Steal Away

Night falls in the kingdom of Caligo...

Sariel and Arakiel shone brightly that night. The intoxicating scent of the flowers and herbs in the palace gardens floated up to the balcony where Princess Lilias stood staring up at the vast night sky. Beneath her long diaphanous gown, her nipples hardened under the light caress of a balmy breeze. Long chestnut ringlets tumbled past her small shoulders as she pulled the jeweled pins from her chignon styled hair one by one.

At 18, the slim and beautiful Lilias was ripe for marriage and childbearing, according to Asreth, her maid and companion who, for some time now, pestered the King to find his daughter a worthy suitor. A few Princes had courted Lilias to the throne. Prince Reeve Gawn of Gattis was devastatingly handsome. But Lilias thought him arrogant and far too into himself. Prince Roule Timm hailed from Mays. A bright and inquisitive lad of 18, he'd ended up betrothed to the daughter of a Mayvan noble when Lilias turned him down. She had no use for men, though she wisely kept that opinion to herself. What good would it be to marry a man who'd try usurping her power the second she became Queen?

There'd been whispers, for weeks, about a peasant uprising. Lilias had seen men on the backs of equine Nale Kirna riding in and out of the city. There was a general tension and unusual activity near the gates at Falon, and she figured something would happen soon. Though she worried about the violence of an angry mob, she felt strangely giddy at the thought of her father's rule being challenged by the peasants who had been overworked and underfed for too long. Theirs was a luxury and opulence lived at the expense of others. But once her father passed and the throne was hers, she intended to usher a new era of peace and prosperity for all.

Lilias had heard of the legendary Joled Borin who was hailed by many as the Huntress, the Provider of the People. For many years, Joled lived as a recluse with a small group of followers. They'd rob the nobles and the wealthy; any who were foolish enough to enter the forest where she and her group lived. Lilias had heard that she lived alone somewhere deep in the forest. She was rarely seen by anyone, though her followers lived close by and protected her. She was respected and regarded as a local legendary figure. It was rumored by some that Joled was last spotted riding through the countryside on her Nale Kirna, Panik, recruiting men and women to join her group which, allegedly, grew bigger with each passing day.

Lilias shuddered with pleasure, for some strange reason, at the thought of this elusive recluse, the Huntress, who lived like a man in the forest. The Princess pictured Joled in a rough jerkin with stola and trousers. If she did indeed dress like a man, then her hair was likely cropped very short. As a huntress and forest dweller, she probably handled her bow and arrow with ease and wielded a sword as well as any soldier. The Princess marveled at the fate that had made this woman she'd never met her enemy. And she thought that if she'd been born in a cottage where the livestock shared space with their masters, she would've probably joined Joled in the forest.

Anyone with a working set of eyes could see that Princess Lilias was no ordinary beauty. She was slim and delicate with large, dark eyes and full, voluptuous lips. The lacings of her gown drew attention to the twin swells of her youthful breasts as she leaned forward and listened to the leaves rustling in the light breeze. The exuberant curve of her bottom was disguised, only slightly, by the trailing expanse of the skirt that covered it. There was no doubting that any elicit eyes that happened upon her in the city would have loved to see the round cheeks and slim waist cruelly laid bare at the whipping post in the square.

Sensing danger, Lilias strained to hear every sound coming from the grounds below. Too late, she stepped backward as an arm clutched the balcony side. This was quickly followed by the hardened, age and work-worn face of a woman who'd likely spent much of her time performing physical labor. The Princess gasped, throat straining not to scream. She turned to rush back to the safety of her bedchamber.

With amazing dexterity, the intruder launched herself feet first over the side of the balcony and seized the fleeing beauty by her wrist. Instinct pushed Lilias to resist, struggling desperately to get away, but the stranger wrapped her arm around her captive's waist and clamped a roughened hand over her mouth. Ugh! The hand smelled like dirt, sweat, and soot. "Quiet!" A clipped, curt voice hissed against the delicate shell of Lilias's ear. The Princess gasped when the arm that held her waist slid upward and the strong hand rudely closed over her breast as though it were a fruit in the market.

Before she could react, the Princess had been shoved into her chamber by a mannish looking woman in her mid to late 40's. Though she couldn't see her fully, Lilias knew already she'd be out of place amongst the ethereal silks and brocades of a royal bedchamber. Wrenching away from the woman's grip, she spun around to face the intruder. Lilias forced herself to look into the flinty dark eyes of her assailant. "I--I know who you are." She whispered. "Joled, the Huntress. I will not call the guards if you promise me no harm." The Princess's lips strained and her body tensed when she felt the cold metal of a blade against her throat.

"My Lady, alert your servants and they will find you dead." The woman hissed. "Trimaar. Silver and gold. I, and the people, demand it." Sensing that the Princess would keep quiet, Joled slackened the blade and backed off. Right away, Lilias noticed that the Huntress was tall and slender. Her hair, a dark chestnut, gleamed with signs of silver gray. It looked a little like the frost of an early morning kissed those short locks. Her fair skin was deeply etched with the lines of age. Her features were mannish, rough, yet oddly handsome.

As if driven by impulse, Joled bowed slowly and silently, trying to disguise her admiration as she muttered "My Lady." Lilias, unsure of what to do, turned away. She caught her reflection in a nearby mirror and saw with her the strong woman whose body seemed to exude such confidence that the night air almost crackled. A quick glance at the woman's nearly flat chest, covered by rough milled cloth, the Princess was intrigued. Still, she was determined not to surrender completely to a lawless peasant whose honor had not been tested.

With grace and restraint, Lilias went to her dressing table and produced a beautifully tooled box, covered in old hieratic and inlaid with sea glass of blue and dreamy seafoam green. The flickering light from the lamps in sconces around the wall lit up the silver and gold coins that came into view when the princess lifted the lid.

"The tax man comes to collect coin for a spoiled girl." The older woman sneered. "To become more beautiful, lazy, and foolish on the backs of good women and men!" Her eyelids narrowed while her gaze traveled slowly, deliberately from the hem of the young beauty's gown to the lovely twin swells of her breasts straining against the ethereal fabric. Lilias suspected the intruder's gaze to be insulting, and she felt herself growing hot with shame and excitement she tried hard to suppress.

Joled's hand reached out and touched the glimmering coinage, feeling the raised marks of Trimaar passed reluctantly as tribute to the taxman, grinning and laughing, no doubt, as he went about his duties. She hated the King and his family and all it stood for ever since her father, who worked as a gardner for the Duke of Corby, was hobbled for the high crime of leaving the Duke's land without permission. Dereliction of duty. But Joled's young brother, Tig, had fallen gravely ill with fever. Her father left only long enough to find the local Mendri skilled with the herbs to ease the boy's fever and pain. Thanks to the Mendri, Tig was cured and his fever passed. But for Joled, it was an injustice she'd never forgotten.

From her mother and aunts, Joled had heard of seductions and ravishments inflicted on defenseless maidservants by entitled nobles and courtiers. She had decided at a young age, a lifetime ago it seems, that the hard life of a commoner was not for her. Before she turned 17, Joled stole a Nale Kirna and set out to make her own way in the world. It was a way that sometimes included sharing the bed of a woman of easy virtue or the lonely wife of a tradesman or shop owner.

Never before had Joled had such close contact with a noble woman, and it made her uneasy in spite of herself. For a moment or two, she wondered whether she was truly born to serve women like Lilias, and the thought of it enraged her. What would become of her quick wit and confidence if she lost her heart to a haughty young Princess? Joled fought off her growing curiosity about Lilias.

The rough, middle-aged woman would not admit to herself why she wanted to see the unblemished flesh of the ripe young maiden before her exposed to the humiliations suffered by girls of the city and countryside trapped by the King's men. Joled grinned sardonically, and almost right away, Lilias realized that grin meant ill will.

"That cannot be all, my Lady, I'm sure." Joled muttered. "Surely a lady of your means has other treasures than these...perhaps on your person."

Lilias gasped in shock when she guessed Joled's intention. Three quick strides brought Joled to the door of the bedchamber which she quickly locked. She turned to Lilias, who gazed with quickly mounting dread at the handle of the blade that Joled carried in a sheath at her hip. The Princess knew it would be foolish to struggle against the Huntress. Deep down, however, the Princess had no desire to summon help if it meant endangering the woman known by all to be the Provider of the People.

The young beauty's cheeks flushed with shame, but she did not resist when Joled unlaced her gown and pulled it down her shoulders. "You will be thoroughly searched as countless women and young girls in the village and fields are stripped of their modesty when the lechers who call themselves their masters accuse them of dereliction or theft." Tears welled and wobbled in Lilias's eyes, blurring her vision, as the Huntress pulled the gossamer shift from the taut curves of her hips and backside before tearing at the garters of the stockings that covered her shapely slim legs. In the flickering lamplight, the young beauty stood there, trembling. The smoky glow cast shadows from the quivering tips of her nipples across her bare body. Many a noble suitor had wished to see what Joled saw.

Drawing Lilias close to her, Joled felt a pang of pity. "Dearest," she softly murmured, though a brusqueness still lingered in her voice. "This will be no worse than the touch of a lover. If you still have your maidenhead, I'll treat you gently."

The Princess struggled, and failed, to control her mounting distress. "You are no better than a drunken guard!" She hissed back. "What have I ever done to you or yours? I do not deserve such treatment! I've tried to give counsel to my father and his ministers--you do not understand! They dismiss my concern as those of a child while they turn their ears back to each other. I promise you that when my father has passed and I am Queen, I will bring justice to Caligo."

The Huntress was barely listening; too involved with handling the Princess's breasts. Her large, strong hands closed over the swells, massaging and squeezing the supple young flesh while the tips of her fingers grazed the small, pebbled areolas and hardened nipples. Joled felt a vague sort of respect for the young beauty she tormented. Lilias blinked back another onslaught of tears threatening to spill out and race down the sides of her lovely face. She locked her thighs together vainly, hoping to break the strange spell that Joled seemed to have cast on her.

Joled, touched by the girl's plea, knew that she owed the Princess satisfaction in any form she chose to take it. "I've come too far, my Lady, and I'm in too deep and will not let you go. But ask of me what you will." She muttered. As token of her humility, Joled stripped off her stola and jerkin, exposing a shockingly slim and toned body with small breasts to the beautiful Princess's curious gaze.

And Joled was shocked when, without a word, Lilias tugged at her trousers, practically tearing at them, while Joled struggled to unlace and step out of her leather shoes. No words were exchanged when the two of them went to the large curtain canopied bed. The bed itself was strange and beautiful, shaped vaguely like an open seashell and piled high with pillows and fine bedding worthy of a royal. Joled pulled the Princess towards her as their mouths met to share a deep, lingering kiss. Lilias sighed and parted her lips to admit the older woman's tongue. A lightning surge of tingling sensation rushed from the girl's mouth to her breasts and clitoris. The latter became turgid and throbbed almost painfully, causing the girl to moan into Joled's mouth as they kissed.

A voice deep in Joled's mind spoke to her, telling her that this coupling was providence and that somehow the Princess had always known whose promised bride she was. The Huntress was not often moved to wonder, or even to doubt, but the girl's trust in her was unlocking the older woman's heart.

A loud gasp escaped the Princess's lips when Joled's strong hand reached down between her slender legs. Her fingers brushed, caressed, and explored the soft patch of hair covering her young lover's mound. The fingers pressed on. The touch became more invasive and Lilias let out a whimper when she felt the intrusion of Joled's fingers opening her up, releasing a flood of wetness that flushed the poor girl's cheeks with shame and uncomfortable heat. "Unggh!" The girl moaned and forcefully exhaled while Joled played with her beautiful new toy. The mannish woman frigged the girl and teased her with slow, deliberate strokes intended to bring her frenzy to the crescendo she craved. As for Lilias, she felt lightheaded as her soulful dark eyes met her lover's admiring gaze. The Princess writhed and whimpered against the teasing, and Joled's name burst from her lips.

Where did that come from? It all happened so fast, it startled her.

In a cacophony of breathless cries and loud gasps, Lilias climaxed while she clung to the roughshod Joled for support. The girl had recently come of age, though it was clear her maidenhood was still intact. For one thing, the girl couldn't hide her nerves. She was unsure of herself and what to do. As for her sex, the girl was tight, making it difficult for the older woman's probing fingers to enter without offering soft words of encouragement and love. When the tremors subsided, Joled slowly withdrew her fingers, cupping her young lover's mound. "Something troubles you, my Lady." She said, noticing the look clouding the Princess's lovely features. "What is it? Have I hurt you in some way?"

"I--I'm no longer a maiden." Lilias whispered. There was a sad resignation to the whisper. "And no man, noble or otherwise, will marry me now."

"Well, not if I can prevent that." The older woman whispered back. "You are betrothed to me now that I've taken what's mine." A smile stretched across the Princess's lips. Joled stroked the girl's abundant swart locks as though comforting a daughter. "I will protect and keep you, dearest, always."

The Princess laughed and raised herself up on one elbow to gaze at the rugged face of her middle-aged lover. "Have you forgotten who I am?" She asked. And Joled was reminded that Lilias was accustomed to others serving her whims. "My dear Huntress, I could order you imprisoned and killed for treason. Do you honestly believe you could have seduced me if I had not wanted you?" Joled realized Lilias was surprisingly strong when the girl jerked out from underneath to straddle on top of her roughshod lover.

Joled was shocked though she was strangely willing to take commands from a girl who'd recently come of age. One day (perhaps sooner than later), the King would pass and Lilias would then become Queen. A delicious feeling overwhelmed her as the princess caressed her nude body. Confident and dainty hands, blessed by youth, caressed the woman's sides, breasts, and rigid, flat abdomen, exhilarating her. Oh, to be young again, she thought. And Princess Lilias made her feel like a wild teen!

Lilias's graceful fingers found the turgid button of flesh between Joled's slim muscled thighs. The roughshod woman's resistance melted as the Princess slid backwards across her body, lowering herself to the mattress. "My Lady, I--" Joled stopped abruptly, shocked to the core by the sight of this young beauty, this girl she thought naïve and innocent, as her head lowered slowly. She pressed her luscious, full lips against the dense dark thicket of pubic hair, matted from the woman's trousers. The kiss provoked a sharp gasp that pierced the otherwise quiet and smoky lamp lit night air like a lancet.

One kiss became two. Then two became more invasive, more...probing. The girl's tongue emerged to trace the middle-aged woman's hairy cleft, pungent with earthy female arousal. Lilias heard another gasp and a low, sultry moan. Her inexperience made her somewhat awkward, but the girl was determined to prove herself to her much older lover. She'd heard the whispers of chambermaids and courtesans. She once caught glimpses of a bawdy text. It was the fragment of a treatise on Pleasures of the Secret Garden. It was a text fragment belonging to the king's brother, the Duke of Corby. She knew, alright. Right now she was guessing, but she had an idea if the delighted gasps and moans she heard were anything to go by.

The beautiful girl's tongue performed an ethereal dance to the tune of Joled's gasps and whimpers. She breathed deeply the heady, pungent musk filling her nostrils. She found the smell intriguing. The taste, a little strange though, was not unpleasant. Lilias felt the flood of salt tang rush over her tongue. She found the clitoris again, affecting swirls and arabesques around it while the older woman shuddered and groaned. The dance was just getting good when Joled announced her surrender by crying out into a large silk pillow she'd hastily grabbed to muffle the sound.

Seconds later, the Princess drew back. She joined her lover at her side, grinning through the wetness that shined her mouth and lower face. "We're even now." She teased the older woman. Joled's mouth strained taut against her face, and the lines crinkling around her mouth and eyes seemed deeper. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to slap the spoiled little brat for her impudence or hold her and nuzzle her pert little tits. She'd never been beaten by an enemy of either sex. Joled told herself she'd given the willful Princess her way because she didn't want to break her spirit. But time had come to show her who ruled Caligo beyond the palace and beyond the walls of the city Falon.

Joled had another idea. She looked around the bedchamber, searching for a suitable object to carry out her plan. On the large dressing table she saw a brush, comb, and mirror. All glimmered softly in the dancing lamp light. They gleamed and tantalized, but her eyes were drawn, instead, to another brush of smooth dark wood. Wanting a closer look, the Huntress nimbly slid out of bed and went across the room to the dressing table. She picked up the wooden brush and turned it over. The bristles were clean and the back was deeply carved with flowers, leaves, and snaking vines. The handle was smooth, slim and graceful. This was what she wanted. She returned to the bed and her young lover's side.

"My Lady," She said brusquely as she seized the Princess and ordered the girl on her hands and knees, "I'm not through with my search. Your body is mine to explore at will." Lilias struggled to see what Joled had in her hand, but she quickly found out. The Huntress gave her captive's pert little ass a resounding swat with the back of the brush that excited them both. "Be still and be quiet, you little brat!" Joled tersely commanded.