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A dangerous dance	By : Solaris & Manta Category: +M through R > Mighty Ducks Cartoon Views: 1283 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-A dangerous dance
- 2-Chapter Two.
- 1
- 2
Two weeks had past and Mallory was in a way glad that Nazan’s training was over, he was harsher then any drill sergeant could ever be.
"Okay Mallory, this is your helmet to hid your face from the others. You are registered as Red Orchid and that is your bounty hunter nickname. Rowain is somewhere in the camp and if you really want to win him, you must Rank within the top 10 of the tourney. You may even go against him in a duel, but don't let him know it is you. I will not be able to help you after this point. I've done everything I can to prepare you, good luck." Nazan slipped her the helmet and walked away from her tent.
Mallory looked at the helmet and sighed. 'To win Rowain's heart back, I must hide who I am and hope he finds me worthy of living in his world.’
Mallory placed the helmet on and looked at herself in the mirror, unlike her light purple and teal armor she was in red and black leather and armed with melee weapons. This was not going to be an easy task, the people she was up against has years of experience and though she was a trained soldier it wasn't till her training with Nazan that she learnt to fight dirty. She strode out of her tent.
The crowd of hunters was immense. She headed towards the field where they were to compete at. She didn’t want to actually look for Rowain either but finding where he was at would be a good idea. “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” She said as she looked at the bounty hunter she bumped into.
“No problem, nothing got damaged. Are you okay? I’m Blackblade, Darkwing Blackblade,” spoke the young gray feathered silver haired drake in a bounty hunter garb which to her eye looked like a military issued armor.
“I’m Red Orchid, is this your first time here?” She asked.
“Actually, this is my second time here. Last year, I was ranked number twenty, not enough to get into the top ten. I’m hoping for a higher placement this year around. You?” Asked Darkwing.
“Yes, my first time. Is there anything I should know?” asked Red Orchid.
“Yes, keep your eyes and your ears open. They will not be light on the newcomers to the tourney, they will draw blood,” He said, as they walked towards the field.
She followed him. "Is there anyone I should be careful of?"
Blackblade grinned. "Beware of Siris, Natasha and Rowain, they're the top 3 and are overly vicious."
“Rowain? That sounds like a female’s name,” Red Orchid said.
Darkwing laughed. “Nope, he is a he and as I said he is overly vicious,” She chuckled. “Don’t believe me. Wait for the preliminary round to start he’s marked to start off the tourney off with a bang.”
"Oh?"
"Preliminary duels, he's the first up along with another veteran, loser is disqualified. These are sorted out by how many times you've participate so even the odds."
“So I will be in one duel and that’s it?”
"No, the first round duels are simply to see if you get to participate or not. The real tournament starts after that."
“Oh that is a relief, after all this is my first tourney that I ever participated in.” Red Orchid stated.
"Then you probably won't make it past the preliminary round."
“Maybe not and maybe I will get to the next round,” Red Orchid said. ‘I better or Nazan would be disappointed in me.’
"So who entered you in? Newcomers are always sponsored by a veteran for their first time."
"She's mine, as a favor to my dear Nazan,” spoke a female voice from behind both of them.
Blackblade gulped as he turned to face the female Saurian. "I guess I should be careful then if the Lady Natasha thinks this girl worth her while."
Mallory looked shocked but immediately covered her shock up quickly as she looked away from the female Saurian. But after she was able to regain her composure turned to look at the Saurian more carefully, she noticed that Darkwing had walked away from them.
“Nazan told me you never saw a living Saurian before and that not to be too shocked by your reaction.” Lady Natasha whispered. “Now, follow me I want to watch the first pair fight it out from a nice vantage point.”
Mallory followed her, she really hadn't a clue. Nazan never told her about this part but then again she was new so not knowing is expected of her. They stopped at a lower observation deck where a male fox was sitting. He glanced their way. "So this is the girl?"
"Yes Siris and I'd appreciate it if you don’t kill her in any of the rounds to come."
“Only if she is not matched up with me, she’ll do fine.” Siris stated, before he turned away from them.
Lady Natasha led her up to a higher observation deck and took one of the seats. Red Orchid looked over the deck’s side to see the entire field. It had to be at least three hockey fields put together. “Do they use the entire field in a duel?”
“Of course,” She said. “Now sit and watch. The first pair is about to come onto the field.”
The two contestants walked into the field as it began to morph into a different terrain; it was only a matter of time before one struck the other. And the battle begun in earnest as Rowain drew first blood and never allowed his opponent to get a good hit in before he got him into the far corner of the terrain. The duel looked like it was over right then and there but the opponent started to fight back but Rowain’s sword blocked all of his attempts. The opponent knew the duel was over and he yielded within the first twenty minutes of the duel.
“That didn’t last too long. Some of the duels go on for over an hour,” Lady Natasha stated.
“And they do get very bloody but it is rare when a duel turns deadly. It is only once in five tourneys does someone get killed. Hello Lady Natasha, Red Orchid.” Spoke Darkwing as he stood by their box and by his side was another drake wearing a bit fancier clothes.
Lady Natasha looked his friend over and looked at him. “Who is your friend, Darkwing? I usually see you with a gaggle of female ducks or at least a female fox by your side?”
“Not this time. This is Bartax, a fellow Bounty hunter. He decided not to enter this year just observe to see if he would handle a tourney like this.” Darkwing replied, turning to look at his friend and then to Natasha.
“So you are a rookie then?” asked Lady Natasha, eying him carefully.
“To this tourney, yes, but not to others on the other planets, I figured this one might be a bit different so I decided to watch instead of compete.” Bartax stated.
"This is one of the more elite tournaments, after all the others don't let Doves or ebon dragons participate."
Bartax scowled. "And for good reason, they are not bounty hunters; they are weapons of their respective empires."
"With that attitude you should not enter this tournament, us weapons do take offense."
Bartax looked at her and crossed his arms. “A bounty hunter tourney is for bounty hunters not for Doves or ebon dragons for a reason, they are not bounty hunters but servants to their empires.”
Darkwing sighed. “Please do not get into a fight here, Bartax. I know your attitude about the Doves and the ebon dragons but do not flash it here.”
“I will flash it here if I so please, you said this was a bounty hunter tourney did you not?” asked Bartax.
Darkwing nodded. “But they made allowances by increasing the fee for entry for those Doves and ebon dragons and any novices to the ranks of the bounty hunters.”
“Oh, does it go towards the purse?” Bartax asked.
“Yes and no, some of it goes to fund the next tourney for next year. That is why they hold it here each year.” Lady Natasha stated, calmly.
"But the odds are always stacked in the weapons’ favor."
"Not true, it gives bounty hunters a chance to test their skills against them to get a more honest comparison of skill and strength; I mean if a bounty hunter can't test against them. How are they supposed to be prepared to execute a mission that has the possibility of having to face one? Wouldn’t you prefer to know where you stand against one?" Mallory piped in without thinking.
Darkwing eyed her carefully. “Perhaps you are right about it as I hold no qualms in going against a Dove or an ebon dragon but what about you Bartax?”
“Now that you made me think about it, I might be wrong as I never had to deal with a Dove or an ebon dragon before and maybe I should enter. Is there enough time for me to enter?” Bartax asked.
Darkwing shook his head. “You will have to wait for next year. When the first pair goes onto the field and starts to fight the tourney have started and no latecomers are allowed to enter.”
“Well, not exactly, Darkwing. But the latecomer will have to pay a high fee to enter. A fee of ten thousand credits from the five thousand credits that you would have spent to enter if you had entered a week ago.” Natasha stated. “But if you have that much, you can enter the tourney.”
“I think I will watch and enter next year.” Bartax replied, after rolling a card over a scanner to see how many credits he had. He didn’t have enough to enter anyways.
Natasha smiled. "You also need a sponsor, I assume Darkwing will be it, I'm sure he knows the stakes for that."
“I do know the stakes in sponsoring a contestant but he might not know the stakes,” Darkwing stated, as he tilted his head to Bartax.
"The stakes are simple, your own ranking is averaged between what you actually ranked and the one you sponsor. The kicker is, you feel and receive the same damage as the one you sponsor, so if they’re killed you die as well."
Bartax looked shocked at that. “The other tourneys never had it that bad.”
“Do you want to compete against them now that you know the risks you will risk?” asked Darkwing, turning to look at his friend.
Mallory thought to herself. ‘Natasha is my sponsor so I better make sure that I don’t die in this tourney.’
“Not at this time, maybe next year.” Bartax replied.
"My dear Red Orchid is new, I'm her sponsor if Darkwing hasn't informed you, and I'm expecting her to perform well."
“Hopefully, she does not compete with the top three or she will be out fast,” Darkwing stated.
"True, but it would be a lesson."
“Lady Natasha, who am I going against?” asked Red Orchid.
"Your first round is against another newcomer, after that who knows.”
“It all depends on how well I do against the newcomer. Hopefully, I will do my very best even though I am scared.” Red Orchid said.
“I was scared in my first tourney too about five years ago and I did very well for myself. I took tenth place in the rankings even though I was an amateur but I put being scared into my fighting skills and I used it against my opponents. Just do your best and it will fall into place,” Darkwing replied as he looked at her.
They sat there watching the next ten fighters when Natasha whispered to Red Orchid that she needs to get to the field as after this pair is done, she will be up next.
Mallory headed down the stairs past Siris, when he called out to her. She stopped and looked at the fox.
Siris spoke gently. “Good luck, Red Orchid.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. Siris smiled big as he looked at her.
“Thank you, Siris. I hope I do very well in this match.” She replied.
“I have no doubt about it,” he said as he smiled at her. He swatted her butt and said, “You better get down there.”
She wanted to smack him but she nodded and headed down to the warm up arena where she stretched and made sure that she was limber before the fight started. Mallory noticed Rowain in the warm up arena as he was slowly moving in his own fighting ways keeping himself limber for the next round. All Mallory wanted to do was go over to him and tell him who she was but she smiled wickedly and recalled what Nazan had told her. ‘Rowain will find you more appealing if you ended up doing very well in the tourney without announcing to him that it is you. Let him guess who you are before you reveal the truth about yourself, Mallory.’ She smiled softly to herself.
“Red Orchid, your match is up next. Be ready to duel.” Spoke the official, as he looked into the warming arena.
Mallory knew her first match was coming very soon as she headed towards her side of the field. She gazed up into the stands to see Lady Natasha and gave her a wave before turning to look at the field and picked up her weapon that she was going to use in the duel.
She looked over the field to see a black and silver stripped cat like creature at the other end. She knew this may prove to be a tough opponent to deal with but she swallowed her worries and stepped onto the field.
The fight had lasted almost an hour and both were worse for wear, Red Orchid was declared the winner after her opponent collapsed from exhaustion, and Red Orchid was close to that point as well. As she stepped off the field, she stumbled into the arms of another opponent.
“Come, you need to see the doctor. You are nearly exhausted.” Spoke the voice.
Red Orchid knew that voice but kept her bill shut as she was helped to the medi tent where she was tended to.
“How is she?” asked the same male voice.
"Bruised and tired, it shouldn't affect Natasha much, her opponent is worse for wear."
“How badly is she?”
“She got cut up pretty bad and all that racing around she did didn’t help too much beyond the fact that the cat had to grow a thicker fur than what she normally has. That didn’t help her much in this duel, gave her a good fighting chance to defeat her.” The doctor stated.
“When will she be able to enter the next duel?” the male voice asked.
“Oh Red Orchid will be able to enter the next duel in another hour or two. I’m giving her plenty of fluids and an energy boost with some food. She should be out in the warming field in another hour, Rowain. You don’t have to worry about this bounty hunter, she’s tough. Now I need to remove her mask to check for possible injuries to her face.” the doctor stated, before ushering him out of the room.
“Okay okay, doc,” Rowain said as he headed towards the warming field to keep limber.
Red Orchid’s breathed a sigh and removed her mask after Rowain had gone.
"Don't worry girl, I understand some of you prefer to keep your identities secret.”
“Thank you.” Red Orchid replied. “How is my opponent?”
"She’s alive but will be out for a couple days, she was pushing herself to the breaking point."
“I was almost ready to call it done myself,” she stated. “But then, she collapsed and gave me the victory.”
"Her species can't handle prolonged fights, they are too much of a strain, if they can’t win within the first 20 minutes, or they won’t win unless they are exceptional fighters."
“I’ll remember that information for when I go against another of her species,” Red Orchid said, marking the information down in her memories.
A male voice was heard outside of the tent, requesting if the patient was able to have visitors as her sponsor wishes to see her.
“Yes, she is able to have visitors,” the doctor said, as he watched as she pulled on her mask over her face once more. Lady Natasha and Darkwing entered the tent. The doctor spoke, “She’s resting as she is a little exhausted but no major injuries.”
"I can tell doc, that cat’s sponsor is probably worse for wear."
“Which reminds me; I must go and tend to them as well.” The doctor hurried out of the tent leaving them alone.
Red Orchid looked at Natasha. “I did well, did I not?”
"You did, my round is coming up, watch it closely."
“I will,” Red Orchid nodded, as she got up out of the bed and headed for the tent with Darkwing by her side.
"You did well and then again the first bit of the fight with one of them is the worst."
They went to the warm up field where there was a video screen for the competitors to watch the duel that was happening on the field. Red Orchid watched as her sponsor stepped onto the field holding her weapon above her head as the crowd cheered her loudly.
“She is enjoying listening to the crowd cry out her name?” asked Red Orchid, looking at Darkwing.
“Yes, because she is one of the top three fighters on the field right now.” he replied. "Once she lowers her weapon, the crowd will cease to be for her as she will concentrate all her abilities to her competitor."
"I don't think her competitor stands a chance,"
“Neither do I. I would always bet on her as she would not lose very easily and it is only against another Dove or ebon dragon she will lose to,”
"Is Siris a Dove or ebon dragon?"
Darkwing shook his head. "He's a guild master."
“A what?” asked Red Orchid.
"A guild master, the guild of artisans to be precise,"
“I never heard of a guild before,” Red Orchid replied.
“Maybe after the tourney is done, you pick one of the guilds and learn under them. The purse will help you get into the guild.” Darkwing stated.
"Are they like universities or military academies?"
"Much better, I honestly couldn't imagine living on my own home world after being out here. There is no future for me on Puckworld, but what would a girl from the Tri-Markey Empire like you know of it?"
Mallory knew she was native born to Puckworld but Darkwing didn’t know. Maybe she should tell him she’s native born of Puckworld and knows nothing of the guilds. She looked around to see Rowain standing nearby and she remembered that he had good hearing and if she said she was native born, he will know it is her. “My family threw me to the dogs when I came of age. Threw me away calling me worthless! Now, I am a bounty hunter and I have never really heard of the guilds before now,”
"The guild, though you pay for your education for once your studies are completed you always have employment and the higher you go in a guild he more people respect you.”
“Are you in a Guild, Darkwing?”
“No, I looked into one but decided to remain out of the Guilds.” He replied. He turned towards the view screen. “They are about to start,”
Red Orchid watched the screen as she witnessed Lady Natasha’s duel and she took only five minutes to disarm her opponent and had her whip right around his neck tight to where the opponent was struggling for breath, he signaled his defeat and she let loose on the whip after the official called the duel over.
Darkwing glanced over to look at her and smiled. “I told you she was one of the vicious ones. She took him easy, that whip of hers would normally snap her opponent’s neck.”
"Is she being gentle on purpose?"
"Don't know, rumor has it she's been trying to pursue the Raptrin that ranks third, maybe she's trying to show off a gentler side."
“Who is ranked third?”
Darkwing smiled as he pointed towards the purple haired and dark brown feathered Raptrin who was wearing a leather vest and pants; that was standing off to the side. “That Raptrin, his name is Rowain. He is the one that ranks third in this tourney. She has her eye on him but it is only rumor.”
Mallory knew she had a competitor for his eye but would she really gain his eye if she did well in the tourney. “He’s handsome for a Raptrin.”
“Yeah, he is but not many ducks or Raptrins or Saurians seem to catch his eye. He will smile at them but he wouldn’t go any further with them than a smile and a chat. I think he will remain single for the rest of his poor life. Anyways, I better get up to the field, I’m up soon.” Darkwing stated.
“Good luck, Darkwing,” replied Red Orchid, as she watched him walk towards the side of the field preparing to enter the field.
Darkwing was up against a Saurian, though the fight lasted almost an hour and a half, the ref had called it over due to time had run out, Darkwing won based on points. Darkwing walked down the stairs not seeing the Saurian charge at him.
Red Orchid saw the Saurian, she reached for her discus to throw at the charging Saurian before she could even move, Darkwing had his sword to the Saurian’s neck and was growling menacingly at the Saurian.
The ref came rushing over and yelled, “Away from each other! You both know that fighting isn’t allowed off the field!”
Darkwing put his weapon away and spoke, “I defended myself from his attack. Everyone here in the warming field saw him attack me first.”
The ref turned to the Saurian and spoke, “You are banned from this tourney for the amount of five years. You will not be allowed to participate in this tourney for the next five years. Now remove yourself from this field and don’t return for five years.”
The Saurian fumed as he stormed off to his tent and started to pack his gear. In retaliation for banning him for five years, he burnt the tent he resided in before he left the area.
"I can't stand sour fruit like him, but you get them in every tournament,” Siris commented as he grabbed his weapon to head onto the field.
Red Orchid watched the match between Siris and his opponent to find that he took only twenty nine minutes to defeat his opponent. As Siris descended from the stairs, he looked at her and spoke, “Learn anything from seeing us fight?”
Mallory nodded. "Skill alone won't cut it, precision and speed is what will determine the victor."
"Good, I want you to join Natasha, Rowain and me in our private box, I'd like to see how you predict the fights from here on out."
Red Orchid nodded. “It will be fun to see which of my picks will win their fight.”
"It’ll also be practice on gauging your opponent after all the next round is one of the hardest."
“How hard is the next round?” asked Red Orchid, as she followed him to the private box.
"It's a jungle, a set of slaves are released into the jungle on the outside of the camp area, from there a bounty hunter musty search through the jungle and collect ten slave ID badges by whatever means necessary. Most of the slaves are renegades so if they survive the round and keep their Id's they go free, those that loose their IDs become bond servants to the hunter that holds them. It’s an interesting round. In my opinion the most fun,"
“Sounds very interesting, so what do we do with the slaves if we catch them?” Red Orchid asked.
"Take their ID by any means necessary, even if it means killing them."
Red Orchid knew this was the challenge for her in this tourney – she might have to kill the slaves to get the ID from them. She noticed that they were walking into a section of the stands where not many others were at. “Where are we?”
Siris looked at her. “The private boxes, this is where we watch the rest of the matches without being seen by anyone else.”
"Why?"
"They’re for the elite 10 and those who sponsor this tournament, even Lady Alor is here."
“Who is Lady Alor?”
“Oh, she’s the wife of the king of the Tri-Markey Empire. She enjoys the tourney very much.” Siris replied. “And if you are lucky, you might even meet her.”
“Maybe if I end up getting through this next round,” Red Orchid replied.
“Oh I have no doubt that you will get through it. You did do several hunts of your own before you came here to try your skills against other bounty hunters,” Siris said, as he went to a box and entered it, seeing another seated down in a seat. “Hello Lady Natasha, how are you doing?”
“I am doing well, nothing like a good fight to bring fire to your blood, isn’t there, Siris. Hello Red Orchid, I see that you are ranked in the low twenties for the next round.” Lady Natasha stated. “Rowain, Siris and I have still our original ranks of second, first and third.”
Siris looked in the box. “So where is Rowain? Isn’t he supposed to be here by now?”
“I’m sure he is on his way up here.” Lady Natasha stated. “He is probably talking to some duck or a Saurian who is trying to see if they can get into his tent later on tonight for a round of passion. But I doubt they will even get that far. He is stubborn when it comes to having a dalliance with some duck or Saurian female. Maybe that is why I like him so much, he plays hard to catch.”
"He’s a Dove isn't he? From what I understand he's a Ringdove which is close to the head family of McDove, not just anyone would do for him." Red Orchid said distantly.
Natasha smiled. "No, I still wonder how Seabird did it though Lord Collins will be the death of her, he's too grounded, and the Suscans are like the wind, always moving."
Red Orchid said nothing in return; she looked towards the stairs to see a purple tressed Raptrin striding up the steps. “I believe Rowain is approaching,”
"Good... Rowain I believe you have yet to meet the one I’m sponsoring, she goes by Red Orchid."
He raised a brow. "Did you give her that name or did she choose it?"
Red Orchid smiled. "My trainer gave it to me. Lady Natasha had nothing to do with it."
"I hope to see you bloom in the next round."
“I hope I do well to gain your approval,” Red Orchid replied, as she turned towards the playing field and noticed two Saurians approach the field. “The next pair is coming to the field.”
“Oh good, which one will win this match, Orchid?” asked Siris, looking at her.
“By how the one on the right is walking, I will take him. The one on the left looks strong and healthy. The one on the right is favoring a leg. He tries not to show it but he’s playing injured.” She stated.
Lady Natasha looked at the one she pointed out. “She is right, he is playing injured.”
Rowain looked at the players and said, “He’s faking it, he just took five steps without limping. He’s hoping the opponent will fall for his fake injury and think this will be an easy bout to win.”
They watched as the match started and the one that Red Orchid had picked acted like he was hurt which made the other opponent lax on some of his hits, till about ten minutes into the bout when he started to get hit by the one who had an injury turned out to be a ruse to put him into a state of I’m going to win this easily. Within twenty minutes after the ruse was dropped, the one Red Orchid picked won the bout.
"Not bad, you have a keen eye, how about for this next match up?"
Red Orchid looked at the pair as they walked onto the field. “This one will be by points alone. The one on the left will win it.”
Sure enough after the allotted time her estimate was correct. The next set that came out weren’t rookies, almost unreadable to her.
"I can't tell with these next two."
"Try; they’re veterans so of course it'll be harder."
She looked at them carefully. They were evenly matched but something about the one on the right struck her as different. There was a step to his movements that reminded her of Nazan. “The one on the right will win it after forty minutes.”
"You caught it then," Siris said with a grin. "He's an assassin so speed and precision are second nature to him."
“Caught what?” Red Orchid turned to look at him.
"The way a person walks gave them away, it is something that marks a person’s profession and background."
Red Orchid looked at the warm up field and she could tell who the hunters were and who the assassins were. “There are at least ten assassins in the warm up, the rest bounty hunters.”
Rowain smiled as he looked at her. “Good eye.”
“You must have a good eye to fire off your weapon or to throw a dagger at your target,” she replied.
"Quite true right Rowain,"
Rowain simply nodded.
Red Orchid noticed where he was looking and looked at the field to see the two competitors start to fight. It was forty minutes later, that the one on the right was proclaimed victor as the other competitor lay on the field injured. “The player is injured.”
"He’s also poisoned, even if it's tended to, he won't last any more then 3 days."
“How did he?” she asked.
“One of the hits he took was from a poisoned blade.” Siris stated. “I thought they outlawed those blades in these tourneys?”
“You and me both, Siris. They will disqualify the winner for using a poisoned blade in this tourney but only if it was in the prelims, poisoned blades are okay in the second and third the final round.”
"So there is a risk of being killed?"
"There is always that risk, why do you think that sponsoring a newcomer is so risky; you have to be confident that they'll survive otherwise its game over for you."
Mallory nodded; maybe she was in over her head. Maybe she should back out of the tourney now before she got herself killed? But then Nazan’s face appeared in her mind’s eye and he was not happy with that she backed out because she was scared of dying in the tourney.
“Cat got your tongue, Red Orchid?” asked Siris.
“Oh sorry, I was thinking that maybe I shouldn’t finish the tourney,” she admitted to them.
“Are you afraid of getting killed in the tourney?” asked Rowain.
“Yes, I am after all this is my first tourney that I ever did before,” she stated.
"Run if you like then, as long as you are afraid there is a good chance you will die."
Lady Natasha looked at Red Orchid. “There is a friend of mine in the military, he could die in the next battle that they go into but he does it without fear knowing it is for the good of his people and that of the planet he lives on. He would say swallow your fear and don’t let it control you,”
She nodded. "Your right, going yellow is not an option."
Rowain smirked as he pulled something from his belt. “Here. You might need to use this in one of your duels that is coming up in the second round. Don’t remove it from the sheath and test the sharpness of the blade; it will kill you if you do.”
“You have a poisoned blade?” Red Orchid asked
“All three of us do. The next round will show what we’re made of, in the best ways possible. The hunt will show everyone if you are worthy of the title bounty hunter,” Rowain stated.
Mallory mentally cringed. ‘To actually kill in battle was something no one could prepare her for.’ But she knew she would have to do that one day. “How did you cope with your first kill?”
"I just didn't think about it and kept fighting. It was a war when I first killed."
Rowain shrugged. "I wanted to kill my first kill; it was a weight off my shoulders."
"Like Natasha I didn't think about it, was simply self defense."
Rowain looked at her. “So what was your first kill, Red Orchid?”
“Uh, I guess it will be one of the slaves or a competitor. I really haven’t killed anyone yet.”
“Oh you truly are a newbie hunter or one of those hunters that captures their bounty alive at all costs,” Siris stated.
"So far it's only been alive."
"After the first few times it'll get easier. My advice would be to kill every slave you find, that was you don't have any needless attachments." Rowain told her.
Red Orchid nodded as she turned her attention to the playing field as the last pair came onto the field. The others watched as the last pair fought for nearly the entire allotted time frame before both collapsed and the ref went to each one after he called them both out to find that both competitors died on the field. “Does that happen often?”
“That both competitors die on the field, rarely does it happen but it does happen once in a while. That is why they have the time limit of an hour and a half. If they go to that time limit, they are gauged by the points that they gathered during the bout.” Siris stated.
"Is that so no one dies in the preliminaries by accident?"
“Yup,” replied Siris.
“But in the next round it is a little harder as you go into the jungle alone and yet you know that there is a time limit of five days before the slaves are declared free and you lose the match.” Natasha acknowledged.
Mallory nodded. "So not just a test of skill but also survival,"
“Yes, I ended my hunt in about two days. The slaves ended up being injured and I showed them a quick death after I claimed their ID tags from them,” Siris stated.
“That’s probably why you are first in the ranks, Siris; I ended mine in three days.” Rowain replied.
"You also took your time, though I must say some of the things you've done to the bodies is most interesting." Rowain shrugged and Natasha snickered. "Truly gruesome, to think you do it to relax."
Red Orchid looked confused. “You just lost me?”
"I have some pictures from last year, it when our dear Rowain throws off his shackles of civility and becomes the monster he truly is. A monster I dearly adore and admire." Lady Natasha said as she handed the photos to Red Orchid.
She started to laugh at some of the photos. Rowain raised a brow as he looked at her. “I guess I might not be so odd after all.”
“Why’s that?”
Red Orchid smiled and spoke, “You will see when my turn comes for the jungle trial.”
Rowain’s interest was peaked. “Please tell us what you have in store for the slaves?”
“Not going to tell you, just wait and watch the gore fest.” She replied, as she handed the pictures back to Lady Natasha.
Siris brought out a small box and placed a clip on Rowain and Natasha as well as himself.
"You don't trust me?" Rowain asked.
"I don't trust even myself in that jungle, we are like savage beasts, friend and foe are nothing but targets, and these simply ensure we do not kill one another."
Rowain looked at Red Orchid and then looked at Siris. “What about Red?”
“She’ll have to defend herself against us if we come across her,” Siris replied coldly.
"Don’t scare the girl Siris, anything we may try to do to her we all feel because of the penalty for sponsoring. My chip also acts as hers."
“I’m not, just giving her fair warning to stay away from us,” he replied.
Mallory said nothing; she had already figured she didn't want to be in their vicinity during that round. If she hadn't seen the pictures she would have never thought any of them to be that indifferent to killing and worse. They were monsters to the core, what kept them in line were the rules of being civilized. It was very clear why Rowain back on Puckworld was formal and followed the rules, one slip and his shackles would break. His world really wasn't for the weak; even if she could make it through the tournament would she be able to handle him? She was not sure but she would try to see if she could handle his bloody world and him. ‘I will try to handle his world and him if I do well in the tourney. I went this far in my attempt to win him back, I might as well go all the way.’
"We should all rest, tomorrow morning the second round starts; there is no time for sleep during a hunt."
“None at all?” asked Red Orchid, looking at the others.
“Not for one second, for you are on the move through out the night and day. I’ll escort you back to your tent, Red Orchid.” Rowain offered.
“Thank you but I think I can find my way back there myself,” she replied.
Lady Natasha placed her hand on her arm. “I think you might want to let him escort you to your tent, Red Orchid. He will explain about the jungle you are about to enter tomorrow morn. Any dangers you might encounter beyond the other assassins and bounty hunters and us.”
“Okay, I think I will take you up on your offer, Rowain.” Red stated, as she looked at him.
He smiled as they walked down the stairs. “There is the heat and the humidity you will face in the jungle. You will sweat more than you did on your own home planet. If you are not used to the heat or the humidity, it will be your main problem. There are rivers which you must cross; you can use the water within it to cool you down and to drink from. There are plants that have vines which can ensnare your legs, you can use the poisoned blade to cut free of them; one slice will make them retract their vines. They hate the poisoned blade. Not many of the hunters or assassins carry them as they forget that they are allowed in this round. You can steal the ID bags from those who get caught by the vines and have died from their strangle hold on you. They are free game after they are dead. That’s the most fun you get to have with them.”
“So you can actually steal the IDs from the dead hunters and assassins and not get penalized for it?” asked Red Orchid.
"Of course, you can also kill other hunters to get the Id's they've snagged; it's an all out match. So trust your instincts."
Red Orchid nodded her head, not really wanting to trust her voice. Being this close to him and he not knowing it is her was making it hard for her to concentrate on anything but walking. She wanted to rip of her mask and tell him it was her, just to see what his reaction would be but then she realized that if she did so, he would probably tell her to pull out and not compete in the next round or probably do nothing but walk away from her like he did in the café that day. She also told herself that she would disappoint Nazan if she backed out now even if Rowain knew it was her. She would go all the way in the tourney till she was defeated by another competitor or that she failed in getting many ID tags. She wondered how many she would get. “How many did you get your first time out, Rowain?”
"I got twelve, now I make a point of only ten don't need any more and it gives others more of a chance."
“How many do you think I will get?”
“If you are on top of your game, you might get seven or eight IDs, but who knows once you are in the jungle anything can happen.” Rowain said. “Your inner beast could be unleashed and well, anything can and could happen in the jungle.”
Red Orchid remained silent as they walked towards the competitors’ tents. Rowain led her towards her tent and he stopped right before it. He turned to look at her. “What armor will you be wearing into the jungle?”
“This is what I plan on wearing. Why?” She asked, looking at him.
“Come to my tent and I’ll show you what I will be wearing. You might want to ask Lady Natasha to get you something similar in weight and fabric as it will keep you cool while you are running through the jungle.” Rowain stated, as he led her to his tent where he showed her the lightweight armor that he was going to wear and on the chest of his shirt he was going to wear was the Dove emblem of the Ringdoves. He noticed what she was looking at. “That is my family’s crest, the Ringdoves. I’m a Ringdove if you didn’t know.”
“May I touch the fabric?” Red asked.
“Of course,” Rowain replied, as he told her about the fabric being lightweight and yet very strong to resist the vines’ hold on it.
She felt how light and soft it was but the fabric was nothing she had ever seen or felt before. “This fabric is nothing I have ever felt before, it is so soft and yet light. I bet you could breathe through it if you had to.”
"You can, the offer is open if you want a set. Your armor is pretty archaic."
“Maybe I should get a set as it may help me out in the jungle more than this armor that I wear now?”
“The armor protects you from the blows from the weapons used in the prelims and the first round; it will only weigh you down and cause you problems in the second round.” Rowain stated.
“Is there another round after this one?”
"The third round is for those who pass the second round, it's like the prelims but a match can turn into a death match."
“How many get to make it to that round?” Red asked.
"Best case scenario is 30; normally it's closer to twenty."
“I guess I better see if Lady Natasha can get me armor similar to yours without your family crest on it,” Red said, as she looked at his armor.
“She probably has it in your tent already. Come on,” Rowain stated, as he headed out of his tent towards hers.
After Red entered her tent, Rowain followed behind her. There on a mannequin was an armor that was indeed similar to Rowain’s but without the family crest on it. What was on it was a bounty hunter’s emblem on the chest, marking her as a bounty hunter.
“I guess she knew you would make it to the third round and got you your armor. Smart girl she is. Now get some sleep as tomorrow will be one of the hardest days of your life.” Rowain stated, before leaving her tent.
Mallory watched as he left her tent. She wished that she had asked him to stay the night with her but she knew he wouldn’t and she knew it would expose her as Mallory McMallard. ‘I think I will reveal who I am at the end of the tourney if I make it that far. I hope he finds me worthy of being in his life after this,’
Nazan stepped out of the shadows. "You should be more careful, by the way what's on the stand is for the third round," he told her as he tossed a smaller bundle towards her. "That is for the second, it's not as covering but that is to your advantage since you are adapted to cold."
Mallory laid it out on her bunk and saw that it really didn't cover much but took note of the circuitry in the fabric. "How does it protect me?"
"It coats your body in a nearly invisible energy shield, most don't use it because the energy field is cold, and you should be fine."
“Why give me the advantage over the others, Nazan?” she asked.
“You want to win back Rowain, don’t you?”
“Yes,”
“To do so, you must do very well in this tourney even if it means you kill. Now I shall see you at the end of the tourney and hopefully, you will do better than I have hoped for,” Nazan stated before he slipped back into the shadows of her tent and after hearing the back flap being tied he was gone.
Mallory turned to her weapons that she had on the table. The bolas would be in good use in the jungle, as would the daggers, the sword she might bring with her. The energy shield in the fabric that Nazan left for her, she would use during the up coming round as it will help her out. She disrobed of some of her armor and removed her mask to lie down on her bunk and fell into a deep sleep.
It was Nazan who woke her up in the early morning. "Get up Mallory, it's almost time."
Mallory reacted like the trained assassin he taught her to be by putting a dagger to his throat before he pushed it aside and pinned her arms to her side. After she woke fully up, her arms were released and he stood by the back flap. "How soon are we to the start of the second round?"
"You have an hour to get ready before they declare all latecomers disqualified. You better get dressed and get to the line before that time. Oh and don't remove your mask until you set foot back on Puckworld, Lady Seabird and her daughters are here." Nazan stated before he went under the back flap and vanished.
Mallory scowled, she had planned on revealing herself to Rowain after this round; why did that have to change because of someone named Seabird. She shook her head sadly as she pulled on her mask and then reached for the energy suit to pull over her feathers. She at first thought it was a bit skimpy on her feathers, but that might make Rowain look twice at her. With a smile on her bill at the mental image of his face, she picked up her weapons and headed for the starting line. She hoped that they would have a line for breakfast as she was hungry.
When she got to the mess hall, Lady Natasha pulled her over to her table. "I grabbed some food for you as well as a ration pack. The boys are just getting theirs as we speak."
“Oh thank you very much. I was worried that I would oversleep and miss the start.” Red Orchid said.
“More like you would have to wait for next year to do this entire tourney again as you would not be allowed in after they start the second round. They disqualify all latecomers.” She said, as she started to eat her meal.
She nodded. "I hope the energy armor I have is legal."
"It is, though it's not good for those adept in heat or have cold blood."
“This might help me cope with the heat in the jungle.” Red Orchid stated, as she drank what looked like orange juice but it had a sweeter taste to it. “So who is this Seabird that I heard whispers of.”
"Seabird is part of the Suscan council; she's also the Black Dove’s wife. Her daughters are Rowain’s cousins."
“So that is why I was warned not to remove my facemask till I return to Puckworld, right?” Red Orchid whispered.
Lady Natasha leaned over to her and nodded. “His cousin Lola is especially protective of her cousin, if she finds out that he is being chased as they would probably call it by your people, by one of your people, she would for the most part kill who ever was chasing him. She loves him like a brother and yet they look out for each other. From what the rumors were that he had some Flashblade kid kill the suitor for Lola’s hand instead of doing it himself.”
“He nudged a Flashblade kid to kill a suitor?” asked Red Orchid.
“Yup, and from what I am aware of is that there was two Flashblades on the ship only the youngest did the deed.” She stated as she leaned up and smiled a wicked looking smile. “Well, here come the boys now. Doesn’t Red look sexy with what she’s wearing?”
Siris looked her right over and his tail swished to side to side. “Maybe after this round is through you would like to stay with me for the night?”
“In your dreams, Siris,” Red growled.
Siris purred. “You mean it?”
"Don’t temp him Red."
“In my world’s terminology, I mean not on your life or no way.” Red restated.
“In other words, you just got dumped, Siris. She ain’t interested in you. I think she has her eye on a bounty hunter by the name of Darkwing,” Rowain stated, as he started to eat his meal.
Red glanced over at Rowain to look at what he was wearing and she found it quite appealing. "I see your ball and chain is here."
"She's not my ball and chain; she's here because she wants to compete next year if her mother will allow it."
“I think she should be allowed to compete if she wants to but she needs to be aware she might die if she reaches the third round,” Red stated.
“She might find that to be a thrill, Red. Oh by the way, you look hot in that armor,” Rowain said before he turned to look at Lola who approached the table.
Much to Mallory’s surprise, Lola was a red head like her, though the feathers were like Rowain’s, Lola didn't wear Dove markings and didn't seem to like the one Rowain was wearing. “Oh Ro, why wear that awful emblem?”
“Lola, it is my family’s crest, like it or not, it is a part of my life.” Rowain stated, as he stood up and kissed her cheek.
She scowled. "So why not just wear the proper emblem."
"You know why I refuse to wear that one."
"It's no better then Ringdove, well guess you'll have to get use to it since I refuse to let my father have his way."
"You forget your little sister,"
"She's of no consequence, which means if you don't disappear you’re the next big bad black."
“Not anytime soon, he’ll get you sooner or later, Lola. You and I know he will. Anyways, have you seen your friends lately?”
"Yeah, as much as I can,"
“How’s the younger one doing? Is he still that cheerful little one?”
“He is doing quite well, very cheery and very smart mouthed too.”
“Smart mouthed?”
“Yeah, he tells jokes and makes me and his brother and best friend laugh a lot.”
“That’s good.” Rowain stated. He glanced over to see Red watching them. “Lola, this is Red Orchid, she’s new to the tourney maybe next year if she comes again she could sponsor you in the tourney.”
“Only if mother will allow me to join in the tourney next year, Ro,” Lola stated.
"It would be a good way to make your father worry."
"True."
“If my father cared about me, he would flip learning what I am doing with my life.” Red said. “Me a bounty hunter and in a very dangerous tourney to boot too,”
Lola smiled. "All my father cares about is politics, he doesn't care what I want, just what is good for him."
“I pity that poor Suscan. He would never really treasure his daughters if he doesn’t care for them.” Red said.
“Don’t pity him, pity my mother she has to handle us girls for the rest of her life till she passes on and hopefully, we will be far away from my home world when he goes,” Lola replied.
“Well, your mother has raised a good daughter; you look tough for your age. You are 18 years of age right?” Red asked.
Rowain turned to look at Red as Lola did the same. “How did you guess that I am 18 years of age?”
“Well, you look like you are about 18 years of age if not a year younger.” Red replied.
“Someone told you my age didn’t they?” she asked.
“No one did, I’m not a bounty hunter for nothing. I get paid to be observant.” Red replied calmly. She stood up and grabbed her pack and placed it within her pouch. “I best get to the line as they will be calling for the start of the second round soon. I do hope you consider joining the tourney next year. It should be a blast.” And she walked away from them.
Lola raised a brow, Red had guts. As Rowain got up from his seat, Lola whispered to him. “Red has guts. I like her a lot.”
Rowain smiled darkly. “So do I.”
Rowain went to join the rest of the competitors in the line up. He could see where Red was by her red hair. He looked around and saw Darkwing in the bunch by his silvery gray hair. He snorted as he knew that those two wouldn’t get to the third round without a lot of luck on their part. He figured he would get his amount and stalk Red to see how she does in the round. He smirked to himself. “That should be fun.”
~~~~~~
Night was fast approaching and Red only had one ID, the slave was tied to a tree, she had thought about killing him but when push came to shove she couldn't. She sighed and sat against a tree trunk, there was a steam near by, a quick bath couldn't hurt. She got up and went to it as the sun went below the horizon. She removed her armor and was about to go into the water when a hand grabbed and restrained her.
"You left the slave alive; I'm here to make sure you finish the job Red." Rowain’s voice whispered in her ear.
He took her to where her captive was, his body was completely exposed. He ran a dagger up her thigh only drawing a minimal amount of blood. Red could feel a slight tingle. "The dagger is coated in poison, do as I say and I'll give you the antidote, otherwise you will not live to see the sun rise."
Red gulped. "What is it you want?"
Rowain grinned. "Your innocence, I want you to take the slave and when he has cum twice, slit his throat."
Red was released as she staggered to the slave and reached for his exposed member. She stroked his member not really confident in the hand motions but the member did react to her hand and grew thick and long. Soon, his member expelled his cum shooting it onto Red’s face and hand as he cried out with pleasure.
“That’s one, Red. One more and slit his throat,” Rowain whispered next to her. “Suckle him off next.”
Red kneels and began to suck, she gasped when Rowain started to stroked her between the legs, as the slave came in her beak, Red had gotten quite wet between the legs. Rowain slipped a normal dagger into her hand. "Now slit his throat then take him within you till his body goes cold."
Red looked at the slave as he closed his eyes and turned away from her. Her hand went to his throat and slit it from one side to another. The blood gushed from the wound as he slumped against the restraints. Rowain removed him from the tree and laid him flat on his back. He waved to the erection that the dying slave had as Red breathed in deep and straddled the erection and pushed her warmth over his erection till she felt it hit her barrier. She froze at that moment.
Rowain noticed that she froze and the erection was not even that far in her. “Oh, you’re a virgin hunter?” Red nodded. Rowain walked behind her and placed his hands on her hips and as he whispered next to her, he shoved her fully onto the erection, making her send out a cry of pain. “Now you aren’t.”
It felt horrible, the slave was slowly dying under her, she felt dirty and it went against any morals she had . . . but she wanted to live so she had to do as Rowain commanded, if he knew who she was would he force such things on her? She started to weep. The act continued for another hour before the body started to go cold and stiff. She stood up her face stained with tears, she felt dirty and empty.
Rowain came up from behind her and started to stroke her breasts, she could feel his bare body against her. "To violate and kill is the essence of the beast, embrace it or let it destroy you." he whispered in her ear before brutally taking her by force.
Rowain took her for another hour before he removed himself and allowed her to stand up again. He grabbed her forcing her down onto her knees as he poured liquid down her throat and then he grabbed his clothes and dashed of into the jungle where he watched her response to what she did and what he had done to her. He wondered if she would take her own life after being assaulted like that. Would this little hunter embrace what happened or would she use the knife he left behind to end it? He watched from his hiding place as he clothed himself.
Mallory grasped the dagger, she felt completely empty. He had done to her as he did to a slave before he'd mangle them, forced her to do the unspeakable as well as kill. It didn’t matter if she made it back or not, if she die or disappointed Nazan, there was no point in continuing. She took a deep breath and grabbed her armor. There was a point, she wouldn't let him break her, this was his world and she would survive and be strong enough to live in it. To kill what did it matter, she had already done it once and violated the victim, what are nine more? Virtue was meaningless, she should thank him for showing her that, virtue only got you killed; all that mattered was the beast, to embrace it and chain it until needed.
Mallory went on the hunt looking for more slaves; she found one which she stabbed in the back before she slit the wrists of the slave after she took the ID from it. She proceeded to get quite gruesome with this one. She practically drank the blood from the slave and then butchered the slave, leaving all the parts in different places around the spot. She hurried off to find another slave but came across a hunter instead. With a smile she coaxed the hunter into the trap of a vine creature. One the vines wrapped around the throat of the hunter killing him, Red slashed the vine with her poisoned blade and checked how many IDs that the hunter got. “Three IDs not bad, now I have five IDs, I need to find more hunters and slaves.”
Rowain watched from the tree branch. He realized that he let out the beast that was hiding within Red. He smirked as he watched her move away from that hunter. She was lethal.
It took Red another day and a half to get the rest of the ID's. But from Rowain’s vantage point, he knew she got at least eleven IDs, that last hunter she killed gave her four more IDs which tallied her count to eleven. She didn’t do as good as he did first time out but she was lethal and a mighty good lay.
Rowain wondered if she would be interested in coming to his tent for a night of passion that wasn’t so rough. He shrugged as he leapt to the ground and rushed for the finish line in time to see Siris and Lady Natasha walking into view.
"So Rowain, how did you do?"
"I got what was needed, spotted Red though, the orchid has blossomed."
“Oh caught her in the moment of killing a slave?” asked Siris.
"Yes, as well as a couple hunters."
Siris turned his head to see Red coming out of the jungle. “Hey here she comes now. Good hunting Red?”
Red’s eyes glanced at Rowain and she turned to look at Siris. “I got twelve IDs in total. So I say I did well. I knocked out couple hunters for their IDs.” Red said as she walked towards the judges to allow them to count her collected IDs.
Rowain looked at Siris and Lady Natasha. “I saw her get only eleven IDs,”
“She might have encountered another hunter which gave her one more,” Lady Natasha said, as they went into the line and watched as Red’s IDs got counted.
“Red Orchid twelve IDs!” Yelled the judge as the amount and her name came up on the tally board.
Rowain looked shocked at her as he walked up to the judge and handed him his bag which contained his IDs that he collected from the slaves. He stood there watching the judge count out his IDs that he got. As he had suspected there were nine, he pulled another from his pocket to put the total back up to ten, he knew better then to just get ten, eleven as always a good idea.
“Rowain Ringdove ten IDs!” Yelled the judge as the amount and his name showed up on the tally board.
“Not bad, Ro,” Natasha said as she approached the judge with her bag of IDs to count.
Rowain grinned. "Good thing I kept a spare, she stole a ring from me."
“Who did?” asked Siris, as he handed in his bag.
“Red,”
“So you were close to her then? Watched her personally slay the slave?” asked Natasha.
“Yes and also violated the same slave. I also had fun with her too. I might ask her to come to my tent tonight,” Rowain replied with a grin on his beak.
Natasha scowled. "What does she have that I don't?"
"What can I say; I have a thing for red hair."
Natasha watched as he strolled over to Red Orchid as Siris leaned against her shoulder. “Looks like he is in love with Red Orchid, Lady Natasha,”
“Looks like it. I hope she is worth it for him.” Natasha replied. “Come, we can celebrate our success in the second round with out him.”
Rowain watched as Red Orchid drank from the goblet before he approached her. “Red, are you doing anything tonight?”
“All I am doing tonight is planning what weapons I will bring into the third round tomorrow,” Red said, as she looked at the server who poured more water into her goblet.
"You stole one of my rings."
"You took advantage of me, it was only fair."
“Care to have dinner with me in my tent?” asked Rowain.
"Only if I get to tie you up and have my way with you afterwards."
“That is a deal,” Rowain said, as he grinned at her.
Red Orchid smiled as he watched as she strode away from him. All he could do was keep his beak closed as he wanted to drool over how beautiful she was.
“Okay cousin, who is the chick?” asked Lola, looking at him.
"The Red Orchid, a ruthless bounty hunter, I'm sure your father wouldn't disapprove."
“He wouldn’t, but I do.” Lola stated.
“Oh come now cousin, she’s perfect for me. She tore into the throat of a hunter and practically drank its blood. She’s perfect for me cousin.” Rowain replied.
“She looks Puckworldian to me,” Lola said.
“But she’s not anymore, her father threw her away, practically disowned her.” He stated.
"So who is she? She's a no body,"
"What about the boy you like? He's a no body too."
"He's not a no body; he's a Thunderbeak, he also is the last holder of true DuCaine blood."
“But still, your father will not let you have him; I think he will like Red Orchid very much.” Rowain stated.
Lola looked at him. “I think you are right about him liking Red Orchid.”
"Good, and the DNA is a match as well,”
“So you had her DNA matched to yours to see if she would be compatible with you. Smart boy, dear cousin,”
"You know I wouldn't have even considered her unless it did, it's rare enough to get a match due to how our kind is evolving."
From the shadows, Natasha grinned, so that was the reason. She slinked away and went to pay Red a visit. “Red, a word with you?”
“Of course, Natasha,” Red said, as she waved her hand to the spare seat she had. Her armor that she wore that day was still on her as she looked at the armor for the next round.
"I overheard something that may interest you; Rowain isn't pursuing you because he likes you, but because you are genetically compatible. In other words, it's all politics."
“Great, I get abused by a Raptrin who wants me because I’m compatible with him on the genetic level.”
“Abused?”
“Yeah, right after I get done doing the slave though I hated doing it with him, Rowain proceeded to rape me quite viciously. I think it would be fair if I did the same to him,” Red said.
“He might enjoy that, he’s weird at that.” She replied as she looked at her.
"I already agreed to dinner, maybe I should just stand him up. Of all the nerve, I actually thought he liked me."
"He's a Dove, they use and abuse, I like that type of relationship, and I enjoy being someone else’s play thing. I suspect that you don’t."
"Yeah, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." Mallory said as she stormed out. Natasha grinned, Rowain would not be rid of her so easily.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mallory was about five tents away from Rowain’s when a hand grabbed her. "You’re the Red Orchid aren't you." came a female voice.
“Yes, I am. Who are you?” she hissed.
The female tugged her into the tent; in the candle light Mallory could see it was Lola.
"I'm Lola; I wanted to meet you without any formalities. I know I'm being rude but I wanted to meet the girl that my cousin adores."
"You can just can it, I know about the genetic compatibility. I'm nothing but a tool to him."
Lola turned away. "I was going to ask you not to hurt him and get his hopes up, but I see that you won’t. Rowain has been abused so much and for so long that hope would only bring him pain. As for the genetic compatibility, that really doesn't matter, as long as Rowain’s hope of finding a match that he likes is non existent, he will be matched with a compatible Nighthawk, there would be no love to it, so Rowain’s can't be hurt by it."
“But if he finds one he is compatible with he will be able to have the love he so desires?”
"What would she understand of what he's been through? She'd be an innocent, never forced to do horrible things on threat of death, or to find the will to go on after the fact. You’re a bounty hunter, no one forced you to be, you do it because you want to not because you have to."
“That’s true, I do want to be with him but not because we are genetically compatible. But out of love and desire to be with each other. If he picks me as his mate, I will accept but if he picks me just because I am genetically compatible with him, he will not have me. I hope you understand.” Red Orchid said. "I will use him as a sex object then."
Lola sighed. "Look, he likes you; because you are genetically compatible you give him hope that you could be some one he can love. If you don't want him or are just using him then walk away."
“I will not walk away from him. If he loves me, then that is good for me as I love him too,” Red admitted. She froze at what came from her bill.
“You will make him happy and that is all I want for him to be happy. Go on, you should be coming to his tent shortly.” Lola said, as she shoved her out of her tent.
Red reached Rowain’s tent just as he came out of his tent. “I’m sorry; I should have knocked before trying to open your tent flap.”
“No, that’s okay. I was just about to come to your tent to ask you something?” said Rowain.
“Is it to see if I love you as we are genetically matched?” asked Red Orchid looking at him.
"How did you know about the genetics?"
"Lady Natasha told me, she also tried to make me want to walk away."
Rowain made a nod. "And what I did in the jungle probably only fueled it, I wanted to know if you could handle it, and understand why."
"The emptiness, the self loathing, that no matter what you do, no matter how horrible it doesn't matter, you've already done it once even if it was by force, there is no longer anything within you to say no. Yeah I get it, it's not hard after what you did, but I still want to be with you."
“I’m glad you still want to be with me. This night will be pleasurable for you and me,” Rowain said as he started to kiss her neck as he pulled her back into his tent with his hands running over her sides.
Red felt his hands on her sides as her own were running over his chest as she pushed him back towards his cot where he toppled onto it. With quick movements, she roped his hands and tied them to the cot. She smiled as she looked down at him. “I now caught you my pretty Raptrin, now you are mine to enjoy.”
"Do as you wish, tonight I am yours." Rowain told her as he submitted to her whims.
Rowain didn’t know what he was in for as she removed his clothes and slowly licked his body driving him crazy with lust, especially since she would give his now aching member a lick before moving to another part of his body. It was nearly midnight by his clock when she placed his aching member at her entrance and slowly teased it with an inch entering her before pulling away.
“Please stop this torture and fuck me already.” He moaned as his hungry member ached to be within her.
Mallory grinned. "I like to see you in agony, you will have to wait to have me," she said as she got up and grabbed some food.
Rowain whimpered, she had bound him so he couldn't get at her. He watched as she slowly made love to the apple she had in her hand before she allowed it to be devoured by her. Rowain just licked his beak as his member banged hard on his belly demanding to be given some attention.
“Hungry my pet?” she cooed.
“Yes!” He replied.
“Hungry for this or for this?” as she held the apple slice to his beak and then moved it away and placed her leg showing off her wet entrance close to his beak.
Rowain leaned towards her entrance and gave it a lick before she moved away.
“Oh not that, my sweet, you need to beg some more to get a piece of that pie again,” Red cooed.
She taunted him till the early hours until he finally earned his release, even the beast had gained a respect for her; no one had ever had that kind of nerve before. Rowain felt her warmth enclose around his member and it was welcomed with many rapid thrusts upward as Red made very hot passionate love to him.
“Red, please untie me so I can truly make love to you?” he whispered.
She reached down giving his mouth time to suckle her breasts as she untied his hands. She leaned back up just as he reached for her breasts. She shook her head no, as she took hold of his hands and placed them on her hips as she started to slowly thrust herself onto his member.
Rowain proceeded to speed up his thrusts as he made her speed up her own thrusts before he felt the jerk in his balls as his seeds came shooting up his penis and into her warmth.
“Oh yes! Yes! Give it to me, Rowain! Give it to me!” she cried out as he started to pound her with each thrust of his member within her. Rowain and she both climaxed at the same time as she leaned against him and looked at him. “I think I should untie your feet and go back to my own tent.”
She removed herself from his member and untied his feet from his cot before she grabbed her armor and pulled it on. “Maybe tomorrow we shall have another round of hot sex, before we return to our own worlds.”
"I look forward to it, good luck in this round; there isn't any time to rest."
Red smiled as she gave him a kiss on the beak and headed out of his tent. Rowain went to the opening and watched as his lover slipped into her own tent. It took all his resolve and the promise of another round not to slip out of his tent and into hers and take her there.
~~~~~~~~
The third round was exciting as there were only seventeen bounty hunters and non hunters in the last round. Red Orchid was in 4th place just ranking under Rowain by a couple points. It surprised many that a newcomer had nearly tied with one of the best fighters in the tourney. Her first fight lasted only ten minutes before the opponent was disarmed and bleeding from a fatal wound to his neck. Red Orchid played for blood in the third round.
Rowain's beast roared with pride, she was the one; there would never be another female in his life quite like her. He watched her as she strode off the field towards Lady Natasha and him. “Well done, Red.”
"You’ve definitely gone further then expected, it'll do both our reputations some good."
“Thank you. I think that is my only match of the day and I basically slaughtered the hunter I went against. He won’t be hunting or doing anything anymore.” Red said, as she looked back at the field to see the medic covering up the lifeless body of the hunter as they carried him off the field.
"All that's left is the awards banquet later tonight; I wonder what the top five prizes are."
“Well, I know I will be cutting that award banquet short tonight as I got plans for tonight,” Red said, as she looked at Rowain and with her eyes gazed at his lower region before returning to meet his gaze. “Anyways, good luck out there, they are calling for you.”
"I'll see you later Red. Get some rest."
“I will and good luck,” Red watched as he strode up the stairs and onto the field. She turned and headed for her tent where Nazan was waiting for her. “I did quite good out there. Did I not Master?”
"You did splendid, much better then expected, when did you finally find the resolve?"
“When Rowain made me violate the slave and then raped me, but I got even with him by teasing him nearly all night long in his tent with him tied up to where he couldn’t touch me. He was in agony all night long and in a way, I think he liked it.” Red replied.
"You sound as if what happened in the jungle doesn’t bother you."
"I should hate him for it but he simply pushed me to the breaking point, if he hadn't I probably wouldn't have survived, or some other hunter would have simply taken me. At the time I wanted to kill him, but now I think it was sweet of him to push me to that point, it means he cares."
Nazan walked close to her and whispered, “He does,” and he headed for the back flap. “I suggest getting some rest as Rowain will be here shortly after his match to let you know how he did and he may be aroused to the point where he wouldn’t give a fuck about attending the awards banquet tonight.” And with that said, he disappeared behind the back flap and silence reigned over her tent.
“Then, I guess I better get some rest for if he is as aroused as that match made me, he will be horny for some attention.” Red smirked as she went to her wash basin and washed her face before turning to her cot and lying down on it.
About ten minutes later, she felt like someone was in her room as she woke up to see Rowain standing by her tent flap.
“So how did you do?” She asked.
“I didn’t even let him get one swing in. I decapitated him within one minute of starting the match.” He replied as he strode into her tent and to her bed. He quickly claimed her bill with his as his hands ran down her back. “Oh Red, I want you right here and now,”
She allowed him to keep kissing her before she pushed him away and smirked, “Tonight after the awards banquet is over. I want to have my way with you again.” He started to pout as he was horny for her. “It will be good, love. Just wait or you can use your right hand to comfort some of your aroused state.”
"I'll wait; Lola has made sure I can't skip out of it."
“Which means neither can I?” Red added.
"Yep, I hate it when she does stuff like that." he said as he lay beside Red, though he did tease her body a bit.
Red moaned under his teases. She placed herself over his body as she kissed her way down to his pants and opened them to free his member.
“Oh Red!” he moaned out as he felt her warm, moist mouth covering his aroused member and he felt her go up and down on him till he cried out his release as she drank his offering down. “Where did you learn that, love?”
Red looked up at him. ‘Did she hear him right? Did he just call her love?’ “Love?”
Rowain looked down at her from where he leaned back at. “Yes, love. I love you, Red.” He sat up and claimed her bill with his as he kissed her passionately.
It was a couple hours later they got ready to the awards banquet. Rowain was wearing his Ringdove clothing as Red wore her armor that she wore for the first round. They entered the hall together as they were too involved in talking about what they were going to do after the banquet was over.
Siris waved them over to his table. "Rumor has it the prizes are good this year."
“It better be good this year because I got a good prize this year. I met my dream duck at this tourney.” Rowain said, as he gave Red’s hand a squeeze.
"Natasha not thrilled about that, as for the prizes, one of them is, the nebula staff, you know the one with the two blades? It is a big prize to get that of that caliber."
Rowain whistled. "So which sponsor put that one forward?"
"The young Tri-Markey Lord."
“Wow, he must really think that we are important enough to get a prize that huge.” Red said.
"Not important, skilled enough, the staff of the nebula is an exceedingly dangerous weapon that no one has been able to wield in the past century."
“I wonder who is going to get it. I hope Rowain gets it.” Red replied, as she looked at him.
"It’s probably going to be mine." Siris stated.
“Well, you would be the best candidate for it, it is about your height and we did see you use a bladed staff in the last round.” Natasha replied, as she sat down next to him.
"So does Siris, he's also more skilled with those types of weapons. Be silent, my friends, we are about to find out who gets what award," Rowain stated, as he turned his attention towards the award stand as the announcer stepped forward.
As expected the announcer called Siris forward to receive the staff, Natasha was awarded the jewels of shadows. Rowain was awarded a long sword known as the astral wings. All three had also receives a small case of coins and a dagger with their ranking and competition date. When Mallory received her award, she didn't know what to make of the handle that was supposable a energy whip and the small jewelry box given to her by Lady Seabird along with the case of coins and rank dagger.
“How many coins did you get, Red?” asked Lady Natasha, after she counted her coins of twenty coins.
“I haven’t counted them yet,” She replied as she placed her energy whip on the table and turned to the case and started to count the many coins within it.
"I have fifteen." she said then opened the small jewelry box. Inside was a ring, it's purpose eluded her.
Natasha looked over her shoulder and raised a brow. "Wonder which Seabird you've been commissioned to protect. Kind of odd though since Seabirds can normally protect themselves without worry."
“Maybe it is not a Seabird I am to protect but someone dear to the Seabirds.” She said glancing over to look at Rowain before turning to look towards the table which held Lady Seabird and her children.
From the corner of her eye she saw Lola grin. She knew she was to protect Rowain’s heart from being hurt. She turned to look at Rowain and bent to him. “Do you think we can skip the remainder of the ceremony for your tent?”
"It’s only another couple hours, besides my cousin will be upset if we leave early."
Red turned to look at Lola and mouthed the words to her; 'Can we go?'
Lola had just taken a drink of her juice when she read Red's lips and raised a brow.
"Lola, are you all right?" asked her mother.
Lola turned to look at her. "Yes, mother, just had an amusing thought. Now if you excuse me, I need to pay a friend a visit." Lola got up from her seat and walked over to where Rowain and Red are seated at. She noticed Red's hand over his groin region. "Are you two distracted?"
Rowain turned to look at her mildly shocked. "Yes, but we do not have to go to tend to our needs. Two hours is not much to handle before we get to race out of here and into my tent for a long night of passion."
Lola smiled and knocked a drink on Red. "I'm sorry, Rowain would you be a dear and help her clean up?"
Rowain helped Red to stand up before he turned to his cousin and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you cousin, come with me, Red, I’ll get that stain out of your outfit now.”
Red whispered as she passed, “Thank you,”
Lola watched as they left the banquet hall as she turned to look at Siris and Lady Natasha. “Will you two be doing the competition again next time around?”
"Probably the next elite set for this competition, the minor and advanced tournaments are really not worth it. I hope to see you competing in the next tournament eight cycles from now."
Siris smirked, “I do hope to see you compete. If you are anything like Rowain, you should be high ranked as well.”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence. I hope my mother will allow me to compete next time around.” Lola said.
“I hope she does allow you too. Do you know the feelings between Rowain and Red are really tight? I think those two are in love with each other,” spoke Natasha.
“I think she is perfect for him and only wish the best for my cousin,” Lola replied, as she glanced towards the exit of the hall.
~~~~~~~
Red and Rowain were barely out of the corridor before they started to kiss. Red grabbed his hand and hurried towards his tent. Rowain followed her knowing that this night was going to be very good.
Morning came much too early to the two, the tournament site was now in clean up and contestants were being directed to shuttle points to get to the stations that would have shuttles to their home worlds.
Red watched as Natasha and Siris headed home to their home world, while she was standing there waiting on Rowain to come to the shuttle that was heading for Puckworld, when she came to realize that he might be going home with the Seabirds. She went to where they were at. She looked at Rowain as he hugged his cousin before turning to see her standing there. “I guess you will be heading off with the Seabirds?” she asked.
He nodded. "I hope to see you again, especially since you are working for them as a body guard."
“I think it is for the heart of someone close to them that they want protected, Rowain. But I was wondering if you were heading for Puckworld as that’s where I’m heading to.”
“Why Puckworld, Red?” asked Lola.
“I want to go find my father and shove my status down his throat and tell him that he may never see his grand ducklings if I ever get married to have any, Lola.” Red said.
“Sounds like what I want to do to my father,” Lola stated as she chuckled.
“Well, my dad threw me away and I bet in his age he is curious about what I am doing.” Red stated.
“If he even cares about you Red,” Rowain replied. “After all, he did throw you out. I have a better idea than hunting down your father.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Come home with me to my lands and let me introduce you to Lord Collins,” Rowain said. “I want him to meet the duck who claimed my heart.”
Lola glared at Rowain. "Don't get her mixed into that, I don't want my father poisoning her mind."
“He won’t poison her mind, Lola. He will see the perfect match for me and will accept my choice in my mate,” Rowain stated, sending the same glare back at her.
"All the same, I don't trust him and neither should you."
"I live to serve him; it's not a matter of trust but a matter of duty."
Lola slapped him across the face. "Duty and foolishness go hand in hand."
Red went between the two and glared at Lola. Lola just chuckled and turned away from them. "Red, I would keep my wits about when you meet Lord Collins," And she went into another shuttle with her mother.
“Come on, I want to take you home with me.” Rowain said, as he took hold of her hand.
“Is this a proposal, Rowain?” asked Red.
“Maybe, if the Black Dove agrees with my choice of a mate,”
She sighed. "I can't. Not right now but we will meet again soon."
“Why not now?” he asked. He was now worried that he was going to lose the one he loves.
“Do not worry, I will find you again.” She kissed him passionately on the bill and then decked him hard in the stomach and then knocked him out with a punch to his jaw. She flung him over her shoulder and hauled him into the shuttle.
A few minutes later, he was stationed in the Medicenter with an IV in his arm and him sedated for the journey home with the orders from Red to bring him out of it once they landed.
A few days later, the ship arrived back in Puckworld and Red disembarked to find Nazan standing at the gate. “Let’s get out of here,”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I had to knock Rowain out before we boarded the shuttle. I had them keep him out of it till a few minutes ago. He will want to search for me and I can’t let him know that it was me till I am ready to show myself to him.” Mallory stated.
Nazan nodded as he led her back to base and listened to her tale, never asking about how the sex was with Rowain, just allowed the duck to talk about the tourney.
“You were right about one thing, Nazan.”
”Which was?”
“Could I handle living in Rowain’s world? I think I could live in his world,” she replied, as she held the mask in her hands. “I don’t think he knew it was me under this mask.”
‘Oh he knew who you were, Mallory. You can hide your features but you cannot hide your voice from him.’ “Are you going to keep the mask?”
“I’m not sure, I might wait a few days to see if he accepts my dinner offer and see what he talks about. If he talks about Red and how much he loves her, I’ll send him the mask the next morning with a message about not to talk about the woman who wore the mask to the one who wore the mask. That should perplex him a bit,” Mallory stated, as her fingers brushed the mask gently.
"So how did you find the flip side?"
"I was scared at first, but then it started to come naturally, what frightens me more is how easy it would be to live like that."
“Now you understand what it is like to be a Dove. I think you should go to him wearing that mask and reveal who you are to him and let him introduce you to Lord Collins,” Nazan suggested.
“I will give him time to worry about where is she and when the time is right, go to him.” Mallory said.
"Do as you wish, your on your own from this point onwards. Oh and avoid the Black Dove, he wants a union between Rowain and the Nighthawks."
Mallory nodded as she headed back to her quarters to place her mask up when she decided when to expose the truth to Rowain at the turn of the next Lust day. She will tell him who he had bedded down on that planet and that she loves him.
~~~~~~
Mallory had just finished with her duties when she noticed a letter slipped under her door. It read, Sunset, Raven’s Court. She opened the door and looked down both sides to see no one standing there. She turned back to the letter and read it over again. The handwriting was Rowain’s but how did he get in here or did he send it via Nazan? She had to find out and so she headed towards Nazan’s quarters to find his quarters empty. She quickly rushed to the workout room to see him practicing with his staff. “Nazan, did you slip this under my door?”
“Slip what under your door?” he asked as he swung his staff at an invisible foe.
“This note that states sunset, Raven’s Court?” She asked him as she walked towards him.
"Better be on time then."
“Why would Rowain send me this note?”
“Maybe because he misses you?” Nazan stated as he leaned on his staff. “But seriously, I would be at Raven’s Court at sunset. He will not ask again.”
Mallory nodded every time she thought she had the upper hand it always changed. She hurried to Raven’s Court about ten minutes before the sun set for the night. She had gotten an overnight pass from Nazan. She wondered why she got an overnight pass instead of a couple hour long pass.
Rowain was waiting for her at the front door, when she was at the steps he lunged and pinned her against the door and cuffed her. "I've been wondering how to repay the low blow at the end of the tournament, I've only recently figure out what to do to you in return my dear."
“What do you mean the low blow at what tournament?” she asked.
“I know it is you, Red, you could hide your face from me but not your voice.” Rowain whispered next to her.
Mallory’s stiff form went limp in shock that he knew it was her all along. “I had to knock you out or you would see me meeting up with Nazan in Keltor. I didn’t mean to hit you,”
"But you did, now it's time to level the playing field, I want a rematch, winner get to do as they please with the other."
“Fair enough,” she said.
He let her go but didn't take off the handcuffs.
“Where shall we fight at, the workout room?” Mallory asked.
"Where else?"
“Didn’t know if you had a place arranged for this rematch,” Mallory said, as she followed him to the workout room.
"Where would you like us to fight at?" he whispered.
"Your bedchambers with pillows," She replied.
"After, this is a matter of pride."
“Did I hurt your widdle pride?” Mallory cooed.
"Pride is no little thing to a Dove, it's a part of our everyday lives, without pride you are nothing."
“Oh, I did hurt your widdle pride.” Mallory cooed, as she rammed him against the wall and with her hand gave him a squeeze.
The look he gave her made her stop, he really wasn't meaning anything sexual about it, and he was also dead serious about the rematch.
Mallory’s smile faded from her face as she stared into his serious looking one. She swallowed hard as she realized that she may just have to take some blows from her lover but could she actually beat him in a totally fair fight. He had many more years of combat under his belt compared to hers. She would find out soon enough as she noticed that they were now standing in front of the workout room.
He made a silent gesture to her to pick her weapon of choice as he grasped a bladed staff, one end of the pole was the Ringdove crest the other had a small red orchid. Mallory looked at the staffs and the swords, she took a bladed staff.
She gulped. "What are the rules of this match?"
"First blood." he said simply as he took his battle stance.
Mallory took hers and they eyed each other trying to see who would attack first when finally Mallory gave up and attacked first. The fight didn't last long, and Mallory was glad for that, she had gotten away with just a small nick on the shoulder. "You win."
Rowain smiled warmly and dropped his weapon in order to take her into his arms. "You are truly amazing Mallory."
“Well, Nazan did train me to be the best possible. Ouch that hurts,” she said as she felt his tongue lick at the bleeding wound on her shoulder.
“Come with me and I’ll tend to that right quick.” He replied, as he led her to a chamber which for some odd reason didn’t feel like it was his.
“This isn’t your chambers, Rowain?”
“Nope, this chamber belongs to any female guest we may have over for the night.” He replied as he stepped into the bathroom to get the first aid kit.
"Why didn't we go to yours?"
"It’s against tradition for those unmated to share their personal chamber with the one they are pursuing."
“Pursuing? You are pursuing me?” asked Mallory.
Rowain nodded. "Courtship, dating, which ever term you prefer,"
“Dating is the term I like best.” Mallory said as she tilted her head one way so he could apply the bandage to the small cut on her shoulder.
Unknowingly to her, he clamped the handcuff onto the bed post to her right wrist. He turned to look at her with a naughty look in his eyes.
“Oh you didn’t! You did, you beast!” yelled Mallory, as she felt the handcuff preventing her from moving away from the spot.
“Oh yes, now you get to feel the hunger that I felt when you tortured me for most of the night, my dear.” Rowain cooed, as he started to remove her clothing from her body.
She smiled, and submitted to him.
This story is now done.
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A dangerous dance