FSE

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Her expression defiant, Sanja refused to take her eyes off of the rogue. "Get the pack," she whispered to her brother. "We're leaving."

"If you don't put the manacles on yourself," Theodore said. "Then the beast will do it for you. And he's not going to be gentle about it."

Jorga dashed around Sanja, his arms outstretched.

"No! Don't!" she screamed.

The boy shouted, "You leave my sister alone; you big, meany!"

In a single motion, Theodore took one of the daggers from his hip, slashed the boy, and slid the knife back into its scabbard. His eyes, like his expression, never shifted.

A bloodied Jorga stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. He did not cry out.

Sanja grabbed the calf and pulled him back, away from the Gilnean. "Are you okay?" she whispered. "Let me see your arm."

He didn't resist. Jorga wasn't rag-doll limp, but he seemed too stunned to react. The black fur of his left arm was damp with blood. It didn't gush, but it certainly did ooze.

Theodore had slashed him from the back of his wrist to his elbow. The wound was deep, but oblique; it had peeled back a couple inches of skin without penetrating too deeply into the muscle itself.

In the back of her mind, Sanja wondered if Theodore had done that intentionally, or if the blade had simply glanced off the bone. Is he going to try and sell Jorga as well? she wondered. If so, he was obviously not worried about the condition he was in.

She peeled away the boy's unbuttoned vest and wrapped it gently around his forearm. She made sure it was just tight enough to hold the wound closed, but not so tight as to cut off circulation to his hand.

"I'm waiting," Theodore said, a touch of frustration in his voice.

"I need you to hold it here. Keep some pressure on it," she whispered to Jorga. He complied meekly. "How do you feel?"

"It hurts," he whimpered. There were tears in his eyes, but he was not sobbing.

"I bet it does." She wanted to hug him, but was afraid to move his arm. She kissed him gently on the forehead. "You were very brave, but let me take care of this. Then I'll get you all fixed up. I promise."

Sanja stood and turned slowly to face the smaller man. Her blood was boiling, but she refused to let rage make decisions for her. What are my options?_she asked herself. _Run? Fight? Beg? Negotiate? Go quietly?

She had always said that she'd rather die than become a slave like Elizabeth, but it was no longer just about herself. What would happen to Jorga if she wasn't here to tend to his wounds? The injury didn't look life-threatening, but could he care for himself without her? Kazbo would be back in a few days, but would the tiny man have enough sense to tend the wound properly?

Kazbo! she thought. If the rogue took her back to Nijel's Point, then the Gnome could turn him into a sheep...

No, it was a terrible plan, she admonished herself. That left Jorga behind and counted on the little mage standing up to Theodore. Even if he could beat the rogue in a fight, which she doubted, it would just look like a robbery to the villagers. With her in shackles and him an outlaw, they'd never get out of town alive.

Always play to your strengths, she heard in her head. Her father had said that so many times before, that it amazed her that it wasn't her first thought.

What are my strengths? Stamina, strength, and self-control, she decided.

Although she was certain that she could run farther than Theodore, she could never run faster than him; and she could not abandon her brother. Strength would do her little good, also. The beast was stronger, and he was the real problem. She had to stop thinking about the puny human and focus on the beast. He was the one calling the shots.

"That's it," she said to the little man. "I'm done dealing with you."

Theodore's grin slid slowly from his face. "What?"

"If the beast is the reason that you're treating us so terribly, then he's the problem," she declared. "I'm only dealing with him."

A hint of a terrible grin returned to Theodore's face. "Oh, I don't think you want that."

Sanja pulled her bone knife out and held it in her hands for a moment. The rogue didn't even flinch. Why should he? He knew he had the advantage there. He had skill, he had armor, and he had two knives made of metal. Don't play his game, she reminded herself, make him face you your way.

Sanja set the knife down gently on her backpack.

"Not talking to you," she said dismissively. "I'm going to teach him a lesson. No weapons, no armor, no magic, no tricks, no nothing. Just fur versus fur. And when I'm done, you're never going to bother me or my family again."

Theodore just stared, visibly stunned, so Sanja started unbuttoning her vest.

"You're kidding, right?"

She replied only with a stoney stare.

He chortled at her bravery. "Okay... and when the beast wins... what then?"

She hadn't stopped to consider it. "Well... then I guess I'd be in no position to stop him from dragging me to Nijel's Point. Would I?" It was a statement of fact, not a promise. She wasn't going to go quietly. She intended to fight him every step of the way, if it came to that.

The girl removed her vest, folded it carefully, and set it down on top of her knife.

The rogue stared at her small, furry breasts for a moment and giggled nervously like a yearling. She put her fists on her hips.

Theodore made an effort to control himself. An exaggerated shrug and he began unbuckling the black leather that protected his chest. "If that's what you want, little cow... but you're going to regret it."

Sanja untied her trousers and sat down in the dust. In the past four weeks, the buckskin had grown tight around her hips and were now increasingly hard to remove. She laid on her shoulders and lifted her butt up in an effort to slide them down.

Theodore was staring at her and grinning. She knew it wouldn't last, but for now, he looked both stupid and harmless. His chest was thin and pale. His muscles were not even well-defined. A sad, thin excuse for brown hair stretched between his nipples. The most impressive thing on his pale skin were the four parallel scars that stretched from one shoulder to the opposite kidney.

Good, she thought, I hope it hurt a lot.

She slid her pants off and stood. She stared at him while she carefully folded the leather.

He was still wearing his leg armor. She wasn't too worried about the protection it afforded him, but he still had boots and hardened leather covered in small spikes. She didn't want him to have that advantage.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. You can do this, she reassured herself. She started to slide her small clothes down. "Well?"

His grin faltered for a moment and he shrugged. He unbuckled his belt and sat down to unlace his boots.

She folded her undergarments and tucked them away, underneath her trousers. After doing so, she saw how silly she was being. Who cares if he sees your small clothes, she asked herself, when your triangle of long fur is exposed?

Theodore grinned at her with too many teeth. "I'm liking this idea of yours more and more..." he said. He slid his small clothes away and shifted into his beast form. "...little cow," he added for good measure. His voice turned deep and terrifying.

Sanja was repulsed at the sight of the creature. It stared, it drooled, and worst of all, his pink tip extended beyond the end of its sheath. Yuck! she thought. How can he even think about mating at a time like this?

In a single heartbeat, the creature leapt on top of her.

But this time she had been ready. She rolled onto her back and used her momentum to kick up hard with both hooves and throw him off of her. She was fairly certain that she had caught him at the base of his large ribcage.

In a flash, the two fighters were back up. He had his clawed hands on his knees while he reeled from the unexpected pain. Sanja pressed the attack and kicked high at the beast's lowered jaw.

At the last possible moment, Theodore backed away. He put up his hands to block additional attacks.

"You bitch!" he barked in a gravelly voice as he struggled to regain his breath. He coughed. "I was just going to humiliate you. I was going to march you back to Nijel's Point wearing only the manacles, but now..." He grinned wide and slowly forced himself to stand upright. "Now I'm going to have to hurt you."

Sanja grinned too when she saw his teeth. Although not coated, there was clearly bright red blood in his mouth. That could only mean one thing; she had broken one of his ribs and the sharp bone had punctured a lung. If she could just draw the fight out, the lung would continue to fill with blood and his strength would start to fade.

Which side? Which side? she asked herself. She had seen the bulls brawl many times before. They always turned their wounds away from the attacker to try and protect themselves from further injury.

The beast moved in close and swiped at her with his claws. Again, she was ready. She ducked deep underneath the attack and pulled a tightly balled fist up from the dusty ground. She landed it hard and square at the bottom of ribcage, on his left side.

The beast cried out with a high-pitched yelp.

She had hurt him, but not nearly as badly as she had hoped. The broken rib must be on his right side.

Then he was on top of her. He grabbed both of her wrists and dropped his weight down hard on top of her. He pinned her to the ground.

"You..." he said. His awful breath was on her face. She could clearly smell the blood now. "Are... feisty." He laid down on top of her and pressed his hot muzzle to her ear. "I like feisty women."

Sanja dropped her head to the side and with an explosive twist, tried to bring one of her short horns up into his eye.

She felt it hit bone.

Now the beast yelped in true pain.

Ivory flashed and he bit down hard on her nose. Pain exploded through her face and her eyes blurred with tears.

He snarled at her - a low and jagged sound. "Don't do that again..."

She wanted to see his face, but couldn't focus through the tears. Had she cost him his eye?

"I like feisty women," he repeated, "but I don't think it's a good trait in a slave."

"Get off of me!" She struggled against his grip and tried to buck him off of her hips, but he was just too strong and heavy.

"I think I'm going to have to break you," he growled. She looked up at him. "Yes, how appropriate. I'll break you like a cowboy breaks a wild horse." He grinned evilly at her.

"I'll make you my slave; and I'll teach you to beg."

"I'll never beg for anything from you!" she shouted defiantly.

The beast dropped his furry chest down on top of Sanja's wounded nose, pinning her head in place and shooting tendrils of pain-lightning up into her brain. He curled his neck around and ever so gently took one of her long ears in his teeth.

She tried to twitch it away, but he would not let it go.

"You think not? What if I start gnawing off one of your pretty little ears?" He paused and let the horrible thought sink in. "I'd start out at the tip and slowly work my way down until you could feel my fangs scraping against your skull. You know I'd do it, too... Don't you think you'd beg me to stop?"

She knew she would too, but didn't say a word.

After what seemed like hours, he lifted his weight off of her nose and positioned his face in front of hers. "Yes, that's what I'll have to do. I'll make you my pet. And once you've learned how to act like a slave, then - and only then - will I sell you off."

He put his ears to the side in a stupid, wolfy grin. "I think I'll call your first lesson, 'I can do anything I want to you, and there's nothing you can do about it.'"

And with that, he let go of her right wrist and grabbed her right breast - fiercely, as if it were a fish that were trying to wriggle free. He opened his jaws and then bit the breast he held, hard; but unlike with her nose, he did not release it right away.

Sanja cried out as the beast's fangs cut deep into her flesh. He just held her there for what seemed like an eternity. He didn't try to rip it away, but neither did he release her.

When he finally let go, he began lapping at the blood that oozed up through her soft fur. She grabbed at his shoulder and tried to push him away, but he just licked and licked. She wanted him to leave her wounded breast alone, but the more she struggled, the more excited he seemed to get.

He started thrusting up against her, jabbing her in the thighs.

"Stop it!" she cried out.

Then he let go of her left wrist and grabbed her left breast. "Don't!" she shouted, but his teeth were already digging into her skin.

More lightning bolts of pain.

More lapping of blood.

More wildly thrusting against her.

Sanja dug her hooves into his hips and tried to push him away, but it wasn't helping. She put her right arm around the back of his neck and grabbed his right shoulder with both of her hands. She tried to peel him away from her.

He thrust up inside her and she cried out again.

"Oh, you don't like that, huh?" he whispered in her ear. "That's such a shame. I see a lot more of this in your future." He thrust himself up, deeper inside her and gave her a long slow lick from the side of her nose down to the side of her throat.

"I'm going to teach you to beg for more of this, little cow." She shook her head, but he only laughed.

"Oh yes! Yes, you will. If you're too proud... If you refuse to beg for it, then I will do... horrible things to you." He paused, either to let the thought sink in or to fantasize about how he would torture her, she didn't know. "Why, I may even pay a healer to repair some of those things, just so that I can do them once more..."