Chapter 10
"Get off my niece before I slit your throat. I should-"
A long, heavily serrated blade pressed at her neck. Ah yes, Hult'ah wouldn't exactly allow her to kill his son now, would he? She felt the metal pad imbedded in the palm of her glove and moved quickly.
The hand came between the blade and her neck, she pushed it away, the back of the dagger she was holding pelted the back of Raijuta's head and she rolled off to one side. Hult'ah dragged his son to his side, and Vivian stood in front of her trembling niece. "I was only trying to make him get off her. I didn't want to kill him, or I wouldn't have warned him first." She hissed, her steely eyes sharp like her blades, and her crimson lips peeled over her teeth and a snarl. Very lady like. "I am all for getting this betrothal moving, but not and the expense of Rosy's life. I will not take any part if marrying her to a beast!"
"Stop your tongue woman!" Hult'ah growled, and fisted the back of his son's head. "You have a lot of explaining to do!"
"She pauking started it!" The darker Yautja snarled. "She shouldn't attack me if she can't pauking defend herself!" Hult'ah smacked him upside the head, silencing any words about to leave his idiot son's mouth. It was then Hult'ah saw that Raijuta was nursing his side.
"What is that?" He forced the proud warrior's hand away, and saw he was bleeding. There was a slice in his side. Deep enough to mean intent, but not deep enough to be fatal. It was bleeding steadily however, which was now plain to see now his pup wasn't holding his hand to the wound. "Pauk." Hult'ah allowed his son to apply pressure to the wound again, and commanded him to stay where he was.
He then stormed over the women, accusations and rage at the ready.
He never had a chance.
"YOUR SON TRIED TO FORCE HIMSELF ON MY NIECE!" Hult'ah halted in his place, and looked from the positively seething Vivian, the shivering, bloody mess that was Rose, and his wounded son.
Right, this was messy. "What do you have to say to that?!"
"I need to get my son's wound treated, and you need to tend to you niece. Once they are stable, and we have taken their event of what happened, we shall meet to see how to fix this."
"Fix this?!" Vivian had two long machete's drawn and looked so very eager to use them. "Did you hear me!? He tried to force himself on her! there is no fucking fixing in the universe that will ever fix their 'relationship'."
"No son of mine would ever force himself on a woman."
"I tried to pauking kiss her." Raijuta growled from his stationary position. He wanted to go over there and have his say, but his father would beat him if he came any closer. "As is tradition. She went pauking crazy! She attacked me, and I was responding to the challenge."
"Silence!"
Hult'ah could feel a headache coming. This was going to be another one of those misunderstandings in the worse possible way situations. Because Rose was too stubborn and so was his son.
"Keep you pauking son AWAY from Rose." Vivian snarled, then looked over her shoulder and the terrified mess at her feet. "Rose, get up and get to the castle. Now."
She didn't move. "...Rose? Go to the castle."
She didn't move.
Rose didn't blink. She didn't speak. She didn't do anything. She just held sat on the floor, holding her knees to her chest and cried.
Hult'ah took a step forward.
Bad move.
Vivian turned and launched a machete for his head in the same movement. He ducked it, of course, and it imbedded itself deep into the gazebo wall. "No." He looked to her with outraged eyes, then looked to Rose.
The girl was in shock.
The aunt was in a rage.
Nothing good would come from him or his son being here right now.
"We will talk soon."
"Bite me crab face." Hult'ah flinched on the spot. He should punish her for daring to speak to him like that. "If I see him." she pointed at Raijuta with the other machete. "I will fucking gut him."
"We will talk soon." Hult'ah new better than to turn his back on this enraged woman. The common phrase was there was nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal in a corner.
It was wrong.
There was nothing more dangerous than a woman defending her injured young.
He bowed his head curtly, turned, grabbed his son's shoulder and dragged him far far far away from that explosive situation.
He then proceeded to snarl, hiss, and yell in Raijuta's face whilst the ship doctor cleaned and treated his wound. He grilled his son for every detail of what happened that morning.
Meanwhile Riona sat on the edge of Rose's bed. Her sister hadn't said a word since they dragged her up here. Plenty was being said, however.
"I don't give two flying shits Henry." Riona could hear her father and aunt yelling (mostly Vivian) next door in her room. "Rose said one thing to me before she hid in her shell, and that was 'he tried to rape me'. Not, he tried to hurt me, he tried to go too far, no Henry, she said RAPE!" Riona flinched and felt tears fall down her face. "I don't care if the younger one has been as sweet as pie with Riona! Fine, let them be mated, or whatever, but I will not allow Rose to be turned into some abused sex slave for the sake of anyone. I'll steal her and take her far far away before I allow that to happen."
"You would really risk war like that?"
"Yes." Riona looked at the wall, trying to see them at that moment. She imagined her father looking shocked, and her aunt looking deathly serious. Probably armed to the teeth too. "And I'd take Riona with me too. That's what I should have done. I should have told the universe to go fuck itself and taken them into the depths of the second kingdom. Or the 5th. Both have fantastic underground cities."
"That isn't funny Vivian."
There was pause, and a shuffling of feet.
"Am I laughing Henry?"
"...we need to focus on damage control now."
"You focus on damage control Henry. I'll be busy actually giving a shit about your daughters, shall I?"
"Where are you going?!"
"To give a shit, remember?"
Slam.
Riona didn't have to wait long. The door to her sisters' room opened and stood there, red in the face was her aunt. She looked terrifying.
She'd changed into that outfit.
Black leather boots. Flat, but sleek, with chevron points above her mid thigh. There were silver armour pads attached to her toe cap, shins, knee cap, and the front and sides of her thighs. They were strapped to her with thick black belts.
She wore a long black dress with slits up to her hips. It had a halter neck top, with long sleeves and a cut out circle over her chest.
Her belt had curved armour plates on either hip and many small throwing weapons. Miniature tomahawks, senbon needles, shuriken, and small knuckle dusters with sharp looking spikes on them.
Her shoulder guards matched the rest of her armour. Simple, light, and practical for the purpose they served. They weren't ornate, but they'd block a throwing knife.
She had a kite shaped armour pad on her front, and it linked in to her belt and a circular plate over her cleavage. She also had a matching plate on her back.
Over her long sleeves she had arm guards of similar design. They were plain, but light and effective. Her fingerless gloves had flexible metal plates on the back and palm of her hands.
Her weapons...
A long staff with a small sharp blade at one end, and a disk at the other end, with sharp spikes around the circumference. She also had a pair of machete strapped to her back, and a pair of plasma guns.
Her golden hair was in its usual style. Two French plats with high ridges on her head. She had black face paint smeared like a band over her eyes and the ridge of her nose. Her lips were also black.
Aunty V looks scary when she's in her uniform.
Riona wasn't as naive as everyone thought she was. She knew her aunty was a member of the Sicarius. An elite and ancient group of assassins from every walk of life. They were very few, as there was only one thing you could do to become a Sicarius.
Kill a Predator.
Riona watched her aunt give her a blank look, and lock the door. She then stood by the window and imitated a statue. Unmoving, unfeeling, and incapable of responding to you.
If Hult'ah knew what you were...
"Aunty V is angry with me, isn't she?" Riona snapped her head to her sister. She'd finally looked up from her knees and seemed to be part of the world of the living again. "I tried to be good. I tried to agree terms and do my duty. I did."
"I bed you did." Riona grabbed her sister's hand, and decided she was rather sick of having her sister made bedbound by that brute. "But he didn't, right?"
"He was so cruel. I tried to agree terms with him, but he was unreasonable." Rosy never looked so defeated in her life. "I even agreed to everything. In the name of duty. Then..." she whimpered and held her knees again. "He forced himself on me."
"Tell me what happened Rosy. From the beginning."
"You've agreed to be my mate?" Rose was startled by his sudden presence. She had looked down at her DHP for a moment, and then poof, he was there. how did he do that?
"Yes."
Raijuta was stood before the gazebo, wearing his full armour (no weapons) and mask. He had a furry silver cloak on, which tamed his look slightly. It was still damn intimidating, with all that black armour. It made him look like a dark reaper.
"Just yes?" He stalked towards her and stopped with nothing but the little table between them. "Yesterday you said you've never be mated to me."
"And as you said, I don't have a choice." Rose cleared her throat and waved her hand at the chair by her side. "Would you please join me so we can agree the terms of our betrothal."
"OOo, please." He snickered. "We even have manners now."
She couldn't help. Her tongue was razor sharp. He was being an ass. It had to happen.
"I could have told you to sit the fuck down but it though we should make the effort to be polite to one another. Since we're going to be together forever."
"Don't depress me." He grumbled and lowered into the chair.
He turned it round to straddle it, and stare right at her.
She was hardly conformable with that body language and gaze, but she'd be damned if she allowed him to unnerve her. She cleared her throat again, and tucked a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear.
"I have some suggestions for our terms here. Do you have-"
"You will not interfere with my training or my hunts. You will have no authority over what I do or when I do it. You will not expect to socialise with me and my friends, you will never cross me in public."
Rose gulped.
Control your temper, control it, control it.
"I wouldn't presume as to infringe on your training time, or your hunts, or your friends. That is perfectly acceptable." She managed to get out without snarling, growing, swearing, or letting her temper get the better of her. all good so far. "I would however like to train."
"What?" he cocked his head to one side. "Why would you want to train with us 'murderous monsters'?"
"I never agreed with you hunting humans, but the art of combat itself is not disagreeable to me. If anything, it's the one thing I'll actually gain from this arrangement." Rose crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms over her chest. "The only things I ask for, is the opportunity to train and to see my sister regularly."
"Are those the only things?" She nodded. "I will not train you. I'll end up killing you."
"Fine, I'll train on my own and through observations." He folded his arms and seemed to be examining her.
"You sister will be on the ship anyway. See her whenever you want."
"And my aunt?"
"She's staying here, right?"
"Well-"
"Then no."
"But-"
"I'm sure my soft little brother will put his training in jeopardy to bring your sister back here, but I won't. You can however hitch a ride with them."
"...alright." Rose looked over her DHP and mentally ticked things off. "Then we just need to talk about conjugal visits."
"What the pauk is that?" She looked at him, about to accuse him of being an ass for the sake of it, but he genuinely didn't know what she meant. Conjugal probably wasn't a word that translated well into his language.
"I-intercourse."
"..." he then started snickering at her. "You mean sex."
"Yes."
"What about it?" He leaned back in the chair, seemingly enjoying her discomfort over this topic very much.
"Well, I want us to make an agreement over how many times a week we are to...have sex." Her cheeks burned, but she'd be damned if she let him get amusement from her inexperience with this topic. He looked like someone who's had plenty of 'experience' with sex.
"Why don't you Oomans just say what you want to say?"
"Fine." She flustered, thoroughly annoyed at the chuckle he released afterwards. "We need to agree to have sex at least once a week."
"No." He then outright barked at her, his mandibles clattering under his mask. Oh he was so amused.
"Look, I want to have children one day and-"
"No, that's not the point." He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself.
All Rose wanted to do was smack him upside the head. But her inner aristocrat took over, and she sat there and patiently waited for him to start again. "I will not be agreeing any minimum or maximum times I'm allowed to pauk you. after all, pauking you is the only thing I'm going to gain from this arrangement."
She could have died. He used her words and threw them right back at her. "You're barely going to good for that, but I'll have you as often as I want you."
"You can't be serious?"
Temper? Welcome to the fight. "You seriously think I'm going to part my legs whenever you want me to?"
"Yes." He leaned forward on the chair, folding his arms on the back rest. "Or I won't let you see your sister."
Her eyes widened, her lips pursed together, and her heart rate increased.
"You can't be fucking serious?"
"Like I said. I don't get any other bonus by having you thrust upon me, then to thrust into you. Whenever I want." He trilled at her.
He was serious. He intended to have her whenever he wanted to. "At least once a day."
"Go fuck yourself." She stood up with suck a force the chair fell over behind her. "I will not be your sex slave."
"Oh, you will." He also stood up, slowly, arrogantly, and held his arms open. "By the time I've had you, you'll be throwing yourself at me. I've had great feedback from my skills in bed."
"Don't make me sick!" she backed up against the gazebo wall, only to have him stalk after her. "I will not let you touch me."
"But dear." He walked right up to her and put his hands at either side of her pretty little head. "How do you think we become mates in the first place?"
"...what?"
"Oh you naive little Ooman." He leaned forward and removed his mask; so his breath beat down on her forehead. "To become mates, we have to promise ourselves to each other whilst mating. Clue's in the name." Rose felt her heart drop into her stomach. He just clattered with laugher. "You only get one choice, today, or tomorrow. You can't wait any longer. Now be a good girl and pick the day, so we can kiss and get on with it."
"No." She brought her fists up and banged them onto his chest. "Get away from me."
"No?" He smirked, seeing such addictive anger in her eyes. oh yes, they were going to have some passionate angry sex in their future. He could hardly wait. "What part of, you have already agreed and have to pick a night, did you not understand?"
"What part of I won't be your sex slave don't you get?!" Dark brown eyes stared down into her flaming jade ones, amusement and arousal pouring down at her.
"Do you want to see your sister?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then you'll be mine whenever I want you. It's a simple as that." she actually hissed at him she was that angry and frustrated. "Now say you agree, and we can get on with this." He clasped his mask to his hip to free his other hand up. It smoothed over her cleavage and grasped at her neck. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to make her look up at him. if he wasn't having such a great time, he'd have realised she was pumping out scared Dai-shui. Her eyes held such anger, that's all he could focus on. the passion there. he wanted to own it, taste it, swim in it. "Agree to my terms Rose." He brought his face closer and brushed his lower left mandible with her tense jaw. He started to drown her with the scent of his arousal, hoping it would bring her into the mood. "Then we can be mated."
"I-I"
"Agree." He growled, using his grip on her neck to make her face him. "Now." he barked.
"FINE!" she screamed in his face.
He watched her pant at him with teary eyes. it had been very difficult for her to give in to him like that. "N-now let me go."
"No." He felt her tens under his grip. "Now we kiss. To make it official."
"No! Get off me!"
"I can't do that. You're mine now Rose. Remember, you can't refuse me." He leaned in, planning on pressing her lips to his inner ones, when she struck him.
First he jerked to a halt and felt cold. Then the pain pooled into his left side and burned.
Raijuta moved the arm on that side away from her, not the one holding her neck, and looked down at his side.
Rose had pulled a long dirty nail from the gazebo and tried to stab him with it. she'd cut him alright, but it was a shallow cut. Just between his front and back plating. It was shallow, but not through lack of trying however.
Shocked at her actions, and the green blood slowly dripping from his side, Rose dropped the nail and really started to panic. "Well that was very naughty. Hot." He chuckled darkly and brought his smouldering gaze back to her eyes. "But naughty." He gripped at her neck and pulled her forward and into his forced embrace. "You will learn to be submissive to me. And you'll like it."
"NO!" she screamed, and punched him in his wound. He released her and stumbled back.
Ok, she wasn't just playing hard to get any more.
"You little C'jit!" he swung a hand forward, just to grab her and stop her doing that again, but he wasn't prepared.
He'd thought she was behaving like a Yautja female, in the deciding who's going to be dominate phase of the betrothal.
But no, she was going ape shit.
Before he could blink she'd picked up the chair and smashed him over the head with it.
Raijuta wasn't about to lose the fight for dominance, or allow her to disrespect him like that. they'd agreed terms, she was breaking them.
He roared in her face, gripped the front of her dress and threw her out of the gazebo.
She landed with a skid, and he was soon upon her again. "Calm the pauk down!" he tried to grab her wrists, but she was in full panic mode. She kicked, bite, punched, scratched, anything she could. He was soon covered in small injuries, and needed her to stop. He back handed her face once, trying to snap her out of it.
Ooooo,
Bad timing.
Sure, Rose stopped struggling and attacking him.
However, a certain aunty of the Sicarius order jumped onto his back, fisted at his dreads and held a blade to his neck. He could also hear the sound of a wrist blade shooting out of its restraints. That would be his father.
Oh C'jit.