Chapter 1

Heads turned when the door to the servant's common in Blackhawk Hall opened and a blonde woman entered, looking somewhat unsure of what she was supposed to be doing. Her face bespoke youth, still having an unmistakable softness that would fade with age. She smiled nervously as all eyes in the room fell upon her, a deepening flush in the cheeks framing that smile served to make her look even younger.

Her figure contrasted with her face, obviously the body of a grown woman, although her skin certainly held the radiant glow of youth. At just over five and a half feet tall, she was dwarfed by the massive doorway to the commons.

Most of those in the room nodded to her with friendly smiles and returned to their leisure, but one older woman rose from her chair and crossed the room toward the new arrival.

She smiled and nodded a greeting when she reached the new face in the room. "I'm Sharon. You the new girl who starts today?"

"Yes, I'm Arilee."

"Good, let's get started then. The Duchess tells me you've managed to end up on the wrong side of exactly the wrong town without any means. As long as you keep up with your duties, you won't have to worry about having a roof over your head or food in your belly from now on. We're treated well and paid better. The Duke and Duchess haven't been high and mighty for long, and they still know what it's like to be regular folk. But, you've already found that out from the Duchess herself."

Arilee looked a little confused. "The Duchess?"

Sharon's smile showed her amusement. "That's your first lesson. The Duke and Duchess aren't necessarily what you might be expecting. That woman you met in the tavern that sent you here was the Duchess, Christi."

"I wondered why the man I was working for was so nice, when he's usually so rude."

Sharon laughed, "He was that nice because Christi punched him and broke his nose the first time she walked in that tavern and he started acting like an ass to her."

Arilee covered her mouth and laughed. "I wish I could have seen that."

"I'll ask Ashtar show it to you in one of his memory crystals sometime. He was there. That's another thing — get used to magic, because their Graces have a lot of powerful friends that use it. Try not to scream if someone appears out of thin air a few feet from you."

"This is going to be a little unusual."

"You don't know the half of it. Anyway, titles and pomp don't mean much to the Duke and Duchess. They would prefer you lose the graces when there's not something official going on. Duke Cerebus goes by his childhood nickname, Mindblind, most of the time, when he doesn't have to put on airs because of his office."

"That sounds like a mean nickname."

Sharon gestured for Arilee to follow her toward a door. "It was meant to be. His sister thought it would be funny to call him that because he was the only person in the family that didn't have some kind of magical ability. He turned the joke around on her because he liked it, and started using it himself. She's grown up since then, so don't hold it against her when she comes to visit."

"I don't know if I can call him that without feeling uncomfortable. Is it alright to call him Cerebus?"

"That's not a problem. That's what Christi calls him. You won't be able to see it from here, but the Duke is half warrior-goblin. He's rough around the edges, and you wouldn't want to give him reason to be mad at you, but he's a good man. Physically, he's a heck of a lot stronger than most men, and has a bit of a point to his ears. His skin is kind of a grayish tan. It's hard to describe. Other than that, his mom bred most true in him, and he's actually quite handsome. It bothers him when people stare, so don't do it. It doesn't really take long to get used to his odd coloring, and it seems to help if you're warned in advance. That's him out there squaring off with the Duchess."

Arilee looked through the doorway into the courtyard and opened her eyes wide with surprise. "Are they going to fight with real swords?"

"More of the magic. Christi has a spell that lets her protect both of them from being hurt. It only lasts for a little while, but it lets them fight with all their ability and real weapons. Watch — it's always fascinating to watch them spar. Just remember what I've told you and come see me when you're done. I'll get you set up in your room and we'll get you to work."

Arilee nodded to indicate her understanding and turned back to the scene in the courtyard.

Arilee recognized the Duchess, although she was dressed far differently now than when they had met in the tavern. Her raven colored hair had flowed freely down to the middle of her back previously, but it was now tied in a ponytail.

Arilee had thought Christi was very beautiful when she saw her — strong and confident, but also very feminine. All of those qualities were enhanced by the clothing she wore now. The Duchess was dressed in a tight linen top that strained to contain her breasts and left her midriff bare. Arilee could see the defined muscles in Christi's torso, shimmering slightly in the sunlight from the sheen of sweat that coated her body. The short skirt she wore was of the same plain linen, and revealed a long expanse of the woman's shapely, well-toned legs. She held an ornately decorated sword at the ready, smiling at the man in front of her.

The Duke had his back turned to Arilee, a huge two-handed sword resting against his shoulder. Cerebus had a broad chest, and every muscle in his bare back was plainly visible from across the courtyard. The muscles in his legs were obvious even through the pants he wore, as well. His pitch-black hair was pulled up into a shoulder length ponytail, and Arilee noticed he didn't seem to have any hair on his body except for that on his head.

She understood Sharon's inability to describe the Duke's skin tone as she looked at him. It was almost as if he had a deep tan, but it looked somewhat faded like a painting that had been exposed to too much sunlight. It was unusual enough to attract notice, but not so much so that it felt like it was holding Arilee's eyes. She also saw the points of the Duke's ears sticking up through his hair. Arilee had seen a half-goblin before, and the Duke really didn't even look like one except for his ears.

Christi's voice echoed through the courtyard, deep and possessing a husky timbre that could only be described as sensual, "Ready?"

Cerebus brought his massive sword down into a ready position. His voice was deep, and had a quality that Arilee could only define as an ominous whisper, even though he spoke at a normal volume. "We'd better get to it, or they'll be trying to drag me off for something before we even finish."

Christi smiled, and there was a mischievous glint in her liquid brown eyes. "I believe we're tied right now. I plan to be on top again in a few minutes."

"We'll see about that."

Arilee gasped as Mindblind lashed out with a horizontal swing of his sword. There was absolutely no restraint in his attack. He was doing his best to hit the Duchess with his enormous weapon.

Christi slid backwards and dropped down to one knee, just out of reach of the blow. She immediately sprang forward, sword leading, as her man's blade continued its swing.

Demonstrating some of the tremendous strength Sharon had spoken of, Cerebus halted the progress of his heavy weapon and brought it back in line to block Christi's stab. Steel rang on steel with a loud, musical clang, followed by a rasp as the weapons disengaged.

Christi pulled her weapon in line, and again stabbed at her man. There was nothing to indicate she was pulling her blows in any way either. The Duke seemed to be expending more effort to halt the swing of his sword this time, but still managed to deflect the strike of Christi's bright steel.

The line of his parry this time was designed to lead into his next attack, and Christi danced backward upon recognizing the tactic. The diagonal overhand strike of the massive weapon very well could have cleaved her in two, had she been there when the blow landed.

Once again, Christi sprang forward around Mindblind's blade as soon as she had avoided it. This time she slid down, hooked his right ankle with one of her shapely legs, and used the momentum of his swing against him. He lost his balance and Christi used her strength to perfect advantage to topple him down on one knee.

He almost brought his sword in line — but not quite — to deflect Christi's stab. The weapon stopped upon contacting his skin, repelled by some unseen magical force.

"Point!"

"Yeah, yeah — first blood to you. Skullroller's not exactly my weapon of choice for close quarters one-on-one."

"You chose it," Christi taunted, and laughed as she strode back to her starting position. The Duke watched the play of her bottom beneath her skirt as she walked, and Arilee blushed when she realized she was doing the same. The things that were going on beneath that linen cloth were beyond any words Arilee could have used to describe them.

The Duke stood up and stretched, giving Arilee a look at his face for the first time. He had a square chin, thick eyebrows, and somewhat deep-set eyes. The words that emerged in Arilee's mind were ruggedly handsome. His vivid green eyes locked with hers for an instant, and he nodded to her before turning to face off with the Duchess once more. Arilee drew in a deep breath, and realized it was the only one she had taken while looking over the Duke. He was handsome, strong, and seemed almost dangerous in a way. He was exactly the kind of man her mother had warned her about, and she now understood why, as her body responded to her thoughts with a slight shiver.

"Looks like we've got an audience," Cerebus said with a chuckle.

Christi smiled as she brought her sword into a ready position. "New girl. Found her in the 'Appy Ogre. Not the place for a pretty young woman on her own. I'll tell you about it later."

"Good enough for me," Mindblind responded as he planted his feet for the next round.

The Duchess didn't quite give him time to set his footing, instead stepping forward and slashing at his near forearm.

Mindblind let go of his massive sword with the targeted arm, moving it out of the way. While Christi tried to recover, he grabbed her wrist and pulled hard, sending her hurtling behind him, off balance.

Gripping his sword in both hands once more, he spun around with his blade in a wide horizontal sweep. Christi had to continue to dance backwards, knowing her smaller weapon couldn't even deflect his sword with that much momentum behind it.

The Duke pulled against the momentum of his follow-through, lifting the sword into an overhand strike. Christi had to drop and roll toward him to avoid the massive weapon. Mindblind managed to reverse his weapon's momentum, pull it back in close to his body, and kick out before the Duchess could regain her balance and footing.

Christi's breath exploded from her in a loud blast as she fell heavily to her side. She just managed to roll onto her back when Cerebus leapt atop her, knees on either side of her trim waist. He pressed the edge of his sword against her neck and said, "Point," with a smile.

The Duchess coughed once, still trying to catch her breath. "How long have you been saving that trick? I didn't think even you could hold up that damn thing with one hand."

"Just got it down. I about broke my wrist off and almost sliced my leg open a few times before I got the balance right."

Christi was very aware that her lover was hard. She could feel his cock pressing against her chest as he sat on her. She was wet too, because sparring always aroused them both. Their eyes locked for a moment as the sexual energy passed between them.

That energy was obvious even to an observer, and Arilee tensed as she felt her nipples harden.

A quiet laugh brought Arilee out of her trance. Sharon was standing behind her with a tray, which she sat on a table near the door. "Exciting, isn't it? They'll stop playing around now and really go at it. They'll call it a draw though, because they haven't had any arguments lately. Neither of them tries hard enough to go one up unless they're mad about something else. When they call it a draw, grab that tray and take them a drink. They'll need it. Christi requested that you be assigned to her specifically, so may as well get started now. I'll get you in your room later. Just stay near the Duchess in case she needs anything. Ask anyone else if you need to know where something is."

"They seem to be fighting so viciously. It's hard to believe they're married."

"Well, they aren't technically yet — but soon enough. They let off the stress of their relationship out there. It seems to work, because they don't get into many heated arguments. They save their passion for the matches and the bedroom."

Arilee blushed at that last statement, both from the frankness of the words and her own thoughts while she watched the couple.

Sharon laughed. "You may as well get used to that. We're all pretty plain spoken around here. We say what's on our mind, and don't mince words. They're getting set again. Watch this last round — you haven't seen anything yet."

Arilee turned back to the courtyard just in time to see the pair leap into action. She stood open-mouthed with surprise and awe as the couple attacked each other with what looked like pure murderous intent.

The Duke swung his weapon in huge arcs, forcing its surely great weight and momentum exactly where he wanted it with a speed and skill Arilee didn't think could be humanly possible. His lover danced, leapt, and tumbled like an acrobat, just out of reach of the blade — leaping in to strike like a cobra with every potential opening.

The Duchess slid under a horizontal strike, fell to balance on her free hand, and kicked up hard into the Duke's knee. His breath exploded from him in a loud snarl from the kick, but he did not drop his defense. He cleanly parried the following strike of Christi's sword.

Christi must have been just as surprised by his ability to resist the pain of that injury as Arilee was, because she didn't quite recover enough after her failed strike to avoid Mindblind's kick following the parry. He planted his weapon into the ground, loosing a sidekick that sent Christi hurtling backwards, and exploded the breath from her lungs.

Somehow, the Duchess managed to keep moving and recover from having the wind knocked out of her. In the few moments it took Cerebus to recover from the kick and raise his weapon once more, Christi was again on the attack.

On and on it went, sweat running from both combatant's bodies in streams. Both scored hits, but neither declared a point, even though Arilee thought the injuries those hits would have caused without the magic would have made it difficult for the injured to continue to fight effectively.

No holds were barred, with punches and kicks thrown into the battle just as often as weapon strikes. While the magic upon them protected them from the blades, it appeared to do little to block the force or pain of those unarmed blows.

No communication Arilee could see passed between them, but the couple simply stopped at the same time, facing each other. Duke and Duchess panted for breath, wiping sweat out of their eyes, and let their weapons fall out of defensive postures.

"D-draw?" Mindblind suggested through gasping breaths.

Christi nodded and leaned down to put her hands on bent knees. "Draw."

Arilee snapped out of her trance and remembered what she was supposed to be doing. Picking up the tray, she hurried out into the courtyard toward the recovering warriors.

Christi stood up straight and smiled when she saw the blonde approaching. "Cerebus, this is Arilee. She'll be replacing Gwen."

"That's right — Gwen went and got hitched didn't she? Welcome, Arilee. Take good care of my girl here, and just holler if you need anything. If anybody gives you any trouble, you let one of us or Sharon know, and we'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Sir. Drink?"

"Sir?" Cerebus said before breaking out into a deep laugh. Seeing the flash of worry on Arilee's face, he said, "It's okay — everybody does it at first. You'll grow out of it in time. It's a damn sight better than Master. It took Gwen forever to stop saying that."

The Duke took one of the metal cups and brought it to his lips. Christi took the other and drank as well. She then said, "I'm sure Sharon told you, but we don't put much stock in the trappings of our Duchy. He's Cerebus or Mindblind, and I'm Christi unless we're in the Great Hall, forced to pretty ourselves up for visitors. If that warthog from the 'Appy Ogre gives you any trouble, make sure to tell me."

Mindblind almost spit his water as he laughed. "You didn't rough him up again, did you?"

"No, but I should have. He hadn't noticed I was there, and I saw how he was treating her before I went up and informed him he needed a new barmaid — immediately."

The Duke laughed again. "You're lucky Christi came across you when she did. Relk is notorious for taking advantage of anybody who works for him. He'll work the help like slaves, and he'd have eventually made you do worse things. I've thought more than once about running him out of town on a rail."

"Thank you, I had no idea. He was just the only one who would offer me work except — you know..." Arilee looked down and blushed profusely.

"Fightershaven is no place for a girl on her own, unless she's got a sword in her hand and knows how to use it. The place started out as a rude mercenary camp, and it really isn't much better than that even now," Mindblind said before draining the last of his water.

A soldier approached from within the hall. "I've got the bunch that survived ready for you to talk to, Mindblind."

"Good. They worth a damn?"

"I've never seen a more sneaky bunch of heartless bastards in my life."

"Exactly what we need out on the border countering Draxnog's murderous scum. Let's go tell them how it is. Maybe a few of them will survive to actually enjoy having their sentences commuted in five years."

"Most of them are hard luck cases. If they survive, the honest work will probably straighten them out. The real scum ended right back on the gibbet pretty quickly."

Christi laid her hand on Arilee's arm. "Come along. The boys have work to do, and I need a bath. I'll show you to your room. It's right near ours anyhow."

"Yes Ma..." Arilee trailed off when Christi gave her an amused look, and so she instead replied, "Okay."

"Much better," Christi said with a laugh, and led Arilee back into the hall. She had Arilee hand off the tray to another servant once inside, and then led her to a staircase a short distance down the hall from the servant's commons.

The pair ascended the stairs, and a man at the top stepped back up out of the way when he saw them coming. He looked even more muscle-bound than the Duke — thick-necked, with a face so square that it appeared almost unnatural. "Your bath is ready, Christi." His voice was deep and guttural, and Arilee could see a pair of short tusks when he spoke. She had an even better look at the tusks when he smiled.

"You're too good, Kronk. This is Arilee. She's going to be taking Gwen's place. Arilee, this is Kronk. If you need a bath drawn, or need anything heavy moved, he's the one to call."

"Pleased to meet you," Arilee said with a bright smile.

"Ho ho. Charming to an orc-faced clod — I like you already."

"He's got a heart of gold, so don't be intimidated by him. We don't pay much attention to racial prejudice around here, for obvious reasons. Thank you again, Kronk." Christi blew him a kiss when she finished.

The half-ogre gave them another toothy smile, and then started down the stairs.

Christi pointed out doors along the hallway. "Your room is right here by the stairs. Our room is at the end of the hall. You can't miss it — they went crazy decorating the door. We have our own kitchen next to our room, and storage rooms off it. If we ask you to fetch something, odds are it will be there. We don't like to bother anyone if we can help it. They have enough to do downstairs, keeping this place up."

The Duchess gestured for Arilee to follow. "The bath is right down here. Feel free to use it if you want. Just let us know you're in there so Cerebus doesn't accidentally walk in on you, and embarrass you. You're going to like this."

When Christi opened the door to the bath, Arilee could not help but gasp. The bathing pool would let four or five people stretch out comfortably within, never touching each other. Arilee could not believe the steaming pool was on a floor above ground.

"It's sealed and heated by magic, otherwise it would be useless. Unfortunately, it still has to be filled the hard way. That door over there leads to the balcony where Kronk hauls up the water barrels to fill it. Be careful of the drainage channel below the balcony, because when this thing drains out of the pipe into that channel, it turns into a raging river for a minute or two."

"It's amazing," the stunned blonde woman remarked softly.

"I saw something similar to this once, and it was my one dream. When they started refitting this hall for us, Cerebus had them make it for me. Ashtar suggested we build it up here for privacy and used his magic to make it possible."

A quick movement of her deft fingers popped the button on Christi's skirt. She kicked off her shoes and then let the skirt fall to the floor, "Why don't you join me? It makes more sense than you standing out here listening."

As much as Christi's backside had drawn Arilee's eyes to it in the skirt, it was even more difficult to ignore clad only in a pair of light panties. That covering slid to the floor almost immediately after the skirt, leaving the raven-haired woman's perfect, heart-shaped ass bared to Arilee. Her fascination only deepened as Christi bent over to pick up both articles of clothing and hurl them into a basket near the door.

"Will you join me, then?" Christi asked as she turned back toward Arilee and pulled off the tight linen top she wore. Her breasts were perfectly shaped, and just slightly larger than what many men called a 'perfect handful' when they didn't think women were listening. The tips of her perky globes were a pink almost bordering on red, surrounded by circles of very light brown. The hair on her mound was thick and as raven-black as that on her head, but trimmed very short. Around her lips, she was trimmed so short as to appear almost completely bare.

"Arilee?"

It was only when the Duchess spoke again that Arilee realized she had been staring the entire time the other woman had been undressing, and had not answered the question. Embarrassment consumed her and she covered her face with her hands, "I'm sorry, I..."