by A L Issett
“I was born for something like this” Katherine said as she stuck her nose in the air. “I am far too beautiful and talented not to have a strong handsome rich husband. My father is of course overjoyed and could believe his luck when the King himself summoned him to the palace to give the good news, even if the hour was very late or very early depending on how you tell time”.
Jon just sat and watched the two and thought whoever had to serve these two would hate their life. From the conversation, Jon gathered that the residence Geoff would be staying in had staff but had not had a regular master in quite some time. Katherine relished the way Geoff went about saying how he was going to whip any servant that wasn’t fast enough and planned on making the Manor as opulent as possible. Jon also learned his residence was still almost half a day’s ride from Geoff’s which made him wonder how big exactly was the land Geoff would be over? Geoff had other nobles living close to him as his reach spread out over 3 cities and numerous villages. Jon’s residence was also empty although from what he learned from Gwendolyn it had been empty for some time and the staff their literally received pay for doing nothing in particular except ensuring the slaves cleaned the place. The only time they had any type of company was when Joff would travel just to check on the Dukedom. The rest of the day went by easy enough, they stopped in towns for their meals and Geoff and Kate as he started calling her remarked on how drab the food the common people ate was. Jon enjoyed his and had nothing bad to say about it but even Gwendolyn lamented the taste, slipping back into the hateful bitch Jon knew. The evening found them staying at an inn in a city called Storey. The city in itself was nice enough and Jon could see Kate’s glee as people lined up to throw flowers at the twins carriage as they went through town. Geoff for his part leaned out the window and started waving and encouraged Kate to do the same proclaiming seeing someone as grand as they were was likely to be the highlight of these peasants’ lives. They all received separate rooms, this Jon was thankful as he changed into Drommul’s form and let his wings spread a little. Jon ordered 10 plates of food to be brought up to his room, heavy on the meat and invited his demons to join him. Although Jon tried to eat like a normal human, his body craved more food than what he was getting.
“Traxxus wants to know when are you going to bring him to this plane master” Alura said as she brandished her razor sharp teeth and bit into a steak. “He is tired of living in the cave and wants to live out here”.
“When you return tell Traxxus I will summon him when I find a sufficient place” Jon said as he tore into his food. Jon thought about how the demons thought he was really Drommul and how the healer Drommul supposedly posing as was dead. If they had known Drommul at all they would have known he was angry for inviting them up here to eat such fine food.
“Master” Flit said as he put down his food. “There has been a great battle between the insectoids and the Council, this one seems bigger than all the rest, I have felt the call of Queen Mantia for assistance”.
“Mantia and I hate each other” Jon replied. “You drones live a short time, slightly longer than humans, when I was the ruler me and Mantia fought often” Jon said as he dug through Drommul’s memories before the demon told him she might be a good ally. “Still I do not want you to help in any way that will endanger you, but I do want you to keep an eye on the situation. Alura I want you to travel to the frontlines of the war and tell me what you find there. Slit I want you to stay accessible and keep Traxxus company”.
Jon finished off his meals and let Alura out into the night sky from the window and watched as she flew towards the war. Jon had not recognized it, but since he was in Drommul’s body he had perfect awareness and it was like he could sense great violence taking place, perhaps that is how Alura knew too. Jon banished the rest of his demons and drifted off to sleep.
Morning came and went uneventfully, Kate was excited about the treatment she was receiving. From what Jon gathered she had been a noble complete with slaves, but it was not uncommon for lesser nobles to only keep one or two yet brag like they had 50 or more. Jon got to meet Timber, the beast growled at him despite what Gwendolyn wanted. It sensed his true nature, and was trying to establish dominance, when that failed the beast just stayed close to Gwen but allowed Jon to pet him behind the ear. When the carriage finally started up, Jon zoned out all the talk Geoff and Kate were doing, which consisted of how much better they were than everyone else. Geoff though had stated many times Kate would be nothing without him, a comment she agreed with as she continued to kiss his ass. It made Jon sick and as the second day ended they had finally reached their destination in the Manor of soon to be Duke Tinsley.
It took longer than Jon expected, he was under the impression that the trip would only take a day and a half, not two days. Even in the dark though the manor was impressive, slaves or servants, Jon couldn’t tell who was who yet were still up and scurrying around to make everything perfect. As Jon followed behind Geoff he let his senses out and could now instantly tell who the slaves were, Jon could sense scars on their backs and gently stared healing them as he walked by. He couldn’t heal them fully in such a short time without attracting notice but he made sure the felt no pain as their bodies were trying to heal. If Jon ran into them during his stay he would heal them fully. Jon walked into the manor and could see the floor was polished marble, scrubbing the floor as quick as possible was a small girl of perhaps ten trying to clean up what looked like blood.
“Get up girl and bow to the prince” a fat man said as he kicked the girl in her side making her fall over.
“Why is their blood on my floor Geoff said as he got into the fat man’s face.
“Your highness the slaves were not moving fast enough to prepare for your arrival and some of them have to be disciplined” the fat man said with his face full of fear. “I used the whip on em and they bleed more than I thought”.
“Are their anymore to be whipped?” Geoff asked in a tone that made Jon sick.
“There is one Your Highness but when I saw you coming I stopped and tried to have this blood cleaned up for you” the fat man replied.
“Nonsense” Geoff said with a hint of excitement. “This slave will be whipped tonight, this slave girl can clean up whatever blood is about. Where is this slave and what did they do?”
“She refused the invitation to warm your guard captain’s bed Your Highness” the fat man replied. “She isn’t married or anything or even seeing someone. When she was brought before me I gave her a second chance and told her she would be whipped good for interfering with the morale of your troops. She said she would rather be whipped so I tied her to that column and gave her two lashes, she should get ten but I heard you were here already so I moved her out of sight”.
“Well bring her back” Geoff said with a laugh. “I don’t think your soon to be duchess has ever whipped a slave before. We will see to it that she gets her lashes, I bet she won’t ever refuse him again, at least not without good reason”.
“Isn’t the Guard Captain 60 summers old and fat like yourself?” Gwendolyn replied. “I couldn’t see myself laying under a fat piece of filth like you or him either”.
“Yes well you run your house your way and I’ll run mine my way” Geoff replied. “Now bring out this girl, I don’t have all day and give your Duchess instruction for the best way to make her back squirt blood”.
Jon watched in horror as a girl no older than he was, was brought out and tied to a pillar naked, her back plainly showing two horrific injuries as a result of the lash. The fat man dipped his whip in water and explained it helped slicing open flesh and had Kate take a few practice swings. When Kate finally made the whip crack she was beyond excited, repeating the action twice more as the girl started crying saying she would do whatever they wanted. Kate leaned into her ear and loudly said she already knew she would, that she would sleep with the Guard captain and the fat man and if she didn’t show them a good time she would be tied up again tomorrow night. The fat man grinned
at this as Kate swung the whip and tore into the woman’s back. The woman screamed as Jon made her lose consciousness as blood squirted everywhere.
“Sometimes they do that Your Grace” the fat man said as Jon could see Kate reveled in her soon to be title. “They pass out from the pain, no use in waking them, they are hard to get up”.
“Well untie this girl and make sure whoever the guard captain is has his fun, after you have had your turn first of course” Kate said as Geoff laughed in the background, stroking his viper that must have slipped in.
Jon felt sorry for the girl and did the only thing he could think of, Jon could tell she was a virgin, Jon tore to her hymen and made her vagina much larger than it should have been on the inside, like a prostitute’s that worked day and night servicing nothing but war horses. This was cruel to a girl so young but when they took her she would feel no pain and them no enjoyment. Jon also did everything he could imaginable to the fat man that he could get away with, giving the man loose bowels and premature ejaculation.
“I am tired after this trip, where can I sleep at?” Jon asked Gwen loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Someone show the Baronet where he can sleep at” Geoff said as he started ordering around his staff and looking pleased with himself. “Put him in my old room”.
Jon watched as another slave stepped forward, Jon followed the slave who looked scared shitless as he followed him deeper into the manor. Everything was clean, not clean but something else entirely, it was spotless. Jon thought about the fat man who was obviously in charge of running the place when everyone was away but couldn’t help from wanting to flog the man. Jon tried to calm himself and walked into the room. Jon must have been too preoccupied as he failed to notice Gwen had followed him in.
“You put the girl out” Gwen stated rather than ask a question.
“I did and if I could get away with it I would whip the fat off of whoever that man out there is” Jon replied.
“She is a slave Jon” Gwen said as she sat down in a nearby chair. “Slaves are not regular citizens, they are not worth your trouble”.
“Ah, that is the princess I know” Jon said as he glared at her. “That is the way of thinking that makes me wish I could just run away from all of you”.
“Run away?” Gwendolyn said surprised. “You are nothing and you have an opportunity to marry a princess”.
“That is where you are wrong” Jon replied. “I am nothing to you, my mother was nothing to you. This is why I don’t think this should happen. I am not going to fawn on your every word like Kate does to your brother. I still hate him and your father and with your attitude I imagine I will grow to hate you as well if you don’t end this farce before it begins”.
“You forgot someone” Gwendolyn spat. “Aren’t you going to say you hate my mother too?”
“Your mother is the only sane one in your family” Jon replied. “If it were not for her I would have escaped from your company long ago. The only reason I have not is because I am sure it was her who gave your father the idea to let us leave to explore your holdings”.
“It figures” Gwendolyn said as shook her head in disbelief. “Mother always was a soft touch, she wants me to marry someone not impressed with my station and who wouldn’t seek to use me while offering my children a solid upbringing. So she jumped at the chance for me to marry you”.
“I think you belong a man with your exact same morals” Jon replied. “I am sure you will be happy together”.
“And what are my morals?” Gwendolyn replied.
“They are evil just like your brother’s and you lack compassion” Jon replied. “On the trip here I thought maybe I had judged you wrong, but now I see I was correct”.
“Jon” Gwendolyn said a little deflated. “I truly am sorry about everything that has happened to you. Even the manor you were brought back into Ket, but if you are going to be my husband you need to start acting like a noble”.
“I will not ever start acting like something out of the pit” Jon said defiantly. “You are evil people who only care about your own comforts, I don’t want to marry you and join that group. I’m happy being Jon the peasant”.
“Well Jon the peasant” Gwendolyn said as she opened her door and let in her wolf. “We are to get married and there is nothing you or I can do about it. My choices are between old men and a fool that does not know how lucky he has it. I am choosing the fool over the other options, now go to sleep like you said, I am going to leave Timber here with you in case you get…restless”.
Jon knew she meant escape but decided not focus on it. Instead Jon walked up to Timber who was still wary of him and stroked the creature behind the ears. Timber reached out and bit him, the wolf’s teeth not strong enough to penetrate the tough scales Jon was hiding. Jon still pet the creature as it tried biting him again and again before picking the wolf up and sitting it on his bed. Gwendolyn burst through his door at this, apparently she could feel whatever the familiar felt.
“I’m okay and so is your familiar” Jon began. “Now if you don’t mind I rather not see your face, pit knowns I will be seeing more of it than I want to in the upcoming years”. Jon watched as Gwendolyn left and could see the familiar had settled down. Jon drifted off to sleep cuddling up to the beast whether it liked it or not, Jon was much too strong and the beast couldn’t wriggle away. The night went by easy for Jon, he was upset but being around Drommul had him appreciating the long game, not instant revenge. When Jon woke he almost laughed a little, the wolf was all snuggled up to him as they lay down on the bed. The wolf opened his eyes and gave Jon a gentle lick then laid back down. Jon wanted to lay back down himself but saw there was daylight and figured it was time for him to get up.
Breakfast went by easy enough, conversation was light except where Kate was concerned, she wanted to see if the girl got raped and if she could beat her or someone else again. Jon tired of being in her presence and was all the more happy when he learned he and Gwendolyn would be leaving soon to see his own estate. When the time came Jon was not surprised to find that all of the guards they had traveled with were moving on with him and Gwen, her father probably gave them strict instructions. The carriage pulled out without incident, perhaps the most surprising was that Geoff seemed content with his new life, Jon always took him for a boy that would eventually try to overtake Joff for his position.
“Why would your father let you and your brother take two people you could possibly sleep with on a trip with no real supervision?” Jon asked.
“Because he knows the eventual outcome” Gwen said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “My father can read people, my mother has been keeping up her façade, and I have too in my own way. He knows you will bolt at first chance, this he told me. You won’t have anywhere to go though, Magus will fall. Already we have figured out how to get in Magus, their leadership will be captured and their will broken. The elves and the orcs would turn you away and with the combined might of us and our allies, we eventually will conquer more lands, no one would ever consider giving you sanctuary, at least not for long. He also believes we are compatible, despite the reasons that through us together. My father is easy to read, my mother, from what you told me thinks you will ultimately make me happy, and I you. You will ultimately stay, you will be far enough away from my father for your hatred of him and my brother to at least decrease to something civil enough that you will be around if he needs you”.
“That sounds unlikely” Jon replied. “I will never love anyone who looks down on slaves and the common people”.
“Well then we both have things to work on” Gwendolyn replied. “So when did you and Timber start becoming friends?”
“When he decided I was not going to kill him or you we settled down” Jon said as he stroked the big wolf’s head. “And we will stay friends unless you start feeding people to him for your amusement”.
“Where are these demons of yours at?” Gwendolyn asked.
“They are safe inside
the pit” Jon lied. “Are you nervous about going here? From what I have gathered is that your father used to have brothers that have passed into the great beyond. This particular manor had not had a master or mistress for at least ten years”.
“They will bend to my will or they will die” Gwendolyn replied.
“Couldn’t you just kick them out of your lands and let them and their families find someplace else to live?” Jon replied. “It’s stuff like that while we are not compatible, I have been on the receiving end of justice like that for touching a boot”.
“Your soft heart will make the people rebel” Gwendolyn replied trying to make Jon see reason. “People understand and obey power. There are small towns and one city we will be in charge of, currently there is a governor installed by my father that is taking on the role. He has not had any problems with his job because he knows how the world works. You will have plenty of problems with yours”.
“Whatever” Jon replied to Gwen as he looked out the carriage window and enjoyed the countryside. The trip to his manor took about a day and a half longer. Jon knew they were traveling south, all along the Mage road that led close to the war. Jafe had to be confident that this war would end his way and that no one will any brains would dare launch a counter attack in order to capture his kingdom while the majority of the army was occupied. The places Jon passed were rougher in appearance; the roads were not as wide or nice as those in the capital. It was day time when Jon could see the carriage take a side road that was meticulously well maintained. The carriage rolled down them easily for a time until Jon could see a great estate up ahead. The house looked as big as the one Geoff hand, except this one looked to be a cross between a strong hold and a palace. There were troops lining the road up until the main circular where carriages would normally pull up to drop off their passengers then ride away towards the stables. Their carriage door opened and Timber leaped out, scaring the hell out of the man who opened it. Jon got out and led Gwendolyn out by her hand as the climbed the steps then went into the place.