Making Amends

Yes, the longer Baron Hyacin contemplated taking young Sienna as his wife the more merit he saw in the prospect. So it was decided. "Well," he finally smiled, "You need not fear. I imagine any decent man should agree to such a reasonable proposal."

The look that dawned across the young noblewoman's face at his tacit acceptance of her request bordered on the indescribable. He saw relief and dread writ across her face in equal measure, each tempered by no small amount of shame. All the same, she nodded softly in satisfaction, her voice coming out steadier than it had of late, if no stronger. "It gladdens me to hear you say as such."

"But of course, milady," the baron matched his newly betrothed's nod with one of his own. "And your lord father? He looks favourably upon such a match?" The question had to be asked. Having already assessed the old man Hyacin deemed it unlikely in the extreme that he would object to such a reasonable course of action, but there was no way of knowing whether the subject had already been broached or not.

Sienna's eyes fell to the table once more and he could see her biting her lip as she glanced away. Her reply, when it came, was so quiet as to scarcely be a whisper. "He... knows I will not receive a better one."

"Ah, I believe I understand," the baron nodded sagely, allowing a modest smile to curl his lips upwards while the girl was looking away. "The Duke is a wise man indeed. But, I must ask, milady, do you truly feel prepared to fulfill the duties of a wife?"

When the highborn girl turned back to meet his gaze it was with a hesitant look on her face and one hand instinctively resting on her swollen belly. "I believe that I am..."

"Is that so?" Hyacin frowned, subtly straightening up in his seat so as to appear as stern as possible. "I know not what marriage is like in your fair duchy, but among my people a wife's duties are taken most seriously. It is a demanding calling, one which precludes other pursuits such as, say, knighthood." The baron used every inch he possessed to look down at Sienna as he gauged her reaction.

"I am aware," the girl replied sullenly, making no attempt to disguise her displeasure at the prospect of no longer being permitted her martial indulgences. If the demand came as a surprise, though, she didn't let it show. Unless the baron was gravely mistaken, it seemed his new betrothed truly had considered and accepted the consequences of her decision. That was something he could certainly respect.

"In that case, I wish you well in this matter," he smiled, one hand reaching out to caress his soon-to-be wife's shoulder. The blonde flinched back from his touch at first but quickly bit her lip and willed herself to remain in place. That sight was more than enough to widen Hyacin's smile. "I imagine that were your lover present to hear all this, come the morrow he might wish to speak further of the matter with your Lord Father."

"That would do my heart well," Sienna answered, a clearly forced smile decorating her pretty face as she started to turn away. When she tried to do so, however, the ambassador's grip on her shoulder tightened and he pulled her back. "Milord?" she asked when their eyes met once more, trepidation clear in her eyes.

Hyacin allowed his smile to shift to a more predatory expression as he looked over the young noblewoman seated beside him, taking plenty of time to let his eyes play across every inch of her alluring figure before at last explaining himself. "I imagine," he began, speaking slowly as if carefully choosing his words were a difficult task, "that your lover might also wish to... reacquaint himself with your beauty after so long apart."

Sienna seemed to wilt as the implications of what the baron was suggesting hit home, her eyes going wide even as she shrank back into her seat. "I..." she stammered, her cheeks darkening in an instant, "I doubt he... would care to... to have me... in my current condition." As she stammered, one of the despoiled maiden's hands fell to cradle her swollen belly.

His soon-to-be wife's display of hesitance, though, only served to widen Baron Hyacin's grin. It was without question a true delight to know that, despite her apparent acceptance of the fate she had chosen, Sienna still possessed plenty of resistance for him to enjoy breaking. "Nonsense," he chided, "you look absolutely radiant, Milady." Though some might not have shared the same assessment given her current condition, the man spoke with utter sincerity as he stared into his new partner's eyes. At the same time, his hand lazily traced a path from the blonde's shoulder up her neck before settling into a firm grasp of the underside of her chin. Despite a level of intimacy which would be obvious to anyone who caught sight of them, he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I assure you, there are many ways to enjoy a woman while she is with child. Ways which endanger neither mother nor babe."

Sienna gave a heavy gulp at her betrothed's suggestion, but she possessed spine enough and then some to hold his gaze as she gave her stiffest reply yet. "If... if you say so... I am sure it is true." The baron couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the hand with which his fiance clutched at her belly pull in just a little tighter as she spoke. Such a sight left him pleased beyond words and only reinforced his decision to take the former knight as his wife. It was tragic, to be sure, but he knew well that many a woman in her situation had been known to let what resentment they might feel towards their conqueror spill over onto the product of such an encounter. Sienna, though, seemed nothing but protective towards his child and hers. As far as the baron was concerned, there could be no stronger evidence that she would make a good mother for his heirs.

Satisfied, Hyacin leaned forward, his face drifting past the blonde's until they were cheek to cheek and his lips were all but at her ear. It was an undeniably intimate position, but if Sienna was to be his then he no longer cared in the slightest what any onlookers made of their interaction. "Oh, I assure you, it is most certainly true," he whispered, their bodies so close he could feel the way she shivered in response.

By the time the emissary sat back up his young bride-to-be was as flushed as he had every seen her and not even the most imperceptive of fools could have missed the way she practically quivered in her chair. She was an utterly delightful sight, timid yet resolved, innocent yet despoiled, proud yet ashamed... and best of all, she was entirely his. Few maidens indeed had ever left the weapon between Hyacin's legs so excited in anticipation of their conquest, nor given him such satisfaction in the aftermath of their surrender.

Judging by the way she squirmed under her future husband's appraising gaze, it seemed clear Sienna was anything but comfortable with the outcome of their conversation. It had become no less clear, however, that the blonde was a lady who would never shirk from her duties, whatever form they might take. The baron's assessment to that effect was only confirmed when she tentatively offered her unconditional surrender. "In... in that case..." she began softly, her voice growing ever steadier with each word that escaped her supple lips, "if it were his wish, my betrothed would be... welcome to pay my chambers a visit this eve."

Baron Hyacin just smiled in response, inclining his head modestly towards his future wife in silent acceptance of her offer. The former knight closed her eyes and swallowed visibly, no doubt requiring a moment to steady herself before opening them once more and bracing her hands against the table upon which her nearly untouched meal still rested. "I fear it is time I retire for the night, Milord," she declared, her voice scarcely more than a whisper.

Never one to breach the sanctity of proper decorum, the imperial ambassador was on his feet before Sienna could even begin to stand herself. Once upright, he graciously pulled back his pregnant betrothed's chair and offered her his hand. Seemingly surprised by such a display of chivalry, Sienna offered her man the faintest of smiles and a timid little nod once he released his grip on her arm and stepped back. No sooner had Hyacin done so than he swept one hand towards the nearest of the great hall's many exits.

A moment later and the newfound couple were making their way out of Silverwing Keep's throne room, the baron's precise steps awkwardly accented by his fiance's waddling gait. When he offered it, Sienna took her man's arm hesitantly but without question, each of the aristocrats well aware of the significance that simple act carried. For his part, Hyacin could hardly have been smiling any wider as they crossed what distance remained between themselves and their destination. Such a display, after all, would surely put to bed any doubt as to just who had left the Duke's daughter in her delicate condition, and the imperial ambassador relished a public declaration of his triumph. No doubt a great many of the petty provincial noblemen present had long harboured fantasies of claiming Sienna for themselves as they watched the feisty lady-knight blossom into such a gorgeous young woman, yet in a single evening he had spoiled her for the lot of them and ensured his was the only bed she would ever warm. As delicious as such a triumph was, though, it paled in comparison to what the rest of the night would surely bring...

The End

Thank you, audience, for reading, especially those kind souls who take a few extra seconds to leave a rating or a shade longer to comment. Knowing that things are well received is an essential fuel for the writing process.

This might just be my favourite piece of erotica/porn I've written to date, so hopefully the lot of you out there wherever you are enjoy it as well. (And hopefully those of you who don't go out and find something more to your tastes. I don't hate you.)

Until next time, dear readers. Be good, just not too good,

Anon