by Randi Darren
“If you’re upset with this, we could always go speak with the emperor,” Alex offered. “After I claim my prize, of course.”
Saoirse was as white as parchment, having marched over to stand beside Alex.
She looked panicked, shocked, and nervous. Though she was holding up well. She had all the determination and presence one would expect of a princess.
Turning to the lovely woman, Alex sighed and gave her a small smile.
“Have you decided?” he asked in a soft voice. “I personally would recommend the table and on your back, but… that’d mean staring up at me.”
Saoirse took in a sharp breath, then let it out slowly.
“Yes, that’d be…acceptable,” she said with a sigh. Looking down at the ground, the princess seemed at a loss for words. “I did not think this would be how I was wed.”
Alex only nodded his head to that. He couldn’t imagine her position, though it was one she’d chosen.
“You won’t be unkind to me, will you?” Saoirse asked, looking up at Alex now. “If you can promise to be kind to me, I can promise the same to you.”
Smirking at that, Alex let out a slow breath.
“Yeah, I can promise to be kind. You didn’t have my family harmed, you’re just… a means to an end,” Alex said, feeling slightly guilty about the whole thing. At least in regards to Saoirse. “With that said… I’ll bed you here and then send you back home. Away from here, if you like. There’s no need for you to be present. It would only endanger you. My first wife, Anna, will be able to help you adjust and acclimate.”
“Thank you,” Saoirse said. “Ah… could you lift me up to the table? It… would be unseemly for me to do it myself.”
Setting his hands Saoirse’s waist, Alex lifted the woman up and set her down on the table.
“Thank you,” said the princess, patting his wrists. Reaching down, she gathered up her dress in her hands. “I don’t have to pull it all the way up and expose myself to them, do I?”
“No. Just… high enough that I can consummate our marriage,” Alex said. “Your knees, maybe? Here, pull it up for me.”
Grimacing, Saoirse pulled up her dress. Exposing her long, pale, lovely legs to Alex. Along with her underwear.
Reaching into the dress, Alex hooked his fingers into the undergarment and dragged it free. Rather than set it aside, though, he stuffed it in a pocket.
“Thank you,” Saoirse said, watching him as he did it. “Is this high enough?”
Moving up between her legs, Alex unbuckled his belt, and then dropped his trousers down to his ankles.
Pulling his tip up, he pressed himself to the lips of her entry and gave her an experimental push. “I think it’ll be fine.”
Saoirse sighed and laid her head down against the table, out on her back, watching Alex. “Then claim me as your wife, husband.”
Thankfully, Alex seemed up, ready, and able to perform. He’d briefly worried about it and what he’d do at that point if he couldn’t.
“Oh, you’re all set. I thought I might help you out, baby, but you don’t need me,” Rebekah said, standing next to him. Then she looked at Saoirse. “Would you like me to hold your dress up, Miss Brit?”
Saoirse’s eyes flicked to Rebekah and back to Alex. “No. Thank you, however.”
Rebekah nodded her head shortly, then kissed Alex’s cheek before walking away.
Reaching down with his left hand, Alex pushed his tip into Saoirse, not wanting to harm her. He set his right hand to Saoirse’s hip and held onto her.
Slowly, his member sank into the princess. Inch by inch vanished into her. It required a little bit of force due to how tight she was and that she didn’t feel very wet.
Once he’d reached his hilt, Alex adjusted his stance and leaned over the princess slightly.
When he looked at the woman, he found she was watching him. Her cheeks had a slight pink tinge to them, and her lips were a flat line.
“Are you ready?” Alex asked her.
Saoirse’s brow furrowed, and then she nodded. “Yes. I’m ready. Thank you for asking.”
Taking a hold of each side of Saoirse’s hips, Alex began to draw away from her. There was a wet swish as he did so, her privates clinging to him due to her tightness.
Slowly, Alex worked himself through the princess, pushing into her and then pulling back out.
After about twenty seconds, it felt considerably easier and far wetter. Looking up at the princess’s face, he could see her eyes were partially lidded now. Her cheeks were red, and she was watching him.
It was obvious to him that she was actually enjoying it on some level.
Alex pumped into her, riding the princess into the table as his hands held tight to her hips.
He could hear the ever-so-light squeak of a moan from her on occasion when he filled her, his hilt flush to her entry.
Saoirse’s hands began to tremble, her fingers tight on her dress. Suddenly, she let go of the fabric and grabbed Alex’s forearms.
The fabric fluttered down to pile around her hips and thighs. Revealing far more of herself than she had initially wanted. Her knees were bent and spread wide for him, visible for all to see.
Her fingers flexed against his skin, and he could feel her firm grip on him as he rode her.
Her knees dipped slightly, her slippered ankles resting on his hips, and then she began pulling at him ever so slightly with them.
Rising quickly to his peak, Alex was glad this would be over soon.
He was equally glad that Saoirse seemed to be willing, and that this wasn’t a complete repeat of his first time with Mary. The princess even seemed to be enjoying it.
Reaching his climax, Alex pushed up into her and came. With an exhalation, he ground down onto her, putting his seed deep inside her.
Alex pulled back slightly and then pushed forward again, and again. After six or seven of such thrusts, he was spent.
Reaching down, he set a hand behind Saoirse’s head, lifted her up, and kissed her, even while he was inside her.
Surprised, the princess lay against Alex’s arms as he kissed her, his manhood buried in her depths.
Several seconds passed before Alex broke the kiss and pulled out of her.
“Here, Master,” Riley said, setting something in his hand. “To clean up Miss Brit and yourself.”
Glancing down, he saw it was a handkerchief.
Holding on to Saoirse, Alex began to lightly dab at the seed spilling out of her. Then he wiped himself down and set it to one side.
“There—are you done?!” shouted the king. “Take the harlot and get the fuck out of my sight. I’ll have you killed if I ever see you again! Either of you! All of you!”
By the end of his statement, it sounded more like incomprehensible screeching than yelling.
Saoirse winced, closing her eyes and looking to one side.
“Come along, Miss Brit,” Carla said, coming up beside Saoirse.
“We gotcha,” Nannie said, taking the other side.
Awfully kind of them. I wonder why that is.
Do they identify with her?
She just ended up in a position almost worse than a Numbered.
Maybe they pity her.
Alex and his group left the red-faced, angry, and rage-bent king to himself.
Everything had just changed.
Gaelis is dead, Glint is invading, I just… stole his daughter, and Regina is going to be under siege.
What’s our next move?
Alex thought on that and nodded his head once.
Reports.
Need to know what we’re facing first; then we can act and decide.
But I’m betting we’re outnumbered… which means we need to flee and not directly engage.
Chapter 27
“…at least double the army,” Dave said, shaking his head. “And when I say army, I mean including the duchess’s forces and our own.”
“Alright. In other words… there’s really no way to hit h
im directly without just getting flanked from both sides,” Alex said. “And that’s if we somehow get linked up with Regina’s people.”
“Right,” Dave said. “On top of that, this… this wasn’t a whim. It was a prepared invasion. From everything we’ve seen, the scouts we intercepted and interrogated, even just the look of their troops.
“Everything was set up in advance for them to make this move. To invade. Their gear is perfect and new. Their rations are well prepared, and their supply line is guarded utilizing paved roads.
“They have a perfect invasion going for them. If I had to guess, the only reason they attacked when they did was because of how bad we’d crushed Gaelis. He wanted to be the one to kill the duke to claim his lands.”
Alex shook his head and pressed a hand to his temple.
It was almost too much to take in.
He’d suspected that Gaelis had someone assisting him, but he hadn’t thought of a separate kingdom.
In killing the duke, the king had given himself a way to deny any involvement whatsoever and just move straight into an invasion.
The man had neatly tied up his loose ends and simply run roughshod over the whole thing.
Duchess Gaelis was just a throwaway excuse to get the invasion going. Alex had no doubt the whole thing would shift from that cause to something else entirely.
He was extremely confident in that, because it was exactly what he’d do.
“Wife,” Alex said, turning to look at Saoirse. “Is all that true?”
The princess, still dressed as she’d been when he’d taken her, was seated at his work table.
For someone who’d just had her very life ripped away, her father try to disown her, been pushed into a marriage, and her virginity taken on a table, she seemed to be holding up beyond what any expectation could be.
“Yes,” Saoirse said, her hands folded in her lap. Around her were Rebekah, Riley, and Quinn. Saoirse’s eyes came up to meet Alex’s. “Everything is exactly as your general said. Father has been preparing for this since last year. He invested considerably in both the duke and the duchess of Gaelis.
“He’ll have to spend a few days to figure out how to proceed since he wasn’t quite ready to attack, but that won’t last.”
Alex nodded, looking off to one side. He had a lot of thinking to do.
“Alright. Orders remain the same. Anyone who can’t move quickly needs to go down to Twil and settle in for camp defenses and trenches. I want ballistae, wooden spikes, and pits for a no-man’s-land,” Alex said, to which Dave nodded quickly. Alex then turned to Quinn. “You and your cavalry are going to be the ugly thorn in his side. I want you to show me why the empire never bothered the Wilds, my wild empress.”
Quinn lifted her head up from beside Saoirse. The tiny Wilds woman had been talking to the newest Brit wife quietly.
“Of course, husband,” Quinn said with a wolfish smile. “I’ll show you that you were only able to do what you did because you stole my heart away.”
Alex nodded at that and then went deeper into his command tent. There was a small bedroom partition where his bedroll was laid out.
He was feeling incredibly lost, directionless, and empty.
Sitting down on a camp stool, Alex put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.
He’d been expecting to feel good after taking revenge. That it would help alleviate the sick feeling he had in his heart about what had happened to Alanna and Mary.
But it didn’t.
If anything, he felt guilty for more or less ruining Saoirse’s life. Because when he thought about it, that was what had happened.
Admittedly, she chose this fate. They could have easily gone to the emperor with me.
Very easily.
And given the circumstances, it’s quite likely he’d have seen us quickly and ruled in my favor within a day.
On top of that… there’s no guarantee the emperor would have even imprisoned Glint.
All in all, I think I personally would have chosen differently.
Still… I do feel guilty.
“Stop it.”
Blinking, Alex looked up from the point on the ground he’d been staring at.
“Stop thinking about it, baby,” Rebekah said, coming in and standing in front of him. “You tried to get them tied up, and to strike back at them for what they did. What you did was right. The king just lost a lot of respect, rumors will circulate about what he did, and the fact that the princess is now your wife will add to that.”
Rebekah carefully wrapped her arms around Alex’s head and drew it into her shoulder.
“I kinda wrecked her life for something her father did,” Alex said.
“You did. But truth be told, given the fact that her father would have probably married her off to a man three times her age as a political favor, you might have done her a favor in the long run. She was a vessel, a womb for her father to barter away. Little more and probably little else,” Rebekah said, her fingers sliding through his hair.
Alex frowned, thinking on her words.
He couldn’t argue with what she’d said. For all intents and purposes, she was more than likely right. From what he could tell of Glint, his views of others were even more mercenary than Alex’s.
At least I view those who are close to me as people, part of the tribe. I think Glint probably views anyone who isn’t him as an asset.
“Just treat her well, baby,” Rebekah said, laying her cheek down atop his head. “That’ll be proof alone that you didn’t set out to wreck her life. That even though she suffered in the exchange today, that’ll be the extent of it.
“No one could say anything after that.”
Lifting his head up with her hands, Rebekah kissed him soundly, then brought his face right back into her chest.
“Now, talk to me about your thoughts. You seem to do best when you have a sounding board to work through things with,” Rebekah said. “You usually disguise it as teaching, when all you’re really doing is letting your thoughts solidify into words.”
Alex snickered at that, laying his hands on Rebekah’s hips.
“And before you complain about it… of course I know you. Of course I’ve figured you out,” Rebekah said, nuzzling her cheek against the crown of his head. “Just as you’ve spent all that effort to figure me out. Is it so surprising I would want to do the same? I’m rather intelligent, you know. Maybe not in the same way as Three or Four, but I’m my own kind of bright.”
“You’re right,” Alex said. He’d actually been about to complain about her knowing him too well. “You’re right, Seven. And I love you.
“As for what you asked… I fear that I cannot win this war. At least not conventionally.”
“No? But you’ve done so well,” Rebekah murmured. “You have an amazing mind for strategy and tactics. You can’t make this one work?”
“Not… really,” Alex said. “The best I could do is prolong it. Make it awful for them and drag it out. It isn’t something that I can win without a massive amount of luck. And even then… there’s no guarantee.
“His soldiers are trained, armed, armored, and ready. They’re all fresh.”
“Mmhmm,” Rebekah murmured, holding and stroking him.
“Ours are blooded, trained, armed, armored, and very tired. Most of these soldiers have seen nothing but war for the last… year and a half? Give or take? They’re tired. Run down,” Alex said. “It’s an even fight at best in a one-on-one situation, but they’ve got twice our numbers.”
“I can see your point. But you’ve dealt with things like this before and come out on top,” Rebekah said.
“Yes, where I was the leader and could dictate my troop dispositions,” Alex said. “Regina has her own forces. Vassals leading troops and even their own vassals. They won’t listen to me, even if Regina tells them to.
“Now take that and apply it to King Harold. When he shows up, he’ll want to take charge.”
“Oh, I think I begin to see your
point,” Rebekah said. “You’re afraid that it’s far more likely that Harold will be like Regina’s father and squander everything.”
“Yeah… it’s what I’m afraid of. So… I’m on a time limit,” Alex said. “I have to somehow get this settled up before the king arrives and screws us all over, or before Glint can just… run it down our middle and carve us off from reinforcements or supplies.”
“Yes… that makes sense,” Rebekah said. “How are you going to do that, then? You always have a plan, baby.”
“I… don’t know. I have some basic ideas, but nothing solidified into a plan,” Alex said. “I think the first step is… is to abandon the army. Turn it over to Dave, Dan, and Quinn, then head out to Glint’s capital city.
“I can’t attack him or his army head on. The best we can do is skirmish and run away before our losses mount up. Which I know for a fact my generals can handle without me.
“And while they’re doing that, I can work on Glint’s support and backing. To undermine and draw it right out from under him.”
“Like what you did to Gaelis, but instead of vassals, his realm itself,” Rebekah said.
“I guess, yeah,” Alex said. “I mean… I could probably hit their economy, their food, and their weapon supplies easily enough.
“Tie it all up and knock it down so Glint doesn’t have any of it. If I can make it big enough, I could probably collapse his infrastructure. Might force him to turn around or risk losing everything.”
“I like that,” Rebekah said. “Just like what you did to all us Numbered. Knock out our support and send us careening into the dark.
“Though you’re not going to build him back up when you’re done. Pity for them, I feel like I’m the best version of myself I’ve ever been. I even know who and what I am for once.”
Alex chuckled at her words. He didn’t quite view it like that, but he was glad she was happy with herself.
“Argue against the war, make the populace vote against it, rile up the citizenry, and then really punch ’em hard,” Alex said. “Make them all wish the king had never invaded.
“Maybe set fire to some things,” Alex said. “Given the right conditions, silos go up nicely. Explosively.”
