The Riders were gone, but in their wake came a group of lean, hard muscled Men of varying ages, following Finnan out to the high meadow near the woods. Halla was curious about them, but she asked no questions, and by the time she and Ailith returned from a ride through the fields, the bay mare in the barn had dropped her foal. Grinning, Halla looked over the stall door, happy to see that the new colt's coat was either dark brown or true black. "Looks like you got your wish, Ailen," Halla said.

The stable boy grinned, setting his pitchfork aside and leaning against Miss Matilda's stall. "He's a good one, too. Up on his feet good and fast. Nursin' well, too, as you can see. And I'm hopin' to have another pregnancy soon, but Golden Star ain't lettin' Thunder cover her long enough to shoot off his load—"

"Ailen!" Ailith snapped, pinching her little brother's shoulder. "Your pardon, my lady!"

Halla laughed. "It's really no problem."

"Oh, but it is!" Ailen complained. "Don't matter what ol' boy does if the baby-makin' stuff don't go where it needs to!"

"What's the matter," Halla asked. "She won't stand still? Or she's fighting him?"

"Kicks him right off as soon as he mounts her. I'm a little worried she'll break his leg or something, if she keeps it up."

"Well… Perhaps she's not in true season just yet. I wouldn't let him free-cover her. Bring them in from the field and use the run, but wait another day to put them together, and take it slow."

"Lord Finnan told me to hobble her," Ailen said, and his sister made a face of revulsion.

"No," Halla said. "Don't do that. Likely she's just at the beginning of her season; she'll take him ready enough when she goes on all the way."

"Thanks, Mistress!" Ailen said cheerfully. "I do hate the idea of hobbling her!"

"It's loathsome," Halla agreed. She turned to leave the barn, Ailith in tow. "Beautiful baby, isn't he? That's what you'll be doing, once you get your land. Dealing with fussy mares and little foals."

Ailith smiled. "I hope so. But I wanted to talk to you about something else. Being how they're going to put up a little camp for the loggers… Well, Blythe and I had a mind to make and sell our own ale. But I was hoping you'd let me go for the mid-day hour, so that I can sell them meat pies and waybread as well. Put aside a little extra for my farm, you see."

"What? Ailith, what are you talking about, loggers setting up camp?"

Ailith raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't know, my lady? Lord Finnan's cutting down some of the wood, to sell lumber all the way down to Edoras. There'll be a veritable village sprouting up on the high meadow in a few days."

"Finnan is cutting down my woods? Setting up a village on my land?" Halla cried. "No wonder he doesn't say a word to me, he knows I'd never allow it! He promised me sheep in my marriage contract, and said we'd keep the land open!"

Ailith widened her eyes in dismay. "I'm sorry, my lady… There's quite a call for building now, with the War being over. His lordship means to capitalize on it. He's even raised the fee at the grain mill to pay for expanding the saw mill."

Black with fury, Halla hissed, "The villagers of Birchleigh can hardly afford what they paid before! Perhaps instead of buying me all that awful, gaudy jewelry, he should have lowered the fee so that his own people don't go hungry paying his tax! And if this drought holds and the crops fail…"

Ailith laughed ruefully. "His lordship is a mighty Man now; such is the way with Men of power. They must do as they will, for they shape the world. We—even you, your ladyship—just live in it. But Birchleigh will be building up as well, and that will make the whole village more prosperous."

"Well I will have words with him. I can't stop him it seems, but I can let him know how vicious it is. Raising fees on peasants so that he can turn a profit! What sort of rule is that? Grinding those not in power into the very ground? It amazes me how Men can wage war on some things, in the name of freedom and decency, and then turn around and throw burdens onto the poor, and persecute the stranger, just to have the world as they will!"

"Hmm," Ailith murmured. "That is an interesting thought. But it's always been this way. And at least he does not enslave the villagers, nor bring terror to them."

"No," Halla spat. "He just keeps the little children's bellies empty so that he can have new clothes and golden chains around his neck."

Halla returned the manor, not surprised to see Edwyn sitting in the hall, supping up the last bit of his stew with bits of crispy white bread.

"Hello Halla!" he said merrily. "Miss Ailith, you are looking lovely today, I must say."

"Did you know about this?" Halla demanded, dropping down beside the sweet-faced warrior.

"Depends on what this you mean," Edwyn returned, grinning before draining a cup of good wine.

"The logging, the village going up on my land… The higher fees at the Birchleigh mill!"

"Oh, Halla, you are plebian in your sympathies!" Edwyn laughed. "Of course I know of it. I advised him to set up the village, rather than bringing workers in each day. They'll pay you rent on their little huts, don't worry."

"I don't care about that," Halla said. "I care about the villagers who can't afford the fee! And with this awful weather! Only drops of rain in three whole weeks! What if the harvest fails?"

"With the fair weather we had at the turn of the year, much of the wheat's nigh ready to come in. It's a bumper crop, my dear. There will be plenty to go around. And before you go getting all fluffed up over the villagers of Birchleigh, you might like to know that they are the ones hording their grain and re-selling it at a horrific prices. Just because someone appears to be suffering, or weakened, does not mean they are always meek and kind."

"And just because someone is beautiful and well-to-do, it doesn't mean their heart is fair and just!"

"Halla, beautiful Halla…" Edwyn said, taking her hands. "This is how things are done. Would you have your husband give all this land away? Divide it amongst the peasantry, so they can run it into the ground while you and he starve? There must be order for society to thrive. You are fortunate: your husband is one of those who keeps the order, and you, I think, like the benefits? The fine soft gowns, the lovely horses to ride?"

Halla sighed, caught on his point. "Still… If the harvest doesn't come in well…"

"Then we will think of something. Finnan has a good deal of grain on reserve, to hold against famine. And he will dispense it if needs be, and forego his fee at the mill. But surely there will be no famine this blessed year. You should be glad: your fortune is on the rise. Lumber is at a premium these days, and there are fine hard woods in yonder forest, as well as much needed soft pine."

"I can do nothing to stop it," Halla said, frustrated.

"Precisely. You can do nothing to stop it, so you might as well enjoy it. Where's all that high color and fiery glow you had a few weeks back? I miss that Halla."

"It ran away," Halla said bitterly.

Edwyn smiled gently, and poured more wine into his cup. He handed it to Halla. "Then drink up, lovely, and put a little heat in your cheeks. There is nothing worse than the sight of a beautiful woman moping herself into plainness. Shall I summon a minstrel tonight? Have a little music and song?"

"Do what you like," Halla replied, draining the cup and rising. "But tell him I am most displeased."

Edwyn bowed mockingly. "I am your messenger, my lady."

Halla stomped up the stairs, Ailith in tow. As she climbed, she wrenched a thick gilt bracelet off her wrist and passed it to Ailith. "Here. Use this to start your business. I can't stop them from building a village on my land and cutting down my trees. You might as well make your dreams come true."

Halla's displeasure registered with her husband about as much as the scant drops of water made a difference to the dry, parched earth. Within two more hot, dry weeks, there were a full dozen hastily erected dwellings on Halla's land, and the loggers were calling their camp High Meadow as if it was a permanent settlement. Progress was slow, but soon Halla started seeing the forest retreating, leaving behind ugly dead stumps. She was beside herself to see such beauty destroyed, but everyone else was thrilled. The saw mill ran all day long, and logs floated down the river like schools of massive craggy sturgeons. But the wheat was withering where it stood, and the charcoal grey skies hinted at rain and rumbled with thunder, but delivered nothing save hot, dry wind. The peasants of Birchleigh squinted their eyes fearfully to the sky, and watched in horror as their near-ready crops sagged lifelessly in the fields.

At least Ailith was doing well. She told Halla how much ale and treats she sold as she brushed Halla's long pale hair smooth. "And since they've brought their families, business is better than ever. Soon I'll be able to pay someone to sell food and beer all day long."

Halla smiled softly, her fingers smoothing over the golden, glowing amber necklace, draped almost prayerfully in the silver tray. "You might as well build a little wattle and daub tavern, Ailith. I can do without you much of the time. It would make me happy to know you're on your way to buying a bit of land, and some good blood-stock."

"You seem so sad, my lady," Ailith said quietly. "You are not happy with your husband. Does he ever come to bed?"

Halla laughed grimly. "You've not figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out, my lady?"

"Nothing," Halla murmured. "We are not… friendly with each other. He has no liking for me, nor I for him. I would much rather be like you, Ailith: a single woman making her way in the world. No one ever told me such a thing was possible."

"Well," Ailith said briskly. "No one told me either, exactly. But I had little choice in the matter. The marriage I had hoped for… It fell through, that's the best way to put it. No one wants a wife who was used by Orcs. I don't blame him."

Halla exhaled a shaking breath, forgetting what she'd wanted to say. "I… suppose… Well… You have your freedom now, in a manner. You are far freer than I."

"Yes," Ailith said, "I am free. Oh my lady, don't be sad! I know he isn't very affectionate to you, but your husband holds you in high regard, I'm sure. Especially now… that his… suspicions have been proven wrong."

"I'm for bed, Ailith," Halla said quietly. "I'll fetch my own nightgown from the trunk."

"Good night, my lady," Ailith said, laying down the ivory handled boar-bristle brush, and retreating from the bedroom.

As Halla changed and slid into bed, a loud crash of thunder tore over the mountains. Halla lay in bed in the darkness, wondering how much thunder there could possibly be without the usual accompaniment of rain. And then, she caught a faint, musky scent in the air, a damp earthy scent. She heard slow pattering outside her window, and then the skies opened and blue lightning flashed, and the downpour began. Laughing, Halla ran to the window and threw it open, taking the sweet, wet water on her face, on her tongue. Finally… she thought. The harvest would be saved.

But then she heard crashing sounds, and thumping against the roof. To Halla's horror great balls of hail pelted the house and the grounds, covering the earth in moments and striking at the wheat all over Birchleigh. After a while the pelting stopped, but the thunder kept crashing and the rain fell hard, making streams of the parched grass fields around the manor house. Halla closed her eyes, pushing away anxieties about the harvest, and willed herself to sleep.

Some hours later—when the thunder rumbled a little softer, and the rain had slowed somewhat—Halla jolted awake. She blinked in the darkness, not sure what had woke her.

Then she heard it again: a scratching sound, like a cat wanting to come indoors. Halla sat up in bed, frowning, listening for the source. She stepped out of bed and looked about the room, her eyes freezing at the window she'd thrown open.

Maukurz was in the window, running his claws softly down the shutters, grinning at Halla with an intoxicating mixture of lasciviousness and deep gut desire.

Halla leaped from the bed. "What are you doing?" she whispered, delighted and terrified. She ran to the window, looking down on him. He couldn't come through the window, it was far too small, but he clung to the rough stones outside. A white blossom was tucked behind his ear. Maukurz plucked it out and tossed through the window, to the floor at Halla's bare feet.

"I promised you I'd come, didn't I?"

Halla could hardly speak. His presence had such a powerful affect on her: she was thrilled, the pleasure of his body and his easy conversation instantly recalled. And she was terrified. He looked quite savage in the darkness, illuminated by flashes of lightning. Finally recovering herself she asked, "Are you quite sure no one saw you?"

Maukurz nodded slowly, savoring the warm scent of her arousal. "Everyone's scared of the storm. But not you, I hope. Hurry up, Halla. I can't wait no more."

With that he released the window, dropping to the ground far below in silence. By the time Halla made it all the way to the window, he was gone. But she could see, just barely, a trail of white flowers in the mud. Halla laughed aloud for sheer delight, and ran to tug on her blue robe.

She crept out of her bedroom and down the stairs, relieved to see that Finnan wasn't sleeping in the hall. He must have a little love nest somewhere with Edwyn, somewhere I'll never know about. But Finnan's wolfhounds were there, and their heads were up and their fangs bared as they growled at the darkness, sensing Maukurz.

"Shut up, you ragged things!" Halla hissed. Then she pushed open the door. The rain had turned the stairs into a dock emerging from an enormous, flooded puddle. There was nothing for it, so Halla ran down into the water, soaking the bottom of her fine nightclothes in mud. The rain poured down so hard it was difficult to see, and the wind whipped her hair about. But then a flash of lightning illuminated the grounds, and Halla saw a trail of white flowers leading to the hay shed. She grinned manically and hiked her gown up, running for the hay shed. The door was slightly ajar. As she came, Maukurz pushed it open all the way and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside.

He was all over her right away. Pulling her into the bales of hay, yanking off her robe and pulling up her gown. Halla threw her nightgown over her head and embraced Maukurz, holding his hot, hard body tight against her own, savoring the heady, male scent. Maukurz rushed to discard his ragged loincloth and breechclout, gasping "I don't know what you did to me, but I can't fuck nothin' else."

He lifted Halla and lay her down in the hay. Maukurz was deeply excited by his illicit presence on the horse boy's estate, and his cock was swollen like never before, pounding and throbbing mercilessly. He pushed his hand between Halla's legs, feeling her slick and ready for him without any help on his part. He nearly swooned as he lined himself up and prepared to drive himself home.

But then she caught his hand. "Wait—" she gasped. "Wait, I don't want to get pregnant…"

Maukurz jerked his head away, frowning. "What?"

"You have to be careful," Halla whispered. "You can't… inside me. I can't get pregnant, surely you know that…"

"Why not?" Maukurz demanded, his heart pounding in his throat. "Halla, don't tell me you're never gonna leave him…" He shook his head darkly.

"It's not that…" Halla pleaded, reaching for Maukurz's face.

He jerked his head back, out of her reach.

"Maukurz!" Halla whispered. "I adore you, I need you… But there are things I must make sense of here, can you understand? Finnan is exploiting my land, and exploiting the villagers. I am their lady! I must do something for them!"

"You're my lady," Maukurz murmured. "Or I thought you were."

"Yes, I'm yours! But I'm just not ready to leave yet! And… well, having a child—an Uruk-hai child!—is a rather huge commitment! I want to be settled first. I want to be safe, with my land disposed properly, and with some way to ensure we'll make it on our own! Please, Maukurz," Halla moaned, gripping his powerful hips and drawing him close again. "Please don't mistrust me… It's been so horrible without you… Is there no other way I can prove my love to you?"

Maukurz groaned, unable to resist much longer. She had soothed him a little, though privately he feared she would never be fully his. Yet this was only his first night back with her. And she was young, and certainly frightened. Maukurz wanted whelps, badly since there were so few of his kind left, almost as if it set off some manic breeding instinct in him. But, he realized, he couldn't force Halla. He hadn't forced her into his arms, and she'd come to him beautifully. He realized he could be patient with whelping her as well. He pressed his body down on her again and she moaned in pleasure. He buried his face in her neck, kissing her throat, nipping at her softly. "You gonna let me all over you, then?" he asked, pushing his cock teasingly against her, entering her just barely and then pulling back, delighting in torturing himself along with her.

"What do you mean?"

"You gonna give me what I like…" Maukurz grinned slyly as a flash of lightning poured down from the loft and illuminated his dangerously beautiful face. He broke away from her, running his tongue between her breasts, kissing his way down her belly. He pushed her legs apart roughly, but before he buried his face in her sex he stuck a finger in his mouth, tearing off one clawed nail and spitting it into the hay. Then he flickered his rough tongue over her teasingly, and she wrapped her long legs around his shoulders, sighing deeply as the first thrills of pleasure assaulted her.

Ailith awoke with a start, frightened by the loud banging. Flashes of lighting lit up the kitchen as the storm raged outside. The wind howled again, causing another loud bang, and Ailith realized that the storm had blown one of the shutters open. She stood up from her humble bedroll, seeing a pool of water growing on the floor beneath the window. Ailith walked to the window and reached for the shutters. She brought one in with some effort, fighting against the wind, finally getting it closed and redoing the latch. But the second shutter seemed to be stuck, and the rain kept pouring in, getting perilously close to a huge bag of flour she'd bought to make her pastries.

Halla jumped in surprise. Maukurz had her lifted, her legs still on his strong shoulders. His tongue swept down, touching her in a place she'd never thought to be touched before. She heard his low laughter humming against her body; he was delighting in her shock. He played a little longer, exploring with his tongue, and then he looked up and murmured, "Feel good?"

Speechless, Halla nodded. Thunder cracked overhead, and Maukurz drew her up, onto his lap. He'd brought her to climax once already, and she was more than ready for him. Moaning loud, Halla took him in, drawing her nails down his back as his achingly huge cock pushed her open and buried deep inside her. Maukurz sighed the sigh of a warrior returning home, and wrapped his arms around her. For a while it was good enough—sweet and thrilling and tender—just to rock Halla against him, drowning in her clear blue gaze, watching her lips quiver and her eyes close as she took her pleasure. And he had to go slow now, holding himself against his own climax. But he was too much for her, the exquisite sensations making her push hard against him, then retreat as she was overwhelmed. Maukurz bit his lip and trapped her hips in his hands, refusing to let her have peace, driving her deeper into bliss. She threw her head back, arching her back, her ripe breasts in his face. Maukurz kissed them, taking a berry pink nipple in his teeth and pulling gently. But then he felt her shiver; he felt her hot cunt grip him hard, and he knew she was coming again. He ran his hands down her body, over her hips, cupping her plump, small backside in his hands. As Halla cried out with the force of her pleasure, Maukurz used her body's wetness to slick his finger, and then he pushed his finger slowly inside her from the back.

"Oh! Ohhh…." Her breath came in a shudder and she clung to him, listening to his deep purr in her ear. "What… what are you…"

"Doin' what you said, and what I like." His other hand gripped her hip tightly and he rolled her hips back and forth fast, shattering her again, feeling her come all over his belly as she gasped for breath. "My turn," he purred.

He withdrew his finger, and pulled her off of him. Halla whimpered and pressed her hips back at him, insatiable.

"Turn around," Maukurz told her. Halla looked at him with wide eyes, as if she'd guessed it. He nodded slow, grinning wickedly.

Her lips parted, but no words came out. Maukurz took her shoulder gently, and turned her away from him. She lay flat on her belly, which he figured would probably be best anyway. Even as slow as he planned to take it, she wouldn't be able to hold herself up. "I'ma be good to you…" he promised, whispering in her ear as he lay over her back. He braced his weight with one arm. The other hand reached down, and pulled her legs apart. "Nice and wide," he crooned. He reached his hand between his legs and rubbed her incredibly damp sex, drawing the wetness back. Shaking with desire, Maukurz spread her backside apart. Halla gasped, sucking her breath as he began to work the swollen head of his cock inside.

The fasting was busted on the windowsill. Already drenched from standing out in the storm, fighting with the thing only to have it fly open again as soon as she got inside, Ailith now concentrated on moving the supplies away from the growing puddle. She was sure she could handle it; there was no reason to wake Blythe or her sleeping brother. Her arms were strong from years of work, and she dragged the flour sacks away with little trouble. Then she moved a cauldron under the windowsill, to catch the rainwater pouring in from the open window.

But soon she realized she had to get that window shut. And that meant going back out in the storm. Ailith put her sodden cloak back on and pulled up the hood. A powerful sense of unease filled her. But she went out the door all the same, and around the kitchen, the hayloft behind her a good fifty paces away. The pounding rain muffled all sound, and it was terrifying to have her vision so limited, especially in the blackness of night. Ailith set her hands on her hips, looking at the shutter for a moment, bending her mind on the problem to avoid the odd, instinctive fear she felt. War-time is over, she thought. Then she had an idea.

Maukurz rocked gently over Halla, one hand soft and sweet between her legs, easing her as he pumped into her tight backside, the other wrapped around her jaw, his fingers cupping over her lips to keep her rhythmic, moaning cries quiet. His own growling purrs and harsh, gravelly breath were loud enough to betray him, but Maukurz couldn't help it. He had never felt anything so good in his entire life. He wondered how no other creatures—including her kind—could smell the heavy scent of sex in the air.

Soon the powerful sensations carried him away, and for a moment he got wilder, thrusting deep as his climax built. Halla cried out and bit down on his fingers in protest, and he shot off violently inside her. "Fuuuuck…" he groaned, wrapping his arms around her. Shivers went through him as his seed pumped into her. He bit down on the back of her neck lightly, holding her with his teeth as he pressed his hips hard against her. His powerful orgasm lasted for long moments. Then he rolled off of her into the hay, panting on his back. "Fuck!" he said again, trembling down to his guts. He looked over his shoulder as she pushed herself up. "You… alive?"

Halla shook her head, a small smile on her face. A low, far off roll of thunder clapped outside the shed. "I don't think so," Halla told him.

"Aw, damn," Maukurz replied, grinning. He drew her into his arms. "Come here, ashgaz…"

Halla lay her cheek on his chest. She was breathing hard too, trying to put herself together again. "Where… did you learn that?"

"Oh there's all kinds of fucking," he said, playing softly with her hair, running his knuckles gently down her back. "But that's one of the best for me."

"It's… a little scary. But then really, really good. And then really painful… and then everything all over again."

"Yeah," he said, laughing. He sighed, closing his eyes. Her hands smoothed over his skin, her fingers running gently over the raised scars that ran over his chest courtesy of an Isengard bullwhip. The roaring fire in him had quieted, and Maukurz lay still, murmuring softly to Halla and listening to the beautiful storm, perfectly content.

"There!" Ailith said, pleased, although she wasn't sure that the heavy cooking spoon would hold up. Just then a gust of wind came through as if to test her. The shutters rattled, but held, and Ailith said, "Finally!"

She turned around, surprised to see through the lessening rain that the hayshed door had blown open. She wondered how the wind had lifted the heavy latch. She began to walk towards across the muddy lawn, but then that same fear arrested her, making her stomach tighten. Stop being a fool, she scolded herself, walking on.

But as she reached the door, Lady Birchleigh came out, in nothing but her nightgown! Halla didn't even look around, she just grabbed the door and pulled it shut again. Ailith wondered if something had happened in the hayshed. She thought maybe the storm had brought leaks, leaks that would mold the hay and make it poisonous to the horses. Figuring this was her horse-loving lady's concern, Ailith walked to the hayshed and pulled open the door. "My lady—"

Ailith felt the world shatter around her.

Halla sat up, horrified beyond imagining. She scrambled out of Maukurz's arms and jumped to her feet, begging at once. "Ailith, Ailith please…"

But Ailith wasn't looking at her at all. She was staring dead at Maukurz, gripping her belly as if she'd be sick. She was obviously terrified of the sight of a stark naked Uruk-hai laying in the hay…

Then Halla looked back. Maukurz had risen. And he was staring at Ailith too, his golden eyes narrowed, his head tilited. Then he looked back to Halla and sighed heavily.

"You…" Ailith hissed, and Halla looked back into her maddened eyes, and knew the truth.

Ailith turned and fled.