Prince Bonir Vol. 02

I felt for the girl. I was beginning to understand why she would feel so hopeless that she couldn't speak in her own defense—life had not been kind to her. Through no fault of her own it had been one bad turn after another. Her outstanding beauty had become her curse.

"Very well...I grant you political asylum in the Province of Averic. Do you know what that means?" I asked.

She shook her head from side to side.

"It means that I will not return you to Barcos on account of my belief that you will be persecuted were you to return. Instead you may remain in Averic." I explained.

She looked up again, eyes wide with the first glimmer of something like hope I had yet seen.

"As for your thievery, you shall repay twice the value of the items that you have stolen," I continued. She became crestfallen again; clearly she had no money. "But I presume that you do not have the ability to pay."

She nodded.

"Then you shall work as a member of my household. Your earnings shall go to the shopkeeper until such time as you have paid off your debt, after which you shall be as one of the regular staff."

She brightened further. A job? A chance to clear her name? I was offering her things she never expected would come her way.

"Unless you would rather serve your sentence in debtor's prison," I added.

"No, sir, my lord, I...I would be honored to serve in your household," she stammered.

"Very well. Eve, please see if you can find a way to make use of our newest servant."

"Yes, m'lord," Eve replied, coming forward to start showing her around.

"My lord..." Arianna said hesitantly, "thank you."

I nodded, then she and Eve disappeared into the house.

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In my chamber that night, Eve asked "You like Arianna, don't you?"

"She is very fair, and I like women with red hair," I admitted, "why?"

"You could have just taken her, down in the dungeon, any time you liked, but you did not," she remarked.

"That would make me no better than the Captain of the Guard," I replied. "I would rather a woman's affection be freely given, rather than something I just take. I underlined the point by penetrating her consenting orifice at that exact moment.

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Eve put Arianna on the general housekeeping detail. Thus it happened that one day while dusting, Arianna came upon Eve in the process of making sheaths. She must have been curious as to what they were; I walked in to the middle of the conversation.

"...and so by wearing the sheath, a woman can lie with a man and need not fear conception..." Eve was saying. Her back was to me, so Arianna saw me first.

"Oh..." Arianna said with a start, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry, my lord," she stammered, grasping for her duster and starting to head back to her task.

"Calm yourself Arianna," I replied, "you have done nothing wrong. I am guessing that you have asked Eve what it is that she is making. She alone in my household possesses the art to craft such useful devices; that is one reason why she has the standing that she does."

Arianna nodded and looked down, interpreting my speech as intending to put her in her place.

"Did you explain to Arianna how the sheath is employed?" I inquired.

Eve turned to answer me, "I had just started to when you arrived, my lord."

"Well then her lesson is not complete," I replied. "If you are agreeable, perhaps a demonstration would be in order..." I shot my eyebrows upwards as a signal.

"As my lord wishes," she replied, turning around so that she was completely facing me. Arianna just stood there, not knowing what she should do. I walked up to Eve, who in practiced fashion pulled my hose down to free my manhood. Arianna flushed in embarrassment and turned away, so she didn't see Eve first take me into her mouth. But she became aware something was happening, so she peeked over. She kept her hands by her eyes, but bit by bit she turned more and more and widened the gaps in her fingers to better observe. I was certain that she had never seen the whole of a man before.

Eve was fixated on pleasuring my organ and didn't notice Arianna at all. "Don't be afraid," I said, holding out an arm towards her inviting to come over. "Come over and have a closer look." Almost mesmerized, Arianna inched closer while watching intently, seemingly not blinking at all lest she miss something important. Eve continued to slide me in and out of her mouth in a manner she knew pleased me immensely.

Arianna was close by now, and she started to turn to see what Eve was doing with me inside her mouth. Eve stopped sucking so she could talk. "Go ahead, touch it..." Eve encouraged, all the while stroking me with gentle hands.

Arianna reached out gingerly, not know what to expect. I felt her fingers touch me, and gently probe to get a sense of its texture.

"Oh..." she exclaimed, "it is...it is hard and yet soft at the same time! How interesting..."

"And it really likes to be touched," Eve added, "especially like this..." She stuck out her tongue and slowly ran it along the underside. Even though I was already fully erect, I sprang up even further at the feeling. "And then..." Eve announced as she opened her mouth wide and encircled my such that Arianna could see. Then she closed her lips around me. Involuntarily, I groaned slightly.

Arianna now got down on her knees so she could better watch as Eve massaged me with her mouth. "Would you like to try?" I asked. Eve spit me out, still stroking me with her hand. Arianna added her hand and tried to mimic Eve, but she was much too tentative. "Fear not, it will not break," I said. She grasped a little firmer and stroked a little harder. "Mmm, that's better," I said. She kept stroking it, but was looking at it funny, perhaps afraid of how it might taste. "Go ahead, don't be afraid," I encouraged. She opened her mouth slightly and touched her lips to me. It didn't taste badly, so she slipped her lips a little further down. She only took in about halfway down her tongue, however—she would need some practice to get as skilled as Eve.

"Eve, let us show her how to use the sheath," I commented.

"Yes m'lord," she replied. She handed me a sheath, the stood up to ready herself. I demonstrated for a fascinated Arianna how to position and roll the sheath on. She wasn't watching as Eve undid the top of her dress to allow the breasts I so enjoyed to spill out, then lifted her skirts up to her hips. Thus Arianna gave a start when I started to move towards Eve and she saw her standing on one leg, the other already up on the table, holding up her skirts that I might reach her nether regions.

"And this is what it is for," I announced, as I gently pushed the sheath against the folds between Eve's thighs. She had not yet prepared for me, so I rubbed myself up and down against the folds to moisten them and soften their resistance. Presently I felt them give slightly, and pushed against them again. All at once the resistance was breached, and I was fully immersed in her womanhood.

Arianna's hands reflexively shot to cover her mouth in surprise. But she watched as I thrust myself in and out of the hidden space. Eve's breath started to get shallow as she responded to the pleasurable thrusts. Arianna may have thought it might hurt, but seeing Eve—who was now lying back on the table and holding her knees to create a wider opening for me—she could tell that it must have felt good.

I leisurely enjoyed Eve's familiar charms. But it suddenly was too much for Arianna; she gasped, grabbed her duster, and bolted out the door. Eve laughed as the door slammed closed. "She learned quite a lot at once," she said lightheartedly.

"And as always, you are an excellent teacher," I replied. I slowed my thrusting and leaned forward that I might kiss her. After a moment of tenderness, I straightened up and increased the pace while Eve closed her eyes, lay back and enjoyed the ride. I reached for one of her breasts, first tweaking the nipple, then rubbing it gently with my thumb. Eve opened her eyes and watched me with a knowing look; she knew that I enjoyed her breasts, but she really didn't understand why. Our eyes met; in her eyes I could see that she willingly, nay happily gave to me of herself for no reason other than it gave me pleasure. "Thou are truly a special woman," I said softly, reaching for her cheek instead of her breast. I touched it gently; her response seemed to reflect some internal happiness that my words had given her. I didn't know what love was like, but I thought it probably felt a lot like I did at that moment. I would have savored the moment longer, but the strong emotion triggered my physical peak as well. Burst by burst, I filled the sheath to overflowing with man-seed.

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For the next week Arianna said nothing to either of us about her "lesson." Eve and I continued our liaisons as before. Eve asked me if she should broach the subject; I told her "Give it time. She is not yet ready." But I certainly would never have predicted the circumstances under which that was to change.

I was in the yard scrimmaging with Jauffrey; I did not want to lose all of the fighting skills I had acquired in the Elite Guard. We were taking turns parrying and blocking when a commotion arose from the gates. "Sire, sire!" shouted one of the kitchen staff running up the hill, "there are strange soldiers trying to seize one of the staff!" What?

I followed him, still in my canvas practice clothes, to find three of my guards facing six unfamiliar soldiers. Their cuirasses bore the shield of Barcos. And in the midst of them, cuffed and struggling to get away, was Arianna.

"Move aside," one of them was saying, "this traitor is a vassal of the Count of Barcos. We have been sent to fetch her to stand trial."

"She is a member of this household, and she is not going anywhere without the Duke's permission," my guard answered. I wondered how they had allowed them to enter the castle in the first place, but I would deal with that later.

"I am warning you," the Barcosian leader returned, "if you do not allow us to return to the Count with our prisoner, it will be considered an act of war! We shall have no choice but to invade Averic!"

"You lie!" I boomed as I approached. "The Count of Barcos is too smart to start a border war on account of a single serf."

Their leader turned to me. He had no idea who I was, but I had seen through his ruse, and thus I was someone he would have to recon with.

"Who are you to accuse me of such things?" He demanded, pretending to be indignant.

"Prince Bonir, Duke of Averic," I replied, walking right up to him and getting in his face. "The Count understands that Averic has a superior army, and even if we did not he would not risk the deaths of scores of soldiers over a single serf." Close up, I could see him start to sweat. His corpulence was obvious even with his armor; I would bet my castle that he had never seen real battle in his lifetime. I had.

"Duke or no duke, you have impugned my honor!" he scoffed.

"Then defend it, you scoundrel," I challenged. I backed up a few steps and drew my sword.

He laughed nervously. "Right now? You don't even have any armor!"

"I won't need it against a worm like you," I sneered. Idiot guard only learned to fight in armor, I was sure. In the Elite Guard we practiced fighting with and without armor against enemies with and without armor. Armor provides protection, but at the cost of speed and mobility. Winning the battle depended on capitalizing on your strengths.

"As you like it," he replied overconfidently, drawing his sword.

"No!" Arianna screamed. "Don't do it, my lord. I'll go with them to Barcos..."

"Out of the question!" I replied, keeping my eyes steeled on the man who I had by now surmised to be the Captain of the Guard that had been hounding Arianna in her homeland. "No one, no matter how large an army, can just stroll into Averic and take our citizens captive!"

"She is not your citizen," the Captain interjected hopefully. "She is a citizen of Barcos!"

"She is not a citizen of Barcos," I returned, "because she has been granted asylum in the province of Averic on account of persecution in Barcos. And furthermore, she is in my personal employ!"

That was not what he wanted to hear. "I am warning you for the last time, failure to turn over the prisoner is an act of war, and I shall not hesitate to kill you if provoked!"

"Consider yourself provoked!" I challenged, clanging him on the back of the helmet with a sweep of my blade. I wasn't going to cut through the steel, so I had purposely struck it with the side, not edge of my blade for maximum effect. It must have been like having your head inside of church bell when it is rung.

He was angry now, and dropped his face shield into place. He took a look at my blade worriedly for a moment; aristocrats usually carried ornate swords that looked elegant but were useless for doing real work. My blade was plain, and showed the dull shine of a blade that was regularly oiled, while the Captain's own blade was starting to tarnish. But then he looked again at my sackcloth clothing, and his confidence returned. "Very well! You have attacked me, not the other way around!" He took two steps forward, judging where to strike me. If he actually killed me, it might make it difficult to get away. He merely wanted to injure me so that I would consent to letting them go. He decided to go for my thigh. He swung; I nimbly pivoted out of the way and, completing an arc, smacked the back of his breastplate loudly. He reeled forward slightly, but maintained his balance.

Whirling towards me again, I could see he was thinking now. This might not be so easy. He came towards me again with a might swing. I easily sidestepped it and crashed my sword into the top of his helmet. He was going to have quit a headache tomorrow.

Now he was furious—he was getting embarrassed here, as I intended. Now he swung to hit, with a crossing diagonal blow. I dodged again, but I underestimated his reach; the tip of his sword nicked me and cut a narrow gash through my clothes and into the front of my shoulder. I knew it was an inconsequential flesh wound, but it would bleed rapidly at first.

"Aha!" the captain cried triumphantly. "I shall give you one chance to reconsider before I kill you."

"Reconsider? Because of a scratch? My rose bushes have cut me worse." I replied.

Arianna yelled out again, "My lord, please, I shall go to Barcos. Do not get hurt on my account."

"I have no intention of getting hurt," I said out loudly, "and now I have blood to avenge."

The Captain came at me again, stupidly trying the same tactic again. As I darted away this time, I hit him hard enough to send him falling over face-first. He rolled over and stood back up, but the fat bastard was so slow I could have killed him five times over had I wanted to before he was back in a defensive position.

Like a bull seeing red, he made an ill-advised charge toward me with his sword overhead, intending to chop down. With a slight feint I diverted his blade. Then as he lurched forward off balance, I easily passed my sword under his helmet so my blade pressed lightly into his Adam's apple. He froze, knowing that with the slightest thrust I could finish him off.

"Yield or die," I said simply. He dropped his sword and slowly raised his hands. Keeping my blade at his neck, I bent over and picked his sword up.

"Very nice," I jeered, "another memento for my collection. Now, you and your men can either head straight back to Barcos, or I shall have my guards execute you on the spot. I shall count to three. One...two..." The other guards quickly looked at each other, unsure what to do without direct orders, but I was almost up to three. They all broke ranks and ran helter skelter out into the streets. The Captain, did not, not sure whether his fleeing would be misinterpreted and I kill him. I nodded towards the others, and he ran off to follow.

"The key!" I yelled after them. Not breaking stride, the Captain reached for a ring of keys at his side and dropped them to the ground.

I called to Jauffrey. "Follow them, and make sure they do not stop anywhere on their way out of Averic. If they do you have my permission to kill them." He saluted and took three men with him to fetch their horses.

I told one of the servants to run and fetch the keys and unbind Arianna, then I called for my scribe.

"Take a letter to the Count of Barcos," I said, and dictated

Dear Count:

This sword you will find belongs to one of your Captains of the Guard. I came into possession of it when said Captain invaded my castle and attempted to forcibly remove one of my staff, a former citizen of Barcos. He claimed to be acting on your behalf and threatened war should we not assent to his demands, but I knew that your lordship would not be so foolish as to provoke war over a single vassal.

You may wish to look into this matter further. I for one would not want to trust one such as this with the defense of Barcos from invaders.

Prince Bonir Duke of Averic

"Seal it," I ordered, "and send it along with this sword using our fastest courier." Then I headed back in to the castle to attend to my wounds.

After I removed my shirt and washed out the cut, I came out wrap it, only to find Arianna waiting for me with dressings in hand. "My lord," she said meekly, "I have come to bandage your wounds."

"Thank you," I replied, moving over the table where she had her bandaging laid out. I stood before her, lifting my arm slightly so she could wrap the bandaging around my shoulder.

She inhaled with alarm as she looked at the cut with concern, very gently touching the gaping cut. "It is not very deep," I told her, "it shall heal." She took a roll of cloth and began to wrap it around the cut with great care. I could see that she was feeling a personally responsible for my wound.

"So it seems I have met your Captain of the Guard," I remarked, "he seems determined to possess you. Little wonder you felt you had to escape from Barcos."

"My lord..." she asked, unsure if she should, "why did you risk yourself for me? You are the Duke, and I am but a simple servant."

"The people's responsibility is to serve their lord. The lord's responsibility is to protect his people," I explained kindly. "When I granted you political asylum I took on the responsibility for you just like any other citizen of the province. And what kind of protector would I be if I allowed foreign soldiers to walk in and seize one of the members of my very own castle staff?!" I touched her cheek gently with my other hand. "Even if it had not been you, lovely Arianna, I could not allow them to leave with one of my own." She had the wound well bandaged now, she was just wrapping around to hold it in place and use up the roll of cloth. Thus she was free to look up from her task and make eye contact with me. I could see a flood of emotions was dammed up behind them.

"But you weren't even wearing your armor!" she fretted.

"I knew I wouldn't need it," I said with a touch of pride. "I could tell I was the closest thing to an enemy that fat bastard had ever faced. I knew his reflexes would be slow; not wearing armor was thus actually an advantage. Before I was Duke, I was with the King's Elite Guard...did you know that?"

She shook her head no, and her eyes widened further with awe. I don't consider myself to be all that special, I was a competent knight who by chance became a Duke and tried to rule my province fairly and justly. But in her limited experience of the world, I must have seemed a men above other men, a super-man. A better man than I would have know she was vulnerable and avoided taking advantage of her. Me, my heart was racing at the possibility of bedding her.