Enchantress 7 - The Royal Family

- a continuing celebration of -

Fifty Years of Pratchett

© 2023 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions not previously copyrighted by Terry Pratchett. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary. If you see this story on any website other than Literotica.com, it has been copied without the author's permission.

This is a work of love, a fan fiction. Many of these characters are the creation of Sir Terry Pratchett, as is the multiverse in which they live. If you would like to find out which of these characters is or is not a creation of Terry, please contact this author. This tale was not written to steal the fame that Sir Terry rightfully earned, but to enjoy one more romp in the shadow of Cori Celesti and remind the world of what we lost on March 12, 2015.

"One day I'll be dead and THEN you'll all be sorry."

- Terry Pratchett, 28 Nov 1992 on alt.fan.pratchett

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ENCHANTRESS 7

The Royal Family

{With parenthetical annotations}

Hollie Worblehat-Stein always wanted to be a witch, but she didn't realize how lonely it was. Ever since they visited Agness Dempsy's cottage and got her first black cat, Trei, she knew that being a witch was for her, but it's such a solitary job. Sure Carl, Alphie, and Bertie were always around working on the duke's farm which was all around her, and a different witch stayed with her every night. And another witch came by almost daily for training on one thing or another... so it wasn't a lack of people that made this a lonely job, it was a lack of the right people.

Her family was gone... Mom and Dad and her four younger siblings were living in the castle over in Lancre Town, it's only two miles away as the crow flies, but she's not a crow. There's a ridge of rock called Breeders Peak to climb over to get there typically. Her older brother Marlon was living in the Watch House in Creel Springs until the Duke's house was built, and she was left behind in the cottage that she grew up in, a witch's cottage, and she always felt alone. She only had her cat Trei and her baby gargoyle Gula to talk to. {all gargoyles are named Gula} She toiled in her herb garden with her garden gnomes guiding her as she tilled the soil and plucked weeds. "This one be ready for pickin' lassie," said Mac McTill, her tiny head gardener as he pointed out an herb nearby. "She's best fresh, but she'll dry properly if you hang her stem up." Mr. McTill was four inches tall, which made him short, even for a garden gnome.

"Thanks Mister McTill," and Hollie plucked the herb called Husbands Button and was studying it, memorizing its tell-tale signs of ripeness when a small Lancre Watch carriage rode up.

"Miss Worblehat-Stein, I was sent by the king to collect you."

"Constable Markus Ivers I wouldn't go with you if you were driving the grandest coach in Lancre." Suddenly Hollie didn't feel lonely anymore, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"Why are you treating me like that? I'm just here to give you a ride."

"I can ride my broom, thank you." She kept her back to him. She hasn't actually learned how to get her broom to fly yet, but she can hover quite well, and if there's a stiff breeze to blow her around it's almost like flying.

Mark sat in the carriage fuming, then he took the king's advice. He got out of the carriage and limped to her on a crutch. The beating he took during the Battle of Creel Springs will take a long time to heal, his right knee was still in a splint, it may never flex properly again, his left arm was in a plaster cast from shoulder to hand, his right eye covered in an eye patch. He scooped her to him with his cast and held her tight, her tight round ass pressed against him making his pain even worse. "Why are you being so obstinate?"

"Why are you avoiding me?" she demanded.

"Because you deserve a proper man!" he nearly shouted, "not just a collection of bits that may never join back together suitable."

"You took that beating to protect me," she whispered. During the Battle of Creel Springs, he delayed the attackers long enough for her to get her brothers, sisters, and grandmothers into their bookstore lock the door and get away through L-Space leaving him behind to face a mob of mercenaries bent on destroying the village and killing everyone in it. She turned around and looked at Mark, he was a good-looking man, even with the bandages, cast, one black eye and one covered by a patch. And knowing that he took that beating to protect her was the sexiest thing of all. "I told you, when your healing is done, my mom can put everything back to right. She won't interfere with the healing process."

"I don't know if she can fix my... my..." he sighed in exasperation. Mark took some savage kicks to the testicles and it's only recently that he's been able to walk.

"Who says she can't? I'll ask her."

"No... it's embarrassing." He didn't want to bring that up to the queen, not in the least.

"She's got six kids, you got nothing new to shock her."

Mark's eye bugged open in surprise. "She... I... wha?"

"Come on," she said, and she took off her white apron that she was wearing over her black witches' gown and made sure her pointy witches' hat was pinned tightly. "If we're late I'll tell my brother it was your fault and he'll beat up your remaining bits." She tossed her broom and apron in the back of the Highway Watch carriage and hopped in and waited for Mark to climb in. As soon as he was almost in, she slapped the reins on the horse and off they raced.

"This is police property!" cried Mark as he pulled himself onto the seat.

"Yeah, and you're police... no problem." She flicked the reigns harder getting their pony to run. The carriage with the cop and the witch raced down the hill going faster and faster as they careened down the mountain road. Trees flew past in a blur, a riot of autumn colors as they neared the village. At the base of the hill they shot into Creel Springs without slowing and dashed diagonally across Main Street and into the Watch House complex. They dashed through the lot with Hollie yelling, "Witch Princess coming! Step lively lads!" but suddenly the route she was going to take was blocked by six mounted police men.

"Yust because your father is the king doesn't give you permission to yoose police equipment as sporting goods," said Captain Sven Svenson as he stepped up to the carriage.

"Yes it does."

"No, it doesn't. Now follow your escort." The horses wheeled and entered the tunnel.

"Awww, you guys are too slow," groaned Hollie. And soon they were in the long mysterious ancient tunnel under Breeders Peak between the village of Creel Springs and Lancre Town, following the six horses whose riders were carrying lanterns. The pony fell in step with the large police horses that were leading her, and Hollie huffed with impatience, she loved dashing through this tunnel. She tied off the reins to a bar on the front of the carriage and leaned back with her arms crossed under her breasts. The pony followed the lead of the horses and didn't need input from the driver. "Let's see which bits are still working," said the young witch as she gently straddled Mark's lap.

There were a few grunts of pain from Mark but soon she got settled and was staring at his handsome face in the gloom of the tunnel. She could see his eye patch in the darkness, the first man she ever loved wears an eyepatch, so she finds the fact that Mark is wearing an eye patch endearing, and also very sexy. She leaned forward pressing her round, firm breasts against his chest and pulled his head to her neck. "Do you smell my perfume?" She made her perfume from flower nectar and musk she collected from her own body. Mark whimpered as parts that he thought were irrevocably damaged were starting to show signs of life.

"I like it," said Mark softly.

"Your nose still works," said Hollie and she leaned forward, and her lips gently brushed against his, "do your lips work?" Soon they were kissing. Their tongues reached out for each other, and Mark held her with his good arm. "Your lips and tongue work, I can live with that."

As they kissed again Mark realized that this was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he coiled his fingers in her thick black hair. He thrust his tongue in her mouth with all the force that he wanted to thrust his cock into her, and she whimpered with passion, and she sucked his tongue and she ran her tongue around it.

"Markus Ivers where did that come from?" she gasped between kisses.

"I love you Hollie Worblehat-Stein, and if I live two more years, I'm going to marry you.

Hollie smiled slightly and said, "I think I'll let you," and their kissing grew hotter and more passionate, but as they approached the other end of the tunnel they reluctantly stopped kissing. As they rubbed noses and whispered to each other a movement to her left caught Hollie's eyes, to her left was a horse and on it was... "Lou!"

Her thirteen-year-old brother sat atop a mare as it paced alongside them, his face broke into a grin. Wherever Lou is, his twin sister Loo-Loo isn't far away. Hollie looked in the other direction and there was a horse pacing them on their other side, but it wasn't Loo-Loo pacing them. "DAD!"

"Your Majesty!" gasped Mark. He was caught with the king's sixteen-year-old daughter in his lap. Maybe he can request a beheading. It's supposed to be quick and painless.

Nick only grinned and laughed. He leaned forward on the saddle and said, "Bloody long tunnel, isn't it."

"Dark too!" agreed Lou.

"I can never have any fun," pouted Hollie as she took a seat next to Mark and crossed her arms under her breasts. They emerged into the warm autumn sunlight, Lancre was overjoyed and showed it in the shocking colors of the leaves that surrounded Lancre Town, the capital of the small mountain kingdom of Lancre. The mountains were a riot of reds, oranges, yellows, browns, purples, greens and blues.

Inside the castle several people waited as Hollie pushed Mark in a wheelchair into the meditation garden followed by her dad and mom, the King and Queen of Lancre. King Verence the Third wore his official "king suit" as his friend Trei calls it, a red blazer, silver waist coat, blue breeches and glossy black riding boots. For this occasion, he even wore the simple crown, he had only wore that once before at his coronation. He had a white sash with numerous awards and medals from all over the world, and at his throat he wore the Lancre Medal of Honor, three of them on a gold ribbon, the most honored man in Lancre history.

The Queen wore the deep red satin robe of the Court Wizard, the robe was covered in stars and moons that magically glowed, and she wore a pointed hat like Hollie, and she too had numerous awards on a sash along with the Lancre Medal of Honor, the first woman to receive the award. Hollie's brother Marlon waited anxiously, dressed the same as his father with no crown but he did have the Lancre Medal of Honor, the youngest man to ever receive it. Brothers Llewellen and Exavier dressed exactly like Marlon, and sisters Llewella and Gwendolyn wore white and pink gowns. An honor guard, members of the Lancre Watch, some of whom grew up with Marlon waited and followed them in.

The meditation garden was a huge garden her mother made in a castle room the size of a cathedral. Exotic plants filled the garden, butterflies and fairies fluttered, songbirds sang, and a riot of blooms filled the air with their perfume. A stream flowed through the garden linking one pond at the front with another at the rear. People lined the paths throughout the garden, friends and neighbors peering through the foliage and by a fountain Marlon took his place, his parents stood to the side and Hollie stepped up to Marlin. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Let's do this again," he said with a smile and soon they were joined by Annette Prescott and her parents Preston and Annabelle, the commander and chief of detectives of the Lancre Watch in their dress blue uniforms. Annette, in a stunning white gown, took her place next to Marlon.

"What is your desire?" asked Hollie.

"We wish to be married," said Annette.

"Let us start," said Hollie. "There will be three trials, three chances to walk away without harm or foul, your last chance for a solitary life. Are you ready?" When both Marlon and Annette said yes, Hollie began. "This is the first trial, I must ask, Marlon, have you been coerced, forced, lost a bet or anything else that would cause you to do this against your will?"

"No, I truly love her and want to marry her, and always have."

"Annette, same question, do you really want to go through with this? Do you really want to be tied to this man," asked the witch.

"Yes, ever since the day I was born."

"That was your first chance, now join hands with me and each other," said Hollie and the three joined hands and they started the second of three trials. Through her magical power Hollie could tell that they were not related, a necessity in these isolated mountain towns, she could also tell that there was no deception, they truly wanted to be married. "You're not related, not even a little bit. You pass number two with flying colors. Ok, last chance, there's the exit. If either one of you feels the need to run, run now, I'll tackle the other one."

Marlon and Annette just looked at her so Hollie continued. "You faced the challenges, now face each other, tell each other you love them and kiss." As they kissed Hollie turned to her father, bowed deeply and reported to the king as required. "Your majesty, I would like to report a wedding between Marlon Worblehat-Stein and Annette Prescott on this day."

Suddenly all the temple bells in Lancre Town began pealing and the gathered onlookers cheered as Annette and Marlon kissed.

<><><><><>֎<><><><><>

A reception was held for the duke and the new Duchess of Wægn in the king's study, a room built to resemble the Bare Bear pub in Creel Springs. After the death and destruction of the battles at Bear Mountain, Creel Springs, and Lancre Castle, the normal Soul Cake Days festivals were curtailed but the marriage of the young duke was more than enough for the exhausted people of Creel Springs. And the chance to gather in the castle and commiserate with their own, the King of Lancre, was something that they did with joy.

King Verence III, commonly known as Nick or Pommy to his friends was a poor city boy whose only claim to fame was the ability to absorb magic. He was hired by a female wizard, Octavia Worblehat to assist her and he eventually became the first male witch on the discworld where all witches were woman and tended to look down on him.

The party soon began to divide into two groups, the youngsters, Duke Marlon and Duchess Annette's age were having a grand time dancing to the music of the small band and the older folks who gathered together and watched they youngsters and occasionally danced to the slower songs. "Feel older?" Octavia asked Nick.

"A lot older," he sighed. "They tell me that I'm one of the younger kings to take the throne, hell, I'm forty-two."

Octavia leaned on her King and smiled watching their son dance with his bride and sighed, "me too."

"You have five more to go," said Trei Metsker, a friend of Nick who acted as grandfather for all the royal children. Trei set a pint in front of the king and said, "Join me." Nick was still heartbroken; he couldn't save Trei's son Wayne and it hurts as bad as if he lost his brother so he's been avoiding Trei.

"Is that an order?" Nick asked.

"Aye, yer majesty it is. Join me. We both need it."

"I warn you; I'm not going to get all torn down like I did when you opened the Bare Bear," said Nick as he sipped his beer.

"Oh? You can foretell the future is it now?"

Next to them Nick and Octavia's mothers watched their grandson dancing with his bride. They were barely in their sixties, hopefully they will be able to cuddle great grandchildren. They were lucky enough to be around to cuddle the infant twins and be there for the birth of the two children to follow, then to see their son coronated the king, their daughter the queen, and their grandson coronated duke. It's been an incredible decade.

"What is the plan for the rest of the week?" asked Nick.

"Your majesty, tomorrow is Wednesday and you have the reception of the married couples. On Thursday you have court, you also have," Nick's secretary Findlay MacIver, looked at the pages, "a meeting with... Havelock Vetinari in his office... sir! There's no way you can make it from Lancre Town to Ankh-Morpork in three hours."

"Don't worry Finny."

"Findlay, your majesty."

"What do I have to do to get you to call me Nick?"

"Leave the room, your majesty."

Nick and Trei began to laugh at Findlay, he was sharp. He lost his parents when Creel Springs was attacked and Nick immediately took him in, he's witty, sharp, and he's got an incredible memory. "You're going to have to learn how very quickly Mr. MacIver."

"Why is that?"

"You're coming with the king to Mister Vetinari's office," said Octavia.

Findlay's eyes grew huge, Havelock Vetinari is the boogie man for most people. "I... me...?"

"I'm just going to ask Mister Vetinari one question," said Nick, "I need you to remember the answers he gives me."

"Yes, your majesty."

"That's it, one question and we're back here with no problems."

"Remember that he promised no problems Findlay," laughed Trei, "because it never happens that way."

Soon it was time for the bride and the groom to leave for their wedding night, they know that Nick and Octavia have set up a love suite for them, they just didn't know where. Nick took a large key on a key ring and said, "Widdershins Rimward tower... just keep in mind, your mother and I aren't over the hill yet, we like to use it too, so knock twice if you're ever up there again."

Marlon blushed but Annette just laughed, "You're far from over the hill... dad," and she gave her father-in-law a kiss on the cheek.

"You two run off and have fun, before something else falls off of me and hits ya, go!"

Marlon and Annette rushed through the castle, the members of the castle staff wishing them goodwill as they passed. As they walked through the castle an occasional hand was shaken and on occasion a plaque reminded them of the life that was lost on that spot two months ago. Finally nearing the Clacks office, they found the entrance to the tower and began heading up. "How tall is this tower?" asked Annette as they paused.

"I don't know," said Marlon, "I've never been up this tower." They resumed their climb and occasionally peeked in a door they passed; they were small guest rooms that were empty.

"Why do they have so many rooms?" panted Annette.

"When the town is attacked everyone is supposed to come into the castle for protection," said Marlon.

"Why didn't it work in June?"

"The clacks office didn't shutter their windows. We lost so many men trying to plug that breech that we lost the portcullis and they were moments from pouring into the main door."

"But you stopped that, right?"

"Yeah, me and dad, and five hundred heavily armored Agatean troops that Jia sent." Jia was the emperor of the Agatean empire, he, Marlon, and Annette spent a few warm sunny summers together splashing in their pond. The spiral stairs finally ended in a room that contained one large window, a shower head, a small, separated room, and a wooden booth. The separate room contained a toilet and sink. "Mom and her indoor plumbing," Marlon chuckled.