Knight Fall

Chapter 11 - The Battle for the Abbey - Pt. 2

Mira

I stumbled backwards, a dull bruise already stinging my side. I braced, trying to ignore the pain and guard against another assault, but it did not come. Instead, Amara chose to strike with her words.

“Even now, she holds a token of his dark magic,“ she said, holding her sword high like the gavel of a judge.

Another ripple of shocked gasps surrounded me. A soft, golden light shone out as Averi substantiated the accusation.

The beast within me howled in rage as my eyes swept over the crowd. How dare they judge me? I doubted any of them would’ve fared better against Errol. They likely would have made the same choice that I did. I could feel my heart hardening as I stared around the circle, at least until my gaze fell upon Janelle.

“Mira,” she mouthed. “Is this true?” Even from here, even beneath her robes, I could see her trembling.

Her doubt struck me like a lance to the chest. No. No, I would not let them take Janelle from me. She was my friend, perhaps my only true friend. “My sisters,” I said, desperately chasing the quiver from my voice.“She speaks the truth, but not the whole truth. Yes, this blade is from the dark mage, and yes, I promised to aid him in exchange for sparing my mind from his enchantments, yet I do not regret my choices.”

More murmuring rang out, though Amara only stared in cold silence.

“I was hopelessly outmatched, as any of us would be. I did the only thing I could and relied on deception.” Much as I was doing in this moment. They, however, did not need to know how dearly Errol’s offer had tempted me. They didn’t need to know the way power and control sang to my soul, nor of my cravings for the release of submission. No, I would tell them nothing of the beast within me, gnawing and scraping at the bars of its cage. Even now, I could feel it, calling to me, sizing up my sisters as a hungry predator would it’s next meal.

“I managed to lead the mage here and imprisoned him. I fulfilled my duty and my mission. I remained loyal.” Technically true, though missing key details. Perhaps I had learned a thing or two about lying from Finnick. 

The audience remained unsure, only furrowed brows and thin frowns looking back out at me, except Janelle. She at least seemed heartened by my words. 

“Your shadowed lies cannot conceal the truth of Solaris’s light,” Amara spat. “Your loyalty is that of a bird, blown about in whichever direction the wind points you.” Then she came at me again. 

This time, I was prepared for her speed. I raised my blade in time to block her side swipe. A metallic clang echoed through the courtyard as steel met steel. I ground my heel into the sandy ground of the sparring ring and threw my weight against her sword arm. “You don’t know me.” 

The move took her by surprise and her balance faltered. At last, an opening. I slashed upwards, but the angle proved awkward. We’d gotten too close for a proper swing and Amara managed to dance backward, the blade almost brushing against her nose. She spun on her heel until we landed back to back. 

“You say I don’t know you, but I do. Your Master isn’t the only one to see that hunger lurking behind your eyes. You never cared about Solaris. You only wanted one thing; power.” Then a sharp elbow slammed against my breast plate. Amara pushed off and I tried to respond by stabbing Oathbreaker back at her. 

But once again, The Dawnblade was just a hair too fast, the tip of my sword stopping just short. That’s when her shadowing reach came into play. She whirled around, driving her weapon squarely into my shoulder. “Midnight!” I yelled in frustration. 

“Two points to the Dawnblade,” Lynda yelled, a hint of satisfaction showing in her voice. 

***

Errol 

“Where were we? Oh yes, I remember, deflowering you.” My fingers continue tracing their slow, cruel circles around her entrance. Each one sent another shockwave of ecstasy through the priestess.

“No, no, please,” she panted through labored gasps.

“I do love the sound of a woman begging,” I said without breaking my pace. “But really there’s no need, dear. No need to talk. No need to think. You can just sit back and enjoy.” I saw it then, just the slightest flicker of weakness. For the briefest instant, all of her muscles relaxed at the prospect of not thinking and just accepting the pleasure washing over her.

“That’s it, Sabrina. Just relax and enjoy your enslavement.”

Just as quickly as it had surfaced that glimpse of submission vanished once more. I had pressed too far too fast. Shouldn’t have used the “e” word so quickly.

“You scoundrel, I will never be a slave,” she said with iron in her voice.

Of course, I couldn’t have that. So I roughly jammed a finger inside of her, metal behind her words melting to molten goo under my touch. “Don’t you see, Selena? You already are a slave. You’ve been one your whole life, a slave to Solaris.”

“You don’t understand, our bond isn’t like that.”

“Oh, but I do understand. I’m not so different from this goddess of yours.” My fingers continued their work, slowly probing deeper and deeper into her body, as my words did the same to her mind.

“Blasphemy! You are nothing like her.”

“Aren’t I? Your goddess tells you what to wear, how to act, what to say, what to think.”

“Solaris does not command our obedience. She simply guides us down the path of righteousness”

“Guide? Command? These are all words for the same thing. There’s nothing malicious about it. You like to be guided, don’t you?”

Her response came only as a soft mewl of pleasure.

I knew she would have a hard time lying in this state. The Aurora had heightened her sensations to the limit of human perception. The steady fingering she was currently receiving must have seemed like a parade marching between her legs. That was how my methods worked. The magics and the touch formed a hammer and chisel that would break her heart asunder until she was open, pliant, vulnerable. And I had just found my first crack. “It’s all right, Sierra. You like to be guided. Admit it.”

“I like to be guided,” she said in a breathy whisper.

“You like to be led,”

“I like to be led.”

“Of course. You never wanted to lead this Abbey did you? Never wanted those burdens.”

A pained whimper sang from between her lips.

I pressed my full weight onto her, pulling her ass against my hardness in the process. “Well, you can lean on me now.”

I was pleased to feel her sag back into me. The process was starting. The Aurora would cloud her mind with pleasure until it became impossible for her to distinguish her own thoughts from my suggestions, until the fog grew as solid as a blank page. Upon that page, I could write whatever I pleased, utterly transforming her into anything I imagined. “You’re doing so well. You love to follow my commands.“

“I love… I love… I love,” she repeated, tongue tripping over the words.

I felt myself stiffen at her struggling. She was so close to breaking, I could practically hear her drift into the trance. Just a little more and she would be mine.

“I love… Solaris!“ She yelled, fire sparking in her tone once more. “May Solaris‘s light guide me and protect me from this evil. Give me the strength to weather this temptation.” As her rambling prayer rolled onwards, she bent her knees and then slammed her ass into me with all the strength she could manage. The impact struck my manhood, and I stumbled backwards.

Damn. It appeared she wouldn’t make this easy after all. I shouldn’t have expected any less from the Madonna of rainbows, or whatever her title was. Still, the situation wasn’t good. I could feel my Aura depleting at an alarming rate. Dominating such a strong mind could take it out of you. She left me no choice. I had hoped to avoid this gambit, but desperate times and all that. The little pearl began to float, carried aloft by my magics. I maneuvered it between her legs, and then without warning, drove it upwards and into her womanhood.

***

Mira

My unnatural calm had begun to crack. She seemed untouchable, invincible, as out of reach as Solaris herself. Dark clouds of doubt began shading my thoughts once more. No, I would defeat her, I had to. There had to be some way. She wanted power, I would show her power. I lunged again, keeping my sword straight to deflect any more clever blows. As I closed, I thrusted forward in a short, controlled motion. 

“Your lack of loyalty was always obvious to me,” she said, parrying almost lazily. 

“Silence. You know I trained the hardest of anyone here.”

“Because that was for you. You were always eager to grow your own skills and your own power, but your worship was always lacking, the first to leave prayer and return to the practice fields.”

“I worship through my effort,” I said, trying to ignore the biting truth of her words. I had chosen this path because it was the only one open to me. I was an orphan. No family to shelter me, no trade to be passed down, no benefactors to adopt me. I had to make my own way. My strokes became more erratic as my thoughts grew hazy. 

“Solaris has never answered your prayers, has she?” 

My hands froze. I couldn’t even bring myself to respond. 

For the first time in the bout, Amara smiled. “I thought not. You speak of her like a stranger, whereas I am utterly and completely devoted to Solaris, and this is why you will never vanquish me.”

I shot another series of quick thrusts forward, but Amara blocked them all with a chorus of metallic rasps. “I am devoted.”

“You are not. Not even to your dark Master. You’re no more loyal to him than you are to Solaris. You turned on us when he offered you power and you betrayed him when we gave you status. You are a snake, Mira.” She slammed her sword into Oathbreaker, showering sparks across the training field. In the moment of shock she seized my arm and twisted. “And snakes belong on the ground.”

I tumbled over, landing hard on my back and sending up a cloud of dust. When the air cleared, the tip of Amara’s sword was hovering in the air inches from my face. “You are a liar and a traitor, cadet. You’re a disgrace to this order, and I will not suffer the indignity of your presence here any longer.” She drew her arm back and I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact. 

Rules aside, I knew not if she planned to cut my throat or simply strike my armor again. It mattered little. My life would be over either way. I still felt that driving desire to defeat her, but I could no more best her swordsmanship than deny her words. It was true. It was all true. 

I never cared about Solaris or my faith really. Appealing to The Abbey was just my only path to avoid poverty. I struggled and fought because I wanted to be someone, someone with real power, someone free of the lonely terror I’d felt as a child. Perhaps I truly was a disgrace. 

A noble Knight would have refused Errol’s deal, let him snuff out her consciousness and remake her as a horny sex puppet. She would have died for her beliefs before leading him back here, but I’m not her. I never was. 

And then there was Errol. I was supposed to be his slave, and I couldn’t even do that right. The first chance I’d gotten I had tried to steal Liana away from him. I tried to use him for his knowledge of magics and then I went back to my order as soon as they acknowledged me. I was a snake. “Just make it quick,” I whispered. 

I heard a dull thud and braced for the unknowable pain of death, but it never came. After a few agonizing heartbeats, I let my eyes drift open. I saw the glittering steel of Amara’s blade plunging down towards my chest, but off to the side. It was dug hard into the ground beside me. 

Her dark eyes were wide with shock. “My blow was diverted.”

Instinct took over and I lashed out with my heavy boots, sweeping her legs out from beneath her. Amara toppled down to the side, still gripping her blade. If I had been standing, I could have ended it there, but I was in no position to strike, and I couldn’t risk leaving myself open. So I scrambled up and away, regaining my feet with my heart pounding in my throat. 

As I looked around in confusion, I saw a shadow shift in one of the archways. Finnick’s lean, muscled frame materialized as if from nothing. He held up a large rock in one hand and raised a finger to his lips with the other. Then he vanished once more. It did not appear anyone else had seen him. They were all too transfixed by the spectacle before them, mesmerized by my humiliation no doubt. 

Finnick had bought me a stay of execution, but to what end? I still couldn’t match Amara’s skill. I was still a disgrace to this Abbey. The words of all my sisters began looping in my mind. 

You are a liar and a traitor, came Amara’s stinging rebuke. 

We made you and we can unmake you just as easily, echoed Sienna’s stern reminder. 

Mira, you’re alive. I guess I owe Belle five gold after all. Even my peers thought I’d failed and died. 

Master depends on you, you know. Wait, was that, Liana? 

Congratulations on accomplishing your first mission, even if it came as a surprise.

We’re offending my disciple’s innocent sensibilities. And Errol? That was right, he had called me his disciple. 

You are an instrument of Solaris’s will and nothing more

I don’t care what you did before. I’m going off what I can see, and I see someone who’s loyal and brave. Finnick. A tear began to well in the corner of my eye. 

Gradually I realized some of the voices weren’t in my head at all. My sisters had begun to hurl their own insults in real time. 

“She must have used dark magic to deflect the blow.”

“Amara was right about her.”

You are the property of this Abbey. Was that all I was? All I was ever meant to be, just a tool for one Master or another? 

You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. Finnick, how could you say that when all I’d done was fail?

I would expunge the parasite that’s leeched away at our order for far too long. Maybe I was just some worthless leech taking and taking and taking. 

You give me so much hope. Janelle. She deserved better than me, better than a cowardly traitor. 

Mira, I don’t believe you, and deep down I don’t think you believe yourself either. 

“She smuggled a magic weapon into a duel before Solaris.” 

Yet the words of the present couldn’t pierce the tempest of my thoughts. Master’s words had drifted back to me from the other night and his low, grizzled voice was steadily drowning out the others. 

I saw potential in you, so I gave you a choice, and I stand by it even now. You could be better than me, better than I ever was. I won’t give up on you, Mira.

Then the world went silent, the jeers of the onlookers, the creaking of Amara’s armor as she stood, the chorus within my head, they all vanished. 

Clarity. 

Its brilliant rays shone through my mind and the doubts dissolved before it like the mist before the rising sun. There had never been a choice. There had only ever been one thing I could do, one way that I stood any chance of defeating her. It felt so painfully obvious now. “You’re right about me,” I said flatly as I drove Oathbreaker into the sandy ground. 

***

Errol

“What was that?” Sabrina gasped as I pushed the pearl deeper inside of her. Her head thrashed from one side to another trying to get a look.

“Just a training tool. I put the pearl inside of you.”

“It feels good,” she said almost to herself as much as to me. “It tingles.”

“It does. That’s because being trained feels good. You like to be trained.”

“No. No, I don’t. I don’t.”

“Well then, it may not feel so good.” I reached out to my Aura within the pearl and triggered the spell I’d built into it. 

Sabrina fell forward, collapsing with her heavy breasts squishing against the desk. “What did you do?”

“I’m draining your Aura and your life force.”

“I feel weak.” Her form slumped, barely able to lift her head. She looked more helpless than before, so limp and inert. She would be in serious trouble if she didn’t do something soon. Her breathing grew slow and shallow. Her head lolled to the side as she teetered on the edge of unconsciousness. Then it suddenly whipped up. “Wait you put it inside me, my Aura is inside me.” Hope sprang in her voice. 

“Solaris, grant me your strength, make me an instrument of your judgement.” She paused, waiting for the magics to flow back into her, which they did not. “I don’t understand. Why can’t I draw forth my power.”

“I already explained,” I said, my voice dripping with false patience. “I’ve been feeding it my own energy for far longer. Your pleas can’t reach your own power without going through mine.” I punctuated the statement with another sharp slap to her backside. 

Sabrina hesitated,her mind churning as she desperately searched for a way out. She was so close to finding it. I just needed to pull the right string. 

I let out a deep, bellowing laugh. “Just give up. Your prayers will never reach her. I’ve become the gatekeeper, blocking your connection to Solaris. Your words will never get through.” 

The sound she produced was something in between a groan and a whine, but then she snapped to attention, craning her neck as far as she could to look back at me. “That arrogance will be your undoing, mage.”

“I don’t feel particularly undone.”

She smirked, a not wholly unattractive expression and then called out. “Oh, mighty Eroden, please grant me your power, I beseech you.” Suddenly color flooded back into her pallid cheeks. “My strength is returning.” 

“You’re more clever than I expected,“ I snarled, really leaning into it.

For the first time since I captured her, Salena smiled. I’d have to make her do that more, it looked good on her. “Your brilliant plan has a flaw. If you interposed your Aura between myself and Solaris, then I’ll simply channel my prayers through you. Oh, great Eroden, cast the chains of judgment down upon this man.”

Without warning, chains of light burst into existence and coiled themselves around my body, holding me fast, and obnoxiously out of reach of Sierra’s ass. Still, the corner of my mouth twitched upwards, which Sierra luckily didn’t notice. She just carried on praying for more power. 

“Great, powerful, commanding Eroden, give me the strength to free myself.” Another blaze of light erupted from her hand, blasting away the invisible chain of the Aurora. Granted the chains were never real and therefore couldn’t be blasted away, but I was perfectly happy to play along. 

With her movement restored, she went straight for her pussy. Her nimble fingers dug their way inside, no doubt looking for the pearl. That was when her expression of triumph faltered. “The artifact! It’s . . .it’s not there.”

“Yes, about that, I designed it to dissolve into you once you called on its power. So it’s a part of you now.”

The color fled from her face, leaving her a pale, beautiful statue of despair. “But that means that the binding you placed on my connection to Solaris is . . .”

“Permanent. I’m afraid so.”

“Then my powers can only come from . . . Praying to you . . . forever,” she said crestfallen.

“Well when you put it like that, it sounds like a bad thing.”

For a moment, she looked utterly crushed, and I thought I had finally broken her down enough to proceed. But then she found that damn fire of hers again, remarkably persistent girl. “It matters not! It matters not if I am defiled and disgraced. I can still call down my power, which means I can still end your threat to the realm here.”

The rabbit had walked right up to the snare. Now all that was left was to bring it those last couple steps. “Oh please,” I scoffed. “Even with your greatest magics, you cannot strike me down. You know who I am, Eroden, The Dark Star. I once ruled these lands with an iron fist. You will never vanquish me.”

“Oh, mighty, powerful Eroden, grant your grace and your strength unto me. Command your humble servant to see justice done.” There, I heard it. It was faint, but unmistakably there, a faint quiver in her voice. The more power she drew forth the more profound the effects would be, but Sierra hadn't noticed, she just kept praying. 

If I’ve learned one thing about women in my years, it’s that they are obstinate, stubborn creatures. Had I tried to make Sabrina worship me, she would have spat in my face. But if I let her reach the conclusion on her own, laid out the pieces and clues for her, she’d happily march down the road to enslavement, patting herself on the back the whole way.

“I am but your eager and obedient follower, ready to mete out justice in your name, ready to receive your gifts, to let them fill me, use me. Use me, to act on your desires in this world.” Once more, Selena began to glow, but this time looked a bit different. Her usual golden hues were present, but faded to an ombre of deep purple, as my own Aura mixed with hers, tainting it, polluting it, corrupting it, and she hadn’t even realized.

“I offer my body and my mind as tools for your pleasure and satisfaction. Whatever you command, I shall obey, just fill me with your power. Fill me up, great one.”

***

Mira

Amara stared at my discarded weapon, one eyebrow raised.  “Are you surrendering?”

“Never.” I reached for the leather strap of my bracer and undid the buckle, repeating the process with the other arm. “But you won’t strike me while I’m unarmed, will you?”

Her mouth just folded into a hard, thin line. 

“I thought not,” I continued, as I stepped from my armored boots and began working on freeing my thighs from my cuisses. “As I said, you’re right. I never cared, not in the way that you do.” 

“Why are you stripping?” she hissed. “You make a mockery of this sacred rite.”

“You don’t know hunger,” I said, ignoring her question. “You’ve never wondered where your next meal would come from, or whether your eyes would open again when you closed them for the night. You’ve never felt so small and powerless that you’d give anything to control your fate. Perhaps you do see the hunger in me, but you have no idea what it means.”

“I don’t think . . .”

“No, you don’t,” I cut in, as my shoulder pauldrons came loose. “None of you do. You just follow the orders handed down from on high. You claim I’m the slave of the dark mage? Well you’re all slaves to Solaris, to a divine presence you barely understand. You don’t have to make difficult choices or carry the crushing burden of guilt, so how could you begin to comprehend the weight I’ve been carrying this whole time?” Most of that weight now lay at my feet in a gleaming pile of discarded glory. 

“You brought that guilt on yourself, through your choices.” 

“Indeed. But they were my choices.” My fingers fumbled with the clasp of my breast plate. “Mine to live with. Mine to relish. Mine to regret. Mine.” Then, with a click, it came loose. The heavy metal shell landed on the ground with an unceremonious thump. There it was, staring up at me, the emblem of Solaris, complete with the two sunbeams of a Knight of the Second Rank. I had craved that validation for so long, and here I was throwing it away, along with the whole set of pristine armor. Before I could second guess, I sloughed off my chain mail and dumped it atop the breast plate, my tunic and trousers following soon after. There I stood, in only my simple linen undergarments, barely covering my sex and my cursedly heavy breasts. 

Amara groaned and turned to Lynda. “This must be a violation of the rules.”

The Captain gave a short shake of her head. “Combatants may dress as they wish.”

“Seems you’ve found another of my decisions to object to.” As the morning air kissed my exposed skin, it brought me back to that fateful night in the cave. I had stood before Errol, similarly exposed. How fitting this should all end as it began, with me nearly naked and taking my life in my hands. With a slow reverence, my fingers curled around Oathbreaker’s grip and I lifted it from the sand. “Apologies for keeping you waiting. We may resume now.” 

“Have you gone mad?!” 

“I’ve been mad the whole,” I answered as a vicious grin formed on my face. “Mad enough to wager my life on one last rally. Are you willing to gamble with your precious honor?” I didn’t wait for a response. I charged. 

I crossed the distance faster than she expected. Unburdened by the weight of my plate, the balance of speed had shifted in my favor. Her stance was slightly off as I came crashing into her, swinging Oathbreaker in a smooth upward arc. 

She parried, but I had expected that, and met her blade with enough force to send both our weapons pointing towards the sun. 

I crouched low, flexing the exposed muscle of my thighs, taking advantage of my enhanced mobility to swipe at her legs.  

Amara let out a frustrated growl and hopped backwards, barely avoiding the strike. But again, I regained my footing before her, the sand crunching against my toes as I leapt forward. Time slowed to a crawl, as I brought my blade down in a diagonal slash with my whole weight behind it. She’d never be able to block or dodge it, off balance as she was. 

And so my gamble came to a head. Amara had only one way out, stab me in the chest before I reached her. With all the momentum I’d funneled into this attack, I couldn’t possibly avoid a counter. She’d demonstrated the reflexes needed to do it, but would she? Would her honor allow her to strike down an unarmored woman in a duel before her sisters and her Goddess? 

Then I saw it in those cold, dark eyes of hers, a flicker of hesitation. She moved, but too slowly. Oathbreaker rushed through her body with the same total lack of resistance it always did. I landed behind her in a crouch, panting for breath. 

“One point to Mira,” Lynda called from behind us. 

Amara was looking down at her own torso in shock, doubtless trying to find the impact. She may have known Oathbreaker was enchanted, but she lacked knowledge of exactly how. That hubris would be her downfall. 

“Kneel,” I snarled over my shoulder.

The sweet, sweet sound of steel hitting dirt met my ears as Amara’s knees folded out from under her. “What sorcery is this?” she gasped, still unable to rise. 

“Just putting you in your place.” I slowly crossed around in front of her. “As I said, you’re already a slave, and slaves belong on the ground. You agree.”

“Slaves belong on the ground,” Amara repeated in a hollow voice. “You compelled my tongue!” She spat, rage flooding back into her tone. 

Heat. The heat came rushing back to my cheeks, winding its way down and down and down. Seeing the proud, arrogant Amara brought so low did something to me. “Yield,” I commanded. 

“I . . . I will . . . not,” she stammered, voice trembling with an intensity I’d never heard. It was such a strain for her to resist. 

Somehow that resistance only stoke the flames within me higher. I reached out and seized the tresses of her chestnut hair. “You’re helpless like this. I could just strike you twice more and be done with it. You’ve already lost, but I want to hear you say it.” My voice came out as a harsh, cold whisper that I scarcely recognized. “So, say it.”

Her tawny lips flew open, instantly jumping to obey my command, but she managed to confine her voice to the back of her throat, resulting in a gaping expression, mouth wide open, softly stuttering.

“Yield,” I repeated.

Her mouth opened wider, but still no sound came forth.

The heat only grew. I wanted to break her so badly for all the torment she’d put me through, not just force her to abandon the contest, but truly crush her. “You look pathetic, gawking like that before Solaris. It’s almost as though you’re trying to suck some phantom cock. Stop embarrassing yourself and yield.”

Suddenly her eyelids began to flutter and her lips returned to motion. Then came those two beautiful words, “I yield.”

I threw my head back in a primal roar of victory. As the fire within me blazed, I felt it resonate with all the flames around us. The enchanted lanterns across The Abbey all responded to my call, their twinkling lights growing to a furious flash in response to my triumph.