The Blood Pact Ch. 18

The seamstress took more measurements of me than I would have thought any single body could possibly have and I selected a few designs from her sketchbook which I figured wouldn't look too bad on me. Bakoro was still faithfully guarding the front door by the time we finished so I slipped out the back and was finally able to leave him behind.

However, I now had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. As the sun crawled toward the horizon, I wandered aimlessly through the outskirts of the city and the orchards to the west of the palace hill. The shadows were growing long by the time I found myself passing through the stable entrance on the back side of the palace.

The smell of horses and straw brought a bittersweet smile to my face. Those had been simpler times when I'd been working here as a Mathis. Though it had only been a few days past, it felt more like years.

"May I help you, m'lady?"

I turned with something of a start. It was Ramzi. There were a few more of the groom's helpers out in the yard exercising the horses but no sign of my other old roommate.

"Is Griffith around?" I said. Maybe he and Ramzi would still be willing to share a few drinks with me like they had on the night of the festival. Baroness or simple serving girl, I'm sure it would make no difference to those two.

Ramzi's eyes, however, grew dark. "No m'lady. He was killed in the fighting."

"What?" That couldn't be possible. Griffith had always been so strong and steady. Nothing had ever hurt him. He couldn't be dead. "How did it happen?"

"He went with the soldiers to aid in the defense of the palace." Ramzi shook his head with inner guilt. "I told him not to, but he wanted to help. They say he was cut down before he even got a chance to fight."

That bastard had always had more guts than brains.

"Is there anything I can do for you m'lady?" Ramzi asked.

I pulled myself out of my musings and did the best I could to swallow the lump in my throat. "I'd like a horse."

"Do you know how to ride?"

"Would I be asking for a horse if I didn't!"

As Ramzi cringed, I instantly felt worse for having yelled. I'd been having a rough day, but that was no reason to take it out on the servants. Besides, how many nobles had we seen asking for mounts who had never been on a horse before?

"We have several docile mares which I think would be to m'lady's liking," Ramzi said as he shuffled off toward those animals he'd mentions. I, however, had a different idea of what I was looking for.

"Bring me Diamondhead."

"M'lady?" Ramzi stopped and faced me with wide eyes. "He's a wild one, Diamondhead is. Not even the grooms have ever had much luck riding him. Mathis was the only one he ever really put up with, but no one rightly knows what's become of him."

Diamondhead HAD always been one of my favorites. "Just bring him."

"As m'lady wishes."

As Ramzi went to get the horse, I procured a saddle. However, that presented something of a dilemma all its own. Wearing a dress as I was, a sidesaddle would be best, but I'd only ever used one of those once -- and that was as a bet with Griffith that I couldn't run the entire steeplechase course without falling off. I won the wager, but not without a few close calls. Regardless, it still seemed like a better choice than making a fool of myself by trying to mount Diamondhead in a dress.

Perhaps I should have requested a riding ensemble from the seamstress, in addition to all the other things I'd ordered. A dress with divided skirts would certainly be a handy thing to have. Or maybe even trousers. Some women occasionally wore them, even if most men looked down on them for doing so, but surely as a baroness I could be allowed a few eccentricities.

Heaving the saddle from its stand, I shouldn't have been suppressed to find it was heavier then I remembered it. I used to be able to carry one of those in just one hand. Now I had to wrap both arms around it and waddle along precariously. I'd be lucky if I could even reach high enough to get it on the horse's back.

"Please, m'lady!" Ramzi exclaimed. Having returned with Diamondhead, he left the horse tied off to a post and rushed over to effortlessly take the saddle from me. "I can do that."

Hadn't I also hated it when a noble wouldn't let me do my own job? Grudgingly, I backed away and let him do his. As he got the saddle on with a practiced precision I too used to possess, I offered Diamondhead a carrot. Though skittish at first, he readily nuzzled into me just like he used to.

"There you are m'lady," Ramzi said, offering me a stepping stool to get into the saddle. Unfortunately, it looked as if I was going to need it. Diamondhead was a colossal mount, sizable even to a burly groom. Just one tap of his hoof would smash my skull into a jelly. Muscles rippled beneath his skin as he fidgeted, no doubt unsure of what this frilly little thing climbing onto his back was.

Getting into the saddle was a little more difficult than it used to be. The sidesaddle wasn't exactly what I was used to either -- nor was Diamondhead. He continued prancing about and I held on for dear life as I stroked his neck and whispered in his ear. Ramzi held the lead and looked on in terror -- it would likely be his ass on the line if I went and got myself killed trying to ride such a spirited animal.

However, Diamondhead settled down fast enough -- at least as much as he ever did. Still tapping his hooves anxiously, he wanted to run.

"I've never seen him take to anyone that quickly, m'lady."

If only he knew the truth.

I urged Diamondhead on and the horse willingly blew out of the stables. We charged through the gate and down the back lane, leaving Ramzi staring in bewilderment. Even though he was probably fearing for his life, I also knew well enough a stable hand's pleasure at seeing a skilled rider in the saddle of one of our finest horses.

Into the countryside beyond the palace grounds me and Diamondhead ran. I let him go as fast as he liked, which was quite fast indeed. In the past, the freedom I found in the saddle had always brought a deep sense of calm to me. As the trees of the greenwood raced past on either side, the world blurred into an indistinct haze. The only thing which mattered was me and the horse upon which I rode.

But today it was unable to purge all the gloomy thoughts from my head. If nothing else, the feel of my hair streaming out behind me and the unfamiliar quivering of my breasts should have been quite arousing, but my churning mind would let me have even a moment's peace.

We rode deep into the forest, trotting down old lanes I'd seldom seen. We stopped at a pond nestled in amongst the trees and overlooked by a royal hunting cabin built of stone and timber. A small palace unto itself, it hadn't been used in many a year and was starting to show signs of neglect. It was quite a picturesque scene, but even that wasn't enough to rouse me from my melancholy.

I allowed Diamondhead to wonder for a time, hoping that he might lead me to some unexpected solution to my troubles. All he found was a wild apple tree, filled with tiny, worm-ridden apples. By the time the sun was starting to paint the western sky in blazing shades of red and orange and pink, I was no closer to understanding than I'd been before starting out.

Heading back to the palace, we raced along the main road at full tilt. Ahead, a carriage with lacquered panels and gold trim was bearing for the palace as well but at a much slower pace. I drew every last bit of speed I could from Diamondhead and coxed him on even a little harder besides. The carriage loomed before us for a brief moment and then disappeared behind us in a flash. I used to love doing things like that. Now it was a hollow experience, devoid of even the smallest thrill.

Upon my return to the stables, Ramzi was on hand to take Diamondhead's saddle, though I insisted I at least be allowed to brush down my trusty mount. He relented without argument, likely chalking it up to some stupid female sentimentality.

As I stroked the horse's coarse hair with the brush, I heard that same carriage I'd passed on the road pulling into the cobbled courtyard outside. A few brief words were exchanged between the occupants and the other grooms and then I heard a pair of footsteps enter the stables.

"You ride that horse like a man," one of the two, a woman, said.

Even though they were out of sight on the other side of the Diamondhead, there was no doubt she was addressing me. And I'd had just about enough of everyone's bullshit for one day. Storming around the horse, I cried, "And what damn difference does it make how I ride my horse!"

The moment I laid eyes on the couple, I came to an abrupt stop and my blood ran cold. That was the Marquis and Marquise of Jalifria. Highly placed members of the former king's court, they had not supported King Rosenthall before the coup, but had still found a way to survive the transition of power without losing too much of their former status. The Marquise was clearly of Calagearan descent; a tall woman, broad of shoulder, with a strong face and blond hair so pale it was nearly white. Her husband, with his olive skin and wavy black hair, was classic Vitrelayan through and through. The pair of them were in their late thirties at most but had already lived and prospered through so many upheavals that stories of their political endurance had taken on the gloss of legend. No doubt the means by which they'd navigated this most recent coup would soon being joining those other tales shortly.

My gaze fell to the ground and I dropped into a hasty curtsy, urgency making it look almost natural. In that moment, I felt just like a groveling servant once again. "My sincerest apologies m'lady. M'lord. I had no idea who you were."

"And that's the problem, you trumped-up hussy!" the Marquis said. "You should never speak if you do not know the situation."

He sounded like he might run me through on the spot. So much for a comfortable life as a baroness.

Oh, what was I thinking? Things like that hadn't happened for hundreds of years. He might have me reprimanded; flogged; perhaps stripped of my newly-earned title; but even the king couldn't legally have me killed for a simple transgression like this.

"Pl-please," I said, my voice quivering without any attempt on my part to make it do so. "I am truly sorry. I meant no offence."

"You see?" the Marquis said, turning to his wife. "This is exactly what I was talking about. That tyrant's no better than the last one, but he's been handing out titles like they were candy on the winter solstice. At this rate he's going to make a mockery of the entire nobility. When a scullery maid becomes a baroness overnight, you know something is dreadfully wrong."

Scullery maid? I gripped the brush so hard the bristles pierced my palm and drew blood. I had to keep my head bowed so that they couldn't see my clenched teeth. If he kept up like this much longer, I was going to earn a spot at the gallows for certain.

"I offered you my apologies," I said. "What more do you want?"

The Marquis took a step forward, opening his mouth to reprimand me for my harsh tone, but his wife stopped him with but a gentle touch on the arm. He looked at her, then me. Without another word spoken, they turned and left through the entrance to noble's wing.

Only once they were gone was I was able to look up again. Stupid bastard nobles. I tossed the brush against the wall so hard several pitchforks were knocked off their rack. Diamondhead reared up against his lead with a frightened whiny. Having no interest in crossing paths with those two bloody pompous twits again, I stalked out through one of the other doors which lead down into the lower basements.

I might have been little more than a "trumped-up hussy," but what right did they have to talk to me, or anyone else, like that? They were nothing but a pair of spineless opportunists who'd forsaken all their allegiances to the old king just to save their own necks.

In my anger, I turned a corner and nearly ran right into Ramzi who was heading the other way.

"Oh, I'm sorry, m'lady. My apologies." He started to move out of my way but then tipped his head to the side as he looked at me curiously. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course it is!"

Why couldn't that brainless simpleton know enough to leave his betters alone? I dropped one of my small fists onto his chest with all the force I could muster. Seeing him unmoved in the least by my best blow, I hit him again. And again. And again.

I didn't know why; angry at my lack of strength or my pitiful condition, perhaps. I certainly wasn't upset with anything Ramzi had actually done. He'd merely asked about me out of concern but now he was having to stand there and take my pitiful assault. After a short time, he took hold of my wrists, no doubt to keep me from hurting myself rather than to save his own body from any injury.

"Please, m'lady," he said, holding me fast as I struggled to break free. "If there's anything I can do to help, I will, but --"

He stopped abruptly when I leant in and kissed him hungrily, desperately. I didn't know why I did that either. He'd been a good friend, but I'd never harbored any feelings for him, either before or after becoming Stephanie. In that moment, he was simply a man who had exactly what I needed to forget about all the plots, the double dealings, the veiled lies, and all the other horridness my life had become filled with.

He stood frozen. I might as well have been mashing my lips against a wooden mannequin for how receptive he was at first. But then he quickly overcame his shock and kissed me back with equal and even greater fury. He released my arms and I stroked his chest as his hands ran over my back. I reached between his legs to feel his stiffening cock and he grabbed my ass.

Still kissing and groping each other's bodies, we stumbled backward into one of the storerooms that opened off of that lower hallway. It was only when I tore open his shirt that he realized what it was he was doing. Holding me at arm's length, he gasped for breath even as I tried to kiss him once more.

"Please, Lady Stephanie, I don't think this is appropriate."

"Just do as I say," I snarled. "I'm a baroness and I'm ordering you to fuck me!"

His raging masculine drive would probably not have allowed him to resist for long even without my order. Abandoning all good judgment, he fell upon me and we tumbled into a pile of empty feed sacks.

Landing on top, I straddled his waist and ripped the front of his trousers open. His cock was already hard with desire. I took hold of it in my small feminine hand and shifted my skirts out of the way to expose my pussy. A low moan filled the tiny room as I lowered my hips and pressed his cock up into me.

I placed my hands on his chest as I rocked my hips over his, driving his cock deeper. His hands rested on my wide hips, helping to guide my rhythm. I arched my back and dug my fingertips into his skin. My breasts shook within the confines of my dress. I ground my tingling clitoris down against his hips with each thrust.

But no matter what I did, the world wasn't melting away in a veil of mindless bliss like it had before. I threw back my head and groaned, trying to force myself toward climax.

"I thought I told you to fuck me!" I said, knocking Ramzi on the chest with my fist.

His expression turned hateful for a moment but then he reared up and lifted me off of him, his cock sliding smoothly out of my wet cunt. I felt hollow and empty without it inside me.

Roughly, he threw me down on my hands and knees. One hand on the back of my neck, he drove my face down into the empty sacks while leaving my ass thrust skyward. With my pussy spread open from behind like that, just waiting for him to do whatever he wanted with it, I felt more vulnerable than ever.

Once again he sank his cock into my pussy. Taking me from behind, he hit all different places within me. Surely, this would have to do it for me. After a few quick thrusts to get started, he removed his hand from my neck and grabbed my hips, pulling me back against his cock with each drive forward.

"Harder!" I said.

He ground his teeth in frustration and pounded his cock into me. I moaned and whimpered and howled for more. The minutes sped by as the sweat dripped from our bodies and soaked our clothes. I was desperate to feel that same freedom I'd found last night, but it remained elusive.

"Ugh, I'm gonna cum," Ramzi moaned after what must have been a Herculean effort on his part to have held back for as long as he already had.

"Not yet!"

It was already too late. With three shuddering plunges, he emptied himself into me. But then he suddenly froze with his cock still buried deep in my pussy.

"Don't stop now!" Maybe he'd stay hard long enough to finish me off as well.

I looked back at him, but his eyes were fixed on the doorway. I followed his gaze and instantly saw the reason for his concern. Standing out in the hall, stopped in mid-stride, were two more men from the stables I remembered well, Nathan and Geoff. From the wide-eyed expressions they wore, they must have been just as surprised to find me and Ramzi like that, as we were to see them watching us.

My face burned red with shame but I still wanted more. Ramzi obviously wasn't enough to satisfy me. Maybe these two could.

"Both of you," I said. "If you're just going to stand there staring, you might as well join us."

They looked at each other dubiously before smiling in disbelief and stepping into the storeroom. Both of them came close and began unfastening their belts hesitantly, as if they still weren't sure this was really happening. Nathan was closest so I reared up and lunged at him, feeling Ramzi's cock slip out of me with a gooey squish. He collapsed onto his back, panting as if he'd just run a marathon.

I pushed Nathan's hands out of the way and opened his pants for him. His musk filled my nostrils and I could taste the sweat of his day's labors on his cock. It wasn't nearly as big as Lord Ruvano's but it fit nicely in my mouth, quickly hardening to its full size.

Geoff's was shorter still but quite wide at the base and tapering smoothly to a pointed tip which was already standing nearly straight up in the air. I devoured it, inciting a delighted chuckle from the owner as I continued stroking Nathan with my hand.

I went back and forth between them, sucking on one while I stroked the other. I was at it for some minutes when Nathan suddenly tensed. His cock head grew even more rigid and swollen as it emptied his load into my mouth. I suckled at the head like a nursing child, slurping down every last drop of his sticky cum.

Ramzi had gotten up to his knees by then and looked as if he was planning to leave me with just Nathan and Geoff. I prevented him from leaving, however, diving after his half-erect cock. The suddenness of it knocked him off balance and he fell over backward into a grain sack. Now in a comfortable recline, his legs were nicely splayed so I could get between them and taste the intoxicating mix of my pussy and his cum which covered his cock.

The last time I'd sucked a man's cock, it had excited me to no end. With three men, it should have been three times as thrilling, but it was nothing but a soulless motion. I must have been doing something wrong.

That's when I felt Geoff move behind me and take hold of my hips. Having him inside me while I sucked Ramzi's dick would surely bring me satisfaction, I just knew it would. I stuck my ass up toward Geoff and he willingly climbed under me, his bent knees straddling my waist as he took hold of my thighs from behind and pulled my pussy down over his stubby little prick.

He started plunging into me with smooth, steady strokes and I moaned around Ramzi's stiffening cock in my mouth. It all felt so good, but I was still no closer to cumming than I'd been before. What was I doing wrong?