A New Weapon of War || Wintersday & AlphaZero ||

That poor stupid solider, so young and naive with so much to learn but alas sacrifices have to be made in order for one to escape. It wasn't something that Katherine was proud of doing, although others would think otherwise. She did what she needed to do and there was no looking back. Not when it was her life or theirs. That was what it had come down to. She had been with the King for many years, in fact he had picked her off from the cold, wet streets when she was 11 years old. That was almost 10 years ago now. In such a short time she had changed so much. Some for the better but most for the worst, or so how she felt.

At the age of 11 she wasn't like a normal child you would have expected to see on the muddy, cold streets. Although this wasn't your normal world to live in with many different creatures and beasts that lived along side each other. Some were rare, other less so. To us this world would be like a fair tail but for this little girl fair tales where as real.

The rain the fell from the sky as she wiggled her tows allowing the dirt to squeeze and ooze between them. She was without any family. She had been from one home to another, each not able to keep control of the little succubus. There was things about herself that she was unsure of and at that young age her body was changing, and not just your normal puberty stuff. The streets had become her home, she lived on the edge of Flinton Town away from people and close to the forest, where she could hide and keep out of reach of old pervert men. Within the forest she had made a small T-p for a home. It wasn't amazing and leaked a little but it kept most of the wet out and keep the bitter wind at bay. When ever she needed food she would head into the the heart of town, stealing bread and fresh fruit from the market stools when ever they where too busy to notice her, and if she wanted meat she would hunt her own. Squirrel's mainly with the odd bird she found wounded from cats. But soon her fate would change, but for the better? That was debatable.

The King himself had found Katherine and took her in. When she first laid eyes on the King she thought he would have killed her on the spot. After all she had committed a crime just moments before he had road passed Katherine and the cold body of one of the local farmers son. Small tears ran down her dirty checks as she sat motionless next to a tall tree. Her cloths had been torn away from her young innocent body. The farmers son was older, but not by much 16 maybe 17. He was taller and clearly stronger then the little girl but he was the one laying on the muddy grown, body turning cold while the skin turned an ice blue.

As the King opened his car door to his Chevrolet H-4 Baby Grand he stepped off, a blank expression on his slightly ageing face. Fear struck Katherine as she thought this was the end of her young life and she became hysterical. "It wasn't me! It's wasn't me!" She cried over and over again crawling back away from the King as he took a small step towards her. "I....he..." Her words where lost as she looked over at the dead boy. "Drained...so cold..." Her words repeated over and over again as the king and his few Soldiers checked over the body. There was no signs of struggle on the boy, no wounds or blood lost. "It's as if the life of him evaporated my lord." One of the Soldiers suggested as he stood up from the body. "Yes indeed." The King replied only half listening to the man. "What should we do?" The other asked as he looked over at Katherine.

The King thought for a moment looking from the boy to the young girl. "She'll come with me. As for the boy take him to his family but don't breath a word of anything you have just seen here. Wet his cloths and explain that we found him on the banks of the river, that he must have drawn and we was to late to save him." The King told the Soldiers in a firm voice. The Soldiers looked at one another before agreeing to the Kings order. You see the King knew what had happened to the boy and he knew what Katherine was. "Come my young succubus." He said in a softly but the ton indicated that he was not to be disobey. From that moment she was the Kings property. She wasn't kept as a slave nor as a princess, but more like an animal from a circus that you would train and look after for your own needs and profit. Although an accident he knew with the right training and obedience Katherine would fit perfectly in his army and may even become the most valuable asset. After all he had battles to win and lands to claim.

Each day she was forced to trained and practice with her unique gift. The king had always called it her gift but Katherine soon learned it was more of a curse to her. As she grew older her power grew stronger. She learned to control it and craft it to the right needs once she was intoxicated with the soul of a being. Although she was growing the Kings patients was fading. More and more he kept pushing her to the point she would black out. Days on end she would lose hours of the day, sleeping and recovering from the amount of energy she used. Animals, men and beasts alike died before her feet, just like the boy had all those years ago. Each time was like a living memory of that day. Instead of saving her from it, he made her relive it each day. If she was ever to refused, the King, he would only be more then happy to show her what would have happened if the boy had lived that day. If he had continued to tear off her cloths as he pinned her against the tree.

Katherine had always planned to escape but her plans went ahead of time as soon she found out what the King had, had in store for her. She was to be the cherry on his army cake and although she had killed many times, she wasn't having any part of the Kings war that he starting to place on the world.

Which brings us back to the poor young solider. Cold and pale laying on the cool cobble stone floor outside of her cage like dorm room where the King liked to keep her. He had one job and at first he was rather good at it but he really shouldn't of had that second drink after diner. Katherine had become rather beautiful over the years and many guards had fallen for her charms and looks, which did seem to annoy the King slightly of course. She had made a note of which guards fell for her charms and others that wouldn't.

Tonight it seemed that luck was on her side as it was the youngest of the guards that was made to watch over her tonight. She waited a little before she started to make small talk through the small bared window in her door. At first he tried to ignore her but with the alcohol in his system it wasn't long till she had him blushing and fiddling with his keys to her door. Flirtatious comment after flirtatious comment he grew more red in the checks, but that wasn't the only part growing. With a promise to help ease his excitement that was building up between his legs he unlocked and opened her door. She took his hand and lead him to the bed, pushing him down upon the thick bed sheets.

A soft kiss was pressed upon his lips while his hands started to get greedy, grabbing and pulling the soft smooth fabric of her Royal blue dress. She allowed the kiss to linger for a moment before her eyes opened with a slight glow that grew and grew as she breathed in the young fresh soul of the human guard. He frowned slightly but it was to late for him to scream for help or use any of his fighting skills to stop her. As she breathed in she slowly leaned back, a shadowy mist moving from his tinted blue lips to her more plump bright red ones. Within seconds he was dead, lifeless on her bed while she ran out of her room not waiting another second more. Down the hallway she ran. She knew that no one would notice her absences till sunrise, which was in a few hours. This gave her plenty of time to escape the castle and most of it's grounds.

With her good behaviour for most of her time in the Kings presence she was allowed on occasional walk around the grounds in the morning, so missing her breakfast was the norm. So this gave her another hour or so of time. She knew that at the crack of dawn when the moon was only just settling behind the trees an elderly farmer would come with fresh fruit and veg for the castle crew and King and he would even leave before most was up. It was in his cart she would escape from the castle and out into the forest where she once called home.

Katherine's heart bounded in her chest with both excitement and adrenaline. Her breath became quick and crystallising in the cold early morning air before her eyes. With each step she felt lighter and free, as if at any moment she would fly away. Same that couldn't be her gift huh. This was what freedom felt like and she couldn't get enough of it! She weaved between the tall scrapping trees not once looking back. This was it. She wasn't going to be used as a tool anymore or forced to kill another living being. She was her own person and no one would keep her under lock and key again.

When she couldn't run no more she stopped and rested against a tree. She had no idea how far she had gotten but the forest was slowly becoming more lite with the gentle raise of the sun.

She stood wearing nothing but her Royal blue dress that hugged the top half of her frame perfectly, the long sleeves reaching down to her wrists. The flare of her dress flowed beautifully down her hips and legs, almost like water flowing down a cliff at night. Now she had stopped running and was at a gentle walk she had wished she picked up her coat before escaping. The bitter chill of the morning air was starting to send chills down her spine and the hairs on her arms stand up on end.

Her hazel brown eyes looked around at the forest. She took great care in watching where to step as the slightest sound of a snap or crackle of the branches breaking under the pressure of her body could echo all around her, and who knew what beasts or creatures laid hidden behind the thick foliage of bushes around her. It was strangely quite, to quite for a forest. Birds should be singing and rustling of small animals on the leave filling grown should be heard around her but yet nothing.

They had set up camp in a dried up creek bed, it's steep banks giving them shelter against the bitter night winds and concealing the light of their camp fire from any passers by who may stumble across them in the night. In those early morning hours before the sun peeked above the eastern horizon Winston Stal sat on a large rock staring intently into dying embers of the fire. Stal was a large man, broad in the shoulders and thick in limbs. White hair and beard cropped short and kept neatly out of the way. A scar bisected his left eye, a memento of his younger more careless days that had left that eye useless.

The mismatched members of his unit dozed around the fire, most of them where non human save for the self proclaimed Artificer who had thus far proven himself a much less than capable solider. But when commanding a unit of criminals one made due with what one was given. There where four in the unit other than Stal.

First was Crow, who had been arrested attempting to steal several books and artifacts from archives of the Magisters archives in Koran. It had turned out the man had warrants out for his arrest across the across the Freelands for acts of fraud, theft and tomb robing.

Bullwark the Dwarf had been arrested on terrorism charges in Dunbar, having acted as a hired bomb maker for a violent group of Elves who had decided to resort to terrorism to try and prove their point whatever that my be. They had put those skills to good use since then letting him destroy several bridges used by the Mad King to transports troops and supplies across his lands.

Wrak of the Blood Speak Orks had gone out on a bender one night. The night ended with three trashed pubs, a defied temple, two destroyed police cars and at least a dozen officers hospitalized as they attempted to subdue him.

The only other proper solider in the unit was Val'en, an elf scout and sharp shooter who acted as his second in command by default.

"Commander"

The She Elf's voice was barely above a whisper. Stal hadn't even heard her return from her patrol. His heart nearly leapt into his throat and he had to suppress the reflex to turn his fun on her.

"What is it Val?"

She stepped into field of view, cradling a a very ornate scoped rifle rifle in her arms. None of his team dressed like soldiers, as a deep line infiltration unit it would have made them stand out too much. Val sported a moss green wool jacket, a belt loaded with ammo slung across her ample chest. Her long silver hair was pulled back into a tight braid and tucked under a knit cap the same color as her jacket.

"Someone entered the forest from the castle side." she reported "well dressed, possibly a person of some value or interest to the Mad King."

"Ooooooh, someone in a fancy get up comes walking into the forest and we gotta go running off to greet them."

Gideon Stormcrow, or simply Crow, as most people called, was a stark contrast to his commander. Dark, scruffy hair and a matching beard, shabby clothes and younger by two decades and, as Stal was always quick to point out, a completely insufferable asshole.

"For all we know she's a chamber maid or something like that sneaking out to meet her fuck buddy for an early morning quickie. Hardly seems worth getting outta bed for. Unless your feeling voyeuristic that is." he said, pulling the weather beaten canvas duster tighter around himself and rolling over to try and go back to sleep.

The commander scowled, "I decide what's worth waking up for and what's not in this unit Crow. And right now I say it is."

"I decide what's worth waking up for" Crow repeated in a mocking tone before a boot heel slammed into his back. ""Ow, fuck off!"

"On your feet and bite some jerky, there's work to do. And make sure you don't let Wrack get to cuddly when you shake him."

The party broke camp in under five minutes and scrambled up the steep banks of creek and moved into the thick underbrush in a staggered line, Val leading the pack out in front, scouting the way wile Stal followed with Wrack, green skinned and towering above the rest brought up the rear clad in skins and fur and brandishing a massive stone hammer he was the only one not to carry a gun.

A whistle pierced the silent air and Stal raised a balled fist drawing the unit to a halt.

Val appeared up ahead, jogging to meet them, "The woman is up ahead but a patrol from the castle just entered and I think they're looking for her."

"Could she be an escaped hostage?"

"I can't say for certain but I know they're closing on her fast. If she starts running they're going to be on us shortly."

Crow rolled his eyes,"Great, just great, I really wannted to get outta bed and get shot at this morning. Thanks a fuckin lot Stal." he said around a mouthful of dried meat.

"Stop your bitching Crow. There's work to do. Break off and move up."