The Kingdom Pt. 01

Captain Kendric nods and looks at Corinne. "I may not be back here for quite some time as this surely means war between the two dutchies," he tells her.

"That's fine with me," she says. He looks hurt by her words until she adds, "because I'm coming with you." She notes Kendric's look of surprise. "I need a vacation anyway. I just finished that sword I was working on and I don't have any other work right now, so no one will miss me."

"But..." Kendric begins, words sticking to his tongue.

"You weren't about to tell me you didn't want me to come with, were you?" she asks innocently.

"Well... no..." he stutters.

"Good. Then it's decided. I just need a minute or two to grab some things." She looks at Kendric's uniform. "Come with me. I think I have a tunic you can wear that will allow you to blend in better."

"Uhm... Corinne?" I say, stopping her. "Do you have anything here to eat? I'm not really hungry, but I'd like to get rid of this taste in my mouth."

"I'll see what I can find," she answers, heading to the door with the stairs leading to the second floor.

Kendric scowls at me. "This is your fault," he says accusingly. "If anything happens to her..."

I cut him off. "Are you saying she forced you to stay with her last night?" I ask, amused. Jolie brings her hand up to cover her smile.

"Well... no..." he stutters, blushing furiously.

"Then... I suppose her well-being is your responsibility," I say. "Although, if you hadn't stayed with her, you'd probably be in prison right now. Or worse."

Kendric doesn't reply to that, instead giving me a shrewd look. He turns and runs to catch up with Corinne.

A few minutes later, they return, feet thumping down the stairs. Corinne is carrying a large bundle wrapped in a blanket and a pack slung over her shoulder.

"Here. Eat this," she says, handing me a small white lump of something hard. I put it in my mouth. The taste is strong, but sweet.

"Before we leave," she adds, "Take anything in this room you think might be useful."

Kendric spots a small axe, which he straps quickly to his belt, and a spade. I spy a couple sets of throwing knives with leather cases, which I tie to the harness under my tunic. Jolie looks around until she sees a short sword.

"I don't know how to use this, but I've always wanted to learn," she admits, sliding it into her satchel, the pommel sticking out the top. She also grabs a small, curved, wicked looking dagger.

"I'll teach you," Kendric tells her, grabbing a few more daggers and adding them to Corinne's bundle. "And the others. Let's go."

§ 15 ~ Navigation

We decide to split up into two pairs. Jolie and I will lead. Corinne and Kendric will follow a minute later along a slightly parallel course, eventually converging at the docks.

We pass several pairs of guards on the way. It seems there are more than normal and they appear more watchful, which Jolie confirms. As we're walking down one of the busier streets, Jolie abruptly pulls me off to the side, pushes me against the wall and kisses me, for a long time. Her sudden display of affection takes me off guard, but I return her kiss, just like I practiced with Lisbeth and Micaelah the other day.

When she finally comes up for air, she carefully looks around. My eyes follow hers, landing on the backs of some passing guards down the street, seven or eight of them.

"That was close," she whispers, watching them carefully. "The one in the middle knows me well."

Satisfied they're continuing on their way, she turns back to me, then kisses me again, just as intently, though not as long.

I look at her, puzzled. "What was the second kiss for?"

"Just because I wanted to. Whatever Corinne gave you tastes good." She smiles, then grabs my hand and pulls me in the direction of the docks.

As we approach the busiest area, I spot Kendric and Corinne amidst the throng, trying to blend in. We ignore them and keep walking in the direction we left Teritha and the others, finally making our way to the denser part of the trees. A glance backwards lets me know the Captain and the Blade Master are following.

When we reach the area we left Teritha, no one is there. Panic begins to rise in the pit of my stomach. Just before I draw one of my daggers and race down the path, I hear Teritha call out quietly.

"Quill! Jolie!" She steps out from behind some bushes. "Where's Captain Kendric?"

"Right here m'lady," he says, coming into view, Corinne following closely.

"M'lady," she addresses Teritha, inclining her head slightly.

"You must be Corinne," Teritha says. "I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into by joining us."

"I do m'lady. I've never much cared for the Duke and Duchess, or for the way they govern." She looks at Jolie. "No offense to you."

Jolie looks back at her, almost apologetically. "I've begun to see things differently since Teritha came to visit."

"M'lady," Kendric says. "Do we have a plan to free our men?"

"I'm afraid not Captain. If Jolie is correct about their being held in the dungeons, there's little we can do for them alone. We will need to get word back to Duke Grethley, or to one of our stronger allies who can demand their release. Right now, we need to flee. If they catch me, they will have a strong bargaining chip with me as their hostage, not to mention an influential rallying symbol for those who support them."

"So what's the plan?" he asks.

"Follow me," Teritha answers, heading back into the bushes.

The rest of us follow. Coming out the other side of a dense thicket, we find Lisbeth and Micaelah waiting next to a simple fishing boat with a single pair of oars. It looks sturdy, but only large enough to hold five, six people at the most. Quickly doing the math, I look at it skeptically.

"I wasn't about to wait around and do nothing until you came back," she explains. "I managed to acquire this in the meantime. I know it's small, but we'll have to make the best of it."

After some discussion, it's agreed that Lisbeth, Micaelah and Jolie will sit in the bottom of the boat between the seats. Teritha and I will take the front seat, while Corinne and Kendric will sit in the back. Due to my injured shoulder, Kendric will need to handle most of the rowing and steering. Corinne will relieve him as necessary.

After carefully boarding and packing in our few supplies, Teritha shoves the boat into the river and jumps in. As the slow moving current carries the boat downstream, Kendric uses the oars to keep it in the middle of the river.

§ 16 ~ Exploration

The river passes a few, remote shacks along the way, but otherwise we see no sign of human settlement. Trees grow close to the banks the first hour or two of the journey, then slowly thin out, revealing open prairie land ahead.

"We'll be too exposed out there," Kendric says worriedly. "If their troops spot us in this slow, overburdened craft, they'll be able to stand on the shore and easily pick us off with bows."

"Agreed. Row us to shore, over there," Teritha says, pointing. "We've all probably had enough of this boat anyway."

He guides the craft to a shallow, sandy stretch along the shore, then jumps out. Corinne follows, then the two of them pull the boat far enough out of the water for the rest of us to climb out on dry land.

After everyone spends a few minutes working the kinks out and getting the blood flowing, Teritha has everyone empty the equipment from the boat. She then instructs Kendric to pull it as far onto the shore as possible. That done, he uses the small axe to cut enough saplings to conceal it.

Jolie brings out of her satchel three flasks of water, some rolls and a few apples. "Sorry, it's all I could grab quickly," she says apologetically.

"Oh Jolie," Teritha tells her. "You are just full of surprises." She hugs her, a few tears falling for emphasis. The food is divided up and the water bottles refilled from the river after everyone has quenched their thirst.

"We'll follow the treeline that way," Teritha explains, pointing. "That should take us near the East road heading south to Beryl. Once there, we can make our way to the city and seek help from Duchess Merrilee. How does that sound, Captain?"

"That's a long walk through the wilderness, probably three days if everyone, and the weather, holds up. But I can't think of a better plan. Maybe we'll be able to find shelter beneath an outcropping, or maybe a cabin belonging to some woodsman who doesn't care about politics. I fear finding enough food will be the biggest challenge though."

"I may be able to help with that," Corinne says, opening her bundle and producing a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"I didn't know you were a skilled archer," Kendric tells her, impressed.

"Skilled may be too generous a word," she tells him. "I'm still learning, but I can hit the target most of the time. If it's not too far away that is."

"Who'd have guessed it? A Blade Master who uses a bow," Kendric jests.

"I have this too," Corinne counters, removing a hand and a half bastard sword from her bundle. "This is something I know how to use well."

"Well Corinne, it appears we're quite fortunate you decided to come with," Teritha says to her. "We may survive this yet."

"I'm honored m'lady."

"Nonsense. I'm the one who's honored," Teritha counters, placing her hand on Corinne's arm. "And please call me Teritha. We're all equals here. We need each other if we're going to make it through."

She looks around. "Now, if everyone is ready, let us begin this next leg of our journey."

The rest of the day goes by slowly. The sunlight, filtering through the trees above, along with a light breeze, make the walk seem like a pleasant afternoon stroll. Everyone is in good spirits, talking, sometimes laughing, simply enjoying each other's company. I have a chance to learn more about Jolie, and Corinne as well. Micaelah holds my hand for a while as we walk, telling me how worried she was when I didn't follow right away after leaving the Grove, then again while I went into the city to find Kendric. But eventually, she becomes her usual, carefree self again.

During a rest, while Micaelah is off chatting with Lisbeth, Jolie approaches me.

"Quill, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Are you and Micaelah, well... you know..." she trails off.

"Together?"

She nods.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what we are exactly. We like each other, and we enjoy each other's company," I say, smiling, "but I think that's really all there is to it right now. The same is true with Teritha. We care about each other, and sometimes we just want to spend time together."

"So, what about the other night when I was there?" she asks. "You two had each other. Why involve me?"

I look at her closely, trying to read her emotions. It seems she isn't asking the question she really wants to know the answer to. I reply, phrasing my words carefully.

"Teritha wanted to get to know you. She was hoping you were someone who cared about what she cares about. Someone who cared about others and not just about themselves. Obviously, her hopes were well placed."

Jolie searches my eyes intently, assessing my level of honesty.

"She really likes you Jolie," I continue. "I like you too. I think everyone here will."

"Thank you Quill," she whispers, hugging me. Just as our hug ends, Micaelah walks up. "Hey you two. I guess it's time to start walking again. Jolie, will you walk by me?"

Jolie looks at me. I give her a reassuring smile. She turns back and says, smiling, "Sure Micaelah." Then, as the journey continues, I find myself walking alone, bringing up the rear.

As I watch the others, I note Teritha and Kendric deep in conversation, likely discussing possible alternatives should complications arise. Lisbeth and Corinne seem to be getting along well, as do Micaelah and Jolie. I also notice that Lisbeth and Micaelah are both wearing one of the daggers Kendric acquired before leaving Corinne's shop. They look somewhat out of place strapped around their pajama bottoms. Jolie too has her new short sword buckled around her waist, accompanied by her dagger. Even if they don't yet know how to use them, a group of seven armed travelers would cause anyone to think twice before attacking. I hope beyond hope they'll never need to use those weapons.

As the miles pass and the afternoon begins to wane, hunger begins to set in. I've seen no sign of anything but wilderness. Everyone agrees it's wise to find a good place to camp and hunt for food before it gets dark.

A promising location is found in the low spot between two hilly areas, far enough from the woods to prevent a fire from catching. While Kendric and Corinne hunt for game, Jolie and I gather wood with Kendric's axe.

Meanwhile, Teritha, Lisbeth and Micaelah clear an area for cooking and sleeping, then search for stones to make a fire pit. Fortunately the weather is still clear with no clouds in sight.

Thankfully, because of my shoulder, I'm able to use the axe one handed. Finding dry branches and kindling on the forest floor is easy, and the two of us quickly gather enough wood for the night, despite making three trips to the campsite.

Finding stones is easier, but larger rocks for the fire pit proves to be more challenging, so I offer to dig a waste pit away from the campsite, hoping to unearth a few in the process. The spade Kendric grabbed makes the work a breeze, and with Jolie's help carrying the many rocks I dig up back to make the fire pit, the task is finished in short order.

As Lisbeth and I arrange the rocks and build a fire, Teritha asks Jolie, "Would you help me gather suitable leaves?"

Jolie looks at her, puzzled. "Leaves? What for?"

"You grew up in the castle your entire life, didn't you?" Teritha asks, amused.

"Yes... why does that matter?" she asks defensively.

"I'm not judging you Jolie," Teritha assures her. "Come with me and I'll explain." Teritha smiles and takes Jolie by the hand, now rough and dirty from carrying rocks, then leads her towards the treeline. Before they've gone very far, I hear Jolie exclaim, "Really?"

Micaelah watches Lisbeth intently as she stacks the kindling and larger pieces, carefully preparing it to be lit. She's truly amazed when Lisbeth finally gets it started.

"I'm going to see if I can find any game over there," I tell them, pointing toward the grassy area.

I walk slowly, readying one of my throwing knives. I practiced almost the entire walk from the river and am curious to see if I can come close to hitting a live target. I figure that even if I miss, at least I tried.

After a short time, I startle a rabbit from its hiding spot, but I'm almost as surprised as it is, so it's well out of range before I'm able to react. But I watch carefully where it goes, noting where the grass last moved.

Ready this time, I slowly move through the waist-high grass. Fifteen feet from the spot I believe it to be, I stop, crouch down, and watch silently. Two full minutes go by before I'm rewarded with movement. A small grey shape looks around, its ears listening, its eyes watching. Another two minutes and it makes a short hop forward, then stops.

The moment it bends its nose to the ground, I throw my knife. It lands perfectly, point burying itself deep, one foot short of its goal. The rabbit shoots off through the grass, traveling at least fifty feet before I lose track of it.

I retrieve my knife and clean it off, preparing to make another attempt, when I see Kendric and Corinne returning to camp, carrying something with them.

When I reach the camp, I discover they've managed to get a raccoon and a couple squirrels, which are already roasting over the fire.

"We found a small stream, so I cleaned them there before we came back. That should help prevent larger animals from being nosy around our campsite," Kendric tells everyone. "The stream appears to be traveling in roughly the same general direction we are, so maybe we should follow that tomorrow morning when we leave. We'll be more likely to find better game too."

"Thank you Kendric and Corinne," Teritha says. "I'm sure we're all simply grateful for not having to starve."

Eventually the game has cooked long enough to eat. The raccoon meat is tough and chewy, with an odd taste, but I'm so hungry I don't care, even finding myself wishing there was more.

As the sun sets, the temperature drops. The fire keeps everyone warm enough but will need to be tended all night. A watch schedule is agreed on, beginning with Teritha. The rest of us do our best to make ourselves comfortable on the uneven ground. Lisbeth and Micaelah, dressed in only their pajamas, lay down together for warmth. Corinne throws her small blanket over them.

"You'll need this more than I will," she says gracefully.

"Thank you Corinne," each replies.

Kendric selects a spot and lays down. Corinne joins him, to which he doesn't object. After I remove my hauberk and lay down, Jolie does the same with me. I place my arm around her. She snuggles against me. I notice Teritha watching us with interest as she pokes at the fire.

Sleep comes fast. Hours later, I barely notice when Teritha wakes Jolie up to take over for her. After Jolie gets up, Teritha takes her place next to me. Likewise, I pull her close then fall back asleep.

Jolie wakes me up a couple hours later to take my shift, then takes my spot next to Teritha. When my turn is over, I wake up Corinne, then survey the situation. Kendric doesn't look very cuddly. Teritha and Jolie are intertwined so closely and lying in a way that wouldn't be easy to snuggle up to, so I decide to spoon Lisbeth, who's spooning Micaelah, facing the fire. They look like they might be cold anyway.

At first, Lisbeth doesn't move when I press my body against hers, but after a few minutes, she grabs my hand and pulls my arm around her waist, lifting her pajama top over my cold hand.

Then, just as I'm just about to fall asleep, she moves my now warm hand up to her breast. Not expecting this, I begin to wake up. Moving as little as possible, I look over at Corinne on the opposite side of the fire. She's facing away from it to retain her night vision, watching the surrounding countryside instead.

Lisbeth squeezes my hand. Her nipple begins to grow, poking between my fingers. I move my hand over until my thumb meets her nipple, which I rub back and forth. She slowly reaches behind her and finds my growing erection. Sliding her hand inside my trousers, she grabs my cock and strokes it. I move my hand down and into the front of her pajamas. I rub her clit and push my finger inside her opening, slowly moving it in and out. She lets go of my erection then reaches behind her to lower the back of her pajama bottoms. I pull my hand out then grab my now fully erect cock, then push it down until the head slides against her pussy. The angle is wrong, so I carefully scoot lower, trying not to draw attention or wake Micaelah.

Finally in position, I push the head into Lisbeth's opening. Slowly, I work it in, forward and backward, inch by inch, until my hips touch her ass cheeks. Her tight pussy grips my cock. My hand finds its way to her breast again and squeezes.

As I slowly thrust in and out of Lisbeth, I hear her breathing quicken. Eventually, her body begins quivering. I pull her close and hold her tight, while at the same time look over at Corinne still on watch. She gives no indication of suspecting anything, so when Lisbeth's orgasm subsides, I relax my embrace and begin thrusting again, slowly.

Ten seconds later, Lisbeth turns to kiss me, then places her hand against my stomach to push me backwards until my cock comes out. She pulls up her pajama bottoms then scoots away from me.

Feeling a little disappointed, I'm about to pull my trousers up when Micaelah suddenly climbs over Lisbeth to lay between the two of us. She situates the blanket again, then pushes her pajama bottoms down. Reaching back, she guides my already slick erection inside her equally drenched opening.