Twenty riders in the dark green and maroon uniforms of the K’San charged up the walkway to the Eastern Gate. Any unfortunate merchants and citizens on the road scattered before them like leaves on the breeze.

At the lead of the cavalry squad was a woman on a pale horse. Her constantly shifting eyes were like chips of obsidian. A stylized pair of wings bisecting a naked sword glinted in silver on her black armored chest plate. The well-worn leather holding her weapons bore mute testimony to the ease with which she dealt death.

The clattering of hooves rang off the tightly packed buildings and she grinned at the alacrity with which the townspeople got out of their way. Frightening the citizenry was her second favorite activity. Leading the way to the castle’s courtyard, she dismounted in front of the large fountain that dominated that space.

The marble and copper tribute to the last great victory of the previous ruler was not designed for bathing or to water horses but that didn’t stop Vish. Her war steed followed her into the spray and lipped carefully at the water while she stuck her head beneath the water pouring from the left hand of the marble goddess.

“Commander, the King has come to greet you.”

Vish looked up at her second in command’s words. She followed his gaze to the steep steps of the castle. “See, I told you there was no need to send a herald.”

“He seems to be offended at our unannounced arrival. I believe we have violated their customs.”

“They are heathens and apostate, Cago. Following their customs would open us up to charges of heresy.”

The florid man paled at her words. “I meant no blasphemy.”

“Of course, not.” Vish replied, clapping him on the shoulder. “That’s why you should be grateful that I am the only one who witnessed your weakness.” Grinning to herself at the ease with which she could make those around her nervous, Vish walked over to the waiting members of government.

“Ah, Mistress Vish. We are honored that you are gracing us with your presence,” the young king said through his clenched teeth. His investiture had come after Vish executed his parents for sedition and impiety during her last campaign in the region.

“Don’t lie to my face, Heto. You hate me and my army and all it represents.” Vish vigorously shook her long black hair and sprayed the king and his retinue with water. “Too bad you can’t do anything about it.” She grinned and stroked her hand over the hilt of her dagger. “Well, you could try but we all know how well that turned out for your father.”

“May I ask why you have come? Surely, the Holy One does not require additional tribute?”

“The Angels and I have been out of the Capital for a while. We don’t have any orders regarding you or your lands.” She shrugged. “I wish to make an offering at the Temple and sell some slaves that we acquired during our campaign.”

“For that you rode through my city with such unseemly haste?”

“Hardly unseemly for one of the Saved,” she chided him.

“I beg your pardon, Mistress.”

Vish smirked at the obvious effort it took for him to apologize. Bored with the conversation, Vish realized that she was famished. “Aren’t you going welcome me properly?” she snidely asked. “Surely, even an apostate follows the rituals of hospitality?”

“Of course. I meant no disrespect.” King Heto waved forward the major-domo.

The head servant snapped his fingers and uniformed serving girls stepped forward with small jewel encrusted bowls of fruits and nuts. Another carried a tray of golden goblets and was followed by a male servant with a decanter of wine and a water pitcher.

Vish accepted the wine but refused the offer to water it down. Tossing back a handful of nuts, she chewed with her mouth open because she knew it would further irritate her unwilling host and his court.

She kept munching through the wiping of her boots and the presentation of the keys to the kingdom. Sliding the chain over her neck, she grinned at look of pain on Heto’s face. Vish wiped her fingers on her leather breeches and handed over a coin blessed by the Supreme Apostle and commemorating his quarter century as Patriarch.

“Thank you.” Heto handed off the coin to a page and wiped his fingers on a silk handkerchief. “How long will we be blessed with your presence?”

Vish sipped the cool liquid from her goblet and savored the deep flavors of the aged wine. “We’ll be out of your hair in a ten day.”

Color rushed to the young man’s face, staining his cheeks with red. “We don’t have accommodations for your entire army for that long.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Everyone but me and my personal retinue will camp outside the walls. They will find provisions off the land.” She winked at the king. “I understand the hunting is good in the Royal Forrest.” When he began to sputter, she set her goblet on a passing tray. “Enough of this. I’m ready to see where I’ll be sleeping.”

“Certainly, I will have someone from my staff prepare you a place. Will you join us for a meal?”

“Not tonight. Arrange something to be brought to my rooms. My staff will eat with the army.” Without waiting for an answer, Vish strode toward the steps, forcing the major domo to chase after her.

The next after, she was invited to attend a special showing at the main auction house.
Vish entered the central viewing box of the converted barn and sat on a brocade cushion set upon an unvarnished plank. Except for the single private box, the large room contained simple seating that extended around three sides of the pit. The dirt floor and high wall allowed for all manner of creatures to be led around and viewed, in safety, before purchase.

Each cobble of slaves was led around the pit before being led to a raised platform. Removed from the rest of the chain, the items were taken individually up the ladder where the auctioneer made them bend and flex while he extolled their particular virtues.

Vish watched two strings of her offerings come up for sale. The summer campaign had included brief forays into the Black Woods. The folks there were slightly built but very tough. They could be worked hard for days without any slackening. The bidding was brisk and she smiled wolfishly at how generous this season’s tithe would be.

It might be large enough to purchase a dispensation from further service on the frontier. She longed to return to her lands. Dearly missing her ancestral home and her pleasure slaves, she sighed. Surely, her prayers would be answered with a posting somewhere civilized.

Her attention was brought back to the auction by a disturbance on the dais. One of the items for sale broke free of its bindings and began attacking the guards. They were quickly incapacitated. The auctioneer, his hands clutching at his ruined manhood, rolled around in agony.

The creature was the strangest thing that Vish had ever seen. Of medium build, with prominent breasts and wide hips, she exuded striking sexuality even as she made short work of the guards. Her ears were pointed and her eyes were a remarkable golden color.

“What have we here?” Vish leaned forward and eyed the exotic looking creature. “Is her skin actually green?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The auctioneer’s liaison nodded. “It is a fur covering her entire body. She was captured in the far north.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” She watched closely as the creature broke the arm of one of the guards. “I want it.”

“You’ve got to be out of your mind.” The man. “I mean…”

“I know exactly what you mean and you should do an act of contrition for daring to say such a thing to me.” She leaned forward and gave an order to one of her soldiers. He turned smartly and, signaling three of his comrades, they dropped into the pit.

Vish watched the slave as her soldiers advanced. The creature screamed curses in a foreign language but the invective didn’t slow the approach of the Angels of God.

While two of the soldiers began a slow accent of either side of the platform, the third stood at the front and drew his sword. The fourth soldier moved to the back of the platform and uncoiled a rope. Forming a loop, she swung the lasso over her head. The slave never realized that her danger was not from the menacing men but from the circling rope.

Vish grinned at the professional speed with which the recalcitrant slave was subdued. She laughed when the woman lay hogtied on the platform, seething but restrained from doing any further damage to others or herself.

The owner of the auction house scurried gratefully across the pit to the commander. “Mistress, I appreciate you subduing her for me. That creature has been a handful since I acquired it.”

“It was for purely selfish reasons.”

“Oh? Would you be interested in making an offer?”

“First, tell me about this supernatural beast?”

“She was captured up near the snow line of the highest peaks of the north. Not even the historians have found a record of anything like her.”

“Does she speak or understand our language?”

“Not that we’ve been able to determine. Just gibberish.” He glanced over his shoulder at the healers who were tending to his men. “Mistress, I must warn you that what you’ve seen today is fairly typical behavior. She is so violent that there are those who think she is demon spawn.”

“Then you’ll appreciate me taking her off your hands.”

“Pardon?”

Vish enunciated each word. “Give. Her. To. Me.”

“But…but…”

“You’ll be making commission enough on the flesh I brought you.” Vish’s eyes were black pools. “Unless you don’t think my goodwill is worth anything.”

“But, Mistress, please. The likes of her have never been seen in our land. She could bring in thousands.”

“Or she could kill her new owner and leave the heirs free to sue you for negligence.” Watching the merchant, she saw his shoulders slump as he made his decision. “I’m glad you see things my way.”

The merchant’s bow was just inches short of insolent. “It is such a pleasure to do business with Angels,” he said. “Do you need to make arrangements for her to be kept on our premises until a suitable cage is made?”

“No, we’ll take her with us now.”

“Do you want a pain stick or shackles?”

“Unnecessary.”

“How do you intend to control her?”

“I have my ways, little man.” Standing up, she signaled to her soldiers.

One lifted the bound slave and tossed her over a broad shoulder. The creature’s struggles were nothing to the well-armored warrior.

Upon returning to the castle, Vish ordered the King to show her the dungeon. “I need a place for my new slave and I’m sure you don’t want bloodstains in my room.”

Heto snapped his fingers for the Sergeant at Arms to give her full access to the underground chambers. “I hope you find all you need.”

“You won’t come and show me the way?”

“No, I have never been down there.” The young man backed up a step.

“Really?”

“Yes. Since the kingdom was blessed with full protectorate status, it is the Temple that handles all of the criminals. That level has been unused for more than a decade.”

“Well, I hope, for your sake, that I find the accommodations to my liking,” Vish said, following the guard down the spiral staircase.

Peering into cells that reeked of mold, Vish shook her head and decided to set up in the primary torture chamber. That room was at least able to be well lit and contained all the necessary restraints and devices that she might need.

In the center of the room was a large iron bolt. Her soldiers forced the slave to her knees and connected a chain from the collar around her neck to the floor. The chain was barely long enough for the slave to make it to her knees.

Ordering a meal to be brought, Vish sat down on the throne that dominated the room. Wiggling around to get comfortable on the carved granite, she watched the creature test the strength of her bonds. The short fur that covered the slave’s body seemed to highlight the straining of her muscles. After several moments of struggle, the creature turned to glare in her direction.

Vish showed no reaction to the hatred in the golden eyes. Patiently, she waited until the creature had visibly calmed before she stood up. Stalking across the room, Vish circled the kneeling form. “Since you have not been saved, your soul is lost. I can do anything to you that I wish.” Punctuating her comment with a hard slap that rocked the slave, she curled her lip when the creature spat a mouthful of blood at her.

“We start tonight. Everything you will get for the rest of your life comes from me.” She drew her dagger and cut off the few ragged fragments of garments that the creature still wore. “You will be kept naked until I feel you have earned the right to cover yourself from my eyes.”

Vish turned her back and walked over to the table. With obvious relish and a smacking of her lips, she tucked into her dinner. She grinned at the look of longing in the golden eyes. “I wonder when you last ate?” she asked.

She finished what she could and deliberately left food on the plates. Completely ignoring the creature secured to the floor, she wiped her mouth on the linen napkin and pushed back from the table. Blowing out the lanterns, she headed up the steps to her rooms.

“No-one is to enter the dungeon,” she said over her shoulder to the pair of soldiers posted at the end of the passage. Not waiting for an answer, she went to the bathing chamber for a long soak. Heathens or not, the kingdom did have plenty of hot water available and that was a good thing after all the months she had spent in the field.

Waking the next morning, she immediately went down to check on her newest property. She was about to nudge the creature awake until she saw the golden eyes were opened and watching her.

“Good. You’re ready for the first test.” Vish poured a handful of water into her palm and held it down near the slave’s chin.

The slave growled and kept her eyes focused on the far wall.

Vish grinned and turned her hand over, letting the water trickle to the ground. With the slave’s eyes on her, she poured the contents of the pitcher onto the floor as well. “Your decision. I will try again at the noon meal.”

Leaving the castle, Vish made sure that the royal staff was aware that the slave was not to be trifled with. Her escape would result in a flogging or even death for the unfortunate who allowed it.

The new Temple was only a short walk from the castle. Taking a ritual bath before entering the sacristy, Vish prostrated herself before the altar. She lay there communing with the One True God, forcing the priests to move around her prone body for several hours. Rising, she revisited the bathing chamber and returned to the castle.

She ordered a large lunch to be brought down to the dungeon. As she entered the torture chamber, she saw that the slave was slouching against the chains. The creature was the very picture of misery. Even the beast’s pointy ears seemed to droop.

Repeating her earlier attempt, Vish poured water into her palm and held her hand close to the slave’s mouth. Green fur ruffling, the slave leaned forward and lapped at the liquid.

“Very good.” Vish continued to fill her palm until the slave had enough. Continuing to fill her hand, she took the remaining water and stroked the slave’s face and head, ignoring the flinching and trembling that the contact caused.

The fur was soft beneath her fingers and she marveled at the texture. “How strange you are,” she murmured.

Finally satisfied that she had cleaned the creature enough, Vish walked over to the table and sat down. She just watched the play of muscles as the slave reacted to being the center of attention. Vish’s focus was broken when her meal arrived.

“I still don’t understand why you want that thing.” Cago stated as he set the tray containing bowls of meats and vegetables down on the table. He could not conceal the look of revulsion on his face.

“What’s your problem?”

“Look at her!”

“Her flesh matches the colors that we wear for His Holiness.”

“She is a beast.”

“She looks human enough.”

“She is Unclean.”

“Its not like I’ll be eating her.” Vish grinned. “I intend to train her to eat me.”

“Lying with beasts is a sin.”

“True.” Vish picked the choicest morsels from the platter and filled her bowl. She popped a piece of meat into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully while she stared at her second in command. “You would be welcome to return to your former position.”

Cago lost all color in his face. “Mistress, please, do not joke about that.”

“I never joke about my conquests. You know that.” She wiped her mouth and said, “You don’t seem pleased with the prospect of tasting paradise again.”

“No offense but I only recently recovered from our last joining.”

“I don’t recall you complaining at the time.”

“It was an experience that I will never forget.”

“Surely your time in my bed was not all bad.”

“Of course not.” Cago tugged at his collar. “It was an honor, Mistress, that I no longer feel worthy of.”

Vish laughed gaily. She was proud of her ability to drain a man dry. “Don’t worry, Cago, you are safe. For now, at least.”

“Thank you, Mistress.” Clearing his throat, Cago asked. “Why are we down here?”

“Training.”

Cago looked confused. “Then why aren’t we in your bedroom?”

“Contrary to popular opinion, it isn’t all about sex.” Vish tore off a hunk of bread and dipped it into the mint sauce. “She needs to be tamed.”

“Just beat her until she is broken and be done with it.”

“I don’t want to break her. No, I want her obedience without killing her spirit.” Winking at Cago, Vish said, “Sort of like what I did to you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Admit it, you were enslaved by me.”

“I am not a slave.”

“Of course you were. Your body responds even now to my commands.” Vish allowed her eyes to prowl over Cago’s face, down his neck, over his chest, and down his torso, before they moved back up his body again.

The big man flushed and shifted nervously. “Nonsense,” he croaked.

“It is the simple truth. I used your mind to make your body mine.”

“I am not a slave!” he repeated.

“There is no shame in it. Slaves can either be born or made. I’m not suggesting that you are entirely submissive. You would be a poor second in command if that were the case. You do, however, belong to me.”

“I don’t understand how you can say this to me.”

“At every opportunity, I gave you a choice.” She walked over and stood next to him and smiled when she saw him tremble. “Each time, your desires and your needs made you to serve me willingly.” Leaning close to him, she watched his nostrils flare and his eyes darken. “In the same manner, I will teach her so that I may take my use from her.”

Cago shook his head and backed away from her. “I am not like her.”

Shrugging, Vish sat back down at the table. She was tired of arguing with him. “Whatever it takes to help you get through the night.”

“She doesn’t even speak a civilized language.”

“I don’t want her for conversation. I can train her to be a cunning linguist.” Laughing at her joke, Vish sighed at the mulish look on Cago’s face. “Relax, you’re only down here because I need your help.”

“What do you want from me?”

“To start with, I must teach her that I am the source of all bounty.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“She hasn’t received any food since I purchased her and a little lesson is necessary.”

“All right. Tell me what to do.”

“Don’t I always?” Vish picked up a bowl of lightly spiced meat and moved to stand directly in front of the bound slave.

“You will eat nothing that you do not receive directly from my own hand, or with my permission. You will not ask to be fed, nor make any attempts to remind me to feed you. You will wait quietly until I feed you or you will do without. When I offer you food, you will take it in your mouth, not your hands. Here,” Vish held up a dripping morsel of lamb.

Waiting until the slave dipped her head slightly, Vish extended her arm. “Don’t even think of biting me.”

Gingerly, the slave used her tongue to draw the meat from between Vish’s fingers.

Vish fed her two more pieces before backing up and waving Cago over. “Grab another bowl and offer the contents to her.”

When the slave made a move to take the food from his fingers, Vish viciously struck out with her heavy boot. The slave landed hard on her side and lay wheezing on the stone floor.

“Get up.” Vish glared at the slave until the creature had dragged herself back to her knees.

“Offer her another.”

Obeying her order, Cago held out a chunk of meat. This time, the slave kept her eyes on Vish. “Very good.”

Vish extended another morsel. The slave hesitated for a moment before bending her head to take the piece into her mouth.

“You are a fast learner,” praised Vish. “You may not starve after all.” She dropped some meat on the floor and slave stared at her. She pointed at the piece and grinned when the slave bared her teeth.

Stepping forward, Vish tapped her foot next to the food on the floor. When the slave reached out a hand, Vish stomped on it.

Vish watched the slave snatch her hand back and cradle it against her chest. Smirking, Vish pointed at her mouth and tapped her boot on the ground again. “You don’t have permission to use your hands.”

She was startled when the creature suddenly lunged forward to seize her leg and bite her fiercely on the ankle. “Curse on the devil,” she shouted, shaking her leg in an attempt to break the grip of teeth on her flesh.

It took several blows before the creature loosened her jaw and let go. Sitting back on her haunches, she licked Vish’s blood from her lips.

“You should kill it.”

“I’m not going to let its suffering end so quickly.” Vish limped over to the wall and pulled down a single tail whip. Brandishing the whip at the beast, she said, “You don’t know our laws but you are bound by them. I will punish you now for your assault.” Vish looked at Cago. “String her up while I tend to this.”

Sitting down, she pulled up her pants leg. She shook her head at her decision to not wear boots and glanced up to see Cago advance on the slave with two soldiers. They pinned the creature down with their pikes, giving her second in command the chance to unlock the chain to connecting the slave’s collar to the floor.

Vish poured some unwatered wine over the bite wound and hissed in pain. Through pain narrowed eyes she watched Cago drag the slave across the floor to a set of shackles attached to a chain that led to a pulley and a winch.

“Take up the slack,” she ordered. “I want her elbows even with her pointy ears.”

Wiping up the blood and wine, Vish toss that napkin to the floor and grabbed another one. “Here, tie this on,” she told Cago.

Once her wound was tended to, she unfurled the whip and cracked it once to test the limberness. “First offense is fifty strokes,” Vish said as she laid down the first stripe.

The slim form was hanging by her wrists by the time Vish reached the magic number. Sweating and shivering, the golden eyes were blank as Vish let her down and had her dragged back to the ring on the floor.

Leaving the slave alone in the cold and dark, Vish stomped up the stairs. Furious at herself for letting down her guard around an unbroken beast, she snarled at the messenger from the king who invited her to dine with his court that evening. “No, I don’t wish to eat with godless infidels.”

In pain from her leg, she decided that the best penance would be for a surprise inspection of her troops. There was no reason that everyone else shouldn’t be as miserable as she was.

It was late when she returned to the castle. The honor guards on the doors were startled awake by her sudden appearance and she had been forced to disarm them. Twirling one of the newly acquired swords, she walked to her room happier than she had been all day.

The next morning, she returned to the dungeon. Vish was pleased to see the creature struggle to her knees and focus those golden eyes on the floor at her arrival.

“You’ve already gotten one taste of what happens when you harm or disobey me.” Vish pulled her crop from her belt. “Here is another.” She struck the slave on either shoulder, not pulling the blow.

Scraping a fingernail along the raised welts, Vish grinned at the shiver the slave was unable to suppress. “I will beat you for no other reason than it gives me pleasure.”

The slave jerked away from her touch. Vish grabbed her by the ear and pulled her back. “I have the right touch you. Anytime. Anywhere.” She released the ear and stroked the slave’s face. This time, although the creature’s entire body trembled, she stayed in place.

“Do not try to avoid my touch. Trust me when I tell you that someday you will beg for it.”