Hearts of Malice Ch. 02

Chapter 2: Enemy Within

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A strong horse strolled along the main road leading to Kaedon's castle, the capital of the eponymous kingdom, carrying two women on its back. The knightess Loretta was in the front, holding the horse's bridle, her trusty sword strapped to her hip.

Princess Elisa was sitting behind the knightess, her arms wrapped around Loretta's armored waist. She was grimacing in pain, clinging to her friend's body as if her life depended on it. She was used to the comfort and luxury of carriages and as such riding a horse bareback for multiple hours was quite an unpleasant experience for the usually wimpy Princess.

The two women had reluctantly chosen to abandon their carriage, one of its wheels broken far beyond Loretta's meager repair ability, and the coachman having met his untimely end during the night. The horses that had been drawing the carriage thankfully had appeared perfectly normal and unharmed since Urilesh's demise, and Loretta had quickly asserted that one of them could easily carry the duo to their destination.

Before abandoning her expensive luggage, Elisa had gotten a change of clothes. A new underwear to replace the one that had been destroyed during the night and a new dress to get rid of the one she had been wearing and that was now stained with mud, blood and other unspeakable fluids.

The Knightess hadn't been that lucky. With her garments shredded, she had thought of borrowing one of the more sensible outfits that the Princess had in her wardrobe, but the women's difference in height and figure had made that impossible. Loretta had had no choice but to wear her muddied armor directly on top of her skin.

The duo had traveled in silence as the sun rose and took its place in the sky above them. But now that Kaedon's castle was looming in the horizon, the end of the path inching closer and closer, the knightess was getting gradually more agitated, fidgeting on the horse. For the first time in hours, words disturbed the silence.

"Princess, upon reaching the castle, we... We'll have to explain what happened..." Loretta said quietly, craning her neck backward trying to see the Princess' face.

"Yes, I imagine we'll have to." Elisa answered impassibly, obvious to her friend's agitation.

"Have you... Have you considered what you're going to tell your family? Your Father?" Loretta insisted.

The knightess' question hung in the air for a while as the Princess stayed silent. Elisa was emotionally and physically exhausted after the night she had had. Even holding a conversation was overwhelmingly difficult for the young woman. She wished for nothing but a long, hot bath and a comfy bed.

"Merely the truth, I suppose." The Princess finally said, hand waving the question after a few minutes.

"The truth..." Loretta mumbled to herself, then she forced a smile on her face. "The truth, of course." She repeated louder.

After an hour of quiet horse riding, the summer's sun reached its zenith in the clear blue sky and Loretta stopped the horse.

"I'll escort you until you're within your family's embrace, Princess, but then I'll have to leave you. You'll have to retell what happened on your own." The knightess said without looking at Elisa. "There's... There's other matters I'll have to attend to. I must report what happened to the Order as soon as possible."

Elisa acquiesced with a murmur. After a few more minutes of hesitation from the knightess, the duo resumed their journey toward the Princess' deliverance.

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In the early hours of the afternoon, two elegantly-dressed women were sitting on two comfortable chairs in a luxuriously furnished lounge, drinking tea. One of them was a voluptuous, mature-looking woman with long dark blonde hair flowing down her back. The other was a much younger woman, Elisa's spitting image, with the same blonde hair, blue eyes, full lips and figure. A servant was respectfully standing a few steps away from them, carrying a tray with a teapot, standing at the ready to refill the women's cups upon any requests.

The oldest woman finished her tea and delicately put the cup down on the table, a preoccupied look on her face. With a simple hand gesture, she made the already-approaching servant stop dead in his tracks and retreat further away in the room. Clearing her throat, she looked at the younger woman sitting next to her.

"I'm getting worried, Sofia. Elisa should have been here hours ago already."

With a last sip, Sofia finished her tea as well, and she held her cup in the air expectantly. "I'm sure everything is fine, Mother. You know how Elisa is, she probably left Summerhills' Estate this morning instead of yesterday's evening." Sofia said reassuringly as the servant poured her another cup of tea.

"Yes, I know how she is. I raised her." The older woman replied sharply. "She can be... indolent, yes, but she wouldn't make me worried like that."

Avoiding her mother's gaze, Sofia took a swig of her tea and mindlessly played with the hem of her dress.

"And I raised you too, I know when you're anxious and try to hide it." Sofia's mother continued.

Sofia sighed, then pursed her lips. "You're right. I'll go see the Commander Wilhelm and ask him to send a few men to Summerhills' Estate, just in case. But I'm sure she's just running late and that she'll be here any minute now."

The shadow of a smile appeared on Sofia's mother's lips and she nodded. "Thank you, Sofia."

But before Sofia had even put down her cup of tea, a soft knock was heard on the door, then it opened smoothly and the castle's chamberlain, a lanky man wearing opulent clothes, entered the room with a somber frown on his face.

"My apologies for my intrusion, Queen Mireya, Princess Sofia, but Princess Elisa and Loretta of the Order of the Moon arrived at the castle, and they are requesting an urgent meeting with your Majesty."

Queen Mireya let out a deep breath of relief at the news, but the chamberlain cleared his throat and continued.

"They arrived on horseback. Without their carriage and without the rest of their escort. And the knightess looks... terribly grim."

Mireya jumped to her feet. "What are you waiting for, let them come in!" The Queen urged, dismissing the chamberlain with a motion of her shaking hand.

The man nodded and swiftly left the room, closing the door behind him. A torturous minute later, the door opened again, and Elisa entered the room on her own. She wore a wavering polite smile on her face, her hair was a mess and her dress was dusty and dirty.

"Mother." Elisa said as she bowed shakingly to the Queen. "Sofia." She continued with a nod to her twin sister.

After an instant of awkward silence, Elisa burst out crying and ran toward her mother, forgetting everything about the protocol and decorum that ruled her life. Queen Mireya opened her arms wide and caught her daughter in them, tightly hugging the young woman as if she was still a child craving for her mother's affection.

As Elisa cried all the tears she had against her mother's neck, Sofia made all the servants leave the room, then gazed at her bawling sister, biting her lip. After a minute, she left as well, closing the lounge's door behind her and leaving Elisa alone with her mother.

"Shhhhhhh... It's alright, dear. Everything will be alright now." Mireya whispered gently as she ran her hands down her daughter's hair and repeatedly dried Elisa's cheeks with her hands. "Cry as much as you want... There's no one here but us..."

After a few minutes, Elisa's tears finally stopped falling. The Princess took a step back, leaving her mother's embrace. Pursing her lips, she faced the Queen's gaze.

"Can you tell me what happened? Why are you so late, and where is your escort?" Mireya asked with motherly tenderness, her hands on Elisa's shoulders.

With a faltering voice, Elisa began to narrate the terrible events of the previous night, driving despair, anger and disgust deep inside her mother's heart.

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Night had fallen on Kaedon's castle, the warmth of the sun's rays giving way to the gentle stillness of the night. Princess Elisa was sleeping soundly in her large, opulent bedroom, her body hidden under a thick quilt emblazoned with Elisa's family's coat of arms. Her head was resting on a huge fluffy pillow, her blond hair messily strewn around. She breathed peacefully, letting out cute snores occasionally.

Suddenly, Elisa's eyes snapped open and she frowned. Pushing aside the covers, the Princess straightened and sat on the edge of her bed. In the almost complete darkness of the room, she held her right hand in front of her eyes, flipping it a few times and wiggling her fingers as if she discovered them for the first time. With a scowl on her face, she closed her hand in a fist and tightened it so much that her knuckles turned white

The Princess got up from her bed and took a few steps in the dark. Elisa reached out her arm and took a deep breath, an expression of intense focus on her face. Then, she snapped her fingers, the sound of that snap terribly loud in the night's silence. Elisa stood still for an instant, as if she expected something more. Her face darkened, and she gritted her teeth.

"Pathetic powerless body..." Elisa mumbled to herself, snapping her fingers repeatedly to no avail.

With a sigh, Elisa closed her eyes and rested her cheek against her fist, lost in her thoughts. After a short minute of deep contemplation, the Princess shook her head and fumbled around the room in the dark, finally managing to open the curtains of one of the windows, letting the pale light of the moon flood the bedroom.

Elisa's eyes swept the room and she smirked when she noticed a large mirror against the wall, near the entrance of her dressing room. She strolled toward the mirror then gazed at her reflection. Swiftly, the Princess disrobed, discarding the comfy nightgown that covered her body.

The mirror showed a gorgeous young woman with a silky, perfect-looking pale skin, long, disheveled blonde hair and large dark blue eyes. Elisa cupped a feel of her perky, delicious-looking breasts and she let out a soft moan as she twisted her dark pink nipple, a mix of pain and pleasure rippling through her body. Elisa's eyes narrowed, as if she just remembered something quite important. She looked around her, then headed toward the desk nearby.

Elisa grabbed a letter opener from her cluttered desk, then held its sharp side against her left palm. Holding her breath, she pushed the blade against her skin until she drew a drop of crimson blood. Anger warped Elisa's face and she threw the letter opener away, shaking her head.

"Powerless and fragile..." She angrily muttered to no one.

The Princess took a deep breath and calmed herself before picking up the letter opener she had thrown on the floor and returning to the mirror. Holding the short-bladed tool as if it was a sword she assumed a combat stance and began to fiercely fight against an invisible opponent, displaying an impressive swordsmanship.

Smirking, Elisa relaxed and nonchalantly threw the letter opener back on the desk where she had picked it up. Turning her attention back to the mirror, she sent one of her hands down her perfectly hairless crotch, teasing the entrance of her pink pussy.

"But a body is a body..." She whispered as her eyes flickered from the gentle pleasure radiating from her lower body. "I'll manage... carefully..."

The Princess' hand abandoned her crotch and she took a step back from the mirror. She picked up her nightgown from the floor and slipped it on as she walked toward the window with open curtains. Elisa gave the gentle moon a last emotionless look, then closed the thick curtains.

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Elisa was resolutely walking down one of the many sunlit hallways in her family's castle, two royal guards on her tail. She abruptly stopped in front of the door of the guest bedroom that Loretta was currently residing in and almost knocked on it, but she stopped and spun around to face the two soldiers that silently stood behind her, the skirt of her white dress twirling as she did.

"I want to be alone with my friend." The Princess said, intransigent, as her eyes swept from on guard to the other. "My friend who also happens to be an anointed knight of the Order of the Moon. My friend who slayed a DEMON to save my life. Do you really think there's any chance I might be endangered in any way while in my friend's company?" Elisa labored her point heavily.

The two armored soldiers look at each other, confused and unsure of what to do.

"Shoo!" The Princess gestured to the soldiers to leave. "Don't make me talk to your commander." She threatened with a crooked smile.

One of the soldiers finally shrugged and began to walk away, quickly followed by the other. When they finally disappeared from view as they turned around a corner, Elisa sighed loudly and rubbed her temple. She took a minute to steady herself, then loudly knocked on the door.

"Go away!" Loretta's muffled voice shouted from behind the door.

Elisa leaned against the door. "It's me. Elisa. Please let me in." She said gently.

No answer came but a strange sound, akin to strangled whine. The Princess waited a bit, giving her knightess friend some time to react, but nothing happened.

Grumbling, Elisa withdrew a master key from the depths of her dress' pocket and slid it inside the door's keyhole. She took a deep breath, then turned the key, audibly unlocking the door. The Princess grabbed the handle, pushed open the door and walked in.

Loretta's room was dimly lit, as the curtains of all the windows were drawn, and the air inside felt damp, making the Princess uneasy. Elisa closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it and leave her key in the lock, then walked further in.

The Princess found her friend sitting down on the edge of the bed. The knightess was wearing a leather top that clung to her sweaty body, hugging her curves, but she was naked from the waist down. Loretta's enormous cock was standing straight up, looking painfully erect. Loretta's sword was right next to her, laying on the bed.

"You shouldn't be here." Loretta said, staring into space.

"I've been told you were... acting strangely. That you locked yourself here and spurned all that came to see you." Elisa whispered softly. "I believe I'm right where I have to be."

"You don't understand..." Loretta whined, quivering. "The demon's curse still lingers in me, and it's... it's... torturous."

Elisa gulped. "I can see that. We... We'll find a solution for that, I promise. But you have to let me help you." Elisa took a step toward the knightess.

"I'm not talking about this grotesque penis!" Loretta suddenly roared. "Urilesh made my arousal unbearable! I've been able to control myself for a while because of what I did to you, but... but... I can feel my desires bubbling again under my skin. You have to leave, Princess, please..."

Slowly, Elisa took another step, then another. "We'll work it out. Together. Please, don't push me away, not after what we've been through together."

Loretta's head suddenly snapped toward the Princess. "I want to rape you!" The knightess admitted, sobbing messily. "I want to bend you over the bed and fuck your tight little cunt over and over again until I'm finally satisfied." Loratta closed her eyes, crying profusely as her dick throbbed in approval. "And... and I don't know how long I'll be able to hold back."

Elisa froze, unsure of how to proceed. She stood still and silent as her friend cried all the tears she had. The Princess wanted to hug the knightess tightly, to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but she feared that her touch would make things worse for Loretta.

"I'm a coward... The guilt is eating me alive, and yet I deceived them all. I lied and lied again, pretending to be a victim just like you, hiding the fact that it was me who stained you! Me who stole your maidenhood! My head should be rolling down the executioner's block for what I did, but I couldn't bring the axe upon my own neck... So I lied..." Loretta was slumped, burdened by her violated rightfulness. "And every minute that passed I expected them to come for me, the truth having come out of your mouth. But they never did."

The Princess listened carefully as Loretta spilled her guts, Elisa's eyes watering as she got the measure of her friend's suffering.

"I told myself that I was stronger than this. But that was a lie as well... I bumped into a servant in the hallway... A young girl with blonde hair... I... I became a beast, reason lost to me. Thanks the Moon, she managed to escape my grasp with only her clothes ripped to shreds, as I'm afraid of what I would have done to her if she hadn't..."

For the first time Loretta locked her red and puffy eyes with Elisa's. "I just want it to end. The flames of lust that consumes me, I can't bear them anymore. But I'm weak..." The knightess' hand swept across the hilt of her discarded sword. "I couldn't do it... I couldn't... I'm a failure..." Loretta took her head in her hands, bawling desperately.

"You're the strongest woman I've ever known." Elisa said softly as she got closer to the broken knightess. "But you don't have to face everything alone."

The Princess was now very close to Loretta. Slowly and very carefully, Elisa reached out her arm and put her hand on the knightess' shoulder.

In a blink Loretta jumped to her feet, grabbed both of Elisa's arms and shoved the Princess against the wall, pressing her muscular body against Elisa's soft, delicate body. Loretta's large cock was squashed against Elisa's belly, thick precum staining the Princess' dress. The Knightess was breathing loudly, her whole body shaking. The two women looked each other in the eyes and Elisa saw the ravenous hunger that consumed her friend.

After an instant that lasted an eternity, Loretta let go of Elisa's arms and ran to the opposite corner of the room where she sat on a chair, covering her face with her hands in shame.

"Why are you doing this?!" Loretta shouted at the top of her lungs. "Am I not suffering enough that you have to come here and tease me?!"

"I'll help you." Elisa said calmly. "I'll help you." She repeated, louder.

Loretta froze for a second, then she pursed her lips, tears falling freely from her closed eyes as she realized what Elisa was suggesting. "You can't... You can't do this, Princess... "

"I can. And I will." Elisa declared firmly. "That night, after you..." The Princess paused to carefully choose her next words. "... after you had sex with me, you felt better, right? You were lucid and strong enough to kill Urilesh. All we have to do is repeat the process."

"I will hurt you. Even if I so ardently desire not to, I know I will. I won't be able to control myself." Loretta warned, shaking her head.

"And you're terribly hurting, right now. Let me share your burden." Elisa implored her friend.

Without waiting for an answer, Elisa dropped to her knees in front of Loretta. From up close, the knightess' cock seemed even bigger and even more threatening. Elisa took a deep breath and discarded all of her doubts. Timidly, she wrapped her hands around Loretta's enormous meatpole. The knightess moaned wantonly and threw her head backward.

"Once, I caught two servants frolicking in the gardens. The girl had the man's penis in her mouth, and it seemed... quite enjoyable for him. I never... I have never tried something like this, so please bear with me if I'm clumsy..." Elisa said, blushing heavily as her eyes were glued to the cock in front of her.

The Princess' opened her mouth wide and slowly approached her mouth from Loretta's throbbing cock, using her hands to adjust her friend's cock position. After a brief pause, Elisa closed her eyes and wrapped her warm mouth around Loretta's tip.