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The march to Juneas' fortress began the following morning. Nearly all of the army went on foot, carrying their weapons and armor, while some drove or rode in the carts of supplies and equipment and a few--the highest-ranking human officers--rode on horseback. Asara pulled her mass of carts near the front of the column; all the weight on the harness was heavy, but because it took more than five of the humans' marching steps to cover just one of hers she found it easiest to pull for a few minutes, rest and wait for the soldiers to catch up some, then repeat that cycle again and again as the day wore on.

Even with all the rest she was able to get, the march wore her out. The carts were heavy and she wasn't used to having to pull such weight with each step, and she was glad to sprawl out on the ground once they finally made camp, relieved that the humans would bring preserved meat to her instead of having to worry about hunting prey herself. But she had only been lying down for a few minutes when some commotion broke out where all the horses had been stopped for the night, and she raised her head to see a few of them bucking while humans clung to their tack for dear life, hoping to somehow calm them down. The horses did stop after a little while, but still held their ears back and danced back and forth nervously; the humans consulted among themselves for a little while, then one of the generals walked over to her.

"The horsemasters think your scent is spooking the horses," he said. "I hope it won't be too much of a problem, but you're going to have to sleep on the downwind side of camp each night so they don't try to break loose and run away in the night."

"Very well," she sighed, sniffing at the wind to confirm which direction it was coming from, then moved to the far side of the camp, making sure to give the horses a wide berth on her way by. At least they seemed to settle down after that, but if the wind ever changed late at night the humans would have a lot of trouble calming them all down again. They were going to have to find a way to keep the horses from being afraid of her, and the sooner the better.

It didn't take long. The following morning a few humans came to her and one of the generals with a proposed solution: they had taken a horse's feeding nose-bag and doused it in some strong-smelling substance, and when fastened over a horse's nose it didn't react to Asara's scent in the air. Though the horses still didn't seem to like seeing her or being close to her, at least being downwind of her wasn't a problem anymore.

Each day was more monotonous after that. Once they reached the plains there was no change to the landscape as far as the eye could see, even for Asara, and to make matters worse the humans had trouble marching through the grass--it was so tall it came up to their shoulders in places. She did what she could to smooth it down with her body, wings and tail as she walked at the column's front, but it still slowed them. There was also some talk about the predators of the plains ready to sneak into the camp and drag off soldiers in the night, but as far as Asara knew that never happened; perhaps the sight or scent of her scared them off.

The days continued virtually without variation for the next month. They marched all day, occasionally pausing to ford a stream--and, once, a river, which was deep enough that Asara had to carry most of the carts across in her paws, two at a time, for most of the day. Another day of marching was lost when a rainstorm reached them, miring the wheels of the carts deep into mud that was simply too thick for them to turn through. Asara was called on again once the ground had dried enough, this time for her strength: the horses were not strong enough to pull some of the carts from the mud, and she had to tug them free herself. It was hard, even for her, as a few of the carts had sunk up to their axles in the mud, and when she tried to drag them out a couple of them actually came apart; fortunately they'd used enough supplies at this point that the displaced equipment could just be put into the remaining carts.

Each night her harness would be detached from the carts she pulled, and she would eat and glide off a little ways into the darkness to clear her waste before returning and lying down for the night. The harness was light, at least, and not uncomfortable to sleep in as long as she didn't try to curl up in it; the humans checked it daily for wear, but each day pronounced it solid. On most nights both generals would come and talk to her, to get even more information from her about Juneas' fortress, to discuss strategy, or to give her recommendations on how to fight the white dragon with the army's help. Through these talks they were able to create a solid plan of attack by the time they reached the fortress, which Asara was glad for; having a definite plan was comforting, for it took away the doubt of what she might have to choose to do during the battle and would free her to concentrate on her opponent, and if she ever felt nervous she could just think of why each detail of the plan was the way it was, how they knew it would work, and that would help her relax.

Though she didn't realize it at first, she was glad she'd chosen to help carry the load of supplies and weaponry along the march: the heavy carts she had to pull each day helped her build up strength in her legs and body and especially increase her stamina, benefits she would not have received by gliding along overhead as the army marched. She did worry some about not being able to fly very much, but the days got easier as they progressed and her strength grew, and by the third week she would take half an hour or so to exercise her wings each evening once the army had made camp. Still, though, it was much less than she would have liked, and after bringing it up with the generals they adjusted the plan to let her try and fight Juneas more on the ground than in the air, where she could better use this new strength of hers.

Asara didn't try to avoid thinking of Toma anymore; instead, she thought of the poor copper-scaled dragoness' plight as motivation, as a reason above all to succeed in their mission. She could remember all too well from her time as Juneas' captive the kinds of things Toma was sure to be going through, the abuse, the humiliation, and every day being raped no matter how much or how loudly she might protest... But she wouldn't have to face such torture much longer! They were coming to save her, to attack Juneas and defeat him and free her from his torment forever. I just hope she can stay strong until we get there, she thought. Even if she hasn't been there very long... I know how hard it can be to keep your spirit up when faced with that every single day.

But she was a dragoness, and seemed a strong one at that; hopefully she could take it.

Not that she wanted to. Toma hated every second she spent in that fortress, whether or not Juneas was there with her; each moment she had to bear in those terrible chains was just another reminder of how her strength, her power, her might as a dragon had been stripped away from her without a thought towards what that would mean for her or what she might have to say about it. Every day she tried to break free, using every trick she could think of, but the shackles on her paws, the chains binding her wings, the bridle that kept her snout clamped shut all proved too strong for her to escape from.

Captivity alone would have been bad enough, but what Juneas did to her made it all so much worse. Most of the time it would be in the privacy of her cell and sometimes he'd do it where all of his fortress could see them, but at least once each day he would come to her, have his attendants chain her in some especially helpless or revealing position, and rape her. Some days she would be completely immobile, while others she'd have enough freedom to almost have a chance to keep him off her, but she didn't know which she hated more; if she was totally helpless then she couldn't stand the feeling of being so powerless while he took her, and if she had some freedom it tore her up inside that she wasn't quite strong enough to fight him off. But worst of all were the days when he removed her bridle before mounting her, so she could roar at him while he displayed himself, demand he leave her alone when he exposed her, then ask nicely while he taunted her, then beg when he was about to penetrate her... Of course he ignored her pleas, and in fact seemed to enjoy listening to her turn from defiant to defeated when he raped her.

Once every week or so she would get at least some small reprieve when his soldiers led her out onto the grounds of the fortress, letting her walk around to stretch her legs and tail and get a little exercise--and sunlight. Her cell had just the one small, high, barred window, which she refused to look through; she knew that if she did all she would see was the sky, right there in her vision but the freedom it offered so far beyond her reach... But Juneas seemed to know that hurt her, as well, so one day his soldiers untied her wings and let her fly some--not that it could really be called flying, not still wearing shackles and the bridle, and not with five men strapped into a saddle on her back and clinging tightly to her reins, using them to steer her whenever they decided she'd flown too far from Juneas' fortress.

She was at least able to take pride in the fact that she didn't stop fighting. She knew Asara would come, and that one day soon she would be freed from this terrible imprisonment, and the thought in her mind that this torture would be over before too long kept her going no matter how dark Juneas made things seem. Not once was she unable to find the strength or the will to snarl at him and thrash whenever Juneas came to her, to resist all the way through each of his torments, or to let herself enjoy even one moment of all the sex she was forced to have with him. He didn't seem to care, at least not as long as he finished with the awful heat of his seed left deep inside her, but then one day he seemed to finally notice that she was still so strongly refusing all through his daily attentions.

"Oh, I needed that," he purred, and nuzzled her throat. "It's been a long day."

"Not as long as mine," Toma growled--he'd removed her bridle today.

He chuckled at that, stepping away from where he'd had her chained against the wall of her cell: lying on her side, forepaws bound against her chest with her hind paws spread apart, one tied to the wall and the other to the floor, exposing her. Her collar was also anchored to the wall, so she couldn't turn her head to bite or breathe fire at him, and a series of rings on her tail attached it to the corner of the wall and floor to keep her from using it to shield herself. "It wouldn't seem like such a long day if you'd occasionally let yourself enjoy it when I've mounted you," he pressed his claw again the edge of her vent and started rubbing in a small circle, making her squirm and gasp at the unwanted sensation. "I know you never want me to mate with you, and I prefer it that way, but with Asara I found it felt better for both of us when she gave in at least for a little while and let herself enjoy being taken. Why don't you try that sometime?"

She thrashed and roared at him, but he didn't stop teasing her. "This is rape," she snarled, "not any kind of mating that I have a say in, and I'm not going to enjoy it. Never."

Juneas laughed again and massaged her a little more firmly, watching her moan and struggle for a little while, then finally lifted his claw away from her. "I wouldn't go that far... In fact, I think I want you to enjoy yourself a little. I'll see that you do tomorrow, all right? How does that sound?"

Her eyes went wide, but if he wasn't going to tell her what he planned to do to her... Would he beat her until she submitted and let him fuck her, willing and more receptive to the feelings, or would he find a way to stimulate her for so long that she wouldn't be able to keep herself from reaching climax? Both thoughts made her shudder, and she was almost glad to see his attendants coming forward to gag her again with the bridle. "It won't work," she growled at him, "no matter what you try," then let the humans slide the bit to the back of her mouth and bind her snout shut around it.

"We'll see about that," he bared his teeth, and tickled her sex one last time with the tip of his tail before leaving her alone with his attendants. She struggled a little while they made to switch her from the day's mating position back to the shackles that bound her paws together every night, but after a moment one of them put the point of a sword to her throat and she had to submit. She'd tried to fight regardless of the threat of a blade before, but when she had they'd actually stabbed her; after that she'd worn a thick bandage around her neck for a week, and her throat had stung every time she'd swallowed or tried to unbend her neck. Not only that but Juneas had beaten her once they were sure she wasn't going to bleed to death, beaten her harder than he ever had before--or since--and because she knew help was on the way she didn't see the point in choosing death over a few more weeks of this treatment.

Worry over what he might have planned for her didn't keep her up too late; she'd already grown used to going to sleep worried about what Juneas had in store for her the next day, and the one after that, and so on. Of course, forcing her to mate and forcing her to orgasm were two very different things...

She didn't have long to wait. Juneas returned to her cell no later than an hour past dawn the next morning, all his attendants with him; they adjusted her shackles so she could walk, then went down the hall to the equipment room, leaving her alone with him. But he just said, "come with me," and took her reins in his paw, then after a few sharp tugs that made her jaws hurt she lowered her head and followed him out of the dungeon and into his audience chamber, which was mercifully empty--for now, at least.

He led her to the center of the room and stopped there, sitting back on his haunches. "I'm sorry that I've been neglecting your own pleasure so far during your stay here," he said, lowering his head mockingly to her. "It was thoughtless of me, to extract so much from you for my own gain without giving you any real chance to enjoy yourself. I think it's time to change that, don't you?"

She snarled and glared at him, tail lashing.

"Oh hush," he laughed and tickled her chin with a claw, "you know you've been looking forward to an opportunity like this."

Toma snarled again, pawing at the floor. "Nnn!"

"Excuse me for taking concern with the well-being of my captives," he sniffed, and turned up his snout. "But like it or not, this is what we're going to do today... Ah, there we are," he stood again as his attendants approached with the day's equipment, then bared his teeth at her. "On your back."

She growled again, but obeyed when he raised a paw to strike at her, then his attendants stepped forward. First they took a long, thick metal bar and bound her hind paws to opposite ends of it, forcing her to spread them wide apart--though for now she hid her vent with her tail. Her front paws were chained together against her chest, sets of shackles shut around the ankles and around the top of the leg, binding those two ends together and to those on the opposite leg, leaving her front legs folded against her chest like the humans' domesticated dogs did when they begged for scraps. The center of the bar between her hind paws was then anchored to the floor, and her tail finally bound to the floor so she couldn't keep it pressed against her belly.

"Almost ready," he chuckled, then held her head against the ground so the humans could attach something to the front of her snout; she moaned and shivered with horror as she realized what Juneas had planned for her, but it was far too late for her to stop it. He held her still despite all her thrashing as his attendants bound the rubber phallus to her bridle so it faced out from her snout, then took her reins and forced her to curl her head around towards her hindquarters. She snarled, clenched her claws, tugged her neck against him as hard as she could, but he was just too strong for her and all she could do was moan as he pulled her head down until the replica of his erect cock was embedded deep inside her vent. He held her head there for a moment so the humans could tie her reins to her haunches, then finally stepped back.

Toma moaned again and flexed her neck, trying to pull the toy free, but the reins would only let her slide it about halfway out before stopping her, and she froze after a moment as her movements made the toy rub wonderfully against her insides.

"Now you're free to give yourself the pleasure you've been wanting so badly," he said, and she looked up as far as she could to see the cock the one in her vent was modeled after already fully erect between his hind legs. "I know, you might have preferred to do it on your own instead of being forced to, but I've still given you a choice: as you can see, this room is currently almost empty, and instead of announcing how I've bound you here I've had some of my attendants spread a rumor about it instead. So you can go ahead and have your fun all on your own now if you want, but the longer you wait before doing it the more people are going to show up here to watch when you finally give in. And you will give in; I will not let you remove that toy of mine from yourself until you climax, no matter how long it takes you. It will happen eventually, once the continuous pleasure your every movement gives you becomes too much for you to shut out and you just can't control yourself any longer... All you have to choose is whether you want to submit and do this without many people here to see you, or fight it and have hundreds here to watch when you finally can't hold back anymore. It's up to you."

She growled and struggled for another few moments, but when all it did was stimulate her she held still again--though even that didn't work for long, for even the slight movement of her chest expanding and contracting as she breathed made the phallus move within her. And she would have no relief unless she gave in and masturbated for him.

But she wouldn't! There was no way she would do what he wanted, especially something she was so certain she didn't want to do to herself... She would not humiliate herself like this. But blowing against her other wing there was the threat that she would not be able to control herself, that eventually the feeling of something moving within her would build her arousal build too strongly for her to fight, and she wouldn't be able to keep herself from using the toy on her own vent after being forced to curl up like this for so long. It didn't help that directly before her eyes was the very spot she wished she couldn't see: her position gave her a perfect view of where the rubber penetrated her and exactly how she looked with something spreading those scaled lips apart... She shuddered as a hint of arousal raced through her. Already!

Then the first humans walked into the audience chamber, yammering to each other in excited tones as they saw Juneas' rumor was true and hurrying over to watch her. Word was spreading now, and every moment she resisted would bring another few humans to see her forced to violate herself until she had an orgasm. What was worse? she had to wonder now: not fighting him, or letting so many humans see her humiliated like this? Already she was sure he had told the truth when he'd said she couldn't resist forever, but she had to keep fighting, she wouldn't let him beat her so easily...

Toma curled her head just a little so she could better glare at him and snarl, but he just chuckled and stroked idly at his rigid arousal with a paw, fanning his wings so his scent drifted over to her--and made her want to give in even more. She snarled again, grinding her teeth against the bit in her mouth; how dare he do this to her, just sit there and take such pleasure in tormenting her like this! How could he possibly enjoy it so much as she struggled there, constantly stimulated by even her own breathing, and tried to figure out which of the two terrible choices she had was more humiliating? It was--

She froze. That was just it; she had a third choice! There wasn't just give in quickly, or let more humans see her... There was one more option.

She could pretend to climax.

For a little while she wondered if he would be able to tell, if there would be something that told him she was only faking and not actually having an orgasm, but after a little consideration she realized that he had never seen her climax before, and would have no idea what kind of reaction he could expect from her. He would never know.

That gave her three options. Not fighting was instantly discarded, now that she had two different ways to fight him; it simply came down to which of the other two options would be more humiliating. If she acted well enough then her audience wouldn't be able to tell what she'd chosen; they would have only seen an orgasm, so they would get the same idea from either of her options. So the only thing that mattered was what she would know in her own mind, that she'd secretly defied him, or that she'd fought as long as she could before giving in: no choice at all, really. If she had any way of defying him, she would take it.

The audience had grown to at least thirty humans, along with Juneas and his attendants, while she'd thought, and she didn't wait any longer. After whimpering and shuddering a little--had to make it look real--she lowered her eyes to her belly and started to thrust back and forth with her neck, pumping the toy in and out of herself as she worked. She let the actual sensations inside her guide how long she should keep this up before "reaching climax," not shutting out the pleasure quite as much as she usually did when Juneas raped her. She kept it up for a while, pressing the feelings down as they grew stronger and stronger, then finally clenched her hind claws, moaned, and thrust hard and fast into herself for a little while, hind legs shaking and pressing inward against the bar keeping them spread apart, before she stopped again and let her neck go slack, taking large breaths through flared nostrils as if she was worn out by what she'd done.

Juneas chuckled and walked over to her as the humans cheered and taunted her; she shut them out as best she could. "There, you see?" he nuzzled her on the forehead. "Didn't that feel so wonderful?"

She did her best to hide a little quiver of excitement that ran through her. It had worked! "Llmmf mm gmm," she moaned.

"There's just one problem," he bared his teeth and waved his attendants over; they untied her reins from around her hind legs and let her pull the toy out of herself, which she did with a moan of relief, but didn't release anything else. "See, that little show of yours... Well, it was very, very arousing, and now I just have got to take you. You understand."

Toma snarled at him and thrashed in her bonds, but it took him just a moment to pin her down on her back and position himself above her, prompting another round of jeers from the humans. She bucked against his weight, moaning, "nnn!" over and over, only for him to laugh, put his fangs around her throat, and thrust into her.

She shuddered and moaned again, much more loudly this time; even if she hadn't actually brought herself to climax, the teasing she'd given herself with the toy had greatly aroused her and now that he was stimulating her she was having real trouble shutting it out. He seemed to sense it and only thrust harder, slamming himself into her over and over again as he tried to draw what he thought was a second orgasm from her, feeling her shiver and clench reflexively against him and growling with excitement as she struggled to control herself.

"Again," he panted, letting go of her neck for a moment. "Climax again for me and let me really feel it this time."

She whimpered and shook her head, but could only lie there and try to ignore the sensations as he continued to hump against her, hoping she'd outlast him and hoping he wouldn't just use the toy still tied to her snout to keep violating her once he'd finished himself. The feelings of pleasure racing through her grew harder and harder to fight off as he kept pressing himself into her, but then to her relief he threw back his head and roared as he peaked first, firing burst after burst of his seed into her. He groaned, kept going a little while longer, then finally withdrew, purring and nuzzling his way down her neck as he stepped away.

"Fine," he panted, and at a wave of his paw his attendants moved forward to unchain her. "It's your choice, but I suppose I wouldn't want you to enjoy yourself too much anyway. Clean her up and have her ready for me again this evening," he said, and after making sure she didn't struggle while they put her in her other chains he left her with his attendants as the other humans began to disperse.

Toma was worn out, but couldn't keep herself from holding her head high. She'd tricked him, then beaten him! He'd tried to force her to orgasm, and she'd fooled him, then resisted long enough to outlast him, and hadn't been given any extra punishment for doing so. It took some effort to resist following the humans a little too eagerly back to her cell, but she let her head and tail droop after a moment; wouldn't want anyone getting suspicious that she might have something to be happy about.

---

Asara lashed her tail and stretched once the last cart was disconnected from her harness, groaning as the tired muscles flexed out after another long day of marching. She was about to spread her wings and fly up into the late evening sky, but one of the generals hurried over to her, waving to get her attention.

"Asara, we heard from our scouts when we stopped to make camp, and there's a reason we stopped a little early. See the woods just ahead?"

She glanced towards it--the first trees began only a couple lengths or so from the edge of their camp--and nodded. "What about it?"

"Our scouts returned to us a short while ago; they say first that this forest is only half a mile or so wide, and second that from the other side it is only a mile and a half to Juneas' fortress. So we're going to unload all our armaments tonight, on this side of the forest, and leave the carts of supplies here with a small rear guard."

"And what do you want me to do?"

"We are going to unload the carts you've been pulling, and once it's fully dark you are going to carry what you can to the other side of the forest. What you can't carry the army will take when we break camp tomorrow, and tomorrow... we will have our battle."

She shivered a little with excitement--and nervousness. Tomorrow! Tomorrow she would finally have a chance to see Juneas again, to threaten him, and to dig her claws and fangs into him without any of his chains to stop her... But he wouldn't be holding himself back, either. Juneas was a big, impressive-looking dragon, and she knew from her time with him that he was just as strong as he looked. Stronger than her?

She didn't want to think about it. But then, she would have a whole army at her back! She only had to use them to her advantage, keep him off of them long enough for them to establish themselves inside the fortress so he wouldn't have any safe place to hide on the ground, then drive him out of the sky and work with the army to force him to yield. It could be done.

At least, she hoped so.

Asara ate and rested until the sky had gone dark, then once the generals came to get her she set about the task of taking each piece of siege equipment in her paws and carrying it to the other side of the forest. About fifty soldiers waited for her there, to help her set down the items and watch over them until morning, and as they directed her to set the first few pieces down she looked to the south, growling softly as she saw the dark outline of the fortress walls there. So close! No wonder the generals had chosen to camp on the far side of the forest; if they'd stopped on this side, the sentries on the walls would likely have been able to see their fires.

The moving of equipment took two hours or so, then once that was done they removed her harness entirely and she curled up with the two generals to go over their strategies one last time. Everything they said seemed like it would work, every possible issue or outcome was considered, but she still just wasn't sure that it all felt right. Then one of the generals said, "Asara, you said you obeyed him without question for two years, correct?"

She bared her teeth. "Yes," she growled.

"I'm not trying to offend you," he frowned. "I only bring it up because he knows that as well as we do. Two years is easily enough time for habits to form; if he tries to order you around and intimidate you during the battle, can you be absolutely certain that you won't do what he tells you simply out of reflex? You said you obeyed him because you couldn't fight him any more--"

Asara leapt to her feet and roared at him. "Do not question my will to fight again, human! I know what is at stake tomorrow, I know who I will be going up against, and I know what I must do to defeat him. I did not fight him then because struggling would have gained me nothing; that will not be true tomorrow, so do not bring it up again."

The other general chuckled. "After that reaction, I think we can be quite certain of your resolve. I just hope you didn't roar loud enough to attract attention, dragoness," he put his hand on her foreleg. "I must go see about increasing the size of the night-watch so we can be sure we are not seen or ambushed before we arrive at the fortress."

"We will be seen before we get there either way," she dug her claws into the ground. "Juneas likes to go flying around midmorning, I doubt we'll have reached his fortress by then, and either way the sentries on the walls will see us marching through the fields. They will have some warning no matter what we do."

"But the less warning they have, the better. Sleepy men just called to their posts do not fight as well as those who spent all morning preparing for battle."

She yawned and curled up again. "A sleepy dragoness won't fight very well, either. Let me rest; I think I'm ready now."

"Of course," he said, and the two generals left her alone. It didn't take her long to fall asleep; she was tired, it was late, and tomorrow was going to be a very important day.

Toma's night was not so easy, though at least Juneas had been quick and even surprisingly gentle with her that evening. But she awoke the next morning to hear shouting, metal clanging against metal and the stomp of human boots running all across the grounds of the fortress. She groaned and actually looked up at the window for once, curious, but the midmorning sky that was all she could see didn't give her any clues about what was going on.

After a little while she heard footsteps in the corridor and squirmed onto her other side to face the hallway again; Juneas and a few of his attendants appeared a moment later and entered her cell. Maybe if he had her bridle taken off she could ask what was going on...

"Make sure everything is secure," he said. "Anchor her shackles to the floor, add locks to the buckles of her bridle, blindfold her, then hide the keys--including her cell key--in my chambers. You know the spot." As the humans scurried to do his bidding he added to her, "it seems Asara hasn't lost as much spirit as she made it seem; she has brought some human army to my territory and they're headed right for my fortress. Don't worry; I'll fight them off without much trouble, and maybe once I get Asara to yield the three of us can all have some fun together. Sound good to you?"

She thrashed and snarled, glaring at him and clenching her claws tight together, but the last thing she saw before the humans wrapped the thick blindfold around her head was him laughing at her.

"You just sit tight, and I'll have this dealt with by evening." Then she heard the humans shut and lock the door of her cell, and Juneas and his attendants left the dungeon in silence.

At least now she knew what all the commotion was about, but that only made her more worried. Asara's army must have been a small one for Juneas to be so confident of defeating her... And if he did, just thinking of the ways he could torment the both of them made her shudder. But Asara had said the humans she knew were powerful, and powerful humans meant big, well-trained armies; maybe Juneas had only acted so sure of himself to keep her spirit down? Or his own soldiers had some tricks Asara and her humans weren't prepared for...

And all Toma could do was lie there and listen to it happen outside her window. She growled and struggled briefly, but now with her shackles attached to the floor she had even less room to move than before and gave up after a little while. Worse, since the humans had made sure everything was locked and the keys hidden, she wouldn't be moving from that spot until Juneas let her; no matter how badly she wished she could break free and help Asara in the battle, she was helpless, and would stay that way until Juneas returned--and if he returned victorious then she'd be helpless a lot longer than that, she realized with a moan of despair. Please, Asara, she thought. Defeat him for me.

As Asara approached the walls of the fortress, she looked up at the high walls and the humans standing on them, thinking she would need all the help she could get. A hundred fears and worries sprang up in her mind as she looked into the faces of her enemies, but she tossed her head and shook them away with a growl; she was a dragon, and dragons had no fears in battle.

One of the generals raised a hand, and all the soldiers came to a halt behind her. She stood at the head of the army with the two generals, who were on horseback--a month spent in her presence had helped the skittish animals grow used to her presence, or so it seemed--as they waited about five dragon-lengths from the west wall for someone from inside the fortress to hail them, whether that be one of the soldiers or Juneas himself.

They didn't have to wait long. Soon thudding footsteps could be heard and a moment later Juneas reared up, putting his forepaws on top of the battlements and holding his head high to look down at them. "Welcome back, Asara!" he called. "I must say, I didn't expect to see you here again so soon. But what have you done with the gift I gave you when you left? You aren't wearing it anymore."

She bared her teeth, ignoring his question about the collar he'd tried to permanently shut around her throat. "I did not return for small talk, Juneas. I have come with this army so we can have justice after what you did to Toma and myself."

"Justice?" he snorted. "I used my power to get what I wanted, and that is all that matters. I let you go when I was done with you; why can't you leave it at that?"

"I will not ignore it while you do to another dragoness what you did to me! If power is what matters so much to you, then look at the power about to come against you. Is that something that can make you listen?"

He growled. "What do you want?"

"We have come to free Toma, and to arrest you so you can be brought to trial. Surrender and you will not be harmed, but if you fight then we will have no choice but to subdue you by force, along with any of your soldiers who fight beside you. But those of your soldiers who do not wish to fight may lay down their weapons, and they will not be harmed or imprisoned. Our business is with you, not with them."

"If the humans don't have anything to do with this, then let's not involve them at all. Duel me, one on one, and the winner will choose what happens next."

She paused. "And what will you do if you win?"

"Your army will be sent home, but you will be returning to my dungeon for as long as I choose to keep you there. I have to admit I've missed you... Toma is fun, but you know so much more about how to please me."

"You want to duel?" Asara roared, rage flaring as he hinted at what he'd done to her so many times. "Then--"

Both generals pressed their hands against her forelegs. "Asara, no!" She snarled and glared at them, but after a moment subsided and put her head down at their gesture.

"Don't duel him on your own," one muttered. "He would only bring up something like that if he thought it would give him a better chance of winning this battle. You said he was both larger and stronger than you; why give him the advantage?"

She glanced at the wall and the enemies who waited for their decision. "I... I just thought it would be easier, simpler, and no humans would die in a dragons' quarrel. It seemed like the right thing to do."

"It is what he hopes you will do, which makes it the wrong choice," whispered the other. "Our larger army gives us an advantage, and we should use it. Yes, some lives will be lost, but since we have said that any of them who lays down arms will not be harmed that will make them more likely to surrender when their positions become hopeless instead of fighting to the death. A desperate man fights harder than one who knows he will most likely survive the day."

"Very well. Is the army ready for battle?"

Both generals nodded.

"Good." She raised her head and addressed Juneas again. "We will not be having a duel. Unless you choose to surrender now, my army will attack. What do you choose?"

He roared at her. "If you want to capture me, then you must fight me to do it! But if you are defeated, then you will return to my dungeon to serve me once again, and your army will be destroyed."

"Fine. Attack!" she roared, and bounded forward towards the walls. The army behind her surged into motion, the soldiers atop the walls brought up bows, Juneas sprang into the air... Then she reached the wall and rammed it with her shoulder, charging right through the stone and into the fortress. Men screamed as the rock was blown apart beneath them, and she paused inside the walls to bring a few down with her tail and claws before spinning around and charging again--this time going right through the main gates, breaking them open so King William's army would have two breaches to attack.

Now to find Juneas and keep him off the soldiers. Asara spread her wings, leapt skyward and flapped hard only to see him diving into the rear of the army, spouting flame and knocking over a whole column of men with his chest and tail. Roaring, she flew over as fast as she could and caught up just as he pulled back up away from the ground, reaching with her claws to catch him on the back and wing. But he was ready for her and spun around, deflecting her claws with his own and breathing fire at her head. She shut her eyes tight, folded her wings and dropped away from him just enough to slip beneath his stream of flames, then lashed her tail and tugged at his hind paw to unbalance him. He shook her off after a moment, but snorted and beat hard, gaining altitude as quickly as she could.

She watched him go, but stayed lower in the sky to keep herself between him and William's army. After making sure he wasn't about to dive again she let her circling take herself closer to the fortress and glanced down at the fighting going on inside: they had made some progress and a few ladders had been set up, but Juneas' soldiers were holding--for now. And speaking of Juneas... She looked up just in time to see him stooping right towards her, and if she didn't turn him away he'd keep going until he got to the army again. But if he hit her at that speed then the momentum could knock her out of the sky...

Right into the middle of the army. She positioned herself beneath him and bared her fangs, bracing to catch his claws against hers, then a split second later he was there. Asara managed to deflect his forepaws but he still rammed her with his chest and sent both of them hurtling towards the ground; she bellowed as he caught her in the belly with a hind paw, but pushed him away just enough to get her own paw in position to block if he tried it again. She glanced at the ground rushing up to meet them, felt Juneas grip her front legs, then roared and breathed fire into his face. He snarled and recoiled just enough, and she seized his paws in her own, pulled hard, opened one wing and managed to spin them in the air so he was beneath her when they struck the ground.

The force of their impact was enough for them to slide almost her full length along the ground, leaving a trench in their wake, but the soldiers had seen them coming and none seemed caught beneath their fall. She gasped for breath, stumbling and clumsy as she rolled off of him and tried to get her wind back, barely aware that Juneas was also gasping, though he just waved his paws weakly in the air, eyes rolling a little oddly in his head as King William's soldiers closed in. Both dragons finally managed to reorient themselves just as the men arrived, and though Asara leapt forward to pin his head against the ground he didn't seem to have the strength to roll out of the way.

"Surrender," she growled, as a sword and a spear joined her claws against his throat.

He groaned and raised a paw weakly, but let it fall again after a moment. "I..." he had to take a couple more wheezing breaths before managing to say, "surrender."

She paused, pressing down just a little on the scales beneath her claw. She could feel the blood pumping through the thick veins of his neck just beneath the scales, see how helpless he was... It would be so easy to slash through his scales, sever those veins and watch him bleed to death. So easy to kill the dragon who'd tormented her for so long, the dragon she hated, the dragon she had wished so many times for just one chance to strike back against, even if it meant her own death, and now here he was at her mercy.

No, she growled, and withdrew her paw, though the soldiers kept their blades at his throat. She had told William she would not kill him, or hurt him more than was necessary, and she would not break the agreement that had let her bring his army here. Even if some part of her still wanted to kill him... she felt as if she'd moved past that, somehow, though she wasn't sure what punishment she would prefer him to receive in place of death.

"Dragoness, are you hurt?" one of the soldiers said after a little while, shaking her from her thoughts.

Asara paused and flexed everything she could think of, but aside from an odd ringing in her head everything seemed functional. "I'm fine, just..." she panted a little. "I just need a little while to get my wind back; Juneas took most of the fall. But hurry, spread the word that Juneas had surrendered so we can stop the fighting! We'll have him back at the fortress to confirm it as soon as he's ready to walk... If he can walk," she looked back at where he remained on his back, nearly motionless--though that might have had a little to do with the men still holding blades quite firmly against the scales beneath his jaw.

"Let him up," she said, returning to his side. "Juneas, how badly are you hurt?"

He rolled over, though he winced and lashed his tail at some pain. "Dizzy... Can't breathe. Body hurts."

"Is anything broken?"

He growled and dug his claws into the earth. "I don't... know."

She tilted her head and sniffed her way along his body, and though he moaned and stiffened with pain a few times everything seemed intact--but he didn't like when she nosed over his ribs, and started to cough after a little while.

"Everything looks in order," she said, and placed a man on his neck, right behind his head; the man reached down to press the edge of a sword against his throat. "Now walk back to the fortress with me so we can announce your surrender."

After a moment's hesitation--and a prod from the man's sword--he groaned and started to walk, head and tail drooping. The aftereffects of their fall still made him stumble and cough occasionally, but he seemed to have mostly recovered once they arrived at the walls, where the fighting had stopped.

Asara reared back on her hind legs and announced, "Juneas has surrendered. The battle is over!"

King William's men cheered, and the two generals hurried over to her side as Juneas' soldiers began to drop their weapons. "Would you like a report?" one asked.

"No, or at least not yet," she shook her head, "just make sure no more fighting breaks out, and do whatever is normal to do after a battle. Now, Juneas," she lowered herself back down onto all fours, "shall we go and release your prisoner?"

"Very well," he sighed. "But the keys to her cell and restraints are hidden in my quarters. My attendants will have to retrieve them."

"One of them may come with us, along with ten of my soldiers to keep track of things," she beckoned a group forward.

He looked at them dully before letting his gaze drop to the ground again. "My attendants are all indoors, inside the main building. I left them to stand guard if any of your army tried to enter."

"Let's go," she beckoned, then led him over to the main door and opened it wide.

Several men with spears waited in the corridor, but they faltered when they saw Juneas and Asara both there. "My lord, what's going on?" one of them stepped forward.

"We have lost," he sighed again. "I surrendered. Thomas, you take some of these soldiers into my chambers and retrieve the keys to Toma's bonds; we will meet you outside her cell. The rest of you, go outside, put down your weapons and join the rest of my men. The fighting is over."

"Yes, lord," they all bowed, and all but one of them left the building. Asara then led Juneas, her soldiers and the attendant Thomas into the audience chamber, where they split into two groups: five men followed Thomas into Juneas' private quarters, while the rest of them went down into the dungeon. The sounds of clinking metal and muffled grunting could be heard as they approached Toma's cell, then a sob, and all went silent as Asara reached the cell.

"Toma?" she said softly.

The other dragoness stiffened, head jerking up and pointing in Asara's direction even though she was blindfolded. "Nn..." she moaned.

"It's all right," she murmured. "It's over. I returned with an army, and after a battle I forced Juneas to surrender! Tell her, Juneas," she looked at him, baring her fangs when he glared back at her for a moment.

He groaned and looked at the ground again. "It is true. I have surrendered, and you are to be freed."

Toma perked up at that, struggling to get to her feet, but the chains were too tight and she slumped back against the floor after a little while. "Llff mm mmmff!"

"I would come in with you, but Juneas hid the keys and his attendant hasn't brought them back to us yet. Don't worry, it won't be more than a minute or two, then we'll get you out of those awful chains."

She growled, but didn't struggle any further. Soon the sound of human footsteps came echoing down the hall and a moment later Thomas came into view, the five soldiers escorting him; Asara directed him to let Toma out at once, and he went right into the cell to free her. First came the blindfold, then the bridle, the collar, the set of shackles, and finally the chains that had bound her wings; she groaned, stood and stretched, then snarled, leapt out of the cell and raised a paw to strike at Juneas. "You--"

"Toma, don't!" Asara caught her paw before she could rake her claws through his scales. "Juneas has surrendered to us. There's no need to hurt him."

She gaped for a moment. "No need? No need? Asara, think about what this dragon did to us! How could you just stand there and let him be after he abused you so many times, and how could you expect me to do the same?"

"This is not just about what we want," she said, but let go of Toma's paw. "I was allowed to lead an army here on the condition that I use it to allow us to have justice, and attacking him in a rage after he has put himself at our mercy is not justice. Please," she nuzzled her neck, "I know what you're feeling, and I'm asking you to leave him alone. I am more than willing to comfort you, and let you comfort me, but I cannot let you hurt him."

Toma snorted, but sat back on her haunches. "Then what are we going to do to him, if not kill or torture him?"

"We will take him to the man who gave me the army, and that man will judge him for his crimes and give an appropriate punishment to him. Those were the terms that allowed me to bring the army that helped me set you free."

"Very well," she huffed, "but I have no need to see any of that. Goodbye, Juneas," she spat at him, and began to walk off down the hallway. "I hope I never see you again."

"Toma, wait," Asara called, but Toma did not turn around, and a moment later she disappeared up the stairs. "I thought she would want to see it... Oh well. Soldiers, take the keys from Thomas and bind Juneas with the chains Toma was held in; Thomas will show you how to properly use them."

Juneas finally jerked up, growling and backing a couple of steps away--though he went still again when the man straddling his neck reminded him of his presence with a prod to the throat with his sword. "Chain me? Asara, I have surrendered. There is no need for that."

"I'm sorry," she pawed at the floor as the men brought his restraints forward, "but I cannot trust you."

"Why can't you trust me?" he cocked his head to one side. "When was I ever not honest about what I wanted from you? You may not have liked it very much, but you always knew what I was going to do."

She bared her teeth. "This isn't about honesty, it's about making sure you don't fly off in the night. Now tie him up," she motioned the soldiers forward. "Make sure to use the longer chains that connect those shackles, though, so he'll be able to walk in them... and leave off the blindfold."

"Asara, please," he lowered his head to look up at her, but she just growled at him, and once her soldiers had the bridle strapped on he couldn't complain any further. He held still as they bound him; once they were finished Asara helped the man down from his neck, then took his reins in her paw and tugged lightly on them to get him to turn.

"Let's get outside. The sooner I can put this awful place behind me, the better."

She led him out to the center of the fortress grounds and had his paws bound more tightly together there, forcing him to lie on his side as she and Toma had for so long in his dungeon. She told him to rest, and once he was dealt with she sought out the generals.

"How did things go?"

"Much better than expected," one smiled. "Our losses were limited to just fifty-three, while the enemy lost around seventy--with some more wounded on both sides, but those injuries will heal. As for supplies, we should easily have enough to make it back without having to cut rations at all. I saw Juneas has been restrained; is it safe to assume he will be no more trouble?"

She tilted her head. "I hope... But I was thinking: will you be able to tow all the carts back without me? Juneas' wings are undamaged, and it would be easier if I just flew him back to Gairvel as soon as possible, along with a few soldiers to manage his chains."

The two put their heads together moment, then the other said, "we will have to take inventory, and we will tell you this evening, but at first glance I think we should be able to manage; the consumption of supplies has lightened our load significantly and empty carts are easier to tow than full ones."

"Good."

"What about that other dragoness, though... Toma? She burst outside and flew off without stopping to speak to anyone at all... Will she be all right?"

Asara sighed and looked up into the sky. "I don't know. She seemed upset when I wouldn't let her attack Juneas, then flew off without saying anything about where she was going to go, or what she would do. I'd hoped she would stay, if not to help manage Juneas then at least so we could share our pain... But she's gone, it seems. I just hope she'll be able to recover from what was done to her here."

"If she's as strong as you, then I'm sure she'll be just fine. Now we should get someone to start that inventory for you, so..."

"Of course," she flicked her tail. "Go right ahead; I'll be resting and keeping watch of Juneas if you need me."