Conquest

"You will be given food once a day, and water twice a day until we return you to your family." I told him. "Deliver my message, and hope your own people don't kill you when they read it."

With that, I turned on my heal and walked away.

(-)

"Lucien!" I called out as I entered my quarters. "Start packing, we're going home. I've had enough of this god forsaken place."

"Yes sire." He said, then paused before adding, "Are you sure sire? There is still work to do here and..."

"There's twenty other states that need our attention Lucien, and we've been dealing with this cluster fuck for almost a month." I said. "The unit commanders can bring in the managers they need, and handle the little details. They don't want or need me looking over their shoulders."

"Of course sire, but is it safe...is it safe for the Lady Rhonda to be traveling?" He asked, coming over to stand in front of me. "If she is with child...it will be a difficult trip sire. Even with the roads cleared...in your caravan, it will take more than a week to reach Knoxville..."

"Have you seen the woman you're talking about Lucien?" I laughed. "She's built like a fucking horse and is probably twice as strong. I promise you, I will die on the trip long before she does."

"Why thank you sire, I'm glad to hear that you think so highly of me." Rhonda laughed.

I looked over and saw her standing in the doorway to our bedroom. She was wearing the same sheer gown she'd had on the night we met.

"You know what I meant. And it's going to be weeks before you know if you're pregnant." I said.

"I already know." She said softly. "One of your little swimmers found my egg last night. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Your son is growing inside me."

"Are you sure mistress?" Lucian asked. He walked over and knelt in front of her, wrapping his arms around her hips as he pressed his ear to her tummy. "And it's a boy?"

"Yes Lucien, I'm sure, and yes, it will be a boy." She said, running her fingers through his hair as she held his head against her.

"I'll have Galen attend you mistress. He works in the clinic, so he'll know what you need." Lucien said as he got to his feet.

"I'll have the stewards pack the ladies things sire." He said as he headed for the door. "You didn't bring much on this trip, so I can have you packed in an hour. We should be able to leave at first light."

"Make it happen Lucien, and let the senior staff know what's going on. They'll probably want a meeting before we leave."

(-)

The trip home to Knoxville took ten days, because a fifteen mile stretch of the old 65 South had washed out, leaving sink holes we had to find a way around. We spent 2 days on back roads before we could get back on the expressway.

There were forty vehicles in our convoy, twenty of them troop carriers. There were three fuel tankers, and we stopped every four hours to refuel. My caravan was a converted Winnebago with two slide outs on one side, one of which had been converted into a command center.

Rhonda loved the kingsized bed, and spent hours watching old movies on the seventy inch plasma. But by sundown on the fourth day, she was starting to get cabin fever.

She spent the rest of the trip mingling with the troops in the evening, moving from campfire to campfire, spending time with each group. These were rough, battle hardened men, but she won them over with her charm, raunchy sense of humor, and skill at making thirty year old MRE's fit to eat.

By the time we rolled into Knoxville, the troops were almost as loyal to her as they were to me.

* * * * *

Well, that's all for now. Let me know what you think. There's more already written, but I'm stuck on what direction to go in. I may just let this one end...