The flickering torches burning in the upper towers of Castle Wareg blended in with the stars twinkling in dark, moonless sky. It created a surreal impression that the castle was only partially of this world; like an ethereal castle of shadow that faded in and out of the world in times of great importance. Twice now Jeanette had come to its gates. The first time marked the end of the First Hesten War and the death of her onetime fiancé, Gilbert. Now she was here again, pursuing an army in another Hesten War.
Castle Wareg and the city were much quicker to surrender this time. The people here had been abandoned by the King of Heste, and hoped that she would show mercy if they showed repentance. In truth, she had little other choice but to show clemency. If she massacred the city, though it might be a show of justice for Bodak, it would hardly demonstrate to the people that things were going to change in Braden. Which, in a way, made Jeanette glad that Turogg wasn't here. Though she missed him, she didn't want to imagine how his need for vengeance would further alienate the populace.
Even still, the population was wary of her, and she of them. They remained hidden away, locked indoors while she moved about the city under heavy guard. At least the castle was secure, she thought as she strolled over the drawbridge, her personal guard a respectful distance behind her. Susannah would be safe here once she set off again in the morning. Her friend was far too close to term to march with the army, and needed the comfort of home.
It wouldn't be too much longer before she would need the comfort of home as well. Jeanette's thoughts turned towards Katerei and Gorath. It had taken a lot of guile to keep them separated for the past few weeks, sending each off in different directions with different commands. Tonight would be the first time all three of them were together, and if she had planned it right then Kat would be also be in need of some comfort.
Despite having been here before after a siege, Jeanette was surprised at how well the castle had survived the turnover. She knew there was no battle, but she would have expected more signs of looting or burning. Instead, the halls were still adorned with tapestries, the furniture was in one piece, and the doors and walls were in perfect order.
At a glance, it looked like a good place for Susannah to raise her child, but when she thought of her own children, she couldn't picture them playing and laughing here. Gilbert had received the castle after the previous Duke had rebelled against King Connor, but his tastes ran darker. He had never made it into a home. Agmar might do well here, she thought, it matches his grim, solemn personality. But the others were a better match for Greenthorn Castle in Ruar, a castle of splendor and riches.
A smile crossed her face as she thought of them. It was definitely time to bring this war to a close so she could return to her family. Jeanette entered meeting hall to find Vrenchak, Kat, Gorath, and Willem Gulford, the Duke of Fullorm waiting for her. Her jaw clenched and her expression tightened as she regarded him. She had long since moved past the days when he played court to her, but if he had moved quicker with his troops to seize the Lyskean Pass then thus war might have been much shortened. Instead, he waited for Turogg and the Royal Army to arrive, and allowed Heste to seize the Pass instead.
Whatever else he is, he's not incompetent, she thought. He was probably providing tacit support to Frederick and Thomas, hoping to see me fail. I wonder what promises were made behind closed doors before all this started. Jeanette forced a smile to her lips as she looked around the room. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Castle Wareg, capital of the Duchy of Braden, once more in Zentaran hands."
Everyone clapped their hands or thumped the table to celebrate the liberation of the castle. When the noise died down, Vrenchak rose from the table and spoke. "Your Highness, the army will be ready to march at dawn. We have twenty-five thousand mounted orcs, with one sheaf of wood-tipped arrows each. We also have five hundred human archers with two sheaves of steel-tipped arrows each, five thousand mounted knights, and just over seventeen thousand human foot."
Jeanette smiled, pleased with the report. It would be better to have more steel-tipped arrows for the orc, but they had found it to be ruinously expensive to create them in the numbers the orcs required. They had tried to recover the Hesten arrows from the battle, but most had been trampled underfoot by horses during the battle, and many others had burned when the Pass was set on fire. "Excellent. Where do the Hestens stand?"
"Our scouts placed their numbers at thirty thousand total, about one third of which are mounted knights. The rest are foot soldiers, but as we saw in the battle, most are equipped with both bows and melee weapons."
Gorath scowled at being reminded of the arrows that had torn through his forces and forced him to commit to an attack that resulted in him getting flanked and suffering heavy casualties.
Willem cut in. "Another shipment of grain has arrived from Thesta. We'll have more than enough food to both feed our army and the Duchy of Braden. That should go a long way to mollifying the populace and bringing them back into line."
He doesn't look nearly as pleased as he should, she thought. But maybe she was just getting paranoid, seeing traitors where they didn't exist. "Very good." Jeanette smiled as she looked around the room, before settling her gaze on Kat and Gorath. "You're all dismissed, except for Katerei and Gorath. I wish to discuss our relationship with Thesta, and express my gratitude for their continued support in the war."
As the rest of her council filed out, Jeanette's excitement started to grow. The only relief she'd gotten in the last few weeks had come from teasing Daniels, and that wasn't nearly as satisfying as being with Kat and Gor. The anticipation for this encounter had been building for just as long, and she yearned for the chance to level the playing field between them.
When they were finally alone, Jeanette shut the door and then moved between them with a sultry smile. Kat was looking between her and Gor, heat blazing on her face. Gorath's scowl had since melted away, and he thrummed with pent up energy, eager for release. When Jeanette place a hand behind both their necks, she could feel the tension in their muscles. Her soft, slender fingers dexterously rubbed their necks, until finally she bent down and nuzzled her lips against Gorath's tusk, and then kissed him deeply. After she drank of his lips, she turned and kissed Kat full on the mouth, letting their tongues entwine for just a moment. "Mmm, I've missed you both. It's been too long since I've had you with me. I was going to have you meet me in my quarters, but I just can't wait. I want you both, now, here!"
Kat turned in her chair and stroked up Jeanette's inner thigh, then pulled open the Queen's pants. Her hand dived inside, seeking out Jeanette's already moist slit to rub eagerly as she cupped her rear with her other hand. Gorath nipped at Jeanette's neck, his own hands lifting the Queen's shirts to delve underneath, groping her breasts eagerly as he pinched and tugged at her nipples.
The Queen's hands moved, one of them covering Gorath's shaft and pressing it through his pants, the other stroking up through Katerei's hair to hold her lips against her side. She started to rub Gorath's cock eagerly, her fingers sliding up and down the bulge in his in pants as she worked her hips to press against Kat's hand, humping it back quickly as the warrior woman's fingers danced over her slit.
Pleasure coursed through Jeanette as they touched and teased her all over. Too soon, she thought, I can't let them take control, not tonight. She quickly unlaced Gorath's britches and slid her hand inside, wrapping her slender fingers around his thick cock. The tips traced down the corkscrewed ridges until she reached the base, and then squeezed him firmly in her fist. Jeanette pulled the thick grey slab of meat free as she curled the fingers of her other hand through Katerei's hair and guided the woman's lips to kiss the slanted tip of Gor's shaft.
His fat cock disappeared inside Katerei's mouth as she took it deeply. Her own soft moan was drowned by Gorath's guttural groan of pleasure when his lover's soft lips and wet tongue pressed against his sensitive shaft. Kat wasted no time, and was soon bobbing up and down on his cock while Jeanette stroked the base into her mouth.
"That's it, suck his big orc cock; get it nice and juicy for us, get him nice and ready to fuck us both right here on the table! Tell her Gorath, tell her how much you love feeling her mouth around your dick!" Jeanette's dirty words reverberated in the closed room as she breathlessly forced them out. Every time she paused her words were punctuated by the wet sucking of the orc's cock sliding in and out between Kat's lips.
"Oh fuck Kat, I do! I love the way your mouth feels around my cock! Don't stop!" The big orc warrior grunted and moved his hips, pushing his cock deeper into Kat's mouth until the tip started to probe at the back of her throat.
Katerei relaxed her throat to take him in, and with Jeanette incessantly pushing her forward she soon found her lips pressing into the orc's pelvis as his thick tool plunged down her throat, making it bulge lewdly. Her hands moved to Gorath's hips, helping to pull him into her mouth as she bobbed up and down, meeting the tempo of his thrusts.
"That's it, fuck her throat, get it nice and deep down in there!" Jeanette purred as she placed one hand on the back of Kat's neck and pushed, holding her face against Gorath's crotch to make her swallow the entirety of the orc's thick cock. When she finally relented, she pulled Kat completely off the shaft, leaving her panting for breath. "So nice and wet and hot...it's time to fuck us, Gor, fuck us both!"
Jeanette's fingers deftly stripped off Katerei's shirt, baring her small, firm breasts. The Queen then knelt down behind her, pressing her face into the warrior woman's tight rear as she pulled off the boots, before finally tearing her breeches down as well. Her own clothes followed, and she pressed Kat onto the table on her back and mounted atop her.
"That's it my Queen, mount me, touch me, kiss me!" Kat moaned hotly as their naked bodies rubbed together. Jeanette obliged her, pressing their mouths together with an eager groan as she grinded her naked slit against Kat's, mixing up the juices of their body as their soft, pillowy tits mashed together.
