Orc Dominion: Rebellion Ch. 09

Author's note: This chapter is structured a little differently than the others. I sort of wrote myself into a corner with it, and while writing myself out Jeanette's POV became a chapter unto itself. While the rest of Rebellion will probably feature three POV's a chapter, in the future I will probably write only one or two. I like having 4000-5000 words to advance each character's story as opposed to around 2500. Let me know in the comments or through feedback if you prefer shorter chapters that focused on one character or longer chapters focusing on three characters.

*****

A line of soldiers cut through the darkness in single file, winding around the Lyskean Mountains like a steel python. The summer air was thick and vibrant, and the smell of trees and life mingled with the scent of leather and oil. Jeanette led the column along the narrow mountain path, carefully guiding the troop of orcs through the stillness of night. The sound of their heavy boots stomping on the earth was like the staccato of a drum beat, and she knew that they would have to strike quickly as they would not be able to maintain the stealthy approach much longer.

Vrenchak grunted as his foot slipped on the incline lining the narrow path. "How did you find this path, Your Highness? It's darker than a new moon in the dead of winter."

"We cut it during the first war as an escape route, should we need one. It wasn't easy finding it from the Hesten side of the mountains, as you know. There was a day I was sure we'd end up in Ruar rather than the Pass." Jeanette smiled softly, her white teeth flashing in the darkness. The path they were on would lead Jeanette the five thousand orcs behind her directly into the right flank of the Hesten fortifications.

"Lucky for us. We'll put it to good use, and the Hestens will never see it coming. We'll sweep them off the right side of the Pass before they know what's happened, and start pushing our soldiers in from Zentara. Do you think Gorath and Katerei will be able to keep King Connor busy long enough to pull it off? The Hestens are going to outnumber them."

Jeanette flashed another grin. "You're not worried about them, are you captain?"

"Hah!" Vrenchak spit to the ground. "Not in the least. But I still want to win, Your Highness."

"It will depend on how quick Connor is to see what's happening. Hopefully he'll continue to underestimate me and the orcs."

Vrenchak nodded thoughtfully. "Hopefully Your Highness."

Jeanette and Vrenchak rounded the side of the mount and saw the campfires of the Hesten force beneath them. The Hestens had improved upon the defenses in the Pass, having had several more months to do so than she had back during the first war. "How many do you think there are?"

"On this side? Maybe eight thousand." Vrenchak signaled for the file to get low and the great snake of their column lowered to its belly. "Now comes the hard part; getting the rear of the file to crawl up here with us so we can attack at once."

"You have my leave to attack when ready, Captain." Jeanette's white teeth flashed again in the darkness. "Just don't forget to send the signal when you do."

"I won't Your Highness, don't worry about that. Our army down below in Zentara will know we're here, I guarantee that. They'll know what to do, too." Vrenchak nodded to the Queen, and then began crawling down the path, the other orcs spreading out beside him.

"Good luck." Jeanette whispered to the passing orcs, touching their arms and backs as she sent them on her way. As with the last war, she would hold a command and control position on the slope during the attack, while Vrenchak led the soldiers into battle. As with the last war, she would have to stay high above the battle and watch the carnage unfold as men gave their lives for her. It was going to be a long night.

****

"You ready, lover?"

"Always ready Kat, you know that." Gorath grinned at Kat while standing above the body of a dead Hesten sentry. As the blood dripped from his axe, the Hestens scurried across the field as they drew up for battle. King Connor was a cautious opponent, and he'd obviously had enough scouts out to make up for those Kat and Gorath had taken care of.

In the six weeks it took them to march to the Pass, make contact with the Zentaran army on the other side, and for Jeanette to get into position their ranks had swollen to twenty-five thousand. Minus the five thousand with the Queen and that left them twenty thousand men. Gorath had never led an army of that size before, and though the strategy had already been laid out, the tactics of leading that many orcs in one battle was daunting to him, especially since it was going to be a night battle. "How many do you think they have?"

Kat looked across the field, trying to count the campfires. "Not too much more than us. At least, not on the field; he's got more up in the mountains you can bet. I think we can take them."

"What do you think their plan will be?" Gorath looked across the field again. "I see a dozen ways to raid them, but damn me if I know what they will do to defend. I've never seen an army this big before, let alone faced one in battle."

"It'll be alright. They'll probably draw up in squares to defend against our horses, and send their light cavalry out to try and pin us against the mountain. As long as we're fast we can avoid that. Remember, we don't have to beat them, just keep them occupied long enough for the Queen to bring the rest of the army through from Zentara." Kat's eyes were brought up to the sky as a barrage flaming arrows shot out from the side of the mountain. "There it is. Let's go!"

"Alright orcs! The Queen is leading our brothers into battle. Are you going to let them have all the glory?"

Gorath was answered with a mighty cry, as the legion of orcs under his command shouted, "No!"

"Then follow me! Follow me into battle and follow me to victory! Archers, nock and loose!" Arrows flew above the orc, whizzing through the night sky before raining down on the Hesten soldiers with deadly accuracy. "Forward! Fire at will!" The orc army began to gallop forward, shooting arrows towards the Hesten square. In the darkness, it was hard to see how effective their fire was, but Gorath could tell that the Hesten square wasn't moving.

"There! Gorath, to the right!" Kat pointed to the right, where the Hesten light cavalry was beginning to fan out to try and flank the orc force.

Gorath grabbed his horn and signaled to wheel right. They had to keep ahead of the light cavalry to prevent being caught between them. As the column of horse turned, another volley of withering arrow fire descended upon King Connor's forces. "Shift fire to the cavalry!" Gorath sent another signal to his army, but this time it was met with the blast of a trumpet from the Hesten square.

Gorath looked over to see the square expand and open up. Shields and spears were dropped and bows raised as near an entire army of bowmen began to fire. Arrows slammed all around, sending horse and orc alike smashing to the ground. The anguished cries of his orcs rang through the night as blood and mud splattered in his face. He had led them right into a killing field.

"Gor! We need to get out from under these arrows! They're killing us! They knew right where we'd be the bastards!"

Kat was right, he realized, his heart sinking. He was too predictable with his movement. King Connor must have learned something from the last war because he found a pretty damn good strategy to deal with mounted orc archers. "Close in with the light cavalry. If we take the fight to them they'll have to stop shooting the arrows or risk killing their own men!" Gorath blew the horn again and then spurred the horse, breaking out to the front of the charge and redirecting it directly into the Hesten horsemen.

Slinging his bow, Gorath retrieved his short spear and picked out a target. He took heart in having something familiar to do again. I might not be a great general, but I'm a damn good warrior! He knocked the Hesten's own spear aside and stabbed him through the heart as he rode past, sending him flying from his saddle.

Gorath ripped the spear out of the corpse and let it fall to the ground behind him as he found a new target. He stabbed again, though this one managed to deflect the spear with his shield. Screams of pain and rage and exultation exploded around him as the two armies clashed together.

To his right, he saw Katerei's javelin skewer a rider, and then heard the sickening crunch of a skull shattering as she brained someone with her mace. He quickly brought his attention back before him though as a Hesten warrior swung a longsword at him. The sharp blade cut through the air, and made his arm shake as he blocked the attack with his shield. His forearm felt numb, but it didn't stop him from wheeling around to counterattack. They were too close for him to stab the warrior with his spear, but he was able to pierce the horse's flank, making it rear up and throw the rider.

Another sickening crunch followed as Gorath's courser crushed the man's face. A flash in the corner of his eye made him swing the spear in a wide arc across his body to slash down the surprised face of another Hesten. The expression drained from his face as the large orc quickly followed up with a powerful thrust into the man's chest.

As more riders surged forward, Gorath lost track of their faces as he cut them down. The battle raged around him beneath the pale light of the moon as he, Kat, and the rest of the orcs forced their way through the Hesten cavalry. "Heh, at least the arrows stopped, eh Kat?"

Kat grinned as she backhanded a Hesten with her mace, detaching the man's jaw and sending teeth and blood flying. "That they did. Now this is what I call a fight! Her Highness Amelie's going to regret her father keeping her out of this war. But we're going to have a hell of a story to tell her when we get home!"

****

A great cheer went up as the Hesten defenses were overthrown and the army from Zentara charged up the right side of the Pass. Jeanette looked down on the battle with satisfaction as the Hesten defenders fled down the mountain into Braden. Her own forces as caught them completely by surprise and thrown them into disarray. They couldn't stand up to a flanking attack and a frontal assault at the same time.

From her vantage point, it was hard to see what the Hestens were doing on the other side of the Pass, but it was clear there was a bustle of activity. Either they were retreating or getting ready to attack, but either way, they needed to seize the Pass itself so they could strike at the main Hesten force. Below them on the other side of the gate, she could see the Hesten infantry forming up to attack Katerei and Gorath from the rear as they were locked in combat with the cavalry.

Jeanette turned to Rigshok, a young orc boy on her staff. "We need to break through the gates and relieve our army on the Braden side. Can you make it through the battle to give the order to attack the gates?"

"I can do it, Your Highness! They'll never see me 'till I want them to! I'll send your orders as fast as lightning!"

Jeanette smile at the boy, amused at seeing such youthful enthusiasm on his orc face. This younger generation of orcs, those born after the war, were picking up the human language quickly. Even those living in Braden were picking up the habits of their human neighbors, which she took as a good sign. All we have to do is get through the current generation, and then things will settle down.

Another cry erupted from the battle below as the last of the defenders were swept off her side of the Pass. Jeanette rose from her position, gesturing for her bodyguards and staff to follow. "It should be safe enough now, let's go down to get a better look at the Pass."

The bodyguards formed a phalanx around her, just in case an arrow should happen to fly her way. The hidden path took them right into the now abandoned defenses. The Queen had to step carefully to avoid tripping over the bodies of the defenders, and several times she had to grip the arms of one of her orcs to prevent from slipping on the blood and gore decorating the rocky incline of the side of the Pass.

The great iron gates of the Lyskean Pass reached high enough that she could almost touch them. Her orcs had begun to fire on the Hesten soldiers defending the door, and when a contingent of orcs carrying a felled tree began to ram it, the last of them began to leave. Jeanette looked down at the soldiers as they grabbed their supplies and equipment. "They're determined to leave nothing for us. Do they really think we need their ale so badly they'll suffer our arrows to rob us of it? They're spilling more than they're saving."

Something wasn't right about it, and soon she realized that they weren't carelessly leaking ale behind them as they fled, but deliberately spilling it. Fear gripped her heart, squeezing it like a vice as she realized that it wasn't ale, but pitch and oil. "We have to call them back. It's a trap, Daniels, you have to move quickly-!" But it was too late, the orcs crashed through the gate with a might cry. As a great host of her soldiers poured through the pass, torches dropped upon them from the left side and ignited a great conflagration among the charging orcs.

Pained screams drowned out even the sounds of battle as the grisly smell of cooked flesh began to permeate the entire Pass. Jeanette felt sick to her stomach from the scent and the screams. Seconds passed, but it seemed like an eternity passed until the screams died out, replaced with the roaring of the flames. The great fire illuminated the night sky, allowing her to see the grisly details of the combat all around her.

Down below in Braden, the Hestens blasted their trumpets and began to disengage from the battle, retreating in good order. "Why are they retreating? Aren't they winning the battle?" Daniels asked, curiously.

"They're winning the battle down there, but they know they lost the Pass. They've hurt us bad, and there is no sense in them risking their whole army. By breaking off now before we can reinforce they'll save their army and be able to retreat to a more defensible position. Gorath and Katerei won't be able to pursue, not after the mauling they just had." Another wave of nausea hit her, this time not caused by the terrible stench of charred corpses. Even though this was technically a victory, it didn't feel that way. King Connor beat her. The day was his.

****

"We lost one day putting out the fire, and three more cleaning up the battlefield. When will we be ready to march?" Jeanette snapped impatiently at her staff. Her mood had been sour in the days after the battle, and it was only getting worse the longer they lingered on the battlefield.

"We've nearly doubled the size of our army, Your Highness. It's taking time to reorganize our forces. Please, be patient. A few days more and we'll be ready." Vrenchak tried to assuage the Queen. The army had suffered grievous losses in the battle, and integrating the army from Zentara with the army from Braden was proving trickier than he had hoped.

Even though there were many orcs in the new army, they weren't getting along with the orcs from Braden. The orcs who chose to settle in Zentara after the war were more 'human' in attitude, and not as 'traditional' as those in Braden. It didn't help that so far the Zentaran orcs hadn't seen much, if any, fighting yet.

"Every day we spend here is another day for Connor to gather reinforcements and prepare defensive positions. He took all of the bows with him when he left, and I do not want to have to face an entrenched army with enough arrows to block out the sun." Jeanette turned from the table and paced around the tent.

"Your Highness, we outnumber them now, and we're on your terrain. Yes, he's had help from some of the locals, but the castles and the countryside are ours. The king'll have to retreat all the way back to Heste to find a place to defend himself, and that will take weeks. I know you want to finish this thing, but if you want it done right we need to go slowly." Kat illustrated her point by tracing a path across the map to the Warne River.

Stalking back to the table, Jeanette looked down at the map. "You may be right. Even still, I want to get to Wareg Castle as quickly as possible. I want to find Susannah and make sure she's alright. I've heard nothing from her since we left Ruar." The Queen took a deep breath, and then released it in a soft sigh. "I know you're all doing the best you can. Get back to work, and brief me again after supper."

The assembled commanders and staff left the tent except for Katerei and Gorath, who lingered behind. "You need to relax, Your Highness. I know your upset about the battle, but these things happen in war. You have to move past it." Kat walked up behind Jeanette and squeezed the Queen's shoulders, and then began to softly rub the muscles through her shirt.

"Kat is right, Your Highness. I was the one who rode right into their trap. If anyone should be blamed it's me. And I'm gonna have my revenge, we all will. He's on the run, and soon we'll have cleaned out Braden and be bringing the fight to him. That's the fight you should be thinking about, the next one. Not the last one." Gorath stood before Jeanette, looking down at the Queen. The large orc reached out to brush black hair behind her ears, and softly cup the back of the Queen's head and grinned. "Let us help you forget the burden, for at least a little bit."

"We shouldn't. I've let this continue long enough, too long in fact. I cannot betray my husband any further than-" Jeanette's protest was cut off as Gorath leaned in to kiss firmly on the lips. His strong hands moved to her waist, and then cupped her ass to pull the Queen against his thick, solid torso as Kat ran her hands along Jeanette's back and sides.

Small hands stroked Gorath's muscular chest as Jeanette let out a small moan. Their hands roamed confidently over her body, touching all the places that made her squirm. Gorath and Kat had learned her body well during their time together, and they put their knowledge to good use making the Queen melt between them.

Slender fingers squeezed her nipples, strong hands stroked along the inner curve of her hip down to her thigh, and lightly tickled her sinuous leg. Desire coursed through her, making her heart swell and strain against the guilt coiled around it. Turogg had been so open with her, the one stipulation being that he was the only one to enjoy her womanhood. But she slipped, and having slipped once it was easy to slip again and again.

When Jeanette opened her mouth to protest again, Gorath once more sealed it with a kiss. Katerei gently slid her fingers down the Queen's arms and laced her fingers through Jeanette's. "Shh my Queen. We've taken good care of you, haven't we? Let us take care of you again. We'll make you feel good, and forget all about your troubles." Kat guided Jeanette backwards until she stood against the pole holding up the command tent, and then dropped to her knees to kiss the Queen's hands and lightly lick and suckle on her fingertips.

The orc lightly scraped his tusks along Jeanette's cheeks as he nuzzled her face while his large hands possessively squeezed her ass. His fingers pulled her ass cheeks apart and pushed them together as he rubbed her vigorously through her pants. Gorath's cock was already swelling and eager to burst from his pants and bury itself deep inside the lusty queen. Deep, guttural groans emanated from deep in his throat as he felt Jeanette's soft thigh press into the bulge and rub against it, stroking it lightly through the fabric of his trousers.

Something soft wound around Jeanette's wrists as Kat held them behind the Queen's back. The warrior woman tied Jeanette's hands together around the tent pole with a silk sash, and then tied another around the Queen's eyes, blindfolding her. "That's it my Queen," Kat whispered as she licked the curve of Jeanette's ear, "submit to the pleasure, you know it's what you need."