Conquest of War

Chapter Five

"I won't kill you... just yet. I need you to help me gain your people's trust. In order to do that I need to take you as my queen for a few years. Then when everything is settled, I will take my blade and drive it through your filthy little Talvok heart, but I will make it look like an accident so your people will never suspect anything" he sneered quietly so only she would hear, his lips brushed her ear and she shivered. However, in a moment of anger she chomped down on his hand and he snarled a curse as he ripped his hand away, giving her a chance to bolt from his grasp.

"Never!" She spat venomously as she leveled her gaze on him and he scowled at her in aggravation. Then to his surprise she reached down and picked up his blade from where he had tossed it. To her dismay, she had not expected it to be quite so heavy and struggled to hold it with one hand. The prince had made it look as if it weighed nothing and here she was having to use both hands.

Tavrik couldn't help but find her almost adorable as she stood there lock-kneed holding his sword out like a club. It was completely obvious she had absolutely no idea what to do with it. For half a second he was almost surprised that Frost had taught her nothing of defending herself.

"Princess, put the sword down. This is not a good idea..." she immediately cut the old ranger off as she looked at him with determination and shook her head.

"Why? I have the sword? He doesn't have a way to stop me! I could kill him" she snapped quickly as she kept her eyes on the prince and the old ranger looked at her softly.

"There are two very large problems with your line of thinking, Fay. The first one is that you don't have the heart to kill anyone and over the years you have made that quite clear. Secondly, even unarmed the man in front of you is the most lethal warrior I know" his mentor sighed as he looked at the small woman and she almost pouted.

" I am the one with the sword" she muttered in annoyance as she pointed it at the prince and he watched her arms trembling a little at its weight.

Tavrik was playing along just to see what he could learn about his mentor's relationship with the enemy princess. He was quite intrigued to see why this woman had gotten so much sympathy from his heartless mentor.

"Fayrn, he will kill you. Now put the sword down before you give him a reason to" Frost commanded softly as he looked pleadingly at the woman, and she protested, "Giles, I have the upper hand. See?"

The moment she started to swing the blade, Tavrik pulled a long dagger from his belt and easily blocked her swing. Her eyes widened as he slid the knife down the blade so the cross-guards were pressed together and then he twisted his dagger. To her shock, the sword was ripped out of her hands and she was forced to stumble backwards as she tried to regain her balance. Before she managed to collect herself, she found that the prince's sword was now resting against her throat in his hand. She wasn't exactly sure how he had gotten it, but nonetheless he had and she was defenseless.

"I think we are done here" he mused as he towered over her with an annoying smirk on his face and Fay glared up at him.

"I will never marry you!" She snarled defiantly as she met his gaze and he sighed.

"If you refuse then I will make you watch as my men slaughter every last woman and child in this city. Then I will lock you up in a tower and you will watch as I enslave your people one city at a time" Tavrik said coldly and Fayrn froze as she looked at the man in horror.

She had a choice between dying herself or watching her people die. She knew what she had to do, but she was torn. She was the princess so it was her duty to protect her people, but she was terrified of the man before her. She knew what she had to do, but it was simply now a matter of making herself form the words and speak them out loud. The moment she did she would tie herself to this monster forever. The moment she spoke the words she would be writing her own death sentence.