The next morning Boro had breakfast with Nila and afterwards sent orders for his army to broke camp and began marching towards Kurten, a fortress city further to the north nestled right in the Gladous Mountains. It was a slow process. Boro's army had around four thousand foot, archers and cavalry and a thousand or more, army followers including woman too big with child, elderly who tended to the cooking, cleaning and washing, and children, so many children, left orphaned or homeless because of the ongoing conflict. Several of his officers had been petitioning him daily to take the orphans on as soldiers and train them for war but Boro refused them every time. He would not raise an army of child soldiers, but he did offer service to any youth of age to be taught the sword and spear. Those too young but insistent on joining he took on as squires, pages and message runners, anything he could think of to keep them busy and out of trouble.
The journey itself would normally last two spans of days but with such a large following of troops and camp followers the going was slow. To add to the difficulty, the winter began to set in after just the first span of days, bringing snow and freezing rain, and forcing them to stop frequently to pull a wagon out from a snow pile or to break up ice to keep horses from shattering bones.
During the day Boro rode Dingir along the long line of marching people. Offering a hand, and the voice of a leader, when needed. He would visit Nila whenever time would permit and they would talk of the old days at the Academy. Every now and then he would try to discuss her joining his side, but those conversations often left one, or both, of them fuming. Nila was deaf to any plea to fight on his side, as he was to her requests to end the rebellion. Nila would plead with tears in her eyes, ones of anger and frustration, stating that his little army could not stand against the might of King Galave's full force.
She did not know that at their destination, Kurten, the bulk, and full might of the rebels waited for his army. Twenty-five thousand strong, including over three hundred fully recognized Blademasters, a staggering six thousand cavalry, and an assortment of sword, pike, bow and seige men and women, waited to join with Boro's own four thousand. Not only that but they were days away from joining with a third army led by Lady Gustar's younger sister, Lady Jesa. With every victory their overall numbers went up. When they finally combined forces, his officers, both here and waiting, estimated they would be fielding over thirty-five thousand. It was the largest force ever assembled on Korone so far as they could tell.
After two spans of slow marching through the early winter flurries they finally saw Lady Jesa's army encamped by a small brook tucked quietly in the heart of the Pine Wood, a moderately sized forest rooted several days from Mount Galdous. Boro and Lady Jesa had never met before, but Boro had heard many stories of the Philo family, the main rumor was that they were ruthless and had a penchant for putting prisoners to the question. Boro would be damned if he let any questioning be done to his prisoners by this madwomen, especially not to Nila.
When he finally came face to face with Lady Jesa, she was nothing like he had expected. She was a short woman, at least two heads shorter then Boro, with smooth, ebony skin. Her hair was a mass of locked hair, tied up into a tall bun, with the sides of her head shaved bald. She had a very pleasant face, with slightly tilted, deep set brown eyes. She had a friendly demeanor and upon seeing Boro gave him a wide smile showing off dazzling white teeth.
"Sir Boro, it is a pleasure to finally meet you" She said giving him a sharp salute.
"Likewise my Lady" returning the salute but keeping his face neutral. He had no idea what to make of this women. She did not look capable of even a fragment of the things he heard about her family.
"Would you allow me to walk with you? We have an area cleared for your army to put up their tents." She beckoned Boro forward and he likewise sent the command for his army to follow and to prepare for rest.
"So Sir Boro, I heard you were young but I did not expect to see a boy leading this army"
Boro ignored the jab at his age, it was not the first time some lord or lady had tried to provoke him by using his youthfulness against him.
"Truth be told my Lady, you are not quite what I imagined either."
She gave him a wide, knowing smile. " Yes, I often surprise people"
"My sister sent a message that you have quite a number of prisoners with you, have you learned anything useful from them yet?" Her eyes seemed to sparkle with menace when she asked and Boro saw the monster behind the beautiful mask.
"We have learned some small information from some of our captives, troop movements, numbers, and some supply routes." He answered easily.
Lady Jesa smiled further before saying, "Perhaps you might let me and mine question some of these captives. I'm sure after just a short time we will have more information we can use to our advantage."
"No, I will not have any of my prisoners tortured"
Her smile faded for just a second before it was back on her face. "Very well, they are your prisoners to do with as you will"
Boro understood the meaning behind her words. These prisoners were his, and any she took she would expect him to let her do as she will with them.
"Well, I am sure you are quite famished Sir, perhaps we can reconvene later tonight after you have had a chance to settle in... over dinner perhaps?" She gave Boro a girlish look and Boro flushed, she was quite pretty, even for a sadist.
Before Boro could politely decline however she said, "Meet me outside my pavillion, that large blue one there, after the moons begin rising, I look forward to getting to know you more Sir Boro" She did not wait for a reply but turned quickly and began walking away.
Boro sighed and wondered what he would be getting himself into by accepting her offer for dinner. At that point however it seemed less of an invitation and more of a command. Although in the military hierarchy he was higher than her in the royal hierarchy she was spans ahead of him. Meaning although he was her military higher up, in all other means she might as well have been a queen and he a peasant.
So he found himself in his best formal wear, a freshly laundered gambeson and one of the few not riddled with holes or bloodstains in truth. He worriedly tried to pat down some wrinkles least her ladyship be offended. He gave up after just a minute of trying and failing to smooth it out. As he made his death march to her tent he saw how truly lavish she was living.
Her tent was huge, larger even than his own command tent that he used to hold meetings with all his officers. It was at least as long as four large men laying foot-to-head, and twice as tall as himself. It was also ringed in rich, colorful lace. With at least twelve, serious looking guards surrounding it. When he was finally permitted to enter he was an ornately carved black yew table in the center, with just as ornate chairs around it. The table was covered by more lace and in the center, a large, silver candelabra with long, thick candles of various colors. In one corner of the tent was a smaller, but just as ornate, table covered in papers and various other things. On the opposite side of the tent was a large bed, not just a pallet or mattress, but a full, queen sized bed complete with frame, curtains and headboard. The extravaganza of the tent irritated Boro, no one should be sleeping so lavishly on a military campaign.
Lady Jesa herself was dressed up to the teeth in finery. Her shimmering light blue dress was tight against her curvaceous body. All along the length of the dress were small cut sapphires and to top it off a huge orange stone lay nuzzled between her breasts. Boro had to stop himself from openly gapping, she was stunning.
Boro bowed respectfully to her, after his brief pause, a pause she did not fail to take note of. Her smile widened and she waved him over to her and bid him to sit in the chair next to her.
"You look quite dashing when you are not covered in dirt and dust Sir" She told him, her eyes drinking him in as he sat by her side.
"And you are lovelier than the moon my lady. I must admit I am surprised to find your tent so... well furnished."
Lady Jesa smiled coyly at the compliment and the rebuke of all the finery.
"A lady must have her comforts, even in war young master, do you not agree?"
Boro remained silent for a short time but this made her smile even more.
"Well, I can see you disagree with me there but alas what is done is done. Shall we eat?" She asked him. Without waiting she lifted a small bell and rung it loudly several times.
After a short wait, several people entered the room carrying large platters of food. There were lots of colorful fruits Boro had never seen before and a large roasted bird he could not identify. It smelled like nothing he had ever smelled before, and his mouth began to water without his consent.
Boro did his best not to make a fool of himself but it was difficult. He had never eaten so well in all his life. Even when he was hosted by other lords and ladies he was not treated so well. Other than Littume and his father, he was often still treated as a peasant whenever he was being hosted by nobility. Even with his title granting him a place in the minor nobility he was often looked down upon. Lady Jesa was different however, despite her family's reputation she was kind to him, and spoke to him as she would any other of the high nobility. She spoke easily to him and he found her to be quite funny and charming.
She was also very flirtatious with him, touching his hand often and giving him that same coy smile she had when he had complimented her. When Boro had finished eating a slice of meat off the roast bird, a bit of fat trickled down his mouth and was caught in the hair that had been sprouting from his face. She noticed it and leaned forward to wipe the grease from his fuzz. When her hand touched his face she left it there just a second too long, and Boro felt his face heat up.
She really is quite beautiful He thought as he looked at her, and she at him. Then just as quick as it happened, it was over and her hand was gone.
Boro tried to steel himself to her looks and touches, but he was a young man and like almost all young men his mind seemed to always circle back to the same things. Even when he was with Nila, his best friend and now prisoner. His mind could not help but circle back to the same thoughts. What it would be like to kiss her, to touch her, to...
Boro shook his mind free of the whirlpool of his thoughts. He was no child to be distracted by a pretty face, no matter who the face belonged to, he was a warrior, and he needed to behave like one.
But even the most seasoned warriors allow themselves this distraction why shouldn't I? A voice in his retorted. It was true, a large portion of his army followers were wives too pregnant to fight, elders to old to fight, or children to young to fight, but their was also a large amount of people employed to help... alleviate... the stresses of life and battle.
Boro had never had sex before, and truthfully he had not given it much thought in the past. He had definitely given it thought before, especially with Nila, and then again with Isbella. But for the most part it wasn't something that occupied his mind often. Even Littume, at least before the last few months, had been obsessed with it. Now though he could not help but be consumed by the thoughts of it too.
Every brush of her hand against him sent lightning running through him. Every look became one of temptation and Boro found himself sweating and fidgeting profusely despite the ever encroaching cold of winter. Lady Jesa was all to aware of her effect on him until she finally suggested he take of the stuffy gambeson to cool down. Boro's face heated again, and if it were possible it would have been a deep shade of crimson, and Lady Jesa just giggled girlishly at him as if she knew how flushed and flustered he felt.
"Now sir, please do not be embarrassed, I do not bite...much" She winked at him as she lifted him to his feet and began unbuttoning his gambeson. When she got to the third button she realized that he only wore a thin white shirt underneath and it was damp from his sweating, the shirt clung to him and see saw the strong body under it.
"Maybe we should take this shirt off too to let it dry" pinching the wet shirt she laughed again and just like that Boro was bare chested in her tent.
He stood awkwardly after she had pulled his wet shirt off, while Lady Jesa looked him up and down, actually circling around him twice and clicking her tongue.
"You seem uncomfortable Boro, is it because you are the only one half dressed?" Her face was very close to his now. Her dark eyes glittered wickedly and before he could even think of a response she said, "Perhaps I should match your state of undress then, so you are not alone"
She put her hands to her dress straps and made as if to pull them down. Boro made a choking sound and tried to back away but he bumped in to the chair he had previously been occupying, and fell backwards over it in a heap.
"My good sir, the way you act one might mistake you for a maiden being chased after by a lusty man" She reached a hand down to help Boro up, and when he did not reply a look of shock reached her face, it was brief, but long enough for Boro to see it and, if it was possible, to blush even deeper. "NO! Tell me sir Boro, are you truly a maiden?"
Boro mumbled something that would sounded like "Well now that is just none of your concern" If his mouth had not suddenly become bone dry and ceased to function normally.
Lady Jesa leaned towards him again, and she placed her small hand on his bare chest, "I could change that for you if you want sir. You are nice to look at, and from what I can tell you find me easy to look at yourself" She indicated downward, and Boro suddenly realized that all the blood in his face seemed to have moved elsewhere.
It was too much, Boro felt as if his body had betrayed him. He took a deep breath, and then another, silence lingered in the air for a moment, and then another, then another, until it seemed like all the time in existence just passed. Lady Jesa just stood there still, hand on his chest, their faces just a hair's width apart. He smelled her breath, even after eating it still smelled good, as if she had just finished chewing mint leaves.
This was not love he felt, he knew that feeling well, he had loved Nila since the moment he met her and this feeling was not the same. That feeling came from his chest and radiated to his extremities, this one was different, it started, and ended, at his manhood. He saw a bead of sweat fall from Lady Jesa's forehead, and reached up to wipe it away without thinking. Then she was kissing him, or was he kissing her? It was hard to tell, who initiated it but as soon as it started all other thoughts fled his mind and it did not matter anymore. She bit his lip and slipped her tongue into his mouth when he tried to gasp. His hand was on her waist and he lifted her easily with it. She wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, one arm on his back, her other hand running through his hair.
Then he was sitting on the edge of he bed, her in his lap her hand moving down his chest to unlace his pants. His own hands working the lace at the back of her dress, and pulling the straps off her shoulders baring her breasts. They both moved quickly and seemed to fumble with the unlacing. She finally freed him of his pants and began working her hand along his manhood.
Then suddenly Nila's face entered his mind, her warm smile, her laugh echoed in his head. I can not do this, not with her, she is not Nila A voice that sounded like his own told him.
He pulled away from Lady Jesa, gently stopping her hands, although it took every ounce of willpower to do.
"Why do you stop me?" She asked him, a look of hurt on her face. "Am I doing this wrong?" it was only then that it occured to Boro that she was just as young as he was, and that for all her bravado and confidence she might be just as new to this as he was.
"I am sorry my lady, I think we should slow down. I do not know if I am ready for this yet." He looked at her, her face at level with his own with her still in his lap. "I think I need more time, I am sorry"
Boro lifted her off of him and quickly re-tied his laces and put his shirt back one. He turned to look at her, the hurt was gone, replaced by... Curiosity? He could not be sure what look it was but it was certainly not anger. He bowed to her, and thanked her for the wonderful dinner... and everything else too. Then fled the tent with as much haste as he could without running. Fear of turning back and picking up where he left off at the forefront of his mind.
He stopped at the entrance as she finally returned his thanks, "Thank you too sir Boro, I will wait patiently for you to call on me, do not make me wait too long... or I will find you"
The last he heard as he fled the tent was her girlish giggle.