Reluctant Hearts (accepting different titles)

I\'ve added a bit to the last part of the chapter, so check out the last part after the Hillmen run off. Pretty important to read. :) I\'m started on Chapter 6 too. I\'ve been a bit distracted by another work. Sorry...going through a slash phase at the moment. :) I\'ll work at this one though.


Chapter Five - Hillmen

Oriana hurried down the hallway to her room, where Aria and Indra would be waiting to help her get ready for bed. She was horrified with her actions a few moments ago. How could she let a simple conversation get so far out of hand? She’d been one good push from losing her maidenhead. Never had she acted so recklessly in her life. The only saving grace was that Damon would be her husband in a month and a half. She supposed that she wasn’t really so concerned about the loss of her virginity, but rather with the consequences. How would it look for their heir to be born seven months after the wedding, or less if the child came early?

She flung open the door to her room, startling her two young friends from their seats by the window. “Get changed and arm yourself, the Hillmen are very likely coming this way.” The two stayed where they were, looking at her curiously. “Why aren’t you moving? This isn’t the time for dawdling,” she yelled, going to her own wardrobe to retrieve her breeches and sword.

“Oriana,” Indra said softly, worry in her voice. “What’s wrong? You’re crying. Is it because the Hillmen are coming?”

Oriana froze and reached up to touch her face, finding it dampened with tears. Had she really been crying? Had Damon seen it? What would he think? “It’s not the Hillmen, I’ve fought them before. Don’t worry, it’s nothing.”

Aria came forward and turned her mistress around to face her, “You don’t cry…it must be something important. What happened with Damon my lady? Tell us Oriana.”

Oriana felt another tear slide out and she turned and paced across the room to throw her sword and clothing on the bed, “I was stupid. We were taking one moment…then the next…I don’t know how it got so out of hand.”

Aria gasped, “My lady? You didn’t give yourself to him did you?” Aria knew better then most the danger of letting a man touch her before dragging him to an alter. She clutched the front of her dress, “What happened, I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either!” Oriana cried throwing her arms up. She sighed and started unlacing her gown, “We started kissing and he touched me a little, then next thing I know he’s inside me ready to breech my maidenhead.”

“Ready to? So you’re still a virgin?” Indra asked softly, blushing prettily.

Oriana frowned, “Yes I suppose so, but I don’t know that I’d be considered very pure at this point.” She pulled the gown over her head and tossed it aside. She pulled of her undergarments, blushing at the dampness on them. “It was happening so fast and felt so nice, I didn’t care what he did, but then Sam came…”

Aria gaped, “Sam caught you together? How embarrassing!”

Oriana yanked up her breaches and pulled a soft shirt over her head, “Yes it was, but I’m grateful to him none-the-less. I can’t have a son conceived out of wedlock. The nobles would never support him.” She strapped her sword to her waist and sighed, “I’m fine, just irritated with myself. Let’s discuss this later. Go change and meet me out in the courtyard with Isaac. He should be in his room by now, so get him on your way.”

The two young women nodded and hurried out into the hall with Oriana. She continued on after they entered their own room and sprinted down the hall and out into the courtyard. Chaos had erupted; men and horses and dogs were everywhere, scrambling to get ready.

“Damn it, what is this?” she muttered. Surely a country of soldiers was better organized than this. She heard a male voice swear behind her. Turning she saw Damon hurrying down the stairs, looking rather angry about the scene before him. “I take it this isn’t the typical scene right before a battle?” she muttered to him.

“Hardly,” he grunted. They must have been sleeping and are still a bit confused.” He jumped up on a low wall, “Soldiers! You all have jobs! Do them and stop running around like you don’t know what to do. Captains take charge of your men! This chaos will get you killed when the Hillmen arrive!” He yelled above the noise of the men and animals. Gradually the scene settled as captains herded men into their proper functions and the animals were calmed and prepared to leave.

Damon snorted, “I don’t know what got into them.” He shook his head and jumped down from the wall. He approached her with a small smile, “I’m glad I got to see you again before we headed out.” In the dim torchlight he could see her eyes were slightly rimmed in red. Had she been crying? He reached out and ran a thumb across her cheek, “Oh darling, did I hurt you after all? I’m not normally so clumsy and out of control I assure you.”

She bit her lip and shook her head, “You didn’t hurt me, quite the opposite. I am just very confused about what happened and a bit irritated with myself. We MUST marry before that happens again Damon. We need a legitimate heir to unit our people. The nobles are more likely to accept him if he’s born after the designated nine months.”

He sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly, “You’re right of course. I will refrain from attacking you for another six weeks if you promise to restrain your own raging lust.”

She laughed, “I shall try.” She grinned up at him, grateful for his sense of humor in what could have been a very awkward moment. “I appreciate your understanding in this, truly.”

He grinned, “At least I have Hillmen to take my frustration out on. See they’re good for something after all.” Six weeks without touching her would most definitely be a very frustrating experience. Sinking into her tight body had been a glorious, if brief, experience. It was an experience he was eager to have again as soon as possible. “I need to leave you now I’m afraid. We’re going to ride out and see if we can’t turn them around before they reach the castle and nearby villages. We shouldn’t be gone long, I hope,” he assured her with a small smile.

Oriana smiled and nodded, “Be careful.” She reached up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips, drawing a few cheers from the men around them. He grinned down at her and returned the light kiss before turning and hurrying down the steps and into the crowd of laughing men. Well at least the mood of the men was momentary lightened, she thought with a small smile.

She turned as Indra, Aria and Isaac hurried out into the dim courtyard, “Let’s go see what needs to be done to prepare the castle. Try to stay together if we’re attacked.” The three nodded and hurried out into the crowd to help with what they could.

***

Oriana blinked and rubbed her eyes. The gray light of morning was brightening the sky slowly. She had been standing on the castle wall all night, keep watch with the men left behind. They hadn’t seen any movement in the pale moonlight all night. Hopefully that meant the Hillmen had moved back and not that Damon had found them. She rubbed her arms to ward off the chilliness of the morning and the worry that had slowly started to sink into her mind.

“He’ll be fine you know, he always is,” Katherine said softly from behind. Oriana turned to see her come up the ladder. “He’s been fighting them since he was maybe fifteen. He comes home with the occasional wound, but never anything life threatening.”

Oriana smiled and nodded, “I’m glad. How did you know I was thinking about him anyway?”

Katherine smiled sadly and rested her arms on the wall of the lookout. “Women always worry about the men they love.”

“Love? I don’t know that I love Damon, not yet anyway,” Oriana murmured, blushing lightly.

Katherine eyed her and smiled knowingly, “You love him, you just don’t know it yet. I see that way you look at each other. It’s the way my husband and I looked at each other.”

Oriana averted her eyes from the sad young woman and looked out over the plains, “How did he die?”

“They told me he was shot with an arrow,” Katherine said softly, a catch in her voice.

Oriana looked at her oddly, “You don’t know for sure?”

Katherine shook her head, “No, his body was stolen by the Hillmen.” She bit her lip to quell the quivering, “I didn’t even get to say goodbye…there wasn’t even something for me to bury.” Sometimes I wake up in the night and expect him to be there, returning to me from the dead.” She shook her head sadly, “I guess without seeing his body, I will never truly believe that he’s gone.”

Oriana nodded sadly and continued her scanning of the landscape, “You should go to your mother and sister now. There’s no telling when the attack could come. With your father and Benjamin out with Damon, we need to protect the rest of the Treston family,” Oriana suggested softly. Katherine nodded and made her way down the ladder. Oriana hadn’t been happy about all of the Treston men heading out with the soldiers. If by some freak accident they were all killed the kingdom would be left in turmoil. They had been stubborn about it however and insisted on joining ‘the fun,’ as they called it.

Oriana made her way around the enormous wall, chatting with the men and finding that they hadn’t seen anything more suspicious then a passing merchant wagon. With the Hillmen so close the night before, the lack of any additional sightings or information were making her nervous. She sent for the messenger, hoping he might be able to tell her more. Word came back to her that the man couldn’t be found in the castle. The servant suggested that perhaps he’d left with the other men.

Oriana didn’t like that fact that no one knew the whereabouts of the messenger who’d brought them such vital information. Why would he leave the safety of the castle? She turned to a group of soldiers and pointed to a young blond man, “You!”

The young man blinked and hurried forward, “Yes Your Highness?” During the long night most of the men had begun to at least listen to her commands, even if they were still a bit wary of her ability in battle.

She frowned thoughtfully, “Do you know how to ride?”

He blinked again and nodded, “Yes Your Highness. My family breeds horses. I’ve been on a horse for almost as long as I have been able to walk,” he said proudly.

“Good. Find a good fast horse, and ride to the area where King Edward and the rest of the soldiers planned to stop. I have a message for you to get to him and Prince Damon.” He nodded and started for the ladder. “Wait!” she said realizing a written message would be dangerous. He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. “Tell them to return as quickly as they can. I believe that the castle will be attacked very shortly.” The young man paled but nodded and hurried down into the courtyard and towards the stables.

She turned to the four remaining young men, “You four search the walls of the castle for any possible openings, and then search the interior of the castle. Take other men with you if you need help. Our enemy is very good at finding small entrances, do not underestimate them.” The four men nodded and scrambled down the ladder to begin the search, which unfortunately had to be done from the inside since the gates would be locked down tight as soon as her messenger left. They couldn’t take any chances leaving them open with an attack on the horizon. She felt sure, deep in her bones, that they were in the middle of a trap.

She shifted uneasily as the blond soldier raced down the road after their forces. She prayed he’d make it there alive and unharmed.

***

A few hours later Oriana was roused from a short nap, against the wall, by a shout from the other side of the wall. “Your Highness,” a young soldier yelled waving his arms. “They’re coming…the Hillmen are coming!”

“Damn it!” she swore jumping to her feet and hurrying to his position. Sure enough men were riding over the low rolling hills. Their dress was definitely not that of a Treston soldier. She heard another man yell from below. Turning around to see who it was, she saw the four soldiers she’d sent out dragging a kicking young man into the courtyard.

“Your Highness,” one of the soldiers yelled up to her. “We found the messenger. He was in the cellar by an old supply door. We believe he was waiting for a signal to let Hillmen in.” The messenger scowled and spat, yelling something in a language Oriana didn’t recognize. Wonderful.

She frowned, “Chain him up in the dungeon and all four of you guard him. Damon or Edward can deal with him later. Did you find any other openings?”

“No Highness,” the young man answered. “All of the other known escape routes have been filled in and sealed shut. Unless new tunnels have been constructed by the King, we’re secure. Two other men have started moving anything they can find against the old door to secure it.”

She nodded and waved them away, dragging the screaming man with them. As soon as they could find a quiet moment she’d have to order a man to block up that door permanently. Her own home was riddled with ridiculous openings like that. They were very convenient for stocking storerooms, but also a great liability when it came to castle security. She didn’t care for a repeat of her eighteenth birthday. She turned to address those that could hear her, “The Hillmen have arrived. Prepare yourselves and get to your assigned stations. Pass the word to those that can’t hear me and someone on the ground go inform Her Majesty.” A young woman, probably a kitchen maid called that she’d tell the Queen and disappeared into the safety of the inner hold.

Aria, Isaac and Indra appeared at her side, looking rather grim. The mass of men approaching the base of the castle was a bit daunting and she had no doubt that more were creeping up on the backside where the old cellar was supposedly located. “There must be a thousand of them out there,” Indra whispered. “There are only about a hundred men left here.”

“Yes, we were relying on our army intercepting them, but we clearly had false information. However, we are in a castle and they are stuck out in an open plain.” One of the captains appeared at her side. “Captain, assemble the archers and have four bows brought up for the four of us.”

The captain looked a tad startled at her request for a bow but knew better then to question his future queen. He’d already seen her throwing out enough commands throughout the night and morning to understand that she knew exactly what she was doing. He hurried down the wall calling orders to the assembling men. Within a few short minutes Oriana and her servants were stringing their bows and pulling out arrows.

Oriana smiled at the efficiency that had finally settled into the actions of the castle folk. After some initial confusion they’d all slipped into their roles and were functioning together like a well oiled machine.

The Hillmen stopped a short distance from the wall and a couple separated out to come forward. “Surrender!” a particularly large, richly dressed man yelled. “We know most of your men are away from the castle. You do not have the man power to stop us!”

Oriana notched her first arrow and let it fly. It thumped into the earth next to his startled horse, “Many of our men are gone, you’re correct, those men and women that remain will have little difficulty today.” She leaned against the wall and grinned down at him, “Besides how do you plan on getting in? We found the spy and sealed your entrance to the castle.” She looked at the ground strait below her, “It’s a mighty long climb, but you’re welcome to give it a try.”

The leading man was a bit white after watching her arrow thump into the ground next to him. He turned to one of his captains who rode away for a moment. When he returned and whispered to the leader, he was promptly knocked off his horse by the furious man. “You stupid bitch! Do you really think that you’ve stopped this but sealing up one entrance?”

She leveled an amused smile on him, “Of course I do. Besides I doubt your men will have much heart left to fight when their leaders are all dead,” she shouted. A ripple of annoyed male voices filtered up to the archers on the wall. “Take out all of their leaders and archers,” she murmured to her servants. She was about to show the Hillmen just how ruthless she could be in war.

The three men who had come forward, including the one on the ground, scrambled to move their horses and their selves out of range. Oriana notched another arrow grimly and leveled it on the man who’d called her a bitch. She didn’t like killing, but she decided she liked this man less. The arrow flew strait and true, knocking him off his horse. A shout went up on the wall and dozens of arrows rained down at once, clearing paths in the archers below, out of range and helpless to protect themselves.

Oriana decided that the Hillmen must be the worst soldiers alive. They were so close to the castle, her men could easily pick them off as they pleased. The route through the cellar must have been the key to their attack. In hand to hand combat few were better then Hillmen, but when conducting a siege they were worthless. They finally broke, crying out in dismay and started to ride away, trying to escape the deadly rain of arrows that were cutting into their fellows.

As they finally got out of range another cry went up. Oriana cheered happily when she saw the gleaming helmets of their own soldiers coming up over the hill. Treston soldiers rode into the retreating army of Hillmen, riding men and horses into the ground and slashing at those that weren’t trampled. The men on the wall joined her cheering, inciting the men below into a rare battle lust. The Hillmen were scattering in all directions, some still mounted and others on foot, trying to escape back into the hills from which they came.

Oriana grinned and sighed happily. What could have been a horrible battle had turned into something rather minor. She turned to see Aria laughing and Indra hugging and kissing a red-faced Isaac.

Oriana shook her head and made her way down off the wall, hoping Damon would be back soon. She’d been concerned about all of the Treston men leaving at once, but after seeing Damon’s soldiers ride into battle and so clearly take the victory, she was relieved. Damon would be okay after all. After telling the men at the gate to start letting their people back in, Oriana moved around the castle grounds, congratulating the men and women who had worked so hard to protect their castle.

“Your Highness!” a young soldier called from the opened gates. Oriana turned and smiled, pleased to see the gates down and the first of their returning soldiers.

She hurried to the young man, wondering what he could possibly need. Perhaps he delivered a message? “Yes?” she asked as she came up close to him. He looked rather nervous and upset, almost like he didn’t want to speak. She frowned and snapped, “Spit it out!”

The dark haired young man flinched, “I-I was sent to tell you that His Highness, Prince Damon, plans to stay out on the field for a while and supervise the recovery of the wounded. He requests your assistance. The King and the young prince will return shortly, to the castle.”

Her frowned smoothed a bit. “Very well. It’s not far. I’ll head over right now. Please let my servants know where I am.”

“Yes, of course,” he stuttered. “His Highness is actually over there, Your Highness. He is checking the wounded by the opening where those bastards tried to sneak in.”

Oriana sighed and nodded. That was a bit further to walk, but it wasn’t too bad. She didn’t want to deal with readying a horse anyway. With a small nod to the young man, she headed across the bridge and around the moat.

It was starting to get dark, so she decided Damon probably needed extra help in corralling soldiers and servants in their efforts to gather the wounded from the fields. Even the Hillmen left behind would need attention. It wouldn’t be right to leave them to suffer, even if they were the enemy.

As she rounded the edge of the castle and approached the side where Damon would be, her gut clenched. Wait a minute! Damon didn’t even know about the attack to that side of the castle and their own forces had attacked from the other side. Cursing her moment of sheer stupidity she turned and leapt into a sprint, hoping she would make it to the gates without springing the trap she was sure awaited her.

“Damn it!” she muttered when horse hooves clomped steadily behind her. She kept running and yanked out her sword. She prayed to whatever gods were watching that the men on the wall were seeing this and that they’d send aid. A quick glance up told her that no one was looking down over the wall. They were probably distracted by the celebrating and returning men. She was on her own.

Skidding to halt, she whirled to face the attack. Three men, dressed in Treston colors were galloping towards her. “What in the hell?” she muttered as they surrounded her.

“Your Highness,” one man said nodding a greeting. “Please come with us. The Prince his waiting.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that already. What’s going on here?” she asked slowly lowering her sword. Something felt very wrong about this.

“A kidnapping,” another rider said calmly.

Oriana’s eyes went wide and she raised her sword. A strong hand clamped around her wrist, holding her sword steady, while another came around and pressed a cloth to her face. She made the mistake of gasping at the attack. Even as she sucked in the breath, she knew it would likely be her last. A strong, alien odor filled her senses and then…darkness.

***