The Conqueror

Chapter 1

The plan had been executed so perfectly that Gabriel couldn't help feeling a bit surprised at his own genius. The tide had finally turned in his people's favor. After two years of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances, he could finally give them something good to believe in again.

His men had taken the castle easily, with no deaths involved, and Gabriel now stood in the council room chambers with Richard and Cassandra, the ruling Lord and Lady of Ilendia. They were awaiting the arrival of their daughter, the Lady Brennan, who Gabriel had sent two of his men to fetch. They were taking quite a while to arrive, so Gabriel had taken the opportunity to explain exactly what was going to happen, to Richard.

Richard had taken the bad news in good stride, and hadn't tried to argue with Gabriel, which was another thing he had found surprising. He had expected the man to at least try to fight to save his city from being invaded and taken over. Instead Richard had listened to all of Gabriel's points and discussed them peacefully with him. Gabriel couldn't help but wonder if the man had some secret plan to turn against him when he was least expecting it.

"They seem to be taking a while, don't they?" Richard said unexpectedly, breaking the silence in the room.

The only sound had been the occasional whispers from the castle servants, who were huddled together in a corner of the room under the close watch of Gabriel's men.

"Oh dear," his wife replied. "You don't think she's..."

She glanced at her husband questioningly, her forehead creased into a frown.

Richard's face broke into a smile. "Wouldn't that be a sight?" he said.

"I hope not," Cassandra replied. "That would be so terribly unbecoming."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Gabriel asked.

Before either of them could answer, there was the sound of shouts in the hallway, and a very distinct female voice yelled, "There's more where that came from, asshole!"

The servants in the corner burst into fits of giggles, Richard cracked a smile, and his wife frowned disapprovingly.

"I guess she did," she said.

The doors were thrown open, and the two men Gabriel had sent to fetch Brennan entered, carrying a struggling woman by the arms between them. One of them was sporting a bloody nose, and the other was bleeding from two cuts on his arm and leg respectively.

"Let go!" the woman yelled.

The men both ignored her. One of them winced when she managed to kick him sideways in the shin with the heel of her foot, but they carried her over to Gabriel and placed her so she was standing on both feet again.

"The Lady Brennan, my lord," the one who had been kicked proclaimed.

Gabriel glanced at her in surprise. His first thought, judging from her behavior, was that she was a servant who had escaped when his men took the castle. He hadn't expected it to be Brennan herself.

She was slight in stature, barely meeting his shoulder in height. And though she was in a vulnerable position, wearing only her nightdress and robe, and with her long red hair loose around her shoulders, when her eyes met his, he stopped in his tracks.

She had beautiful pale blue eyes, a feature that was never seen in his own people. It crated a great contrast with the warmth of her hair and tanned skin, and reminded him of the summer sky on a gorgeous sunny day with no clouds in sight. But right at that moment, those eyes were full of ice as she glared at him, her delicate jaw tight with anger.