Spoils of War
Author's note: I wrote this as a belated birthday present for a good lesbian friend whose fursona is a rhino. I wrote it in such a way that it could have a sequel, should I choose to write one.
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"My father is going to be very pleased with me." Princess Dani, second heir to the Rhino Nation's Steel throne, spoke partly to herself and partly for the benefit of the captive raptoress she was dragging behind her. "Finally, he may see me as being worthy of his affections."
Behind the somewhat plump rhino, the emerald-skinned raptoress snarled in defiance, and spat on the floor. Her golden eyes seemed to glow with fire, and her tail lashed to and fro. Behind her back, her hands clenched tightly as she once again tried futilely to break the straps binding her wrists.
Dani turned her head to look askance at the raptoress. "Temper, temper. If you want survive to see the end of the war, you'd better be on your best behaviour and show the respect due us." She swivelled her head back to face the long corridor ahead of them, making the tiny beads braided into her black-and-mauve hair click together.
The corridor was several hundred metres long, and was constructed mostly of huge rounded bricks of basalt from the quarries in the north of the country. Torches flickered smokily at each door, giving the corridor some modicum of light. At the end was a massive bifurcated door of stained oak, about twenty feet wide, and so high that the flicking torchlight was barely able to illuminate the top. Two partially armoured rhino guards stood at ease in front of the door, holding their battle-axes crossed over each other. They stood at attention as the princess approached. "Greetings, your highness," they said, almost in unison, bashing their free hands against their chests in salute.
"Please tell my royal father that I have returned from the conquest of Ishbakh, and that I have a special gift to present to him," Dani ordered firmly.
"At once, your highness," responded the one on the left. He turned around and opened a small door set into the main door, stepping through it and closing it.
Through the heavy door Dani couldn't hear anything going on in the chamber beyond, and she quickly grew impatient as she waited for the guard to return. "The King will see you now," the guard said when he returned a few minutes later. He and his companion stepped to either side of the main door, which began to creak open by means of some complex mechanical system she didn't quite understand.
Dani waited until the doors were fully open before she strolled forward, yanking the chain attached to her captive's collar firmly to force the raptoress to follow. Her father's throne room was immense, about seventy feet wide, and a hundred long. Down the precise centre of the chamber was a wide red carpet trimmed with gold thread, on either side of which were four fire pits. Lining the walls, between the buttresses that held the vaulted ceiling up, were banners and weapons of the various provinces that made up the Rhino Nation, including those that had been forcefully annexed. Some of the latter even sported a few blood spatters and scorch marks.
At the far end of the carpet was a raised dais, upon which sat the King's throne. Rather than the usual ornate chair, the throne was chiselled out of obsidian and trimmed with silver. The sole concession to comfort was a red crushed velvet cushion, upon which the King sat; the throne was otherwise bare. Behind the throne was another banner, that of the Rhino Nation itself. It was dark grey, charged with a silver shield. A lightning bolt divided it diagonally into halves of red and white, containing a horn and dagger respectively.
The King, Retak the Fourth, glared impassively at his daughter as she marched up to the dais, not saying anything until she stopped at the foot of it. "An unexpected surprise to see you here, my daughter," he rumbled, leaning forward in his throne.
"I bring you a gift, sire, from the Thera tribe of the D'homi nation," Dani announced, kneeling down with her head bent.
"A gift, hmm? Rise, Dani, and elucidate on this 'gift' you bring."
Dani stood and raised her head, looking her father in the eyes. "Yes, sire. When we overran Ishbakh, we captured the leader and his daughter. I thought that such a spirited girl as this one would please you, so I brought her back." She lowered her head again. "Do you find her an acceptable gift, sire?"
There was a long pause as the King studied the raptoress. She met his gaze coolly, with the heat of anger changing her eye colour to a dark slate grey. "So, you're the mighty king of the Rhinos," she drawled dismissively, putting whole volumes of disdain into her words. "I'd expected a bit more from a tyrannical nation hell-bent on taking over the world, one poorly-defended country at a time."
Retak snorted, and levered himself out of his throne with a speed that was at odds with his size. He was standing before her in seconds, grasping her muzzle and pulling her head up to gaze directly into her eyes. "You have spirit," he growled in a low voice that oozed admiration tinted with steel. "I'm going to have fun breaking it." He let go of her muzzle and thrust her away, and turned to his daughter. "Yes, she is a worthy gift, I think. You have my praise and thanks, daughter mine."
"Thank you, sire. If I might ask, could I beg of you a small favour?"
The king paused momentarily before nodding. "Of course."
"If it is your intent on breaking her in the royal apartments, then I...I request that I be permitted to join you. It has been a long time since I have had the pleasure of dominating another, and forcing them to pleasure me." Dani kept her eyes firmly on the ground, studying the fibres in the red carpet, awaiting her father's answer.
"Hmm." Retak went back to his throne and sat down again, looking imperious as he thought over Dani's request. "Request granted. In fact, I'll let you have her first. Get her prepared for me and your brother."
Dani's head came up, and she looked up at her father. "My brother? He has returned?"
"Just this morning." His lips curled into a slight sneer. "He also brought me a gift, but I think that I shall enjoy her tomorrow." He made shooing motions. "Get up, and take our...guest to be cleaned up. She smells quite fragrant."
"At once, sire." Dani stood up and turned to leave the throne room. "Come along, you."
"I have a name," protested the raptoress as she was forced to follow behind the rhino princess. "Or is it too much below your dignity to use it?"
Dani didn't bother replying. Instead she increased her pace, making the raptoress nearly trip up several times as she tried to keep up.
The trip to the bathhouse took several minutes, and went down three levels, into the bowels of the palace. When they got there, Dani commandeered one of the private rooms, and shooed the startled attendant away, closing the thick oaken door with a firm slam and locking it. She fetched towels, soaps and lotions from the cupboard in which they were kept and placed them upon a bench that ran along one side of the room. Finally she turned to the raptoress. "Turn around," she ordered.
"Why should I?" the raptoress snarled back.
"So I can untie your wrists, you stupid bitch," snapped Dani. "Or do you want to try to bath with your tongue or feet? Suits me fine."
The raptoress slowly turned around, offering her bound wrists to the princess, not trusting herself to reply.
"There. Doesn't that feel better?" Dani said once she'd pulled the ropes away, leaving the raptoress to rub at her chafed wrists."
"Yes," came the eventual reply. The raptoress stared back at the rhino, daring her to say or do something that might elicit a more physical response than just words.
Dani stared back, crossing her arms, chewing on her bottom lip as she regarded the raptoress. After about twenty seconds of just silent contemplation, she began to remove her uniform, which, she had to admit, also smelled rather a lot of blood, sweat and the gods knew what else. It took some time to remove the surcoat, the chain mail, the undershirt and everything else that, by custom (and sometimes necessity) she was forced to lug around on her body. When at last she'd finally stripped to her bare body she grabbed a bottle of scented liquid soap, and stepped carefully into the large rectangular pool of hot water that had been sunk into the ground, and submerged herself to her neck. The only sound in the room was the rushing of the hot water as it flowed out of a pipe into the pool.
The raptoress stayed on the floor, glaring at Dani.
The rhino sighed. "Sand'ra," she said, using the raptoress' name for the first time since she'd been brought to the palace. "Join me. Not as a prisoner, but as someone who needs a bath and a good scrub down. While we're in here, no one will bother us. It'll just be you and me, enjoying a hot soak. In fact...." Dani trailed off momentarily then picked up again. "We can speak freely in here. This is one of the very few places in the palace where one can have total privacy, and not have to worry about conversations being heard by unfriendly ears, which, in this place, are everywhere."
Sand'ra looked at Dani, then at the gently steaming water. Tentatively she crept closer to the pool, then slowly lowered herself into it, gasping at the heat of it against her scales. She moved to the opposite side of the pool from Dani, not wanting to get any closer to her.
Dani didn't say anything. She just poured some soap into her hand and began to massage it over her upper body. "Want some?" she asked Sand'ra, pouring more soap into her hand before proffering the bottle.
"Uh...yes," Sand'ra replied hesitantly, reaching for the bottle and almost snatching it from Dani's hand.
The princess watched Sand'ra as she soaped herself, then submerged to rinse the suds off. "Sand'ra," she began, pausing as she wondered what to say next. She sighed and rubbed at her forehead. "I'm sorry," she eventually murmured, looking directly at the raptoress.
"Sorry?" Sand'ra stopped rubbing soap over her now shinier emerald scales and stared accusingly at Dani. "Sorry for what? Sorry for abducting me, for taking me away from my family, my home? Sorry for, for looting and pillaging my city, for the death and destruction you exacted upon us? Sorry for destroying what was a peaceful nation of no possible threat to you?" Her voice rose in volume until she was almost screaming.
"I, I, I know," Dani muttered, looking down into the water through the billowing steam. "But believe me when I say that it's not necessarily what I want to do! If I had my way, I'd leave you alone. Hell, if I could, I'd probably try to make reparations for what we've done. But I can't. This is all my father's doing." She lifted her head and fixed Sand'ra with a hard stare. "You know when this business of war and destruction came about? Eleven years ago, when my grandfather died. Until then, we were happy with our lot, and traded with our neighbours. When my father took the throne, everything changed. Suddenly what we had was not enough. We had to have more - more pasture, more food, more wood, coal, salt, anything.... Almost overnight we became a nation bent on conquest." The princess sighed and slumped down into the water, until her chin was barely above the surface. "Me and my brothers...were pretty much conscripted. If we didn't do his bidding, he'd have us branded as traitors and sent to the gallows." There was a long pause before she added, "That's not something I wish to experience."
Before Sand'ra could say something, Dani continued. "I'm not normally a cold-hearted bitch, but for my safety and well-being I have to be. My father's spies are like vultures, circulating through the palace to catch the slightest hint of rumour. Quite frankly, if they knew that I didn't share the views and attitudes of my father, then I'd be hanged by the count of ten. The bathing rooms are almost literally the only place where the spies won't go. Even if they did, they'd have a lot of trouble trying to hear through walls and doors nearly four feet thick, and over the water." Dani fell silent, leaving the rushing water to provide the only sound.
"Wow," murmured Sand'ra eventually. "That's...harsh." Her anger and indignation drained away somewhat, to be replaced with...sympathy? Despite herself, she moved slowly through the rippling water to sit beside the princess. "Is there no one who you can turn to for help?"
Dani shook her head. "Not really. These days it's almost impossible to trust anyone. Possibly my mother, if she was still alive. But...." She sighed heavily, and turned her head to face Sand'ra. "She died not long after I was born. Apparently complications relating to my birth. I have my doubts about that, though."
The raptoress chewed on her bottom lip for a few moments, then tentatively moved to give Dani a gentle hug.
Taken aback, Dani resisted for a moment before she relaxed. Her lips curved in a slight smile, and she reciprocated with her own arms.
The two hugged for a couple of minutes, Dani hugging a little more forcefully. "You know, I can't remember the last time I had a hug," she murmured, pulling away slightly. "Affection tends to be rather curtailed here." She raised a hand and lightly stroked the raptoress' cheek. "Even sex is passionless, though I guess it's a little better for me. Men just want to fuck, shoot their loads and leave, but I guess when one's in the army, there's not much time for anything else." She continued stroking, liking how the shiny scales felt beneath her calloused fingertips. "Women, though...tend to be more passionate. We know what makes us feel good. As not many of us are on the front lines, we can afford some extra time to play." Without knowing it, her voice had descended into a lower register, the soft, silky tone that she used when she was starting to feel aroused.
Sand'ra noticed the vocal change and pulled away a bit, narrowing her eyes. "Are you coming on to me?"
"I...guess I am," Dani admitted, turning her head and blushing slightly. "It's been so long since I've been able to be with another woman...particularly one that's rather...attractive." She turned back to Sand'ra. "You are quite beautiful." She reached up to touch the raptoress' cheek again, lightly trailing her fingers down over the scaled shoulders, arm...then the soft curve of Sand'ra's breast.
The raptoress hissed through her teeth, amazed at Dani's audacity, and pleased at the compliment. "Uh, thank you," she murmured, glancing downward to watch the rhino's hand caress her left breast. The thumb circled around her nipple a few times, then moved to lightly rub over it. "Ooh, that feels good."
Dani smiled, a little shyly. "Would you...care to sit in my lap?" she asked.
"Sure," replied Sand'ra, pushing herself away from the pool's wall and moving slowly through the water to straddle the rhino's legs. "Mmm, like this?" Dani was somewhat bigger than Sand'ra, so her legs were about the right size to support the raptoress' body.
"Mmhmm." Dani nodded and resumed caressing Sand'ra's bosom. Her breasts were just big enough that there was something to hold and squeeze. She moved her hands to cover both of them, gently massaging whilst rubbing her thumbs over the now hard nubs of her nipples, which were a soft pink colour that contrasted with the soft forest green scales surrounding them. She lifted her eyes to look into Sand'ra's, and smiled.
The raptoress gazed back, her golden eyes seeming to glitter. Despite herself, she found herself falling for this rhino that had captured her and taken her away from her home and family. Dani had shown that she was not just a faceless, emotionless enemy, but someone with feelings, concerns and worries of her own, and a depth of passion that ignored their differences. She squirmed a little on Dani's legs as her tits were so carefully and gently massaged.
After a minute or so Dani pulled the raptoress closer, aiming her thick grey lips at Sand'ra's slim green ones. There was a moment of hesitant reluctance, then Sand'ra relented. Their lips pressed together, softly at first, then more firmly. Dani mmmed into the kiss, tilting her head a bit and parting her lips. Much to her surprise she felt the raptoress' thin, agile tongue sliding into her mouth. Her lips curved into a smile and she reciprocated, wiggling her own, much larger tongue against Sand'ra's in a mock duel.
It was an odd experience, Sand'ra thought as she suckled upon the rhino's thick tongue. She mused on this unlikely situation that she found herself in, even as her own hands sought Dani's breasts. They were quite big, filling her hands completely, and had a nice, comfortable weight to them. Somewhat irrationally, she suddenly thought of her mother - she'd had breasts almost like this. Her eyes teared up, and she suddenly moved to clasp Dani in a fierce hug, resting her head upon the rhino's shoulder as she began to sob.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Dani murmured, startled at the sudden emotional outburst. Awkwardly she held Sand'ra close, letting the raptoress cry on her shoulder. "Was I going too fast?"
It was a short time before Sand'ra calmed enough to reply. "Sorry. It's just that...your breasts reminded me of my mother. They were like yours, but a bit smaller. She always went around topless, and when she read us stories at night we'd rest our heads on them and listen to her heartbeat while she read." She sniffled and pulled herself away, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm fine now, I think."
"Um...what happened to her?" Dani murmured quietly, gently stroking her fingers over Sand'ra's cheeks.
"Hunting accident," Sand'ra murmured softly. "Trampled by a stampede when the beasts were startled too early." She sighed and leaned against Dani. "I knew that there was always the risk that someone wouldn't come home from a hunt, but...I didn't expect it to be her. Life was never the same afterwards."
Dani quietly pulled Sand'ra to her, slipping her arms around the raptoress and just holding her. They stayed in an embrace for several minutes, Dani lightly stroking her calloused hands over Sand'ra's back.
"You're a much nicer person in private," Sand'ra murmured, pulling back and smiling softly at Dani. She leaned her head forward and gently pressed her lips to Dani's. "You know, if it wasn't for this war and your father...we could possibly have something between us."
"Mmm," the rhino agreed with a slight nod. "While we're in here, though, we can." She smiled and returned the light kiss. "If you want to, that is."
The raptoress wiggled her rump on Dani's legs. "I'd love to. Might be the only good thing I can get out of my situation today."
"True," Dani murmured. "Why don't you sit yourself up on the edge there, and spread your legs for me," she suggested.
Sand'ra did so, sliding off Dani's legs and heaving herself up out of the pool. "Ugh, it's all cold and wet up here," she complained as she positioned herself. She leaned back, supporting herself on her straightened arms, and spread her legs to reveal the pale green folds shielding her pink inner tunnel from view. Her feet dangled in the water, idly kicking.
Dani moved off the underwater shelf and swished languidly through the water as she watched Sand'ra. "Very nice," she commented in a pleased tone, swimming closer to get a better look. She knelt on the shelf and moved her head in closer, sniffing. After a few seconds she began to pick up the scent of Sand'ra's sex, which was somewhat nullified by the sulphurous aroma of the water, which was sourced from nearby hot springs. Gently the rhino spread Sand'ra's labia with her thumbs, gazing upon the soft pink of the raptoress' pussy. The small nub of her clit sat above the slightly pouting entrance to Sand'ra's inner sanctum.
"Like what you see?" Sand'ra asked in a shy voice, suddenly feeling quite exposed.
"Mmhmm." Dani pushed her nose in closer and licked over Sand'ra's clit with her large, heavy tongue, eliciting a surprised gasp from the raptoress. With the lightness of experience, Dani slowly explored Sand'ra's sex from top to bottom. The tip of her tongue teased at the clit now and then when it wasn't wiggling up into the pungent warmth of the vagina beneath it. Sand'ra's juices were beginning to flow nicely; they had a tangy sweetness that she found quite pleasant. She even slipped down to caress her tongue over Sand'ra's puckered tailhole, which tensed and fluttered in response.
"What are you doing?" Sand'ra asked in surprise the first time she felt her rear entrance being tongued. "No one's ever done that to me before."
Dani looked up and smiled, moving a finger to rub gently at the hole in question, making Sand'ra squirm a bit on the slick tiles upon which she lay. "Some like it. It's one of the most sensitive parts of the body, and can often give pleasure when stimulated in the right way." She slipped her finger into her mouth, getting it wet with her saliva, then pressed it against the crinkled hole, easing just the tip of it in.
"It hurts...a little," Sand'ra moaned when she felt her virgin tailhole being penetrated. Her breathing became shallower as Dani carefully thrust her finger in and out, gradually gaining more depth. Then she felt a jolt of pleasure from her clit; Dani had started rubbing it with her thumb. Inside her butthole, the thick rhino finger had bent, and was now stroking her cunt from the rear. Sand'ra was caught between conflicting sensations of discomfort and pleasure. Together they made her feel kind of good.
Suddenly Dani completely withdrew, leaving Sand'ra rather unsatisfied. She glanced down to see Dani looking back at her.
"Are you a virgin?" Dani asked.
Caught off-guard, Sand'ra took several seconds to respond. "Uh, no...only in my butt," she added, blushing.
"Good. Then perhaps you'd like to ride my horn?" Dani suggested with a grin. "It's a little fantasy I've had for a long time."
Sand'ra pushed herself up and looked more closely at Dani's horn. It was about three inches thick at the base, and about ten inches long, tapering to a rounded tip. It curved slightly toward Dani's forehead. Though it seemed to be rough keratin, as most horns are, it was polished smooth. Intrigued, Sand'ra leaned closer and slid her fingers over the horn, encircling it and stroking it. "It...feels nice," she mused, liking how though it was smooth, it still had a pleasant texture.
"If I'm going to be staring at something my whole life, it might as well look good," Dani replied with a smile. "So...you like it?"
"Yeah," the raptoress said with a nod. "I think so. You sure you want me to, uh, ride this? I mean, it's...weird."
Dani nodded. "Please." She moved a few feet over and heaved herself out of the water. She stripped off as much water as she could before she grabbed a towel and began to dry herself. Shortly she was joined by Sand'ra, and together they spent a few minutes drying each other, rubbing the increasingly wet towels over each other's bodies.
When they were dry, Dani laid herself out over a low, wide padded bench and made herself comfortable. She lay on her front, with her arms draped over the sides. "It'll be a bit awkward, but this'll have to do."
"I think I can work with that," Sand'ra murmured. She moved over to the padded bench, rubbing lightly between her legs to feel how wet she was. Privately, she'd have to admit that the thought of riding Dani's horn was pretty hot. It was bigger than any cock she'd ever taken, so she had some reservations, but she was game for it.
Carefully she straddled Dani's head, glancing down into the rhino's eyes as she tried to position the tip of Dani's horn against her vulva. "There we go," she murmured when she'd found her mark. Looking fully into Dani's upturned eyes, Sand'ra slowly lowered herself, impaling her small green body. A soft moan escaped her throat as the first few inches sank into her.
She paused when about half the horn was buried inside her. "Oooh, I can really feel it now," she murmured. She noticed that there was just space on the bench to put her legs, so she carefully swung her legs up, so that she was then squatting over Dani's muzzle. That was better. She caressed Dani's head gently and slipped her hands further forward, using the rhino's shoulders as supports, before she started to gently bounce upon Dani's horn, gradually driving it deeper into her slickening snatch.
The rhino had a wonderful view of Sand'ra's sex sliding up and down her textured horn - her eyes were just far enough away from her horn that she could focus on the raptoress' cunt stretching gently around her horn as it slipped up and down.
As Sand'ra rode Dani's horn, she took more of it into herself, until she was taking all but about two inches into her sex. She was feeling quite stretched, but it was a good feeling. She'd established a good rhythm, bouncing up and down with strong thrusts of her legs. One hand went down to rub vigorously over her clit. She looked into Dani's eyes, and grinned widely. Quite deliberately she slowed down and gave the rhino a little show.
Dani watched with aroused interest as the raptoress caressed her right breast, lifting it up to her muzzle so she could lick over the nipple with her narrow tongue, still slowly riding the thick horn buried in her wet muff. Sand'ra's other hand fiddled with her clit, rubbing it firmly. A low moan rolled from her throat as she frigged and fucked herself to climax, accompanied by sticky, squishing noises.
The horn suddenly slipped fully into Sand'ra's cunt as she reached her peak. Totally stuffed and stretched, with the horn's tip pressing uncomfortably against her cervix, she came hard. Her scream of ecstasy reached a crescendo that echoed off the walls. Dani barely had time to clench her eyes shut before a flurry of musky cunt juices splattered over her muzzle.
Sand'ra shuddered and panted hard, and leaned over Dani's prostrate body to rest briefly before she carefully pushed herself up and off the rhino's slimy horn to collapse onto the ground, leaning her head against Dani's flanks.
Dani rolled over and pushed herself up, levering herself up to lean on her elbow. She wiped her eyes clear of pussy juice, and moved her hand down to lightly stroke over Sand'ra's head. "You liked that, huh?"
"Uh-huh." The raptoress lifted her head and smiled as Dani's hand rubbed over it. "Unusual, but it was good." After a few seconds she looked up. "But you haven't come yet."
"Well," began Dani, continuing to stroke Sand'ra's head. "Would you like to have me present when I take you back up? You could eat me out while my sire and brother have their way with you."
Sand'ra sighed and looked troubled. "Yeah, I could." She fell silent, leaning her head into the head rubs. "What'll happen to me when they're finished?" she then asked in a quiet voice.
Dani looked across the room, not really seeing what she was looking at as she pondered an answer. "Uh...I guess it depends on how good a fuck you are," she murmured. "If you're a good one, my sire will want to keep you around. If not...well, I'm not sure. I've heard rumours that those who he's displeased with get fed to the gryphon mounts of the air troops." The rhino glanced down at Sand'ra. "They tend to just swallow their meals whole, preferably alive and kicking."
That was a disturbing thought. Suddenly Sand'ra had a vivid mental image of seeing herself being gulped down by a hungry gryphon, her smooth scales making it easier for her to slide down into his gurgling belly.
"However," Dani continued, "I think that I could probably persuade him to give you to me as a prize for good service or something. No guarantee on that, though." She swung herself up into an upright position and pulled Sand'ra up to give her a hug. "I'll do what I can. I don't really want to lose you."
They stayed in an embrace for several minutes before Dani reluctantly pulled away. "We'd better finish up here and go upstairs. Knowing my father, he'd probably start getting suspicious if I was away too long."
"All right." Sand'ra sighed and stood up, stretching languidly. "I guess you'd better put my restraints back on."
"In a minute. I need to put my uniform on again."
With Sand'ra's help Dani eventually had her uniform donned once again. "I hate the funky smells these things pick up," the rhino muttered as Sand'ra settled the surcoat over the chain mail. "Right. Let's get your ropes on again."
The raptoress' wrists were quickly bound again, though Dani provided a little slack to make Sand'ra a little more comfortable. "Now, remember that once we're through that door, I'll be back to being the cold bitch I was before," Dani said in a quiet voice. "Don't take it personally. Oh, and pretend that you hate my guts."
"I'll try," Sand'ra replied with a nod.
Dani unlocked the door and pulled it open; it creaked ominously as the rhino pulled at it. "Come on, bitch," she said as she strolled out, once more a confident officer of the Rhino army. She pulled firmly at the raptoress' ropes, nearly causing Sand'ra to overbalance and fall. "Don't want to keep His Majesty waiting."
A snarl was all the answer she received.
As Dani pulled her up through the levels of the palace, Sand'ra mused on her somewhat unexpected circumstances. She'd been kidnapped and brought to the enemy capital, and was now expected to be the enemy king's fuck toy, but she'd made an unlikely friend - one who might just be able to save her from taking up residence inside a gryphon's stomach when the king had tired of her. Though her situation was seemingly quite hopeless, she had at least one ally that she could trust. That fact alone would sustain her in the days to come.