A Match for the el Maiens Ch. 24

"Ssh!" she hissed. "The Lieutenants' tent is pitched right up against mine."

"And?" he demanded. "What is it to me if your juniors hear us talking? since you have decided to maintain strict military discipline - even towards me, your Commander."

"You are talking rubbish, el Gaiel," she whispered sleepily. "After the way we were flirting with Fio watching us and Batren coming and putting out all my kit with the entrance flaps wide and the whole Quarter watching him, I felt it was better to keep my head down a night or two."

"Oh Angels!" he moaned, putting his head in his hands. "I told him not to!"

"Oh well," she yawned. "Just a night or two, el Gaiel, then you can put your tent in my Quarter and we will manage something."

"Manage what! How! This is impossible."

"Ssssh! Shut it! The Lieutenants! Listen, come and I will give you just a little (yawn) kiss, then you might go back and we will sort something out in the mor(yawn)ning."

Vadya grumbled in his throat, sitting down on the bedding and reaching out for her. Suddenly the entrance flap to the tent was flung back. Flava Trait stood there in his nightshirt and breeches, with his sword drawn in his hand and a horrible scowl on his face.

"Stand and fight then!" he shouted then he went scarlet and said: "Oh, sir. Your pardon. I thought it was Fourth Quarter springing a practice attack on the Captain."

Vadya leapt to his feet and strode off through the camp, past Iada - snarling the password at him, through the tents of the Fourth Quarter and into his own tent.

He hauled off his boots, unbuckled his sword and dagger and threw the belt of weaponry in a jangling heap on the floor by his bedding, dragged off his other clothes, jumped into his now miserably cold bedding and lay on his back, fuming and glaring at the shadows thrown by his candle and brazier of coals on the ceiling of the tent. What made him really angry was that Tashka was perfectly right: to set an internal guard, to warn her Lieutenants to be wary of an attack. It was he who was behaving in a way that fully justified the army's restriction on relationships between senior and junior officers. His mind boiled angrily on for a few more minutes, thinking moodily about how Hanya Lein had not been there to help Flava defend Tashka's life. Gone right over to the Sietter, boots, cavalry and honour! that one. He grunted in envious irritation.

His entrance flaps, which he had not bothered to hook up again, were flung back and Tashka walked in and threw an armful of clothes on the floor.

"I am going to move in here," she said. "What is the problem with it? Is my father by marriage going to court-martial me for coming to lie with my own husband? No! He set up the match. He will only congratulate me for being so considerate of the succession." She sat down on a folding chair and pulled her boots off.

"But, but," Vadya said feebly. "You are the Captain of Second Quarter, you have to sleep there. Especially since there is only Flava there the night."

"He is a well-experienced officer and I am sure he can manage to keep an eye over five hundred men who are all fast asleep," Tashka snapped. "He has got the vigilant Iada to help him, is it not?"

"No, no, go back the night and we can talk about it," Vadya said anxiously.

"Talk?" she said, standing up to tug off her black felt breeches and looking down at him with that wicked grin curling up her rose-petal mouth in the dim shadows. "Is it talk you want?" She came walking slowly, with that alluring roll of her hips, towards him, pulling up her nightshirt as she came. He watched her pull it off and fling it carelessly over a chair, he gave a moan as she climbed into the bedding and snuggled deep down against him. Her eyes glinted in the candle-light then she started shuffling down and her head disappeared under the quilted cover. Vadya felt her fingers tracing her route over his thigh, her lips followed, brushing kisses across his suddenly sensitive skin.

"Oh oh!" he moaned, "Tashka, sweet Heaven! I prithou, then ... fuck me, will you? Just fuck me in the arse, my Captain. I'll ... I'll order you to do it!"

"What?!" her head came suddenly up out of the bedclothes, her eyes were wide with horror. She said, "shut it, el Gaiel, Angels' sake. How could you address me like so in the troop?" She gave an embarrassed giggle. "Have you no shame?"

"Sweet Hell!" he moaned, "I do not care, do what you will. Just hurry!"

Tashka's head disappeared again. She was kissing his balls, his cock. She was licking his cock. His eyes closed, he caught his lower lip up in his teeth. She had taken his cock in her mouth and was sucking up and down on it, he caught his breath up in a gasp. His thigh muscles, his buttocks, tensed. He began making sounds that caught at the back of his throat. His fingers spread and curled. He moaned desperately as Tashka let his cock come out of her mouth, his hands going to her head to try to push her back again. She pushed his hands back, pulling herself up level with him, reaching out to scrabble urgently in the pocket of a pair of breeches by the bed for a condom. He could not even be troubled to feel ashamed of the whimpering he was making while he waited desperately for her to unwrap it and pull it onto him. The minute he was covered he wrapped his arms around her, caught up the back of her head in his hand and lifted his head to press his mouth up into her kiss. He brushed his other hand gently down her back, fingering the sensitive nape of her neck, the hard flat shoulder-blades, the muscles of her ribcage. Tashka's hands scooped under his back up to his shoulders, she was rocking herself softly as she kissed him. His hand trailed over her buttocks and he pulled her higher so he could reach her tender sex. She was already wet and soft, eager for him. He caressed her with gentle fingers, her head was going back above him. He started to roll her onto her side, to push her onto her back. Tashka resisted, pushing back at him. He moved his hand from her cunt to wrestle with her and suddenly she went over, submitted under him as she never did in the wrestling ring, pulling him over on top of her, pressing up into his kiss. She made a low sound of pleasure. He pressed between her legs and pushed himself into her with a guttural contented murmur of relief.

She was clinging to him, moving with him, making soft sounds into his ear. Vadya was pressing into her, pressing his cock deeper into her. She was throwing her hips wider for him, lifting up, writhing to his penetration, the noises she was making were getting louder. The idea sank into Vadya's brain and kicked a conscious thought into life: someone is going to hear her.

He put a hand over her mouth.

Tashka suddenly fell silent and lay still under him, her hips open wide around his hips.

He lay on top of her, deep inside her, holding still. Just as he was thinking: I have spoilt it! she sniggered through his hand.

"It is not funny!" he whispered, moving his hand but she could hear the grin in his voice. "Basra's tent is pitched close to mine!"

"There is nothing I can do," she whispered back. "I did not know I was making a noise."

He groaned and moved on top of her and felt the buzz of feeling run up his cock and down his back.

"You are as bad as I am," she said.

"el Maien!" he murmured. "Swe-e-et Angels!" He began to kiss her and press his cock down into her cunt again. He tried to keep his mouth pressed to her kiss, to muffle her noise. She gripped his shoulders and licked his mouth, she was giggling. He hugged her close to him, his mouth slipping from hers, he was pressing his cock into her cunt, her hips were throwing wide, his hips grinding into her crotch, he was being carried away on the flow of erotic energy rippling through him.

Tashka was making noises again but he was beyond hearing her. There was a great rush of passion pouring through him, she was heaving up to him and grunting in orgasm, clutching his back with her strong lean hands, he shouted out el Maien! in her arms and then lay still, his face pressed hard into the side of her neck, his arms still gripping her close to him.

~#~*~#~

When Vadya woke in the morning Tashka was gone. Her armful of clothes had gone too. Batren was standing by him with a bowl of coffee. He struggled up in the rumpled quilted covers and took the coffee with a sleepy moan of thanks. He wondered what time she had crept back to the Second Quarter and what Iada had thought and whether Iada would gossip of it in the file.

'Oh no!' he groaned to himself, clutching on his coffee bowl. 'I am a fool for her body, a fool for it! I will ruin her life in the troop. Damn it, I will not be here for much longer, I have been called to the strategic staff. No one could deny us these last few nights. Could they?' He thought of what his father would say of it, if his lust for Tashka led to life in the field being made impossible for her and she had to come back to Port H'las with him and he winced.

When he had got up, shaved and dressed, he came out to find it was an unexpectedly beautiful sunny day with the wind whipping a few puffy white clouds across a blue sky.

To one side, Tashka stood in a knot with Dar Vaie, the four Tenth Sietter Captains, Hanya Lein, Fiotr and Basra. Basra had his arm around Tashka's shoulders. She was waving her arms about in explanation of something, the wind flipping up the edges of a green scarf slung about her neck which she had taken to wearing to hide the love bite still evident on her tanned skin. The sun scintillated off the gold and ruby rings on her left hand.

Vadya smiled lovingly to see her engrossed with the other officers, turning to call for his breakfast, then froze. He turned round again and ran towards the group. They looked up at him as he slowed to a walk on approaching them, staring with nervous eyes at Tashka's hand and his marriage and betrothal rings gleaming on her finger.

"My Commander," she said formally. "I have invited Dar and his officers to break fast with us. We are discussing whether we might have a practice battle. Only I think we had better mix the two troops in together or the battle might become serious."

He looked quickly round at the other officers. The Sietter men looked politely back at him. They knew as much as they wanted to know about that deadly killer in the duel Captain-Lord Tashka el Maien already and their main opinion on whom she had to cross her vow to lie with because of how her family had decided to bestow her was that van Sietter was even more of a fool than they had supposed because he had not kept her in the region for their own Generals' strategic staff offices.

Things Hanya had said in the past made it plain that he had known all about Tashka for much longer than he ought to have done too. Besides he was too busy looking at Dar Vaie, his eyes shining with little stars in them, to trouble with the commanding officer he had sworn his vow to as opposed to the one he had given his heart - and in the previous night his body, probably more than once - to.

But Basra and Fiotr were giving Vadya looks of salacious humour. He had had considerable fun at Fiotr's expense when Fiotr got married the previous year and he felt a nervous qualm as he watched Fiotr turn amused blue eyes in his direction.

"Did you sleep well, yester night?" Basra enquired solicitously, squeezing Tashka's shoulders in his affectionate arm.

Vadya choked.

"There is Batren," Tashka said hurriedly. "Let us go and see what he can give us to break our fast. Gentle men, be seated, I prithou," she waved her hand courteously at the campaign table, which Batren had already laid for breakfast.

As they walked off, he moaned: "Gracious Angels! You'll be the death of me! Pale Angels of Hell, what did they say?"

"Um, they wished me long love and happiness," she said, turning her head shyly to one side. "And Basra gave me an hug. Hey, Batren! I know you have hidden some special ham for the Commander, put it out with some eggs for us."

As they walked back to the table of officers, he stopped and turned to where she was strolling one step behind his shoulder. He looked into her concentrated slanted blue eyes and made a face at her. "I beg you forgive it me," he said, "that I did not act as professionally as you. I will try to learn from your example. Come, let us talk of the practice battle, then." He laid his arm lightly over her shoulders and strolled on by her side, as he was used to do since long before he found out she was a woman, and his betrothed, and the dearest love of his heart and body.

~#~*~#~

Vadya set his hands on the pommel of his saddle, put his foot in the stirrup and swung himself up on Midnight's back. He reined Midnight in and cast a last longing look around at Sixth H'las, standing in parade formation in front of their camp to bid him farewell. The sun shone fitfully through the clouds and glinted here and there on a spear, a bit or stirrup. Horses lifted a foot and were reined back in place, the soldiers' eyes were turned towards him, while their faces were set rigidly forward.

That morning he had presented Flava with a Captain's sword and Tashka with a Commander's banner. A body of First H'las cavalry had come to escort him back to the Generals' headquarters in Port H'las, bringing with them the sword for Flava, from his family, and the black and blue silk banner for Tashka from his own father's hands. He was to return with them now for the remainder of the war. He did not want to go.

Tashka was standing to his left, close to Midnight. She suddenly took a step even nearer and got hold of the heel of his boot with her right hand, he looked quickly down at her but she would not lift her head to look at him. She clung on to his boot, her scarred fingers wrapped around his ankle. Midnight shifted uneasily. The First H'las officers walked their horses round again.

"Get back!" Vadya said savagely. "Midnight will bite you!"

She lifted her face to him then. Her exquisite eyes were huge with tears, her infamous rose-petal mouth set hard against them. Her grip on his ankle tightened. Midnight turned that wicked head back.

Vadya stooped in the saddle and dragged her hand off his boot, she was clinging to his fingers, he pulled them away, shaking her off his fingers and said:

"Get back, Maien!" in a choked voice.

She turned and ran through the ranked mass of officers and the lines of men to his old tent, now empty of his things and full of hers. Vadya looked after her, he stood up twisted in his stirrups as if he would leap out and run after her.

"Sir!" the First H'las Captain said.

Vadya sat back down in the saddle and eased his reins so that Midnight pranced forwards. Fiotr stepped up into Tashka's place and led the troop in three loud echoing huzzas. Vadya cast a strained smile of gratitude to Fiotr and raised his arm to wave to the troop then he and the First H'las men moved into the trot and rode away.

His face twisted with tears as he rode. He had to set the pace slower because he could not see clearly. As they trotted through the flashing autumn sunlight along the green hillside, he thought: 'Oh my heart, my love, my Captain! She has never before failed in her duty, she will rack her heart out about it. What can I say to make her not feel it so bad? Oh-h! I will not be there. I will write it. I must write to her, how can I send it back? First H'las will think I am moonstruck if I send back to her the night. Can I pretend there is some thing of the troop I forgot to tell her? My sweetheart, my darling, how will you manage without me?'

He rode further along in the flashing sunshine and thought: 'She will be the perfect young officer. But how will I manage without her?"