by Rue Volley
I pushed back and Stefan cried out as he lost his footing and fell to his back. He scowled at me. He was not gentle like his sister, his eyes were darker, his tone and attitude the opposite of her own. He was being groomed to lead, not follow in any way, and it concerned me as I reached down to him and he slapped my hand away and stood up on his own. He was arrogant and I did not know if he would eventually become a problem for Vlad. If he did, I would be there to stand between them as I always had been for Vlad. I am his Dragon, and always will be.
Stefan stood up and looked me over. “You are the warrior Dorin? The Red Dragon?” I laughed and switched my sword to the other hand.
“Some call me this, most call me death.”
He grinned as his stance stiffened and I knew he would be fall easily. I thrust forward as he turned and I hit him in the back, he stumbled forward and onto his knees. His sword slid across the floor and a foot stopped it dead. Stefan looked up as Vlad stood there grinning down on him.
“I see you have met Dorin, he is a formidable foe.”
Stefan pushed himself up and glanced back at me and then at Vlad. “My father says you have peasants fight at your side, including your Dragon. Our guard only consists of royalty, as it should be. You cannot trust lower breeding.”
I heard his words and had to laugh. He turned and walked towards me. He lifted a hand and shook his head, “No one laughs at me, peasant.”
Stefan stopped dead as Vlad was now behind him, one arm around him and his own sword to his throat. He swallowed hard, his eyes wide, and I would bet he was pissing his pants. Vlad winked at me and then spoke to him.
“Now listen, little one. I will soon be your brother and Dorin, well…seeing that I value him as family, he will be your brother, too. So why don’t you practice by saying, 'Hello my brother, I am grateful for your service to King and country'.”
Stefan said nothing so Vlad tightened his grip and his sword closed in until the boy could feel the cold steel against his throat. He then stammered and repeated the words and Vlad smiled at me. He let him go as he stumbled forward and turned to look at Vlad with hatred in his eyes, but he said nothing, knowing better.
“See…humility is not so hard to obtain,” Vlad said as Stefan looked at me and ran from the hall. I laughed as Vlad stood there and looked at Stefan’s sword. He turned it and saw his own reflection in it. He lowered it and looked at me, his expression one of trust and admiration.
“He will hate me,” Vlad said as I nodded to him.
“I think we should be wary of him.”
Vlad smiled and dropped his sword to the stone floor beneath us. He looked down on the metal and shook his head. “His kingdom is made up of weakness, his father likes to appear as if he is a war lord, but he is not. He knows that if he had not sent Illona to bind us, then I would have overtaken him and ruled his lands as I could any other. The only thing I admire about him is his ability to produce a queen to sit at my side. Someone worthy of Castle Bran and her legacy. With Illona, I will secure this kingdom and its future.”
I stepped forward as his words bothered me, “Future?”
“Illona is with child. Before we left for battle, I laid with her and now she will bear me an heir to Bran, a future king.”
“Or queen,” I said as he looked into my eyes and laughed. “I would not be opposed to a queen if they held themselves as Illona does. She is much stronger than you could imagine. Her resolve is not with a sword, but with her words.”
I nodded to him as the thought of her carrying his seed enraged me. It was just another reminder of what I could not do for him.
“So, is this why you have sped up the wedding?” I asked him and he walked past me. He turned back and grinned at me, “I would marry her with or without my child. She is the sun and the moon…the stars for me. I love her, Dorin, I loved her from the moment I laid my eyes upon her and to have her is to have everything.”
I watched him turn and leave me there in the cold hall. My armor suddenly feeling heavier than it ever had before and my heart shattering into a million pieces. God had truly abandoned me and I made a decision right there to return the favor to him tenfold.
Chapter Four
Silent Enemy
I dreamed of blood and battle that night. My skin shimmering from sweat and my heartbeat thumping inside of my chest. I clutched at my bedding, ripping sheets around and thrashing my legs. I was in an epic battle, one I felt as if I could not win and just as I lifted my blade to stab it into the heart of the enemy, below me, the form changed into Illona. I hesitated and then stabbed my sword downward, through her chest and cutting into her heart. In my dream, I felt no shame until the act was done. I stumbled back as she held a trembling hand toward me, her mouth open, a small amount of blood trickling from the edge of it. I cried out as I fell to my knees and stared up at the blackened sky. I could see winged angels behind the clouds as the lightning lit them up, section by section above me. I then looked up and saw her standing. Blood oozing from her chest and my sword in her hand. She walked towards me and I held my arms out, closing my eyes as she swung the sword to cut off my head…exacting her revenge upon me…a revenge she so deserved to receive. I sat straight up in my bed, crying out as my head detached from my shoulders in the dream. The last bit of vision, that of her looking down upon me and Vlad stepping up to her side, touching her stomach and then kissing her lips.
“My Lord?”
I turned quickly in my bed to see Illona standing there in her white nightgown. It was see-through and I could make out her erect nipples as she stepped up and allowed the bit of light from the moon to show me more of her frame. I narrowed my eyes and looked her over.
“Illona, why are you here?”
She stepped up to the side of my bed and then slid into it. I stared at her, completely confused, as she touched my face and then leaned in, allowing her lips to press against my own. I closed my eyes as she reached under the sheet and started to stroke me. I reached down to try to stop her, but she would not. Her grip was firm. I pulled my lips from hers as she stared into my eyes.
“I…we cannot do this.” She slowed her hand and I hissed as I was starting to become erect. No one as surprised as I was. For some reason, she excited me, no other woman did, I had tried, many times before and the few that I did fuck and actually climax with had been in their asses, always. My thoughts consumed with Vlad. Illona stopped her hand and then started to crawl on top of me. She reached down and led my cock into her. It was warm and inviting, unlike I had allowed myself to enjoy before. I think that perhaps my excitement for her was in knowing Vlad had her. That he had indeed come inside of her.
She leaned up and kissed my lips, slowly moving her hips in a circular motion as I reached down and touched her sides. The small moan rising in the back of my throat as her tongue slid in and played with my own. She was not shy and reserved about anything in bed. In fact, she was quite skilled. More so than any woman I had attempted to be with before. She sat straight up and shoved my cock up inside of her as far as it would go. Her head fell backward and she arched her back as I held onto her. I sat up and she thrust forward, again and again. I slid my hands under her ass and helped her fuck me harder. My cock aching inside of her and her pussy wetter than anything I had felt before. She clawed at my back, causing me to grit my teeth, the pain was actually pleasurable to me. I relished it as she leaned down and bit into my shoulder. Her bite hard and relentless and could have broken skin if she willed it.
I reached up and wound my hand into her long hair, twisting it and jerking her head back as I tilted my head sideways and ran my mouth down her exposed throat. Her skin so pale, so perfect…her scent sweet and lingering on my tongue. I flipped her over, pulling her legs up to my sides and thrust forward as she grinned. She bit into her bottom lip and held onto my sides as I thrust again and again, feeling a climax approaching. I tried to control my breathing but I could not, the lust I felt for her was uncontrollable and sudden. A burst of every fr
ustration I had been feeling. She reached down and grabbed my ass as I fucked her harder and harder. She arched her back as her chest shimmered with sweat and I tried to pull from her but just as I did, she wrapped her legs around me and forced me deeper inside of her. I shook my head as I tried to speak.
She placed her crimson lips to my ear and whispered to me.“Come inside of me, Dragon.”
I cried out and allowed the release. My cock hard as rock and my come exploding inside of her. A welcomed pleasure after years of doubt and denial. She rolled me over as I continued to come and ground her hips on top of me until my twitching cock slowed and the last bit of what I had to offer her was spilled. She fell on top of me, out of breath and grinning as I touched her hair, but just as I did, she rolled off of me and was gone as if she was never there. I fell back and looked up at my ceiling wondering if it had all been a dream.
***
I watched as Illona walked along side Vlad in the garden. She smiled, looking so young and innocent. She glanced back at me as I stood my post and watched. Stefan stepped up next to me and watched them too. He spoke as if he had been on this earth much longer than he had. Mature for age and sounding unhappy.
“So, brother, are you happy about their marriage?”
I blinked and looked down before I glanced at him. “It is not about happiness, it is about a binding treaty and peace.”
He grinned and lifted an apple to his lips, biting into it and the juice rolled down his chin. He let it drip onto the ground as he chewed. He swallowed and then pointed at them with the apple in hand.
“I want to tell you something about my sister.”
I watched as Vlad and Illona stopped and he touched her face. He leaned down and kissed her just as my eyes turned to Stefan. He watched me very closely.
“She can have any man she wants.”
I nodded to him, “Her beauty is unwavering.”
He shook his head, “Not as treacherous as her will.”
I paused and turned to him, “It is unkind to speak ill of your family.”
He looked me over and took another bite of his apple. He stopped chewing and then laughed at me, “Oh no, don’t tell me that she visited your cock too.”
I shook my head and my expression hardened, “Don’t.”
He grinned and swallowed his mouthful of fruit. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms on his chest.
“Our mother died when I was born. I never knew her, but I know of her…and Illona is just as she was, manipulating and out for power.”
“Who told you these things about your sister?” I asked him as he tossed the apple into the grass. I looked down at it as a bird swooped down and pecked at it.
“No one has to tell me anything, I know her and all I am saying is the next time she tries to crawl into your bed…kick her out. She is poison.”
He smiled as Illona spotted him and waved to him. She glanced at me, but did not wave. I felt a tinge of pain in my heart at the thought of him being right. If she was manipulating, then I would have to be careful and I had already made the biggest mistake that I could with her by allowing her to lay in my bed. I watched Stefan walk towards the two of them. Vlad looking happy, unlike I had ever seen him before, and Illona suddenly looking different to me, more of that of an enemy than a welcomed member of Castle Bran.
I heard Vlad’s voice and looked at him as he called out to me. “Come, Dorin, we are taking a swim.”
I nodded to him as I stepped forward. Illona intertwining one arm into Vlad’s and one into Stefan’s. He looked back at me and grinned. I sighed and followed along until we reached the lake flanking the castle. Private to only our king and I had not visited it since I was young. Vlad stopped as Illona started to undress and he grinned as he looked back at me and tilted his head. She dropped her clothing and stepped out of her dress. Her body perfect, her ass as round as it had been when she visited me in my bed only a couple of weeks earlier. I tried to ignore her, but it was hard. Stefan stepped into my view and started to undress, too, and I turned and ignored him as Vlad started to take off his clothing. He waved to me to come closer and so I did.
“Come in and enjoy,” he said to me as I glanced at Stefan, naked and running into the water. He splashed as he sunk under the water and then came up laughing. Illona had already swam out and was stationary as she watched the two of us. I looked behind him and she bobbed above the water and let me see her breasts. She touched them and sunk beneath the water as Vlad continued to undress before me. I looked at him and shook my head.
“My Lord, if we were to be attacked I could not protect you, any of you.”
He leaned in as he took his shirt off and exposed his chest, tight and firm, his abs rolling down his stomach and resting on a perfect V above his pant line. I glanced down and then quickly looked around us.
“No one will attack us, I am Vlad the Impaler, no enemy would dare infiltrate our homeland. To meet me, they have to step onto the battlefield. I bring death to their doorstep, they do not bring it to our own.”
I nodded to him as he started to take his pants off. He slid them down and stood up, his cock too hard to ignore, but I tried my best as I cleared my throat. He laughed and tapped me on the shoulder.
“I order you to enjoy this.”
I sighed and set my sword on the ground. I stood up as Vlad walked away from me and entered the water. His perfect ass slowly being consumed by the water beneath him. He suddenly sunk under the surface and came back up, shaking his head and his shaggy black hair swung out to the sides. Some of it stuck to his face and I stared for a second until he called out for me to hurry up, so I did.
I stripped as Illona watched me. I did not feel uncomfortable in the least, in fact, I felt as if I should remain calm. With what had happened, coupled with what her brother, Stefan, had said to me, I knew that I may be dealing with the worst of enemies. An enemy who had infiltrated more than the walls of Bran Castle, but that of Vlad’s heart. I would not allow her to break him. I would kill her before I would see that happen. I walked into the water and slowly sunk beneath the surface, letting the sounds disappear behind me.
Chapter Five
I Don’t
The days that followed were a mesh of organized and disorganized splendor. The hunters gathered as much game as they could for the upcoming feast. The seamstress and her loyal maidens worked diligently on Illona’s wedding dress. The guards stood at their post, we doubled every man on watch to be certain, as the entire castle was caught up in one thing…the union that would be.
Guest after guest arrived, many from distant lands, there to show their support and adoration for Vlad. Some loved him and some feared him, but as he always said, he did not care which…only that they knew he was their true king. With Vlad, it was not about the power¸ it was about loyalty. It was his undying need to rule as he only thought that he could. He was fair, brutal in war, but gentle in his kingdom. Because of this, the people of Romania truly adored him. They would die before they allowed anything to happen to him. As would I. I had bound myself to him forever and as I adjusted my red armor, I turned to see Illona at my open door. I turned and looked at her as she stood there in white. She grinned and stepped in as she looked around my room. She glanced at the bed and touched her stomach, a small bump beginning to show. I turned back and stared into the mirror as she approached me from behind. She had said but maybe ten words to me since the night she visited me in my bed.
“You look very handsome,” she said as I saw her small frame behind me. I turned and stood my ground as she looked me over.
“I never understood the pageantry of a warrior until I saw you and Vlad for the first time in full armor. You both truly embody it.”
I turned to face her. “I appreciate your kind words, but shouldn’t you be with your seamstress today? Getting your wedding dress fitted?”
She grinned as she touched her stomach again and then looked up at me. “I wanted to thank you.”
I tilted my head,
“For what?”
She walked to my bed and placed her hand on it. She lingered as I adjusted from one foot to the other. She glanced back at me, her expression not so unlike it had been that fateful night she came to seduce me.
“For not saying anything to him.”
I sighed and then walked towards her. I stopped as she climbed into my bed and lay on her stomach. She stared at me, her face soft and inviting, but her eyes filled with mischief.
“I would never do anything to hurt him and that was a mistake on my part, I apologize, my Lady.”
She rolled onto her back and tilted her head back as she placed her hands to her breasts and cupped them. I looked at my open door and back to her. She laughed.
“Are you nervous, Dorin?”
I cleared my throat and walked to my door. I stood there waiting for her to join me. I wanted nothing more than for her to leave immediately. She rolled over and placed her hands under her chin as she watched me.
“Do I not make you hard beneath that red armor?” I looked back at her and closed my door. I stepped towards the bed as she smiled at me. She looked me over.
“My Lady, I would ask that you leave and not return.”
