To Protect A Prince Ch. 03

The mood was somber when everyone met in the main hall for breakfast. Velvet’s usually jovial nature was subdued, deep bags under her eyes from where she had gone without sleep. Rosebud picked at her scrambled eggs and the queen wouldn’t let little Simon go. It was obvious that the attempt on his life was deeply affecting everyone. Favoring his injured shoulder, Gordie came striding into the room, furrows between his eyes.

“Any word?”

He nodded at the king’s question. “No, sire. We’ve been able to trace the bloodstains as far as the market, but we lost it there. Also, none of the doctors have reported anyone with arrow wounds.”

“What about the horse?” Sam asked as he entered the hall.

“No luck there, either. Amos at the livery said that no one had asked to use one of his horses. So we’re stuck at the moment.”

“We’ll just have to be more careful.” Velvet tore a slice of bacon, chewing thoughtfully. “Simon will be safe inside.”

“He can’t live his life inside forever.” Rosebud murmured. “He needs sunlight and fresh air.”

“We’ll figure out what’s going, princess.” Velvet rubbed Rosebud’s back. “I’ll keep you safe.”

For the first time that morning, Rosebud smiled, looking at Velvet. “I know you will, love.”

Gordie turned away, suddenly uncomfortable with the love he saw radiating between Velvet and the princess. He could only think of Sam, the love of his life that he couldn’t have. He bowed to everyone and silently took his leave.

“Gordie, wait!” Sam ran to catch up with the seneschal, a biscuit in one hand and bacon in the other.

“I don’t have time to talk, Sam.”

“What you mean is that you don’t have time to talk to me.”

Gordie paused, hearing the pain in Sam’s voice. “What do you want, Sam?”

“To talk to you.”

“What for? There’s nothing to say.”

Sam wiped his hands and turned Gordie around, so that he could see his eyes. “There’s plenty to say. Why won’t you look at me?”

“Because it hurts to look at you.”

“It didn’t hurt to look at me last night.”

Gordie seemed lost. “I – I thought that was a dream.”

“Not a dream, just a good hot fuck. You sure seemed to enjoy it.”

Tears blurred his vision. “That wasn’t fair, Sam. You knew I was exhausted.”

“So? You wanted sex and I wanted sex. What was the problem?”

Sam’s words burned a hole in Gordie’s gut. “So it was just … sex?”

Can’t let him get attached to me. It’s too dangerous! “Of course it was. What did you think it was, love?”

Without another word, Gordie whirled and left the hallway, breaking into a run as soon as he reached outside. He couldn’t bear to stay and hear his heart break any further.

******

Velvet went to speak with the king later in the day because something was bothering her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew that King Simon would be able to help. The king challenged her to a game of chess, their favorite pastime, and she happily accepted. The first game went to the king, the second to her.

“So what’s on your mind, Velvet?”

“How do you know I’ve got something on my mind?”

“Because you never let me win!” He grinned evilly and she laughed.

“You are right as always, sire.” She sat back and took a sip of ale. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve seen Sam somewhere before.”

“Really? Where?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know. I keep trying to remember, but things get hazy.”

“But you feel that you know him?” Velvet nodded in response and the king thought for a moment. “Do you think that he had anything to do with the attack on the prince?”

“I can’t say for certain, sire, but he seems to be as upset as the rest of us.” She paused. “It could all be an act, though.”

“Yes, it could be, though his skill as a builder is not an act.”

“No, sire, that much is sure.” She agreed. “But this feeling that I have, I just couldn’t go without letting you know.”

“And I appreciate that you always speak with me about your concerns. That’s one of the reasons that I love you so.” King Simon moved a rook. “That, and the fact that you sometimes let me win.”

Velvet moved her king piece, arose and pressed a kiss to the king’s forehead. “Checkmate.”

*****

Gordie decided that it would be a good idea to leave the castle for awhile and reined his horse in as he reached the town livery. Amos met him at the entrance, his wild white hair sticking up all over, a gleam in his eyes.

“Afternoon, Sir Gordie!”

“Good afternoon, Amos. How are you?”

“Fine, sir.” He paused a moment. “Better than you, I think.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Amos carefully looked around to be sure that they weren’t being observed. “Come with me.” He took the horse’s leading reins and the two men moved inside the huge barn. “I heard that you had some trouble at the new site.” His voice was quiet but clear. “And that you were looking for a bloody horse.”

“Yes. Someone tried to harm the prince.”

Amos turned Gordie’s horse into a stall and secured him. Glancing around, he moved to an adjacent stall, where a chestnut stallion lounged, occasionally whinnying and stamping a foot. Amos leaned over the gate and pulled a side of the horse’s cover off. There, streaking the horse’s flank, were lines of dried blood. Gordie felt the blood drain from his face as anger roiled in his innards.

“Whose horse is this?”

“Don’t know the gentleman’s name. He gave my assistant, Will, a sack of gold to look after him. Said that he’d be back to get him in a few days and told Will not to let anyone near him.”

“Could Will describe him?”

“Probably. Come on. Will’s out back.” They found the young man repairing fencing along the outside stable area. He looked up as Amos and Gordie approached. “Sir Gordie, this is my assistant, Will. Will, Sir Gordie’s the seneschal for the king.”

Will bowed respectfully. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Same here, Will. Amos tells me that you took payment for the covered horse.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you tell me about the man who paid you? What he looked like?”

“He was a short man, sir. Didn’t say much, just kinda grunted his words. Said he’d be back in a few days.”

“Amos told me that he also said that he didn’t want the horse touched.”

“Yes, sir. I figured it was because of the injury.”

“Injury? What injury?”

Well, when I removed his saddle, I saw that there was blood on it. When I said something about it, he said that it wasn’t important and that the horse wasn’t hurt. But I noticed that he walked with a limp.”

“Might’ve caught an arrow in the leg. Would make sense seeing the blood on the horse like that.”

“That’s a good guess, Amos.” Gordie fished a few coins out of his pocket and gave them to Will. “Thanks.”

“Yes, sir, and if you hear anything else, please let me know.”

Gordie headed into town, his mind torn between the horse’s mysterious owner and Sam.

*****

Sam accepted the message from the young boy and gave him a coin for his trouble. He didn’t have to read it. He knew whom it was from and what it would say. And he was angry. They had never found him this fast. He should have left after the attempt on Prince Simon’s young life. He knew that it had been meant for him and his continued presence would bring further danger to this family, this wonderful family. That I wish I were part of.

He felt like screaming, like breaking glass and pottery until his anger was assuaged. Gods, I’m so tired of running! I’m so tired of lying! I’m so very tired! He had found something that was more precious than his life. He had found love. He suddenly saw Gordie’s eyes, painfully remembering watching how the light had gone out in them when he told him that it had just been sex. His chest tightened, his eyes filling with unshed tears. It wasn’t just sex, Gordie!

How could he tell Gordie the truth? Gordie would never trust him again. He certainly wouldn’t believe that Sam had never allowed anyone to make love to him, that Gordie had been his first. He had only been here for a few weeks but he had changed so much. And it was all because of Gordie. Oh, Gordie! I would give anything to stay here with you!

But he knew what had to be done. He had to leave and he had to make sure that Gordie wouldn’t follow. And for the first time in his life, Samuel Fontaine deWeath cried.

***** There had been no further information to be found concerning the horse’s owner, so Gordie concluded his business in town, bought a few things for the family and headed back. Darkness had already enveloped the castle and he decided to keep the new information he’d received until morning. There was no sense in worrying the king at this late hour. He dismounted, gave his packages to one of the house lads and went on his daily rounds, happy to find that there had been no problems in his absence.

As he climbed the stairs to his rooms, he heard the soft sounds of sex and from the volume, the participants were nearby. He knew that it wasn’t Velvet and Rosebud. He had come upon them once and gave them a stern warning, which was received with several giggles. He knew they would not ignore his words.

“Oh, yes, that’s how I like it. Yes, just like that.”

He paused at the steps leading to the west parapet, quietly ascending when he heard more noises. Just at the top, he was able to see two figures and moved closer, still cloaked in shadow. Moonlight bathed Sam’s naked chest, shining on his face as he threw his head back. A member of his guard staff was on his knees in front of him and Gordie could see his head moving back and forth, leaving no doubt as to what he was doing.

“Oh, yeah, suck it, baby.” Sam’s gentle baritone urged his lover. “You’re gonna make me cum.” The kneeling man’s head bobbed faster now and Gordie watched Sam’s hands move down, gripping his head while his hips pumped. “Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, fuck! Here it comes! Drink my cum!”

Sam felt his body stiffen and gasped as he ejaculated into the waiting man’s mouth, ramming the fat head down his throat to make his deposit. When he opened his eyes, he saw Gordie standing at the top of the steps, his face crumpling in defeat. He pumped his hips again and again as more ropes of cum squirted into the kneeling man’s mouth.

With a cry of horrible pain, Gordie wheeled and ran away, leaving Sam and his lover in an awkward silence.

“Was that good?”

“That was great.” He gave the young man some coins and watched him return to his duties. Now he was certain that Gordie would not follow him. Now he could leave.

*****

“King Simon!” Velvet dashed into the king’s antechamber, startling the royals who were just arising. “Forgive my intrusion, but Sam is gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“I mean, gone, sire. His things are gone and his horse is missing.”

“Did anyone see him leave?”

“I haven’t had a chance to speak with Gordie yet … “

At that moment, the door opened and Sir Gordie strode in, bowing low.

“Ah, speak of the devil.” The king pulled his robe on with Velvet’s help. “News?”

“The bridge guard allowed him to leave late last night. He said that he had urgent business to attend to and wasn’t sure if he would be able to return.”

“Where did he say he was going?”

“He didn’t, sire.”

“Did anyone else see him or speak to him before he left?”

“The only thing that we know for sure is that he received a message yesterday afternoon.” Gordie stated.

“A message? Where is it?”

“I don’t know. It might still be in his room.”

Gordie sprinted to the room and returned with a crumpled envelope of parchment. The look on his face mirrored the confusion they all felt.

“Did you find it?”

“I only found an empty envelope addressed to Samuel Fontaine deWeath.”

“deWeath!” The king gasped. “The prince deWeath?”

“That’s where I knew him from!!!” Velvet exclaimed. “I did some work for his father, King Peter, a few years ago. We built him a new root cellar and Sam was tasked to supervise.”

“Well, why didn’t he just tell us?” Queen Rosamund queried.

“Because he’s hiding.” Velvet said. “From what I don’t know, but why would he hide his identity, especially in the company of other royals, if he wasn’t hiding?”

“Maybe the attempt on little Simon was really meant for him!” They all looked at Gordie, realizing that pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.

“And he’s left to make sure that none of us get hurt.” The queen supplied happily.

There was a knock on the door and one of Gordie’s guard staff stepped in, bowing low. He turned to Gordie. “Sir Gordie, I need to speak with you.”

“Go ahead, Henry.”

The young man glanced around at the audience. “Um, sir, it might be best if you hear this news in private.”

Gordie stilled his anger. He knew what news the young man was here to impart. Henry was Sam’s lover, the one he had seen on the parapet last night. “Nonsense, Henry. Everyone in this room would want to hear whatever you have to say.”

The man cleared his throat nervously. “Y-Yes, sir. Rolf came and asked if anyone had seen or spoken with Mr. Weatherly before he left and when I said that I had, he told me to come straight to you.”

“Go on.”

“Sir, um, Mr. Weatherly offered to pay me to give him a … a suck job.”

“What?” The queen shouted.

“I beg your pardon, your majesty.” He coughed lightly. “He told me that he would pay me 4 coins if I gave him a suck job on the west parapet around midnight.”

“On the parapet at midnight? That sounds strange.” Velvet said. “Why would he want it out in the open?”

“I think he was doing it to make Sir Gordie jealous.” The uncomfortable silence made him fidget. “When we started, he would only let me touch his … his penis. He said that he didn’t want to … you know, too fast.”

“We understand, Henry.” Velvet said softly. “Please go on.”

“Anyway, when we heard the final whistle, telling the guard staff that Sir Gordie had completed final rounds, he let me put him in my mouth and he got loud, telling me what he liked and what he wanted me to do to him.” Henry hesitated. “I heard someone on the steps behind us but he wouldn’t let me stop. He just grabbed my head and started ramming himself down my throat. He came almost immediately. I never saw who was behind us but I suspected it was you, sir.”

Gordie could barely find his voice. “How could you know that?”

“I heard you crying in your room when I passed, sir.” No one in the room spoke for several long moments. “I was going to tell you this morning, but when this all happened … “

“I understand, Henry. Thank you.”

“Will you release me, sir?” Henry’s face reddened. “I did leave my post last night.”

“No, you won’t be released, but you will be disciplined.”

Henry bowed his head. “Thank you, sir.”

“Go back to the barracks. I’ll talk to you later.” Again, silence pervaded the room, this time, broken by the king.

“Well, when do you leave?”

“Sire?”

“I said, when do you leave? Seems like the most important thing we can do as a royal family is to aid another royal in need. Sam has to be found.”

“But, sire,” Gordie protested. “He obviously doesn’t want to be found.”

“Gordie, he loves you.” The queen said softly. “He arranged that show with Henry to make you angry enough not to follow him so that you wouldn’t get hurt. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

Velvet turned to the king. “We’ll leave immediately, sire.”

“We?” Gordie asked as she pulled him to the door.

“Yes, we. Did you think I would let you go alone?”

*****

Gordie returned to his rooms to pack his saddlebags and was stunned to find a single pink satin rose and an envelope in his shirt drawer. With shaking fingers, he opened the letter.

Gordie, I don’t know where to start. First of all, I love you. I’ve loved you since you allowed me to make love to you at our picnic. Once I saw the beauty of your heart and tasted the sweetness of your body, my heart was lost. But I am not really who I say I am and my true identity has brought danger to this household. And I couldn’t stand to see you hurt.

So I have to leave. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make you angry enough not to follow me. Maybe in the future, when I am truly free, I can return to your side. Please remember always that I love you.

Sam

A fire that Gordie never felt before coursed through his veins as he arose and continued packing. He had to save him or his heart would die, too.