Strange Bedfellows Ch. 02

She scowled at him, then turned and walked to the desk. She bent over slightly, placing her hands on the edge of the desk.

"I'm ready." She announced, and then she braced herself for the first impact... which didn't come.

"Rules are rules Katia, and these punishments are always done on bare skin." He said softly, almost remorsefully.

She glanced back at him, which he apparently hadn't been expecting. For the briefest moment, she saw pain on his face. His face was resolute, but in his eyes displayed both sympathy and pain. His face hardened up again the moment she saw it though. She assumed he must be putting on a brave face, but this was clearly painful for him.

Why?

"Lean over the desk and pull your dress up." He instructed. She had listened closely and almost heard the faintest trace of a crack in his voice.

Could that be for her?

She pushed it out of her head. She didn't care because he was the enemy. He was invading her father's lands and making war on him and his people; her people. He had already forced her to couple with him once, and he would do so again. She didn't care if this hurt him. In fact, she hoped it did.

She leaned over the desk and without ceremony pulled the lower half of her dress up to expose her butt.

"Do your worst." She said coldly.

"On you, never." He replied softly; almost kindly.

SWISH! SLAP!

She howled in pain.

It felt like the fires of Saidow's Lair were burning on her butt. She forced herself not to try to stop him, but instead pulled the front of her dress up and stuffed a wad of fabric into her mouth. She was not going to give in; she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She was going to remain reserved as a true princess should.

SWISH! SLAP!

She hissed into the fabric of her dress as she bit down for all she was worth. And this was only the second one.

That's when she realized something.

She could feel a strange heat building in her loins; an itch forming in her nether regions. He was treating her like a misbehaving child and literally spanking her... and a tiny part of her liked it.

She had thought that the first time he'd taken her in that field had been bad. She had thought that was the most humiliated that she could ever be, laying on all fours and being taken like a dog in heat. Some part of her had enjoyed it, but she had pushed that out of her mind. Now she felt even more exposed. Now she felt even more ashamed.

Now she felt even more--

SWISH! SLAP!

She hissed into the dress again as the pain coursed through her butt, but somehow seemed to end as a pulse in her nether regions.

* * *

Kalus took his tenth measured swing with the crop and watched his darling wife flinch. He hated that. The last thing on earth that he wanted right now was to see her in pain. He swung lightly enough that his strokes wouldn't leave a mark, but she was clearly in pain.

Then she moaned.

Oddly it didn't seem to be a moan of pain, or at least not entirely one.

He frowned.

He had been careful to avoid her slit as it would be not only painful but also possibly damaging. As he glanced, he saw the last thing he ever expected to see.

She was literally dripping wet.

Her slit was glistening with moisture and a small bead had begun to slowly droop earthward as the weight of her juices became too much to stay attached to her slit. He had no idea how this was happening. He had no idea a woman could become that wet that fast. He didn't understand how she could be; not while he was doing this.

Remembering that he still had ten strokes to go, he carefully measured them out. She flinched each time a stroke fell, but there was also an undeniable wiggle of her hips afterward, the subtle exhale of breath, and the moans she seemed to be suppressing.

How?

Why?

"Twenty." He announced as he finished.

She didn't move.

She just lay there panting, but he couldn't tell from what.

* * *

Shara had never been more confused in her entire life. Her butt still hurt like Saidow's lair, but just below that her slit felt incredibly empty and ached to be filled. No, 'ached' wasn't a strong enough word. It yearned, itcraved to be filled; it almostneeded to be filled. She had never hated Kalus more than at this moment, yet she wanted to feel him inside of her more than anything.

Then she became aware of the sensation of cold air on her slit and realized it was moist. No, not moist; dripping. She could feel a single bead of wetness slowly, tortuously making its way down her thigh.

Suddenly her cheeks felt hot.

She couldn't be getting wet after being spanked. No, no that wasn't possible... was it? Too embarrassed to move, she continued to lay over the desk, incredibly aware that her wet slit was not only exposed to him, but it was also probably engorged and thus open slightly, displaying herself to him even more.

She hated that and it made her feel... naughty. What kind of princess leaves her most intimate parts exposed like that? She felt incredibly ashamed, but a tiny part of her loved it. That part of her loved being on display for Kalus's eyes. It loved that he must've spent the last ten seconds staring at her exposed slit. It was the same part that yearned to have that slit filled by him.

"Katia, it's getting late and since we have finished dinner, we should retire soon."

She nodded mutely, too confused to give much of a reply.

"However, there is one thing we should do first." He said heavily.

It took her a moment to realize what he meant, and her rational brain sprang into action when she did. She kept her body still as she whipped her head around, disbelief on her face.

"You can't mean..." She glanced down and her exposed butt. She was at the perfect height and angle for him to enter her.

"I do mean." He replied heavily.

"But you just--" Her words died on her lips as she realized she couldn't admit out loud what he'd just done to her... or how much that tiny part of her had loved it.

Kalus hesitated a moment, then inclined his head in concession. "Perhaps we could forgo coupling this night, but remember Tyso's threat. You must be carrying my child by the year's end and we have precious little time to waste."

"I might already be with child." She said hopefully, then shuddered at the thought. "I last bled over a week before the castle was attacked. I am likely fertile now and perhaps yesterday was enough."

He frowned.

"That makes it more important not less, as you might conceive now if you didn't yesterday." He replied. "I shall let you choose, yet remember the king's threat. We have only this month and possibly the next for your conception, after that..." He shook his head. "I think not of myself, for I don't much enjoy coupling without a willing partner; I am thinking only of your welfare."

She felt her indignation rise, but the stinging on her butt helped prevent a biting retort. It rose even higher when she realized that she couldn't fight his logic. For a moment, her hatred of him blistered still higher, then she remembered the likely outcome of him not impregnating her. She didn't want the enemy's baby inside of her. She was sure she would love their child dearly if she did conceive -- what mother wouldn't -- but she didn't want it to be his child. She didn't want to bear the child of an enemy.

"Just get it over with quickly." She said in as biting a tone as she thought she could get away with.

He raised an eyebrow, glanced at her butt, then back at her and shook his head slightly.

She fumed for a moment before getting herself under control. "Please get it over with quickly." She finally said, doing everything she could to keep her tone even.

"I will." He said.

She looked away as he reached down towards his trousers. He must've already been hard and ready because mere seconds later she felt the sensation she'd been craving. She suppressed a moan of pleasure as his enormous cock slid inside of her. She loved the sensation of--

She stopped that thought cold.

No, she hated it.

She hated the exquisite feeling of her inner walls being repeatedly filled. She hated the heat that was starting to build in her core; the desire that was... She closed her eyes and again retreated into imagining it wasn't her. She imagined that she hadn't just been spanked by her husband and he wasn't trying to impregnate her now.

She imagined that was someone else.

As in her dream this morning and yesterday in the field, she imagined he was taking some beautiful blonde girl instead of her. Another wife who was more beautiful than her, more accommodating than her, more sexual than she was. Someone who would so completely take his attention from her that he would all but ignore her.

She -- no, the blonde girl -- stifled another moan as she felt the heat in her core start to build. She could feel the blonde girl's nether regions nearly singing praises to the Great God Illuminar for the sensations coursing through her body.

Shara did everything possible to block out the sensations and imagine that her husband wasn't taking her, but a second wife. A young, beautiful blonde girl that was unlike her and possessed a sexual appetite that would completely satisfy Kalus -- and then some -- so he wouldn't need to bother her at all.

The feeling was continuing to build, even stronger than it had been the previous day. She -- no, the blonde -- relished the sensation. She loved it; adored it. It made her feel wonderfully sexy and the blonde started moving her hips slightly in time with his thrusts to increase her pleasure.

Kalus groaned and then pushed himself deep inside of her.

Shara could feel the sensation reach near an apex, but Kalus had stopped thrusting and the sensation paused right before its peak. She felt a warmth burst inside of her and a moment later he pulled out, leaving her feeling bereft.

"It is done." He said.

Shara couldn't move.

Shame flooded her as she realized that she was disappointed that he had stopped. No amount of pretending about the blonde woman could hide that fact from herself.

* * *

Kalus regarded his very confusing wife for several long moments. Just before he had finished, she had definitely started thrusting backwards at him slightly, just as she had the day before. The woman clearly hated him, but also was clearly very easily stimulated. He shook his head slightly; she would've been a wonderful wife if the King hadn't forced him into marriage.

Katia didn't move.

She laid over the desk with her naked lower half exposed to him and breathing heavily, though from what he couldn't be sure. It could've been arousal, but it also could've been suppressed anger.

As he considered her, he noticed his cum start to slowly leak out of her. It would be lying to say that he didn't find the sight highly erotic. Yesterday aside, he hadn't taken a woman in a long time, not since fully dedicating his life to Illuminar and deciding to follow his standards.

Finally, Katia stood up, fixed her dress, and then looked at him. There was a cold fury behind her eyes, but also definitely some confusion.

"I'm going to bed." She said in a determinedly calm voice.

"I am also." He replied.

The line of her mouth became tight and her eyes hard, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she walked to the bed and made to sit down on it. However, she winced in pain as her butt touched the bed. She grimaced and then turned so she was laying on her front.

Kalus lay down in the small bed next to her. She scooted away from him as far as she could, which wasn't far. The bed was wide enough for two to lay without touching, but they would be close to each other. Thus, she couldn't get that far away from him.

She pointedly turned her head to face away from him.

He lay there thinking about the incredibly bright woman next to him. She was also beautiful, sexually responsive, kind when she wasn't scared, insightful, and charming with a sharp wit; at least when she wanted to be. Katia was perhaps everything he wanted in a woman, except willing of course. Until she'd suddenly changed moods when she'd woken up the previous morning, she had been among the most pleasant of women he'd encountered for a very long time.

Now she was his wife, and whether she liked it or not, she was tied to him for the rest of their lives. He smiled slightly, figuring that she might eventually come to tolerate him, perhaps even like him.

"Katia." He whispered.

"What." It wasn't a question, and she wasn't looking at him.

"I love you Katia, and will always seek what's best for you."

She did nothing for a moment, then turned to look at him. She gave him a hard stare for several seconds, then spoke in a very neutral yet respectful tone. "I hate you Kalus, and I hope you die. Soon."

Then she turned her head away again.

"That is your right, but it changes nothing that I said." He replied gently.

She turned her head to look at him again, a confused expression on her face. She stared at him with her head cocked to one side for several seconds, opened her mouth to speak, hesitated for a moment, then closed it and turned her head away again.

After about ten minutes, Katia's breathing began to change as she fell asleep. About five minutes after that, she adjusted in her sleep so she was much closer to him. Barely a minute later and still clearly asleep, she curled up into his side, her head resting on his chest and arm laying across his torso. Her long, slender legs curled up against his moments later and she let out a contented sigh.

She was snuggling up to him in her sleep.

He smiled.

Perhaps there was hope.

* * *

Shara was fuming. Not only had she woken up that morning actually snuggled up tothat man, but he had been watching her and gave her an amused smile. She shuddered. Her butt was still slightly sore and the moment she realized she was touching him she'd nearly jumped out of the bed.

He just kept smiling in amusement.

She wanted to throw something at him, but the slight ache in her butt made her think twice about doing so. She certainly didn't want to go through that again. Now she was about fifty yards from his tent, pacing furiously near a small stream that the army had camped next to the previous night. It was still early and the sun wouldn't rise for a little while yet, though there was plenty of light to see.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked.

Shara turned to see a woman who was washing some clothes by the side of the stream. Something about her had a calming effect on the frustrated princess. It wasn't so much how she looked, but there was something about her. She was just one of those people who it was hard to be upset around.

She looked to be around Shara's age, but something about her eyes and demeanor made her seem much older. She had that 'timeless' look that elves often had, though she didn't have pointed ears so she wasn't an elf. Her clothes were white and very clean, and her hair was so light that it looked almost white.

"I'm..." She huffed, then felt her throat get tight, and flopped down on the grass by the bank of the creek. "I'm..."

"Yes, I can see that." The woman smiled. She set her laundry down, slipped off her shoes, hiked up her dress, and crossed the shallow creek to sit beside Shara. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." She sighed. "Okay, not everything, just everything that's important."

"Such as?"

"The war." She felt a stone under her, pulled it out, and tossed it into the creek. "My marriage, my future, the kingdom; take your pick."

"Well, it's a lot easier to improve your marriage than the war; let's start with that." The woman said, then added. "My name is Gabriella, what's yours?"

"Sh-- uh, Katia." The princess said, internally grimacing at her near slip-up.

"Well Katia, what's wrong in your marriage?"

"It might take some time to explain."

Gabriella looked at her laundry. "Fortunately, it'll still be dirty in 'some time'." She winked.

Shara gave her the short version with mostly just the highlights, and she didn't reveal that she was a princess of course. She couldn't think of a good reason not to give a short version, and it was nice to have someone to talk to. Well, someone who wasn't Kalus anyway.

"So now my butt hurts and we have to do... dothat every night until I'm carrying his child." She shuddered.

"I don't envy the position either of you is in." Gabriella said kindly. "But is it truly so bad? He seems to truly care for you, even if he doesn't show it in the usual way."

She didn't reply, mostly because she didn't know what to say. There was a real sense where the woman wasn't wrong. It didn't make her any less angry with her husband, but she wasn't wrong.

"I just wish..."

"Wish what?" Gabriella prompted gently.

"I wish things would get better." Shara tucked up her legs and wrapped her arms around them as she sat there staring at the creek. "I don't only mean with my marriage, but with everything. I wish there was someone out there who could fix all of this, you know? Someone who could bring the war to an end, someone who could fix my marriage, and maybe someone who could kick King Tyso in the..." She hesitated, her mother's etiquette lessons making her moderate her language somewhat. "...in the family jewels."

Gabriella laughed.

She had a wonderfully musical and melodic laugh that almost made the princess smile.

"I just want to meet someone who can help bring all this awfulness to an end." Shara continued. "Someone who could make this war go away and make it so that Timarou and Har'peton will never wage war against each other ever again. Someone who could help this country get better because I know things were far from perfect, even before we were invaded. And maybe someone who could help me to feel less lonely."

Shara felt her throat get tight. She hadn't realized it until just now, but she was indeed lonely.

"That's rather a lot to ask of a single person." Gabriella pointed out.

"I know." Shara sighed. "And I know such a person couldn't exist."

"Are you so certain?"

Shara nodded as she looked at the woman.

Gabriella got a strange sort of smile on her face, as if she knew something that Shara didn't. "Are you always so certain about things?" The woman challenged playfully.

Shara shrugged; that's just the way things were.

"Katia?" A masculine voice said from behind her.

She scowled, but kept her tone neutral. "What?"

"We will break camp soon and I must ensure you are ready." Kalus said.

She sighed, then stood.

She could see Kyselius behind him. She guessed that Kalus had assigned the herald to watch her to ensure that no one troubled her while she was away from her husband.

Beside her, Gabriella stood as well. When the woman turned to face Kalus, he did a double-take.

"You." His mouth opened slightly. He glanced back toward Shara's castle, then back at the woman. "Do you have a sister -- perhaps a twin -- who works as a servant in the castle?"

"Why do you ask?" Gabriella replied.

"Because a woman who looks just like you was the one who led me to Shara's room before the soldiers that arrived before me could harm the women. Was that your sister? Or perhaps another close relative?"

"Something like that." She smiled. "If I might continue that tradition of helping, I noticed that you were riding a mule when you made camp yesterday while Katia -- who I assume is your wife -- was riding a war horse, probably yours?"

"Correct on both counts." Kalus replied.

"You both seem ill-suited to your mounts." Gabriella said with unconcealed amusement. "However, four days journey from here, just before the great forest, you'll find an excellent ranch just two miles south of the main road. They breed some of the finest horses in the whole kingdom. The lady here--" Gabriella indicated to Shara. "--would as much benefit from a horse suited to her stature as you would from not being forced to ride a mule."