To the Victor...

Disclaimer: This is a work of medieval fantasy. All sex scenes are between characters 18 years or over.

It was his third win in a row. The bannerless knight, no coat of arms, no heraldry, had already bested all of the king's best and best-known men in archery, then horsemanship, and now he had beaten them in the dueling game as well. Who was this man, greater than any other, stronger, and more skilled? What's more, what was his objective? King June pondered these questions with a growing anxiety.

After his first victory, the Bannerless Knight was gifted a favor by the princess herself. He made a motion to return it after that round, only to be entrusted with it for another round yet. He and Princess Aria had talked. Conspired, even. Yet none of the rest of the court knew their game. The princess was playing stupid. She was good at that. But at this moment it seemed especially heinous. After all, this was all for her.

Yes, his daughter, Princess Aria, had elected to leave her marriage up to a contest of arms, this very tournament, so that her king would be one not of a high birth but of a worthy life. King June reasoned with her that it should really be both, but relented that a man of noble enough standing to win such a competition would surely be of some class worthy enough of their relation.

Now, instead, the victor is a blight of anonymity, a complete unknown. At least if some commoner somehow won by luck he would be easily bribed off or intimidated. If it was one of his nobles, that would be acceptable. But for all he knew, this Bannerless Knight could be a king from another country come to kidnap his innocent, virgin daughter for ransom. He could be some kind of bandit trained on murder and deciet. He could be a demon sent straight from Hell to torment the royal family!

And why would the king fear demons set against his family? Well, it all started with his only son, Prince Nysis. When he was just a boy, Nysis happened to walk into his parents bedroom late at night. King June was enraged and, not knowing who it was who had intruded on him, threw a chair at him that clocked him straight on the head. The boy was rendered feebleminded from his injury, no longer able to do math or speak except in the simplest sentences. Furthermore, he was rendered ugly, his head misshapen. The queen herself was distraught at just the sight of him.

King June made a choice that has haunted him ever since: in disguise, he brought his son to a shepherd and gave him up as if an orphan. It was, he reasoned, the only life his son could be fit for anymore. He and his wife were in agreement that they would act as if Prince Nysis had died in an accident. Aria, his twin sister, would be the new heir, at least until the two of them had a boy to make the new, proper heir. However, as time went on, it seemed that the two of them were cursed, as only daughters they had. Their only son they had injured and left orphaned. God would not dare bless them with another when they had treated their first so wickedly; that's what they came to believe. In her guilt and sadness, the queen tragically passed away.

And now the demon of their misdeeds, which seemed like distant history at this point, seemed to ride at them on a black horse. It was some dark spirit which had come to steal away their first daughter, just as they had so wasted the potential of their own son.

His third win in a row. The demon, or the Bannerless Knight at least, approached the king and his aunturage as the hero of the people, awaiting the people's prize: to be married to the princess and made heir to the throne. The king swallowed his fear and approached in turn. With the gathered crowd standing parallel to his own court, he felt like he was the general of a battle going to do diplomacy with his rival (and his rival was winning). Accompanying him was Aria, the object of the game. Though surrounded by many, it was time for the three of them to convene directly.

"Take off your helmet that I may know you, subject." King June demanded.

"I shall obey, your majesty, but I must ask you to take heed: what you perceive may disturb your royal composure." The Bannerless Knight warned him.

"Delay not for my sake, ye demon! It is you who are at my mercy yet. Reveal yourself!" The king demanded, in a rant.

The princess spoke up. "Father, I implore you: be not so contemptuous to my champion."

"It is well on my account, fair princess," the Knight argued. "He shall know soon enough to whom he speaks."

The knight removed his helmet. Many from each side leaned in for a better look. The face they saw was unfamiliar to most, with a distinguishing scar on the head.

"Who is he? I feel cheated!" A belligerent member of the crowd called out.

"Why, it's none other than the shepherd's boy!" another member of the audience proclaimed. "The one who was healed by the Ancient Druid!"

"He's the one who's supposed to do those seven impossible things?" another member of the audience clarified. "What a blow for him: he just burned three things winning the competition!"

The audience was amused easily by this observation, and began to chant, "Thrice he's done what we could not/ And four times more he'll take his shot/ By bow, by steed, by sword as well/ With Heaven's art, he gave them Hell!"

The king was petrified: this was the face of his lost son! No doubt about it. This was Nysis! And he had been healed. He was scarred, but no longer deformed. He had a country man's gate and mannerisms, but the piercing, ambitious vision of a natural born royal. King June felt this vision on himself like that of a viper on a rat.

He turned to the princess, and in a hushed tone said "Aria, I demand an explanation."

"What curiosity of thine may I set at ease, royal father?" She answered, playfully.

"Do not act coy with me! I am in a state! I shall not address this man until you have concluded the history of your acquaintance and whatever else you know of him."

"Who is your meaning, father?" she continued to play. "Surely thou couldst not mean Nysis, thy only son. How could I know more of his history than thou knowest?"

"I shan't address him then!" the king raged through his teeth. "I shall treat my son as I have for decades: as though he were dead, never again to be known by my royal house!"

"Yet he is known," the princess refuted him, "and as thou hast requested, I shall relay my knowledge of him."

She began the story where we left off Nysis last: he was adopted by the Shepherd and raised to tend to sheep. He was dull and physically deformed, but the Shepherd was patient and tolerant of the boy. He tried many things to help his new adopted son. He went to clerics, witches, surgeons, philosophers, and all manner of healers all throughout his son's upbringing. Finally, it was the Druid who seemed to finally get results with Nysis. However, this was not how he told it.

"Your son," said the Druid, "is bound to a special destiny greater than any I could have influenced. Though recovery seems impossible, I have divined that your son shall do seven things that seem impossible before that destiny is fulfilled. When he comes of age, he shall suddenly become well. This shall be the first of seven impossible things."

This, as we know, came true. Not only was Nysis physically better, with only a scar to show for his past deformity, but he seemed now to access a perfect memory. He knew who his original father was and what was owed to him. He knew, too, that he was bound to do six more impossible things, and in doing so he could take what was rightfully his.

He bid the Shepherd a fond farewell. Nysis said he set a high bar to which all true fathers should be judged. The prince promised to return with gold and titles befitting his careful devotion and noble heart. With that, he left on a journey to the capital to confront the king and take his birthright. The Shepherd, never satisfied with his prior good deeds, offered Nysis his horse to ease his travels.

When Nysis reached the palace of King June, he was turned away and given no audience. He decided he would have to sneak in under cover of night in order to confront his father without starting a revolution. That was when he and the princess first became acquainted. Her window was open, allowing him easy entry into the palace. However, she was not asleep, as he had hoped, but awake in her bed, completely naked.

Princess Aria had suffered from an affliction from her adolescence all the way into adulthood. Every night, she became wildly aroused, but masturbation was never enough to satisfy her, no matter what she did. She laid awake at night, sweating, agonizing, digging into herself, but to no avail. This was one such night, with one hand on her clit, the other on her breast. She was wriggling, struggling, desperate for orgasm she knew would never come no matter how close it seemed. She knew the only time she was able to cum was when she dreamed at night, about him. Him!

"You're here!" she said with a start. "You're the man with the scar, from my dreams. But I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Nysis was taken aback as well: the truth was, he had shared the same dreams. His recurring dream was to bed the same woman, with endlessly long, rich blonde hair and freckles. He was never able to masturbate to completion either (he had blamed that on his head injury rather than anything else) yet he always ejaculated in his nightclothes when he dreamed about her. And here she was, in the flesh, her legs splayed out, trying to finish by herself and failing.

"No, you're not dreaming," he assured her, "and neither am I. We're really here, together!"

"We're not together yet," she corrected him. She got on all fours and presented her backside to Nysis. "This was my favorite position when we tried it in a dream. Won't you let me have it again?'

Without the audacity to make her wait a moment longer, Nysis quickly removed his belt and let his trousers drop to his ankles. Without so much as removing his shirt, he lept behind Aria and inserted himself into her, inch by inch, until he was balls deep. As he did, he heard Aria whine in a tone that got higher and higher as he penetrated her. From a long, hot night of being just on the edge, with his cock finally inside of her, Aria came. Like any orgasm torturously delayed, it was intense and life-affirming. It was so much better than any of her nocturnal emissions, and it was only getting started.

He kept fucking her straight through it, with none of the bashfullness of a new, virgin lover. From their shared dreams, he already knew her limits and his own. Though it was the first time meeting in flesh, they were like a couple already married a year.

She slowly came down from her orgasm and felt the desire to cuddle set in. She could have allowed him to finish, and they could have spent the rest of the night curled up in each other's arms. She would be more than happy. However, a royal, indignant part of her personality recognized that this was the first time she could consciously cum in her life, and she felt an even stronger urge to make up for lost time and cum as much as she possibly could!

"Lover!" she called him, for she had yet to ask his name, "Before you can finish, I need for you to spank me! Smack my posterior!"

With his left still gripping onto her ass, he pulled the glove off of his right hand with his teeth. With his bare hand, he struck her rear and watched it ripple nicely, leaving a red mark. She shuddered at the force and felt herself getting close again. But she wasn't satisfied yet. Not when something else caught her fancy.

"Lover, do you yet have the belt beside you? Would you use it on me? Just once, Lover. Once will be enough."

Nysis picked up the belt and contemplated it, first rubbing it against the cheek of his own face to judge the feel. When it was new, the hard leather might have hurt her badly, but this was the belt of a shepherd's boy, a worn old relic. It would surely break before it would injure her.

He lifted it slowly and brought it down fast. It struck her ass with a satisfying thwack. He could feel her satisfaction as she more eagerly and rapidly pressed her body into his. "Just once, you said? No more?"

"Do you desire to strike me with the belt, Lover? Is that why you ask?"

"It is. May I do it again?"

"I shall not allow you to do it once," she said, panting, "nor twice," she specified, "but three times, and no less. And you shall do it on my count. Are you ready?"

He lifted the belt again to strike. "I am!"

"One..." she said. He struck. "Ah! Two..." He struck again. "Oh my! Three..." He struck a third time. "Again!"

"You said three times," he teased her. "Do you want more?"

"Yes! I want more! One more time, and then, I'll let you do whatever you want. I will let you finish. I will let you do whatever you want with my body. Just once more!"

With one final thwack, as expected, the belt finally broke. It snapped completely in two, unfit for any purpose except as a sadistic toy. "Ah!" she yelled. "Yes! Oh, baby, I've never felt so good before. What do you want to do? I'll give you anything!"

He licked his lips before he asked her "May I grope your breasts?"

"Grab whatever you can reach, Lover." He draped himself over her, increasing their closeness. He was barely able to move in or out of her now, but did it with a greater rapidity. He took a breast in each hand and all but kneaded it like bread. "Ah! That feels really good, actually. What else do you want to do? I want to give you more!"

"Your hair is so beautiful. May I bury my face in it?"

"You may," she said. He was nearly face-first in it to start with, but now he allowed himself to indulge, nuzzling her neck through her locks and breathing in her scent. He couldn't take it anymore. "Do you have one more request? Anything, baby!"

He felt it beginning to well up. He knew he didn't have much time. He asked hastily, "Can I finish inside of you?"

She looked back at him with a grin. Her cute freckled face and devious expression nearly put him over the edge by itself. She licked her lips, took her time answering, and finally said, "I demand that you cum deep inside of me."

It seemed instant. His release was total, and with his cock balls deep inside of her, he blew his load straight into her womb. This, too, was a long awaited orgasm for him, and just as mind-blowing, but he didn't have the royal frame of mind to demand more. He was ready to cuddle or sleep, whichever came first. Aria, as before, was still ready to cuddle, all the more so with the climax she achieved when her ass was getting punished. She held him in her arms, looked him in the eyes, and asked, "One more thing, lover? Or are you satisfied, really and truly?"

In a daze he answered, "One more thing..." and, looking at her face, a face he had seen a thousand times but never touched, he had only one request. "Would you kiss me?"

She looked surprised and then laughed, "Oh, Lover, I demand that you kiss me!" The two kissed and cuddled long into the night until finally they were both drifted off to sleep. There was the dreamless sleep of those who have already lived their fantasies and found peace.

In the morning, over an increasingly awkward breakfast, the two relayed their histories to each other, eventually culminating in realizing what we already know: Princess Aria and the dispossessed prince Nysis were actually brother and sister! Both of them felt a blunt sense of dread as they realized what they had done, but gradually they both warmed up to the idea as well.

"We dreamt of each other for years," the Princess pointed out, "not as siblings, but as lovers. Though it is strange, it must be our destiny. I have to think it's this way for a reason."

"I was said to do seven impossible things over my lifetime," Nysis said, "because of a strange destiny. This must be part of it. This has already been a strange and mythic sort of diversion from the life that we were meant to have. If our strange love helps to set things right, then it can't possibly be wrong."

"But how do we set things right?" Aria asked, rhetorically. "If you confront my father, he will surely deny you your birthright and simply put you to death for bothering him. I am partial to him as family, but he is not a kind man, and he has already forsaken you once."

"If I claimed to be another person," Nysis proposed, "perhaps a foreign prince, I could marry you and take my birthright as an in-law. Perhaps that is why fortune has given us to each other as a couple in love. I have already overcome an insurmountable affliction, and I have loved a woman from my dreams. That is two impossible things. Perhaps the third shall be to marry my sister."

"True, though father is so resistant to any suitors, and it would be better not to tell such a lie with so much maintenance if we could avoid it. Though it is impossible, I fail to see how we can do it."

"Is it not possible for a princess to choose her own groom?" Nysis asked.

"I have the power of refusal, at least," she clarified. This brought something to mind. "Give me a moment." Aria searched through her personal library to find a history of the royal family. She skimmed page by page looking for something in particular. "Ah, there it is! Our great great aunt offered her hand as the prize of a noble contest of arms! Apparently the royal house wasn't doing so well at the time and they had nothing else to offer as a prize but themselves. Still, the reason doesn't matter. There's precedent! It might as well be tradition. If I ask for a contest to decide my husband, you could compete and do the impossible by winning!"

"And if your father recognizes me, won't he refuse my entry?"

"That's the trick," she said, her mind spinning at a mile a minute, "you have to be anonymous. There's always a knight that does it for one reason or another. Black Knights, Knights Errant, those sorts. Sometimes really important people go bannerless. You'll be popular, I'm sure of it. And you won't reveal who you are until the very end."

"But once I do he'll kill me."

"He won't have the chance. A king's power comes from God, but God's power is expressed through the people, and the people are going to love you! Believe me, you can tax a peasant to death and they won't argue, but make an unfavorable call on a game of sport and they will burn the stadium down. When he sees who you are, he's going to have two options: give you what you fought for (my hand), or give the crowd a damn good reason why he can't."

"Such as," Nysis followed, "us being siblings."

"Exactly!" she excitedly agreed. "He'll have to either acknowledge you as his son by blood, or by marriage. There's no way around it!"

Nysis thought for a moment. "Which do you think he will decide to do?"

"Oh, it hardly matters which," Aria argued. "Well, I suppose it does matter a bit. Either we'll be married immediately, and none shall know about it's secret taboo but us and our close confidants, or he will reveal the whole truth, and we will have to wait until he dies for you to inherit the throne, at which point you can do what you like. The latter is inconvenient for us, but all the more so for him, as he will have to admit how he injured and abandoned you to everyone. There will likely be petitions for him to abdicate, maybe riots. Mind you, he's been lying to the public this whole time to avoid a scandal, so he'll likely continue the behavior and let us have our own secret love to ourselves after all. Really, there's no other choice. Unsavory as it must be for him, it's by far the least problematic-"

At last, the King chimed in, interrupting the story and bringing us back to the present, "Alright, I get it, I get it!"

"What are we waiting for?" a crowd member asked. "Has he won the hand of the fair princess or not?"