Vara

by Motif88 (motif88@netlinkcom.com)

A mercenary takes on a dangerous assignment for the Queen.







Track 1 - Mirror Mirror 


From her perch atop the tall gingko tree Vara squinted into the light 
of the westering sun, estimating the remaining time until sunset.  
Slanting rays warmed her tall warrior's frame, lending a soft red 
undertone to her smooth ebony skin.  Her dark eyes sparkled below a 
smooth broad brow, topped by kinky black hair cut short and dappled with 
premature gray.  The light lit up the flat contours of her oblong shaped 
face, making her angular features seem even sharper and throwing her 
deep set eyes into shadowy relief.  A light layer of perspiration laved 
her long smoothly muscled limbs, adding an extra sheen to her already 
glossy black body. 


"Three hours." she decided. 


She turned her gaze toward the panoramic view she had of the countryside 
below, following the track of the dirt road winding out of the forest 
and on through the mountain pass, leading eventually into the domain of 
Princess Marion.  A small, formidable castle crouched on a rocky 
premonitory over the narrow road, approachable on only one side, and 
that was up a steep scree covered slope that was regularly burned bare 
of vegetation.  Calling it a castle was an exaggeration.  It was really 
just an over-built curtain wall surrounding a square keep, both built 
with blocks carved from the gray granite stone native to the area.  A 
few smaller wooden buildings crowded the space between the mountain side 
wall and the keep; a stables, a smithy, storage barns and the like. 


Vara's tree was just behind the line where the forest had been burned to 
a stop and the cleared ground began, a short fifty yards to the start of 
the rocky slope.  She had a good view of the figures exiting the castle 
gates, six groups of five people each, four on foot and one mounted.  
Having watched the comings and goings of the castle for almost a week 
Vara knew full well they were foraging parties, one guard and four 
slaves each, leaving for one last foray before sunset. 


Patiently, Vara watched the group descend the steep slope, splitting up 
at it's base to strike out for different points along the forest wall.  
A thin smile creased her wide, thin lipped mouth as she caught sight of 
the mounted warrior for whom she'd been waiting.  An individual who 
would be her key to the castle and the first step toward completing her 
mission. 


With the agility of a born warrior, Vara eagerly climbed down the tree. 


------------------


The four slaves dispersed into the forest, wicker baskets swaying on 
their hips, leaving their mounted guard to wait in the bracken covered 
ground at the forest's edge.  Vara had chosen her hiding place well, a 
thicket of nettle bushes hard against the tree line, an unlikely place 
to be searched for food.  Peering through the spiny branches the 
experienced warrior shook her head, marveling again at her good fortune. 


The warrior sat astride her horse only a few yards away from Vara's 
hiding place.  Like all of Omphale's mercenary band, the mounted woman 
wore a mask of plain brown leather that completely covered her head and 
face.  Holes for the eyes, nose and mouth, and slits for the ears were 
the only openings in the masks, giving Omphale's warriors a terrifying 
sameness in battle.  It was a psychological tactic that Vara knew was 
all too effective, but this time she was counting on the masks to work 
for her. 


Unlike most warriors, the woman Vara intended to ambush was almost 
completely naked.  She'd known warriors who preferred to fight naked in 
battle;  they usually lived very short, very blood lives.  Personally, 
she preferred a good thick mail shirt in a fight, but that wouldn't be 
practical now.  Instead she wore a simple green tunic and brown 
trousers, camouflage for the occasion. 


The mounted woman wore a thick leather belt about her waist and a pair 
of riding boots, but the rest of her lean, ebony frame was bare to the 
elements.  She was roughly the same height as Vara, tall and long 
limbed, her skin a rich black color perhaps a half tone darker than even 
Vara's own.  Even their breasts were about the same size, as far as she 
could tell; small, firmly rounded orbs perched high on her chest. 


Vara took a deep breath and closed her eyes, steadying the rapid beat of 
her heart, seeking that place of calmness that would allow her to carry 
out the first part of her plan.  If she screwed this up, she might as 
well leave.  A minute passed, then two and the experienced warrior's 
eyes snapped open, her expression impenetrably blank.  She was ready. 


Vara pitched her voice low and grunted loudly, giving the bushes before 
her a hard shake.  She checked to make sure the woman had heard the 
noise, then carefully backed out of the thicket.  She'd just reached the 
place she'd picked for the ambush, a thick boled tree flanked by two 
smaller trees whose leafy branches formed a shadowy wall behind which 
she could hide, when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. 


The masked warrior had dismounted and was circling the clump of nettles, 
her head down, looking for tracks.  "Visions of warthog stew dancing in 
her head." Vara thought with grim humor.  Her strong, lean body tensed 
as her quarry neared, wiry muscle bulging beneath her glossy black skin. 


Soon the woman who looked so much like her was a scant two feet away, 
close enough for Vara to smell her unwashed body.  It was the first time 
she'd been able to view her up close and she was gratified to see there 
were no tattoos or other obvious marks visible on her smooth dark body.  
Her hips were probably slimmer than her own, her buttocks smaller and 
tighter, but not enough to matter at a distance.  Suddenly Vara was in 
motion, thrusting her arms through the leafy wall to grasp the woman's 
wrist and forearm.  Her victim gasped and froze, giving Vara the split 
second she needed to jerk the startled warrior off balance, then pull 
her with a strong heave through the branches.  


The masked woman crashed through the branches drawing a deep breath, but 
before she could let out a shriek of surprise her attacker jerked a knee 
expertly up into the gentle curve of her lower belly.  The air rushed 
from her as she doubled over, her long legs suddenly weak.  Instantly 
her attacker let go and pivoted on one foot, driving a hard fist into 
the side of her head.  The blow sent the ambushed warrior reeling to one 
side, again crashing through branches until her back collided with the 
rough bark of a tree trunk.  Through pain blurred eyes the dazed warrior 
got her first glimpse of her green clad attacker, leaping toward her 
with a long, wickedly curved dagger held low in one hand.  Her own hands 
instinctively went to her belt, fumbling for her sheathed tulwar, but 
she knew it was far too late. 


With a practiced swing Vara brought her dagger arcing up into the 
stunned woman's body, driving it's full length in below her sternum at a 
sharp angle.  "Goddess!  It's like I'm stabbing myself!" she thought, 
even as she stared into the masked warrior's pain widened eyes.  She 
gave the blade a hard twist, slicing open the bottom of her heart and 
making her victim  convulse.  Then with a hard yank Vara jerked the 
knife from her victim and took a quick step backwards. 


Blood jetted from the deep wound in her abdomen to spatter at her feet 
and a high, breathless keening sound escaped the mortally wounded 
warrior's lips.  Still she tried to draw her weapon, her hands becoming 
progressively weaker as the strength drained from her shuddering body.  
Her legs were suddenly numb and she sank down the tree trunk, her arms 
falling limply to her sides.  She let out a soft groan and with the last 
of her fading strength rocked her head back to stare resentfully up at 
her killer, her agony filled eyes glazing over as life drained from her. 


An uncertain smile played across Vara's thin lips as she watched her 
victim die.  She felt the familiar excitement of victory thrumming 
through her strong naked body, an almost sexual thrill.  Yet it also 
seemed to her that it was too much like watching herself in a mirror, a 
disturbing vision of the future.  The dying woman's long legs were 
folded beneath her, knees pointed to one side as she sat with her back 
against the tree.  Blood poured from her wound in thick stream, coursing 
down her flat, rippled belly and into the thick black mat of hair 
covering her sex.  Her small, thrusting breasts swelled once, and then 
were utterly still on her chest.  A shiver ran though Vara, snapping her 
back to reality and she saw the masked woman was dead. 


Slowly she knelt before the warrior's corpse;  dread forming in the pit 
of her stomach.  She moved as if in a dream, reaching up to grasp the 
edges of the dead woman's mask, lifting the supple brown leather, a 
scream waiting behind her teeth.  Instead, she let her breath out in a 
sigh that could have been relief, or possibly disappointment. 


A thick mane of coarse, dark brown hair fell down to frame the woman's 
pretty round face and unconsciously Vara raised a hand to her own short 
crop of kinky, gray/black hair.  The unmasked warrior look a few years 
younger than herself, her pretty oval face was drawn with pain, muddy 
brown eyes at half mast, thick sensuous lips slack in death.  Her nose 
was small and flat, unlike Vara's own thin nose, and her chin and cheek 
bones were rounded where her own were sharper.  Their bodies were 
remarkably similar, but the dead warrior's face had been her own. 


Impulsively, Vara leaned forward and planted a grateful kiss on the dead 
woman's lips.  "Thank you." she whispered. 


She quickly stripped her slain foe, then stood removed her green and 
brown camouflage.  Cool forest air dried the sweat on her naked body as 
she  donned the mask, boots and belt.  The smell of the dead woman was 
strong in the mask, a musky/spicy odor that tickled her nose and made 
her want to sneeze.  She knelt again and grabbed one limp arm, slinging 
the corpse over her shoulder and standing in one smooth, powerful 
motion.  "Come along, little sister." she murmured, "I've got a place 
all ready for you." 


------------------------------------------------------------------------


Track 2 - Red Haired Girl 


Vara's luck was holding wonderfully well. 


She'd disposed of the warrior's corpse in a shallow trench she'd dug 
days before and covered her over with loose brush, then returned to 
mount the dead woman's horse.  The slaves were still in the forest and 
wouldn't be back till moonrise, their guards well out of sight of the 
castle and awaiting their return.  A score of warriors patrolled the 
mountain pass, and a second smaller force was out in the forest, but 
neither would be back until moonrise as well.  For a short time, there 
were would be only a handful of warriors in the castle. 


The sun was low on the horizon, casting the small castle into the 
shadows of the mountains when she rode up the steep slope and was 
pleasantly surprised to find the walls unguarded.  Thrilled at her own 
audacity, she rode through the gates unchallenged and into a deserted 
forecourt.  Undoubtedly, Omphale didn't have enough warriors to fill 
every position; half her forces were on patrol against the Queen's 
eventual coming.  Vara had been dodging them for days.  But what the 
renegade mercenary captain didn't know, she thought  smugly, was that 
the Queen's forces were already within her walls. 


Eyeing her surroundings with a proprietary air she kicked her horse to a 
trot, riding around the looming stone keep toward the stables.  As she 
passed the it's thick wooden doors she noted there was only one guard on 
duty, a warrior dressed in a rusty looking mail shirt and baggy woolen 
pants.  


A blonde, pale looking slave boy came out of the stables as she 
dismounted and she allowed him to take the reins and lead the horse 
away.  He looked about fourteen years old, thin but not starved, dressed 
in a homespun tunic and trousers.  Vara noticed as he reached for the 
reins that he had very small hands with almost delicate looking wrists.  
Intrigued despite herself, she shrugged and followed him into the musty 
darkness.  


She entered as he was heaving the saddle from the horses back, almost 
staggering beneath it's weight.  Silently she moved toward him, 
intercepting him as he dumped the saddle onto a waiting sawhorse.  In 
one smooth motion she slid up behind him and reached around to clamp a 
hand over his mouth, her other arm wrapping around his suddenly tense 
shoulders. 


"Don't scream." she whispered in his ear.  "I'm not going to hurt you." 


The slave boy nodded to show he understood and Vara slowly let her hand 
fall.  "Please, mistress." he began, his voice low and begging.  "Not 
tonight..." 


"Shush!" Vara hissed.  "I'm going to ask you some questions.  If you 
answer me true, I'll let you go." 


The slave was quiet as he digested Vara's statement.  "Who are you?" he 
asked eventually. 


"None of your business.  How many warriors are here." 


She felt the boy shrug slightly in her arms.  "Not many." he replied 
"Five or six." 


"Good." she said reassuringly.  "Do they all stay in the keep?" 


"Yes." 


"Good." Vara repeated, "Now, think carefully, how many are on guard?" 


A long moment passed as the boy thought.  Then he shrugged and said.  
"Four...I think." 


Vara smiled and gave the boy a reassuring squeeze.  "Very good." she 
murmured. 


Encouraged, the slave boy relaxed a little.  "There's one at the big 
front door." he offered.  "And another in the hall by the stairs, and 
another by the captain's room.  I know 'cause I helped bring her dinner 
there once." 


"Hmmmm." Vara commented, "That makes only three." 


"Oh, and there's one in front of the door where they keep all the 
weapons and things.  he said brightly.  "That makes four!" 


"What a good boy you are." Vara complemented.  She released her hold on 
the slave and turned him around.  He had a square, handsome young face, 
sky blue eyes that were looking her up and down as if he were seeing her 
for the first time.  She let her own gaze wander down his sturdy young 
frame and noticed that his feet were just as small and delicate looking 
as his hands.  "Tell me boy," she began, capturing his gaze with her own 
steady dark eyes.  "Do you like it here?" 


"No!" he replied immediately.  "The captain is mean to everybody and the 
lieutenant beats us when she'd bored and..." 


Vara hushed his litany of complaints and thought a moment.  "Would you 
like to go with me when I leave?" she asked. 


"Uh-huh." the boy said, his eyes wandering down to fix on the sight of 
her naked breasts. 


"Good."   Vara said, chuckling inwardly.  "What I want you to do it 
this..." 


-----------------


"Two hours."  Vara estimated, gazing at the setting sun. 


She was striding boldly through the castle's forecourt toward the keep's 
thick double doors, ignoring the few slaves she passed.  She felt 
exposed and vulnerable in the open, naked with nothing but a mask to 
hide her identity.  She particularly missed her broadsword, Longinus, 
her companion in a dozen different battles and duels.  In order to 
complete the illusion, she'd been forced to leave him hidden near the 
corpse of the woman she was impersonating, taking instead the dead 
warrior's shorter, thick bladed tulwar. 


Still, no one challenged her or even seemed particularly interested.  
Even the warrior standing guard at the keep only glanced briefly at her 
as she approached.  Vara heaved a deep sigh as she climbed the half 
dozen stone steps to the keep's doors. They were thick wooden doors that 
had once been painted a dark green, though now most of the paint had 
peeled off, leaving only a few discolored patches that made them look 
slightly leprous.  This would be the biggest risk in her admittedly 
risky plan and, if she didn't pull this off, there would be no just 
giving up. 


The guard leaned on her spear to one side of the big raw looking doors.  
She was almost as tall as Vara and perhaps a few years younger, though 
it was difficult to tell through her mask.  Dark red hair spilled out 
from beneath her hood, straggling over her broad mailed shoulders.  
Thickly muscled arms protruded from the mail shirt's short sleeves and 
the overlapping metal links bulged significantly on the guardswoman's 
chest, hinting at a considerable bosom flattened by their heavy weight.  
It's hem ended about mid-thigh and she wore a pair of thick brown woolen 
trousers that looked a little baggy, tucked into a pair of short, worn 
looking leather boots. 


"What are you doing back so early, Heshu?" she challenged. 


Vara looked into the woman's bored hazel eyes.  She'd neglected to get 
the name of the woman she was impersonating before she'd killed her.  It 
was a useful piece of information and she filed it away for possible 
later use. 


"Omphale wants to see me." she grunted back. 


The woman gazed at the tall warrior as she considered the news, her eyes 
narrowing suspiciously behind her mask.  "You got a cold or something?" 


"Yeah."  Vara replied, trying to give her voice a gravelly edge. 


A long moment passed and Vara's heart thumped in her chest.  She held 
the red haired woman's gaze steadily, willing her to believe through her 
dull hazel eyes.  At last the mailed warrior snorted and stood upright.  
"All right." she grumped.  "I'll go see if Her Nibs is in.  Wait here." 


Vara let out a long mental sigh of relief as the burly guard turned and 
opened the door.  She looked around quickly and, seeing no one in sight, 
cocked a fist back and darted forward.  She hit the guardswoman as hard 
as she could, aiming for the base of her skull, biting back a hiss of 
pain as her knuckles slammed against bone.  The red head pitched forward 
through the door and Vara leapt nimbly after her, assisting the dazed 
woman inside with a hard push.  As the reeling woman stumbled and belly 
flopped onto the floor, Vara slammed the door shut with a backwards 
kick, then paused a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dimmer inside 
light. 


They were in a small high ceilinged room, bare except for a dilapidated 
looking armoire.  Narrow slits surrounded the room high on it's three 
inside walls, through which defenders could rain down arrows and boiling 
oil on an attacking enemy.  Vara pounced on the moaning woman's back, 
making the downed woman grunt breathlessly as she straddled her 
prostrate form.  One hand darted to her belt and she deftly plucked the 
thin leather cord she'd concealed there, snapping it out with a little 
whip crack. 


The dazed red head pushed herself up on her forearms, trying to rise 
despite the weight of her attacker.  Expertly Vara cast the cord around 
her victim's leather encased head, drawing it tight around her neck and 
crossing her wrists to complete the lethal loop.  The broad shouldered 
guard let out a strained squeak as her air was cut off, the waxed 
leather biting painfully into the soft flesh of her throat.  She began 
to writhe beneath her attacker, moving her hands to claw at the cord, 
but it was already buried too deeply in her throat.  She began to beat 
her fists on the floor and redoubled her efforts to throw off her 
attacker, her masked head pulled back, eyes beginning to bug from their 
sockets, mouth gaping in a silent scream. 


Vara rode the wildly bucking woman, grimacing at the metal links 
chaffing the insides of her bare thighs.  Corded muscle bulged beneath 
the glossy black skin of her arms as she kept the waxed leather taut 
around her victims neck.  She looked around distractedly as she 
strangled the guard, half expecting arrows to snap through the rooms 
high slits and plunge into her naked body.  But when no such thing 
happened, she turned her full attention back to the dying woman between 
her legs. 


The red haired warrior lay flat on the floor now, desperately trying to 
reach back behind her, her hands groping and slapping Vara's long legs.  
Slowly her flailing, bucking body began to weaken, her arms flopping to 
the floor, her legs beginning to spasm on their own as she lost 
consciousness.  Vara kept up the pressure for a couple of minutes 
longer, making sure the broad shouldered guard was thoroughly dead.  At 
last she let out a long breath, and let go of the cord, letting the dead 
woman's head fall. 


She had to force her legs to relax before she could stand up, wincing as 
pain shot from the abraded skin on the inside of her strong thighs.  
Silently, she moved to the thick wooden door opposite the keep's outside 
doors.  It was made of the same heavy wood with brass hinges and 
fittings, including a brass plate with a big key hole next to the latch.  
Vara put her ear to the door and counted to sixty, but all she heard was 
the steady beat of her own heart.  She tried the latch and swore 
silently, it didn't budge. 


Vara scanned the rooms bare walls and floor, then looked back at the 
dead woman.  She moved back to her victim and knelt, running her hands 
over the rapidly cooling body, searching for some sign of a key.  
"Damn." she murmured, coming up empty. 


Vara wormed her arms under the dead woman and rolled her onto her back.  
Her eyes were still wide open and staring, glassy with tears of mortal 
agony.  Her mouth was open as well, gaping for air that would never 
come.  Vara paused a moment, looking into the dead woman's masked face.  
"You shouldn't look so surprised." she chided, "Death comes to everyone 
sooner or later." 


With some difficulty she stripped the mail shirt from her victim, 
drawing it over her hooded head and wriggling it past her outstretched 
arms.  Her breasts were indeed large, flattened and pushed together by a 
broad length of thick white cotton wrapped around her pale skinned 
torso.  Vara grinned as she saw a hank of rough twine descending from 
the woman's bruised neck, she'd missed that on her first impatient 
search.  But the ends of the string disappeared into the cleft of dead 
woman's breasts and whatever was at the end of it was concealed by the 
soft folds of pale flesh. 


She used her knife to cut away the makeshift bra and the dead woman's 
confined bosom sprang free.  Vara's face darkened in a frown of 
disappointment as the supple, resilient flesh sagged to either side, 
revealing a small stone amulet at the end of the twine.  It was carved 
to represent a sword and shield, symbols of the warrior goddess, a 
common enough amulet for mercenaries.  She reached down, picking up her 
booby prize and an unexpected shudder ran up her arm as her bruised 
knuckles brushed against pliant white flesh. 


Absently, she let her hand descend again, still holding the amulet in 
her fist, and rubbed the back of her hand against one thick pink nipple, 
enjoying it's stiff rubbery feel against her skin.  "Let's see what else 
you've got." she murmured. 


She pulled off the slain guard's boots and was delighted to find a pair 
of leaf bladed throwing knives tucked into inside sheathes.  "Tricky 
little girl." she grinned, giving the dead blonde a playful slap on her 
broad, flat belly.  The baggy trousers came off comparatively easily, 
but yielded no surprises.  The dead guard's legs were thickly muscled 
and a sparse covering of bright red hair covered her sex, but there was 
no sign of a key. 


"Damn!" Vara swore softly and rocked back on haunches.  She looked the 
dead woman up and down with a critical eye, and then smote her own 
leather covered forehead with the heel of her hand. 


Carefully, she ran her fingers under the edge of the dead red head's 
mask and let out a small sigh of satisfaction as she drew a large iron 
key wedged between the mask and the left side of her head.  Smiling to 
herself, Vara finished the job and drew the dead woman's mask off. 


"Hello, beautiful."  Vara murmured, taking in the features of the woman 
she'd just killed. 


A mass of thick red hair spilled out to surround the dead guard's round, 
plain featured face.  Her eyes were wider apart and rounder than Vara 
had thought, set above a small pointed nose that looked like it had been 
broken at some time in the past.  A spray of freckles adorned her 
cheeks, bracketing a pale lipped mouth and dotting a square, jutting 
chin.  


Vara leaned forward, absently running a thumb across the red haired 
woman's full lower lip.  "Wish I had more time to play." she told her 
victim.  Then with a resigned sigh she stood up went to bar the outside 
door. 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
---


Track 3 - Stairway to Heaven 


The keep's inner door opened with a loud creak, revealing a wide hall 
that ran the length of the keep.  A long fire pit smoldered in the 
center of the hall and it's bleak stone walls were covered in soot 
darkened tapestries and tattered battle flags.  At the far end a throne 
like chair had been set up on a wooden dais, flanked by two smaller 
chairs, obviously the place where some long ago ruler had held her small 
court.  Several trestle tables were pushed against the hall's inner 
wall, but it's outer wall was clear of obstruction to allow easy access 
to the stone stairs running up it's side. 


A petite, bronze skinned woman was on guard at the foot of the stairs.  
Her slender frame was bare except for a black leather bra covering her 
small, boyish breasts, set firmly above the shallow convex bowl of her 
stomach.  A tight leather skirt studded with decorative steel rivets 
wrapped snugly around her narrow hips, her legs long and beautifully 
curved beneath it's hem.  She wore sandals on her small feet, their 
straps crisscrossing her slim ankles, winding up her shapely calves 
almost to the knee.  She held a spear much like the burly blonde 
guard's, but otherwise appeared unarmed. 


She straightened as the tall naked woman approached, holding her spear 
crossways at her waist to block the passage up the stairs.  "Looks like 
this one takes her job seriously." Vara thought, halting a couple of 
feet from the smaller woman.  Up close she noticed a scar running a 
jagged, lengthwise course across the woman's belly, a scant inch above 
the shallow cup of her navel.  She was a full head taller than the 
guardswoman and looked straight down into a pair of jade green eyes 
shadowed by her leather mask. 


Pasting a broad smile across her masked face, Vara held out the small 
stone amulet she'd taken from the blonde guard whose corpse was now 
nicely tucked away in the armoire.  "Here." she said innocently, "I'm 
supposed to give this to you." 


The guard looked at her askance, but her hand rose instinctively toward 
the amulet dangling from the tips of Vara's long fingers.  "What's this 
for?" she asked suspiciously. 


"Oops!" Vara exclaimed, feigning surprise as she let the amulet slip 
from her hand.  Reflexively, the smaller woman leaned forward and neatly 
snatched the falling amulet out of the air.  A split second later Vara's 
hand clamped on her outstretched wrist and sent her stumbling forward 
with a quick tug.  The slender guard's mouth was a round 'O' of surprise 
and her hand spasmed open, dropping her spear to the floor.  


She let out a yelp of surprise that was brutally cut short as Vara's 
free hand flashed up, jabbing three stiff fingers into her throat.  The 
slender warrior reeled back with a choking gasp and her heel caught on 
the first step of the stairs.  She toppled backwards, arms pinwheeling 
as she fell, landing hard on the stone steps.  


A wolfish grin split Vara's thin lipped mouth as she leapt at the 
stunned guardswoman, her long arms extended, reaching for her throat.  
But before she could wrap her fingers around the gagging woman's neck, 
the slender guard brought up one slim leg and sent a sandaled foot 
smacking into her charging attacker's bare midriff.  Vara grunted and 
doubled over, the hard kick driving the air from her tall frame, turning 
her wide grin into a snarl of pain.  Darting an angry glare at her 
attacker, the smaller woman kicked out again, aiming for her foe's naked 
crotch but instead landing a glancing blow on Vara's thigh.  As her 
attacker stumbled back a step, she turned and began to scramble up the 
stairs on her hands and knees, her lips working soundlessly as she 
fought make a noise with her crushed larynx.   


"No you don't!" Vara croaked, scrambling after the fleeing guardswoman.  
She reached out to snatch at the slender woman's retreating back and 
managed to snag the thin strap of her leather bra crossing beneath her 
narrow shoulders.  She yanked hard on the strap, pulling the smaller 
woman up onto her knees with a strained gasp as the stiff leather cups 
compressed her small breasts. 


Again the slender guardswoman toppled backwards, this time into the 
waiting arms of her attacker who instantly wrapped her strong arms 
around her and pulled her to her feet.  She struggled wildly in her 
foe's crushing embrace, clawing at the arms encircling her chest and 
abdomen and kicking backwards with her sandaled feet. 


Vara tightened her bearhug, enjoying the feel of her naked breasts 
flattening against the woman's squirming bare back.  A feeling of savage 
power exploded through her already adrenaline charged body, lending her 
vision a red tinge as she squeezed the small woman's thrashing body in 
her arms.  "All right bitch." Vara growled in her foe's ear, "If that's 
the way  you want it..." 


Suddenly Vara dropped to a half crouch and darted one hand between her 
foe's slim bronze legs, clutching her crotch in a crushing grip.  
Released from the tall warrior's embrace, the slender guardswoman tried 
to turn around to face her attacker, despite the pain shooting from her 
abused privates.  Vara reached around to grasp the front strap of the 
smaller woman's leather bra and, taking a deep breath, straightened her 
legs, lifting her foe above her head. 


Vara grinned up at her foe, relishing the look of astonishment in her 
lovely green eyes.  Suspended above her attacker's head, the smaller 
warrior flailed her arms and legs uselessly, snarling and spitting as 
she fought to claw at the muscular hands gripping her chest and crotch.  
Then with an upward heave Vara let go of the struggling guardswoman and 
dropped to one knee, thrusting her leg out before her. 


The leather clad woman flipped over and fell squarely onto Vara's 
outstretched knee, a sickening snap sounding through the hall as her 
spine broke.  Blinding pain screamed through her as she lay, helplessly 
draped over her foe's leg, her mouth open jaw crackingly wide, her 
slender bronze body convulsing uncontrollably.  Vara clasped her hands 
together and raised them high above her head, then brought them crashing 
down into the pit of the woman's scarred belly, sending her flopping to 
the floor as she jerked her leg away. 


Vara looked down at the groaning guardswoman, laying sprawled before her 
like a broken doll.  Her chest rose and fell steadily from her 
exertions, swelling her high rounded breasts, their black conical 
nipples thrusting stiffly with excitement.  Her fierce gaze locked with 
the slender woman's beautiful green eyes, shining up at her from behind 
her mask and sudden desire swelled in Vara's heaving chest.  She reached 
down, pulling the leather hood from her foe's head and almost gasped at 
the face staring up at her. 


The defeated woman's face was narrow and beautiful, high delicate 
cheekbones framing a small nose and gorgeous, almond shaped eyes that 
shone with desperate agony.  Her mouth was small; delicious red lips 
pulled back across a set of small white teeth, drawing the skin tight 
above a narrow chin.  A sheen of sweat suffused her beautiful face with 
a gentle glow while fine, glossy black hair floated about her head, 
giving her the ethereal air of a dying angel. 


With a regretful shake of her head Vara reached down again, covering the 
beautiful woman's mouth with the palm of her hands, pinching her small 
flaring nose shut.  Briefly, the slender guardswoman's writhing 
increased, her slim wiry arms trembling, trying to lift her hands to 
grasp Vara's smothering hand.  The exquisite softness of the suffocating 
woman's lips moving against the callused palm of her hand sent a thrill 
of pleasure shooting through Vara's already aroused body.  Her eyes 
slipped shut and a moan of pure ecstasy escaped her own suddenly swollen 
lips as the beautiful woman died beneath her hand. 


Vara rocked back on her haunches and gazed down at the dead woman's slim 
body.  Her bra had slipped askew, revealing the gentle swells of small 
breasts, their tiny brown nipples pointing stiffly up at the ceiling.  
Her rapidly cooling bronze skin still glowed under a light sheen of 
sweat, the sleek inward curve of her scarred tummy utterly still.  Vara 
absently reached out one long forefinger, tracing random patterns on the 
sweat slick skin dead woman's stomach, then moving down to hook the edge 
of her short leather skirt. 


She tugged the skirt down the dead woman's slim hips, revealing a 
surprisingly thick thatch of black fur covering the ridges of her 
netherlips.  "I'll bet you were a tigress in bed." Vara speculated, then 
shook her head at the thought.  "Oh well, no rest for the wicked."  She 
stood with one slender ankle grasped in her hand and began to drag the 
dead woman's stripped, petite body to join her red haired comrade in the 
entryway. 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


Track 4 - Big Time 


Vara ghosted up the stairs, her shining ebony body fading in and out of 
the shadows clinging to the stairwell's cold stone walls.  She paused as 
the door to the second floor hove into view.  The door was open, casting 
a square of brighter light across Vara's path.  Pressing her back 
against the interior wall, Vara sidled silently to the open door and 
dropped into a crouch.  She drew in a long breath and held it, then 
slowly moved her head until one eye peered around the door's edge. 


A long torchlit corridor bisected the length of the keep's second floor, 
it's thick stone walls broken by only two doors midway down it's length, 
both guarded by the same warrior.  Vara's eyes widened as she took in 
the size of the woman standing between the two doors, then slowly she 
pulled her head back and leaned her back against the cold stone wall, 
letting out the breath she'd been holding by degrees. 


"Goddess of Death!" she thought grimly.  "How am I supposed to deal with 
her?" 


The guardswoman was half a head taller than Vara and at least fifty 
pounds heavier.  A thick vest encased her barrel like torso, leaving her 
scarred, thickly muscled arms free and tightly containing an immense 
bosom.  Her leather trousers molded tightly to a pair of broad hips that 
curved sharply into a surprisingly slim waist, encircled by an iron 
studded leather belt.  Her legs looked as well muscled as her arms, 
tucked into a pair of wide, scuffed leather boots.  Several lethal 
looking daggers were sheathed at her waist and the long pommel of a two 
handed sword poked at an angle over one broad, leather clad shoulder. 


Moving back into the shadows, Vara considered her options.  She was a 
skilled, experienced warrior, the survivor of many vicious fights, and 
had no doubt about her ability to fell the big guardswoman in a 
straight-up fight.  But a head to head confrontation with the leather 
clad behemoth would almost certainly entail a great deal of noise, which 
in turn might alert the rest of the keep to her presence and possibly 
bring more warriors down upon her before she could finish off the big 
warrior.  Somehow, she'd have to get the woman to let her into a store 
room and, once the door was shut, deal with her in relative privacy. 


Vara's brow creased as she cast about for a plausible reason to be 
allowed access to the keep's stores.  Sweat cooled on her smooth ebony 
skin, minutes passing with alarming speed as she thought.  Precious, 
irrecoverable minutes that would eventually mean the return of the 
foraging parties and, shortly after, the more heavily armed patrols. 


Just the thought of fighting so many warriors by herself sent a clammy 
chill down Vara's spine.  But a moment later a broad smile creased her 
thin lips, making her white teeth gleam wolfishly in the shadows. 


----------------------


Vara strode confidently down the long corridor, her boots clacking on 
the stone floor as she approached the big guardswoman. 


Up close, the leather clad warrior looked even more formidable.  Jagged 
pale ridges of scar tissue crisscrossed her brawny arms, standing out 
against the dusky brown of her skin.  Wide leather bands circled her 
thick wrists, sweat stained a darker brown above her stubby, thick 
fingered hands.  Involuntarily, Vara's gaze was draw back to her bosom, 
huge pillowy brown breasts bulging above the edges of her vest, swelling 
and receding with each steady breath. 


"Heshu." the guard greeted, her voice a surprisingly mellifluous alto.  
"What are you doing here?" 


Vara breathed a mental sigh of relief, her impersonation was still 
holding. 


"Going on patrol tomorrow." she replied, keeping her voice low.  "Need a 
bow." 


The guardswoman was silent for a moment, mulling over Vara's assertion.  
"Sure." she said at last.  "Let's see your chit." 


Now it was Vara's turn to pause, a thousand excuses shooting through her 
brain.  "Didn't get one." she gambled.  "You can check with the 
lieutenant if you want.  She's with Omphale right now, but I'm sure they 
won't mind being interrupted." 


The big warrior's eye's narrowed behind her mask as she considered the 
insinuation implicit in Vara's statement.  Every one knew of the dark 
rumors surrounding Omphale and her lieutenant, and the mercenary 
captain's temper was legendary.  No one knew that better than Omphale's 
troops, Vara reasoned, and hopefully that fact would work for her now. 


The leather clad warrior studied her up and down, scrutinizing her as if 
to confirm her identity.  Vara's sword arm tensed, she'd have to kill 
her quickly if she could, it was her only chance.  She wished longingly 
for the reassuring weight of Longinus on her hip instead of the dead 
woman's unfamiliar tulwar, but that couldn't be helped now. 


"Sure." the big woman repeated with a shrug. 


The armory was a big square room fitfully illuminated by thick tallow 
candles irregularly spaced along it's walls.  A half dozen tables were 
scattered about the room, laden with various items of ironmongery.  
Racks of weapons lined the walls, enough to outfit a fair sized 
division.  Candlelight gleamed from the polished metal to reflect in 
Vara's wide dark eyes and she had to suppress a low whistle at the sight 
of Omphale's armory. 


"They're over there." the guardswoman grunted, thrusting a stubby 
forefinger toward an area given over to various long range weapons.  
"Don't be all day about it." 


As casually as she could manage, Vara sauntered around the disassembled 
pieces of a ballista and over to a long rack of unstrung bows.  They 
looked in good condition, the wood glowing with wax and the bow strings 
lightly oiled.  "Omphale takes good care of her equipment." Vara thought 
approvingly.  "But I'll never be able to get one of these ready fast 
enough." 


"What are these?" Vara said, moving to a nearby table.  A double brace 
of small crossbows lay on the stained wood.  Two were disassembled, 
while the other pair were cocked and loaded. 


"We got those after that last skirmish." the big woman replied as she 
shut the armory door with a hollow boom.  "Took 'em off a couple of 
light cavalry officers.  Her Nibs and the lieutenant were down here, 
"practicing" with them a couple of days ago." she said darkly, gesturing 
to a thick wooden pillar that sported a number of suspicious looking 
stains. 


"Hmmmm." Vara replied, picking up one of the small mechanisms.  The 
little crossbow had a wooden grip carved to fit the hand, it's bolt thin 
and wickedly barbed. 


"You should remember that one."  the leather clad woman continued as she 
approached.  "You were there..." 


"Not me." Vara said, turning to point the lethal little weapon firmly at 
the big woman's head. 


The guardswoman's hand froze half way to one of the daggers sheathed at 
her belt.  The two warrior's gazes locked and a long, tense moment 
passed while both women calculated the odds. 


They were only about twenty feet apart, and Vara was fairly confident 
she could hit the woman, even though she'd never used this particular 
type of bow before.  "Go ahead." she said flatly.  "Try." 


The big woman blinked and slowly raised her hands. 


"Over there." Vara ordered, gesturing to the stained pillar with her new 
weapon. 


The guardswoman moved slowly and Vara moved smoothly with her, keeping 
an even distance between them. 


"Drop the weapons."  she said, gesturing again. 


Reluctantly, the big woman complied.  Her belt clanked to the floor and 
a long moment later the heavy sword slithered from her broad back. 


"Good." Vara nodded approvingly.  She considered killing the guardswoman 
outright, but such a huge fighter would also bring a pretty price on the 
slave block.  After a brief inward struggle, greed won out. 


"Strip." she ordered. 


The tall warrior straightened a little, surprised by her captors order.  
Then with a negative shake of her hooded head, folded her muscular arms 
beneath her massive bosom and struck a defiant stance. 


"Then die." Vara said simply, raising the small crossbow to point firmly 
at her captive's right eye. 


Even under the threat of impending death the big warrior hesitated 
carrying out Vara's humiliating direction.  But after a moment she 
dropped her arms and with a resigned sigh began unbuttoning her thick 
leather vest. 


Vara's interest grew as her captive's fingers plied the metal buttons.  
Her belly was broad and perfectly flat, a deep round navel centered in a 
sweep of hard looking flesh and muscle.  Released of their confinement, 
her breasts swept down and outward, huge round globes of tender flesh, 
firmer and more lifted than Vara would have suspected.  Their nipples 
were thick and pointed, surrounded by wide, pebbled areolas a few shades 
darker than the surrounding dusky brown skin. 


Vara's gaze followed the big woman's callused hands as they paused to 
briefly massage the huge sloping orbs of supple flesh, then wandered 
down to hook a thumb on either side of leather encased legs.  Her hips 
were broad, flaring from her comparatively slender waist to slope around 
a fluffy light brown patch of hair covering her sex, legs bulging with 
thick slabs of muscle.  Her bosom swayed forward and down as she bent to 
pull her boots off, drawing Vara's gaze back to her chest. 


She stood back up, again striking a defiant pose, her chest thrust out 
proudly as if defying her captor to shoot. 


"And the mask."  Vara said, a little huskily. 


Her hands rose willingly enough and stripped off the mask, revealing a 
youthful, broad featured face.  A spill of fine hazel colored hair fell 
down to frame her wide eyed visage, rounded cheekbones bracketing a 
small flat nose and tender, full lipped mouth. 


Vara was surprised to see how young the woman was, then her eyes 
wandered back down to the guardswoman's massive bosom and for the first 
time she noticed several semi-circular scars dotting the round sweep of 
her left breast.  The big warrior noticed her captor's curious glance 
and a sneer deformed her full, soft lips. 


"A bed mate displeased me." she stated, cupping and lifting the scarred 
brown orb in one thick fingered hand..  "Think you can handle me?" 


Vara felt the beginnings of a flush tingling her face and for the first 
time was glad she was wearing the sweaty leather mask.  She felt 
strongly attracted, and at the same time repelled by the thin crescent 
scars on the younger woman's breast.  Most warriors would be ashamed to 
strip naked before an enemy, but the big guardswoman stood proudly, 
almost provocatively before her.  A picture leapt unbidden into her 
mind, the slender form of a woman writhing beneath her captive's bulk, a 
head enveloped by one huge, pillowy breast, a muffled sound that could 
have been a moan of pleasure or a stifled gasp for air... 


Vara dispelled the image with a mental wrench and cleared her throat.  
"Back up and put your arms back around that post."  she ordered gruffly. 


With a mocking look of disappointment the big warrior did as commanded 
and Vara started toward her, intent on tying her naked captive to the 
post with her own clothes.  Later, she could never quite remember who 
had made the first move. 


A snarl erupted on the big woman's pretty face as she leaned forward, a 
thin barbed crossbow bolt appearing in her hand as if she'd pulled it 
from some nonexistent sleeve.  Almost simultaneously the small crossbow 
bucked in Vara's hand.  The small bolt leapt from the mechanism, seeming 
to hang in mid-air for a split second before slapping into her captive 
with the sound of a wet fish hitting the bottom of a boat.  The tall 
brunette shrieked and rocked back on her heels, her shocked gaze jerking 
down... 


Vara had aimed for the big woman's chest but the unfamiliar weapon's 
stiff trigger had spoiled her aim.  Now she looked on as the big woman 
dropped the spent bolt she'd pulled from the pillar to grasp her impaled 
mammary.  The bolt was almost completely buried in the broad upper slope 
of her left breast, it's barbed head piercing the upper part of her 
lung.  It pinned back the tender brown flesh, making a shallow bowl on 
broad plane of her breast. 


The stricken guardswoman looked up at her captor again, her mouth moving 
silently pain crashed through her muscular body.  "You!" she gasped out 
at last in an strained, unnaturally high voice.  "You...skinny...slut!" 


Vara grunted in reply, casting aside the empty crossbow and quickly 
stepping back to snatch the second weapon from the table.  She spun 
around just in time to leap away from the guardswoman charging her back 
and fired point black into the naked woman's belly, a split second 
before one flailing fist crashed into the side of her head and 
everything went black. 


A high, keening wail pierced the ringing in her head and Vara sat up, 
fighting back a wave of nausea.  She found herself on the floor a few 
feet away from where the big warrior knelt, blood streaming down her 
broad shouldered frame to pool around her knees.   Her trembling hands 
were clasped about the second bolt, protruding from her muscle ridged 
belly an inch above her deep round navel, her deeply wounded breast 
seemingly forgotten as she pried at this new, agonizing wound.  The big 
woman groaned and looked up, meeting Vara's dazed gaze with her own 
hateful glare.  Then with a breathless shriek the tall warrior's 
powerful arms flexed and she jerked the barbed bolt from her stomach, a 
spurt of thick crimson jetting from the ragged wound to paint her hips 
and the floor beneath her.  


Vara began to scrabble backwards on all fours, her head shaking back and 
forth in disbelief.  


The big woman dropped the bloody bolt and one hand slowly reached up to 
grasp the edge of the nearby table.  Her muscular arm flexed as she 
struggled to pull herself erect, her other hand clamped tightly to her 
bleeding belly.  Her attacker pushed herself unsteadily to her feet as 
well, clawing at the thick bladed tulwar scabbarded on her belt.  Blood 
streamed from the tall warrior's wounds, her face a grinning rictus of 
agony as she gained her feet and began to stagger toward her attacker on 
rubbery legs.  "Kill you..." she rasped, and a wracking cough shook her 
barrel chest, making her massive breasts quiver, blood frothing from her 
moving mouth. 


"Come on." Vara said a little blurrily, backing away.  She waved the big 
woman on with her free hand.  "Come and get me you big cow." 


Vara braced herself, drawing back her sword for a decapitating swing at 
the staggering warrior's neck.  Her lean ebony body tensed with 
anticipation, her vision still a little blurred from the big woman's 
blow.  She couldn't believe her foe was still on her feet and moving to 
attack her. 


A deep, wracking sob shook the big woman and more blood spilled from her 
mouth, brighter red than before.  With a gurgling cry of dismay her 
shivering legs collapsed, her breasts bouncing on her chest as she fell 
to her knees before her tall attacker.  Both hands clutched at her 
wounded breast as she swayed on her knees, thick fingers digging hard 
into the supple brown flesh, clawing at the pain.  "It hurts!" she 
mumbled, her voice suddenly small and childlike.  Then with a last 
heaving groan she toppled to one side, landing on the bloods pattered 
floor with a dull thump. 


Vara sheathing her sword heaved a deep sigh of relief, tinged with 
disappointment.  Still, she approached the fallen woman cautiously, one 
hand on her pommel, ready to draw and strike in an instant. 


The guardswoman lay perfectly motionless, her eyes closed, her pretty 
round face slack in death.  Vara pushed one square shoulder with her 
foot, rolling the naked corpse onto it's back.  One hand still clutched 
her impaled breast, the other flopping to her side, curled into a rigid 
claw.  Her strong legs were bent at the knees and close together, as if 
she were protecting her modesty even in death.  Her once powerful body 
seemed smaller somehow, spattered with blood from the two deep arrow 
wounds. 


"Nice try girl." Vara panted, placing one foot triumphantly on the dead 
woman's undamaged breast.  Her toes dug into the pliant brown skin, 
crushing the wide dark nipple back into the mass of soft flesh.  
Gradually, Vara brought her breathing back under control, wiping a sheen 
of sweat from her brow as she gazed down at her foe's corpse.  "Nice 
try..." 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
---


Track 5 - Afternoon Delight 


Vara loped up the dimly lit stairs, her firm round breasts jogging on 
her chest as she took the steps two at a time.  Her lean warrior's body 
practically vibrated with energy, the aftermath of her short battle with 
the last guardswoman a sharp coppery odor still strong in her nostrils.  
But it had taken far too long to dispatch the big bosomed brunette and 
drag her heavy corpse down to the keep's entrance.  (Though she did make 
an interesting addition to her growing collection.)  Vara estimated she 
might have a little over an hour to complete her mission before 
Omphale's forces returned and spoiled her fun. 


Like the second floor, the third floor's door was open and unguarded.  
Stealthily Vara approached the opening, her senses alert for the 
slightest sign of a trap. 


The door opened on a short corridor, a closed wooden door on each wall.  
An oil lamp provided the only illumination, perched atop a small table 
next to the door at the end. 


Ignoring the two side doors, Vara moved quickly to the end of the 
corridor, putting her ear to the door, her hand wandering to the hilt of 
her sword.  A long, muffled groan of pleasure sounded from somewhere 
inside, prompting an evil grin to spread across Vara's face.  "What 
perfect timing." she thought, then froze as a hand slipped around her 
waist from behind, wiping the smile from her face as if it had never 
been. 


-----------------


Vara's entire body tensed uncontrollably, a sudden spurt of adrenaline 
sending her already thumping heart into overdrive.  Instantly she braced 
for a hard blow or the sharp sting of a weapon, dismay swelling her 
lungs and shrouding her mind like a gray fog.  But still she was 
determined to turn around and draw her sword, ready to sell her life as 
dearly as she could. 


Slowly she lowered her gaze, looking down to see a second hand circle 
her taut frame, while the first rose to gently cup the firm swell of her 
left breast.  Instead of the painful bite of a weapon, Vara felt the 
soft press of feminine flesh against her back and her eyes widened as 
she recognized the familiar sensation of a woman's breasts rubbing 
sensuously against her shoulder blades. 


"I thought you'd never get here." a voice husked in her ear, a tongue 
flickering briefly at her earlobe. 


Vara was stunned at this unexpected turn of events.  Her mind worked 
furiously for a moment, putting two and two together and she had to 
forcefully suppress a hysterical impulse to laugh out loud.  She was 
chagrined at the thought that she'd so easily been taken by surprise, 
and at the same time amazed at her own incredible, dumb luck.  
Obviously, the woman who was even now nibbling the back of her neck was 
Heshu's lover, and thought that she'd come for some kind of regular 
assignation, a twilight tryst as it were. 


Bit by bit Vara forced herself to relax, the guardswoman's hands 
continuing to eagerly explore her naked body.  Unseen hands gently 
squeezing her breasts, thumbing her already stiff black nipples, then 
descending to caress the flat plain of her belly.  Unseen fingers traced 
the curve of her hips, tauntingly brushing the thick mat of kinky black 
hair covering her sex, then abruptly the soft lips plying her neck and 
shoulders were gone and one hand moved to firmly grasp her wrist.  "Come 
on." the mysterious voice whispered urgently.  "We don't have much 
time." 


Vara found herself being led back down the hall by a masked woman, naked 
like herself except for boots and belt.  A little dazedly she studied 
the woman holding her wrist, waiting for her to look back and discover 
her mistake.  She was a couple inches shorter than herself, well tanned 
skin stretched across her shapely frame and tight, firmly rounded 
buttocks.  Briefly Vara wondered if she were a berserk like Heshu had 
been , or perhaps she'd just discarded her armor in anticipation of her 
lover's arrival.  She wondered if they were a pair of committed 
warriors, loving and fighting in tandem.  Vara had always avoided that 
kind of arrangement, not wanting to experience the pain of losing a 
lover in combat. 


She was led through a half open door, obviously the one the guardswoman 
had slipped from in order to ambush her supposed lover.  The room it 
opened on was dark, a pair of narrow archer's windows letting in a 
little of the westering sunlight.  It was littered with bits and pieces 
of furniture, crates of spare clothing and other odd bric-a-brac.  Vara 
was glad of the dim light as they entered, hoping to carry on the 
deception a little while longer while she recovered her wits. 


Strong hands found her shoulders and pushed her roughly against the 
wall.  Hungry lips swarmed her mouth, eager hands slipping down and 
around to grasp her high, firmly rounded buttocks.  The guardswoman 
pressed herself up against Vara's taller frame, undulating gently, 
rubbing her shapely body insistently against her.  Vara found herself 
reacting out of instinct, matching the woman's fierce kiss, her arms 
wrapping around her urgently pressing body, pulling her in tight.  "I 
haven't got time for this." part of Vara's mind insisted, but her body 
wasn't interested in argument.  


A dual moan of pleasure escaped their mashed lips as their bodies 
pressed hard against each other, legs tangling and slipping, breasts 
flattening against each other, the heat from their aroused sex infusing 
the pit of each other's bellies.  Vara found herself suddenly fighting 
against the closely pressed woman's insistent lovemaking, striving to 
bring her under control before she was overwhelmed. 


Keeping her arms tight around the woman's waist Vara lifted and spun 
around, reversing their positions.  The masked woman let out a small 
grunt of surprise but didn't break their passionate kiss until she moved 
her hands up to take off her mask.  "Oh goddess, I hate that thing." she 
gasped, tossing aside the leather hood.  Her hair was short, dark brown 
or black in the dim light, sweat plastered to her head above an plain 
featured oblong face.  Vara caught a glimpse of pretty blue eyes before 
the woman again pressed their lips together, again grinding her aroused 
body urgently against her.  


Suddenly, the dark haired woman's caresses became tentative and she 
tried to turn her head to break their long kiss.  "Damn!" Vara thought, 
sensing the woman had finally begun to suspect.  Vara surged forward, 
pinning the smaller woman against the wall while one hand slipped down 
to surreptitiously draw the same long slim bladed dagger she'd used to 
kill the guardswoman's real lover.  The trapped woman began to struggle 
in earnest, her pale body writhing against Vara's taller ebony frame, 
her hands rising up to hook either side of Vara's hood. 


The dark haired warrior's eyes went wide as she stared at Vara's 
unmasked visage, then widened again as Vara thrust the blade up beneath 
her armpit.  Pain jolted through her shapely body and a scream welled up 
in her throat but before it could escape Vara covered her gaping mouth 
with her own.  The muffled shriek of agony made Vara's head vibrate as 
she thrust the dagger home, slicing through her victim's lung, driving 
towards her hammering heart. 


The trapped guardswoman's fists beat a frantic tattoo on the taller 
warrior's muscular back, their naked sweat coated bodies grinding hard 
together as she fought to escape her attacker's lethal embrace.  The 
press of soft feminine flesh against her already tensely aroused body 
threatened to distract Vara, an insistently throbbing glow suffusing her 
lower belly. Battle rage and lust melded inseparably within her as she 
fought to keep the wounded woman pinned to the wall, swallowing her 
dying scream.  


She gave her blade a hard twist, making the dark haired woman shudder 
against her, their breasts pressed so hard together that she could 
almost feel her heart stutter, then jerked the dagger from it's fleshy 
sheath.  Bright lights began to sparkle before her eyes and a low, 
growling moan of ecstasy welling up from deep in her own chest.  At last 
the trapped guardswoman ran out of breath and her struggles gradually 
lessened, a thick river of blood streamed down her side.  She clawed 
weakly at the back of her attacker's head, but her fingers could find no 
purchase on Vara's closely cropped, sweat slick hair.  


Vara jerked her head back, avidly taking in her victim's agonized 
visage.  Her pretty green eyes looked if she'd just awoken from a 
nightmare, confused and terrified on her pain drawn face.  Her chest 
jerking raggedly like a runaway billows, making the soft white flesh of 
her breasts rub sensuously against Vara's smaller, tautly aroused bosom. 


"Huh...who...who..." the dying woman stuttered. 


"I'm Vara, Matsuko's daughter, a mercenary in the Queen's employ."  Vara 
replied, a little breathlessly. 


"Heh...Heshu?" 


"She lies dead in the woods where I left her." 


Even in extremity the dark haired warrior's face showed dismay at Vara's 
words.  Her bruised, blood reddened lips moved soundlessly even as her 
staring eyes glazed, her body sagging slowly down between the wall and 
the closely pressed form of her killer.  Slack lips briefly brushed one 
stiff, distended nipple and Vara drew in an involuntary gasp of 
pleasure, her body trembled on the edge of orgasm, begging for release. 
Mentally she clamped down hard on the impulse to take her pleasure with 
the slain woman's body. 


She took an step backwards, her thrusting sweat slick breasts heaving on 
her chest, and looked down at her victim.  The dead woman's legs were 
splayed before her, the left striped down the outside with crimson,  Her 
rounded chin hung down on her chest, her lifeless eyes staring blankly 
down at her naked body.  Vara crouched and wiped her bloody dagger clean 
on the dead woman's still slick thighs, then with a deep sigh sheathed 
the blade. 


"Don't worry." she said, giving the dead woman's hip a comforting pat.  
"You'll be with your lover soon." 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


Track 6 - All Around The Watchtower 


Again Vara pressed her ear to the door, listening to the muffled sound 
of snoring coming from within.  She was still naked except for her first 
victim's boots and belt, but she'd discarded the mask.  It wasn't 
necessary anymore.  Sensing that her luck was still holding, she tried 
the latch and it turned easily and silently in her hand.  Holding her 
breath, she opened the door and slipped inside. 


The room was large and messy, brightly lit by dozens of candles.  Thick 
tapestries concealed the stone walls and helped to keep in the heat of a 
fire burned cheerfully in a small fireplace.  Clothes, armor, scraps 
paper and other detritus lay strewn over the furniture, carelessly 
dropped or slung over chairs.  But what immediately captured Vara's 
attention was the source of the buzzing snore loud in her ears. 


A wide four poster bed stood against the far wall, and a woman lay face 
down upon it.  A tangled mass of curly coarse black hair obscured her 
face as she snored into a mass of pillows, her breath fluttering one 
stray curl.  Her back was lean and hard, deeply tanned skin stretched 
taut from muscular shoulders to thick waist.  Her buttocks were large 
and firm looking, much paler than her back and legs. 


Vara's gaze was fixed on the snoring dark haired woman, her eyes shining 
with delight.  "Hello Omphale." she whispered. 


Slowly she picked her way across the littered floor, her dagger 
whispering from it's sheath.  A rank, sweaty smell tickled her nose as 
she silently approached the rumpled bed and tapped the woman laying 
there on one strong shoulder. 


"Huh?" Omphale grunted sleepily. 


"Asleep so early in the evening?"  Vara mocked.  "Shame on you." 


The mercenary captain awoke with a start and began levering herself up 
on her forearms.  Vara's arm swung down in a sharp arc, slamming the 
pommel of her dagger against the back of Omphale's head with a hard 
crack.  The prostrate woman grunted heavily and slumped back onto the 
bed, her muscular limbs twitching as unconsciousness claimed her. 


"I did it!"  Vara exulted, raising her fist in the air.  Her heart beat 
triumphantly in her chest as she looked down at her prize, visions of 
the reward she would bring dancing before her eyes. 


Sheathing her knife with a decisive clack, Vara reached for one 
outstretched arm, intent on slinging the unconscious woman onto her back 
and hustling as fast as she could down the stairs. 


"Well done." said an approving voice from across the room. 


Vara dropped Omphale's limp arm and jerked erect, her hand darting to 
the pommel of her sword.  Instantly she found the source of the comment 
and her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked at the young woman. 


A mischievous smile curved a pair of thin, pale looking lips, set above 
a narrow, pointed nose.  Close set eyes of the palest blue stared 
steadily at her from across the room, coolly assessing eyes that seemed 
to take in everything and give away nothing.  "Oh...rats!" Vara thought, 
flabbergasted at the interruption. 


The young woman, perhaps sixteen years old, stood holding a tapestry 
back with one hand, revealing an open door that the thick wall hanging 
had hidden.  Her tawny, flawlessly skinned body glistened beneath a 
light sheen of water, her long golden hair still damp from her 
interrupted bath.  A thin powder blue towel was loosely wrapped about 
her hips but the rest of her youthfully slim frame was exposed to the 
room's warm air.  The soft, tender swells of her ripe breasts rising and 
falling steadily above the smooth plain of her flat tummy. 


"I was going to do that myself one day."  she commented, thoroughly 
eyeing Vara in return.  "But I see you've done it for me." 


Vara searched for a suitable reply as the blonde girl stepped into the 
room, letting the tapestry fall back against the wall.  A memory stirred 
in the back of her mind, she'd seen hair like that before.  Long golden 
hair streaming out like a banner behind a rider she'd seen at a 
distance, leading a patrol of Omphale's warriors.  "You're Omphale's 
lieutenant." she realized. 


The girl smiled again and giggled, one hand rising to cover her small, 
mobile mouth.  "Oh, and so much more." she said, glancing at the 
unconscious woman on the bed.  "And you would be..." 


"Vara, Matsuko's daughter." 


"Greetings Vara.  I'm Kett, daughter of nobody in particular.  I suppose 
you've killed poor Juno." 


"Which one was that?" 


The young woman smothered another giggle and moved a little toward the 
bed.  "Oh dear!" she said, taking Vara's implication.  "I guess I'll 
have to recruit some more warriors after I've killed you." 


Before Vara could reply the slender girl stooped and snatched up a 
sheathed sword that had been laying out of Vara's view on the other side 
of the bed.  She drew a thin bladed rapier from the sheath, even as 
Vara's sword rasped from her belt, and cast aside the stiff leather with 
a careless toss.  "She was on duty outside the door." she said, 
gesturing at the room's entrance.  "Not very bright, but she could stand 
in one place for hours." 


Simultaneously the two women slowly circled around the bed until they 
stood a few feet apart at it's foot.  The blonde moved gracefully, her 
step springy like an athlete's, a confident smile playing across her 
tender young lips.  Vara's gaze was drawn to her girlish hips, twitching 
sexily beneath the towel as she walked, and noted with interest an 
almost unnoticeable spray of light downy hair spreading up from beneath 
the edge of the towel over her lower belly .  She stalked determinedly 
to meet her foe, the thick bladed tulwar held before her in one strong 
hand.  "I've killed five women to get here little girl." she growled.  
"And I've got no time to play with Omphale's bed toy." 


A sneer replaced the blonde's smile and she brought her weapon up, it's 
sharp tip angled straight at Vara's heart.  "I'll have you're corpse for 
a bed toy before too long, bitch." she returned and lunged forward. 


Vara sword swept down to parry her foe's darting blade, but the slender 
swordswoman pulled her thrust, turning it into a well timed feint.  
Instead she slashed at her foe's long sword arm, drawing a red line low 
on her muscular bicep.  Vara grunted in surprise and stepped back, 
parrying a second strong lunge aimed at her belly and lashing out with a 
wide cross slash that sent her opponent dancing back. 


"First blood to me!" Kett crowed, flourishing her crimson tipped sword. 


Realizing she'd underestimated the lithe young woman, Vara adopted a 
defensive pose, turning her body sideways and keeping her feet flat on 
the floor.  The blonde lunged again, feinting low and thrusting high, 
parrying a cautious riposte and immediately lunging high again.  Vara 
was caught off guard by Kett's show of speed and only just managed to 
avoid her foe's darting weapon, steel hissing past her head as she 
parried and took another backwards step. 


The young swordswoman kept up her attack, probing the ebony skinned 
warrior's defenses, her slim blade clanging against her foe's shorter, 
heavier weapon.  She fought on the balls of her feet, her long coltish 
legs flashing beneath her towel as she danced and spun; her youthfully 
taut breasts bouncing on her chest as lunged and slashed.  Kett barked a 
triumphant laugh as her blade slipped past the blocking tulwar to score 
another shallow cut on the taller woman's left leg, then ducked under an 
angry return slash and struck again, opening a more serious wound just 
beneath the high swells of her small, thrusting breasts. 


Vara gritted her teeth against the pain and retreated again, her sword 
arm aching dangerously as blood trickled down it's length.  She refused 
to believe that after slaying five warriors, without sustaining anything 
more serious than chaffed thighs and a bump on the head, she was fated 
to be cut to pieces by a teenager.  Rage swelling within her chest, 
rising on a tide of adrenaline and raw, red hatred.  Letting out a 
piercing war cry she leapt at her smiling foe, aiming a strong slash at 
her head. 


Long, golden hair swirled around the young warrior's head as she ducked 
and spun to one side.  As her opponent's heavy blade flashed overhead 
Kett slashed at her lean ebony torso, drawing a long vertical wound down 
the ridges of her ribs to the joint of her hip and waist.  She lurched 
past her howling foe, but before she could turn the tall warrior twisted 
her wounded body and slashed at her retreating back, drawing a line of 
fiery pain across the jutting plain of her right shoulder blade. 


"You whore!" Kett gasped, turning to face her foe.  Her youthfully 
unlined face was drawn in a savage mask of pain, her eerie pale blue 
eyes sparkling with anger. 


Vara snarled in response and attacked again, parrying aside a stop 
thrust and lashing out with her fist.  Her slender blonde opponent 
danced back and thrust at her face, steel skirling on steel as Vara 
parried and slashed again, making the lithe young woman retreat another 
step.  "Come here...you little slut!" she panted, aiming a low cut at 
her foe's tawny, smoothly flat belly. 


The young blonde jerked her hips back sharply and her foe's sword 
whistled past, it's blunt tip just grazing the downy fur on her lower 
tummy.  She recovered quickly and stepped forward and, as the tall 
warrior's blade rose to block her rapier with a back handed parry, Kett 
spun around on one heel and kicked out high, landing a glancing blow on 
the side of her opponent's head.  The ebony skinned warrior grunted in 
surprise and staggered back as Kett nimbly leapt again, her foot 
flashing out to land a solid blow between the staggering woman's 
breasts. 


Vara's feet tangled as she stumbled back and she fell heavily, her back 
hitting stone with a jarring thump.  Her head spun from her agile foe's 
unexpected kick, but still her warrior's reflexes brought her sword 
flashing up, blocking a downward slash from her advancing opponent.  She 
kicked out blindly, her foot grazing the young woman's shin, making her 
retreat a step as Vara scrabbled awkwardly back. 


Both fighter's paused a moment, their bodies gleaming with perspiration, 
chest's heaving from their exertions.  Kett brushed back a hank of slick 
golden hair that had fallen across her face and grinned confidently down 
at her opponent, keeping her rapier pointed firmly at the downed woman.  
A victorious flush darkened her smooth, tawny skin, her eye's sparkling 
with blood lust as she prepared to run her wounded enemy through. 


Vara returned her foe's stare with a furious look of her own, fighting 
against the pain thrumming through her.  Blood dripped from the wound on 
her side and her arm and leg ached abominably, but her mind refused to 
allow the possibility of defeat.  Snarling defiantly she spat at the 
young woman's feet and looked up at her blonde foe.  "You're not done 
yet girl." she rasped. 


The young warrior threw her head back and laughed, a high pitched giggle 
verging on the manic.  The wounded fighter hurled her weapon as hard as 
she could and Kett laughed again, batting the short sword out of the air 
with a contemptuous sweep of her rapier.  She brought her sword back on 
line as her foe's hand darted to her boot and the slender blonde's laugh 
turned into a shocked gasp as the dark skinned warrior's muscular arm 
again swung up, a bright sliver of steel flashing from her dark hand. 


Vara's knife took the blonde girl squarely in the pit of her stomach, 
and she let out a short high pitched shriek, bending at the waist as if 
performing a sudden bow.  A sheaf of damp hair fell to hide her stricken 
face like a golden curtain being drawn over a window, one hand clutching 
at her wounded belly, slim legs shivering as agony bolted through her 
like a run away horse.  Vara leered savagely at the stricken young 
woman, watching as she looked down at the small knife protruding from 
the tender flesh of her lower belly, a rill of blood spilling from the 
wound to spread along the  towel wrapped around her hips. 


With a shocked gasp Kett raised her hand, looking through pain blurred 
eyes at her crimson stained fingers.  She'd never been seriously wounded 
in battle before, relying on her superior speed and skill to defeat her 
older, slower opponents.  Slowly, she fought back the panic welling up 
in the back of her mind, her hand gripping the pommel of her sword until 
her knuckles whitened, fighting pain with pain.  Reflexively clutching 
at her wounded belly, Kett straightened a little and forced her legs to 
move. 


A fierce grimace deformed Vara's sweat slick face and she clawed the 
second throwing knife from her boots.  The blonde swordswoman staggered 
to the foot of the bed, her sword raised, her small pink nippled breasts 
heaving wildly on her chest.  "Now you're done!" Vara ground out, her 
blood spattered arm blurring as she threw the knife. 


"NUH!" the young warrior gasped, her chest exploding with mind numbing 
pain.  A second knife jutted from the cleft of her small bosom, 
appearing as if by magic close to the gentle swell of her left breast.  
The bloody rapier dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers and she fell 
to her knees, flinging out one crimson stained hand to grasp a nearby 
bed post.  Drawing in a shuddering breath she looked up at her opponent, 
tears of agony shining in her eyes. 


"You...you cheated!" she accused. 


Kett swayed on her knees, clutching with both hands at the wooden post 
for support.  Fine strands of long golden hair were plastered across her 
agonized face and sad blue eye's staring from behind the golden mask, 
filled with the betrayal of youth, her tender lips trembling as she 
fought to draw another breath.  A strong spasm shook her lithe tan body 
and her head rolled back on her slender shoulders, arms dropping limply 
to her sides.  She let out a gentle, almost relieved sounding sigh;  
then sagged backwards, her back sliding against the side of the bed as 
she fell. 


Vara let out an explosive breath and allowed her battle tensed body to 
relax.  Gingerly she examined her wounds, frowning down at her blood 
spattered body.  She was relieved to find the most serious wound was a 
shallow, but long slash on her left side.  "When did that happen?" she 
mused.  Her gaze wandered back to her fallen opponent and with a small 
grunt she heaved herself up on her hands and knees, crawling the short 
distance to where the young blonde lay. 


She'd fallen on her side with her back arched slightly, drawing her 
small, immature breasts tight against her narrow chest.  One slim arm 
was stretched out ahead of her, the other twisted limply behind her.  
Her head was pillowed on her outstretched arm, pale blue eyes staring 
fixedly through a golden cage of hair sweat stuck to her youthful 
visage.  The towel had slipped from her hips as she died, revealing a 
pair of sleek, silky thighs surrounding a still damp mat of blonde fur 
covering her sex. The knives protruded from her lithe, tawny body like 
signposts but only a small trickle of blood ran from the blades buried 
in her tender flesh.  Vara remembered the young warrior's last words and 
a grim smile spread across her face. 


"I wasn't playing a game, girl." she muttered, vengefully tweaking one 
tiny pink nipple. 


A weak groan sounded from atop the bed, drawing Vara out of her 
contemplation of the dead girl.  She retrieved her knives from the 
blonde's corpse and wearily got to her feet.  Vara drew her knife and 
cut strips of cloth from the rumpled bed sheets quickly tending the 
small cuts on her arm and leg, taking more care to thoroughly bandage 
the deeper wounds on her upper abdomen and side, then cut more strips 
with which to bind and gag her prize. 


"Time to go." Vara said giving her half conscious captive a playful slap 
on her bare rump.  Wiry muscle moved beneath the glossy black skin of 
her arms and shoulders and with a heavy grunt she lifted Omphale onto 
her shoulders.  Maneuvering next to the dead girl she bent at the knees, 
reaching down to wrap a thick hank of golden hair in her fist before 
straightening up again. 


"There's got to be an easier way to get rich."  she grumbled out loud 
and with a heave began trudging toward the door, pulling the blonde 
girl's corpse behind her. 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-


Track 7 - Band On The Run 


Vara groaned with relief as she dragged the blonde girl's corpse the 
final few feet into the keep's entryway.  None too gently she dumped 
Omphale's naked, unconscious body in a corner and turned to survey her 
work. 


The red haired guardswoman lay where she'd died, staring up with 
unseeing eyes at the ceiling.  The petite, angle faced woman lay next to 
her, one doll like hand resting loosely in the larger woman's, her slim 
bronze body skewed unnaturally.  Her slender corpse was overshadowed by 
the big bosomed guards bulk laying on her other side, her huge left 
breast still pinned back by Vara's bolt.  Juno, Heshu's dead lover lay 
next the big guardswoman, her pale skinned corpse flushed from her 
mistaken love making.  Last in line, Kett nobody's daughter lay with an 
indignant look frozen on her face, her youthfully taut body still damp 
from her last bath. 


Vara felt a prickling on the back of her neck and turned to see Omphale 
glaring at her.  "Not a bad night's work, eh Captain?" she taunted. 


Omphale tried to speak around her gag and Vara laughed, then strode to 
her tightly bound captive and yanked her roughly to her feet by her 
hair.  "I particularly liked your lieutenant.  I hope she was a better 
lover than she was a fighter." she commented, nudging the dead girl's 
tawny thigh with one booted foot. 


A soft rap on the big double doors interrupted Vara's one sided 
conversation.  She dragged her captive to the doors and unbolted one 
side, opening the heavy door one handed. 


The blonde slave boy stood nervously on the other side, his wide brown 
eyes darting back and forth.  Behind him at the foot of the stairs a 
half dozen horses stood in a line, their traces tied to the back of each 
other's saddles, a large black stallion in the lead.  Silver studded the 
stallion's bridle and traces, and the saddle riding his muscular back 
was inlayed with silver as well.  Omphale gave a startled grunt through 
her gag at the sight of her personal war horse and the slave took a 
startled step back, poised to run. 


"Very good, boy." Vara said, stepping out briskly from behind her 
captive.  "We'll deal with your mistress first." 


She dragged Omphale down the steps and heaved her onto her horse's neck 
while the blonde boy held it's reins, then tied the naked woman's hands 
and feet together beneath the horse's belly.  They quickly repeated the 
process with the five dead guards, slinging their naked bodies over the 
saddles and tying their dangling limps with hanks of rope. 


When the last body was securely tied, Vara briskly strode to the big 
charger and swung herself up into the saddle.  She looked up at the 
clear evening sky and breathed in a deep draft of cool early evening 
air.  There were still a few minutes until moon rise and the return of 
the first patrol, just enough time to get into the tree line and 
retrieve Heshu's hidden body.  "She won't mind sharing a horse with her 
lover." Vara mused.  She glanced down and saw the slave boy standing 
next to her stirruped foot, his big brown eye's wide and questioning. 


"Well boy?" she said, extending one long muscular arm toward the blonde 
slave.  "What are you waiting for?" 


A broad grin broke across the boy's face and he gripped his new 
mistress's arm and leapt into the saddle behind her. 


The End 


------------------------------------------------------------------------
---


Bonus Track - You Can't Always Get What You Want 


Vara slipped from her hiding place in a deep nitch behind a tall stone 
statue, stepping out into the deserted dead end corridor.  She stretched 
her tall warrior's body, working out the stiffness that had threatened 
to cramp her muscles during her long wait for nightfall.  When she felt 
limber enough she moved silently down the short corridor to where it 
turned off into the main hallway and pressed her back against the wall. 


Vara peered around the corner, checking the position of the tall armored 
woman standing guard before a door midway down the corridor.  She was 
dressed for work;  a silk blouse, tight leather trousers and soft boots, 
all black.  "Where are you Vetho?" she thought, silently urging the 
blonde slave boy to hurry up.  If she were caught hiding in this 
location at this time of night, almost certain death would soon follow. 


Almost as if response to her mental command, the young slave rounded the 
far corner and strode confidently toward the guardswoman.  With a clank 
of armor the burly helmeted guard pivoted her metal covered back to Vara 
and sternly blocked the boy's way with her halberd.  Vara pulled her 
head back and took a deep breath, then drew her slim bladed dagger and 
silently glided around the corner. 


Vara stepped up behind the guardswoman confronting the blonde slave boy, 
who was busy explaining that the tray and wine goblet in his hands had 
been ordered by the Queen herself.  Wiry muscles tensed on Vara's arm as 
she raised her blade and with a swift, powerful motion thrust the blade 
up into the gap between the guard's helmet and backplate.  The knife 
point struck just beneath the base of her skull and sped up at a sharp 
angle into her brain, killing her almost instantly.  The tall guard 
suddenly rose up on her toes, her armored body stiffening, her hands 
spasming open to drop the halberd with a loud clank.  All at once she 
collapsed atop her fallen weapon, sprawling half face down on the floor.  
Her limbs twitched briefly, then subsided into the stillness of death. 


"Go stay by the horse Vetho."  Vara whispered, giving the young boy's 
hair a fond ruffle.  She crouched next to the dead guard as Vetho ran 
off and yanked a ring of keys off her belt, then rose to face door she'd 
been guarding. 


---------------------


Moonlight filtered through gauzy white curtains hanging across an open 
window, casting a pearlescent glow over the sumptuously decorated bed 
chamber.  It's rays illuminated a voluptuous blonde woman sleeping above 
the covers of a wide canopied bed, her naked body sprawled upon silk 
sheets dyed a deep purple.  She was a mature beauty, her normally stern 
face softened by sleep, her tall, well fleshed body still except for the 
gentle rise and fall of her large, pale nippled breasts.  Fine hair the 
color of newly churned butter lay splayed on the pillows around her 
head, shining softly in the moonlight like a halo. 


A shadow drifted across the sleeping woman, darkening the glow about her 
head and the change of light made her stir.  A weight depressed the 
thick feather mattress and she stirred again, murmuring incomprehensibly 
at the disturbance, her shapely legs moving drowsily.  The shadow 
reached out a hand and let it hover over the blonde's thin lipped mouth 
for a moment, as if to savor the feel of her breathing against it's 
palm.  Then the hand descended. 


The shapely blonde awoke with a start, her eye's opening to reveal fear 
wide green orbs rolling in their sockets, fixing on the figure sitting 
on the bed next to her.  She began to raise a hand to slap away the dark 
fingers clamped firmly across her mouth but the shadow moved first and 
the sharp point of a knife pricked her throat, freezing her hand in mid-
air. 


"Good evening, Your Majesty." the shadow said. 


-----------------


Gazing down at the blonde woman's beautifully shaped body, Vara 
remembered how Adiani had become queen.  Civil war had threated after 
the Empress Jenara died, but eventually her empire was more-or-less 
evenly split between her daughters, Marion and Charmaine.  Adiani had 
been only a minor vassal of the late empress, and the split made her 
lands of some strategic importance, laying as they did between the two 
rival princesses.  Without the resources to carve out a chunk of 
Janara's former empire, Adiani was precariously perched between the two 
rival princesses.  


So instead of trying the usual method of gaining land, by force of arms, 
she decided to use her natural resources.  Adiani managed to snare a 
number of wealthy lovers whose lands were adjacent to her's and, after 
their corpses had been fished from the river, confiscated their lands 
until she had enough wealth and power to successfully break with both 
sides and declare herself Queen Adiani the First, ruler of an small but 
independent nation. 


Vara smiled down at the blonde amazon queen, her sharp white teeth 
gleaming in the moonlight.  The smell of the sleeping woman's perfume 
wafted up from he naked form, filling Vara's nose with a heavy floral 
scent.  She shifted her position on the bed, drawing one leather clad 
leg up onto the covers to sit facing her erstwhile employer, all the 
time keeping her knife steady at the prostrate woman's throat.  After a 
moment the blonde nodded her head, indicating she understood the 
situation and Vara let her hand slip from the woman's lips. 


"How...how did you get in here?" she gasped. 


"The same way I got into Omphale's bed room, Your Majesty." 


"What do you think you're doing Vara?" the Queen asked, her brow 
creasing with anger. 


"Don't be stupid Adiani." Vara replied contemptuously.  "You've reneged 
on our deal." 


The amazon queen opened her mouth to reply, but her denial was 
interrupted as Vara pushed the knife a fraction of an inch forward.  
"You remember our bargain, don't you?  I bring in your renegade 
mercenary, you give me her castle." 


Adiani nodded carefully. 


"But it's been four months since Omphale's head went up on a spike above 
your castle gates."  Vara snarled, "A fine display it made too.  And yet 
here I am, while your daughter Tibelle now occupies the castle and lands 
that are mine by rights." 


"Vara, let me explain." Adiani said. 


Almost too late Vara remembered how Adiani had become queen. 


The blonde woman's arm flashed up, a jeweled hilted dagger her hand.  
Reflexively Vara snatched at her foe's wrist, stopping the knife's 
needle sharp tip a scant inch from her right eyeball.  She thrust with 
her own dagger but the prone woman had already squirmed away and the 
blade stabbed into the pillows where her neck had been.  Adiani struck 
out with her other hand, aiming for her attacker's head but instead her 
fist landed a solid blow on Vara's shoulder, jolting her hand from her 
dagger and knocking her off balance. 


The naked blonde thrashed and flailed, trying to free her knife hand 
from Vara's grasp.  Vara reached out to grab a fistful of hair just as 
the blonde's knees slammed into her side, jolting her off the side of 
the bed.  Still she kept her grip on the older woman's hair and wrist, 
dragging her bodily after her. 


The two women landed in a heap of flailing heap of limbs, each trying to 
scramble atop the other as they fought for control of the knife.  
Adiani's free hand ripped down the front of her attacker's blouse, 
exposing her sleek  ebony torso;  while Vara tried to push her victim's 
head down and slam her skull against the floor.  Their legs tangled and 
Adiani used her slightly superior position to roll atop the taller 
warrior, clawing at her face with  sharp nailed fingers. 


Vara tried to fend off Adiani's flailing hand as she kept the knife at 
bay,   the blonde's naked body pressed down on her like a velvet weight, 
her legs trapping the woman's legs in a vice-like grip.  Her foe 
squirmed and strained atop her, now trying to break free, but only 
managed to lurch forward enough to bury Vara's face in her large bosom. 


Supple perfumed flesh enveloped Vara's face, blotting out her sight and 
filling her gasping mouth.  The cloying scent of dead flowers 
overwhelmed her sense of smell and she had to fight back an urge to gag.  
A disorienting feeling of deja-vu swept through her, drawing her close 
to a state of panic as she tried to twist her head away enough to draw a 
breath.  She was about to open her mouth wide and bite down when an 
image flashed across her mind, a massive bosomed woman standing with her 
back against a wooden pillar, one huge scarred breast cupped in her 
thick fingered hand.  "Think you can handle me?" 


"Yes!" Vara's mind screamed back and with strength born of desperation 
she jerked her legs up sharply.  A moment later she was rewarded with a 
breathless shriek from her foe as her knee struck the writhing blonde 
squarely between the legs, sending a jarring shiver rippling through her 
voluptuous body. 


Adiani dropped her knife at the sudden shock of pain, her smothering 
breasts slipping from the tall warrior's face as she lurched forwards.  
She rolled away from her attacker, clutching her wounded crotch with 
both hands, a snarl of pain deforming her beautiful, bee-stung lips.  
Still laying by the side of the bed, Vara gasped in a lungfull of much 
needed air and pushed herself up onto her elbows. 


"You mercenary whore!" Adiani croaked, rising to her knees, outrage 
swelling her lush, well rounded bosom.  "I'll have you're eyes for 
that!" 


Vara ignored her foe's comment, battle rage flooding her veins like a 
red tide as she too pushed herself to her knees. 


The blonde amazon queen lunged at Vara, clawed hands reaching for her 
head, lips pealed back in a snarl.  Vara braced herself and hunched her 
taller frame, her right fist shooting straight out to land a well timed 
punch to her foe's soft belly.  Adiani shrieked breathlessly, doubling 
over her attacker's broad shoulder, her voluptuous body jarred to a halt 
by the powerful blow. 


With a low growl Vara slammed her right fist into the blonde woman's 
stomach, drawing a grunt of pain from her foe and making her bend down 
further still.  She leaned forward and began pummeling Adiani's stomach, 
her arms working like pistons, jarring the groaning blonde upwards with 
each punch.  At last Vara felt her foe slump against her shoulder and 
with a grunt of effort she straightened up, grabbing a hank of long 
blonde hair, pulling the half conscious woman back. 


Vara held her foe up by her hair and cocked back a fist, gazing a her  
beautiful face taut with pain, eyes glazed as she stared back at her.  
"You're no warrior, your majesty."  Vara growled and with a vicious 
smile hit the dazed blonde squarely in the mouth. 


Adiani flopped backwards to the floor, her legs bent beneath her.  Vara 
snorted in disdain and stood, looking contemptuously down at the 
unconscious blonde.  A tangle of blonde hair obscured Adiani's face, her 
chest heaving raggedly above her bruised tummy.  Her legs were tucked 
beneath her, her hips and pelvis lifted as if she were offering herself 
to her opponent. 


"No thanks, I'd rather have your money."  Vara said. 


A tall armoire stood near the open window and Vara strode to it to begin 
her search.  She yanked open the doors and paused for a moment, stunned 
by the luxurious clothing glittering in the soft moonlight.  Then she 
drew her knife and went to work. 


Ten minutes later she stood before the shredded remains of Adiani's 
wardrobe, a small heap of precious stones in the palm of her hand.  "Not 
good enough." Vara muttered determinedly.  She looked the dim room, her 
gaze landing on a mirror backed dressing table standing next to the open 
window.  "All right, round two." 


Vara searched the elegantly carved dressing table, tossing aside jars of 
make up as she rummaged through it's several small drawers.  At last her 
hands drew out a long, richly carved box and a delighted smile lit up 
her angular face as she opened the lid.  She snapped the lid shut and 
began to turn toward the door, and a glance in the mirror froze the 
smile on her face. 


Vara spun around just in time to meet Adiani's furious charge.  The box 
hit the floor with a clatter as Vara raised her hands, wrapping them 
around Adiani's wrists just as she brought her jewel hilted stiletto 
down.  Glittering gems scattered and bounced around their feet as they 
fought, snarling in each other's face, again struggling for control of 
Adiani's knife. 


The enraged amazon queen surged forward, pinning her startled enemy 
against the table as she strove to bury the dagger in her chest.  
Grimacing as the edge of the dressed bit painfully into the small of her 
back, Vara tried to squirm out from under her foe but the blonde woman's 
tightly pressed body kept her pinned.  With a deep growl Vara 
concentrated on razor sharp blade quivering above her heaving chest, her 
long fingered hands wrapped around her foe's wrists. 


Slowly the trembling blade began to move down, it's point wavering 
between the two combatant's heaving chests.  Adiani sneered at her 
pinned enemy and redoubled her efforts, bending her back lean ebony body 
backwards over the dressing table, pushing the firmly rounded orbs of 
her highflung bosom up toward her dagger.  Vara sneered back and poured 
her strength into her arms, flexing her strong hands, drawing a grunt of 
pain from her foe as she forced the blade to angle back toward the 
blonde's larger bosom.  Too late Adiani realized she had lost the battle 
over her knife.  Abruptly her foe stopped trying to push the blade away 
and pulled instead, driving her own stiletto down into sweat slick 
expanse between her breasts. 


A dismayed shriek erupted from the blonde queen and Vara pushed out 
hard, sending the stricken woman stumbling away and driving the stiletto 
in up to the hilt.  She jerked herself to her feet, groaning in relief, 
and looked at her foe standing a few feet away.  Adiani stared back, her 
eye's bulging with shock, her hands still wrapped around the jeweled 
hilt protruding from between the soft slopes of her breasts like an 
exotic ornament.  


"Yuh...you bitch!"  Queen Adiani gasped,  "How dare you!" 


Vara watched impassively as the dying blonde turned and took a couple 
shaking steps toward the door, then dropped to her knees with a 
breathless shriek of denial.  She tried to get to her feet again, 
stumbling another step forward before collapsing again to her knees, 
supporting her shivering body on one hand.  Her hair hung down over her 
face as she raised her head, eyes closed tight against the pain and 
moaned "Not me!" before slumping to the floor, her shapely body 
trembling as she died. 


Vara's booted feet kicked diamonds as she strode to the spot where 
Adiani lay, her shapely, hunched body face down on the floor.  One hand 
stretched imploringly toward the door, the other still clutching the 
knife buried deep in her chest.  Her eyes stared blankly at the floor, 
disbelief frozen on her face as if she couldn't quite believe in her own 
death.  "You should've kept your bargain, your majesty." Vara 
admonished, giving Adiani's corpse a solid kick in the ribs.  The 
Adiani's corpse flopped onto it's back and Vara reached down, prying the 
dead queens fingers from the hilt of the knife buried in her chest.  
Vara plucked the long stiletto from it's fleshy sheath, glancing 
appraisingly at the gems studding it's bloody hilt before looking back 
down at her defeated foe. 


Though she'd never true been a warrior, Adiani had certain kept herself 
in shape.  Even in death she cast a certain allure, her parted lips 
waiting for a soft kiss, her large outhrust breasts surprisingly firm 
and touchable.  Vara considered for a moment, then with a regretful 
shake of her head turned to gather up the dead woman's jewelry.  "That's 
the trouble with assassination." she thought ruefully.  "There's never 
enough time." 


------------------


Vetho's pale arms circled her waist as they rode the big black stallion, 
angling toward the city gates, his delicate hands clasped over the flat 
plain of her stomach.  Vara doubted the queen's corpse would be found 
until sunrise, about the same time the gates opened.  By the time a 
pursuit could be organized, she hoped to be miles away and moving fast 
toward the border with Princess Marion's lands, one saddle bag weighted 
down with a fortune in jewels. 


"Mistress?"  the boy said. 


"Hmmmm?" 


"Can I do the next one?" 


Vara had to think a moment before she realized what the boy was talking 
about.  She was about to admonish Vetho, but an odd feeling stopped her 
and she subsided to explore the idea.  He was about at that age where a 
boy should learn a trade, and she certainly wasn't getting any younger 
herself.  It might be, well, nice to have someone around to help.  
Sharpening blades, hauling bodies, things like that... 


"We'll see Vetho." Vara murmured, a small smile curving her hard, thin 
lips. 


Unseen by his mistress, Vetho grinned and snuggled comfortably against 
Vara's back. 


-30-