The Raptor Queen

XXXI - Mercy

Nikolaos

Growing up, I heard the stories about the Sowtan warriors and how skilled they are in combat. Especially the men. But after my father was able to disseminate them during his reign, many of the men of fighting age became the stuff of legends, only to be spoken of and never encountered. Then word spread that the great PaDaonne was training the women to be just as lethal, lead by none other than his daughter. The only woman to tame the wildest of reptilia. She's deadly in more ways than one. When I ventured there in my father's stead, I didn't expect to be mesmerized by a beautiful woman. She's much prettier than I was expecting, and far more poised.

My father has made many jokes about attacking them when they least expect it, starting with a clean slate because he believed the Sowtan's were training to overturn us. And that if given the opportunity, they would. When he fell ill, that gave me the perfect opportunity to assess the threat myself and perhaps exact my revenge. Up until now, I've never had to work for any type of attention from a woman, they fawn over me wherever I go. Offering themselves to me like they're praising the Gods. Even the finest of women weren't much of a challenge. But now there's Anai.

I'd honestly believed I was going to be underwhelmed by her appearance, a female warrior trained from the time she could walk had to be rough around the edges. She's anything but. And of course, it makes my game more interesting because she's constantly denying her attraction to me. It's cute. There isn't a doubt in my mind though, that she despises me deep down, just as I do her. But what I don't appreciate is the idea that my father seems to be interfering with my little game. I have a good inkling that those knights are being fed their agenda. Perhaps my father wants to start a war with the Sowtans, that wouldn't surprise me. Justification for annihilation. He hates that Anai's father held such reserve when he ventured here to retrieve his brother. Of course, there are many things I wasn't told. Time will certainly unravel those parts that he's trying to hide.

Another rather frustrating surprise for me is the affect Anai has on me. I'm a man, she's a beautiful woman, of course I want to bed her. But there's more. I feel the need to protect her. YET I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY! It makes it more difficult to carry out my plan of destroying her. Not deviate from it. I've never had feelings for anyone after my brother died. My father is a mean old bastard and isolated me. I was too pretty for him. Stavros was rugged and of course the first born, dubbing me the disappointment. The only woman I've ever cared for was my mother and that's because she shielded me from his wrath, she was always there. Fast forward to this Sowtan Princess and I almost don't know how to act. She may not have seen it, because I'm smooth as silk, but she certainly makes it difficult for me to think straight. I want to ravage her in multiple ways, sure. But I also want to care for her, protect her. And the thought of another man touching her in such a way makes me fucking crazy! Ugh, the idea that I'd be falling for her is preposterous. I hate her and her kind.

My pacing and deep thoughts allow Anai to surprise me. "Am I interrupting something?" her sweet voice startles me. Hopefully she didn't see all the mumbling and shrugging.

"Not at all, beautiful. I see you're in much more comfortable clothing," I assert, staring at her rather scantilly clad ensemble. Her breasts are fighting to show themselves to me and her stomach is exposed. The pants also show a small bit of her thighs as the fabric curves around her legs. "I'll have you know, once I win, you'll be changing out of that."

She rolls her pretty brown eyes, "In your dreams, Niko." Indeed you are. I've had the dream every night since I've met her; she tames the wild beast inside of me.

My squire rushes into the room only moments later, the visiting cities Sentinel in tow. I take his hand and greet him before showcasing her, "Anai, this is the Sentinel of Morfos, Lord Calvagh. He's visiting currently and I trust him with my life. His son and I are best friends. He was more of a father to me in a lot of ways than my own was."

She curtsies in the most peculiar way, presumably because her pants didn't give any without revealing a lot of skin and a curtsy is easier when you have the fabric to hold in your hands. "Pleased to meet you, my Lord."

"You're certainly prettier than I thought you'd be," he huffs, his raspy deep voice barely escaping his dark brown and grey beard. "You're not concerned about fighting this young man?"

She frowns, "I'm not concerned about fighting anyone, my lord. I could only hope that you judge fairly."

He quickly shakes his head, "It's to my experience that any hand to hand combat should be done to a point where the opponent must ask for mercy. Let's get started here in the courtyard."

"Are you sure you want to do this, your Grace? It'll be unbecoming when your constituents find out that you lost to a woman," she teases, loosening up as she stood only about ten feet from me.

I yield a smile as I admire her form, "Losing to a Sowtan warrior would be more a badge of honor. However, the result of this challenge will not leave this courtyard regardless of who wins. My parents would frown on it. So when you win, keep it between us. I like the idea of us sharing a secret." She's not winning today, unless I allow it.

She shakes her head, fighting a smile before crouching low to the ground. Sentinel Calvagh stands at a safe distance before announcing the same words he always used when his son, Fin, and I would battle one another. "This hand to hand combat will be clean, don't go for the goods and it's fair game. Three rounds. Best will be considered when the opposed cries mercy. I will only stop the fight if death is imminent, but it's up to you to determine how far you're willing to go. Best to you both!" He lowers his hand signaling us free reign on each other. She analyzes me and looks for weakness. I wait for her to charge.

Quite a few moments pass before she does anything. She's waiting on me to charge, smart girl. Her knowledge of her disadvantage makes me want to make the first move.

"If you two keep this up, we'll have to call it a dance," Lord Calvagh chuckles, temporarily breaking my concentration. She took full advantage of it, too.

I quickly brace myself at her charge, thinking she was going to tackle me. She drops to her hands, lifts her body into a hand stand and knees me in the chest, forcing me backwards. Her hand stand quickly drops back into a stance and she swings on me. I block it, trying to maintain my composure but admittedly, her subsequent blows are difficult to keep up with. And hard. She may appear beautiful, but like the deadliest of snakes, she's quite dangerous. On an unarmed and unarmored man, she can definitely hold her own.

Good thing my training included fighting Morfos warriors... they were trained by Sowtans.