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Took me a while to finish it, but here are Desha and Despa cosplaying some other brothers :D 

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I will consider this suggestion

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The escapades of Katai, part 5

Part 4

Part 6: to be continued

This chapter is only explicit sex. If that's not your cup of tea, you don't have to read it and you can wait for the next chapter which will continue on with the actual story. A huge thanks to Mikko and Jaz for reviewing this part beforehand! 

Katai pulls her mouth away from Desha’s, moving her lips to the corner of his jaw and then onto the side of his neck. This sudden change forces a shaky breath out of him and he loses his balance, falling onto his back with her on his chest.

She sees the slightly confused look on his flushed face. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t really ask how far you want to go. If you just want to stick to kissing-” she doesn’t get to finish, as he runs his hands down her body, pulling her closer by the small of her back.

Desha leans in, moving to the side of her head and whispers into her ear. “Does this answer your question?”

The rush of his hot breath against her ear sends a surge of excitement through her whole body. Katai feels like she could melt. She doesn’t falter and eagerly pushes her lips onto Desha’s as she runs her hand through his hair, pulling him closer. This enthusiasm earns her a few scrapes on her lower lip from his sharp teeth, but this doesn’t stop her as she simply returns the favor. She undoes the top of Desha’s shirt and proceeds to move her kisses down his neck, leaving a few marks in her path, earning a series of soft gasps from him with each pinch of the skin. Katai slides her hands under his shirt and runs them over his bare chest, her thumbs lightly grazing his nipples.

She was unaware that she had been unconsciously rubbing herself against him. Desha notices this and sits up, holding her in his lap. He tilts her head back, lightly pulling on her hair, and licks her neck. While barely holding back a moan, she instinctively grinds her crotch against him, this time pressing up against the bulge underneath. This prompts Desha to push her down on the bed, his lips and hands moving down her body. Once he reaches the waistband of her pantalettes, he glances up. Desha grins when he sees that she is covering her face with her hands attempting to hide her embarrassment.

“That’s a rather cute response.”

“Sh-shut up!” Katai mumbles.

“Well, if you’d prefer that I stop…” He teases as he attempts to lean away from her groin, but she wraps her thighs around his neck, pulling him back.

“Unless you want to part with that pretty head of yours, you’re not going anywhere.” She gives him a grin, crossing her arms behind her head.

Desha chuckles. “Alright, alright. I yield.”

She releases her hold and he slips off her underwear revealing the wet mess underneath. He throws the undergarment away and proceeds to undo the rest of his shirt, getting rid of it the same way.

Katai couldn’t stop staring at Desha, as he pushes away some stray hairs from his face and lifts her legs to make room for himself between them. Considering his brawny physique, covered with variously-sized scars and their past interactions, she was pleasantly surprised about the delicate manner he was handling her.

He traces his lips up her inner thigh and once he has reached her crotch, he takes in the sight in front of him again. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen someone this excited. Desha presses his mouth against her, his hot breath causing her whole body to shiver in pleasure. As he explores the folds of her pussy with his tongue, he observes her reactions and adjusts his movements. He circles around the whole area, briefly grazing her entrance, and begins to generously lap at her clit, receiving a shaky gasp in response.

Katai shifts around uncomfortably, rocking her hips against his mouth seeking relief. Desha takes note of this and increases his tempo, slipping a finger inside while starting to make tiny circles on her sweet spot.

“Yes, yes… just like that,” she pants.

He slides in another finger, making her swear under her breath. Desha thrusts his fingers vigorously, curling them and pressing upwards.

The way he was watching her every reaction, his messy black hair and the hunger with which he devoured her womanhood - all of these factors combined were inching her closer to climax. Clawing at the sheets beneath her, she tightens her legs around his head. She couldn’t hold back any longer and, as Desha pressed his tongue against her one more time, her vision went dark as she finally released the pressure that had been building in her lower half with a heavy moan. He gives her a few more licks while waiting for her twitching to cease and then stops to admire the view.

“Fuck... It should be illegal for you to be so good at this!” Katai groans, as she sits up crossing her legs, still dazed from the wave of ecstasy that had just rushed through her.

Desha licks his fingers as he gives her a sly grin. “I’m surprised – I never expected to hear you make such lewd noises.”

Katai examines him as he sits back while facing her. “You’re the one to talk. I’ve yet to hear about a king so eager to please someone that he nearly tears a hole in his pants.” She smirks as she points her eyes to the painfully obvious shape of an erection pressing against his trousers.

He blushes at her remark, but continues to taunt her. “Oh, does it intimidate you, oh-so-fierce warrior?”

She stands up on the bead and throws away her bra. “No, not at all. I just hope it will be a worthy opponent,” she says as she pushes Desha down on his back.

She makes her way down his chest and leaves a few more marks on his lower abdomen, while she rubs him through the fabric of his pants, earning a heavy groan for each squeeze. Once she is satisfied with the amount of teasing, she slides his trousers down to his knees, revealing his rock-solid member underneath.

It was what she expected – proportional to the size of his body. Though it had more girth to it than length, it was still a sight to behold. She immediately knew that she wouldn’t be able to fit the whole thing in her mouth, but she had other ways of making Desha squeal.

Katai wraps her hands around the base of his cock and begins to slowly massage it with a tight grip, forcing a harsh breath out of him. With each movement of her hands and fingers, she observes him.

She couldn’t see his face, as his head was tilted back, but she could tell, by his heavy breaths and the way he was shifting towards her, that he was enjoying himself.

Desha utters a rumbling “Fuck”, as Katai’s tongue traces his length from bottom to top and as she sucks the tip into her mouth.

This made her giggle as she had heard him cuss only once before. She took this as approval and proceeded to suck his tip while she continued to stroke him.

“It’s nice to see you putting that big mouth of yours to good use,” Desha chuckles in between breaths.

This doesn’t get a reaction out of Katai, but it does give her an idea. She keeps fondling his manhood and moves her mouth down to give his balls some extra attention. Her steady rhythm was making his cock throb more and more with each stroke.

“Ah! I’m almost-” his words are swallowed by a moan as Desha gets interrupted by her moving her mouth to his inner thigh and biting down.

He was almost there – and then, he wasn’t. Katai had quit what she had been doing and left him on the brink of an orgasm. As the feeling of climax slowly slipped away, he let out a disheartened groan.

“Wh-why did you stop there?” He asks, partially sitting up to see what has happened.

“No reason in particular. I guess me and my big mouth got a bit bored.” She grins at his appearance.

There was no other way to put it – he looked disheveled. Hair was stuck to his forehead, his face was flushed and sweaty, and the look he bore was that of someone who just saw their puppy getting kicked.

“I didn’t say it to offend you.”

“Oh no, that meant nothing, the action just became tiresome. I suppose you will have to finish on your own from here.” She cups her face in her hands and supports her head on her elbows, still laying on her stomach between his legs and locks eyes with him.

Desha felt extremely frustrated. He had no idea if she was serious or if she was just taunting him. He didn’t want to do it, not with her watching. Not while she had that look on her face. It would be too embarrassing.

He sits up fully and sighs. “Move.”

“Nah, I’m good. I guess you will just have to do it here” She winks at him while poking his stiff member with her index finger. “There is another option, though.”

“And that would be?”

“You could just ask nicely,” she says, as she sits up and gestures for him to move closer. When he does, she leans in and whispers into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. “I want you to say ‘Please, make me cum.’”

Desha clicks his tongue. “You insolent, little-”

“The choice is yours! Take your time,” she interrupts.

He groaned, annoyed by her antics. In either case she would get her way and this frustrated him to no end.

He mumbles something unintelligible as Katai looks at him expectantly.

“Hm? What was that?”

Desha looks away, more red-faced than before and mumbles something again. This time she could make out a faint “please”.

“I still can’t hear you, you’ll have to speak more clearly.” Her smile grows wider as she now  suspects what he’s trying to say.

“Gah! I can’t, it’s too-”

“Humiliating? It’s not like anyone else will know about this. I just want you to say it for me.”

He takes a deep breath and lets out a heavy sigh, while covering his face with one hand.

“Please... Make me cum...” he utters in a tone barely above a whisper, but that is good enough for Katai.

“Alright, I’ll help myself to this then.” She stands up and lowers herself onto his throbbing dick, holding it in place with her hand.

As it fills her, she utters a pleased gasp and pushes him down onto his back once again. She supports herself with her hands pressing against his chest and begins to slowly grind down on him, causing him to cuss under his breath. Desha’s hands settle on her ass and she picks up the pace. With each roll of her hips she tightens herself, forcing him to heavily exhale with each motion.

The steady rhythm was slowly wearing her down as her lower half started to quiver.

When he noticed the unsteadiness of each movement had become more frequent, Desha decided to take over and swap their positions.

He lays her down on her back and resumes the motion. He runs his hands over her body, making her breath shake as they caress her breasts. She frames his face with her palms and pulls him into a kiss, biting at his lower lip as he slides a hand between her legs, making her gasp in his mouth. Desha rubs her clit with his thumb, her insides trembling with each stroke. Katai digs her fingers into his back as she feels another orgasm building inside of her.

Her body is overrun with a wave of overwhelming pleasure, making her whimper and curse, and she feels herself twitch around his cock. After a few more thrusts Desha pulls out, but before he can finish, she grabs his cock and, with a couple of firm strokes, grants him the release she had promised.  

This was not a calculated effort on her part as the sudden motion caused the cum to splash both of them.

Katai thought it was hilarious to see the king covered in his own mess and she couldn’t stop laughing while they were cleaning themselves up.

“Ugh,” Desha groans, as he wipes a small part of it off of his cheek, “you could’ve said something beforehand. Now it’s everywhere.”

“C’mon, you say that like it’s only my fault.” Katai says while stifling a laugh. “I’m not the one who had enough juice to fill a barrel.”

“You’re exaggerating. Also, please, don’t call it that.”

She wipes off what seems to be the last of his cum from her chest. “See, being polite isn’t that difficult,” she giggles and lays down on her side.

“Right. If you try something cheeky like that again, there will be consequences.” He gives her a smirk, as he finishes cleaning himself up, and lays down next to her.

“I’ll take that as a challenge,” she grins at him. “Y’know, I actually expected you to toss me around like you tend to do during sparring.”

“Oh, so you’re disappointed with my performance then?” Desha chuckles, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

“No, no, not at all! I just felt like you were being overly cautious because of the poison thing.”

“Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t.”

Katai smiles and nuzzles her cheek against his chest. “Well, if you were, that would have been awfully sweet of you.” She stays silent, while she listens to his heartbeat.

“Is it okay if we stay like this until the morning?”

She feels him tense up, but that doesn’t last for long. “I don’t see why not,” he says.

Both fall asleep soon after.

I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at text porn, or at least had a good laugh. Remember, this is fiction and the pull-out method isn't a safe contraceptive, so be sure to use proper protection. Had to add that one because you never know xD

And that's that for now. I'm going to take about a month or maybe more off from writing(gotta restore those creative juices), but I plan to continue this story, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, you can find the links to my other platforms in my profile, in case you want to see if I'm up to any drawing while on hiatus.

Edit 19.09.22: Haven't forgotten, just not enough creative juice :F

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you can’t ‘i’m just a little guy’ your way out of this one cunt

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The escapades of Katai, part 4

Part 3

Part 5

Warnings: Some violence, stabbing.

You are correct if you think you know what will come after this ;)

A huge thanks to Mikko for the proofreading and suggestions <3

With what little time there was for preparation, the group had decided to focus only on the basic measures. Katai needed to thoroughly study the communication methods used by the spies, so that she would know when to take action. Specific phrases, gestures and sound signals were all she was fixated on for the first day, as the spymaster’s assistant, who had been sent by the king, gave her a brief summary of what would be necessary. Well, the assistant had used the term ‘brief’, however, the actual amount of information was massive enough to make Katai forget the agent’s name, even though the poor woman had repeated it multiple times during their lesson. She also had to learn about the people she would encounter at the banquet. Nothing in-depth, just the nobles’ names and what their families specialized in, but since she didn’t have any faces to pin to the titles, this proved to be more time-consuming than the spy slang, so Katai opted to create a cheat-sheet of sorts and figure that out on the spot.

The last crucial detail was her appearance and etiquette. Despa had introduced her to his favorite seamstress and Katai had commissioned an outfit from her. Learning the pleasantries of nobles was a drag, as it was mainly pointless small talk. Most of these people didn’t meet often and didn’t have a much common besides their status. She didn’t have any choice in that matter, so she would at least pretend to enjoy their company and follow the required formalities as long as needed.

They had decided on an alias for her – she would introduce herself as Lady Kataleena from the southwest region of the kingdom. The southwest was ungoverned, due to its lack of residents, considering that it was mostly a forested area, but it used to have a lord overlooking its resources up until somewhat recently. The man had died of old age, but due to his solitary manner of life, his remains were discovered only after the flow of materials had halted. This would allow Katai to pose as the leading provider of wood for the country. The man’s long-lost granddaughter, who had moved to the city with her parents, who despised the secludedness of the area, but for the last few years of his life had returned to the estate, so that she could take care of him and learn the ways of the family business.

--

Despite the limited time, Katai felt like she had done a fairly good job with her preparations.  The concealment potion she had bought had done its job as needed and masked her distinct facial scars. She didn’t have to worry about the rest of her body, as the burgundy gown she donned had a high collar and the scars on her hands would be hidden by gloves. She hadn’t forgotten her safety measures and had packed a few first aid potions in a small pouch attached to her thigh.

After applying the finishing touches to her look, she strikes a few poses while admiring her efforts in the mirror. She is interrupted by the sound of whinnying horses outside. Her ride was here. To not arouse any suspicion, she would arrive separately and only interact with the king when prompted to do so by the situation. Considering that all 3 of them were busy during the days that lead up to the mission, Katai hadn’t seen much of Desha. She snickered as she tried to imagine what kind of face he would make after she would inevitably succeed at her task.

The ride to the north of the kingdom took some time. She wasn’t surprised why her fake predecessor had been found only months after his demise – the old man didn’t take part in these events as the trip alone would have taken a huge toll on his already failing health. Some time after exiting the city limits the scenery became vastly different. Fields of various crops as far as the eye could see – grains, fruit, vegetables and some vegetation she hadn’t even seen before.

The carriage stops and once she exits, she is greeted by a huge, two-story building that makes Despa’s home look like a barn in comparison. It certainly was a sight to behold, with its carefully matched color scheme and all of its intricate details, however, she knew this was mainly built to impress the other nobles and to show off the lord’s wealth.

Upon entering the manor, her arrival is announced by presenting her as ‘Lady Kataleena of the Drwal estate’. Before her was a scene of various nobles mingling in the room, as well as what seemed to be a very unamused Desha, who appeared to be cornered by an especially eager lord. She could observe from afar as the hefty man was vigorously explaining something to the king, and it was obvious that he was attempting to gain some sort of favor. Katai takes a deep breath and proceeds to walk deeper into the room, giving a greeting nod and a smile to anyone who meets her eyes. A server passes her by and offers her a drink from his tray, which she gladly accepts. So far she hasn’t noticed anyone being suspicious of her, but a bit of liquid courage might help her feel less tense.

“The wine this year doesn’t hold the same flavor as it did the year prior. I think Dolch is holding out on us, the stingy bastard.” Katai hears someone speak beside her. She turns to face an older woman who was inspecting her glass with a look of discontent.

“How can you tell?”

“Well, for one the color of it appears to be less saturated. And by the flavor,” she takes a sip “it seems to have been diluted. I already knew that Dolch was struggling to keep up appearances after he took over his families affairs, but this is simply disgraceful. That only means I will need a larger amount to get through this dreary event.”

The woman finishes the glass in a single gulp and turns her attention to the confused Katai facing her. “I apologize for the rant, this must not make much sense to you, considering that this is your first banquet, Ms Drwal. I didn’t see much of your grandfather during the years I had attended, but considering his failing health, I wasn’t surprised. I think he would have left us sooner, if he had to endure each of these gloomy gatherings.” She finishes her speech with a slight smile and a wink.

Katai breaks out of her puzzled state while eyeing her own glass “Yes, this is my first event. I had been studying under him for a few years before his departure, but our location considered, I didn’t have many possibilities to experience any of the banquets.”

The woman inspects her appearance and looks pleased. “Taking that into account, you have chosen an experienced dressmaker. I should know, after all, as I am the one who provides most of them with their materials.”

Katai racks her brain for a bit to recall which noble was responsible for which industry. “Ah, so you’re Lady Sarto! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise.” The woman’s face now bearing a proud smile.

Not a moment passes and the room goes silent as the host, Lord Dolch, descends the staircase in the center of the room. From what she had heard before, Katai fully expected the man’s appearance to match his demeanor. However, this was not the case. Lord Dolch was a handsome, athletic man who appeared to be in his late twenties and nearly radiated an aura of righteousness. This was the kind of person you would imagine when you heard stories about heroes rescuing damsels in distress.

The lord addresses his guests while outstretching his arms in a hospitable manner. “Welcome, my dear Lords and Ladies! I apologize for my tardiness, I had some urgent business to attend to. Now then, before we tend to the matters at hand, as per tradition, let’s begin with a celebratory dance!”

The crowd heads to the ballroom and Katai is pulled in alongside them. Dance? She had done some small silly dances on her own, but for this occasion she only had the time to learn some basics of formal dancing from some of Despa’s books. That wasn’t the same as actual practice, but she would have to work with what she had.

She regains her focus once they enter the ballroom. The room is spacious and its walls are decorated with various paintings depicting the local scenery. A massive crystal chandelier is hanging from the ceiling, bathing the room in warm light, and a group of musicians is preparing for a performance at the far end of the room. Katai drifts between the people who are pairing up for the first dance. While looking around slightly panicked, attempting to locate a potential partner, she feels a large hand gently being placed on her shoulder.

Katai feels a chill run up her spine as a familiar voice asks: “May I have this dance?”

She forces a small smile, trying to appear as confident and professional as possible, and turns to face Desha. “Why, yes, my King. It would be an honor.”

The pairs spread out across the room and take their positions. The band begins to play a slow, but upbeat tune and everyone begins to dance. She at first feels clumsy, attempting not to step on his feet, but soon enough adjusts herself to his movements. Katai was a bit nervous, as she wasn’t used to this kind of physical contact with Desha, considering that their usual interactions during sparring weren’t as delicate. It might have been a trick of the light, but she thought that she could see a slight shade of red in the tips of his ears. The idea that he was equally as nervous, but simply hid it more naturally, amused her enough to calm her.

As the song appeared to be reaching its end, Katai recalled the chapter mentioning that it was commonly accepted to dip ones partner at the end. And so, tensing all of her muscles to balance out the difference in weight, she does just that. She gracefully leans the larger man backwards, supporting his waist with her right hand and interlocking her other hand with his. Desha bears a look of utter bewilderment and Katai realizes that his ears indeed had been flushed, as the same tint of red was now dying his cheeks. This lasts for but a moment and, once they return to their starting position, he appears to be calm and collected once again.

“That was an unusual experience.” He says, a slight grin slowly appearing on his face.

“How so?”

Desha speaks loud enough so that only Katai could hear. “You see, it’s common practice that the one who leads the dance performs that action. I simply can’t wait for your performance at the castle, Lady Kataleena.” He says the last part in a mocking tone.

She shudders when recalling her part of the deal. “Too late to turn back now, I’ll have to make the best of it.” She thinks to herself.

And with that goal in mind, she proceeds to act the same way with her oncoming partners. Some were offended, some were thrilled, but she had managed to pass it off as a simple eccentricity. She was, after all, a noblewoman from a secluded area and had only learned of formal dance from the pages of books.

--

The budget discussion part was shorter than planned, and the mingling continued very soon after. Lord Dolch had managed to slip away at some point, but there was no reason to pay mind to that, considering that there was nothing for him to be wary of.

Desha was pleasantly surprised about how well Katai had infiltrated the noble gathering. She had smoothly brushed off her misstep during the dance as a quirk and had intrigued a few of the lords and ladies. They appeared to be discussing something cheerfully. Everything was going as planned, but there was still time to kill before the spies would need her help. He was relieved that nothing had gone amiss, however, as per usual with these events, he was terribly bored. The nobles would mainly converse with him only regarding their own needs, so he was left without much entertainment for the most part.

Desha rests his head in his palm, leaning back on the chair as he observes the dining room. His eyes occasionally return to Katai’s location, partially expecting trouble. He recalls the discussion where she convinced both him and Despa to allow her to take on this task. While he was still skeptical, the moment when she admitted her own mistakes did puzzle him. He had gotten to know her well over the time they had spent together, but based on her personality he never expected her to make a genuine effort at an apology. He saw how much Katai struggled to verbally express her true feelings on the matter and, when taken into account that he himself also had this issue, which he would never admit to anyone, he thought that her effort was admirable. As stupid as the reason for the incident was, the idea of her ‘having his back’, as she had put it, was pleasant. After all, since the beginning of Ouken’s imprisonment, he only had Despa to rely on. And their relationship wasn’t perfect to begin with, as Ouken had been somewhat of a mediator between the two.

Desha snaps back to the present to see that not much has changed. He notices that another lord has joined the small group Katai was assimilated in. It appears to be Lord Drysor, who is responsible for the mineral industry. A cocky bastard who does his job well, but loves showing off to the point where people would pay him to shut up.

While engaging in small talk with the group, Lord Drysor keeps moving closer to Katai until he manages to get close enough to wrap his hand around her waist. Desha tenses up at this sight. He could only assume that her reaction would be something explosive, based on her usual demeanor. He is considering what to do when she would inevitably pummel the man. To his shock, however, she gently removes his hand and moves to the other side of Lady Sarto, who she was standing next to. Desha relaxes his body, now feeling slightly irritated. How the lord had managed to do that and get away unscathed was beyond him. A thought pushes itself into his mind for a brief moment. Would she have reacted differently if that had been him?

This idea leaves as soon as he realizes that he has been staring in that direction for too long and has met the eyes of Katai. He could swear that for a split second a mischievous look could be seen on her face. She appears to be describing something to Lord Drysor and the man seems to be engaged in her explanation. Desha wondered if she had given him some instructions on what to do, as the lord had leaned his head back and was hovering a closed fist above his mouth.

“No, no, it can’t be. She wouldn’t-” he thinks as he witnesses the very self-important Lord Drysor stick out his tongue and shake his fist over his mouth, attempting to imitate the movement of using a salt shaker.

Desha never thought that he would see a lord fall for this gag. He attempts to hide the smirk spreading across his face, by moving the hand he was resting his head on to his forehead and leaning his face slightly downwards. The small group erupts into laughter at the cost of Lord Drysor’s dignity and the lord, coming to that conclusion, storms off red-faced. Once he has composed himself, he looks up to meet her eyes again. She gives him a quick wink, indicating that this indeed had been her goal, and resumes her interaction with the group.

--

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, though Katai had managed to squeeze a few more grins out of Desha. The nobles were intoxicated enough by the early evening and they didn’t notice her discreet attempts to humor him. She really did enjoy his smile, when he wasn’t giving her one of those condescending ones. Seeing such an honest expression on him was refreshing.

The people present had grown scarcer and Katai was wondering if she possibly had missed the signal. This train of thought is interrupted by someone grabbing onto her shoulders and spinning her around to face them. Lord Drysor, who had obviously had one drink too many, was holding onto her and scowling. She attempts to gently push his hands away, but he tightens his grip.

“You think you’re a clever little bitch, don’t you.” He is slurring his words, spittle flying form his mouth.

Katai glares at him and speaks in a stern manner. “Please remove your hands, before you make yourself more of a fool, dear lord.”

“I could take you for myself and no one would bat an eye,” the lord moves one of his hands to hold her chin, “I bet you would enjoy that.”

Katai is fuming and considering her next actions carefully. She can’t bash the guy’s face in because of her mission, which she would usually do in a situation like this. She is trying to come up with a ladylike response, but doesn’t get to a conclusion as she hears glass shatter. She looks to the side and sees that one of the caterers has dropped their tray full of empty glasses. She knows that the staff is well-trained and would never make a mistake like this. She understood that her suspicions were accurate as the caterer locked eyes with her. It was her time to shine.

She gives the man holding onto her a wild look, the spot where her scar would usually be ignited with life energy, before she smashes her forehead into his. Lord Drysor stumbles aback, but before he gets any time to recover, she swings her right foot with all her might into his groin. The man yelps and slumps to his knees while clutching the damaged area. This had managed to gain some attention from the remaining guests in the dining room. “Not enough” Katai thinks, as she grabs the man by an arm and a leg and tosses him onto a vacant part of the dining table. The force from the impact makes the table split, the tableware from both sides piling onto the fallen man with a clatter.

As Katai walks up to the prone lord, she can hear armored footsteps rushing towards the dining room. “A simple ‘no’ should suffice in any situation. You should remember that, Lord Drysor.” she states.

The door of the room slams open as Lord Dolch, accompanied by 4 guards barges in. As he notices the scene before him, he heads straight for Katai. “What is the meaning of this? Why have you made such an ugly mess in my home!?”

She crosses her arms and nods in the direction of the groaning man in the pile of dinnerware. “I’d say the only ugly mess here is Lord Drysor. Considering his manners when interacting with a lady.”

“That table was an antique, do you have any idea how much it was worth!? You will pay for the damage or I will have you arrested!”

“I don’t believe you have the authority to do that. Not anymore at least.” Desha speaks as he approaches the group. “Quite sloppy of you to leave trails of your disloyalty in plain sight. The rare lock was a nice safety measure, I have to admit that.”

The color drains from Lord Dolche’s face. He stutters as he begins to speak, his previous air of nobility nowhere to be found. “Y-you can’t prove anything. There is nothing that shows that I have been anything but loyal to the kingdom!”

“I have gathered enough intel to make you spend the rest of your life in a dungeon cell. Guards, seize him!”

“No, please, my lord! There must be some sort of misunderstanding!”

“Is that so? Do you mean to tell me that these letters, which inquire about the country’s defensive measures while clearly stating your name, are fake?” Desha asks the man, while looking through some documents.

“Yes! They must have been planted there by someone trying to frame me!”

“Even if that was the case, that is not the only reason for your arrest.”

“What do you mean?” Lord Dolch’s face is now glistening with sweat.

Desha holds up a dossier. “This years financial record for your industry, depicting that you have been doing business outside of the kingdom. Which would not be an issue if this income was reported accordingly. And judging by the documents from the years prior, it appears that you have gained quite a sizable profit from these interactions.”

“That… that is a long-term partnership I have been attempting to establish for the benefit of the kingdom!”

“Yes, I see, quite a useful partnership, considering that both the coin and resources flow directly into your pocket. I would have considered overlooking this, if you had used these assets to improve the living situation of your residents. However, this is obviously not the case, seeing that the people working on your land are still living in poverty. I believe this is enough on it’s own to justify your arrest. Guards!”

The man stumbles back, unable to convince Desha that he’s innocent. His eyes dart across the room.

“No! I have earned everything I own by fair means and I’m not going to spend my life imprisoned!” Lord Dolch sputters out as he produces a small pouch from his sleeve and tosses it onto the floor, covering that part of the room in smoke.

The remaining guests begin to panic and Lord Dolch’s presence disappears from their proximity as the sound of his footsteps is becoming distant from them. They hear the large front door creak open and slam hard as he leaves.

“Shit!” Katai yells as she rushes towards the main entrance. Once outside, she could see that Lord Dolch had mounted an unsaddled horse and was racing away from the manor. Even on horseback there would be too much distance between them already. A lightning bolt whizzes past her in the direction of the fleeing man, but it misses him by a good amount.

She hears a frustrated growl behind her. “He’s too far, I can’t get proper aim from this distance.” Desha has caught up carrying his signature club. She doesn’t quite get why he would take his time to retrieve the massive thing, but it does spark an idea in her mind.

“You brought that thing here? Oh, never mind that, I have an idea,” she looks at him, face showing clear resolve, “throw me.”

“Don’t be an idiot. We can’t catch up to him now on horseback, I will just issue a county-wide arrest warrant.”

“Would it kill you to trust me on this?! I got us this far and I plan to finish it. All I need is a little boost.”

Desha groans, but sets down the club so that she could step on it. “Fine, get on.”

Katai takes her position on the club as he prepares to swing it in the direction of their target. She covers her feet with her energy armor.

“Add a little blast at the last moment, that’s what these are for. Release on 3.” She gestures to her legs.“1….”

Desha prepares to spin for the swing.

“2….”

He channels his lightning into the club, leaning a bit to put more strength into the swing.

“3!” She exclaims at the same time as Desha swings the club and at the point of release causes an electrical discharge.

Katai is propelled towards her target at great speed, the force of the air pushing into her face, making her squint. This was definitely a faster method of transportation than a horse. The throw had helped her to cover a bit more than half of the distance between them before she started to lose height. If she lands now, she still won’t be able to catch up. She recalls the move which she hadn’t used since her first encounter with Desha, when she had learned that it was an impractical way to attack a foe who expects it. Once she is close enough to the ground, she manifests her gauntlets and slams her fists into the ground to extend her flight. As she gets in closer to Lord Dolch, it appears that he hasn’t noticed her yet. She puts her hand in front of her and, as soon as she reaches him, grabs him by the head, shoving him off of the horse and slamming him head-first into the ground. The horse continues its sprint unbothered.

“Wait, is he dead?” Katai thinks for a moment, but her concerns are in vain as she hears the man let out a muffled groan. She flips the man around, his face now bloodied from his introduction to the ground. Surprisingly, he seems to be mostly unharmed. He looks at her and attempts to force her off, but she pushes him back down and ignites her fist to intimidate him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Unhand me at once, you vile witch!” Lord Dolch sputters out, which allows Katai to see some of his broken teeth.

She grins as she puts more of her weight onto his chest to immobilize him. “Hm, Witch, you say? That actually has a nice ring to it.”

The lord keeps struggling as he tries to kick her off.

“You’ve lost, Dolch. Why don’t you at least try to keep the rest of your dignity and body intact?” Katai hears the galloping of horses from behind them.

She looks back to see that Desha and the guards are approaching them swiftly on horseback. This, however, is a grave mistake on her part as before she can turn her attention to her prey, she feels a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Lord Dolch had procured a small dagger from his sleeve and he was jabbing it into her stomach.

She had intended to just sit there and wait until her backup arrived. The day had exhausted her and the will to keep up her polite demeanor was completely wiped out by the pulsating pain in her stomach. Katai became livid.

“Oh, so you refuse to accept my generous offer then?” She grabs his wrist and begins to squeeze while glaring at him with a grin. “I wasn’t given instructions to capture you in one piece, you know.” She fortifies her fists and tightens her grip.

The man yelps in pain as his wrist begins to crack.

“Or maybe you’d prefer if I began with that pretty face of yours?” She hisses as she aims a punch for the man’s face and strikes.

“Katai!” she hears the king call her name in an attempt to stop her.

The punch slams into the ground next to the lords head, leaving a decently sized hole in the ground next to it. The man’s eyes roll back as he passes out and Katai notices that the ground under her boots was now moist. The noble had soiled himself in fear.

She stands up, dusts herself off and turns to face her allies. “Don’t worry, he’s fine. I just gave him a little scare.” She walks towards the group as a couple of guards dash past her to collect the unconscious criminal.

Desha’s attention turns to the wet stain growing on her stomach. “You’re wounded.”

Katai gives him a smug grin and imitates his demeanor from the incident at the castle. “Oh, this? It’s just a shallow wound, I will tend to it later.”

Desha, looking unamused, shakes his head with a sigh and turns to mount his horse. Katai lifts the side of her dress, revealing the pantalettes underneath, to retrieve one of her potions from the pouch she had strapped to her hip. But before she could open the bottle, a numbing feeling runs through her body, forcing her to lose control of her limbs and collapse.

Desha hears a loud thud and when he turns his eyes to its whereabouts he sees that Katai is now laying face-first on the ground. A sinking feeling is settling in the pit of his stomach when he rushes to check if she is alright.

“Hey! HEY!” He exclaims as he flips her over and holds her up.

“Fuck! I think the damn knife was coated in poison,” she groans, “can you do me a favor and pour the potion in my mouth?”

Desha swiftly does as instructed and the blood seeping into her dress stops.

“I still can’t believe you can take these with a straight face. Let’s get you to a healer. From what my sources tell me, this is a symptom of slow-acting poison, but it’s not a clever idea to wait and see what happens next.” He gathers Katai into his arms and mounts the horse.

After a bit of riding in silence, Katai chuckles. “I guess I’ll owe you for this one, huh.”

“What are you talking about? You managed to complete your part of the deal.” He thinks for a brief moment “I’d say we’re about even.”

“You’re not gonna pay me, are you?” She finishes her question with a slight cough.

“I’ll pay you, but I’m not giving you that title.”

“I figured as much. Hey, if I die, give the money to Despa. He knows the location of my hometown. Just make sure that he actually sends it to my family and doesn’t pocket it.”

“Oh, please, you wouldn’t die from something like this. Not with that irritating persistence of yours.”

“Jeez, would it hurt you to let a lady act timid for once.” Katai groans, more from the pain pulsating in her stomach than his comment.

“How are you feeling there?”

“If I don’t pay attention to the fact that I can’t feel my body and my guts are probably slowly turning into soup right now, I’m doing just peachy.” She adds after a brief moment of consideration. “Having my own knight in shining armor does make the situation more tolerable.”

“You’re delirious.” Desha states, but the comment does make him feel slightly flattered.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m just paralyzed. You also have a very cute smile, when you’re not making fun of me, of course. When you’re actually enjoying something, the sun pales in comparison to the look on your face.” Katai declares dramatically and even from her angle she could see that his face had turned red. She lets out a tired chuckle. “Oh, boy, if I don’t die, this will be so embarrassing later.”

“We’re nearly there, hang on.” She could hear him speak with an attempt to present a composed tone.

--

Katai was pretty out of it once they arrived at the manor. She understood that she had been brought into one of the guest bedrooms and that a healer was working on her recovery, but she had no clue how much time had passed between that last conversation and the feeling of a pillow under her head.

Once she had regained her senses, the visibly exhausted healer, who had finished her treatment, informed her that it was a stroke of luck that they had arrived when they did, as if they had delayed the treatment any longer, her organs would have been too damaged by the poison to simply repair them. They had removed the bloody dress, leaving her in her bra and pantalettes until a replacement could be procured for her. Even with the poison out of her system she still felt groggy, so, as soon as the healer left, she tried to fall asleep.

The attempts weren’t successful, as Katai could only lie there and stare at the ceiling, while she recalled their conversation during the ride back. Had he even taken her words seriously? Based on their usual banter, she wasn’t even sure what she would have to do to make herself come off as genuine. She did admire him, not only for what he had done for her, but also for the amount of work it must have taken to have all of the different beings in the kingdom coexist in peace. The people in the countries above ground rarely accept any kind of diversity.

Her pondering is interrupted by a couple of knocks on the door.

“Door’s open!” She yells.

The door slowly opens and shuts with Desha now standing in the room facing her.

“It seems that you have recovered well, if you’re already that noisy.”

Katai sits up in bed and crosses her arms. “Yeah, well, as you said, it takes more to get rid of me.” She grins.

Desha approaches her and takes a seat on the side of the bed. “Why didn’t you use the chestplate fortification?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary.”

“If you had actually thought anything, you might’ve considered all of the possibilities. Just because your opponent appears weak, doesn’t mean that you can underestimate them! I swear, it’s almost like you have a death wish.”

“Aww, it almost sounds like you we’re worried.”

“Yes, I was! Is there something wrong with that?”

Katai looks away, her hand awkwardly rubbing her neck. He was actually being serious. “Oh. I..” she trails off, “I kind of assumed you thought of me as a nuisance.”

Desha gives her a grin. “Please, if you actually were a nuisance, I would have banished you months ago.” He sighs. “And you did manage to make the event more entertaining while we were waiting for the signal.”

“Ah, so you actually did enjoy those improper antics of mine.” A feeling of pride settles in Katai’s chest as her lips curl into a smug smile.

“I still can’t believe that Drysor fell for that!” He lets out a hearty laugh while pressing his palm against his forehead. “The look on his face after was priceless.”

“It took everything I had not to clobber him right there and then, for what he tried before, but I had a promise to keep.”

“You did put on quite the show when the time was right.”

Katai jumps to her feet on the bed and gives him a bow. “Why, thank you, my lord!” The dizziness from both standing up too fast and the lingering effect of the poison sets in and she stumbles forward, losing her balance. Desha catches her before she can fully collapse.

“You shouldn’t be doing that yet.”

“It’s fine, I just stood up too fast. It happens to the best of us.” She shrugs.

He sets her down next to him and she sits back, propping herself up with her arms. After a brief moment of silence, she notices that he is looking at her.

“It’s rude to stare, you know.”

“You have an awfully large amount of scars there.” Desha comments.

“Yeah and each is a lesson well-learned. This one, for example,” she gestures to the scar that begins on her jawline and ends in the middle of her chest, “was the reason why I tried to learn how to use a sword in the first place. Some are from unlucky dodging attempts, some from wild animals and some I don’t even know where.” She turns her eyes to the dark bruise around the freshly sealed cut on her abdomen. “This one is just another lesson.” She lays down and puts her hands behind her head.

“And the one on your forehead?”

“I thought that one was pretty obvious.” She chuckles. “Before I got my skill, I already had a habit of luring my opponents close and giving them a surprise attack. But I did it a bit too much and it never got to properly heal.”

“I see.” He slightly hesitates, but continues after a short pause. “Do you remember the conversation we had during the ride back?”

Katai sighs. “Of course I do.”

“Did you really mean what you said about-”

“Please don’t remind me that I said something so sappy,” she cuts him off. “I legitimately thought I was going to die and that it was my last chance to say something nice, okay?”

“And that was the first thing that came to mind?”

“Well, no, I actually had more to say, but it was difficult to talk, so I just stopped at that.” She feels warmth slowly creeping into her cheeks.

“For example?” Desha is now looking at her expectantly while wearing a sly grin.

“No, no, I am not giving you the satisfaction of watching me stumble over my words.” Katai sits up and attempts to move to the other side of the room, but he stops her, holding her by the hand.

“Come now, you were quite the wordsmith before, I’m sure you can manage to finish your idea properly now that you’re lucid.”

“Wait.” She turns to face him. “Do you mean to tell me that you just want to hear me compliment you? Is that it?”

“Wasn’t that your intention?”

“Yes, but now that you’re asking for it, I don’t want to anymore.” Katai looks away, pouting.

“Unless you’re willing to say something nice about me as well?”

Desha snorts as he chuckles. “What praise could I possibly have for someone who is prideful and persistent enough to constantly keep risking her well-being, as a means to force the odds in her favor?”

“See, I knew you couldn’t-”

“That said,  that tenacity of yours does have a certain charm,” he interrupts her.

Katai looks at him, eyes beaming with excitement. “Go on.”

Desha now faces away from her, not wanting to get distracted by her self-satisfied appearance. “You’re quick-witted and resourceful when faced with a tough decision, and you’re brave enough to admit when you’re wrong and not turn away from the consequences.” He pauses for a moment and looks at her. “What’s with that look?”

Her face is still slightly flushed, but she is smiling, pleased with his answer. “I think this is the first time I’ve heard you say something so genuine!”

He grins at her. “I did my part, now you have to finish yours.”

Katai laughs and presses her forehead against his chest, making him tense up for a moment. “You’re relentless.”

Once she calms herself, she locks eyes with him and begins. “You really want my full honest answer?” She says as she takes his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers. “Well, as a start, you have done an amazing job with the kingdom – I have never seen so many different races living together in harmony. Your people obviously adore you and I can see why. Behind your constantly serious demeanor, you’re actually kind, caring and noble. I have no idea how you manage to make time for our sparring sessions, but I appreciate that. A lot.”

She stays quiet for a bit as she observes him. He is avoiding eye contact, a tint of red toning his cheeks.

“And I do really love that smile of yours. I don’t know much about your past or what burdens you, but every time you laugh, I can see that weight vanish from your expression, if only for a short moment.”  Katai takes a deep breath to finish her speech. “I guess, you could also say that I admire you.”

Both are staring at each other, flushed and unsure of where the conversation is heading.

She attempts to break the awkward silence. “So, uh, was this what you wanted to hear?”

Desha clears his throat. “It will have to suffice.”

“Oh, come on, that’s it? We have this heartfelt exchange and that’s all you have to say?”

He thinks for a brief second and pulls Katai in. “Was this something you had in mind?” He gently puts his hand on her cheek and leans in.

“No! I mean, yes! I mean, maybe?” She is now extremely flustered and is attempting to push him away. “But it doesn’t matter what I want. You’re royalty, I’m, basically, a vagrant. I don’t think there is much point to even try anything.”

“But Lady Kataleena,” he grins, “are you not a noblewoman yourself?”

Katai immediately catches on to his scheme. “So that’s your game, huh?” She giggles as she pulls him closer by his shirt collar. “Alright, I’ll play along.” She says before kissing him.

[grenscribbl]

The escapades of Katai, part 3

Part 2

Part 4

Warnings: none. 

A huge thanks to Mikko for the proofreading and suggestions <3

Some time had passed and Katai had gotten somewhat settled in the Underworld. This was the most stable gig that she had ever taken and, although she wouldn’t admit it outright, she was also enjoying the company. She had mostly been on her own during her travels between kingdoms and, while she did on occasion work together with other mercenaries, she had never gotten past the point of just being acquainted. She would have never expected her first meaningful connections to be nobles, as from her experience these types preferred to avoid interacting with the common folk unless it somehow benefited them.

To her dismay, every time she managed to forget the event, Despa never failed to remind her about her mess-up during the fight with Desha. He even suggested, that she should act on her desire and attempt to pursue his brother romantically, which she sharply shot down each time. The idea was completely ridiculous – both brothers were still royalty and, even though they had established a friendship, she was still a vagabond with no status to her name.

When Despa suggested that they should have a small gathering in honor of her growth, it took her by surprise. She was grateful for everything and as the night went on, and the count of emptied wine bottles grew in the corner of the cozy kitchen, she had even mustered up enough courage to blabber out a short speech of appreciation. This act briefly sparked some teasing comments from the brothers, but not long after they were back to their previous banter.

“Are you serious?! You have no idea how to use a sword!? You must be joking!!” Despa exclaims in both shock and amusement.

Desha adds, while snickering “Yes, even Despa, as inept at it as he is, knows how to handle one.” This, of course, earns him a pouty “humph” from his sibling.

“Well, I already told you my ‘very sad and pitiful’ backstory, as you had put it. Where would you expect a young peasant girl, while wandering on her own, to gather enough coin for a blade? Between juggling various odd jobs and the occasional food theft, I was lucky enough if I had something to eat for a few days every week. Once I could finally afford one, it just felt unnatural, considering that I had been using my hands up until that point. It was like I had grown an extra arm that refused to act the way I needed it to.” Katai explains, while investigating if there could still be some wine left in the bottle that she was holding.

“Did you ever return to your hometown?” Despa asks.

She sits quietly for a bit, staring into space. “I did. My family was still living the same way as before I left as a teen. Not that it was a bad thing. They were leading honest and peaceful lives. My parents had my younger siblings, who took care of them, so it’s not like I left them alone to die.” She sighs and continues:”They did plead with me to stay, so I did for a while. It was nice, but I had been living a completely different life for so long I felt very out of place. My youngest sister was already carrying her second kid, but there I was with my bloodstained armor slowly becoming the local boogeyman.” She opens a fresh bottle and pours its contents into her cup, picking it up and taking a sip not long after. “People were already starting to gossip about my family once I had returned. After I beat a man to within an inch of his life during a quarrel in the tavern, and the people surrounding us were staring at me as if I was some kind of abomination, I decided to not make their lives difficult and left the next day.” Katai finishes her tale while looking down at the chalice in her hand, caressing its side with her thumb.

She didn’t want to look away from the cup – she could feel both of them staring at her. She felt nervous, as she had never shared tales of her past with anyone before, and also a bit guilty, since she thought that her story had soured the mood.

In an attempt to present herself in a composed manner, she runs her hand through her hair as if to brush away a stray strand from her face. Once she looks up, she sees that both of her companions are indeed looking at her. Though, not with pity or disgust, as she anticipated. It was apparent that they were intently listening to her without any sliver of judgment.

“Oh, I guess I’ve had a bit too much, considering the loose tongue.” Katai chuckles nervously. “What about you guys? You have a fairly tight-knit bond, with the whole father being a ruthless tyrant thing. Oh, Despa mentioned that you both have a younger brother as well, what’s he been up to?”

The mood swiftly tilts at the mention of their younger sibling. Both Desha and Despa tense up at the mention of him. The color drains from Despa’s face and Desha averts his eyes with a pained expression. Even in her current state it is abundantly clear that she had asked something that shouldn’t be mentioned.

“He is… alive, but he is very unwell. That is as much as I want to say on this subject.” Desha utters in a grim manner.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

Despa replies calmly “It’s alright, we don’t really flaunt our familial matters, you had no way of knowing.” pushing his anguish aside, he attempts to clear the mood by proudly declaring “Now then, we are here to celebrate me, once again, succeeding in bringing out my apprentices hidden talents. And, of course, huzzah to you as well, Katai. For you have fully completed your training and mastered your power!”

“She may have gained a better grasp on her fortification ability, but she is still nowhere near defeating me.” Desha slyly adds.

“Don’t put yourself on a pedestal, my liege, I remember quite well how you struggled to free yourself when I was pinning you down.” she mocks.

“Only because you relied on dirty tricks and used pressure points to immobilize me. If I hadn’t been prone, you wouldn’t have been able to pull that off.”

“Yeah, sure, you’re in the right about using shady tactics mister ‘I will trip you up and then sit on you’!” Katai jeers while pointing an accusing finger at him.

“She has a point, brother. You do enjoy taking the advantage.”

“Oh, shut it, Despa. I wasn’t the one who hired a bodyguard, so that I could scam coin from civilians with no consequences.”

“But it was for a good cause!” Despa whines.

Desha raises a brow “That being?”

Despa grins proudly “Where do you think all this wine came from?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the silly discussion.

The mood remained cheerful for the rest of the evening. Though, in comparison to the two demigods, it didn’t take much for Katai to get drunk. She decided to retire somewhat early in the same spot where she sat. The brothers kept bantering on and occasionally shared a moment of comfortable silence.

“It has been some time since we had done something like this. I must say, I never expected to enjoy your presence again, brother.”

“Likewise. Aside from the topic at hand, do you recall the rumors I mentioned concerning one of the lords?”

“The one from the north of the city? What was his name? Dul-something?”

“Lord Dolch.” Desha rolls his eyes.

“Ah, yes, that one. From what I recall, he was the type that wouldn’t hesitate to change his allegiance if it benefited him.”

“That’s exactly my point. My spies haven’t found anything suspicious in his manor yet, but they did mention that he keeps his private office under tight watch. Considering this, they have no way of investigating further without getting discovered.”

“Yes, if he’s providing intel to a rival kingdom, it may cause us grief in the long run. But I’m in no shape to discuss these matters currently, let’s continue this conversation in the morning.”

“Agreed. Talk to me as soon you are awake, I’m heading back to the castle.”

They both stand up and pause as they look at Katai, who is fully asleep, her head and arms resting on the table.

“Do you intend to leave her here?” Desha asks, his arms crossed.

“Well, I obviously can’t carry her all the way to her room. She will drool all over my outfit!” Despa points to Katai, who is, indeed, slightly drooling on the table.

“What a courteous mentor and host you are.”

“Oh? If you’re so chivalrous yourself, my king, why not do it yourself?” Despa smugly remarks.

Desha groans, but without much hesitation picks the unconscious woman up and heads for the kitchen entrance. When passing Despa, he stops.

“I’m still looking, you know. I promise you, I will find a way to save Ouken.”

Despa puts a hand on his brothers arm “I know.”

Desha hadn’t visited his brothers home for a long time. With the ability they both shared, there wasn’t much need for face-to-face meetings, as they could communicate at will. As he walks through the mansion, he glances down at the sleeping Katai, who appears to be quite comfy snuggled up to his chest. He chuckles to himself, thinking that it was a bit cute, considering how intense she is when awake.

He finds the room and opens the door slowly, to avoid disturbing her slumber. The room is visibly occupied – he could tell this by looking at the various items scattered about. Books about martial arts, herbalism, potions and various other topics reside on the nightstand, chaotically scribbled notes on the floor beside it, while her other belongings and armor lay in a pile in front of the window. He lays her down on the bed, on which she immediately curls up, throws a blanket over her and exits the room in the same manner he entered.

The walk back to the castle was uneventful, as the city had grown silent in the late hours of the night.

--

“And why didn’t you just give him this yesterday?” Katai asks, resting her head in one hand, while holding onto a cup of water with the other.

“It only came up when we were parting ways and I needed time to find everything.” Despa responds while tapping his palm lightly on a parcel. “This is an urgent matter, so I would appreciate if you depart for the castle as soon as possible.”

It must be urgent, as she could see no other reason why Despa would be up early. She lifts the cup to her lips, grasping it tightly to prevent the water spilling out because of her shaky hand.

Yesterday’s little get-together was fun, but the hangover she was dealing with right now wasn’t. She knew she was a lightweight, but she still felt compelled to try to keep up with the brothers. She had no recollection of how she managed to drag herself to bed, but she just brushed it off as instinct.

“He is expecting this, right? You gave him the message using your connection thingy?”

“I would appreciate you not calling it a ‘thingy’, but yes, Desha is informed and the guards are expecting your arrival.” Despa replies.

Katai snickers “Good, good. That means I won’t have to force my way in this time.”

“Be on your best behavior – there is a hearing taking place at the castle today. The townsfolk already know you as my employee and I expect you not to cause me any trouble.”

“Sure, sure.”

She decides to put on her only semi-professional attire - her armor, and packs a few potions, just in case. Once she has gathered everything, she departs for the castle.

The package itself doesn’t have much weight to it and from the feel of it’s contents it appears to be holding some books. The walk through the city helps clear her head and, while the guards at the castle gate appear to tense up when giving their greetings, nothing gives her any reason to stir up trouble. Katai is escorted to the castle entrance and ushered inside. This was the first time she had actually been in the Underworld castle. Or, well, any castle. She immediately notices the long line of people waiting to discuss their matters with the king. Some were carrying stacks of papers, others had come empty-handed, possibly with a verbal complaint or something like that.

She walks cautiously down the hall towards the desk King Desha is seated behind. Once she reaches him, he doesn’t greet her, as he is occupied inspecting the documents presented to him by a citizen on the other side of the desk.

“Did you bring it?” he asks without looking up from the papers.

“Yes, here it is.”

He turns to the man on his side who is obviously his advisor and orders “Take this to him. It’s what we discussed before.”

The man nods and Katai hands the package over to the advisor, who swiftly exits through the doorway behind them.

“I see you are feeling well today.” Desha mumbles.

Before she can answer, the next person steps up to the desk. They are donning a dark cloak which obscures their features.

“King Desha, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.” The voice of a woman is audible from under the hood.

“As most of the people here do. What is it?”

“I suggest that you come with us peacefully.” The woman hisses and jams a dagger into the surface of the table near Desha’s hand.

Desha stands up, towering over the woman “If you are attempting to intimidate me, you’ll have to do better than that. Guards-” he doesn’t finish as he notices that the guards, who had been stationed in the hallway, have been knocked out. Two other cloaked figures step out of the line, brandishing swords.

The woman takes a few steps backwards. “As I was saying, you will come with us.”

Desha ignites sparks of lightning in his hand, but, before he can attempt an attack, Katai steps in front of him and takes a sparring stance.

“You’ll have to go through me, the king’s bodyguard, first!” she proudly declares.

The sparks disappear as he loses his train of thought for that moment and grumbles “I NEVER HIRED YOU!!!”

This slightly flusters her, but she keeps holding her ground. This distraction, however, provided the 2 figures with enough time to grab a confused onlooker each. They hold the blades pressed to the throats of their captives. Desha ignites the sparks once again, but immediately stops the action once he realizes that if he strikes the intruders while they’re in such close proximity to the hostages, he would harm his subjects.

“The noble king wouldn’t want to sacrifice any of his subjects, would he?” the woman turns back to face both of them “Now then, shall we go?”

There isn’t much either of them could do now. Katai might be reckless, but she would never risk the lives of innocent bystanders on purpose. She had no plan of action and she felt that her power was completely useless. While she was frozen by indecision, Desha had decided to comply.

“Don’t follow us, I will take care of it.” he growls when he passes her.

As the group walks towards the exit, the crowd begins to erupt in panicked mutters. The two captors holding hostages are leading the way, while the woman is pressing her dagger into Desha’s back to keep him aware of her presence.

Desha intended to wait for an opening so that he could strike the two in front of him down, but no such opportunity had arisen and they were already approaching the gates. The guards at the gate notice the unusual scene before them, but before they can make a move, Desha raises a hand in dismissal. He stops far a moment and glances back at the castle. If he hadn’t been interrupted by that woman’s foolish behavior, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. His pondering is cut short by a sharp pain echoing from his lower back.

“Move” the woman orders while jabbing the dagger into his side.

He complies and they pass through the castle gate. Half way to the city he realizes that the dagger isn’t pushed into his back anymore. Before he can look back to see what has changed, Katai passes him by, without making a sound, and approaches the two figures at the front. Taking advantage of their unawareness, she sneaks up behind them and, after carefully positioning each of her hands near the sides of their heads, smashes them together. This force is enough for them to lose hold of their swords, which allows her to pull both figures away from the citizens, who spare no time to put some distance between themselves and their captors. Desha waits for the moment when she releases both of the hooded figures and, without any hesitation, zaps them.

The sound of crackling lightning, as a signal that their king had dealt with his captors, attracted the guards who swiftly rounded up the incapacitated trio. Considering that there were no casualties, all 3 intruders were taken in for interrogation. Desha sincerely apologized to both of the civilians who were taken hostage and offered to reschedule their meetings to the next day, when they would be less shaken up.

Despite the confrontation ending without any issues, Desha was furious with Katai.

“YOU! This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t poked your nose in business that was clearly not yours. What if your little stunt hadn’t worked back there? Were you prepared to carry the weight of their deaths or were you just not thinking at all? This is the sole reason I don’t want you working for me – you can’t be kept in line and you don’t listen to anything you’re told!”

She couldn’t say anything in response. Not because she couldn’t think of anything to say, but because he was right. Even if no one had gotten hurt in the end, she hadn’t thought much about the possibility that her idea might have resulted in the deaths of the captives. All she could do was look down in shame as he continued to scold her.

“Alright, now leave, before I decide to smite you as well.” he hisses at her after finishing his rant and turns to leave for the castle.

Katai glances up, noticing the red stain on the back of his cape. “Oh, wait, you’re bleeding!”

“It’s a shallow wound, I will tend to it later. Leave.”

“I’ve got just the thing for those,” she says while rummaging through her pocket for a bit and pulls out one of the small bottles that holds her first aid potion, “here.”

He reluctantly takes the container.

“Take it in a single go, you will regret it otherwise.” She adds.

He doesn’t say anything and resumes his walk back. After some distance he decides to drink from the container. Even with her suggestion the liquid tastes vile and makes his face contort into a grimace while he shivers. He does notice the pain disappear from the location of the wound nearly immediately.

Desha had, of course, shared the incident with his brother. When she returned to the mansion, Katai received another lecture from Despa. This one was equally as critical of her behavior, albeit a bit more on the constructive side, as Despa added that she should use her head for something other than just smashing things.

--

Even after Katai had finished her training in “Despa arts”, as her mentor always enjoyed to advertise, Desha still stopped by every so often for a sparring session. They were on somewhat equal footing, at least when it came to some fields, and he did enjoy the chance to go all out against an opponent.

After one of these occasions, Katai had decided to leave the training chamber to fetch some water. Once she was in hearing range of the chamber, it was apparent that a conversation had ensued between the brothers.

“….the one who sent them was him? You’re positive?”

“The leader was difficult, but we could piece together what we needed from what the goons blabbered out.” she hears Desha respond.

“That makes his affairs more suspicious, but you can’t act only based on these testimonies from mercenaries. We need tangible evidence if we want to make such accusations. Did the materials I sent you assist your spies in any way?”

“Yes, they managed to identify the specific locking mechanism, but it would still take too long to gain access without a key.”

“The bi-yearly budget discussion banquet will be hosted in his manor this week. We could collaborate with one of the other Lords and buy enough time for them to do it. Though, as of now, it’s difficult to say who is trustworthy enough for such a task. Considering that many of them are mainly interested in growing their own affluence.” Despa comments.

Katai enters the chamber not entirely sure what the discussion about.

“Isn’t that something you have in common with them, Despa?”

“Eavesdropping now, are we? Alright, how much did you hear?” Desha huffs.

“Enough to know that you’re in need of a trustworthy distraction. You already know I have a knack for causing a scene.”

After a slight pause the two royals burst into hysterical laughter.

“What? WHAT?” Katai asks, agitated.

Attempting to calm down while wiping a tear away, Despa responds “Not to be impolite, Katai, but you’re not exactly a picturesque definition of majestic. We need an organized distraction, while you would stick out at the moment you enter the room.”

“I would have no problem with presenting myself in a lordly manner.” she sticks her nose upwards to simulate the demeanor of a noble.

“If I recall correctly, at one point during our little gathering, you were licking some spilled wine off of the table, while mumbling something about ‘not wanting the good stuff to go to waste’. Yes, very regal of you.” Desha mentions, still snickering.

“Hey, it was good wine!”

“My point still stands.”

Katai crosses her arms. “From what I gather, you don’t really have a specific plan in mind anyway.”

“That might be true, however, as comical as the outcome would be, you are clearly underqualified for such a discrete task.” Desha states.

Despa adds “And let’s not forget the incident which occurred in the castle just a few days ago. Which could have been avoided if you had simply heeded my words.”

“Out of all of the times you could have chosen to do something stupid, you had to choose that one. I swear, I was this close to banishing you on the spot!” Desha raises his hand, showing its thumb and index fingers nearly touching.

“Well, what should I have done then? Just allow them to leave with you?” Katai asks him.

“I told you that I would handle it. You should have left it at that.”

“Yes, you were handling it so well, they had already led you outside of the castle! You didn’t have a plan back then either, did you?”

“I had one while I was still in the castle, before you interrupted me with your little attempt to show-off!” Desha starts to speak louder, unable to contain his irritation any longer.

Katai tenses up. She hadn’t forgotten that she was the sole reason why the situation had escalated. His harsh tone had brought back the remorse she had felt at that time.

“Sorry…” she mutters.

“What was that? Speak up!” he orders.

Katai feels her face flush. “I’m sorry, okay?! I acted without thinking and put the lives of innocent bystanders at stake. What I did after that was a half-assed attempt to fix my mess. I didn’t know what else to do at that point!” she blurts out.

She looks away and awkwardly rubs the back of her neck. “And…” she hesitates for a moment, “I also thought that it would be nice for someone to have your back, if I was put in the same situation.”

While a bit taken aback by her sincerity, he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

“Fine, I accept your apology. However, if you fail to comply with my or Despa’s requests in the future, you will face the consequences.” Desha states.

Katai’s face lights up and she shouts: “Yes, sir!”

“While I’m glad to see you own up to your mistakes, you still aren’t a good fit for this job.” Despa resumes their discussion about the previous topic.

“I believe I am still your only option.” She replies.

“We are done with this discussion, Katai,” Desha groans, “this task requires a covert approach. And that is not your strong suit.”

“Yes, I was indeed so bad at being stealthy that even you, with your advanced senses, failed to notice that I was following you.” Katai’s smug demeanor returns.

“And how would you know that?”

She shrugs. “You kept walking after I had taken down the goon behind you and you appeared to be very surprised to see me, once I came into your range of vision. I’ve had my fair share of stealth missions to know how to mask my presence.”

“That may be true, but considering how well you listen to instructions, it’s still unlikely that you can actually be of any help.” Despa remarks.

“I followed your guidance and got these.” Katai forms her energy gauntlets, showing them off. “Besides, weren’t you the one who let me, a complete stranger from outside of the kingdom, into your home without any reluctance? If I had been in your shoes, I wouldn’t have hired someone off of the street and I definitely wouldn’t have invited them to stay with me, even out of pity.”

Desha and Despa share a look.

“How about a little wager then?”

“No.” The brothers exclaim, nearly in sync.

“If I win, you’ll pay me the full price for my services and give me the title of ‘Royal Bodyguard’.”

“This is ridiculous.” Desha mutters.

“Ridiculous enough for it to be interesting at least. I will blend in at the event until you need a distraction and buy you the time for whatever it is you need to do.”

“And if you fail?”

“IF I fail, you will have a front-row seat to the best disaster of your life. C’mon I know how much you love to make fun of me when I fail.” Katai gives him a grin.

“I’m skeptical as well, but she has managed to get this far. It might be beneficial to at least try, since we don’t have enough time to find anyone more fitting for the task.” Despa adds.

Desha considers the offer for a moment.

“That is not even near equal to what you requested from me. When you lose, I want you to sing and play the lute for all of the castle staff each morning for, let’s say, a week.”

“But I don’t know how to do either.”

Desha replies smugly “Hmm, I suppose it will be quite embarrassing for you to fail in front of an audience. And I won’t be paying you anything, obviously.”

Katai shudders at the though.

“Fine, we have our deal then.”

They shake hands in agreement, her giving Desha a spiteful glare.

[grenscribbl]

You can tell that half of the 2nd chapter for the fic was inspired by memes now :D

[grenscribbl]

Nearly forgot to put this here. I just want ‘em to be happy man

[grenscribbl]

Some stuff I did for the fic

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The escapades of Katai, part 2

Part 1 is here if you haven’t read it yet.

Part 3

Warnings: More fight scenes, with something akin to smut in the end.

“No, no this can’t be happening. I can’t stay here!” Katai thinks to herself while anxiously pacing through the room.

She had awakened in a room, her injuries healed. When she had tried to leave, she found that the door was locked. A guard on the other side informed her that they had been ordered to not allow her to exit the room until the king had decided her fate. She asked about what that might be, and the guard responded that she would most likely be thrown in the dungeon for disturbance of peace and for assaulting the king. She wasn’t sure why they hadn’t done that in the first place, humoring herself with the thought that this Desha guy might actually be a good person. She didn’t plan to stick around and find out.

There is a single window in the room, however, the room itself is very far from the ground. She decides to risk it and begins gathering her things. Before she is about to make her exit, she hears the door unlock, and when it opens 2 guards appear in the doorway. They immediately notice her position and attempt to stop her by restraining her. In a fit of panicked rage, she lets out a yell and hurls the guards off her. She dashes to the window and, before making her way out, salutes the pair that have already started to get up.

The fall doesn't take long, she braces for impact by enforcing her limbs with energy, this time successfully managing to get away without any damage. Without any other goal in mind than just trying to get away from her pursuers, she heads into the city for a better chance to hide and decides to take refuge in a tavern. The tavern is cozy and there are enough patrons to help her blend in. She sits down at the bar and buys a drink, slowly nursing it and thinking over her life choices. The peaceful moment of reconciliation doesn't continue for long as someone slams into her back, forcing her to spill her drink. That was the last of her gold. She was trying to gain some solace after her undignified defeat, but she was now forced to face the reality of her failure once again. Whoever made her last money spill out all over the counter and her lap would not be getting away with that. She swiftly turns around to see the party at fault. It was a blonde man, dressed in a red top and ridiculous puffy pantaloons. She can also see that he was not the only one at fault - it appeared that a quarrel had ensued between him and 3 other patrons. Not really her problem, but someone would have to pay for her drink.

“Hey! Which of you assholes did this?”

The group starts to chuckle “It's pretty obvious that it was that pathetic mongrel on the floor!” one of them says while pointing to the dazed man on the floor.  

“He clearly didn't run into me on his own” Katai states.  

“Who's to say he didn't?”

“Listen, I’ve had a bad week, I really don't care which one of you 3 did it, just buy me a new drink and there won't be any trouble. I'll even forgive you for messing with my gear.”

“Did you hear that guys? This flea thinks we owe her!” the group bursts into laughter.  

“And if we don't, what will you do about it, hm?”

A grin spreads across her face as she leaps towards them with her fists glowing “Then I guess I will have to collect what’s mine by force”.

Katai was in a nasty mood. Her pride had been wounded and she wasn’t above taking her frustration out on anyone who stood in the way of her wallowing in self-pity. It doesn’t take much to take these guys down – they’re just rowdy civilians with no combat experience, excluding the occasional tavern brawl. She swiftly dodges each sloppy swing, and delivers a gut punch to one, a hook to another and an uppercut to finish off the last one.

The barman had taken notice of this scuffle and, without any additional questions about who is at fault, orders the doorman to escort all of the parties involved outside.

Once outside, Katai notices that the man that had been thrown at her was also tossed out. He appears to still be dazed, but is attempting to gather himself and stand up. Feeling slightly guilty that her involvement caused him to be tossed out as well, she decides to offer him a hand, which he accepts, and pulls him up. Once upright, she could notice that not only he had a good few inches on her height-wise, but that he was rather bulky as well. How he managed to get thrown without any struggle is beyond her.

“Thank you for your assistance” the man says, attempting to present himself in a dignified manner.

Katai sighs, “Don’t mention it. Really, don’t.”

“I apologize if this comes off as intrusive, my good lady, but I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to be quite distraught.”

“What, you figured out all that from a small tussle?” Katai snorts.

“Not entirely. You could say that I have analytical expertise when it comes to people” he boasts.

Katai rolls her eyes, “Whatever works for you, I guess. Unless you know any nobles in need of a bodyguard or something like that, I don’t think you can give me what I’m looking for.”

The man appears to be quite offended by this statement, which is made obvious by an exaggerated pout. “I beg your pardon? I’m fairly certain that I exude an aura of nobility!” he huffs.

Katai thinks for a moment, while observing the man. He did indeed stand out from the rest of the civilians. Who else would wear such a flashy and impractical outfit, if not someone who wants to show off their status?

“Alright, so what do you need me to do?” she asks.

“As I mentioned before, I have a talent for reading people, and I also enjoy a good gamble, or, at least the rewards it brings. Unfortunately, rowdy bar folk quickly become suspicious of someone on a winning streak and that is exactly why we are standing out here right now. It would greatly benefit me, if you were to accompany me as someone who enforces fair play. These petty squabbles do get quite tiresome.”

Katai chuckles “If you’re using your power to gain advantage, you can’t really call it fair. But who am I to judge, as a fellow opportunist. Heck, before this whole quarrel I was considering which rock I should crawl under for the night.”

“You don’t have any lodgings here?”

“I could only afford a couple of days in a tavern and that ale in the tavern was my last copper” she sighs.

The man declares with a harrumpf “Well, that just won’t do! If you are to act as my guard, I can’t have you loafing around like some sort of undignified vagrant! Your presence should intimidate my adversaries, not convince them to throw copper at you! Since you will be working for me, I will allow you to reside in one of my guest rooms, for a deduction from your reward, naturally.”

A bit surprised, but equally relieved Katai says: “Deal. The name’s Katai, by the way.” she extends her hand for a shake.

He extends his own “You may address me as Sir Despa”

Heading towards the outskirts of the city, they reach Despa’s mansion. If Katai was skeptical about his status before, she was completely convinced that this man was a noble. Despa guided her to one of the guest rooms, and not long after Katai was out like a candle.

During the next week, as they had agreed, Katai accompanied Despa to his gambles each evening, while taking up some chores in the mansion to lessen the decrease of payment for her stay. During the first evenings, people didn’t really think much of Katai being present during the games. This changed after day 3, when she had once again shielded Despa from an incoming blow, and had flung the offending party through the window of the tavern. After that no one dared to raise a hand against her employer while she was present. They had grown accustomed to each other’s presence and had developed a professional friendship. They would swap tales of clients, humorous situations from their pasts and occasionally open up about their frustrations. Katai became comfortable enough to share how she came to the Underworld, about her unsuccessful search for employment, and, while leaving out the parts about fighting the Order of The Underworld and possibly being a wanted criminal, her defeat in a fight against a huge, snarky asshole.

“That is a bit odd.” Despa remarks, “From what I have witnessed and from what you have told me, you seem to have a good grasp on your ability. If you lose control of it during bouts of frustration, there is definitely room for growth. Would you like me to investigate? For an -”

Katai finishes, interrupting his sentence, “Additional price. Yes, Despa, I’m well aware of your principles.”

She ponders, her eyes scanning the entirety of the kitchen. While she had gotten what she was looking for, the bitter taste of defeat was still lingering. That last headbutt was satisfying, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the fight, during which she was basically playing the role of a potato sack. If she ever comes across an opponent of a similar level, she would not walk away as easily in her current state.

“Alright, deduct it from my pay or whatever.”

Despa reaches his hands over the table, “Give me your hands.”

Katai does as instructed. She observes as Despa closes his eyes and, as if a spell had been uttered, the world around them goes silent. She was sure this was something else, considering that he had briefly mentioned that he had barely inherited any powers from his parent, and that this was only, albeit sharpest tool.

After a few minutes, the atmosphere returns to normal and Despa opens his eyes.

He begins to speak “Hmm. Yes, as I suspected, there is indeed room for growth. You have a strong will, that has done you well. You have decent proficiency in martial arts, but it’s far from perfect. At your current state the way you use your power is more akin to a wild animal, than an experienced fighter. This power is something all living beings have, you could call it life energy, aura, a soul, whatever pleases you. Though, from what I’ve read, not many practice this form of energy manipulation as of late. How did you come to learn such a skill?”

“I’ve had it for a few years now. I received a torn parchment as part of payment from an old man as thanks for fending off wild beasts from his livestock. He mentioned something about not having anyone to pass it onto, but not wanting the knowledge to go to waste. At the time I felt like I had been scammed, but when I actually read it, it turned out to be worthwhile.”

Katai shows him the parchment she had tucked away in her pocket.

After a brief inspection Despa speaks “I see. So, you followed this guide to learn how to draw the energy out and cover different areas of your body with it. The paper is torn at the part where it says ‘Give it form by…’, did you ever find out what that means?”

“No, I did not. And when I returned there, I found that the farm had been raided and his half-decaying corpse was laying near the stables.”

“How unfortunate. But we shall make do with what we have. Let’s head to the training chamber.”

The training chamber was spacious, considering that it was located indoors. Despa points to a large rock in the middle of it.

“Alright, don’t hold back and try to put as much energy into your punches as possible. I need to see where you are currently to decide how we continue further on.”

Katai nods. She walks to the rock, takes her best fighting stance and, with fists ignited, proceeds to strike it. She feels like she has done a pretty decent job – the was rock now decorated with 3 fist-sized indents. She turns to Despa, wearing a satisfied smirk.

“How’s this?”

“No, no. This won’t do at all. From what I’ve read, adepts of this power can at least fracture something like this, while masters would just simply split it in half. Also -” he begins, as he takes her hand and points to the scrapes on her knuckles, “why aren’t you using proper brawling gloves? It appears that the energy fortification doesn’t provide you with much protection currently.”

“I used to before I learned the skill, after that I didn’t see much use for them. I get scrapes and bruises here and there pretty often, so I never paid much attention to them.”

“I can’t say I approve of this type of reckless behavior, but considering that this is the weapon you have grown most accustomed to, it will have to do. I would like to try something, if you would allow me.” he says.

Katai shrugs “Sure.”

Despa takes her other hand. She can immediately visualize an ignited fist using the surrounding energy to form the shape of a gauntlet. After this vision, she also sees an image of something she doesn’t know what to call, as she had never seen anything like it before.

After the images disappear, Despa tells her that he has shown her 2 mental images – one showing her she could attempt to manifest her power better, the other giving her an idea how to notice the vulnerabilities in her surroundings.

“Currently the way you use your life energy is similar to flexing a muscle when preparing for impact. Your goal is to shape it into a tangible weapon. In the meantime, I will pick out some theory books on martial arts for you to study later.” he adds.

And so, during the next couple of weeks, in between chores and her duties as Despa’s personal security, she keeps practicing. The reading material gives her insight on many techniques she hadn’t known about, but without practicing them in action this information isn’t of much use. She does manage to figure out how to give her energy a form, by visualizing the shape she wants it to take. She decided to give the energy the form of armor, since she mostly uses it that way anyway. Gauntlets for her fists, pauldrons to cover her shoulders, a chest plate to shield her torso and so on. She could only cover 2 parts of her body at the same time with this stabilized form, since holding it requires focus, but that was still a huge leap forward. The rock still stands unbothered, with variously-sized crevices now covering it entirely. While Katai had managed to give her power shape, which had significantly increased her damage output, she hadn’t entirely understood how to combine it with the insight Despa had given her.

Despa felt very proud of himself as he had once again provided an apprentice with the guidance they needed to bring out their full potential. Katai was doing much better than she was when they first met. She seemed to have regained some pride in her abilities. He had tried to provide her with sparring companions, but every time he invited over his acquaintances from the Order, she had managed to slip away unnoticed. Now that he thinks about it, she did seem to disappear every time they had been in the presence of the knights. She hadn’t mentioned anything specific, so he just assumed that she was generally not fond of law enforcement, which wasn’t unusual for mercenaries. After a bit of consideration, he decides to try a slightly different approach. He raises his palm to his mouth.

“Brother, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Katai was preparing breakfast as a part of her routine during her stay in Despa’s mansion. Although she wasn’t much of an early riser herself, that man really liked to sleep in. Not long after she had finished preparing the meal Despa enters the kitchen, uttering a drowsy “good morning”, and takes a seat at the table. Katai responds with an affirmatory grunt, as she begins to set the table. In the middle of their meal, they hear a knock at the door.

“Could you get that? I invited my brother over, that’s probably him.” Despa says as he yawns.

Katai gets up from the table and approaches the entrance. His brother, huh. Despa had briefly mentioned his brothers during their conversations, so she couldn’t help but wonder what this person would be like. Upon opening the door she freezes, as she is met by a large, hooded man with an unmistakably familiar face. Desha’s eyes widen, showing that he was equally shocked.

“YOU!!!” they both exclaim loudly.

“Ah, so you have already met before? That saves us some time on introductions.” Katai hears Despa approaching from behind.

Desha sighs, as he pinches the bridge of his nose “Despa, is this the favor you requested? This is the crazy woman who stormed the castle entrance 3 weeks ago!”

“Is that so? That explains her avoidant behavior around the presence of the Order! Why didn’t you mention this sooner, Katai?” Despa asks.

“WHY?! Because I was trying to avoid being arrested! And considering your actions when it comes to money, I was pretty sure that you would’ve turned me in for a reward!”

“Hm, fair point.”

“You were never a wanted fugitive to begin with,” Desha groans, “we were planning to let you off with a warning, but you fled before the situation could be resolved!”

Katai attempts to change the subject “Despa, what is this favor he mentioned?”

“I concluded that you wouldn’t be as intimidated by someone who isn’t an enforcer of the law. So I asked brother for assistance with your martial arts training.”

“You thought, that the whole-ass king would be less intimidating!?” she exclaims.

“Now, now. Despite his unfriendly demeanor and less-than-stellar appearance,” Despa is interrupted by an annoyed growl from Desha, “he is an excellent tutor.”

Katai pulls Despa out of hearing range and whispers “He is the one who beat my ass before, and I sure as hell won’t give him the satisfaction of doing it again!”

“Well, then this will be an excellent chance for you to practice your mindfulness in action.” Despa remarks as Desha enters the mansion and closes the door behind him.

After he hangs his cloak, Katai notices that Desha isn’t wearing his regal attire, but is instead donning something similar to a soldier’s training uniform.

“Hey, how come you never told me you were a prince?”

“There was ever an occasion which required me to do so.” Despa shrugs.

Once in the training chamber, Desha takes note of the visibly pummeled rock.

“Oh, so this has been your biggest adversary during these past weeks?” he snidely remarks.

“Shut up.” she snaps back.

Despa interrupts them “Bear in mind, brother, I still need her to do her job in the evening, so don’t take it too far.”

“I won’t if she won’t.”

And with that Despa leaves the training chamber.

Desha sighs “Let’s get this over with.”

“What, you didn’t bring your stick with you?”

“Why would I carry that thing all the way here? It’s heavy and would attract unnecessary attention. Besides, I can make you fly equally as far with a wooden one.” he says as he picks up a large wooden club from the wall rack.

They take positions on opposite sides of the room and face each other. She notices the atmosphere once again shift the same way as it did during their first battle. This time, however, she knew what to expect and would be more cautious. She takes a sparring stance and considers her options. Since he was taking the same stance as before, she wouldn’t be able to predict his movements.

“What are you doing? If you won’t strike first, I will.” he says as he sprints towards her.

Katai was expecting this, so she braces for impact as Desha swings his club downwards. She forms a gauntlet and manages to block the hit, but doesn’t notice an incoming kick, which forces her to stumble backwards. He next attempts to thrust the club into her chest, but she manages to block it with both of her forearms in the nick of time. She continues to take on a defensive position, while trying to predict his movements. The speed and force of his attacks don’t leave her with much room for thought, as she she struggles to keep up and not get knocked off her feet.

“You have to strike at some point. You won’t be able to defeat any opponent by only defending yourself. If you’re waiting for an opening, you won’t find one.” Desha states while continuing his barrage of attacks.

The attacks were starting to overwhelm her. He obviously won’t give her a chance to strike back, so she would have to create one for herself. She decides to parry the next swing with her right hand, positions herself outside of his attack angle on the left, and delivers a hook to the head with her left hand. This doesn’t seem phase him, as without delay he turns and swings the club at her, slamming the side of her torso and arm. She manages to manifest the breastplate at the last second, but is still sent flying from the impact. He walks towards the now prone Katai.

“Nice try, but we’re out of time for today.” he says and offers her a hand, which she reluctantly accepts, and hoists her up.  

“Thanks” she mumbles.

“I won’t go as easy on you tomorrow.” Desha chuckles as he exits the training chamber.

During the forthcoming week, Katai would spar with him each morning. She had no clue how the king managed to fit these sessions in his supposedly oh-so busy schedule, but she decided not to pry into his personal affairs. Despa’s assumption was correct, as now when she could finally put theory into practice, her skills had greatly improved. Desha’s strikes would no longer overwhelm her, though he still had the upper hand in some areas. When it came to ground defense, she had managed to pin him down a single time, which was a struggle on its own, considering the size difference. She wasn’t able to hold him for long as he used his lightning magic to lightly zap her, so that she would let go. He also though it was hilarious to watch her struggle when he had sat on her, at least until she managed to bite into the side of his lower back.

They had managed to develop a sense of mutual understanding. Both enjoyed sparring and would discuss many possible strategies. They also had some similarities in their demeanor - both sarcastic, prideful and enjoyed mocking their opponents. Katai, however, was distinctly more hot-headed and couldn’t keep her composure as easily. This trait proved to be useful, as after an especially nasty taunt from Desha, she managed to finally shatter the large rock, when he stepped out of the way of her attack.

“The rapid advancement of your skills is quite noticeable. As I would expect from someone under my guidance.” Despa remarks.

Both fighters had managed to work up a sweat during yet another brawl, and had decided to take a small break to replenish their strength.

“Yes, yes, and I will be eternally grateful to you for that, my prince.” Katai replies in a joking manner.

“Mock me if you wish, but the sour disposition you once held seems to have cleared up entirely.”

Katai wants to say something clever, but gets interrupted by Desha asking: “Are you already worn-out from your fruitless labor or are you prepared to carry on?”

“Ready” she groans.

As she turns around, she freezes for a moment when she notices that Desha had removed his shirt. She anticipated that he would be well-built, there was nothing surprising about that. Though, considering that this was the first time she had seen him without one on, it was… distracting. She feels a bit flustered, but decides to carry on as she had before.

They take their positions, and Katai decides to take the offensive route this time as she sprints towards him. They exchange a few blows, but a driblet of sweat trickling down a pec makes her oblivious to a strike she would have otherwise noticed. When she recovers from the impact, she discovers that the force of the blow had thrown her nearly to the entrance of the chamber. A sharp pain resonates through her torso, as she hadn’t fortified it to lessen the damage.

“You could have easily countered that.” Desha states.

Katai looks away embarrassed “Well, I suppose I was still weary from the last fight.”

“Fine, we’re done for today in that case. Should I send over a healer?”

“I think I’ll be able to get to the nearest one in town”

“Very well.”

He grabs his shirt and exits the chamber, raising his hand in a parting gesture to both of them.

Despa offers Katai a hand an allows her to lean on him for support. Unfortunately for her, this action allowed him gain slight insight into her change in behavior. He chuckles.

“It’s rather cute, actually.”

“What are you talking about?” she asks.

“The fact that you got thrown across the room, because you were too busy ogling my brother.” he answers smugly.

Katai feels blood rush to her cheeks.

“We will never speak of this again.”

[grenscribbl]

The escapades of Katai, part 1

Katai takes an express trip to the Underworld. What will she find there? I will tell you in parts!

The main idea for this story is that I get to write cool fight scenes, interactions and, most importantly - DeshaxOC content. The smut will be there, but I like to do some buildup, so it makes sense.

Part 2

Warnings: Maybe some descriptions of battle damage, but that's mostly it.

Regaining consciousness, the last thing Katai remembers is the impact from the fall. The moments that led to it flow back into her mind, together with a sharp pain in her chest and gut.

Even though she had been doing mercenary work for years, both in groups and solo, this particular group was somewhat difficult to work together with. After attempts at friendly banter, she had managed to antagonize her comrades enough, so they had tied her up, shoved her in a sack, and thrown her into the Gates of Hell.

While falling she managed to struggle out of the sack, but with the restraints on her, she had no way to brace herself for the landing properly. The only reason she had managed to survive a belly flop into the underworld was due to the skill she had learned some time ago – energy manipulation. While she could only cover small parts of her body with it to fortify them, this was enough to somewhat cushion the impact. Multiple broken ribs, a bruised gut, and most likely some other small fractures, but other than that it was a pretty lucky fall.

The job she was originally hired for was above ground, however, with her current injuries Katai decides it’s best not to test her luck climbing the stairs through the cursed gas. She still has her belongings with her, the bastards were kind enough not to rob her at least. She pulls one of her healing potions out of her bag. Well, they’re more like first aid potions, a recipe she picked up during her travels, but they would patch her up enough so that she could at least attempt to find a proper healer. These things might taste vile, but they’ve been very useful, considering how much damage she tends to take during work. The pain becomes tolerable, so she forces herself up.

She can see the lights in the distance, and so she starts walking towards them. That must be The Underworld Kingdom. She reaches the entrance gate and, while suspicious, the guards decide to take pity on the poor, limping woman and grant her passage into the kingdom.

After some inquiring, Katai manages to find a healer, which leaves her with half of the gold she had arrived with. No big deal, this is one of the most well-off kingdoms, finding work before her gold runs out shouldn’t be an issue. She decides to rest up in one of the many taverns, passing out in the cozy room she had rented after a hearty meal.

The next day she decides to look around for any available job opportunities. While the citizens seem happy and well-off, she, unfortunately, finds that there is nothing available for her line of work. From what information she has gathered, the Order of the Underworld is doing a very good job with keeping peace and protecting the citizens. After walking through the rest of the city and finding no offers she decides to take a break, and returns to the city center. Slumping over on a nearby staircase, she observes the statue in the middle of the area. The plate on it says “King Desha”. Seems like another generic monument dedicated to a king, however, someone really did a number on its head. “Well, I guess not everyone’s a fan.” Katai thinks to herself.

The Order of the Underworld, huh. That seems as close as it could get to what she usually does. The pay should be good too. Heck, some stable employment might be nice for a change. She did pass the castle gate on her way to town, she could ask the guards stationed there about the possibility to join.

At the gate of the castle there are indeed a couple of guards. After some back-and-forth with them, she is informed that the Order doesn’t take in any outsiders, but the final decision is up to the King.

“Alright, in that case I request an audience with the king.” Katai states as a matter-of- fact.

“No can do.” Guard 1 says.

“Yeah, that’s not up to us, but from what we hear, the wait for an appeal can take weeks, if not months.” Guard 2 adds.

“Months!?” she exclaims, “I won’t be able to survive for that long without work! Isn’t there any way around it?”

Guard 1 sighs, “Listen, lady, those are the rules for everyone – outsider or not. The only way you’re getting in, is if you break down this gate, and storm the castle, which would not only be impossible, but also unwise.”

Now, Katai isn’t dumb, she knows that she wouldn’t stand a chance if she had to face multiple elite soldiers. However, the joke option that was offered seemed much better than waiting for months, if she could even survive that long. These guys most likely don’t see much action daily, considering how well-protected the Underworld is, as well as their position at the gate. Meaning, that they might not be that well prepared for danger if it were to strike out of nowhere.

“That might be true,” she ponders “but what if I would just take you up on that offer?”

“Alright, ha, ha, very funny, ma’am. Now please be so kind and leave, so we can do our-” Guard 1 doesn’t get to finish, as Katai launches herself into the air by slamming her energy-coated fists into the ground and delivers a chop to the top of the guard’s helmet, causing it to vibrate.

While the energy coating does somewhat enforce her strikes, it’s not enough to damage metal armor. So, if her opponent is heavily armored, she usually strikes the head, so that the vibrations from the metal covering their head overwhelm her adversary and knock them out. As expected, this was one of those cases and Guard 1 goes down without much struggle. Guard 2 doesn’t wait and rushes in to restrain Katai, however she was expecting this. She delivers a heel stomp to the unarmored area above the man’s knee, turns to face him while he’s lost balance, and slams her head into his helmet while covering her forehead with a coat of energy. He follows the example of his colleague and joins him on the ground.

Good, now all that remains is the huge metal gate that can’t be opened from the outside. Katai ponders how to gain entry, but, to her surprise, the gate begins to open. She can hear multiple pairs of footsteps approaching. 3 guards carrying battle axes, exit through gate and immediately notice their fallen comrades, as well as a slightly baffled Katai, since she hadn’t managed to come up with a plan of action before their arrival.

Considering the situation before them an obvious aggression against the Order and, possibly, even the kingdom, the guards spare no time for discussions with their opponent and engage immediately. Katai manages to avoid getting herself surrounded, and while deflecting an axe swing from a guard on the side with her enforced arm, breaks the blade off it’s wooden handle. She proceeds to do the same for the other 2 guards, now leaving all 3 with only wooden poles. That doesn’t stop the guards from attacking, so she continues dodging and blocking their swings. While blocking a hit from one of the guards, she strikes the spot where he is holding his weapon, causing him to groan in pain and drop the pole. Another guard tries to restrain her from the back, by pressing the pole into her chest. She grabs the pole, lifts with her knees, and throws her captor over her back into the guard approaching her from the front. With only 1 guard left standing, she’s prepared to finish what she had started, but her train of thought is interrupted by a multitude of fast-paced, armored footsteps approaching.

Escorted by the Order, Desha approaches the location of the recently reported commotion. Shouting and the clattering of wood and metal was a clear indication of an ongoing battle. Someone had managed to force their way through the castle gate and was making a mockery of his men. He could have sent more guards to assess the situation, but considering how uneventful the last few days had been, he had decided to stretch his legs and see what this intruder was capable of. The gate now in sight, he can see a couple of guards piled up and another one kneeling, and grasping a damaged knuckle, as well as someone slightly more than half his height, who was obviously not supposed to be inside of the castle walls.

Katai had not expected to meet the king so soon. He was obviously the king, considering the crown on his head, and that the Order knights had surrounded him as a defensive measure.

“Don’t interfere.” he instructs his men, as he steps out of the enclosure “Now then, what reason could you possibly have for incapacitating my guards?” he asks.

Katai responds: “They told me that to gain an audience with the king I would have to either wait for months or I could get through the gate and try my luck that way. I’m pretty sure the option I chose is obvious.”

The king rubs his chin “Hmm… And if your appeal had been granted in a more peaceful manner, what would your request be?”

Without hesitation she spits out: “Hire me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Katai repeats herself: “You heard me. Hire. Me. I want to be a part of the Order. A bodyguard, whatever. You can clearly see what I’m capable of if you look behind me.” she points over her shoulder towards the guards she had previously dealt with.

King Desha chuckles “While it is a somewhat noteworthy achievement that you managed to get this far, I have to disappoint you with the fact that the men you took on weren’t from our combat-oriented division. I doubt you would have been able to do the same when facing more experienced combatants. Besides, we don’t need outside help – the Order consists of soldiers loyal to the Underground, which you are not.”

Katai crosses her arms “Oh? But good sir, if the Order was as perfect already as you say it is, you wouldn’t be standing here currently, now would you? Unless, of course, the famous Order of The Underworld being the strongest order in the world is just a rumor, and the reason for the Underworld being the 2nd ranked kingdom is only prosperity, not the strength of its soldiers and ruler?”

The king’s eyebrow slightly twitches at this inquiry. Desha is well-aware of his faults, physical weakness not being one of them, however.

“That’s quite a bold thing to say, I suppose I have some time to spare. Let’s see if you are more bark than bite. I will take you on.”

Not wanting to underestimate his adversary he examines her in more detail. She doesn’t seem to be a magic user, though there is some faint spark of other power there, which doesn’t appear to be much of a threat on it’s own. Her combat experience is visible, as she seems to be assessing him as well. She takes a sparring stance to prepare herself, but he can clearly see that her confidence has dwindled.

Katai felt her stomach drop as soon as King Desha challenged her. That was not what she expected. She can handle most humans and similar beings with ease, but he was on a completely different level. Sure, he wasn’t wearing armor, which makes doing damage easier, but the moment he decided on battling her, the atmosphere changed entirely. It was too late to back out now – she had to show that she wasn’t just all talk. He wasn’t underestimating her, he was completely serious and would, without a doubt, fight her with his full power. That made her nervous. She could use larger opponents misjudgment of her strengths to surprise and overwhelm them. This wouldn’t be the case here. Larger adversaries usually tend to be slower, and the large, spiked club he was currently resting on his back wouldn’t be meant for speed, but for heavy damage. This was something she could use. With this idea in mind she begins to sprint towards him. She slams her fists into the ground to launch herself into the air. The club is in his right hand, there aren’t that many ways how it could be swung from the position it was in right now. Most of them require momentum, which he shouldn’t be able to gain before she reaches him. While in the air, she spins her body slightly to position herself better for gaining speed during the descent. Even if he manages to block the punch with his hand, the impact would be enough to fracture some bones. She goes in for the punch and her fist only inches from his face she notices that the club is not on his back anymore. The tip of the club had smashed into her gut in mere milliseconds. The impact from her jump and the king’s nearly invisible swing, causes her to fly backwards, landing her almost at the same point she started her sprint from. It was now clear to her, that speed was not an issue for him.

”Shit” she mumbles in response to the pain that was now pulsating throughout her stomach. She had taken hits to the gut before, but this amount of pain was forcing her to nearly faint.

She hears a cackle. “Well, I should consider better training options for the guards at the gate at least. Their skills certainly could use some polishing if they were immobilized by someone who goes down from a single strike as a fly would.” he mocks.

This pissed her off. She had definitely bit off more than she could chew, but she was now adamant to at least get a single hit in, just out of spite, whatever it takes.

She stands up, pulls out a vile of her first aid potion, chugs it, throws the bottle away, looks at him and says: “Again. Or is this actually your best attempt?”

Her vision was still blurry from the ache and the potion was making her nauseous, though it was starting to take effect and alleviate the pain, helping her regain movement.

Desha sighs, annoyed: ”Your determination is commendable, however, there is an obvious gap in strength and skill. Forcing this to drag on would be just cruel”

Taking her sparring stance again she decides on a different approach. “That’s up for me to decide.”

“As you wish.”

And on it goes, as each time she manages to get close enough to scrape him, it's either the club, a swift kick or a punch. Her pride was beyond repair and the more frustrated she gets, the more difficult it becomes to form the energy coating. Her only plan for employment in the Underworld was starting to appear impossible. Yet she persists. That's the main thing she's good at – outlasting her opponents. What was it the 5th or 6th time? No? The 10th? Shit. The impact damage from the multiple falls she had to endure has made her mind hazy. She won't be able to keep down another potion or it'll spill out both ends.

Desha on the other hand? It was funny at first, seeing someone so full of oneself becoming frustrated to the point of being unable to control their own power. Then it started to become annoying. You can only knock the same person down only so many times until it gets old. Even with the potions, how is she still conscious?

He sighs: "It has been amusing, but I'm certain that if we continue any further that will lead to your death. We don’t condone meaningless murder here." He walks towards her.

Katai is attempting to stand up, but she is completely out of stamina. She is struggling to not pass out. Desha is standing in front of her now, closer than she could manage to get on her own.

He lifts her by the back of her collar, attempting to be on the same eye level: "Persistence is admirable, but there are times when a battle is futile, no matter the number of attempts." he adds in a quieter voice “I’m not fond of offering this option, but I advise you seek out Despa. He could help you hone that unstable power of yours.”

Unfortunately, Katai’s consciousness had already begun slipping away and she couldn’t hear anything spoken clearly anymore. She didn’t care, she could barely see shapes now, but that was enough. She had gotten close enough to do what she wanted all along. Her goal wasn't to take this man down anymore, no, she just needed a single hit for it to count as a win in her book. And with that, gathering the last of her strength, she leans her head back and swings it forward with all of her might. As she fades out of consciousness, she hears someone utter a loud string of curses and a grin spreads across her face.