Disclaimers: See Chapter I

This page also contains references to a sex between womyn. If you are under 18 or this offends you, go elsewhere. You've been warned.

Hare Moon, 470 ACE.

They ran their daily dawn run around Fort Hartford, the ensign bearer running with the Cadet flag and Fort Hartford flag, and the squadron of ten troops behind her, keeping a steady jog. The sergeant ran behind them.

"We are mighty Amazons!" the sergeant hollered.

"We are mighty Amazons!" the troops echoed.

"We come from the mighty Thermodon!"

"We come from the mighty Thermodon!"

The troops disappeared into the distance, their stark shadows dark against the bright earth and black mountains in the distance. Cadet Linley shook her head, and sighed.

The emptiness would not leave. She had originally planned to serve in the militia at Fort Langley, specifically the little village of Latham. It was the nearest village to the Linley estate, about five miles due east.

Cadet Linley sighed. It wasn't going to happen now, not after getting thrown out of her own home. She had made the decision to serve her country, and she paid a dear price for it.

She watched the first year cadets run circles around the base. Unlucky bastards, heh heh. Her face transformed into a lopsided grin. Glad I'm no longer in your shoes!

She strolled into the mess hall, and sat down across from the only other second year cadet to have returned from leave. "Hey."

"Oh, good morning, Terra."

"Anything good for mess?"

The lean, small cadet picked at her food with her knife. "Same old, same old."

"7 grain pancakes, the food of soldiers."

"Yep."

"I wonder when people are going to start wandering back from leave."

"I'm sure a few will come back early, but most will probably stay away until the last day."

"Yeah," Terra said.

"Hey, Terra, I was thinking about going down to the pub tonight. Want to join?"

"Sure, Rickie. I'll be right back." Cadet Linley went in line to pick up her own breakfast.

"Hey, Terra, she's sure giving you the looks," Rickie said, thirstily downing another beer.

Terra laughed. The small brunette kept giving her hungry looks, shyly turning away when Terra caught her staring. And after another two beers, Terra found herself shyly looking away when the brunette caught her.

"Oh come on," Rickie said. "Don't deny it, that woman has the hots for you."

Terra blushed.

Rickie grabbed her arm. "Come on, don't stand there and just bat your eyes! You both are goners here."

Terra obliged, stumbled off the stool and walked across the room, steadied by Rickie's arm.

"Uh, hey," the brunette said, her eyes lidded with a mix of desire and drunkeness.

"Hey," Terra softly mouthed back, barely audible in the noisy pub.

"What's your name?"

"Terra. What's yours?"

"Cady."

"What a pretty name."

The small brunette turned her head a tad bit. "Thanks." She turned to face Cadet Linley again. "It's sure getting hot in here. Let's go outside."

Rickie watched them depart. "Uh huh. I can see where that's going. You lucky dog. I better go find a hot lay for myself now."

She turned around and ran into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

The large woman shook her head. "It's okay." She looked over Rickie's head, and watched Terra leave with the small brunette. "Your friend better be careful, Cady's wife is coming back to town tonight and if she finds Cady in someone else's arms..."

"Terra's one strong girl," Rickie said, waving off the warning.

"Oh, no one can match Jessie Hunter's strength. The woman stands six and a half feet and is solid muscle!"

"Oh no." Rickie shook her head. What did she just get her friend into?

It was beginning to rain when Rickie left the pub, to try to track her wayward friend. She had to warn her. Oh, Terra was going to be pissed but if the woman was right, it was for her own good.

"Terra..." Rickie called out, the steadily increasing volume of rain pattering against the streets and drowning out her voice. "Damn."

Across town, the drunken womyn were intent on a bout of personal exploration. Nestled between the sheets, Terra couldn't get enough of the smaller, delicate woman, as she caressed her neck with her lips, causing the smaller woman to moan.

"You're torturing me," the smaller woman complained. "Go faster."

"You think I'm going to let you get off so easily?"

"Please hurry, s--" A well placed hand hushed all coherent words. "Ohhh...."

"Yeah, that's the way, we go at my pace," Terra whispered in her ear, taunting the other woman.

"Terra," Rickie called out into the night, trying to find her friend. Time was not on her side; the angry Blackguard could find them any moment. "Damn it, Terra!"

The smooth sheets further heightened Terra's senses as she found herself getting more entangled in them with her partner. She could feel the smaller woman breath hard, her chest heaving into her own chest, covering the small distance between them with every excited breath. The woman's nails dug into her own back, sure to leave scratches by morning.

Terra teased the taut stomach. "I'm not going to last much longer if you keep teasing me like that," her frustrated partner cried. "Take me, take me," she cried.

Terra decided to oblige. "You've been patient," she replied.

"Terra!" Rickie frantically called into the night. "Damn it!" The frantic cadet had no idea where her wayward friend went, and critical time was running out, fast.

"Faster," the smaller woman cried. "Faster, I'm coming--" She began screaming into the night.

Effectively covering up the noise of a creaking door. Heavy footsteps pounded their way to the bedroom, and the door was thrown violently open, exposing the faithless wife and her romp.

"YOU FUCKING WHORE!" the tall blonde Blackguard screamed, shocking the two out of their reverie. Terra rolled on her back, to see angry brown eyes pin her. "And you fucking dog."

Terra was terrified. The angry Blackguard stood there as if Cady was her wife. Oh my Goddess, what if she is--

"I'll deal with you in a minute, Cady, as soon as I deal with your little temptress who beguiled you into wandering..."

"Don't hurt her!" Cady pleaded, as long, muscular arms arched back, aimed for Terra. The cadet cowered, bunching herself into a ball and shielding her face with her arms.

"Too late!" the angry blackguard yelled roughly as solid fists started connecting with the woman who soiled their marriage bed. "You fucking pimp, by the time I'm finished with you you'll be answering to Aphrodite as to why you soiled the wedding tomorrow morning!"

She grabbed Terra's wrists and pried them from her face, exposing the coward, crying. She arched her good arm and started slapping her repeatedly, backhand and forwards, not missing any good sweep. "You made my wife stray, you fucking bitch!"

Cady lept on top of her and started pummeling her with her fists. "She's just a girl! Take your beef out on me!" The tall woman didn't even seem to notice the fists pummeling her backside.

"Like hell she's a girl. If she's old enough to think she can fuck my wife and get away with it, she's old enough to face the consequences."

As a finishing touch she began pummelling Terra in the midsection, sitting atop so she couldn't draw her knees in to protect herself. The cadet cried out in agony as each strong, hard fist crushed into her abdomen.

"Stop, Jessie!" another voice, one that Terra didn't recognize, bellowed. "You're going to kill her!"

The angry blackguard proceeded to beat her harder, instead, until long, sinewy arms wrapped themselves around Jessie's ribcage and pried her off the frightened cadet.

Who the hell? Obviously someone with great strength, Terra hazily realized before the fog overtook her.

She awoke at the healer's, quite disorientated. The sun shone brightly, and she could hear murmuring in the next room.

She could feel the bruising on her face and abdomen. What had happened? She couldn't remember very well. A drunken orgy, an angry Blackguard wife, and then...

Then there was her rescuer, who was a few inches shorter than Jessie, with short, pitch black hair and a wiry frame, sinewy arms strong enough to subdue even the strong Blackguard, whom everyone said was too strong to subdue in the first place.

She wished she could thank her saviour. Yeah, wherever she is now, she's probably laughing at me for being stupid enough to fuck a Blackguard's wife. Oh, if I knew I wouldn't have even dared contemplated it!

The door creaked open. She mouthed, "Rickie?"

"Hush," the other cadet told her. "You'll rip out the stitches if you try to talk."

A frustrated moan replied in agitation. Great.

"You really took a beating there bud. Just the moment you walked out the door someone said you just took a blackguard's wife to bed, and I couldn't find where you had went to warn you!"

Terra motioned for a pen, and Rickie gave her something to write with. I wish someone would have warned me.

"Me too. Excuse my language, but you look like shit."

How do you think I feel? Terra wrote back.

"At least it's nice enough to know that Amara Fletcher's fucked up daughter was good for something."

Huh?

"Yeah, you're lucky she walked in there and stopped Private Hunter from finishing you off."

The tall, dark haired wiry woman walked into the room. "Stop, Jessie! You're going to kill her!" she cried out, rushing to the bed. Determined blue eyes slitted shut as she groaned, pulling the much heavier woman off the cadet, the muscles in her arms rippling as she exerted all the strength she had to fight the musclebounded Blackguard.

Rickie continued. "You almost died last night. You were barely breathing when you got here."