Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter 39: Long Is the Night for the Godless, part X



   After the fight against Virian, Fel had continued drinking until the
morning hours.  With more than a benign case of alcohol poisoning, she had
fallen asleep.  In the afternoon, a messenger of Aremie-Valas came to Fel's
room in the tower.  She was surprised to find not only Fel sleeping there,
but also the Azure Spirit, Lau, four little white-haired girls and Virian,
who had recently got an involuntary haircut.  Together with Lau and Virian,
the messenger girl tried waking up Fel.  It took them several minutes to
get a response out of her.  The red-haired warrior looked horrible, almost
like a corpse.  Fel had a devastating headache and felt terribly sick.  She
wanted to throw up, but she had done that so many times yesterday night
that she simply couldn't do it anymore.  "Just kill me..." she mumbled with
a disgusted look on her face.  "Not even hell could be any worse than
this..."

   While the messenger and Virian really believed that Fel was close to
kicking the bucket, Lau knew better.  She had seen Fel in this state
numerous times by now.  And she knew exactly how to treat it.  Lots of
strong tea, greasy food, tobacco and a moderate amount of high-quality
liquor.  The Vargranians watched in awe as Fel was getting better every
minute while being treated by Lau.  She even regained her mood pretty
quickly.  Already, she was fooling around with the little girls again,
playfully kissing them on their bellies and molesting their assholes.  Only
after a while, she realized that Virian and the messenger were there too.

   "So what're you two shitheads doing here?" Virian swallowed her pride
and ignored the insult.  She had to remind herself that this girl in front
of her had shown the strongest sword-skills she had ever witnessed in her
whole life.  By far.  "You told me to keep you company last night,
master..." Fel looked at her as if she had no idea what Virian was talking
about.  "Last night?  Don't remember any of it.  But I guess it involved
these two barrels of mead..." Virian gulped and looked at the two smashed
barrels that were lying in pieces all over the room.  "Yes.  You emptied
both of them, master..."

   Fel took a closer look at the girl who had rather short hair now that
her ponytail was missing.  "You keep calling me 'master'.  Did you hit your
head or something?" Virian looked almost heartbroken as she replied.  "You
don't even remember that, master?  My name is Virian and you said that I
could be your disciple!" Fel harrumphed.  "I would never say such a thing."
- "You did it on the condition that I would bring you a second barrel of
mead." The whole room fell quiet for a few seconds.  Lau rolled their eyes.
That sounded just like something that Fel would actually do when she was
drunk.

   Fel sighed.  "Well, sorry to disappoint you...  ehm..." - "Virian." -
"Yeah...  There's nothing I could teach you.  Seriously, do I look to you
like someone who can teach you anything useful?" Virian protested
vehemently.  "But you used a totally unique sword style yesterday night!  I
trained using the ancient Vargranian art of fighting with two swords ever
since I was a little girl!  But now that I've seen your style, I know that
this art is completely inferior to your way of fighting...  That's why I
want you to teach me this sword style!  Whatever it takes.  Whatever I have
to do for you."

   Fel groaned.  She even felt a little sorry for this naive girl.  "Look,
Virian.  Even if I were willing to teach you something, there would be two
problems that we won't get around.  Firstly, you're most likely too weak to
use this style.  It's not something an ordinary person can do.  Secondly, I
never finished my training myself.  So I'm not qualified in any way to
teach you." Virian's hands were trembling.  These were serious
obstructions, but she was not yet ready to give up.  She had devoted her
life to sword-fighting.  "Then please tell me who your teacher was!" That
made Fel grin.  "I'm sorry, girl...  You're cute and all, but I seriously
doubt that she would train you.  Also, I have a feeling that she might be
mad at me, so it won't do you any good to say that I sent you..."

   The messenger girl had been sitting on needles for a while now, but now
she finally gathered her courage to speak up.  "I'm terribly sorry to
interrupt you, valued priestess, but the duchess Aremie-Valas sent for you
a while ago.  The duchess might get impatient if we let her wait for too
long..." Fel looked at her dismissively.  "Like I fucking care.  Before I
go anywhere, I have to take a shit.  Lau?" Lau was quick to pick up the
bucket and hold it underneath Fel's big ass.  A moment later, Fel pulled
down her panties and without regarding Virian's or the messenger girl's
presence in the slightest, she began to shit.  As it was to be expected
after such a binge, her shit was almost liquid and left her asshole in
violent blasts that were accompanied by utterly disgusting farts.  Since
there was no further bucket to catch Fel's urine, she simply pissed on the
stone floor.  It quickly formed a big yellow puddle.

   The stink was worse than anyone except for Lau would have expected.  Two
of the little girls and the messenger had to puke.  Fel laughed at the
sight of everyone spilling their bodily fluids.  Finally, she was able to
bring some life into this austere place.  While pulling up her panties, she
slapped the messenger girl on the back.  The girl had put her hand in front
of her mouth to catch her vomit, but now it spilled all over the floor. 
Fel grinned.  "Alright, let's see your duchess!"

   Together with the nauseous messenger and Virian, Fel walked to the
castle's throne hall.  It was pretty incredible in several ways.  The room
was brightly illuminated by the warm sunlight that fell in through the huge
windows.  One could even hear birds chirping.  Not only Aremie-Valas was
awaiting Fel, but also three princesses.  One of them was the girl with the
diadem that Fel had met last night.  Slowly, the memories were returning to
Fel.  The white-haired princess glared at her as soon as their eyes met. 
Aremie-Valas was the first to speak.  "May I introduce you, Fel.  These are
our precious daughters.  Neryn, the oldest..." It was the girl who was
frowning at Fel.  "And the twins, Zeil and Zeres." They were a pair of
identical twins, probably around ten years old.  The little princesses were
really cute girls and seemed to be a lot shyer than their older sister. 
Fel immediately doted on them.

   "Well, fuck!  Why didn't you introduce these cuties to me any earlier?"
The two little girls shied away away from Fel as she got closer.  But no
one did anything to hold her back.  Fel felt a lot less hostility from the
people in this room than the last time she had been here.  Had they already
accepted that they were helpless against Fel's shenanigans?  Aremie-Valas'
faces even seemed to be in a festive mood.  When she addressed Fel, her
voices lacked any of the previous distrust.  "It came to our ears that you
are a splendid fighter, Fel.  No doubt, it was the goddess Mimlin who
blessed you with such powers.  According to what our daughter said, you
even defeated the most able warrior in our lines in a one-on-one fight."
The princess Neryn obviously wasn't very pleased by this fact.  She
continued glaring at Fel with unconcealed disapproval.

   In a low voice, she said to her mother: "Being strong still doesn't
excuse her behavior..." The duchess didn't like that comment.  "Quiet,
you!" Fel had no doubt that if anyone else would have dared to say such a
thing, they would have been sentenced to death.  The duchess turned to Fel
with an apologetic look on her faces.  "We ask you to excuse our daughter's
rudeness.  She will receive proper punishment for what she said." Fel
grinned in the princess' face.  She would've expected the girl to receive
her punishment behind closed doors, after this meeting was over.  All the
more she was surprised to see the princess now turned around and, with
deeply flushed head, pulled up her dress and bent over.  Everyone in the
whole room, nobles and commoners, could take a good look at the princess'
white panties.

   But it came even worse.  At the command of the two-headed duchess, one
of the warriors in the throne room stepped forward and picked up a cane
that had probably been used on countless sore asses already. 
Straight-faced, she pulled down Neryn's panties and exposed her bare butt.
Fel was impressed by how strictly discipline was enforced in this place. 
Not even princesses were spared.  Also, the sight of Neryn's cute soft butt
cheeks soon made her cock semi-stiff.

   No one in the room dared to make a single sound when the warrior struck
Neryn's ass with the cane.  No one except for the princess herself. 
"Owww!" Fel's erection was now clearly visible through her panties.  She
really had come to like this castle a lot more recently.  Though she was a
little disappointed when the princess was spared after only five strokes.
Still, there were tears running over both her cheeks when she pulled her
panties back up.  Her mother looked at her sternly.  "Now apologize to our
guest!" The humiliated princess stepped reluctantly in front of Fel.  With
slouched shoulders, she mumbled.  "I'm sorry if my thoughtless words have
offended you." Fel grinned amusedly.  She petted the girl's head which the
princess obviously didn't like.  "It's alright.  Don't be too hard on
yourself." Fel mocked her.

   Now that this unpleasant matter was out of the way, the duchess could
finally address the matter that she wanted to discuss with Fel.  "As we
said before, we highly regard your fighting abilities.  Even more so since
you have the right faith and are even a priestess of a truly divine being.
In this world, where people who pray to the true goddesses are oppressed in
almost every land...  it is good to know that there is such a strong
righteous fighter." Fel was getting a little impatient.  She didn't mind
getting praised, but this two-headed woman was overdoing it a little.  "So
what do you want from me?"

   The duchess kept her composure even when Fel snarled at her.  "As you
might know, there is another castle just like this.  It is called Loogran,
the home of the godless.  The people there are of Vargranian heritage, but
they have adopted the false faith.  They have even forced many people of
the highlands to pray to the false goddesses.  Their hair has become black
as a sign of their faithlessness.  For a long time we have been wanting to
defeat them.  Punish the heretics and reclaim the castle.  Reunite all of
the Vargranian land under the righteous faith." The duchess was obviously
getting excited over this keen plan.  Fel grinned.  "So that's where I come
in, I guess?" Both of the duchess' heads nodded in unison.  "That's right.
We want you to lead our army to a victory over Loogran."

   Gradually, Fel was getting excited too.  She had been involved in a lot
of battles, but she had never been given the control over a whole army. 
Even if they would lose the battle and all of her soldiers would be killed,
it would certainly still be a worthwhile experience.  Fel was almost ready
to accept on a whim, but then her bounty hunter instincts kicked in. 
"Well, this is certainly a...  righteous cause.  But my place in this world
is that of a priestess and not that of a general.  I can only do this if I
receive some compensation for the time in which I can't pursue my... 
priestly duties." Everyone in the room knew that this was the most
shameless lie.  But the duchess still went along with it.  "Of course. 
What can we offer you?  More offerings for the divine Mimlin?" She probably
had a hunch who these offerings were really going to.

   But Fel shook her head.  "There's a specific thing I want.  You have an
old sword in your castle's vault.  Aelgoth.  I want it." A murmur went
through the room.  Giving the precious heirloom to a stranger, even if she
was such a prodigy, certainly didn't feel right.  Aremie-Valas smashed her
fist against the armrest of her throne.  "Quiet down or you will all be
beheaded before sunset!" But Fel wasn't even done yet.  "There is another
sword in the vault of the castle that we're going to attack.  It's called
Enegoth.  Once that sword falls into our hands, I will claim it for
myself." There was no murmur since everyone knew that the duchess would
carry out her threat if there was any more ruckus.  But the warrior's faces
still made it clear that Fel's incredible claim offended them.

   It was completely quiet in the throne hall for almost a minute while
Aremie-Valas was considering what Fel just had said.  Then she finally
looked up to Fel with a very serious expression on her faces.  "Alright, we
accept that claim of yours.  But you have to understand that these weapons
are ancient Vargranian heirloom that cannot be allowed to leave the royal
family's possession under any circumstances.  That's why we offer you to
marry our daughter and become a part of our family.  This way, the swords
stay in Vargranian hands."

   Fel didn't think about the offer for even a second.  "Oh, do I get to
choose one?  Well, it's really hard to decide since they're twins and
equally cute...  Can't we just have a threesome?" The duchess shook her
heads.  "I can't let you marry one of the twins.  Once they're old enough,
they're supposed to become one by the sacred ritual of Vargran.  They will
be the future ruler of Vargran.  But, you see...  Neryn's sister has left
us.  Neryn has been alone ever since.  That's why I want you to marry her."
The princess was still rubbing her sore butt cheeks with both hands when
her mother talked about marrying her off to this filthy and utterly insane
alcoholic.  Her eyes widened in terror.  "No mother, you can't..." She
quickly fell silent as she realized that protest would only earn her
another caning.  "I'm sorry for speaking out of line.  But please, let us
talk in private before..."

   Fel interrupted her, speaking to the duchess.  "I don't even want that
one!  She's a pretty girl, but she's also cheeky, don't you think so? 
Plus, she's already too old for me!" Neryn couldn't hold back anymore after
hearing that comment.  Even if it would lead to her being punished again,
she couldn't accept her pride being pricked that way.  "Too old?  I'm
sixteen years old!  How can that be too old for you?" Fel gave her a
dismissive look.  "Eh.  I like 'em young, you know?  I mean...  I guess
you're at the top end of the acceptable spectrum, I guess." Neryn's face
was deeply flushed both by embarrassment and anger.  "Acceptable spectrum?
It's not like I even want to be a married to someone like you, who's
drinking and smoking, insults people wherever she goes and chases after
little girls!" Fel hissed at her.  "Don't you think you're talking a little
too big for someone who just got her ass thrashed in front of everyone?  I
think you're overdue for another beating..." Neryn looked as if she was
going to blow up any second.  She didn't even know what to say anymore. 
She would've liked to slap Fel, but she had a feeling that this would
result in at least her arm being broken.

   To everyone's surprise, both of Aremie-Valas' heads started laughing in
wild amusement.  It was a sound that the throne hall hadn't heard in an
eternity.  For the strict and unforgiving duchess to laugh was normally
unthinkable.  But right now, she could hardly contain herself.  Completely
out of sync, both of her heads were cracking up with laughter.  It was such
a bizarre sight that even Fel and the princess stopped their fight.  When
the duchess finally regained control over herself, she had to wipe a few
tears from her many eyes.  "We're sorry, both of you...  But you're just
like a married couple having a lover's quarrel!"

   Fel sighed.  "Alright...  If it means that I can get the swords, I'll
marry that hussy.  It's probably about time that I give up my bachelor life
anyway." Neryn didn't know what to say anymore.  There were so many
incredible things going on right now.  Her mother wanting her to marry this
maniac, the same mother suddenly cracking up with laughter and then this
woman agreeing to marry her...  it was too much for her strained mind.  And
it didn't look like she had anything to say in this matter anyway.  As a
princess who didn't have a chance to ever become the castle's ruler, her
opinion didn't matter in the slightest.  She sighed the deepest and longest
sigh of her young life.  "Fine...  I apologize for showing such an
unsightly side of myself.  Of course I agree with your wishes, mother."

   Aremie-Valas' heads nodded contentedly.  She clapped all four of her
hands and raised her voice.  "So be it.  Let it be known to everyone in
this castle that tomorrow at noon, there will be a wedding!  The princess
Neryn will be married to the priestess Fel, who will become a part of
Vargran's royal family!" All the warriors in the room stood up, cheering
and applauding in unison.  Fel tapped her foot.  She still had a headache.
No one heard it when she mumbled: "I really need a drink..."