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Asara flew west until she was sure the fortress she'd left was out of sight, then turned north and increased her speed, wings driving as she soared over the plains and woodlands below. Twelve hours' flight north was where her old territory had been, her old home cave, all the lands she'd known so well, and most importantly the powerful humans she'd known before her capture. Hopefully they would still be alive and still be in their positions of power, still remember who she was and how close they'd been to her...

But for those questions to be answered, she'd have to get there. Twelve hours would have been the time when she was fit and used to flying long distances without rest, but after going so long without being able to be in the air for more than half an hour at a time she knew she wouldn't have the strength to get there without stopping to rest, and likely to hunt as well. The soonest she could hope to get back to her old territory was sometime the next day.

She couldn't take too long, though, not with every second she wasted prolonging the time Toma had to suffer in Juneas' thrall. Though she knew it would leave her exhausted for days, she flew as hard as she could until she felt ready to drop from weariness; even if she was fortunate enough to find her lands in the state she'd left them in it would take at least a few days for the humans to organize their armies and she'd have time to recover her strength then. It was early evening when finally she stilled her wings and glided as long as she could before landing on a vast plain and continuing on foot, walking until she reached a stream she'd seen from the air and stopping to drink her fill. Her limbs felt stiff and heavy, especially her neck; the collar seemed like a lead weight hung around her throat, and even though she knew it was pointless she couldn't help but probe at it with her claws and do her best to remove it. She searched every inch of the thing for something weaker, softer, something she could dig her claws into or snap apart, but it felt almost flawless; she had no way of cutting through steel, and her neck would break long before the collar did. Unless she could get the humans she searched for to remove it, she would wear the reminder of her time with Juneas for the rest of her life.

And everyone else would see it, too. Even the humans, who wouldn't notice the scars and dulled scales another dragon might see, would know from her collar that she'd once been bound, captured and enslaved against her will. And of course it would only remind her of what had happened, every moment of every day, so that even if she somehow managed to settle down and live a peaceful remainder of her life she'd always have that weakness and fear eating at her mind from the knowledge that she was once so weak that she'd been captured, imprisoned, raped over and over again despite how much and how hard she'd fought... She sobbed and gave up, letting her claws fall away from her neck and collapsing in the thick grass. It seemed Juneas would never cease to torment her, even if he was on the other side of the world.

Asara rested the remainder of the night, then woke up again before dawn and managed to pluck a couple of napping deer from within a herd not far from where she'd stopped to sleep--so she could still hunt, after all. She ate and rested for a little while to digest her meal, then resumed her journey. The plains sprawled seemingly endlessly beneath her in every direction, fading all the way to the horizon of even a dragon's vision, and the unchanging landscape only served to increase her tiredness as the flight wore on. Every look down at the thick grasses made her seem like she hadn't gone anywhere at all, every gust of wind that brought the scents of that same static environment... Then finally the peaks of mountains appeared to her north and she somehow found the strength to increase her speed still further, flying as hard as she could until she reached the end of the long plains, banking towards the flatlands just south of the first mountain, where a massive human city waited for her.

Gairvel was even larger than she remembered, but the castle at its center seemed unchanged from the air. Even the square she'd typically landed in back when she'd had the freedom to visit the city whenever she wanted was still there, though instead of being kept mostly empty it had now become a busy marketplace. She paused and began to circle, looking at the buildings below her; where was she supposed to land? More importantly, would it be safe to land anywhere in the city? She swooped lower and angled towards the castle, her eyes settling on the open square before its gates: there was enough room there for her to set down, though if these humans were no longer friendly the guards there could be able to overwhelm her if she wasn't careful.

The few humans in the cobblestone avenue scattered as she came in to land, but two rows of armored guards with spears hurried to get between her and the castle's open gate before she could fold her wings and move forward. More guards with bows appeared at the top of the walls, arrows aimed at her, and she hurried to press herself against the ground from head to tail so the humans wouldn't feel even more threatened by her.

Everyone was silent for a little while, some of the guards smelling--and looking--very nervous, then Asara raised her head again, slowly. She'd been hoping someone on the guard would recognize her, but if not then it wasn't a good sign...

"Asara?" She focused her gaze on one of the spearmen, the tall one in the middle of the second row who'd lowered the point of his weapon. "Asara, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, relieved, and stood up again. The sound and scent of this man stirred something in her memory, and she connected them to a name after a moment. "I'm glad to hear I'm remembered here, Garrett. Still on the guard, I see?"

He smiled back at her. "A Captain of the guard, nowadays. Stand down, guard!" he raised his voice and turned around so the men on the walls could hear him clearly. "Asara here is an old friend of the King's, for those too young to remember her. She means this city no harm."

The men paused a moment, some of them looking uncertain, but they lowered their weapons and eventually began to return to their posts. "Is King William inside?"

"Yes, and today's one of his audience days, too, so we won't have to go looking for him. Oh! You won't have heard the good news; the queen had a son this past month. The whole city has been rejoicing."

She sighed, and the two of them began to walk onto the castle grounds. "It seems I missed a lot of things. He had just the one daughter when I... left, so how many does he have now?"

"Julia, Elizabeth, Patricia, and now little Edward. You were gone a long time, Asara, and we missed you very much... It's been how long, ten years? Fifteen? Where'd you go?"

"A little more than twelve years, I think, but it's a story I only want to have to tell once. I will give it to William, and you can hear it then."

His eyes turned towards her collar for a moment as they walked into the castle, but he didn't press her further. They walked down a short hallway, then took a turn and continued through a crowded antechamber--Asara had to step carefully over and around all the humans, many of whom were more than a little surprised and frightened by the sight of a dragon so close; fifteen years ago most people wouldn't have even looked up from whatever they were doing when she walked by. Their gasps and short cries of alarm faded to silence after a moment, though, and Garrett led her through one final guarded doorway to King William's main audience chamber.

The humans at the far end of the massive room had been in the middle of a heated conversation, but all went quiet as they turned to stare at her, then finally after a few seconds of shocked silence a man in red robes and a thin silver crown stood up from his raised wooden chair and said, "Asara?"

"King William," she lowered her head and crept over to his throne, letting him pat her snout. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," he smiled and sat down again, nodding to a couple of other humans; they quickly shepherded the men he'd been arguing with out of her way. "What happened to you? You disappeared so suddenly, and there were rumors of unfriendly soldiers near your cave... Where did you go?"

She sat back on her haunches with a sigh. "I'll get to that. But first--please call your best blacksmith here, as fast as you can. I need this taken off," she growled and pawed at her collar.

"Right away!" he nodded to another attendant, who hurried from the room. "Why, is it choking you, or pinching your scales? Who would dare put something like that around your neck?"

"No, it's not hurting me... not physically, anyway. But I want it off as soon as possible."

"Of course."

"As for what happened..." she groaned and laid down on her belly. "You were right to guess about the soldiers. They came up to my cave one night, ambushed me and bound me with chains, then forced me to march with them all the way back to their own lands. They had been sent by another dragon, Juneas, and he..." She shivered and huddled against the floor. "He raped me, over and over again, and kept me in chains so I couldn't stop him."

Everyone was silent for a little while, then William got down from his throne and knelt next to her head, stroking her snout and trying to soothe her. "That's terrible... I wish we could have helped, but we had no idea what had happened to you."

She looked away, but let him keep petting her cheek. "Every day he violated me, every day for ten years until I just didn't have the will to fight him anymore. That was what he'd wanted me to do, to fight him, so once I couldn't anymore he sent his men out to capture another dragoness to take my place, and once he had her he let me go."

"But he left you with a reminder of what he'd done," he nodded. "No wonder you want it off so badly." He started to examine the collar. "Just let me find the lock, and we can probably have someone pick it..."

"You can't," she whimpered. "He had someone pour molten metal into the keyhole to fuse the lock shut."

He seemed to find the keyhole then, and nodded. "You're right, it's sealed shut; I'll have to get Henry to cut through it for you, but it shouldn't be too bad if you don't mind him hammering away at the thing for a little while."

"I'll do anything, as long as it comes off."

They were quiet for a little while, waiting for the smith to arrive, then Garrett said, "I can't believe a dragon would dare to do something like that to you. It's... Well, it makes me want to dig my spear into him a little. He didn't even duel you first or anything?"

She shook her head. "He didn't let me have a single minute out of my chains until I lost the strength to resist him, and after that... Even if I'd had the will I never would have stood a chance against him and the two thousand soldiers he commands. But I didn't just come here to have my collar taken off, or because I missed you all... King William," she raised her head and looked down at him, "I need to ask a favor of you; you're the only one I could think of to go for help. As I said, Juneas let me go once he had another dragoness to abuse, and I don't want to let him torment her for so long like he did with me. Is there any chance I could convince you to let me lead your army to his fortress, defeat him and his men and free his captive?"

"Yes," he said instantly, so fast that even he seemed a little shocked by it. "I make sure all my subjects are given fair treatment, and you were once much closer to me than many of them; I will do whatever is necessary to have this other dragon brought to justice. Two thousand men and a dragon, you say, in a fortress? I'll have to ask my generals how much of the army to send but I imagine it won't be the whole ten thousand. Shall I have them prepare as quickly as they can?"

"Please. Just the thought of him doing to Toma what he did to me..." Asara shivered again. "Have them prepare as quickly as possible without making mistakes."

"Of course. How long is the journey?"

"For me, about twelve hours of flying... Maybe three hundred miles."

He shook his head. "And for us, that's a month's march. It could take some time to coordinate the supply trains, I'm afraid... Probably a week until the army is ready to move, but I'll let them give you a better estimate, and I'm sure you can help them prepare and strategize."

A man wearing a heavy apron and a belt of tools walked in through a side door. "You sent fo--" Then he saw Asara and stopped mid-word.

"Yes, Henry, we need your help. Poor Asara here has been bound with a collar she cannot remove herself, and needs you to take it off for her."

Being given a task to perform seemed to help him recover from his surprise. "Very well. Is there a lock I can open, or must it be cut through?"

"There was once a lock, but it was fused shut. You're going to have to hammer it open."

Asara laid her neck on the ground, and the stout man walked over to examine the collar. "Hmm... Unfortunately, dragon, this collar is made from some fine steel; it's going to take some work to hammer through. Just let me send for something to put between your neck and the collar..."

She growled. "Don't bother; my scales are stout enough. Please, just take it off, and quickly."

"Of course. Let me know if this starts to hurt; wouldn't want to damage your spine by accident." He removed his belt of tools and considered them for a little while, then took a sharp-tipped hammer in his hands and swung it down hard against the collar. A loud ringing noise reverberated through the chamber and through her body, making her head hurt for a moment, but it didn't damage her neck at all so she nodded for him to continue.

It didn't take nearly as long as she expected it to, especially considering he'd said it was good steel; barely five minutes later the sound of the hammering abruptly changed, and on Henry's next swing she felt the collar give way. She groaned and raised her head, and the collar opened on its hinge, slipping from around her throat and falling to the floor. "Oh, thank you," she rubbed at her now-freed neck with a paw and tried to smooth out the scales the collar had scraped out of place, nearly purring at the feeling of air finally running against her throat again.

"Good work, Henry," William said. "Now, Asara, let me send for my generals, then we can get to work on a plan to capture this Juneas and make sure he never collars another dragoness again."

---

Toma gave a muffled snarl and thrashed in her chains as she heard Juneas approaching the other side of the door, but all it did was get the attention of her guards before her captor himself entered her cell. "Morning," he said, walking over to sniff at her side. "Sleep well?"

She snarled again and whipped her back, managing to thrust her four paws towards his face and actually feeling a claw nick his muzzle before he snorted and pulled his head away again.

"I'd missed having a toy who was so defiant... I finally sent my old pet away earlier this morning, so it's time to move you into the nicer cell." He waved his attendants forward, and two guards held spears against her throat while the attendants adjusted her shackles so she could walk. "This one is good enough when I have to use it, but I never meant for it to be a long-term holding cell so it doesn't have all the options the other cell has. Not sure what I'll do with this one until the next time I need it... Maybe it can be storage, or shelter during a bad storm, or the families of my soldiers can come here if the fortress is ever attacked. Come on now, follow me..."

His attendants attached reins to her bridle then all stepped away, Juneas pausing to loop the reins around his paw. "Let's go," he growled.

Toma glared at him, not even bothering to stand up. "Nn," she grunted.

"Yes," he flicked his tail and tugged on her reins. "Walk with me to your new cell."

She extended her claws and snorted, glaring at him. Asara was gone now, as he'd said, and that meant there was nobody here to distract him from her; as soon as he got her into that cell he was going to rape her again, she was sure. And anything she could do to hold him off, even if it would only be for a little while...

He kicked her in the side, then when she didn't move he kicked her harder in the chest, making her buck and cry out at the pain. "Come with me," he said.

"Mmmrg!" She swiped at him with her tail, but he blocked it easily.

"Oh, is that the part of your body you want me to pay attention to?" He pressed both his front paws down on her belly and the base of her tail, then pulled hard against her reins to force her to raise her head and watch as he took one of his claws and rubbed it against the edge of her vent. She gasped as he began to massage the incredibly sensitive spot, squirmed, then rolled away from him and got to her feet, shivering and holding her head low with her tail tucked between her hind legs.

"Now will you follow me?" he grinned, licking the claw he'd teased her with.

She just shivered again, but when Juneas tugged her reins and began to walk she followed meekly along behind him, letting him lead her to the hall and into the thick-barred cell that had been Asara's old home. The scents in the cell made her moan and tremble as she recognized them: Asara's smell and his laid strongly over each other, each laced with the distinctive musk of arousal.

"Here we are," he said, and sat back on his haunches. "Much nicer, don't you think? And so much for us to use to have fun in here..." He nodded towards all the anchors for her bonds set into the floor and walls. "Speaking of which, get a shackle for the base of her tail and six anchor-ties; spread-eagle her on her back," he ordered his attendants, who hurried off to get the equipment he'd asked for.

She moaned again at the thought of what he was sure to be about to do to her, collapsing onto her belly. How had Asara managed to keep resisting him for ten years? She couldn't fight him, she couldn't hold him off, and if she refused to obey even the most harmless of his orders he'd respond by beating and violating her until she gave up. How was she supposed to put up with this for so long? Yes, she hated him and what he was doing to her, but that alone wasn't going to keep her strong...

But giving in was just as unthinkable. Juneas had no right to do this to her, she had done nothing to deserve such treatment, and Asara wanted her to be strong until she could return... Just because it was hard didn't mean she had to give up, she growled softly to herself, tongue rubbing against the bit in the back of her mouth. She could keep resisting, no matter how hard it was; she wasn't going to let him rape her without a fight. He would never break her.

His attendants returned a minute later, and though she struggled for a few moments he was able to help them roll her onto her back and bind her neck, paws and tail one at a time to anchors set into the ground. The bonds left her on her back with neck and paws extended out away from each other as far as they could go, helpless and fully exposed, and they locked another thick shackle around her tail near its base that kept her from using it to hide her vent from him. "Yesterday's environment was not the best for familiarizing myself with you," Juneas said softly, and approached to sniff at her throat and muzzle. "This is much better; quieter, more peaceful, and I can go at my own pace. Now let's have a nice long look at you, shall we? Every scale, every limb, every muscle... Let's use some time to take it all in."

She growled and twisted, straining against her bonds, but with her paws all spread so far apart she could barely throw her strength against the shackles--as if she would have had a chance to break free in any other position. They allowed her limbs barely a claw's width of movement, not nearly enough to put any force into her struggles, and all she could do was lie there and watch as Juneas began to examine her. He took in all the features of her body slowly, thoroughly, taking the time to probe at each muscle, each joint, each patch of scale with his claws, his snout and occasionally even his tongue to best get to know her form. She tried to turn her head to keep glaring at him as he moved away along her body, but the collar and its anchor were too tight for her to even raise her head off the ground and it was all she could do just to keep him mostly in her sight.

As Juneas worked his way down her torso he turned his back on her head, so she had a perfect view of his hindquarters, belly and tail--and his slowly building arousal. The sight of his cock slipping from its slit and steadily swelling made her dread what was to come still further, a hollow knot of fear forming in her belly as she stared at the main instrument of her torture. For a moment she thought he might not have realized what he was showing her, but then he began to rock his hips back and forth, raising his tail a little bit to give her a better view and even thrusting a little to make sure she knew without a doubt what he would soon be doing to her; then he looked back and said, "like what you see?"

She tried to roar, but again her bridle stifled it to barely a moan. "Lllmff mm llmmmrrrgh!" she raged, but he only laughed at her helplessness and went back to examining her, making slow progress down along her chest. He continued to make sure she had a good view of his penis, fully erect now with its head bobbing in time with his movements, and she was forced to fight down the onset of her own unwanted arousal as his powerful scent washed over her.

Then he arrived at her hindquarters, and she shivered a little as she felt the gusts of breath from his nostrils against her belly. She laid as still as she could, hoping he'd move on quickly to some part of her she didn't mind being so forcibly exposed, but he lingered for nearly half an hour with his snout between her hind legs, sniffing, nosing, following the lines of her hips and flanks with his claws... For a second time his claw grazed against her vent, this time slowly tracing its shape and the small bulge where the folds of skin swelled out from her hips. She shivered again, managing to keep herself from getting excited by the hints of stimulation, but then his snout dipped again and she felt the warm, firm dampness of his tongue brush against the most sensitive point of her sex.

"Nnn!" Toma snarled and thrashed, back arching up away from the floor as she fought as hard as she could against her restraints to get her belly away from him. But again they proved much too strong for her and he only seemed to enjoy watching her struggle, balancing on three legs, stroking his cock with a forepaw and running his tongue slowly from one edge of her vent to the other and back again as she continued to squirm helplessly against the shackles that pinned her down.

"Sensitive?" he finally raised his head, tail lashing.

"Lll klll oomff," she growled again.

He laughed mockingly. "Yes, I know you want me to take you so badly, but I still have to look over your tail. It won't be too much longer, don't worry..."

She twisted and clenched her claws, wishing so badly for a chance to strike back at him, to flee, even just to protect herself for a little while. "Gmmff oom mrrrff!"

Juneas just ignored her and she subsided again after a moment, turning her head so she wouldn't be able to see that thing hanging between his hind legs while she waited for him to finish his examination. But her tail alone took him nearly ten minutes, as he held it down one part at a time to investigate it; he seemed to take particular interest in its tip, feeling it with his claws, letting her curl it a little, then even nipping at it before finally he turned around and prowled back up to her head.

"Such a fine body you have," he murmured, rubbing his claws over her snout, feeling at her jaws and cheeks between the straps of her bridle and shifting her lips out of the way to get a good view of her teeth. "I can't think of much that makes me happier than knowing that this beautiful form of yours will be mine to play with for as long as I want it..."

She bucked and glared at him. "Grrm mmnnnff."

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy using you," he purred, moving to straddle her and bringing his weight down on her so she could feel the hot, stiff presence of his arousal against her belly. She bucked again and growled, hind paws straining as hard as they could as she tried desperately to close her hind legs and force him away from her, but now it wasn't just her bonds but also his weight against her inner thighs that forced her legs apart and she couldn't move them even a claw's width.

"Nnn," she moaned again, pleading with wide eyes, only for him to ignore her once again. After a little while the pressure of him against her disappeared, but that was only replaced by the feeling of the head of his cock rubbing against her scales as he searched for her opening. Then he found it, groaned with anticipation, and let his weight fall again on top of her, plunging deep inside of her.

Toma thrashed, glared at him, moaned her displeasure, but there was nothing she could do to dislodge him and she was forced to lie there, helpless, as he slowly gathered himself and began to thrust. There was no cheering crowd this time but it still felt just as terrible, knowing she had no choice but to let him take her. Again she felt no pleasure despite the sensations resonating within her; all was buried beneath the horror and shame of rape as she squirmed, bucked, did whatever she could to fight even though she knew it was no use, the chains holding firm and his weight pinning her to the floor as he continued to pivot up and down, sliding smoothly in and out of her. Eventually as he increased the speed of his thrusts he swung his head forward and sank his teeth into the scales of her throat, biting harder until she moaned again and went still beneath him, submitting entirely to the strength of his lust.

Juneas continued to thrust for what felt like hours, keeping slow and steady until she feared she wouldn't be able to fight down the pleasure building deep within her own body. But finally he began to hump her more rapidly, groaning at the effort with muscles clenching all up and down his body as his arousal grew stronger and stronger, feeling hard as iron inside her before at last he reached his orgasm, digging into her with claws and teeth as he filled her. She couldn't keep herself from crying this time, tears streaming from her eyes as she waited helplessly for him to stand.

But he didn't stand, seeming to want to prolong her torture as long as he could. He laid as if asleep on top of her, sides heaving as he recovered his breath; she felt something shift in her vent and she thought for a moment that he would finally get off her, but he hadn't moved, it was only his penis slowly shrinking and slipping back into his slit. It took a few minutes, but finally his arousal disappeared completely and he slowly got to his feet, rising off of her and pausing to nuzzle beneath her jaw before he turned to walk from her cell. "Clean her wounds, let her off her back and bind her paws together, then leave her alone until dinnertime."

Toma didn't have the strength to resist as the humans cleaned and bandaged the cuts he'd torn through her scales, then released her shackles from the anchors that held them only to chain her paws together again and tie her reins to her paws, forcing her into a ball and leaving her there by herself. She could only whimper and lie still on the floor, the heat of his seed within her burning like a brand against her insides as the fear and sadness welled up in her mind. Even with her flanks and tail squeezed firmly together she felt as if she was still exposed to the world, every hint of shifting air against her hindquarters making her remember how it had felt to be forced to display herself and to be so helpless while he took out his lust on her.

There was no anger, at least not at first, but after a little while the despair began to fade and she felt the flaring strength of her rage build up inside her again. She didn't waste it fighting the shackles this time; instead she let her anger into her mind, using it to focus her thoughts as she tried to think of some way, any way, to deny her captor the next time he came to rape her.

---

"How high and how thick are the walls?"

Asara thought for a moment. "Tall enough for me to fit through the gates without having to crouch, but not so tall that I can't put my front paws up on them if I rear back." She hesitated, then reared onto her hind legs and held her paw about where she thought the top of the walls of Juneas' fortress stood. "Maybe this high."

The general of King William's army nodded. "And how thick?"

"Wide enough for a man to lie down across the top, plus battlements."

"What can you tell us about the gates?" the second general asked.

"They're thick, stout wood reinforced with a couple bars of metal, again tall enough for me to easily pass through, but I didn't notice anything else about them."

"Do you know if they had slats that spears and arrows could be sent through, or if they'd been treated to resist fire?"

"I don't know... The walls weren't much of an obstacle for me on the few occasions I saw them, so I didn't pay much attention to the gate."

"Don't worry; unless they have some unusual surprises then we have all the information we need. Standard wall-breaching equipment, I think, so we'll have to get carts and draft animals to carry them."

"Why bother?" Asara shuffled her wings. "I can charge right through the gates or even the walls to make a good hole for your troops to get through. Don't bother with ladders or rams or any of that; I can do the job much more easily."

The first general shook his head. "No. You must keep all your attention on Juneas to make sure he doesn't fly away or attack our army himself, and even if you had time to make a hole for us before fighting him we'd need more than one way into the fortress. Our advantage will be numbers, and we can't use that advantage if we're bottled up into one little opening. We must spread his troops thin across several breach points to take full advantage of the size of our army. However..." He looked up at her for a moment, thinking, then said, "if I could have a harness designed for you, it would make our burden of supplies somewhat easier if you could pull some of our carts of equipment while we marched and reduce the number of draft animals we'll have to use--and feed. We've already discussed how you can't carry more than a few of us in the air, but can you pull a load while walking along the ground?"

"Yes. But whatever you design needs to be easily detached from the carts, light, and unrestricting, or easy to remove entirely; Juneas won't be sitting in his castle the entire time, and if he flies over the army before we reach his fortress I'll have to be able to quickly get into the air to defend your soldiers from him."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll have tanners and horsemasters come design a cart harness for you sometime this afternoon... It won't be much different than a horse's, I imagine, it'll just have to stay out of the way of your wings, and once it's ready we'll see how much you'll be able to pull for us."

"Back to the fortress," the second general said, "could you describe its interior grounds? Important buildings, obstacles, general layout, that sort of thing..."

The two generals questioned her closely all morning for as much information as they could get about the fortress, Juneas and his soldiers, the lands surrounding the fortress and other such topics before settling on how much of the army they'd need to bring: four thousand troops, they decided, to ensure victory. "You're sure it's just two thousand in his army, though? I want to be sure we outnumber them substantially, because we don't know how well-trained they are."

"They seemed good at what they did," she sighed, "but yes, I'm fairly sure of the number... though the soldiers' families live with them in the fortress, so if they aren't somewhere out of the way that might make their numbers seem larger once we're inside the walls."

"I'd feel comfortable with four thousand and a dragon against two thousand, a dragon, and a stout fortress. It'll help that we won't be trying to kill them all, just fight long enough to get Juneas to surrender. But if we could get to Toma as fast as possible, maybe she could help us... You're sure she will be chained?"

Asara snarled when his words brought back far too many memories. "I'm sure."

"I didn't mean to offend," he raised his hands. "But this battle is going to hinge on your ability to fight Juneas, that much is clear. Do you think you could defeat him on your own?"

She paused and shivered a little. "I... He is strong, and larger than I am. It would be difficult, but... Maybe," she pawed at the ground. "Maybe I could do it."

"'Maybe' isn't what we're looking for," one general said. "We must be certain of victory--"

The other general cut him off. "You don't necessarily have to beat him on your own. If you could tear up his wings enough to keep him from flying off, we could help you overwhelm him on the ground."

"Our men in close quarters against a dragon? They wouldn't stand a chance!"

She growled. "I would be there with them, keeping them out of harm's way and distracting Juneas so they can get in close enough to put a blade to his throat. It could work."

The discussions and arguments over potential battle strategies continued all week as the generals prepared the army to march. First certain divisions of the full army had to be selected to go to the battle, then the men had to be notified, outfitted and organized into their columns; massive trains of supply carts filled with traveling rations for the soldiers had to be prepared, along with feed for the animals needed to pull them; and Asara herself had to be outfitted with a harness that let her pull whole rows of carts, and through testing they discovered she could tow nearly all their siege equipment on her own. Then there was medical equipment, and messengers and scouts to get information from Gairvel and from the lands between them and Juneas' fortress, and since Asara would be pulling carts all day she would be too tired to also hunt for herself each day and had to have several carts with her own month's rations of dried and preserved meats prepared for the journey.

She couldn't help but be pleased by their preparations, though, and on the final day before their march began she looked out at the army and realized that they really could do it. She'd found humans capable of helping her keep her promise to Toma, and with them behind her she would return to Juneas to defeat him, free his new prisoner, and then... And then... what?

Kill him, part of her said. He deserved it--or did he? He hadn't killed her or killed Toma, and in fact had made a point of keeping both of them in good health. Even if his abuse had been so terrible, he'd at least had the mercy to keep them from becoming injured or ill or malnourished. But no, he'd only done that so he could keep violating them as much and as long as possible...

Though without him having killed, there was no justification for killing him in response. But what else could be a suitable punishment for him? Juneas had taken away years of her life and caused possibly permanent emotional damage; what could possibly repay him for that? Imprisonment? Too easy. Torture? It would take years to break a dragon under even the most challenging conditions, especially a dragon as strong and proud as he was. They could always do to him what he'd done to them... but no, he'd probably just enjoy it.

She sighed and let the thoughts drift away, getting back to the work that needed to be done. She still had a month or more to decide, and if she really couldn't come up with anything then Toma could help her choose what to do to him.

The night before their march began, King William held a banquet in one of the castle courtyards for his family, some high-ranking officers of the army and for Asara. She was even able to sit with them, taking up a whole end of the table for herself with several different types of her favorite prey cooked and seasoned by William's chefs, along with a full barrel of wine for her to lap from.

Despite what was to come William and the soldiers all seemed happy, and though Asara mostly ate and drank in silence she found their merrier presence helped to warm her thoughts--though the wine may have had a little to do with that, as well. The dinner didn't last too long, not with their journey waiting to begin the next morning, but as their banquet drew to a close William stood, walked over to Asara and led her off to a secluded corner of the grounds.

"Asara, I must speak with you before you go, to make sure your task is performed properly. I know you may not want to think about this, but I have to bring it up: if you defeat Juneas, what do you plan to do with him?"

She sighed and sat down, looking up at the stars as if hoping to see her answer among them. "I... I don't know. I thought for so long that I would want to kill him, and I'm sure that's what Toma will want if I ask her, but after so long I almost think that would be too quick and easy for him. But what could be worse than death? Torture? It does sound at least a little appealing, but I'm not sure I have something like that in me anymore."

He shook his head. "I am giving you the power of my army for justice, not revenge. I know you hate him, and Toma hates him, for what he did to both of you, but bury that emotion and let reason take control. He did terrible things to you and he didn't have the right, but neither do we have the right to choose ourselves when to end his life and say it was what he deserved; that is God's task above all."

"You know I don't believe that stuff," she snorted, "but it's your army and your wish. What do you want me to do?"

"Restrain him and bring him here for a trial. To be honest I don't know what I'm going to decide for him, but I will have at least two months to decide... Go with the army tomorrow without that worry for how you're going to punish him weighing at your mind, and you'll find you'll sleep that much easier."

She nodded, and lowered her head to nuzzle his chest. "Thank you. I just hope I'll be able to keep Toma away from him... She'll still have so much spirit in her demanding to get revenge on him, and it'll be hard to get her to leave him alone."

"You'll think of something," he stroked her cheek. "Remember that you went through the same thing she did, so you'll know where her thoughts are coming from and also know how to deter them."

"I suppose," she groaned, and stood again, looking out towards where the army waited for morning to arrive. "It's late, and tomorrow will be the first of many long days; I should sleep."

"Of course. I'm sure my generals have given you several lectures on how to fight Juneas with their help, so I won't comment there; I'll just say that they know what they're talking about, and you should listen to them."

"I will."

He smiled. "Then I will let you go and rest. Good luck, Asara."

"Thank you." She spread her wings and leapt skyward, gliding back to the open place near the center of the columns where her supplies and harness were laid out and curling up there to sleep and prepare for the start of the journey.