Chapter 46 – One night with the strongest woman in Malena (Part one)
A stunned silence of disbelief floods the arena, both from the observers and fighters alike. "H-how...?" Juliette stutters, dumbstruck as she stares down at the broken greatsword on her hands, tracing the impossibly clean cut on the blade with one of her fingers...
"I... I dunno." Orok mumbles in surprise, mimicking the woman and examining his own weapon. The bright golden hue that irradiated from it at the moment of impact now gone... That was pretty strange, wasn't it...? Oh, well, whatever.
Just a tiny little moment passes before the orc overcomes the bizarre situation, using both his position and the woman's startlement to his advantage as, with a quick, hard sweep of his leg, he manages to knock her off balance and make her land over her back on the ground.
"Gahahahaha, I won!" He loudly laughs as he swiftly bounces to his feet and sheathes his sword, rudely stepping on Juliette's chest and forcing her to stay down as he makes a triumphal victory pose, with his hands resting over his hips and his chin lifted. "You can applaud now, guys!"
No kind of applause or cheer is heard coming from the audience, though... Just grunts and murmurs as they discuss the duel's disappointing, abrupt ending and try to find the logical explanation behind it. Was the greatsword already weakened from so many brutal blows? Was the sun reflecting on the ambassador's blade what made it shine so brightly...? Still, regardless of all the hypotheses they could conjure, the case is... that their Captain lost.
Immediately, the ambassador's trio of assistants decide to slip into the arena and hurry towards him. "T-that's enough!" Nova exclaims, holding onto her smug master's arm and pulling him away from the defeated woman.
"Are ya okay, luv!? Yer ain't injured, roight?" Morgana asks, using her palms to wipe the dust and grass off his clothes, anxiously inspecting him for any sort of wound. "Please don't get into any more fights! I got so scared when ya fell..."
"Yeah, that was pretty lame. You were getting your ass handed to you, dude!" Pink softly snorts. "You were lucky your sword did that thing at the end. If it hadn't, she- ouch!" She is interrupted by Orok flicking her forehead.
"I obviously planned it all, you dummy."
"...Really!?" Pink and Morgana tilt their heads to the side simultaneously. Nova deeply groans in annoyance.
"No, he didn't." She frowns. "I knew something was weird about that sword. You have to get rid of it as soon as possible! Who knows what could happen... Besides, you are committing a-"
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing..." The orc dismissively sighs, suddenly starting to rub and caress the girl's sensitive, pointed ears like he was petting a puppy. "Who's a good girl? Hm~?"
"S-stop doing that whenever you want me to stop talking, idiot! It's n-not funny!" The grumpy elf complains, her face reddened as she tries to push the corpulent orc off her.
At the same time, a few feet away, Juliette remains frozen in the ground, almost catatonic, barely blinking as she just stares at the darkening sky with a horrified expression plastered on her face. Was she really... defeated...? No, no it can't be! He cheated! Again! She has been training twice as hard, until every muscle in her body ached... There is no way... Is this a nightmare!? Wake up! WAKE UP!
With tears of frustration building up on the corners of her blue eyes, the captain slams her fist against the grassy ground and stands up once again, firmly squeezing onto the hilt of her wrecked greatsword so hard her knuckles turn white. "HEY! You haven't won! I didn't surrender, I still have my weapon, I can still fight!" She roars at the ambassador. "So shut up and draw your sword again, you filthy creature!"
However, before she is even able to start approaching him again, she is halted by the sound of a very familiar clearing of a throat just behind her. The blonde woman's eyes widen as she quickly turns around, finding herself face-to-face with the mature, expressionless royal advisor. "Captain." She simply says.
"I... Uh... Olivia, I was just..."
The woman keeps coldly staring at her, maintaining her tone of voice low and discreet. "Oh, don't worry, I know what you were doing. Would you be kind enough to tell your soldiers to scatter?"
"Y-yes, of course..." Juliette nervously nods her head up and down before quickly addressing the disconcerted crowd still surrounding the arena. "We... We are finished here, everybody! Return to your duties at once!" She commands. The group of men casts quick confused glances at each other before obeying and drifting away in different directions.
"Good. Seems like you haven't lost all your respect yet... Not for a lack of trying, mind you."
Juli's stomach sinks even lower, Olivia's hurtful words feeling like a dagger directed straight to her heart. "B-but... I just... I-It was necessary for me to..."
The dark-haired woman ignores the bumbling musclegirl, now focusing her attention on the orc standing at a close distance. "Ambassador, congratulations on your victory. Though, if you don't mind me asking, what was the cause of this duel? I hope there isn't any problem between you and our Captain Juliette..."
"Nah, we are friends! Everything is cool. We just wanted to check which one of us is stronger." He smirks. "It was obviously me, I'm glad I could prove it, Gahaha."
Olivia gives the blonde next to her a quick glance before continuing to stare at the ambassador, keeping her expression perfectly composed. "Ah, I see... A public duel to check who's stronger. Makes complete sense." She drily says, obvious skepticism present in her voice tone as she elegantly clasps her hands over her front. A short silence forms, until...
"Blimey, is that ya, Olivia!? 'Ello, it's been a while!" The ogre takes a step forth, beaming from ear to ear.
"Morgana, you've grown so much. Last time I saw you was that day when your father invited me to visit your village, you were just a kid..." The advisor replies with a smile of her own. "I shall take this chance to apologize for not having been able to attend his funeral, I hope the flowers I sent ended up reaching you?"
"Ei, that was years ago, ya don't 'ave to apologize! And yes, they were sum beautiful flowers." She pauses, her grin faltering into a little pout. "By the way, I don't know if ya heard 'bout what happened, but... well, I'm not the leader anymore, and... a small kid from our village..."
"Oh, don't worry, I've been informed of everything already by the Captain. We'll handle it... Rest assured that justice will be made."
"Thank ya, Olivia. That means a lot."
"Of course." She nods her head once. "Please enjoy your stay at our beloved Capital, I know the ambassador will surely love to show you around." She deliberately moves her steely gaze towards the orc, narrowing her eyes. "He has only been here for a few days but seems to have been already doing his best to truly 'immerse' himself into our culture. It's heartwarming."
"Gahaha, yeah. I've been 'immersing' myself a lot, alright... Don't worry, I'll take her somewhere nice. My girls only go to the best of places!" Orok exclaims, sliding an arm across Morgana's shoulder and playfully pressing the woman against him... completely unaware of the advisor's sly, subtle insinuations nor the way his own crass comment could also be misinterpreted as such by her.
"You are quite a... heh... character, ambassador. We'll see how long it lasts..." Olivia chuckles, finding herself fairly amused by what she believes is a sneaky back-and-forth... Unfortunately, she had another matter to attend to at the moment... "Now, I thank you all for the delightful conversation. However, I'm afraid duty calls, I need to have an important private conversation with Captain Juliette." She says, resting her hand on the blonde's thick forearm, like she was trying to prevent her from running off and escaping. "Have a wonderful afternoon, everyone."
"Hey, that must wait, because Jul-"
The moment the orc starts complaining, Olivia is already dragging the tall woman a good distance away... When they finally stop, the mature advisor remains still in a perfect posture while, in contrast, the Captain shifts her weight from one foot to the other, playing with her fingers and refusing to meet the woman's eyes, keeping her gaze locked on the ground like a child about to be scolded.
"So, Juliette..." Olivia begins. "My 'master strategist'... was all that education, that I paid for, actually in vain?"
"P-please don't say that..." The girl softly mumbles, her lower lip trembling.
"It is unfortunately what I am feeling right now, based on your foolish act... Why were you fighting him? Why in front of all your men? I have the very slight suspicion that the ambassador lied to me."
"H-he... Ugh, I just..." Juliette squeezes her fists in frustration. "He keeps saying that I'm a... p-pretty girl, and that m-my abs are cute, and disrespectful stuff like that... It makes me feel so w-weird... like I was a maiden instead of a warrior, it's ridiculous..."
Olivia's eyebrows rise a few millimeters, her head tilting to the side. "Oh...?"
"He also calls me, uh... 'Juli', like I was his... I-I don't know... He did it in front of some of my men too, I didn't want them to get the w-wrong idea..."
"I... I see..." Olivia uncomfortably clears her throat. Maybe taken by surprise and stunned for the first time in years. "Go on."
"I swear, he just... He gets inside my head like it was nothing. T-this never happened to me before... I think he must be one of those 'playboys' that expertly manipulate girls, right?" She asks, finally lifting her eyes from her feet to questioningly look at the woman's pair. "Grace told me about them."
"...A playboy, huh? I'm afraid it's something worse, dear."
"W-what do you mean...?"
"Let me be the one to worry about that... Just know that he is dangerous and that you losing that duel in front of all your soldiers was just another step of his plan."
"He cheated! I-I was about to win, but-" Juli starts ranting, yet stops herself as she notices the serious expression on the other woman's face, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Olivia..."
The woman sighs, licking her thumb and using it to wipe some dirt off Juliette's cheek in a motherly way. "It's okay, the ambassador is admittedly very astute... There are things about his plan that even I can't figure out yet, like why he took Morgana and that succubus with him... In any case, we can't afford another situation like this. You and your temper have to stay far away from him, if you need to discuss any matter regarding Garro, speak to me instead, I'll handle it."
'Staying far away from him'... Juli's gloomy expression deepens even more as she is reminded of the nefast arranged consequence if she were to lose the duel, which, well... she did. "Uh, Olivia... A-about that..."
"Yo!" The orc suddenly peeks out from behind Juliette, making her surprisedly bounce in the spot.
"Oh, ambassador... Hello again, is something the matter?" Olivia forces a polite smile on her red lips.
"Indeed, Juli... -ette promised me that she would, uh... gift me a crossbow or something for winning the duel. So we need to go now!" He spews out his half-assed lie, then places his huge hand on the blonde's broad shoulder, forcing a little yelp to escape from between her lips. "Right~?"
She now stays silent, trying to hide her burning red face as she hesitantly replies with the slightest nod of her head that she can muster.
"A... crossbow...?" Olivia repeats back, puzzledly. The ambassador certainly got a little lazy there. Maybe it is a form of jactation by his part? Not even bothering to put any effort into a proper excuse? How cheeky... Still, the most important question is... What would he possibly want to discuss with Juliette in private now...? "Surely that could wait a bit, ambassador."
"Uh, no, it can't...! Because she made a promise and that means her honor is at stake now if she doesn't fulfill it. I don't make the rules." He retorts like a bratty kid. Juli's shoulders hunched in defeat. "Unless you'd prefer having a dishonorable Captain, in that case..."
Is that a threat? Probably. "Very well, ambassador. You are right." Olivia sighs, slowly directing her gaze towards the ashamed blonde, quietly and inconspicuously mouthing the words: "Don't disappoint me." for only her to listen...
At the distance, without being able to withhold his brow from furrowing, Ser Frederik continues observing the scene with attention.
When the ambassador starts impunely dragging the Captain away and his companions start following after him, Frederik's eyes finally meet with the bright amber-colored pair of the slender elf assistant. She suddenly stops, her gaze lingering for a pair of seconds before she quickly averts it in embarrassment and promptly hurries away, her cheeks tinted with a delicate reddish hue... The man angrily grits his teeth in indignation as he watches her disappear with her beastly partner, his hand instinctively resting on the sword by his hip.
"I... I... A-are you sure you don't want s-something else...? I do have a very n-nice crossbow..." Juliette pointlessly pleads, squirming in discomfort as she stands in the middle of the ambassador's suite. The sheepish, mortified look on her face contrasting exaggeratedly with the furious, blood-thirsty one she sported while dueling.
"No. I want to fuck you, Juli." The ambassador bluntly states, adding even more crimson around her cheeks. The orc already stripped down to just his underwear as he sits back on his huge bed...
The luxurious room is illuminated by the blueish shine of a full moon outside as the night finally arrives. Nova, Pink, and Morgana also remain seated on the bed, irritation on the elf's expression, lust on the succubus', and curiosity on the ogre's.
"So? What are you waiting for?" Orok asks after some more silent moments of inaction from the standing woman. "Undress for me! Just to your underwear, though. I want to be the one who gets you fully naked, Gahaha."
Juliette tries to control her heavy, anxious breathing, firmly closing her eyes until only darkness is all that's in front of her, trying to pretend that no one is watching... trying to pretend that no one is going to see her unsightly, overmuscled body... She removes her belt, letting it fall to the floor, then grips the lower part of her gambeson, involuntarily recalling the humiliating occasion in the royal gardens where she was forced to lift the armored sleeveless garment as the ambassador vulgarly slobbered and kissed all over her abdominal muscles.
...All of a sudden, like she was ripping off a band-aid, the Captain of Malena's army violently yanks her gambeson off as rapidly as possible, lifting it over her head and tossing it to the side, trying to save herself from the agonizing drawn-out humiliation of slowly stripping... Which just results in her experiencing another type of agonizing humiliation instead, as she almost immediately receives an enthusiastic reaction composed of satisfied laughs and whistles.
"Gahahaha, so eager! I knew you were dying to be fucked properly."
"Uwaaah, those are surely some nice abs." Purrs a feminine voice that she recognizes as coming from the succubus. "Can I pretty, pretty please play with her too, big guy~?"
"No way, she is all mine tonight. Find your own musclegirl."
With her gambeson gone, the woman's cotton-made, tight strapless tube bra that keeps her plump breasts in place is exposed, the light-grey fabric a bit damp from her nervous sweating, which also slides down her upper chest and washboard stomach, making her fair skin glisten...
Keeping her eyes shut, she remains paralyzed for a pair of seconds, before letting out an afflicted grunt and forcing herself to continue. She lifts one of her strong legs from the floor to remove one of her leather boots, then repeats the process with the other. When finally the only thing wrapped around her feet are her long socks, she holds onto the waistband of her dark-purple pants and pulls them down to her ankles, revealing her smooth, wide muscular thighs and toned calves, as well as the pair of comfortable panties covering her most sacred spot.
"Shaved legs too! See? You are a pretty princess, Juli." Orok excitedly exclaims. "Good girl... Now open your eyes."
Trembling like a leaf, attempting to use her beefy arms to cover her half-naked figure, the blonde begins reluctantly obeying the order. Her eyelids very slowly gliding up and down to reveal the baby-blue irises hidden behind them, forcing her to accept reality, forcing her to accept that she is standing on the middle of a man's room, wearing nothing more than her undergarments, mere moments away of having... s-sex... for the first time of her life...
"Look how hard you got me." He says the second she is able to look at him again, spreading his legs wide and proudly showing off the huge bulge threatening to rip apart his briefs.
"U-uh, I..." Juli gulps, taking a step back in fear as her gaze gingerly lower towards the long tubular shape tenting the ambassador's underwear and the two apple-sized, juicy ovals below it, lewdly squished against the mattress. "I-I never... Are all p-penises... that b-big...?" She naively asks.
"Wait... You never seen one of these before?" He gives his bulge a soft squeeze for emphasis, his smug grin diminishing as his expression turns into one of curiousness. "Are you a virgin, Juli?"
"...Y-yes..." She embarrassedly answers in a little timid voice.
"Oh." Orok makes a small pause. "Just how old are you?"
"I... I just turned twenty-three... s-some months ago."
"I thought you were way older than that..." He huffs, scratching the back of his neck. "You ever kissed someone?"
She twiddles with her fingers and pouts as she softly shakes her head from left to right.
"Have you, uh... have you ever held a guy's hand, at least?"
"Y-yes." She admits, making the ambassador lift one of his eyebrows in surprise. "When one of my soldiers falls down w-while training or fighting, I have to grab his hand to pull him up to his feet."
Orok chuckles at the innocent response, suddenly standing up from the bed and authoritatively resting his hands over his hips. "Alright, I've heard enough~. Get out, girls." He orders his assistants.
"Ah, yes. It would be a bit rude to stay 'ere watchin' such an intimate moment... Nice thinkin', luv. We'll leave roight away!" Morgana kindly exclaims with a smile.
"Aww... I wanted to watch, though..." Pink puffs her cheeks in disappointment, staring at Juli's well-built stomach. "...and lick... and grope... and nibble... and sniff..."
"Just let me give her some contraceptive herbs first." Nova sighs, grabbing a little brown bag from the nightstand and starting to approach Juliette, yet she is stopped by the orc.
"Oh, no need for that tonight... Out, out!"
"W-WHAT!?" The elf furiously roars as she is simply pushed out of the room along with the succubus and the ogre. Loud aggressive banging can be heard against the wood of the door as it closes on her face. "YOU ARE NOT GETTING HER PREGNANT TOO, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" She exclaims from the other side...
"You should have told me sooner, dummy." The ambassador ignores the door, smirking as he slowly moves towards the Captain. "I don't like being too rough with virgins, you'll hate sex forever if you hate your first time... And you are like, the ultimate virgin, so I'll have to be extra gentle with you~."
The Golden Ox has been in more battles than she can count with her fingers and toes, close to maiming, close to a horrible death... Despite this, her heart has yet to beat so erratically than when the ambassador positions himself right in front of her barely-dressed figure and his shit-eating grin stops just inches away from her quivering lips. She instinctively tries to retreat backwards yet his gigantic, strong dark-green hands hold tightly onto her small waist to stop her. "Shh, don't escape. It's okay, Juli..." He calmly says.
"Y-you... don't t-talk to me like that... I-I'm... I'm a warrior... I lead soldiers into b-battle... I'm not... pretty." She complains yet once more, choked up and teary, awkwardly adjusting her posture as she feels the heat of Orok's paws against her firm, flushed skin. "Y-you shouldn't... want me... No one should."
"Shhh, shhh." He continues soothing her, caressing the sides of her muscular body. "It's just the two of us in here, you don't have to act like a tough girl with me. I won't tell anyone~." He talks in an uncharacteristically gentle way. "Show me your hands, alright?"
The girl hesitantly complies, letting out a grunt as she sluggishly lifts her shaky hands... Her little agitated noises then only get worse as the orc stops grabbing her waist just to bring his hands towards hers.
"This is what I was talking about, romantic hand-holding..." He chuckles, caressing her calloused palms and digits with his own... Like the rest of herself, the Captain's hands were surely huge, like they were genetically designed to manipulate massive weapons and be clenched into powerful fists... Yet, now they seemed... tiny and feminine against the ambassador's pair, especially when he decides to interlock his fingers between hers, a technique in the art of hand-holding reserved only for the lewdest of lovers... "Feels good?" He simply asks.
"N-no." She mumbles as a tear, product of cognitive dissonance, slides across her red cheek. She lied... It feels good, it feels really good and warm and soft and... and... and she hates it. She hates the feeling of everything she believed about herself crumbling as, for the first time in her life, she really feels like a woman worthy of being desired and not some kind of apish creature of battle.
"Come on, don't fight it... I'm going to kiss you now, Juli."
"P-please don't... please d-don't..." She implores, her voice unable to go louder than a hoarse whisper. The both of them being the same height meant that the orc just had to take a step forth... and so he did.
Orok's mouth hungrily squishes against the woman's. His eager lips confidently dance against her unmoving pair, as she remains frozen, with her baby-blue eyes wide open in utter shock... An intense, fuzzy, unknown sensation rushes through her entire being, her brain short-circuiting for a second as she finally receives what she had already accepted long ago she was never going to receive, what she prided herself on not needing, what her neglected body has subconsciously and secretly craved for so long... a kiss, her first kiss...
"They are just... kissing." Nova huffs, squatting in front of the suite's door, discourteously spying through the keyhole. "Ugh, he better not get her pregnant..."
"Erm, I'm a bit confused." Morgana tilts her head to the side as she stares at the snoopy elf. "Ya told me that ye and the ambassador weren't a couple, luv... Yet ya seem rather peeved 'bout him bein' with other women..."
"Nov-Nov wants him all to herself but she is too proud and stubborn to admit it." Pink giggles.
"Ah, I see! Like one of 'em tsundere girls, roight?"
"Exactly~!"
Nova lets out a deep sigh of irritation, standing up again and adjusting her glasses. "I still don't even know what that word means!" She protests. "And I'm not... 'peeved', I just think he is an irresponsible, unfixable, annoying asshole. This is your chance to run away, Morgana, you don't want a baby from someone like him."
"I... I do, luv. He is me best chance at gettin' pregnant. And, like I said, he doesn't seem malicious to me." The ogre softly says.
The silver-haired elf frowns, crossing her arms. "You've just seen what he is doing to Juliette!"
"I mean, they made a bet, roight? It's not like he's forcin' her... And I think it might actually be good for her! The Captain seems pretty sad and lonely..."
"Unbelievable..." Nova rubs her temples.
"Uh, luv... Ye sure ya don't really mind me bein' impregnated by the ambassador...?" Morgana reaches towards the elf, resting a hand over her thin arm. "If ya 'ave some... really strong feelings for him, I can just try findin' someone else. The last thing I'd want is for ya to suffer."
She rolls her eyes, taking some steps away from the ogre to simply lean against the wall with a sulky expression on her face. "I don't care." She says, her pointy ears twitching.