A Tournament at Midsummer

Vesian arose from the body and went right to the princess. He cut her bonds and removed her gag, and she fell into his arms.

"Oh, thank you, Sir Vesian! Thank the gods! My uncle is behind it all, he hired the sorcerer. He means to usurp my father, in fact if not in name."

"Calm yourself, your highness. Do not lose hope, I heard everything from above. I won't let him win. But what happened? How did you come to be here?"

Adeline raised her head from his shoulder and wiped away a tear.

"As Baron Tancred was being helped away, I saw his squire setting off in a different direction. I thought it strange that the baron's squire would not help his lord to his tent, so my maid and I followed him here. I sent her to find you, but no sooner had she left than the sorcerer spotted me. They brought me down here, and then my uncle showed up for a meeting with his plotters. He's gone to the tournament now. Oh, Sir Vesian, I know he's going to defeat the other competitors. You're the only hope left!"

"Then your last hope is your best hope. His aura is strong, the sorcerer did not lie. But he will only be invincible after he wins the tournament. I will stop him before then. But we must prepare. Thibault, warn Countess Tiburge and have her keep her knights at the ready in case the duke's men try to rush the royal box."

"We should warn my father," Adeline started, "We could arrest him before he can defeat anyone else."

"We cannot contend with him now. He is the very portrait of authority now. The only way to break the spell is to defeat him in a contest of arms. We would never be believed if we accused him of treason. And what proof do we have? The sorcerer and Sir Dagobert are dead, the baron need only keep his mouth shut and will likely be drugged and bedridden by now anyway."

"I suppose what you say rings true," Adeline conceded with a sigh. "Very well. We will have to rely on Sir Vesian in the joust."

"We should search the sorcerer's tent," Vesian said suddenly. "It may have enough within it to prove the duke's plan. Thibault, warn the countess. Adeline and I will go to the tent."

"You'll want this," Thibault replied, and tossed Vesian a small key ring. "I took it from the sorcerer's body. It might open something in his tent, or even protect you against his wards."

Vesian grimaced at the thought of those spells, but nodded and thanked his squire.

"Well then, I will meet you soon at the tournament grounds."

Thibault nodded and went back up the stairs.

Vesian and Adeline crossed the village and empty tournament grounds with great haste, though as they neared the sorcerer's tent, they heard a great roar go up from the crowd. Raucous cheering followed, along with the clattering of the wooden stands and the blaring of trumpets.

"Your uncle has surely defeated another contender," said Vesian and Adeline nodded wordlessly. Soon enough they arrived again before the sorcerer's tent. Vesian went this time to the front entrance and undid the golden cord sealing it shut. The heavy red cloth was pulled aside easily enough, and Vesian breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped through the entrance and was not transformed into a cricket or some other strange creature.

Despite its master absence, the tent still smelled strongly of indigo spice. It looked in daylight much the same as it had the night prior. The sorcerous mirror stood against the wall beside him, now appearing like any other mirror.

Adeline stepped into the tent behind him and looked about with a curious eye. "How did he get all of this here?" she wondered aloud. "He could not have carried it all himself."

"Perhaps your uncle hired porters for him?" Vesian suggested. He had heard stories of sorcerers who could carry an entire mansion in their pocket, but something about this sorcerer did not strike him as being so skilled. "Check his desk for letters."

The heavy table still lay bare, so Vesian turned his attention to the engraved chests beside and beneath it. With the keys Thibault had taken, he bent cautiously to unlock them. A key turned in the lock and Vesian inhaled deeply as he opened the lid. Much to his relief, no fire burst forth, and his shape did not change.

Inside was a great collection of scrolls and loose-leaf letters, some in strange scripts he could neither read nor recognize. Together with the princess, he seated himself on a folding chair and went through them one by one until at last he found something,

"Here," he said, starting up from his seat, "This is a letter from Duke Sigismund to the sorcerer, Filderic, enlisting his aid in a scheme that he admits will be dangerous and even treasonous."

"Here is a letter to Filderic from Baron Tancred in which he is offered great riches and a place at court as royal advisor in exchange for his aid in the plot." Adeline held it out to him. "Surely this is enough?"

"It does not mention the plot itself," Vesian replied as he skimmed the letter's contents. "Would it convince your father?"

Adeline bit her lip in thought. "I am unsure," she said at last and Vesian shook his head.

"Then we will need more to overcome the sorcerer's spell." They pulled forth a fresh stack of papers and began sifting through them as well. Deep in though, the princess leaned herself against Vesian's shoulder as she read, unaware of her growing familiarity toward him. Vesian smiled to himself but said nothing.

"Have you heard this name before?" she asked after a long silence broken only by sighs and the shuffling of papers. "Vtaris. It is unlike any name I have heard before. Perhaps a foreigner plots with him?"

"Perhaps," conceded Vesian. "He mentions Vtaris' bargain."

"Ah," Vesian had found the answer. "That must be the voice in the mirror." He turned to look at the thing and saw only their own reflection. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Best not to speak it again. We do not know what lurks in the mirror's depths."

Adeline nodded and looked from the mirror with a shiver. Vesian regarded her with bemused interest as she pored over the remaining letters.

"Look here," she said after another silence. "Sigismund offers the sorcerer his heart's desire in exchange for 'mastery over the crown and everything beneath it.' That must be good enough?"

"Indeed. For look here. The duke sends a list of instructions for forging his own crown."

"Treacherous knave," she hissed. "My father has been nothing but generous to him."

"That should be enough, princess. I should go and prepare for the tilt. Take these letters and present them to your father once the spell is broken."

"How will you break the spell?" she asked with audible concern. Vesian could only shrug.

"I am a knight. I have only so many ways of doing things." Adeline nodded.

"We should go." They stood and gathered the damning papers, leaving the rest scattered about the tent, for the sorcerer would not be coming back for them. Vesian moved to the tent's exit, but Adeline did not follow. Turning, he found her staring into the mirror. He stepped up behind her, looking over her shoulder. There was nothing there but their own reflection, crystal clear in the mirror's perfectly flat surface. The princess' beauty was striking; fair and rosy-cheeked, with her dark brown hair falling from her hennin to frame her face. Her lacy bosom still glittered with jewels in the tent's eerie lamplight.

"Do you see anything?" she asked. Vesian smiled and turned his gaze to her instead.

"Just a fair princess with a fiery spirit." Adeline blushed and looked to the tent's floor. A white hand reached up to brush away a stray lock that had fallen from her hennin and Vesian felt her growing hotter beside him.

"You are too kind, Sir Vesian," the princess stammered.

"I do not do it as a kindness, princess. I speak the truth as am charged to."

"You always know how to flatter a lady," she stammered.

She turned around, close to his chest and looking up into his eyes. Her blue eyes were dazzling in the lamp's glow. Vesian felt his heart beat faster, her breath hot on his neck.

"Princess?" he asked, but she threw her arms about his shoulders and kissed him with a fiery passion. He felt one leg wrap around him and heard her moan of desire. Her lips were hot, her breath was hot, her touch hot on his neck like lightning, even through his mail and cuirass.

"Take me," she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper, though scorching with desire. "Take me as you take your women." Her hands ran down her body to hike up her skirts. Vesian wasted little time and unbuckled his cuirass. The heavy iron plate clanked to the ground unnoticed, soon followed by the mail hauberk he wore beneath it.

But the princess did not wait for him to finish undressing. She raised her skirts and pulled aside her undergarments to expose her white legs, then her shaven pink sex. Vesian felt his cock harden and struggled to tear off his breeches. Adeline wetted a finger in her mouth and slid it between her pink lips while leaning herself against the heavy oaken desk. She moaned softly while she watched him disrobe, biting her lower lip in anticipation.

Vesian stripped himself naked and grabbed his cock in one hand. Stroking it eagerly, he stepped forward to stand between the princess' legs. She looked up at him with rampant desire.

"Fuck me," she gasped, "fuck me, Sir Vesian!" He did as bid. His hard cock slipped between her wet lips and sank inside her up to his stomach. Adeline's beautiful blue eyes went wide and her ruby mouth fell open wide. She moaned with lust as he slid in and out of her, feeling her wet sex around his cock.

Vesian grabbed at her body, clutching at the folds of her dress with both hands. Adeline planted her hands on the table, bracing herself as Vesian's strokes grew faster and harder. The clapping of his hips against hers sounded throughout the tent and she began to moan louder. Beneath her dress, her little breasts shook and the jewels on her bodice clinked together under the force. Vesian fucked faster, his lust for the beautiful princess overpowering him.

Her hennin began to slide off, locks of rich brown hair spilling from beneath it, but neither of them noticed. Vesian had eyes only for her gorgeous young face and hands only for her slender body. Adeline begged him not to let up, her little frame trembling in his hands. Vesian fucked with all his might, and saw the table dragging through the dirt. The princess reached up to pull him close for another kiss. Their lips entwined, tongues jousting in Adeline's mouth and she wrapped her legs about his waist.

Vesian lay himself atop her, feeling the cold, hard jewels on her breast press against his skin as he continued to thrust into her. His cock reached deeper inside her and Adeline cried out in pleasure. She grew hotter against his chest and he felt his cock begin to throb. He slowed his thrusting before he came, but Adeline turned a pleading eye to him.

"Don't stop." Vesian kissed her lips in apology.

"I don't want to come yet," He whispered in her ear. She embraced him below his arms and nuzzled his neck.

"Then get up. I'll grant you a reprieve while I take this dress off." He stood up and slid his cock out from within her. It pulsed with desire, wanting to unleash its load inside the princess but, through a decade of practice, Vesian restrained his cum. Adeline stood up from the table as well, her whole body flushed with elation. She fumbled with her dress even as her hennin toppled off her head to bounce off the table and to the floor.

"I'm so hot in this thing!" she gasped, "here, Sir Vesian. Help me out of it before I faint!" He took to the task eagerly, though still careful not to tear at the expensive garment. He was experienced at undressing ladies, and soon enough he had stripped her naked in the cool, spice-scented air of the tent. She stood for a moment, looking down at his hard cock in his hands, then to her reflection in the mirror. In its glassy surface, she was a white flame in the cool blue dim of the tent. She crossed her legs and turned to show her profile to the mirror, one hand outstretched above her.

"You are the very vision of beauty, your highness," Vesian said, aching to sheath his cock in her again.

"This mirror is a rare thing," she breathed, admiring her naked form in its reflection. "Even some of my castles do not have mirrors this well-made."

She moved to stand directly in front of it, her naked body filling it almost to the frame, and Vesian stepped up behind her, rubbing his cock against her ass. "We make quite the pair, don't you think?" she asked as he looked over her shoulder to admire her naked reflection.

"That we do," he replied quietly, burying his face in her hair. A smile split her face.

"Fuck me," she commanded, and gripped the mirror's frame in her hands. She spread her legs to admit his cock, and Vesian slid inside her again. He took her by her narrow waist and slammed his cock into her warm, wet purse. The princess squealed in delight, the mirror shaking in her hand, and her little breasts bouncing on her chest. Her reflection crooked a hungry smile back at him, and Vesian thrust into her again.

He spread his feet for a firmer stance for thrusting into the princess. Her long, dark hair fell down her naked back, shaking to the sides as he fucked her. Her whole body shook and she climbed higher onto her tiptoes witch each stroke. Her back arched, her knuckles turned white as she gripped the mirror's frame. Vesian watched the reflection of her naked body shudder with each thrust he slammed into her hungry pink sex. She squealed and screamed throughout it all, her face twisted in pleasure as she stared back into his eyes through the mirror. She begged for more and he gave her no reprieve, fucking her until her ass began to redden and he began to tire.

He stopped suddenly, his breath coming short and his thighs aching with exhaustion. Adeline dismounted from his cock and took it in her hands. "You tire, my stallion." She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Through shallow breaths, he muttered something in reply that he hoped was witty.

"Take a seat," she commanded, "Let me do the work."

He sat himself down on the sorcerer's cot, and the naked princess climbed into his lap. He held his cock upright for her as she settled her shaven sex onto it and sank down. Her eyes rolled back, her eyelids fluttered, and her legs trembled. Laughing to himself, Vesian pulled the princess close and kissed her flushed neck. She moaned against his shoulder, arms wrapped tight about him, and began to ride his cock. Even through his aches, Vesian matched her motion, thrusting his hard cock up into her as she rose and fell on him. Their bodies pressed together as one, Vesian held her by her ass and rocked her back and forth on his cock.

"Fuck me, Sir Vesian!" she cried, and Vesian prayed that the campgrounds remained empty for it would not do to be overheard now. An image sprang unbidden into his mind, one of being interrupted while balls deep in the king's youngest daughter. But the passion of the moment quickly overwhelmed that fear, and he buried his face in the princess' white neck.

Adeline kissed and bit his neck, moaning louder as her pace increased. She planted both feet on the cot for a firmer stance, and Vesian feared their weight would tip it over and spill them to the floor. He held on dearly as the princess fucked him faster and louder. She screamed into his shoulder as she reached orgasm and he felt her moisture stream down his cock. Her whole body shuddered atop him and she heaved to a stop.

Vesian felt his cock throbbing with desire again and shoved himself up from the cot. Adeline clung to him, her eyes rolled back in her head hanging that hung limply against his shoulder. He lifted her off his cock and lowered her to the floor, all the while close to bursting. When her bare legs touched the ground, she woke up to what was happening. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth to receive his cum.

He stroked his cock the last bit of the way to climax and groaned loudly as he came. He spurted a white line across her royal face from temple to chin and she stifled a giggle. He looked down into her eye, one big beautiful blue orb staring back at him while a line of cum kept her other closed. Adeline giggled again, and Vesian came on her a second time. This one he aimed into her mouth and watched as his seed dripped down her throat.

"Is that all?" she teased around the cum in her mouth.

The princess grabbed his cock in both her soft white hands and squeezed harder. She wrapped her red lips around his cock, kissed it, and Vesian came again. Adeline smiled around his cock as she sucked it dry. Vesian felt about to collapse back onto the cot and heaved with exhaustion.

"Don't faint on me now," Adeline said, her blue eyes looking up at him around his slackening cock. "You must joust with my uncle for the fate of the kingdom."

"And I will," Vesian replied. "But I just need a moment's rest. You've..." he gasped for breath as she stroked his cock again. "You've really taken a lot out of me, your highness."

She giggled, then swallowed. "And you've put a lot into me, sir." She opened her mouth wide to show that she had swallowed all his cum and beamed. Vesian gave her an exhausted smile.

"We should really get dressed and head to the tournament," he said at last. Adeline pretended to pout, and the sight of her kneeling naked before him made him want to fuck her all over again. But then she stood up and reached for her discarded dress.

"You're right," she sighed. "Might I rely on you to help me put this back on? It seems only fair since you're the reason it came off in the first place."

"I thought you might go back to the tournament naked," he teased. "The dress is beautiful, but it's hard to beat naked. Tell you what," he said as she giggled at the thought, "I'll be your maid if you will be my squire and help me back into my armor."

They cleaned themselves up as best they could, dressed, and hurried back to the entrance to the tournament grounds. The cheering of the crowd grew louder as they approached, and Vesian could hearing the thunderous applause and beating of feet as he turned the last corner toward the entrance. There stood Thibault with a grim face.

"The duke has defeated all challengers," he said. "You must face him in the final tilt. Have you discovered anything?"

"Indeed, we have enough to prove his treachery, if anyone will listen."

"Good luck with that," Thibault snorted, "it was difficult enough to get the countess to listen, and she has no love for Sigismund."

"But listen she did, it seems?" Vesian looked past his squire to the entrance to the tourney grounds. Waiting for him behind Thibault were Countess Tiburge and eight of her knights, led by Sir Jaufré de Gaisor, resplendent in his freshly cleaned armor. Jaufré nodded to Vesian and Adeline as they approached.

"Eventually," Thibault admitted. "Though I've had to make some concessions on your behalf. You are spoken for after the feast tonight," he muttered in a low voice, and Vesian managed a smile.

"Are you ready, Countess?" Vesian asked, and Tiburge extended an ostentatious hand toward her knights.

"You have nothing to fear from these schemers, Sir Vesian. My finest knights stand ready to prevent any attempt to rush the royal box," Tiburge declared. She looked over Vesian and the princess and cracked a sly smile. "Though it would seem the royal box has already been rushed."

Vesian felt his cheeks grow hot and saw that Adeline was turning red as well. Tiburge chuckled to herself, obviously immensely pleased with her joke, and her knights joined in.

"But do go on, Sir Vesian. I look forward to seeing you work with your lance. On the tourney pitch, of course."