Rowena had suffered enough. She took a huge, rage-fueled swing at her opponent. Ophelia dropped to her knees for the parry, as she had made Rowena before.
âWait, turn around again,â Ophelia taunted, noticing, âyouâre all scratched up. Wait. Are those nettles in your underwear? Is that why theyâre sagging like that? I didnât even do that to you. Who has been bullying you, oh, brave and potent knight?â
Rowenaâs belly burst proudly out of the prison that had been restraining it. She looked down at her utter exposure. Her panties were the last vestige of modesty, and even they were her enemy right now.
Ophelia had maneuvered her blade under the parry, and was dragging its tip down the front of the corset, tearing into the overstuffed garment.
âFinish her!â came a call from Marianna. Rowenaâs other hand flew back to her sword hilt, but not in time.
âFinish her!â came a call from Marianna. Rowenaâs other hand flew back to her sword hilt, but not in time.
âKinky,â Ophelia teased, âI hope youâre a masochist, because Iâm going to kick your fat ass!â
Ophelia was fuming. She had to get revenge! With a furious flurry of strikes, she managed to sever the straps of Rowenaâs breastplate, revealing her studded leather corset.
Ophelia, overconfident, failed to sidestep Rowenaâs attack in time, and her dress paid the price. She was reduced to her bra, corset, panties and boots. This couldnât be happening! There was no way this knight could defeat her!
She lashed out and tore Rowenaâs gauntlets from her, one at a time, to show the superiority of her technique. The difference was that Rowena had watched Ophelia fight, and wasnât expecting this to be easy, so she wasnât as shaken as Ophelia losing her belt.
To her surprise, Ophelia missed a parry. She heard a âclankâ and her armored belt fell to the ground. She could hardly believe that this black knight was stripping her, even of such an insignificant clothing item.
Reprising her strategy from humiliating the redhead with the rude mouth, she cut away her opponentâs surcoat.
Ophelia approached her, now extremely confident after having so easily bested the mercenary. Clearly these warriors were beneath her.
âMaybe that will teach you a thing or two about speaking up to your betters,â Mariana grinned. âYou, knight in black, what do you have to say, do you think you could do better?â
âI yield, I yield!â the humiliated mercenary captain shouted. But Ophelia had no plans to let her off so easy after being called an ungainly heifer.
She began to lunge, then pulled back into a parry, but it was too late. The expert swordswoman with the long braid hat cut her greaves from her, leaving her in nothing but her boots.
But just as Maeve attributed Opheliaâs success to luck, SLASHSLASHCUTSLASH! Maeveâs gambeson was split to ribbons, and blew away in the wind, leaving her topless.
Maeve was surprised at how well the larger woman dodged and parried her attacks. Then, suddenly, with a few judicious strikes, Ophelia cut the surcoat from her opponent.
The two women squared off, each cautious of their opponent, trying different guards and feigning attacks to determine how their opponent responded.
âHelena here provided the strategy. I led some of the teams that took down the army, and Yvette hereâŠâ âMy traps and inventions maximized our assets to liberate the town,â Yvette said, proudly.
Maeve hesitated, but Mariana was having none of it. âYou! Let them out and tell me what they are in there for.â
Vittoria, a merchant noble, never passed up an opportunity when one presented itself. âIt is a pleasure to meet you, Sorceress-queen. I am Duchess Vittoria Romoli. I have been funding the sistersâ expedition, but your mention of something more grand intrigues me.â
âSorceresses donât negotiate with failed apprentices any more than ravens treat with mice.â Selena put a restraining hand on Fionaâs shoulder, but the angry mage shook it off as she stepped forward. âNow you listen--â
Now it was Fiona and Selenaâs turn to blush. Their retinue watched in silence. Trying to keep her composure, Fiona said, âWait, WE were going to conquer Plouffe. But perhaps we can reach a compromise.â
âThatâs not a very nice way to greet an old acquaintance, now, is it?â Mariana responded. âBut Iâll tell you. I conquered Plouffe, and Iâm planning something MUCH bigger. I heard that you had invaded this little cow pasture, but I didnât believe it. I suppose you two always did like your sweets, although it used to show more.â
âMariana!â Selena gasped. The redheaded sorceress smiled. âWell, you two are lookingâŠbetter than when you were tossed out of the Tower of Arcana and into the swamps of the Misty Isles.â âWhy are you here?â Fiona asked, trying to seem indignant through her fear.
Rowena and Maeve were shocked, and gripped their swords, ready to spring into action if given the order.
âNone of that will be necessary,â said a commanding voice as two women stepped through a round portal that distorted space around it.
In what seemed like very little time, the approaching army arrived and surrounded the walls. The banners were not those of the Kingdom of Plouffe, causing some confusion among the ranks inside the town. A bugle sounded, a clear call for a parley.
Vittoria looked surprised. âSo the queen has decided to move against us. I didnât think she had it in her.â
âCaptain! Captain!â A well-armored mercenary ran into the square and jumped onto the scaffold, almost out of breath from the exertion of running or shouting, or both.
Fiona grinned at Rowenaâs obvious discomfort. Then, she pointed to the stocks behind her. âWell, Iâve given these four, who I consider the least harmless in the town, a thorough working over. But, if it suits the fancies of your majesties to have a go at them, too, be my guest.â
âWho is the erstwhile ruler of this motley crew?â Selena asked. âOh, they have a magistrate. My mercs were given orders to locate her and give her an attitude adjustment. But then, my crew probably has adjusted the entire townâs attitude.â
âAnd that brings us to this muddy little mouse over here. Sheâs local, apparently an eccentric. Want to explain to their majesties how you defeated Rowena and her army?â