "Is it always so rough between women?" She asked, drawing another chuckle from me.

"No, Brina, that was something between us. It's not always like that, in fact, it's probably not usually like that. We had a lot of emotions built up within us that needed to be worked out, and I think, at least for me, that I got some of them out," I told her, talking to let myself hear my thoughts as much as for her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, a touch of worry slipping back into her voice.

"I'm a strange person, Brina," I admitted, trying to wrestle with my feelings on the subject. "And you're a danger to me... or at least my way of doing things and viewing myself."

The worry and anxiety were plain to see on her face. The girl could be devious and dangerous when the time arose, but I could see she was still young and had a long ways to go before reaching the level I had attained. A part of me hoped she would never reach my level - for her own good.

"All my life, Brina, I have cared for no one but myself. I learned at a young age that caring for others was a disadvantage. A weakness." I paused to check her reaction, she nodded in understanding to me, but I thought I saw the beginning of a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "When I first met you, I thought you a younger version of me. Different in training and history, but similar in spirit. I still think that, I guess, but not in the same way. I think that you possess a great potential to turn into a very powerful and dangerous woman, both physically and in all other ways. But realizing that potential would perhaps ruin you, as it has done for me."

Brina shook her head, denying what I had said. Still no tears fell, but they were definitely threatening to grow in her eyes. "I won't let you leave me," she said, determined to keep what she felt the inevitable outcome of our talk would be.

"I have no intention of leaving you, you beautiful thing," I said, surprised by the words even as I said them. "I just need you to know how I am and what I am capable of. Your infatuation with me has clearly gone from a simple crush and hero worship to a full fledged love, or at least what you consider it to be."

Brina nodded, the first tear spilling down her cheek. I reached over and wiped it off her cheek with my finger.

"I left the path of innocence at an age far younger then you are now, and you still have some within you. I have killed innocents, old and young alike. It is true that I took no pleasure in it, but neither did it upset me. It was merely a matter of business. Can you know that you are helping to poison an entire village and feel no remorse over it, Brina?"

The question was rhetorical, but she opened her mouth to answer it anyway. Then she closed it and thought more carefully. Finally she nodded and said, "I think if I had to do it, I could. But you are right, I would try to avoid it if they did not deserve it or at the very least, I would regret it greatly."

"Keep that conscious about you, Brina," I said more quietly. "I am no agent of this Dark One James speaks of, but under different circumstances I could easily be one."

Brina snorted. "Under different circumstances I could be the Dragon!"

I chuckled at her words, knowing that she was true but also because I suspected she was in for a shock. "Speaking of which, this world is very similar to the one I came from first, and if it shares as much as I think, then you need to know that there is not one dragon to fear, but many."

Her mouth fell open at that, our other discussion temporarily forgotten. "Many dragons?"

"Different colors, different powers, different ethical viewpoints," I said, enjoying the look of wonder on her face. "I've never seen one myself, but I've heard more then enough tales."

She shook her head a bit to clear it. "Well, if you've never seen one and you've done all the adventuring that you have done, then I will worry about it when I have to, and not before then."

I smiled. It was a good idea, I had to admit. Very practical girl, Brina. But then again, she was used to worrying about where the next skin of water would be found, not whether she later on she would run across something that could destroy her with so little effort as a human stepping on a bug.

"So anyhow," I brought us back around to our original topic, "I'm trying to teach myself some new things, and you are helping me learn. I know you like the idea of this Kingdom of Elendar, and you appreciate the offer James has extended us. I am hesitant from my own past. I will join it with you, but under the understanding that we watch our own backs and each others. King Avercrombie may be a good and kind man, but remember that he is not the only man, there are many others and many of those are more concerned with their own petty concerns then the greater spirit of Elendar."

"James seems a unique man, genuinely concerned with the welfare of Elendar. I think we are safe with him, but keep in mind that with people whose beliefs are so strong in something as his or King Avercrombie's, another danger exists. This danger is for the little people, like you and I. The good of the many outweighing the good of the few. Politics often will cause noble men to make sacrifices they might not otherwise make."

Brina nodded, listening to me closely because to her mind, I had never lead her wrong. Indeed, I had not, and by warning her of this, I might be saving her life down the road, though she could not understand what it was I was saying to her without experiencing the betrayal of a leader to further their own ends. The ends being good or evil did not seem to matter, it was the common people along the way that suffered the worst. I was determined to never be one of those common people again.

"Now enough of this talk, let us concern ourselves with James and Elendar and our new jobs tomorrow, for now we have more pressing concerns," I said to her, smiling mischievously.

"What concerns?" Brina asked, her own expression brightening to see that I was not trying to separate the two of us. Her further words were muffled by my lips as they descended lightly upon her, seeking an equally passionate but less forceful embrace.

"Concerns such as teaching you how to properly make love to a woman," I said when I broke the kiss.

"I do love you, you were right," Brina admitted, another tear threatening to spill, though this one a good tear.

I nodded, "I know I was, Brina. You'll have to bear with me, it will be a long time before I can let myself go that far, though I do grow increasingly annoyed at myself for being concerned more and more about you." I smiled warmly at the last, letting her know I had good intentions for her. She nodded and fell into each others arms again, exploring one another's bodies in a more intimate and gentle fashion.

Unknown to Brina and I, James shook his head and slipped quietly away from where he had silently watched us. I would later discover the spyholes myself in the ceiling where he had listened to Brina and I and watched our frenzied initial lovemaking. Once James had moved far enough away from my room to feel safe, he adjusted the hardness in his pants and cursed us under his breath. The curse was good natured, at least. He set off again, slipping out of the secret passages that catacombed the palace and heading towards his office. After a moment of thought, he changed his mind and headed out of the palace, intent upon finding a whore to help him with the problem we had inadvertently given him.

Continued in Chapter 12

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