[center][hider=PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING THIS POST] 
This is the second of two role plays based upon the same "Universe" that I and my writing partners, Princess Peril and Sir Hugh, are creating. 

These two role plays begin with the same introductory post from me, with a bit of editing near the end as appropriate for the differing genders of my writing partners' characters.

The role plays will quickly diverge, however, due first to that gender differences spoken of above [i]and[/i] the difference in how my character deals with partners' characters.

Just in case you already read the first post of the other role play, I'll save you some reading in this one: drop down and begin your reading at the Hider, "The Differences begin here"
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[center][h1]"To Wear the Crown"[/h1]
[h3](Closed to ItIsJustMe and Sir Hugh)[/h3]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/xTOv9YR.jpg?1[/img]

[b]Map Details[/b] can be found at [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5339862]this link[/url][/center]


She'd been called [url=https://i.imgur.com/T65GHIC.jpg?1]Melody[/url] for as long as she could remember, most of her 20 winters of life. It wasn't her true name; she didn't know her true name and those who [i]did[/i] had been sworn to keep it from her less they lose their heads.

They wouldn't have been the first to lose their heads in her presence, of course; as she looked down upon the now burning village from where her horse stood still as a statue on a nearby hillock, Melody was sure heads had rolled this very day. She hadn't meant things to go this way, of course. She'd sent an envoy down to the small community shortly after sunrise to peacefully request food and shelter, only to watch as the man and his four escorts were taken down by arrows loosed from multiple directions.

Melody couldn't know what had led to the attack: misunderstanding, language barrier, fear on the villagers' part that their visitors were not as peaceful as they seemed. Whatever the reason, the attack had to be answered.  It was, of course, by fire arrows, cavalry, and foot warriors. In the end, as their homes burned behind them, the two dozen survivors of the attack found themselves herded away from the inferno, forced to squat in the mud of a recent rain, and surrounded by their captors.

The ankles of the males were shackled with chains, the women by rope; the children were left unsecured. Once the survivors were trussed up, most of Melody's force set about collecting the stock animals, harvested crops, and other valuable resources. 

It wasn't only men serving Melody; her [i]Clan[/i] was not simply an invading horde of blood thirty adult male warriors but was in fact an ever-traveling community that included men, women, and children of all ages, much like the village they'd just destroyed.

By now, those on the hillock had descended and dismounted near the collected captives. Melody found there was an almost equal number of men, women, and children. The men were mostly elderly, infirmed, or injured; as expected, the majority of the fighting aged men had engaged with the attackers and been killed. 

Many of the women were of childbearing age; many of those had children clinging to them for safety and reassurance; and, Melody was happy to see, many of the rest could easily be considered young and beautiful. These women would fetch a pretty price at the slave market in Yalla.

"[i]Kapiten![/i]" 

One of the nearby men who was directing other men's actions heard Melody's call. He sent his subordinates off to continue with their pillaging and hurried to her, pressing his fisted hand to his chest in salute before responding, "[i]Yes[/i], m'lady."

"We will make camp here for the day to give the men rest," she told him. She looked to the hostages, then directed, "Kill a bullock and put two of these men to preparing it for the fire pit. Select six women to slaughter the chickens, ducks, geese."

"All of them, m'lady?" he asked.

"All of them," she instructed. "Easier to transport dead, cooked birds than live ones, wouldn't you agree, Kapiten?" 

"Yes, m'lady," he answered, nodding his head respectfully.

"Look for rabbit hutches," she continued, again looking into the crowd of survivors. "If the cages can be transported..."

Her voice trailed off as her gaze fell upon a man who was only just now rousing from unconsciousness and sitting up near the center of the crowd of survivors.  He was an incredible looking man: ruggedly handsome, physically fit; he was intriguing in a way Melody couldn't explain, which caused her just enough [i]excitement[/i] in a certain part of her physique to lead to her chastising herself over her spontaneous and sometimes uncontrollable urges.

The Captain completed his Lady's unfinished command, "We will load the hutches onto the carts, m'lady. If they can't be transported, well, we'll be eating rabbit tonight as well."

"Tell me about that man," Melody inquired with a soft voice, still looking at the villager.

The Captain followed Melody's gaze, then explained, "I don't know what I can tell you, m'lady, sorry. He was found unconscious and bleeding from the back of his scalp. I presume one of our warriors struck him, knocking him unconscious. The other villagers must have carried him away from the fire ... or perhaps a couple of your warriors."

When Melody only continued to stare at the man in silence, the Captain asked, "Shall I have him executed, m'lady. A man who looks like that ... it is likely that he is a trained warrior and could be a problem--"

"[i]No[/i]," Melody cut the man off. Still feeling a bit entranced, she ordered, "Ensure he is shackled properly--" 

By properly, she meant with metal chains and shackles, of course. His feet would have enough movement relative to one another to allow him to walk but not run, and his hands would be just far enough apart for him to lift and carry things. A third chain would run between the middles of the other two chains, preventing the man from raising his hands any higher than his belly unless he was crouching down to take a shit or splash water over himself at a creek or lake to cleanse his body for example.

Melody continued her order "--and put him to work emptying my carts.  I want my tent erected immediately and my bath filled with steaming water. You can put him to work gathering wood, Kapiten."

"Of course, m'lady," the Captain responded with a nod. He was about to turn but looked at the man once again. Concerned for his petite superior, he asked, "Shall I leave a guard or two to watch over this slave?"

Melody's lips spread in a slight smirk at the use of the word [i]slave[/i]. It was so natural to automatically consider those caught in battle as such.  The men captured here today who were physically up to it would be sold as slave labor or sent to the Fighting Pits to entertain their Masters and possibly earn them coin; the men who weren't up to such endeavors would instead likely be executed or simply left behind to fend for themselves in the ashes of their village. 

There were, of course, two other options for men who looked like this one, with both of these opportunities employing the [i]tool[/i] they carried around with them down below their belt line.  Women from the Royal, Noble, and even Merchant classes often paid good money to be [i]serviced[/i] by such men, particularly if their Masters -- or in Melody's case, [i]Mistress[/i] -- portrayed them as mindless, heathenistic, groin thrusting barbarians. There was something about a man who was barely more than an animal -- whether actually so or simply made to seem that way -- that caused [i]women of means[/i] to quickly and eagerly drop their coins and their undergarments to be serviced by such.

Breeders, of course, didn't require any [i]specialized[/i] equipment down yonder to pass on their strength, endurance, size, and more. As for that [i]other[/i] service ... well, Melody couldn't yet know whether or not this particular man had would fill her purse with coins. But she'd find out soon enough.
 
Melody looked to the man again, studied him a moment, then ordered the Captain, "Ensure that he knows that if he becomes any sort of a problem that I will have all of the children disemboweled before the rest of the slaves."

The Captain reacted with a bit of surprise; Melody was known for sometimes being ruthless, but this was a new one for the Captain. He gave her a respectful head nod and fist to the chest again and said, "[i]Yes[/i], m'lady."

And with that done, Melody headed off into the midst of the conflagration to see if the damage for total or there might be something worth saving from the flames.