Strange Days in Dulakhan

[Third Magus]

Sana was an artist with lips and tongue. Slowly and patiently, she brought inch after inch of Kasar's thick cock into her mouth, soft lips encircling it, tongue tickling and lapping, taking Kasar's breath away.

Soon, she had worked her way all the way down his shaft, pushing it into her throat with lustful abandon. She drew back for just a moment, leaving the great shaft glistening with her saliva, and her brilliant grey eyes, half-veiled by dark hair, met Kasar's. Kasar let out a growl of pure lust. All he wanted to do was to thrust every inch of his cock, moistened and worshipped by his gorgeous princess, up inside her. Then she lowered her head again, and Kaspar's growl changed to a gasp as Sana skillfully ran her tongue around the head of his cock before once again engulfing it all.

"Tamusz! Tamusz!"

Kasar was not a particularly pious man, nor one prone to invocations, but he could not help the words bursting out of his throatin awe at the sheer obscene magic that Sana was performing on him.

 

[AmandaAce]

Sana placed her hand flat on Kasar's stomach, holding him still. His cock was impossibly hard, his whole body nearly vibrating with pleasure. She didn't stop, just kept slowly sliding her mouth up and down, flicking and twirling her tongue around the shaft. The head of his cock pressed against the back of her throat every time she took it all in, and she could feel him resisting the urge to thrust.

When he called out the name of his god, she redoubled her efforts. Kasar was normally as unmovable as a marble statue, yet here he was, gasping beneath her, his glorious body set on fire by her touch. Never ceasing the slow, sensual motions of her mouth and tongue, she slid her hand down his flat stomach and under him, cupping his balls in her hand. She looked up at him again, her grey eyes glittering underneath the fall of her dark hair. With a small smile on her face, she drew her head back. She licked slowly down the throbbing, rock hard length of his cock, and swirled her tongue around his balls, just once, before moving back up and taking him in her mouth again completely.

 

[Third Magus]

Willfully abandoning all concern with regal propriety, the rightful queen of Dulakhan was sucking Kasar's cock, bringing an obscene and wanton zest to her attentons to rival the most abandoned Dulakh whore. But Sana was so much more than that. There was a purity and a holy fire to her that all others would only ever see as she dispensed justice in the throne room or the field of battle. Only Kasar would ever see the fiery light of lust in her grey eyes as they sported in the bedchamber, or know the ways that she would lend her agile, slender body to his pleasure.

The thought, along with the sight of his massive length disappearing once more into Sana's supple mouth, caused Kasar's cock to twitch warningly -he could not hold himsef back much longer.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kasar lay on the floor beneath her, every huge muscle straining for her touch. She held him down, gently, with one slim hand, the other still cupping his balls, the entire length of him in her mouth. His cock swelled, growing even harder, and she swirled her tongue around it, firmly. He was close to spilling his seed, his cock impossibly hard and probing the back of her throat. She wanted him to come into her mouth, to taste him as he had tasted her. His cock twitched and throbbed, his breath came in gasps. She tightened her grip on his balls and slid her lips down further, to the base of his cock.

Sana held him there, her tongue fluttering against the straining shaft, and waited.

 

[Third Magus]

The warning twitch of Kasar's cock in her mouth only spurred Sana on to even greater efforts, her tongue now constantly swiping and lapping around his shaft, his cock far down her throat, as though she yearned for his seed like a woman in the desert craved water.

Kasar could no more have prevented Sana from recieving the benison she sought than he could the tides from rising. He regarded that sleek dark head bobbing up and down on his lap with a kind of awed wonder. His fierce, gorgeous princess, his supple and slender Sana with her quick lithe movements and brilliant mind, was sucking his cock, devoting herself totally to his pleasure with a characteristic, wholehearted concentration.

Sana had thrown herself into learning the techniques and arts of the bedchamber just as she had those of statecraft and battle and, as with those, she had proved herself to possess a formidable natural talent, an instinct for pleasure beyond that which could be taught, brought to perfect ripeness by the astonishing capabilities and appetites. Kasar had always known that the unbelievably lucky man who made Sana his bride would be taking on a scorchingly hot handful, a girl that would find more ways to pleasure her man than were known to the legendary temple-courtesans of Old Eshin. But he had never dared hope that he could be that man, despite dozens of such lewd, forbidden fantasies crossing his mind in the dark watches of the night.

"Sana," he whispered, his hand stroking her hair tenderly. Then his grip tightened. "Sana!"

Rope after rope of hot white semen shot from Kasar's cock down Sana's throat, amply rewarding her efforts.

 

[AmandaAce]

Kasar held her head tightly as he came into her mouth, shouting her name hoarsely. She raised an eyebrow in approval and swallowed it down, still running her hands across his body. When she was done, she slid her body up, to rest next to him. His arm tightened around her and she pressed her face against his chest. He buried his face in her hair. The sounds of the party still went on in the court below them, drifting through the window on the warm breeze.

It was done now. There were ceremonies to be performed, traditions to be upheld, but the law began and ended with Sana, and she had made her choice. Lord Ferro and Lord Neera could squawk if they wished. And they would squawk, if everything went back to normal. They would rail at her, but he was their king, as surely as she was their queen.

She felt that they must have known, somehow. That they had asked her to wait out of fear, instead of necessity. That they had been afraid even then that she would choose him. But how could they have known, when Sana herself had not? Her admiration of Kasar hadn't been completely innocent, not for years, but her propriety had never been in question. So what had they seen, that had scared them so?

Perhaps it had been at the last moon festival, before her father had died. There had been a moment, in the upper courtyard. Everyone was dancing, the girls whirling in a circle while the men watched and clapped. Sana was twirling wildly, her hair whipping loose from its braid, and when she turned, she saw Kasar, watching her. He clapped along with the music, nodding as Sana's father shouted in his ear, but his eyes never left her. He was her bodyguard, of course, but there was something about that look, that night. She kept twirling, her head nodding with the music, and returned his gaze. The heat that passed between them in that glance would have melted a hundred Dulakh crowns, and Sana had thought about it for days. They had come to her with the proposition shortly after that, and then her father had died, and her service had come up, and she had thought no more about it, until now.

She lifted her head to look at him, and when he looked up at her, she kissed his furrowed brow. Standing up, she stretched like a cat and leaned against the window sill, looking down into the courtyard. The wind blew her hair back, and she shivered.
“Shall we go to bed?” she asked him.

 

[Third Magus]

The sun rose up over the mountains, slowly illuminating everything it touched in brilliant hues of gold and purple. As long as he had lived in Dulakhan, Kasar did not think he would ever tire of the sight of sunrise here. Dawn on the steppes of his home had its own bleak magnificence, but it could not compare with the breathtaking range of colours and scents that every new day in Dulakhan brought.

But Kasar's attention this morning was on an even more gorgeous sight. Sana rode the mountain road ahead of him, her firm, breathtakingly pert and rounded ass rolling with the curves. He should have insisted on leading the way, he had every intention of doing so any moment... but for once, the stoic captain had forsaken his duty for pleasure, in this case the pleasure of a truly wonderful view.

Visnu and Amrita had been reluctant to let them go without any escort at all, but Kasar's arguments had finally won them over. The assasination attempt during Sana's exhibition to the public had only made it all the more clear to him that it was essential that anonymity be maintained during their travels. Visnu had promised to maintain the ruse that Sana remained at the Siraj Mahal, while the pair continued to travel on to Prince Brahma's territory as common soldiers.

Kasar's eyes remained irresistibly drawn to Sana's toned rear, while thoughts of the torrid previous evening poured through his mind. Just the thought of how yesterday they had shared a bath together, and how his beautiful, naked princess had pushed herself back against him, smoothly mounting the massive shaft of his manhood amidst disbelieving gasps and moans of pleasure.... it was too much for a redblooded man.

Kasar started his horse forward and rode up alongside Sana, reaching a hand out to touch her delicate wrist. His face seemed as expressionless, but she had learned to read those dark eyes. Kasar was going to call a halt, a handful of hours' ride from the Siraj Mahal, so he could tumble Sana down on to the sunbleached earth and once again have his way with her toned, slender young body, satisfying their urgent lust yet again. Sana had been the object of Kasar's hot dreams for years now -and his discovery that she lived up to every single fantasy only fanned the flames of his insatiable appetite for her.

He opened his mouth, unsure if anything but a lustful growl would emerge... but then something caught his attention. A flicker of movement on a nearby peak -the silhouette of a man. They were being observed. Kasar instantly returned to the mindset of a warrior and a guardian.

"Dismount," he said quietly. "Get behind the horse."

 

[AmandaAce]

Sana rode up the mountain path, one hand shading her eyes from the sun, lost in thought. The horse went his way easily, and the heat of the rising sun and the rhythm of their hooves in the dust lulled her, allowed her mind to wander. The smell of gula flowers rose from the dusty earth around them, the small orange flowers opening up as the sun hit them, adding their sweet perfume to the chorus of scents that surrounded them. She could feel Kasar behind her, his dark eyes as watchful as a hawk's, seeing everything at once.

They'd met with Visnu and Amrita early, so that they could leave before the sun rose. It had left them little time for sleep – Sana wasn't sure that Kasar had slept at all. She had, though, deeply, curled in his arms on the great bed, her head pillowed on his chest. In those few hours she'd slept more soundly than she had in years – despite the issues that faced them, Sana was filled with an overwhelming sense of rightness, as though things were slowly clicking into place after a very long time.

Back at Amratsar, in the palace, they had for years slept separated by a small gilt door in Sana's quarters. Every night, the guards would check her room, sweeping through it thoroughly before leaving by the main door. Kasar would bolt it behind them, then, with a small bow, he would disappear through the other door, the gilt door, to his quarters. It had always been that way, Sana tossing and turning behind heavy silk curtains, Kasar lying watchfully awake in his bed, with only that door between them. In the nights before they'd left the capital, Sana had found herself staring at the door more and more often when she was unable to sleep, willing it to open, or willing herself to open it – she hadn't been sure what she wanted. She had come close to opening it one night, but only stood next to the door, her hand on it, breathing shallowly for minutes at a time, before turning and flinging herself back through the curtains, to hide in her bed until morning.

She was jolted out of the memory by Kasar, drawing up next to her. He placed a hand on her wrist and she looked up at him inquiringly. His handsome face remained as stoic as ever, but his dark eyes were ablaze with lust. She met his eyes coyly, and he opened his mouth to speak. Before she could reach out and cover his mouth with her full lips, his jaw tightened. His posture changed, and he leaned forward and spoke to her in an urgent whisper.

“Dismount,” he said. “Get behind the horse.”

Sana obeyed him, as she always did, with no hesitation. In one fluid motion she swung down and off the horse, its mane still loosely looped around her hand.

“What?” she began, and Kasar silenced her with his hand. She followed his gaze, but could see nothing but puffs of dust riding lazily on the wind.

 

[Third Magus]

Within seconds, Sana had taken cover. Kasar laid a hand on his tulwar's hilt and crouched down in front of her, ready to ward off any threat to his beautiful princess.

They did not have to wait long. Seeing that their ambush had been discovered, the men watching from the hilltops were breaking cover and scrambling on to horseback to ride down the track to meet them. Kasar counted five dark silhouettes, each with a bow at their saddle.

Kasar considered their options. They could ride back the way they'd came -but even an indifferent archer could easily put arrows in their backs from this distance. They could fight, but the odds were against them. If Kasar's companion had been anyone else, he might still have taken those odds, but he would not risk Sana, not for anything.

Then, there was the possibility of Sana mounting and riding away, while Kasar alone held off their attackers. He would almost certainly die, but he would be able to buy her enough time to get away, to return to the Siraj Mahal. And Kasar did not fear a death recieved securing Sana's safety.

Kasar turned to Sana -and one look at her lustrous grey eyes, as proud and brave as they were heartstoppingly lovely, made him realise his mistake. His princess would never consent to flee, leaving him to die in her defence. She would stay by his side, come what may.

And with that, Kasar felt a new determination. Neither of them would die here. Not when they had so much still to accomplish -unifying Dulakhan's forces, throwing the Anufaun out of their lands, placing Sana on the throne, and above all else, making up for years of wasted time, for days of stolen wistful glances and nights of fevered dreams. An evening and night of passion had not even begun to balance the accounts.

The five riders reached them and began to circle around their horses. Kasar took their measure.

Fierce-eyed men, in mismatched armour and worn and much-patched clothes underneath. Bandits then, which was at least better than Anufaun scouts or more of the Matazilim. They rode well -almost as well as the horsemen of Kasar's own homeland, who were said to be born in the saddle. They didn't bear themselves like true soldiers, but their poise and discipline was still a cut above most brigands that Kasar had ever encountered. Someone had taken some effort to forge them into a real fighting force.

While he had been assessing them, the bandit's leader, a sallow man with long dark moustachios, had been returning his stare. His eyes narrowed at his conclusions on Kasar, recognising a born warrior when he saw one, only to widen covetuously at the sight of Sana's slender young body, shown off to perfection in her soldier's uniform. Kasar strangled back a growl but the blazing fury in his eyes shone through nonetheless. Even the hardened bandit flinched at the sight, and instinctively averted his gaze before recovering his nerve.

"What are you doing in these mountains?"

"We are soldiers of the queen. Where we go, we go on her orders and none may question us."

Despite Kasar's intimidating stare, the bandit's gaze kept wandering back to Sana's face and now there was more than just lust. There was a sudden glimmer of recognition. Kasar held his breath, though he remained outwardly impassive. If the bandits realised what a jewel of rare worth had tumbled into their hands, all might be lost.

"Only one queen reigns here, soldier," the bandit said. He looked at Sana again. "The Bandit Queen! And only she decides who comes and who goes."

Kasar stepped forward.

"We have nothing to steal, brother," he said quietly. "And you may find us more trouble than we're worth. I suggest you let us go."

Even speaking softly to a man on horseback above, an armed man with four allies at his back, there was something primal about the power and threat Kasar could project. Forgetting himself again, the bandit leader swallowed, his horse catching his master's mood and whinnying nervously. He even seemed on the verge of submitting before catching sight of Sana again -to yield before such a beautiful woman would simply be a humiliation too far.

"N... no," the bandit leader managed, stammering a little. "You're coming with us. You're coming to see the Bandit Queen."

 

[AmandaAce]

“Take their swords,” the leader said curtly, turning from them with a last puzzled glance at Sana. She looked at Kasar, still shielding her from them with his body, and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head minutely, his dark eyes meeting hers calmly. Wait, they said to her, and she nodded, once, before dropping her eyes to the ground. He squeezed her hand, once, reassuringly, and she squeezed back.

With a grunt, the bearded man beside her reached down and yanked her tulwar out of its sheath. Sana stumbled and cursed under her breath, and he laughed, stuffing it roughly into his belt. Kasar turned toward him, his eyes furious and blazing. The tulwar taker drew back in fright, and three of the riders raised their bows.

“Easy now, bahut badda,” the leader said to Kasar. “Let's not get upset. Give them over your sword.”

Kasar didn't move, and the sallow man cleared his throat.

“Give them over your sword,” he repeated, and the three nocked their arrows. He extended a hand, and with a grunt of frustration, Kasar handed the sword to the bearded one. He took it gingerly and jerked back, away from Kasar's hands. The leader nodded to Kasar, and the three let their arrows down, slowly. “Let's go,” he said, and turned his horse up the dusty slope.

“Barsaat!” one of the other men called after him, and he turned irritably to face them. “Shall we tie their hands, make them walk?”
“No,” Barsaat replied after a moment. He lifted a hand to stroke his mustache. “Let them ride. If they try to escape, shoot them.” He shifted his gaze forward again. “ Shoot him first.”

After a time, they turned from the path, the horses picking their way up the steep and stony slope like goats. Sana looked back across the valley, catching one last glimpse of the great golden spire of the Siraj Mahal before it disappeared behind the mountains for good. Kasar rode grimly next to her, his hands white-knuckled on the reins. Behind them, two of the bandits rode, uncomfortably close, their bows close at hand. There was another on each side, and Barsaat in the lead. No one spoke. They were penned in, neatly, being forced up the rocky hillside at a snail's pace.

They stopped, what seemed like hours later, in front of a sprawling low hut, made of thousands of mica-flecked round stones that glittered dustily in the morning sun. The roof of the structure sloped gently, like a hill on top of a hill, and the low, arched entrance was dark.
Several more bandits stood guard around the hut, and they all stared as the group rode to a stop. Some of them pointed and whispered, gesturing to each other excitedly. Sana felt a flicker of unease. Could they know who she was? Without the silks and the kohl and thangam, was she still so recognizable?

“The Queen will be pleased,” the tulwar taker, one they called Raghav, remarked to Barsaat.

“What Queen resides here?” Sana said contemptuously under her breath.

Barsaat turned to her in amusement. “The Bandit Queen, jaane jaan,” he said, and laughed when she sneered at him. “You may find the meeting more interesting than you think.”

“Yes,” Raghav added, “because she looks--” Barsaat cut him off with a hiss, and he ducked his head in apology.

“Dismount,” Barsaat commanded them. Sana and Kasar slid off their horses to stand behind him. Raghav dismounted behind them as well, nocking his arrow and pointing it at Kasar. At a motion from Barsaat, the four walked forward, into the dim incense heavy expanse of the hut.

It took Sana's eyes a minute to adjust to the dark smoky interior, and she kept close to Kasar as they entered. They stopped, abruptly, right after entering, and Barsaat opened his mouth to speak.

“What is it?” a husky woman's voice interrupted him. There was a clang of metal on stone, and a great curved tulwar hit the ground in front of Barsaat, making him step back. The owner of the voice let out a great purr of laughter, and stepped forward into the light.

“Your Highness,” Barsaat said, and ducked his head. The Bandit Queen stood before him, tall and lean and brown from the sun, her face covered by a black veil that left only her dark grey eyes visible. Below the veil, her choli and flowing shalwar were black as well, much patched and worn. She leaned on the tulwar, stuck straight into the dusty floor of the hut, her tattooed hands clamped around the hilt. Her eyes flicked from Barsaat to Kasar, then to Sana, her eyes widening as she did so.

“Blood of the devas,” she said to Barsaat. “What have you brought me?” She let go of the tulwar, and with a shake of her head, removed her veil.
Barsaat and Raghav gasped. Sana's mouth dropped open. Even Kasar raised his eyebrows.

The Bandit Queen was the exact image of Sana. From the waterfall of dark hair to the high brow and cheekbones, the full lips and slender frame, they were the same. Barsaat and Raghav looked from one to the other, then at each other, and shrugged.

Sana made a choked noise. The Bandit Queen laughed. “Hello, cousin,” she said. She reached out one delicate hand and placed it on Kasar's cheek. “I see you've brought your toy soldier with you.”

 

[Third Magus]

Princess Kali, lost in the Cloud Mountains so long ago. Kasar himself had led the fruitless expeditions in search of her, and taken part in the punitive raids on bandit camp after bandit camp. All to no avail. Although the girl's corpse had not been found along with those of her parents and retinue, the conclusion had been that she must have died. Kasar looked at her in silence. Who knew what strange and cruel history, of suffering, scheming and violence, had brought her to the position that she now held?

He did not feel pity -her flashing, proud eyes did not invite such a response, so much as a fleeting sense of kinship. Kasar, too, had been left as a child to make his own way in a harsh and unforgiving land, his father poisoned and his clan's enemies descending on their holdings like vultures.

But the feeling did not last. When Kali laid her hand on his cheek, Kasar's eyes flashed with anger and he grasped her slim wrist, his fingers like iron, and wrenched her hand away. Kali's men reached for their weapons but the Bandit Queen waved them down with an indolent flick of her wrist.

"Your toy soldier," she continued, moving with languid grace to where Sana stood. "Always standing there to protect you from everything bad, even then, always there to save you. I killed my first man when I was ten years old. Nobody saved me."

 

[AmandaAce]

“We looked for you,” Sana said. “For months, we looked for you.” Kali stood directly in front of her, their identical eyes meeting. They could not have been more alike, and yet could not have been more different. The same features that made Sana's face kind and open, made Kali's face hard. Their eyes were the same color, but Sana's were bright and warm, where Kali's were flat and cold. Even their names were opposite, Sana and Kali, light and dark. They were two different sides of the same coin, like the sun and the moon.

“You did nothing!” Kali spat, raising a finger to point into Sana's face.

“We were children,” she said, ignoring the finger. Kali threw back her head and barked out a bitter laugh.

“We were all children,” she repeated, nodding. “You and me, Visnu-bhai and Avan Neera, Suchant and Parineeta Ferro, all children. But I was the only one left to fight for my life. To crawl bleeding through the Cloud Mountains while you danced around the courtyard at the Moon Festival. Do you remember,” she asked, finally lowering her hand, “that you used to say that looking at me was like looking in a dirty mirror?”

Sana nodded. She did. It was. Even more so now than it had been ten years ago.

“What do you want?” Sana asked her. Kali took a hand and laid it on Sana's shoulder. Kasar took a step, and Kali shot him a warning look. She raised her hand to stop him, and he glared at her.

“Look at him,” she said. “Doesn't want me to touch you, he's so afraid I'll pollute you. His precious Sana sunehri. Ugh, I don't know how you've stood him all these years, doesn't he bore you?” She took her hand from Sana's shoulder and gestured toward Kasar. “He is beautiful, though, I'll give you that.”

“Leave him alone, Kali kutte,” Sana said, her voice tight, and Kali laughed again. She flicked her eyes at Barsaat and Raghav, and they both raised their weapons.

“What if I don't?” she asked. “He's always been yours, Sana, what if I took him from you? Like you took everything of mine?”

 

[Third Magus]

Kasar looked at Barsaat and Raghav dispassionately, the weapons in their hands meriting no more than a single assessing glance. He laughed.

"This is your Bandit Queen? Truly, you serve her?"

Kali's grey eyes flashed with rage, but she contained herself with visible effort.

"Do you think that men should not be led by a woman? You're a fool if so -doubly so for letting my milk-and-sugar cousin lead you by the nose all the while. Is it by the nose? Or is it by the cock? Surely virtuous, innocent Sana hasn't... "

Kali stopped, frowning, as Kasar advanced on her. He loomed over the Bandit Queen, his eyes blazing.

Assigned to Sana's protection even ten years ago, Kasar had had little to do with the child Kali but once he had caught her at mischief -rubbing chilli grounds of intense heat into the undergarments of a maidservant who had somehow offended the young princess. It had been wantonly malicious, and just one more instance in the long catalogue of Kali's misdeeds and acts of bullying. None of the palace guard ever dared to discipline her, knowing that if they laid a hand on a royal princess, they were liable to lose it -as Kali lost no time in telling Kasar.

And Kasar had not struck her, or reported her to her parents. He had simply and curtly ordered her to sit and, his eyes cold and his voice as quiet and level as the eastern plains, told her what she had done and what she must to do make reparations. And to the palace's astonishment, the next day Kali apologised to the maidservant and replaced her ruined clothes out of her own allowance. For months after that, she behaved herself and even after she returned to her old ways, she was much more wary and subdued.

Now, for just a moment, they were as they had been before. Once again, Kasar's eyes showed no rage but an infinitely more dangerous and intimidating calm. For just a moment, Kali flinched under the intensity of his gaze -the moment of weakness clearly infuriating her.

"No," he said quietly. "The greatest honour a true man can hope for is to serve a woman, a real woman. I serve a real woman."

He indicated Sana. Her beauty, intelligence and grace had always shone like gifts from the gods, but the last handful of days had turned her into an extraordinary vision of wild, fresh loveliness. Danger and life on the road had brought a new sparkle of fierce alertness and intensity to those mirror-bright grey eyes, but the deep compassion and calm in them tempered those qualities. Even surrounded by the bandits, she held herself with unparalleled poise -half queen, half swordswoman.

And there was something more, something that had only emerged after Kasar had at last taken her to his bed. It was there in a playful quirk of a fine dark eyebrow, in the way she would coyly tilt her head, or the knowing, dreamy little smile that sometimes played about her full lips. She was a woman now, intimately acquainted with pleasure and passion, and it was clear to every man that looked at her that her performance in bed would be beyond astounding. A strangled croak came from Barsaat's throat as he looked at her.

"Whereas your men," Kasar continued pitilessly, "Serve a petulant child still crying over ten-year-old grievances."

 

[AmandaAce]

Sana watched calmly as Kasar confronted her cousin, ignoring Kali's men and their weapons. The Bandit Queen had lost all composure in the face of his quiet and noble calm. Her face was twisted in a sneer, her grey eyes narrowed. She looked, not just afraid, but chastened. Ashamed. Kasar did not stop when she flinched, only continued to fix her with his intense dark stare.

She felt, as she looked at him, that same slow, creeping sense of right, the sensation of being led, being moved. Seeing Kasar standing there, looking so noble, so kingly, even in the guttering light of the hut, only reinforced this feeling. He had been handsome before, had been commanding and honorable, but now he blazed like the sun. All princes were devi, Sana herself and Kali included, but Kasar shone the brightest. Even Barsaat and Raghav saw it, hung onto his every word even as their Queen cringed beneath his gaze.

“How dare you!” Kali shouted at Kasar. Her purring tiger's voice scaled up into a child's whine, and she kicked the tulwar across the hut with a clang. Kasar didn't respond, only raised an eyebrow at Barsaat and Raghav. They looked back at him, embarrassed, as Kali stamped her foot. They didn't lower their weapons, but their stance changed, became less urgent. Kasar stepped back, next to Sana, and they all watched as Kali flung herself about the hut in a rage.

She came to a rest in front of Sana, her face flushed and bright. Sana simply looked at her, coolly, and waited for her to calm down. She really was like a child, still that ten year old that had been left to fend for herself, and Sana pitied her for one fleeting moment. It was only a moment, though. The look of utter malice on her cousin's face burned it away almost immediately. Kali took a few deep breaths and opened her mouth to speak, but Sana silenced her with a shake of her head.

“Cousin,” she said quietly. “Please ask your men to leave. We have – family matters to speak of.”

Kali looked from Sana to Kasar, her grey eyes flashing defiantly. What she saw in their eyes caused her to flinch backward, yet again.

“Fine,” she said, defeated. She motioned to Barsaat and Raghav. “Go,” she told them, “but take this barbarian with you.”

“No,” Sana told her. “He stays.”

“Oh, he stays, he stays, he goes everywhere you go,” Kali muttered contemptuously. She shook her head. “No. We have family matters to discuss. He is not my family.”

“Yes,” Sana said. “Yes, he is.”

 

[Third Magus]

The dynamic in the room had changed. Barsaat and Raghav sensed it, just as Kali realised it. Kali had led her men with the wild, untamed force of her personality, with her regal, haughty presence and the strength of her will. They must have feared her as much as they'd loved her because her beauty, her intellect and her fiery courage was beyond anything they'd ever known. But now they'd seen her petulant, possessed with childish rage -and above all, they'd seen her intimidated. It was not hard to read their thoughts as their gaze travelled between flushed, panting Kali and her serene, queenly cousin.

And in these mountains, beyond the laws of man, respect was the only hard currency. Word would spread through the camp of Kali's humiliation and very soon some ambitious lieutenant would see the chance to make himself Bandit King. She might survive for a while by warming his bed -but at the cost of destroying what remained of the almost mystical awe her men had once held her in. Before long, her new master would tire of her and she would be cast out to be the camp's common whore, to be used and then tossed aside by any man who felt the urge.

Years of hardship and war had not quite beaten compassion out of Kasar. He did not like the thought. Kali was a cruel and spiteful creature, but there was still something magnificent about her, even if it was just the dark, murky reflection of Sana's golden, perfect image. Something that would be lost and broken forever by a life of abuse and degradation.

He sternly recalled his thoughts. Though humiliated, Kali was far from defeated yet and she still had teeth. If Sana was not to be bitten by them, they would need to plan their next moves carefully.

Barsaat and Ragav filed out obediently. Kasar remained looming behind Sana, his arms folded across his chest, waiting for his queen to speak.

 

[AmandaAce]

Sana watched expressionlessly as Barsaat and Raghav left the hut. Kasar watched them go as well, standing behind Sana, his eyes narrowed. When they were gone, Sana turned to her cousin. She put a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly.

“Cousin,” Sana said, meeting Kali's eyes calmly. “We did not come here with the intention of disrupting your --- situation.”

“But you did,” Kali replied sullenly. She flicked a tattooed hand at Kasar. “You ruined it. You two ruin everything.” She shook Sana's hand from her shoulder.

“That was not our intention.”

“It's never your intention,” Kali stated. She padded over to a chair and sat down, swinging her long legs over the side. Her hand found a long curved ivory pipe, and she inspected it, then lit it, blowing out a cloud of perfumed smoke. Sana waved a hand in front of her face. “You just walk through the world with him behind you, like Anish and Anisha with the stars in their hands. You don't care what happens to everyone else.”

Sana made a face. “Cousin --”

“You think no one else sees it?” Kali asked archly, puffing heavily on the pipe. “You two care for nothing save each other. You never have. Not ten years ago, not now.”

“I care for my kingdom,” Sana said, and Kali rolled her eyes.

“Your kingdom, your kingdom! Where in all of your kingdom am I to go?” Kali asked her. She leaned forward and gestured with her pipe. “What am I to do now that you've walked in here and destroyed everything I've built?”

“You will go to Visnu-bhai--”, Sana began, and Kali scoffed at her.

“Of course,” she said bitterly. “Of course you would send me to that crimson prison. And where do you go? Back to Amratsar with your big wolf.” She spat in the dust and glared at Kasar.

“No one is going to Amratsar,” Sana replied. “Now, please, just listen.”

 

[Third Magus]

Kasar could not take his eyes off Sana, indirectly substantiating Kali's bitter criticism. There was something breathtaking about her, something that went beyond her beauty. That she, a slender young woman, could command a roomful of armed and desperate men and that they would obey unquestioningly was a reflection of her personal poise and power. It was not a power that came from her birth in a royal palace, any more than Kasar's own authority came from his birth on distant, howling steppes. It was simply the measure of her grace and poise, of her total confidence in her place in this world.

Indeed, such was her confidence that she was not afraid to submit, as many weaker potentates were. She had served under Kasar as a soldier and obeyed the discipline of the military unquestioningly. And in bed... in bed, the spectrum of Sana's moods and dispositions was as varied and limitless as her talent and appetite. In the same night, she could go from a languid, haughty empress recieving her rightful due in erotic obeisance to a panting, yowling panther demanding rough play with her mate and dragging her claws across his back to a demuely submissive slave devoted solely and abjectly to her master's pleasure. With so many women within her demanding to be satisfied in turn, it was little wonder that the hot Dulakhan nights would stretch out so long and pleasurably.

A quiet smile on his lips, Kasar stood and waited for his princess to speak.

 

[AmandaAce]

Sana glanced over at Kasar, and was surprised to see him smiling at her. He had a speculative look in his dark eyes, and she raised an eyebrow at him and smiled back. Kali looked from one to the other in disgust and snuffed her pipe out.

“Well?” she said. Sana turned to look at her, and Kali held out one impatient tattooed hand. “Go on.”

“We have business that we must attend to,” she said. Kali opened her mouth to ask a question, and Sana shook her head curtly. “No. We don't have any more time for this. You have lost us precious time, you have raised your weapons to us, you have spoken harshly to me.”

Kali scoffed. “And yet,” Sana continued, “I will forgive you all of it, but you must do exactly as I say.”

“Of course,” Kali said with contempt. “Everything is always exactly as you say.” She gestured with her pipe, and Sana strode forward, quickly, to stand over her. Kasar watched her, silently, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Listen to me,” she said coldly, and Kali blanched. “This is about more than your hurt feelings. There are bad things happening here and you, of all people, are in as much danger as I am.” It was true. A stranger could easily confuse the two, and although she might be able to hold her own against the Anufaun, Kali was no match for a Matazilim assassin. But Sana and Kasar had to get to Prince Brahma's lands quickly, and taking her with them was not an option.

Kali rolled her eyes and turned her head. “What do you want, Sana?”

“I want you to call for our horses, and I want you to escort us out of here. What you do after that is up to you. Should you choose to stay here, I would advise caution. Your men may not prove as loyal as you thought they were. Should you choose to leave, you may go to Visnu. But cover your face in Punsupara.”

Kali glared at her. “You have caused me a deal of trouble,” she said.

Sana looked back at her coolly. “It was your men who brought us here,” she replied. “Call them.”

The two of them looked at each other for a long, silent moment, their identical grey eyes flashing. Then Kali sighed, and stood up. “Barsaat!” she called.

 

[Third Magus]

It was possible to read the thoughts flashing through Kali's grey eyes. She had seen the danger she had been placed in, seen the way that her authority had been so casually and confidently undermined by the mere presence of Sana and Kasar. And so, as Barsaat returned, she turned to face her cousin.

"I will be coming with you," she said, drawing herself up haughtily and glaring defiance. "The Crimson Fort placed a bounty on my head three years ago. I will not run to throw myself at their feet like a cringing cur. You say Dulakhan is in danger -very well, it is my country too. I will stand in its defence with you."

Barsaat awaited her orders.

"Take the men to the higher mountain retreats. Foreigners are coming -Anufaun. Ambush and slay them wherever they dare to cross the passes and take what loot they carry with them. I will be accompanying my kinswoman further into the interior."

 

[AmandaAce]

Barsaat looked at Kali in confusion. She lifted a hand and shooed him away with a click of her tongue. He ducked back out of the hut so quickly he nearly crashed into Raghav, who was waiting for him outside.
“Get the horses!” they heard him say, and Raghav scurried off.
Sana looked at Kasar, then at her cousin. She started to refuse, but thought better of it. Having Kali with them was dangerous, she would have to be watched every moment, but it was certainly better to have her where they could see her. Kali continued to look at her defiantly, perfumed smoke leaking out of her nostrils, and Sana took a deep breath before deciding.
“Very well,” she said. Kali nodded at her, and turned away to gather her tulwar and several other belongings into a leather satchel.
Biting her lip, Sana turned to Kasar and laid a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, and she leaned up and spoke into his ear. “I don't think we should tell her,” she began.
Kali snorted a laugh, and Sana whirled around to look at her. “What strikes you as funny, cousin?”
“If you're trying to keep this --” she waved a hand to indicate the two of them, “A secret, I'd advise you to try harder."
“I have no secrets,” Sana replied. She turned and met Kali's eyes evenly, her hand still on Kasar's arm.
“Oh?” Kali asked. She threw her bag over her shoulder and glanced out the door of the hut. “Does Parliament know that you've given this wolf a crown? I can see it all over your faces, Sana.”
“Parliament does not run this country. I do.” She walked gracefully across the hut and looked Kali in the eye.
“You both do,” Kali said. She pointed at Kasar and laughed. “Queen Sana and the King of the Wolves. I almost feel sorry for you, big man. I always knew my cousin would get you into trouble.”
There was a shuffling from outside and Raghav stumbled in.
“The horses are ready,” he said. He bowed first to Sana, then seeing Kali's frown, to her, then to Kasar, before slipping backwards out of the hut.
Kali pointed to the door. “Let us go,” she said, with a cold grin, “cousins.”

 

[Third Magus]

It was evening. Kasar had found a place for their little camp -a wide, grassy meadow below the path, divided by a rippling mountain brook, hidden from the eye on all sides, but with room for the horses to crop the grass. He had even allowed a small fire to be lit, weighing the odds of enemies noticing the column of smoke against the treacherous cold of these high mountain reaches.

Kali's sullen mood had not lifted, but she had proved unsurprisingly competent and efficient in the business of setting camp, shooting occasional hot, smoky-eyed glances at her cousin, as though hoping to outdo her and show her up as a palace-bound, spoiled princess. If that was her aim, she was disappointed. Sana had excelled in her training as a soldier -she could start a fire, set out traps for small game, and bring down birds on the wing with a slingshot, not to mention riding better than many of the nomads of Kasar's homeland. This was, of course, to say nothing of her other talents -the ends to which she could put her lithe, flexible golden body and full lips in the bedroom.

Now Kali lay, entangled in her bedroll beyond the dying fire. Kasar sat on the ground, an arm around Sana's slim shoulders. He looked upwards, tasting the night air, relishing the sweet scent of his princess, her warmth beside his.

There were stories of raksha in these mountains -redbellied cannibal demons. Kasar had never paid them any mind before, taking them for the stories of simple folk, but after all the strangeness he'd heard and witnessed in the past few weeks, he had to wonder. But raksha, bandit, or night-stalking demon, it mattered not -if any of them came for Sana, he'd slay them before they drew breath. He tightened his grip on Sana's shoulders, his eye falling on the sleeping form beyond the fire.

"Can we trust her, do you think?" he whispered.

 

[AmandaAce]

“About as far as you can throw her,” Sana whispered back, glancing over at her sleeping cousin. She lay sprawled inelegantly next to the fire, her hands under her head, her brow drawn together. Her breath was measured and deep. “She's not taking this opportunity lightly.”

Sana watched her. Kali didn't stir, and after a long moment, Sana turned to Kasar. The firelight played across the sharp lines of his face, his eyes dark as he looked up at the sky. She leaned further into the crook of his arm, pressing her cheek against his chest.

They remained that way for some minutes, Kasar breathing in the scent of her hair, Sana listening to the gentle drum of his heartbeat, Kali muttering in her sleep. The fire began to get low, and Sana raised her face to Kasar's and placed a light kiss on his lips. He took her face in his hands and gently kissed her back. She reached for him, and then there was a sound. A faint sound, barely audible over the crackle of the fire, but it was there. A rustling sound, from above them, where the peak met the path.

“Did you hear that?” Kali asked quietly. She had not changed position, but her grey eyes were open and glittering watchfully. Sana nodded to her, and stood up next to Kasar. He was already on his feet, tulwar unsheathed. They peered into the darkness, and the rustling came again.

In a flash, Kali was on her feet as well, shaking her hair impatiently out of her face and drawing her weapon. She fell in with Sana and Kasar seamlessly, the three of them back-to, tulwars raised, the fire guttering next to them, casting orange shadows on their faces. For a moment, everything was silent. The breeze died down. The horses ceased their nervous stamping. The fire snapped and crackled quietly below them.
Then it came again, much closer this time, a deep, throaty growl that spiraled up into a howl. The horses screamed in fear and pulled at their tethers. Kali and Sana looked around frantically for the source of the sound, but Kasar, facing the mountain directly, only stared straight ahead, his eyes searching the darkness between the rocks. They stood there, tensed to fight, for what felt like hours. The wind picked up again and howled in the peaks, and whatever it was howled back. Sana shivered.

“What is that?” she whispered urgently to her cousin.

“Raksha,” she told Sana. “Or worse.”

“What could be worse?” Sana asked back, and Kali shook her head.

Kasar hushed them both with a grunt. Now they could hear, over the howling wind, the sound of pebbles and rocks falling onto the path, as whatever it was descended the mountain towards them.