The Last Princess of Lorrea Ch. 03

It happened in a flash, Elena had made some kind of movement as she slept that strained against the vines and they snapped, with the sound of a whip being cracked. The sound of the break was loud enough to wake Elena and the soldiers below her. Luckily for Elena, her reflexes were quick enough that she noticed that she was falling before it was too late. Her hands gripping the side of the wet tree limb as she prayed that she would go unnoticed. No such luck. There were shouts from below as she struggled to climb up higher but failed due to a number of factors: hunger, wetness, no grip and exhaustion.

"Hey, you there, monkey boy!" called one of the guards, trying to jump up and catch her foot, which she pulled up out of reach. Elena wanted to answer back but all that came out was a muffled noise.

Cursing herself, she realised she still had the gag on, and the only way to remove it would be to loosen her grip and she would fall.

"What have we here?" came the voice of the large man from the night before.

"A monkey up a tree, sir" said a soldier, half serious half laughing.

"You know boy, you will have to come down at some point, that grip of yours look quite tiresome" He called up at her.

Elena was well aware of the problem with her grip, her fingers were growing numb and her grip was slipping. At least they think i'm a boy, she thought. Not bathing unless it was pouring rain coupled with the rough clothing, malnutrition and wild hair, she wasn't surprised she was mistaken for a boy.

"We could shoot you with a bow, throw stones at you, or even burn down your tree... but I think the most amusing way for you to get down from that tree is to fall out" The big man chuckled as his soldiers laughed like sycophants.

Sweat was dripping down her face, into her eyes at the effort of holding on, she tried to get a better grip but she didn't have the strength to lift her legs above her hips. Two hours later, after enduring endless threats and vile jokes - even the odd stone hurled at her, slowly but surely, she felt herself slipping, inch by inch. Finally her fingertips lost contact with the bark and she fell.

Elena felt like she was falling forever.

She landed on her feet, pain shooting up her left ankle. However, that was the least of her worries as a net was thrown over her as soon as she hit the ground. She fought against her faceless captors but was outnumbered. Still, she didn't go without a fight. Elena sunk her nails into the nearest soldier's face, only letting go when she received a blow to the stomach, causing her to double over in pain.

She felt rope binding her wrists together behind her back as another pair of hands bound her ankles together. She writhed and thrashed about, shouting through her gag, but to no avail.

"Pull him up" Ordered the big man. Elena felt two soldiers pick her up off the floor, as if she were a piece of wood, bringing her to face the commanding officer.

"He's a puny little thing isn't he sir?" remarked one of the men.

"Yes. Although when I see Lorreans as pathetic as this, I'm surprised that we still need to be in this neck of the woods. They're nothing compared to us physically" he sighed.

Elena struggled against her captors, her matted hair falling in her wet face. "Stop that, filthy boy, or i'll put an end to you here and now" growled one of the soldiers holding Elena. Suddenly Elena felt dizzy. She knew that her dizziness was probably because she hadn't eaten in two days and was weakened from lack of nutrition and sleep in general. However, her understanding of the symptom did not help her stop what happened next: Elena fainted.

The commander sighed as the woodland creature collapsed at his feet. "Get that bucket of water and throw it in his face. Wake him up."

"But sir, wouldn't it be kinder to kill him where he lies rather than postponing the inevitable?" asked a soldier.

"That's not your decision to make private. I'll get all the information I want from this 'thing' and then I, and not you, will decide his fate. Now where's that water?" he barked.

SPLASH. Elena coughed into her gag as water dripped down her face and up her nose. opening her eyes she realised that was she was not dreaming, it was a nightmare come true.

"Now, we'll start again, shall we?" said the commander in a cheerful voice. "Remove that rag from his mouth" he ordered over her shoulder. Elena felt the cloth being yanked painfully from her face. She moved her jaw a few times as it was quite sore. She continued to look down at her feet, scared something about her would give her away.

"What is your name boy?" he asked in that cheerful tone.

Elena didn't know what to do, so she did nothing. No comment.

"Don't make me ask again, boy. You won't like the results" He said in a low voice that sent chills down her spine, although nothing compared to the chills that bolted down her spine as she saw him unsheath his sword and point it at her stomach.

There was no way around it. Elena cleared her throat a few times before saying "Alice."

The two men holding her dropped her in surprise and even the commander took a step back. Elena took advantage of their dumbfounded state and made a lunge for a sword within reach, but her bound ankles tripped her up.

The two soldiers hauled her up again, both laughing at her feeble attempt at bravado. The commander too was chuckling but for a different reason.

"I should have known. You're way too tiny for a man, but I guess it was the crazy hair and dirt that threw me off!"

Elena didn't know what to respond so she said nothing.

"So, Alice, is it? what are you doing in our neck of the woods?" he asked.

"Your woods?" Elena said hoarsely. "These woods belong to the kingdom of Lorrea."

The large man stood staring at her, as he rubbed his chiseled chin. "I don't know how long you've been up that tree Alice, but there is no more Lorrea. That war was lost two years ago."

"You may have won the battle, but you haven't won the...." but what the Kravaolian's may or may not have won, the commander never heard, as Elena fainted again.

*

When Elena came to, she felt positively awful. She had never felt as sick and weak- even after eating the wrong mushrooms a year earlier in the forest she hadn't felt this bad. There was a constant thumping against her stomach and her head was bumping into something hard and soft at the same time.

She opened her eyes, only to shut them quickly, fear gripping her. The sounds of the horse galloping at full speed was nothing compared to seeing the ground so close up, only to see it flying by. Elena was strapped across the saddle, in front of the rider, her hips on the saddle, her head and legs hanging helplessly over both sides.

Elena felt a large hand press warningly against her back, which only caused her to struggle more.

"Stop your squirming or you'll fall from this horse" said the voice Elena recognised as one of the younger soldiers.

"Let go of me- please! I feel sick... I can not stay this way..." she cried over the thundering hoofbeats.

"Too bad. You smell something awful and I won't have your Lorrean stench pressed against me." he grunted as his horse galloped on.

"So let me go!" she cried.

"I have my orders. The commander is heading home to Kravaolia and is bringing you along. I think he means to give you as a gift... or maybe as a joke.. who knows. Prince Henry is not very forthcoming with his thoughts." he stated.

Elena stopped struggling at the mention of Prince Henry. "Henry? King Alexander's son?' she asked, her mind moving painfully slow.

"The one and only. Of course in the field, we are to address him as commander so it's less likely that some loser Lorrean sniper picks him off. You" he added with a smirk, "will address him as Your Highness."

"He's no prince of mine" Elena spat.

SMACK. Elena squealed as the soldier brought his hand down hard against her bottom. "Respect is paramount in his presence. Do not anger him or you will find that you do not enjoy the result," he snapped, pressing a hand between the junction of her thighs, cupping her mound "trust me on that" he said with one last SMACK to her backside that caused Elena's eyes to water. Face crimson from the shame of being touched by a dirty Kravaolian soldier, let alone where she'd never been touched before, her tears fell thick and fast, rolling into her hair as they galloped into the cold night.

They arrived at daybreak. The soldier slowing to a trot as he made his way through small cobbled roads and gateways, until stopping abruptly outside a large stone building. Elena felt other hands pull her from the horse, and guide her roughly through the door, her feet not even touching the marble floors. She surmised from the humidity and sickly sweet smells that they had brought her to a bath house.

A large woman came through the door, eyeing Elena with a frown.

"This is a Gedortian bathhouse - we do not tend to men here. Take your dirty little boy out of here this instant!" she ordered, snapping her fingers for good measure.

The soldiers laughed, causing Elena to cringe, as she was once again reminded that she didn't fit the bill of a woman, let alone a princess.

"Yes, that's what Prince Henry thought too- hell, we all thought that! But beneath all that filth is a girl. She even has a name: Alice."

"Prince Henry?" Inquired the woman, "he doesn't usually return with girls in this condition. He usually sends me beautiful and exotic girls from kingdoms with names that I cannot pronounce."

"The prince was intrigued as to what lay beneath all this filth... I don't understand why, but then thats not what i'm paid for" grunt the soldier.

"I'm not a miracle worker, Private. What am I supposed to do with this" she motioned at Elena's matted tresses. The soldier shrugged and looked around, seemingly bored with the task of chaperoning a dirty prisoner.

"Get her some sugar water... she looks dead on her feet. She looks like a fainter and i'll need her cooperation" she snapped at some unseen person out of Elena's view.

BANG. Elena jumped at the sound of the large doors of the bathhouse banging off the walls. She looked around and saw the prince, making his way towards her. In the light of day Elena could see that he had ruggedly handsome good looks for a prince, his dark twinkling eyes sweeping over her as he rubbed his palms together.

"Good, you haven't started yet." he noted with unabashed glee. "Now, may I introduce myself? I am Prince Henry of Kravaolia. You are a prisoner of mine, therefore you shall address me only as Sir, Master or My Prince. Do I make myself clear?" He said, peering into her eyes, causing Elena to shiver involuntarily

Elena made no comment. She couldn't bring herself to say any of those words. None of them befitted the man she had become acquainted with in a short few hours, in her opinion.

"Answer girl, or you'll be sorry" He added in a bone chilling tone.

Elena swallowed before saying "You are no Prince of mine," her voice gaining more confidence with each word, "I am a citizen of Lorrea and you are not my prince. There is living royalty of Lorrea." she finished, keeping her eyes glued to his.

Henry's eyebrows arched, showing him to be surprised by the impudent response. Elena saw from the corner of her eye a soldier raising his riding crop high, but Henry held up his hand and the soldier's arm dropped limply to his side.

"Insolence will not be tolerated, but now is not the time for lessons on royal etiquette. That will come later. You refer to the living Lorrean royal? You must mean the elusive princess Elena. As far as anyone knows she could be lying dead in a ditch somewhere. No one has heard or seen her in two years, so I wouldn't put much stock in your 'saviour'" he added cruelly.

A single tear rolled down Elena's cheek. His taunt of Elena not fulfilling her destiny as saviour of her people, was a most painful experience for the princess. Henry reached out to brush the tear away, causing Elena to flinch, but she held her ground.

Henry rubbed the wetness between his fingers.... "enough of this pointless conversation. Even your tears are unclean" he showed her the dark wetness, no doubt formed from contact of the tear with her dirty skin. "Madge" he addressed the large woman, "Please start".

The woman stood in front of Elena, tipping a cup to her lips. Elena shook her head, her lips pursed tightly. "It's just sugar water, I promise". For some reason Elena felt that she was truthful and there was nothing sinister about the drink, so she parted her lips and drank from the cup - the last memory of drinking from a cup, causing her to pause before she swallowed a throatfull of emotions along with the strange, sweet liquid.

"My Prince, I need her unbound to remove her clothes," she gestured at my hands and feet.

"No, she is unpredictable. Use a knife" He ordered.

The woman pulled out a short dagger from within her robes and started to work away at Elena's rags. Elena was trembling so much that the woman had to stop occasionally so as not to cut her. She waited patiently for the trembling to subside before continuing.

As more pieces of clothing puddled at Elena's feet, silent tears rolled down her cheeks. 'Mighty princess of Lorrea' she thought, 'look what the fates have dealt you.'

Eventually, she was standing naked before her captor and his minions. She had never in her life felt more ashamed and a blush crept up her neck as sweat broke out across her brow. Henry circled around her a few times, reminding Elena of a bird of prey. She shut her eyes to save whatever dignity she had left.

"Mmm" he murmured. "Who knew under all those rags was this beautiful body" He said, running his rough hands over her stomach.

Elena flinched, twisting away from his touch but he just moved his hands up as if this didn't bother him. He cupped each breast, weighing them in the palm of his hands. He rubbed a thumb over each nipple, causing them to stand out against her areola. He looked at her face, her eyes closed tightly, trying to escape from the moment. He smiled cruelly as he pinched her left nipple, her eyes snapping open. "Good of you to join us," he chuckled as she gave him a tear filled withering look.

"Now, what is this?" he said, tracing the golden chain around her neck, pulling up the now blackened medallion. Over the years Elena could not bear to throw it away, so she let it get dirtier and dirtier, completely obscuring the coat of arms so that it just looked like a cheap necklace.

Henry flipped it over to look at the back but it was just as black... "don't worry, Alice, I'll let you keep your little chain. What is it anyway? Some saint or something?"

"Yes.. um... it's... uh.. Saint Anthony" she mumbled.

He let out a bark of a laugh, causing her to jump.

"I like what I see" he informed the room at large, then turned to Madge "clean her up, I have decided she is to be a gift to my men- they have not been with a woman in months. I have other business to attend to" he said nonchalantly as he made his way out the door, taking his entourage with him, all except for one soldier who stayed at the door, keeping an eye on the prisoner.

As soon as the prince left, Elena fell to her knees sobbing loudly. Madge knelt down by her side and tried to comfort her "There now, there's no need to fret. There are worse fates than this. The prince's men are not regular conscripts, they treat women rather well... just be as subservient as you can and you'll survive. One of the men may even take a fancy to you" she cooed, thinking her words reassuring.

"I can't service his soldiers... i've never even.. i've never..." she hiccoughed.

The matron's eyes widened in shock. "That can not be.. you are young, but not that young".

"I am aware of your Kravaolian customs when a girl reaches 18." Elena hiccoughed, "But i'm Lorrean and I'm 24" cried Elena.

"Shhh, darling. It'll be alright. Some men see it an honour to take a women for the first time. The prince's men are men of honour, it is possible they will be gentle with you."

The guard leaning against the door cleared his throat. The matron jumped "Of course.. yes, we must continue with your preparations... so much to do!"

She directed Elena to the bathing pool and started to scrub her with many scented soaps, attempting to remove 2 years of filth. Most of her pubic hair was removed, much to her embarrassment, yet the matron left a small tuft down under as was the Kravaolian custom.

Elena must have been in and out of that bath 20 times until the matron was able to transform her matted, dirt filled hair to soft golden waves floating around her shoulders.

As the matron dried Elena with a thick towel (owing that her bound limbs prevented her from even that small shred of dignity of drying herself) the soldier came closer to inspect her.

"Nice job.. i'll enjoy taking h-" he started before he froze as if bitten by a snake. "Stop what you are doing. NOW" commanded the soldier. Elena looked up in confusion, hoping the matron could explain what she had done wrong, but the matron looked just as perplexed.

The soldier swiftly wrapped a big white towel around her nudity and threw Elena over his shoulder, causing her to squeal in fright. Next thing Elena knew, he was walking straight out of the bathhouse and up the winding streets. 'Men of honour indeed' she mused, as the towel barely covered her.

As the soldier did not show any sign of slowing down, Elena started to regain a little of her courage and demanded that he let her down, but it fell on deaf ears. She noticed that the soldier had made his way up through the town (in his wake, the town's people stood gawking at her) and was now entering the most sinister looking castle she had ever seen. She didn't get much time to contemplate her surroundings, as her guard was moving swiftly up the stairs and through the spacious halls. He stopped abruptly before a large wooden double door and knocked.

"Yes, enter" said a gruff voice from within.

"You would be wise to hold your tongue." the soldier said sharply to Elena, before crossing the threshold.

The man carried her into a large room that reminded Elena of her father's study back home. However the two couldn't have been more different memories for Elena, at home she felt the warmth and respect, here in the castle she felt nothing but bone chilling silence and tension as he moved further into the room.

"What is the meaning of this Private?" barked the prince, "I'm quite busy."

"Yes sir, I know sir. Something has come to my attention that I thought you should know about. Privately" he stressed, looking around at the many confused faces.

Henry paused, looking at the soldier in calculating manner."We will continue this later" the prince declared, clearing the room quickly so that only the three of them remained. As the soldier shifted her on his shoulder for a better grip, Elena's heart was beating so hard she thought that they must be able to hear it!

"What is so urgent?" inquired the prince, frowning at the private.

"Two things sir. Firstly, I have discovered that this girl is not as we expected her to be... she is a virgin sir" he stated matter of factly.

"Interesting, but surely that is not what you interrupted me for" threatened the prince in a low voice.

"No sir!" stammered the soldier, "That is not all".

"Then out with it, what is it?!" snapped the prince.

"I'll show you, sir." said the private, lowering Elena from his shoulder to a standing position. He grasped Elena's towel and pulled it off with a flourish.

The prince smiled slightly as his gaze roamed over her body, taking in her curves and beauty. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of Madge's hard work. Elena was still baffled as to what was so different about her now than a few hours ago when he last saw her naked, that had warranted the humiliating trip from the bathhouse to the castle. The Prince's gaze reached her breasts and he frowned, coming closer to her. With each echoing footstep his frown deepened, Elena looked back at him, confused at his intense preoccupation with her breasts.