Silverclaw

The King's Men

 A week had passed since leaving King Adonis's capitol. Charlotte stretched luxuriously as she stepped out of her tent, a smile tugging at her lips. She was striding towards the camp fire when one of the soldiers grabbed her arm. Not hesitating, she grabbed his wrist and twisted, throwing him over her hip and into a nearby tree. Her smile now gone, her face was tight with fury as she strode towards the man and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him with ease and slamming him into the trunk so she could shove her face into his.

 'Touch me again, soldier, and I won't just geld you. I'll rip out your guts and use them for a whip,' she snarled, and then threw him away from her before turning to find the other soldiers gaping at her in shock.

 'What do you think you're looking at, eh? Did you honestly think I would stay in that get-up for this trip?' Charlotte snorted with derision as she sat down next to Jason, who didn't look at her.

 'Captain. A word, if you please.' Jason met the gaze of the man sat across from him.

 'Of course, My Lord.' the man stood, but Jason stayed where he was.

 'Here, if you don't mind, Captain.'

 The captain hesitated, and then sank back onto his seat again. 'What is it you wish to say, My Lord?'

 Jason finally met his gaze properly, letting his anger be known. 'I informed you at the start of this trip that my sister was not to be touched by your men in any way or form. This order has not been followed, and Charlotte has now actually threatened one of your men. Just the mere fact that she has done so tells me that this is not the first time it has happened. Why have my orders not been followed?'

The captain frowned at the question. 'Forgive them, My Lord. They are merely not used to a woman baring herself in such a way. Especially a woman of the nobility. As for before today, well...' he hesitated, and then continued. 'Women that accompany men on an expedition such as this are usually used by all the men in the group for comfort and release.'

 'In other words rape.' Charlotte's face contorted with anger as she stood. She had chosen a leather dress that only reached her knees for the expedition, with boots that laced up her shins. An archer's arm guard was tied to her left arm, a shield strapped to her back. She had braided her hair, and it hung down her back in one thick length. 'Well, don't expect to do that with me, Captain. Hear me now, all of you!' She twisted, catching the eye of every man present. 'The next male to even so much as touch me will end up missing the hand that he used! Am I clear?'

 Several men immediately jumped to their feet, their faces twisted with anger as they approached. Jason stood, and faced them down. 'Do not even think of it. She is Snow Leopard Knight trained and will destroy you all with no more thought than flicking away a gnat.'

 'Brother. Leave this to me, please.' Charlotte narrowed her eyes on the men as she stepped away into a clear area without any tents nearby. 'It will be good excercize, after all. I haven't had a proper chance to stretch myself since we left home.'

 Jason simply nodded and sat. 'Try not to break any of them, sister dearest. We need them whole.'

 'Of course, brother.' Charlotte stretched her arms over her head as the men approached her together. 'I suppose you had better hold my sword for me, then. Else wise they'll all end up dead.' She unbuckled her sword belt and tossed it to him, followed by her shield. Jason caught them and set them next to him on the ground just as the first man charged her.

 Charlotte huffed and merely jumped out of the way, twisting so that he didn't even touch her as he shot past. Slamming her fists down onto his spine, she quickly leapt over the next man, flipping in mid air so she would land facing the right way and deliver a punch to his jaw that sent him flying. A quick kick to the first man's stomach laid him flat out on his back, leaving her free to face the six that now came at her with their swords drawn, ready to strike at her.

 She waited until they had started to swing their swords and then leapt into the air. Beneath her, the swords clanged loudly against each other, locking themselves in so that they created a platform that she now landed on. Dropping into a crouch, she lashed out with one foot, breaking one of the six's jaws and sending him flying away. Before the others could even react, she was gone again, grabbing the sword of the man she had kicked and pulling it out of the mesh that they had formed, freeing the other men to face her properly.

 More cautious this time, the men approached her, attempting to surround her and keep her from swinging her weapon. Charlotte, however, didn't hesitate to slip behind them and use the flat of her blade and the pommel of her hilt to knock out all but one of the five. This last one she finished with by pressing the point of her blade to his throat, an evil smirk on her face as she then carefully pulled away from him. Sinking her blade into the ground next to its true owner, she walked back over to Jason and sat down before accepting her sword and shield from him, as well as a hunk of bread with cheese on it. Jason waited until she had eaten her food before speaking.

 'You were sloppy, Charlotte. You broke one man's jaw.'

 She glanced at him. 'He attempted to touch me mid-fight, Jason. The breakage was punishment for the attempt.'

 'Very well then. Captain, I trust that there is a Silver user here who can heal the man's jaw, yes?'

 Charlotte's gaze turned cold. 'Do not, Jason. Have him healed and I will just break it again, worse this time.'

 Jason met her gaze as Oakfall joined them, sinking onto the log next to Charlotte and catching hold of her left hand to examine it.

 'You've been fighting, Charlotte. Tell me who and I shall kill them where they stand.' Gently, he brought her hand to his mouth, brushing his lips over her knuckles in an attempt to hide the fact that he was healing them.

 'No need, husband. I've dealt with the fools myself already.' Charlotte firmly pulled her hand away, but not without a quick nod of appreciation to him. When he wrapped his arm around her shoulders she didn't complain. Instead, she leaned into him a little, letting the soldiers see that there was one man with them that was allowed to touch her.

 That night, they were making camp when the man whose jaw Charlotte had broken grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with his hand as he dragged her back towards the tree line. Instead of fighting him, however, she let him do as he wished until they were out of sight of the camp and the others. The instant she could no longer see the light from the campfire, Charlotte stamped her foot on the ground, and then lifted the heel of her boot high over his foot before slamming it down with all her strength. The stiletto blade that was hidden inside the hard leather of her boot sank straight through his foot and into the ground below, pinning him in place so that she was able to lunge away.

 Flicking another blade out of its sheathe inside her arm guard, she shoved it up through his jaw and into his brain, killing him instantly. Yanking the blade out again, she let him fall to the ground before deftly flicking off the blood so that none was left on the blade. Just to be certain, however, she wiped the blades clean on the man's clothes before hopping on one foot in order to re-sheathe the boot knife. With that done, she sent the body a derisive glance before simply walking away, leaving the body where it lay for the carrion eaters to find.