The Fallen Prince (F/M) (Fantasy) (Part 31 added)

[crow3467]

Out from his prisión and back to another, that should do a good chance of scenery

[harveygasson]

From one captivity to another, perfect!

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty!

Chapter 20

Lothair slowly woke up to the feeling of something rough against his back, and as he kept sliding into consciousness he began to feel even worse sensations. Cold was biting down on his exposed hands and feet, and worst of all, he was once again tied up.

His hands bound behind a tree against which he was laying and his ankles tied together. Lothair tried to remember what had happened but what he remembered didn’t seem to make sense with what he was seeing.

“Good, you’re awake” Mira said as she notice Lothair wake up.

“Mira, what happened?” Lothair asked as he kept testing his unrelenting bonds “Why am I tied up”

Mira, who was stirring something which she was boiling over the fire in a small pot, chucked as she looked at Lothair struggle, this did not give any hopes to him.

“Oh, It seems you thought I was rescuing you” Mira said as she stood up and walked next to Lothair.

“Weren’t you?” He asked.

Again Mira chuckled, which kept plummeting the hopes Lothair had made for himself as he was returned to freedom. She knelt in front of Lothair to look at him in the eyes.

“Buddy you’re not my friend, you’re my hostage” Mira explained with a mocking smile on her face “Expect me to treat you as such, so if prison didn’t get you used to being restrained you better get used to it now”

“Hostage? Why?” Lothair asked as he felt on the verge of tears because of how his hopes were being shattered “What did I do to you!?”

“It’s not personal” Mira replied as she went back to the food she was cooking “Well, maybe slightly personal”

“What do you mean?”

Mira looked up at the former prince, he looked so miserable, not only was he dressed in the ragged clothes he had been given on the prison, was dirty and his hair was disheveled, but also he looked deeply sad. But in that state Mira couldn’t help but find him strangely cute, which may have helped in the sudden sympathy she suddenly felt for him.

“I guess I can tell you” Mira sighed “But don’t get any hopes of being released, I’m already set on my decision”

Lothair nodded regretfully as he settled in his restraints, which he stopped fighting.

“You know, there are quite a lot of awful practices in this kingdom” Mira begun “One of them is called the ‘Garwyn Law’, I assume you’re familiar with it”

Lothair nodded, as a former prince it had been a safe assumption on Mira’s part to expect him to know. It was a law named after the wife of a very old king, who took in girls whose parents could support and raised her maids for the royalty, a rather noble practice when compared to what the law had devolved into.

“Well, while you were doing princely things in the castle my family was barely getting by while having soldiers on our backs constantly asking my father to repay his debts” Mira explained “The amount we were being asked to give was more than what we could ever hope to pay, and that was when the bitch who owned our fief came in with a proposal for my father”

Lothair gulped as he knew nothing good could follow considering the law Mira had mentioned earlier.

“He gave her my sister and she halved his debt in exchange” Mira said regretfully “Poor bastard died without even paying all of it back, and guess who inherited all that debt?”

“Your mother?” Lothair asked naively.

“I did!” Mira replied, almost offended “I never had a mother…”

Mira’s words struck Lothair heavily, even though he always knew that he had been privileged in his upbringing never before had he been so close to someone who was so far below him in the social hierarchy. It made him feel guilt, as now he knew what at least one person was going through while all of his problems could be reduced to ‘being too privileged’.

“I’m sorry for you…” Lothair spoke after a long silence.

“The least you can do” Mira said as she served the food “You’re no longer in a position to change it”

“But I still don’t get it…” Lothair spoke shyly “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, but what does taking me out of jail to kidnap me have to do with it?”

“I guess it’s fair to tell you” Mira said after taking a spoonful of the stew “You see, the news of your escape will soon start spreading, and a bounty is most likely going to be put on your head, and it will be quite a big one”

Lothair gulped, was Mira implying that she was going to kill him?

“I won’t claim it though” Mira continued, slightly calming down Lothair “I intend to exchange you for my sister instead, I’m sure the bitch who currently has her would gladly give her up for you”

Lothair remained silent as Mira ate her food. Never before had he considered the hardship some people in the kingdom endured because of ancient laws that no king dared to touch. He liked to think that he would have been the one to changed them, but by the time he came up with that idea he was already tied to tree, no longer in a position to do anything.

“As you can imagine, for this to work out I’ll need you alive” Mira said as she rummaged her bag “So I’m going to feed you, but don’t expect any fancy food like they had you used to on the castle”

Mira retrieved a rather large piece of hardtack from the bag, it wasn’t even alike what Lothair was served in prison as there food was much more on the soft side.

Mira stood up and held the piece of hardtack in front of Lothair’s mouth while she looked down on him.

“Since I assume you are not used to this type of food I’ll give you some advice” She spoke “Lick it”

Even though he did not know why Lothair obeyed, as he did it became clear why he had been given such advice. The food as hard as a rock, impossible to break down with a bite unless it had been softened by saliva.

As Lothair licked and licked the stone like biscuit under the watchful gaze of his captress, he began to feel something rising in his body. By this point he could very much pinpoint the cause of his erection, but that didn’t make it any less shameful, Lothair fruitlessly tried to hide it while his bound legs and loose prison pants did not help at all.

Mira chuckled slightly as she noticed what Lothair was trying to do, he was not nearly as subtle as he thought he was, but she made no comment about it

Once Lothair was done eating Mira gave him a pair of leather which she did not yet put on him as his ankles were still bound. Before she decided to set some guidelines.

“Before we start walking, there are some thing I want to leave clear” She spoke “I don’t want to hurt you as I need you in good condition for what I’m doing, but I will if you try anything stupid. And to ensure that you remain cooperative I will keep you bound and gagged all the time”

“All the time? For how long do we have to walk?” Lothair asked.

“Just a few days, It won’t be that long” Mira replied.

“What if I have to go to the bathroom?” Lothair asked with shame.

“You’ll have to manage” Mira answered.

Mira untied Lothair’s feet and placed the boots on him, she then warned him about not trying anything before untying him from the tree.

“Don’t get used to it” Mira said as she noticed Lothair rubbing his wrists and showed him another piece of rope.

Lothair’s hands were tied together in front of him and Mira left a long rope hanging from it which she used as a leash to lead around the captive prince, and after giving him a cloak to protect him from the cold they started walking.

Lothair noticed that Mira did not walk him through any road, which quickly made sense as he realized how bad it would be both for her and for him if anyone else saw that scene.

Walking outside the roads meant that terrain was harsh, and Lothair was far less used to traversing it than Mira, who seemed to walk effortlessly despite being burdened with her backpack. And she being faster meant that Lothair was constantly kept on the edge.

He would have tried to strike up a conversion to make the travel slightly less harsh, but when he tried it shortly after leaving Mira decided to gag him, using a knotted cleave gag made out of a white cloth. So Lothair spent the near whole part of what was left of the day gagged.

The only break from being gagged and forced to walk Lothair had was when they made a brief stop to eat. Since now his hands were tied in front of him Lothair could eat by himself, which slightly disappoint him as he had quite enjoyed being fed by Mira.

The next stop took place long after, and it was to make camp and sleep. Again Mira set up a small fire where she began to heat up a small pot, while Lothair was once again given a piece of hardtack to feed himself while Mira ate on her own.

Before going to sleep, Mira untied Lothair’s wrists and tied them again behind a tree against which he was forced to sit. Then she extinguished the fire and went inside the tent to sleep.

With the fire no longer there, Lothair began to quickly take notice of how cold it was. That autumn night was being particularly freezing, and soon Lothair felt as if his hands and feet were about to fall off. He clung as best as he could to the cloak Mira had laid over him as a blanket, but the thin cloth did little to keep him warm.

As the night kept getting colder Lothair began to chatted his teeth, a sound which prompted a reaction from Mira.

“Shut up or I’ll gag you” She said from below the tent.

“I’m sorry I…” Lothair managed to say “Can you give me something else to cover me?”

“I don’t have anything else, so shut up, I’m trying to sleep” Mira replied.

Lothair managed to stay silent for a while, he even began to feel himself drift into unconsciousness but as soon as he began to lose control of his body the chattering started once again.

Mira rose from her bedroll and glared at Lothair, her figure clearly distinguished by the moonlight. When she rose up she was determined to place a stick between the prince’s teeth to keep him quiet, but as she looked at him that determination began to die down. Once again she was feeling pity for the prince.

“Fine…” Mira sighed “I’ll let you sleep with me, but if you trying anything…”

Mira showed Lothair her sword, which he kept by her side on the bedroll. Which should tell Lothair everything about what would happen if he misbehaved.

Mira untied the freezing Lothair from the tree and tied his hands behind his back again, his ankles remained tied together and on top of that Mira decided to tie his knees together and pin his arms to his back with another rope, which made sense to her as he wouldn’t have his body tied to anything that would pin him down.

Then Mira helped him lay down inside the tent, and once there she covered herself and the prince with the thick blanket she had brought with her.

“Thank you…” Lothair whispered as she settled on the bedroll.

“Yeah you better be thankful” Mira replied, now unable to believe what she had done but too tired to roll it back “Now let me sleep”

As he fell asleep Lothair slowly began to shift into fetal position as it was usual for him. This resulted in Mira, who was still having trouble sleeping, taking notice of something. She fidgeted as she felt something against her butt and took some distance from Lothair.

‘This pervert’ Mira mused to herself.

Angrily Mira rolled Lothair over with little concern of waking him up, which didn’t end up happening as the prince had a heavy sleep. But as she touched him and leaned into him for warmth Mira took quick notice of the prince’s firm body and even got a brief touch of his soft golden hair.

‘Maybe I can forgive him for that’ Mira chuckled before she went back to trying to sleep.

[Syko Sith]

Excellent update! It seems the "prince" is safe. Of course he is constantly bound and gagged. Small victories for him right now

[harveygasson]

Another interesting situation our unfortunate hero finds himself in. Really enjoying this story

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty one!

Chapter 21

To follow the instructions given by the prophecy meant that Emelia and Jean had to carry the sword of the ancients to the place where it was forged. It was a place of legend, hidden deep in the forests of Drael, lands that to this day the kingdom only held in name only, as past a certain point not even the bravest or stupidest of people dared to enter.

Legends of dangerous monsters, deceitful fey and treacherous terrain plagued the minds of everyone who considered entering the forest, and Emelia and Jean were no exceptions.

Even though both were of higher education and considered themselves to be to knowledgably of the world to fall for the myths and legends that scared common folk, they also knew that something about what was spoken of the forest was more than mere legend, more than a folk tale about gnomes who steal people’s shoes or fairies than tangle women’s hair.

But trespassing the known limits of the forest and delving deeper was a risk Jean was willing to take if it meant saving Lothair and defeating Tanis. Emelia however was much more reluctant to follow her steps, and only did so out of pressure and a slight desire of not wanting to be less than Jean.

So under the excuse of a short trip to the duchy of Thoecia, Emelia left the manor a few days after Jean, who left earlier still under her façade of a Berouxian traveler. A few days later the two met on an inn on the outskirs of Westborough, where they made plans for what they should do.

Emelia showed Jean the best map of the forest she could find, it was an incomplete replica of an old map which apparently showed the place where they needed to go.

“Here is where the sword was supposedly forged” Emelia said as she pointed at the engraving of a large tree in the middle of the forest.

“A tree?” Jean asked.

“The heart tree…” Emelia replied “According to legend, its sap was so hot in the deep of its roots that it could be used to forge weapons, and the amber you see on the cross guard of the sword is said to be a drop of it”

Jean looked at the gemstone on her sword with intrigue, under diferent circumstance she would have deemed that story as an interesting albeit unbelievable legend, but after seeing what she had seen she was much more keen to take it seriously. The same could be said for Emelia, who until that point hadn’t been one to pay attention to the folk legends of the kingdom.

“I don’t know what most of these symbols mean, but I know that this is supposed to be a path” Emelia explained “The scale on the map is ambiguous, but if these landmarks are still there we can use those as a reference”

“How likely is it that they have remained there?” Jean asked.

“Actually it is very likely” Emelia replied as she folded back the map “The place has not seen visitors in centuries, I doubt anyone took them in that time”

“Let’s hope so…” Jean sighed.

The next day the two women woke up and left the inn early after a meager breakfast. They had to walk as the forest would have not be suited for horses, who were rumored to succumb to panic if too deep in its woods. So they walked and walked.

Emelia suffered the walk much more than Jean, who by that point was more than used to it. Her frail body, unaccustomed to physical strain, ached and god tired quickly, her breath was constantly heavy and by the end of the day she had went through two water skins to keep up with Jean.

But despite her obvious suffering she never complained. And when Jean offered to keep going on her own she took offence to the very idea that she could be left standing by while she risked her life in the fight against Tanis. No matter the pain her body had to endure, Emelia refused to be lesser than Jean, to let her do everything that she knew she couldn’t have done without her.

After a day of traveling the two made camp on the edge of the forest and rested well, knowing that the next day they would begin to venture deeper and deeper into uncharted territory.

As days of travel went by Emelia began to cross reference the map with what they were seeing on the path they were following, or that they believed to be following.

A lot of the images depicted on the map were nowhere to be seen, where the map depicted statues and giant stone structures sometimes there was nothing but a pile of overgrown ruble where small mammals had made burrows, other times there was nothing, not even ruins to be seen.

But the trace of what was there gave the two women hope that they were on the right path. They gave a sigh of relief whenever they found out ruins, as they were a sign that they were following the right path.

But as they got deeper into the forest, stranger structures began to appear, some that were depicted on the map, but which they only figured out were real upon seeing them with their eyes.

“Look, isn’t that something which we saw on the map?” Jean asked as she pointed at something on the edge of the fog at the other side of a creek.

Emelia, who was refilling her water skin with the crystal clear water, raised her gaze and saw something that she swore had seen on the map. A tree, if it could be called that, that had grown in a perfectly circular shape. More than a tree, the plant could be better described as a bent log, covered with moss and vines.

“And if I’m not mistaken, the map says there should be one right where we are” Emelia said as she pointed at a drawing of the object they were seeing on the map.

“We should be able to use them as reference then” Jean said “Any idea of what they are”

“No…” Emelia replied, wishing she was able to give a more satisfactory answer “I thought they were just symbols on the map, but apparently I was wrong”

And sure enough the same type of circular plants kept showing themselves as the two delved deeper into the forest, hidden among trees, bushes and vines were the strange circular plants, announcing their ominous prescience with the drawings Emelia saw the map.

While the trees were usually devoid of any animal life around them, like if birds were somehow reluctant to stand over them, one day the pair saw something, or maybe better said, someone, sitting beside one.

Its figure showed itself at the edge of the fog that seemed to never leave the forest. It was humanoid, large albeit of rather short height when compared it its width, and from what the silhouette revealed it seemed to have a rather long beard.

“What is that?” jean asked whispering to Emelia as they hid behind a tree.

“I don’t know…” Emelia replied regretfully “There are legends about strange creatures in the forest, but I can’t tell what this one is”

“Do you think its dangerous?” Jean asked.

“I would not take any chances” Emelia replied “We should just keep walking and hope it doesn’t see us”

“He’s right on our path!” Jean said “We can’t just wait of it to leave”

“Are you suggesting we fight it?” Emelia asked fearfully “You can’t be doing so seriously”

“I have my sword, you said you know combat magic, we can’t let whatever that thing is stand in out way”

Emelia saw Jean grip her sword, she couldn’t believe they were going to fight a creature from the forest, but thankfully for her they never reached that point.

“There is no need for bloodshed” A deep voice boomed from inside the fog, its tone was calm despite how loud it was “I am not here to stop you, I am here to help you”

The two women looked at each other with bewilderment, they shyly raised their heads above the trunk they were hiding behind and saw that the creature near the bent wood had remained there.

“Your enemies do not lie here, come out of hiding and I will help you defeat them” The creature stood up and revealed itself to be far taller than it had appeared to be, standing nearly as tall as the bent wood he was sitting against minutes prior.

Before Emelia could consult with anything with Jean, she had already stood up and walked up to the creature, which prompted her to follow behind with fear of falling into a trap.

“A troll…” Emelia whispered to herself as she saw the aspect of the creature become clear in front of its eyes.

Its skin was of a petrous grey color, its beard and hair were green and seemed to be more akin to moss than hair. Its skin was wrinkles and its eyes fell down, giving it a calm, almost melancholic expression, which detracted from the fear its size should inspire.

“In the flesh” It replied “You must be the saviors of Drael if you have gotten so deep into the forest”

“I believe that title is still far too big for me” Jean replied.

“Yet I see you carry the sword of the ancients” The troll replied “The one which was forged in this forest, not so far from here”

“That is where we are going” Emelia said “You said you can help us go there”

“Of course I can” the troll replied “I received a message from the queen, she told me to wait for you and to help you reach her, and it seems like you have arrived”

“The queen?” Jean asked.

“I believe he’s referring to a different queen” Emelia said.

“For too long this forest has suffered her absence, and it seems like the suffering that afflicts her has grown outsides the confines of these woods” The troll said, ignoring Jean’s question “So I am honored to be the one who helps you save us, so when you are ready, I will take you to the heart tree, the birthplace of the weapon which can save this kingdom”

Emelia and Jean shared a look, they were not sure of what the troll meant by helping them, but they knew they were ready to reach their destination after days of grueling travel.

“Then stand aside, I am going to lead the way…” The troll said as he ripped a long piece of wood out of the ground.

Then it pointe done end of the large root he had extracted and began to chant in an ancient language, Jean and Emelia watched with intrigue as the chants of the troll seemed to bend space within the confines of the circular tree until through it they could no longer see the other side, but a completely different place instead.

The large tree which was depicted on the map now appeared to be dying, its bark blackened and is surroundings withered, but there was no doubt, a tree so massive could only be the thing which was depicted on the map, their destination.

“The spell of hiding which was supposed to protect the tree now seems to be protecting the evil that is corrupting it instead” The troll spoke with sorrow “Out of the ten guardians that protected the entrances to it, I am the only one left alive, and with the help that I have lent you, I will soon be found by those who seek to destroy this kingdom”

Jean and Emelia looked worriedly at the troll as it seemed to be assuming death with a scary certainty.

“But if they kill me, I will die with no regrets, knowing that my last actions were to save this place” He said as a smile appeared on his face “Now go! Go and save this kingdom!”

Jean rad headfirst inside the portal which had appeared on the tree while Emelia did so slowly, she looked over her shoulder, trying to find words to speak to the forest creature who had helped them, but she did not found them. The troll smiled at her and Emelia walked in.

“What now?” Jean asked as she gazed at the massive tree before them.

“There seems to be an old entrance there” Emelia said as she pointed towards a large tree hollow which resembled a cave due to its massive size.

“I guess we are going to have to climb then” Jean said as she began to walk “Let’s be careful”

Jean helped Emelia descend down the crevice that separated the tree from the lands that surrounded it, and then helped her up through the rocky cliffs overgrown with dead thorny vegetation which got more than a few drops of blood out of the two girls.

Upon reaching a small clearing at the top of the tree they made a stop to catch their breaths, climbing the Cliffside was exhausting, and climbing the tree seemed like it was going to be even worse as it was far steeper.

Emelia was drinking the last few drops of water she had on her water skin when she felt something creep up her leg. She let out a yelp and kicked around as she saw what she thought to be snake slithering up her leg, but it didn’t budge.

As it pulled Emelia up on the air and made it painfully hand by her leg it was revealed that it was not a snake, instead it was a black root, and more of them began to attack the two girls soon after.

“What’s happening, what are these thing?” Jean asked as she drew out her sword and prepared to fight the oncoming vines.

“I don’t know!” Emelia said as she tried to fight off the other vines which soon began to creep all over her.

Another root grabbed one of Emelia’s arms, then another one, and with strength it forced her arms behind her back, encircling them together and pressing them until her wrists and elbows were touching.

Another vine crept over her chest, sliding between her breasts as it encircled her and pinned her already wrapped arms to her torso.

And the vine which had caught her by her leg encircled her other leg and forced her two legs tightly together.

The only thing Emelia could be thankful for was that as her arms and torso were wrapped by vines, said vines took upon the task of holding her midair, and therefore se was no longer hanging by her feet. But her current situation could barely be called an improvement.

And while Jean managed to fight the animated plants for a while longer since she had her sword, it all came falling down when her hand holding the sword was caught by the wrist by a vine. Immediately after, her left hand was also caught in the same way, and both vines spread Jean’s arms so wide appart that the sheer pull made her scream and drop her sword.

Once she was unarmed more vines began to creep over her. As Jean was raised above the ground vines grabbed onto her legs, spreading them apart just like they had done with her arms. Jean was held defeated, spread eagled midair.

As the two girls which were being held side by side fought their living restraints which seemed to only get tighter as they fought them, their attacked showed itself. The warden of the tree, Tanis’ thrall, the elk headed giant, covered in a cloak of crimson leaves and holding a wooden spear appeared from among the bushes and looked at the two women locked in a futile fight.

“This is interesting…” It spoke with a barely human voice “Tanis will want to see this”

“Tanis?” Emelia asked as she looked at Jean.

“What are you?” Jean demanded to know “Let us go before I…”

A slithered around Jean’s head, and as Jean tried to bit it she sealed its fate as the vine locked itself around her head and between her teeth, effectively gagging her.

“I am afraid I can’t let you go” The creature spoke “But since I have yet to inform Tanis of your arrival…”

More vines creeped out of the bushes and rose up to the wrapped women, and once they reached their feet they began to slowly creep up their legs.
“I don’t see why I shouldn’t have some fun with you…”

Jean, whose legs were spread wide open, began to feel the vine slowly creep up her inner thigh. She thought this couldn’t be happening, that there was no wat that a plant would be aiming for that place, but as it creeped beneath her clothing Jean began to fear she was wrong.

Thankfully, before Jean could be offended in such a way, the warden was attacked from behind, with the surprise making him loose concentration on his spell and letting the two girls fall to the floor as its vines returned to their usual motionless state.

The one who had attacked the warden had been the troll, who briefly tried to fight it. But despite its larger size, the troll’s age played against him, and soon enough the rage filled warden drove its spear deep into his chest.

After the warden pushed the troll to the floor, he turned back to face at the prisoners whom he had no intention of letting go, but instead of the sight of two bound women he was met by an empty scene, and the feeling of cold steel piercing him between his ribs.

“How!?” The creature spoke as its mouth spud blood.

Jean stayed silent as she twisted the blade and pushed the warden into the crevice, from which he never emerged.

“Thank you” Jean said as she stowed her sword.

But when she looked at where the troll was she was met by the sight of the dying creature, holding onto a deep wound which bleed orange sap as the troll sat against the blackened roots of the tree.

“Do not feel bad for me” The troll spoke with a soothing voice “My fate was sealed since I decided to help you, I’m just glad I could be of help in saving the kingdom”

Emelia quickly rose from where she had fallen and ran towards the dying forest creature. She was quick enough to see the troll’s life fade away as it turned into stone, a rock of deep resemblance to the creature it once was, and which for a few seconds continued to bleed sap.

“Your death won’t be in vain” Jean said as he laid a hand on the deceased troll’s face “Let’s make sure of that”

Emelia nodded after hearing Jean’s words, and no longer feeling in need to rest the two climbed up the giant tree and entered the hollow. They delved deeper and deeper inside the tree until they saw the glimmer of golden sap on the other side.

“That must be the heart” Emelia said as she pointed at the pulsing build which hung chained in the middle of the tree’s internal chamber”
“Why is it chained?” Jean asked “And why is someone chained to it!?”

Emelia adjusted her sight and was able to see that, much like Jean was saying, not only was the bulb wrapped in black chains, but those same black chains also held someone of whom they could not see much at that distance.

With haste the two descended until they reached the bridge which lead towards the chained heart.

Alcinne raised her gaze and was able to see the two young women running towards her. She gave a sigh of relief. Even though she had tried to appear confident and determined in front of Tanis, she always had a lingering doubt about her plan, but now that doubt seemed to have disappeared.

“Who is she?” Jean asked as they stood in front of the beating heart, and therefore of the chained dryad.

“I don’t know, and it doesn’t seem like she can answer us”

“Mpghg” Alcinne tried to reply.

By holding up Emelia the two managed to ungag the dryad, which was happy about having to wait only a few days for the ballgag to be removed this time.

“My name is Alcinne, I am a dryad” The chained woman spoke “I was meant to protect this forest, but as you see I have failed my task”

Alcinne regretfully gestured at the chains which had held her prisoner for years.

“Then I assume that you are the one who gave me this” Jean said as she showed Alcinne the sword of the ancients.

“It costed my all of the power I can muster in my state, but I’m glad to see you received it” Alcinne explained “With it we may stand a chance against the evil which threatens to destroy this land”

“You mean Tanis right?” Jean asked.

“Yes, although that is but one of her names” Alcinne replied “There is a lot of her that she has not revealed, but we should leave this place before she takes notice of what has happened”

“What do you mean? Does she know we are here?” Emelia asked fearfully.

“Most certainly” Alcinne replied “She keeps a strict watch over this place, and with all that has happened she has most certainly caught wind of this”

“Let’s get you out and leave then” jean said “Emelia, can you use magic to break her free?”

“I think so” Emelia said shyly as she began to think of a spell able to do that.

Uncertain of whether it would work or not, Emelia uttered the spell and the chains fell off the heart, which was once again able to beat freely again, pumping new life into the tree.

Alcinne fell to the floor where she was caught by Jean, who then helped her stand up. The dryad had spent so long in chains that she had trouble walking at first and had to be helped by Ann, but they were eventually able to leave the tree.

Alcinne made a brief stop to mourn the death of her last guardian over his petrous corpse, and after she had paid her respects she began to use her nature given powers to twist branches of tree into a strangely familiar circular shape.

Alcinne hand conjured a portal like the one they had used to reach this place, and through it they left.

[Syko Sith]

Ah, the heroines return! Nice to find them finding and freeing the dryad. Now there is a chance to see the defeat of Tanis. I genuinely love this update.

[harveygasson]

This story is so good, really enjoying how it's progressing

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty two!

Chapter 22

Rage filled Tanis’ body as soon as the news of Lothair’s escape reached her ears. What she was doing was supposed to be an easy task, yet somehow it kept constantly being proven to be harder and harder. How much trouble could that prince be? The sorceress wondered as she paced angrily around her room in search for answers to the question of what to do with the prince.

But while Tanis was maddened by the news, Eliza couldn’t say the same with the same certainty. Even though she thought having a son in jail was enough of a humiliation to add a fugitive son on top, after her last conversation with Lothair she could not help but feel as if she did not know the entirety of the story, and that maybe Lothair’s escape wasn’t entirely bad.

The only things Eliza and Tanis agreed on in a long time was that Lothair should be brought alive back to the prison, and that no reward should be given for his dead body. Although clearly both women had different reasons to make that request.

The same night when Lothair’s escape became known to Tanis she decided to take action. Eliza was as busy with the succession as ever since her son had been declared guilty of Hartgard’s murder, so she did not have to fear for her, and ever since the queen had fallen into the tasks of handling the succession which had pulled her away from the court, Tanis’ orders were heard as if they were uttered by the queen, even when she gave orders the queen would never have given, so Tanis had little to fear of the personal of the castle.

So with little care for the few guards who saw her leave the castle at the dead of night, Tanis ventured deep into the forests of the castle grounds, she walked down a crevice, from the bottom of which the castle could be seen illuminated by the moonlight. A small altar sat at the end of the rocky crevice, once upon a time dedicated to the old spirits of nature Tanis despised so much, now desecrated, honoring the exact opposite.

Tanis poured the powdered sulfur and lead in a strange arcane pattern of the ground, she then removed one of her gloves and bit down her thumb, allowing a drop of her blood to fall on top the mixture she had thrown on the ground.

The sorceress then recited a dark incantation which seemed to scare away all animal that could run, and as a black smoke began to rise from the fibrous mixture laid before the altar, only Tanis was left standing in the crevice.

As the smoke began to dissipate, a silhouette could be made out standing right in front of the altar, inches away from Tanis. It was that of a very tall human, its muscular shape easily discerned despite the poor detail the smoke allowed, and once the smoke had vanished the sheer might of the summoned one could be seen.

Before Tanis stood what seemed to be a naked woman, far taller most people and with impressive musculature in her whole body, ripped abdomen, thick arms and even thicker legs, but breasts that had notoriously avoided being cut down in size despite the woman’s extremely cut body. Her skin, which seemed to glimmered under the moonlight, was a color so pale that it borderer in that seen in corpses, her hair was of an inky black color, and it fell down to her waist with slight curls.

A detail which most would have been late to notice due to the woman’s overall impressiveness, was the fact that she appeared naked despite the chains holding her. Black chains bound her wrists and ankles to the floor, with enough slack to allow her a slight degree of movement, but never to run away.

Completely unbothered by the cold, her nakedness or the chains, the woman looked around and made her neck crack with a few stretches, only then did she look down to see Tanis standing in front of her.

“Tanis...” The woman greeted the sorceress with a deep voice “What do you want of me now?”

“It’s a pleasure to see you Januth” Tanis addressed her servant “An event of the utmost importance has taken place, and I sadly find myself too busy to handle it myself”

“And why should I handle it instead?” Januth asked as she scratched her head.

“For your freedom of course” Tanis replied.

“That was what you said last time” Januth said with slight anger “Why should I trust you now?”

“Well I can send you back to your prison if that is what you desire” Tanis replied “But regardless of what I award you in the end, if you decide to help me you will definitively get a taste of freedom while you do your job”

“And what exactly is this job?”

“You see, there is a prince who has escaped me…” Tanis said.

The sorceress was quick to see that her words had caught the woman’s attention, Januth had been her servant for long enough for her to know that she loved few things more than a hunt.

“There is also a woman who I presume is trying to find him too, I can give you even more rewards for her” Tanis continued to capture Januth’s attention.

“How do you want them?” The Amazonian giantess asked.

“Alive, and mostly unharmed” Tanis replied “The prince at least, you can roughen up the girl more if you want to”

Januth showed her teeth in a wicked smile, she was already getting ahead of herself thinking of what she would do with the unfortunate souls that Tanis was asking her to find.

“I think I can help you with that…” Januth said as she cracked her knuckles “What trace should I follow?”

Tanis gave a piece of cloth and a ballgag to Januth, the first had been used to silence Lothair while the second one had been used to do the same on Jean.

“You decide who you bring to me first” Tanis said as she gave a cloak to Januth “Now cover yourself up, let’s get you some tools for the job”

With a snap of her fingers Tanis undid the chains holding Januth and began to walk towards the castle.

“And remember, if you disobey my orders even once, those chains will go back on” Tanis said as she stopped on her tracks for a few seconds.

The piercing look of the two women was enough to convince the few men standing guard in the dead of night not to ask questions about Tanis gigantic companion. The sorceress was happy to see how, apparently, the queen’s stress after the imprisonment of her son had spread among the people of the castle, most of them riddled with too much uncertainty about the future of the kingdom to ask mundane questions, as if they already had enough quandaries plaguing her mind.

Inside Tanis’ tower and among the many objects she held was an armor stand, one showing a massive armor holding a proportionally large sword. Januth smiled as she laid eyes on her weapons again.

---

By the next day Januth had already departed, mostly unseen as she had left in the dead of night. Tanis wondered if she had gotten careless with what she was doing, but was quickly reminded of how little time the people of the castle seemed to have to think about what was happening around them, which calmed her.

The sorceress peaked through her window and saw the arrival of the day, a lavish carriage from which emerged duke Adelard, one of the many candidates to take the throne after Lothair’s conviction.

The young man seemed to look far more than the former king than Lothair himself, sharing his black hair which Adelard had grown only slightly long and his more imposing physique, with well-shaped arms and an impressive back. And while his chiseled face was shaven, it was clear that he had to deal with a beard akin to that of the former king.

While the duke’s body was something that certainly caught the attention of women, it didn’t catch Tanis interest in the slightest. There was something else that Tanis saw in the duke which she took interest in, and it was his potential to be manipulated.

Unlike the two previous candidates, which were both of considerable age and experience, Adelard was only twenty-two years old and had a bad reputation for being careless and indulgent. Why did such a man bother to propose himself as an heir to a kingdom? Tanis of course.

As soon as letters were sent to all of the members of the king’s family requesting an audience with the queen to see if they were worthy of taking upon the crown of Drael, Tanis sent an extra letter to prince Adelard, who she knew would immediately reject the overly formal proposal sent by the queen’s scribes.

Her letter, which was anonymously sent by a charmed raven, had a much simpler message inked on its surface, and an offer much more tempting than that of the responsibilities of being king.

When Tanis saw Adelard enter the castle she knew it was time to enact her plan. Maybe she didn’t had Lothair, but on the meantime, she was determined to see to the fact that he would have nothing to return to once she finally got her hands on him.

[Syko Sith]

Tanis. Scheming Tanis. Wonder how her servant will fair against the women. Lothair would be easy prey. He is, after all, a prisoner still. I'm loving the story!

[harveygasson]

Wow Tanis is definitely one of the better villains I've read in a long while

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty three!

Chapter 23

Tired of sleeping in the forest and after having ceded to her emotions when she allowed Lothair to sleep with her, Mira wanted to sleep under a roof for a least one night before she finally reached her destination. She knew an Inn was nearby, a very concurred one in which she could get a comfortable bed and nice food, but she had one problem, one in the form a former prince who she had to carry tied up behind her.

Mira told Lothair what she wanted to do, but she also told him that she would most certainly have trouble doing so since she had no doubts that news about the prince escape had already made way around the kingdom and that at least one person there would know his face.

Lothair, who was tied to a tree as it was customary when they made a stop, remained quiet, Mira had not even removed his gag yet.

“But I can think of at least one way to get you inside” Mira said between bites of her food.

Lothair looked up at her expecting to elaborate as she fell silent after saying that.

“No, I’m not telling you what it is” Mira spoke in reply “If I did you would complain, and I don’t want to deal with that”

Mira stood up and instead of grabbing the food to feed Lothair she grabbed her sword, which she stowed on the belt around her hips. She turned back, facing to where the road was.

“I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait for me here for a while before I feed you” Mira said as she looked over her shoulder at the prince “Try not to miss me”

Lothair waited for a time which made itself agonizingly long not only because he was tied up but also because he was very hungry, his stomach regularly roaring as it begged for food.

But after a time which was far shorter than what Lothair perceived it to be, Mira returned, holding a large bunch of cloths that Lothair was unable to discern the nature of. She left them under the tent and then took out a piece of hardtack which Lothair was never more pleased of seeing.

Mira expected Lothair to ask what she had done and what it was that she brought back, questions that she was unwilling to answer, so she was happy to see that Lothair was far more concerned with eating than with asking questions, starting to lick his food almost as soon as she pulled down his gag.

“Easy there, you might break a tooth” Mira said jokingly as she noticed how eager Lothair was to bite down his food.

After Lothair finished his food Mira went back to take the cloths she had laid inside the tent, which she displayed in front of Lothair, making him able to discern what they were.

Put plain and simple, they were women’s clothing, a pink and white dress, white stockings, high heeled black boots and thin silky white gloves. Lothair didn’t knew where Mira had taken that from, but judging by the fact that she had left for the road before coming back with them gave him an idea which he didn’t really like.

“I don’t think I am the first person to say this, but you are an awfully feminine dude” Mira explained “Your skin is soft, your hair is long, your body slim, you know what I’m saying right?”

“Yes…?” Lothair replied with confusion.

“Great, then you should know that these clothes will fit you perfectly” Mira continued.

“What?” Lothair asked.

“People out there are looking for a prince, not a princess, so if you put this on and allow me to give you a slight makeover people won’t notice that it is just you in a dress” Mira elaborated “So if you don’t want to get caught you better be collaborative and allow me to put this on you”

“I don’t know I…”

“It doesn’t matter actually” Mira interrupted him “I don’t want you to be caught, so I’ll put this on you, whether I have to knock you out to do or if I can do it in peace it’s your call, so which one will it be?”

Although Mira had been right in saying that she was not the first one to call him feminine, she was very much the first one to ask him, or better say, force him to put on women’s clothing and pretend to be a woman, something Lothair had never even thought about doing despite all the times he had been told he was feminine.

“You don’t have to hurt me…” Lothair spoke regretfully “I will allow you to do this…”

“Great” Mira said with a smile on her face.

Lothair was untied from the tree and with the help of Mira he was dressed in the clothes she had brought. The former prince wondered if putting on the stockings was necessary since the dress covered his legs, but he didn’t dare to argue with Mira, so he shyly allowed her to remove his pants, leaving him on just his underwear as she placed the soft stockings on his shapely legs.

After she was done dressing him, Lothair was disappointed to find out that she had to tie his hands once again, binding his wrists together behind his back before once again making him sit against a tree.

“Wait there, we’re not over” Mira said as she opened a box of fine craftsmanship which was revealed after all the clothes surrounding it were removed to dress Lothair.

The insides of the box were revealed to be makeup, which Lothair quickly recognized after a whole life of being surrounded by the woman and men of the court, some of which spent hours covering their face in makeup.

“Really?” Lothair asked shyly as makeup was something he had never been curious about trying.

“If I’m going to make you look like a princess I’m going to commit to it” Mira said as she walked up to Lothair “Now stay still and allow me to do my work”

Without warning, Mira say on Lothair’s thighs, straddling him as she grabbed the tiny box with one hand and a what seemed like a mere brush to Lothair on the other.

The prince’s body shivered as Mira closed the distance between their two bodies so suddenly. He hoped that the cloth of the dress made his sudden excitement less evident, but even though it did a better job than his loose prison pants, it was still evident that, whether he wanted it or not, he was enjoying this.

Lothair held back moans as Mira drew in closer to him to finish off some details on his face, he wondered why he enjoyed being subdued in such a way so much even though the woman doing this to him was not only humiliating him but also threatening to send him back to jail.

By the time she was finished, Lothair could very well be mistaken by a young woman, and a pretty good looking one at that. Mira seemed proud about the makeover she had done on her prisoner and instructed him to stand up, which he did with difficulty.

“Won’t people notice that I’m tied up?” Lothair asked as he jerked his hands behind his back.

Mira covered him with a red cloak which she had also brought with her after her trip towards the road. The cloth covered Lothair’s body down to his knees, so there was no way for someone to tell that his arms were bound behind him.

“I can’t gag you because that people will definitively see” Mira said “So I recommend you stay quiet”

With a tight hold around his arm Mira began to walk his prisoner towards the road. After days of traveling through makeshift roads between the bushes Lothair was weirded out by the open fields, almost feeling dangerously exposed, like if guards would come to get him at any time, from any place.

Lothair’s pulse got dangerously quick every time someone who could be mistaken by an agent of the kingdom was seen, but he was relieved all of the times to see that they merely walked past him and his captress, unbeknownst of who he was and what was happening.

Eventually the pair arrived at an Inn, it was a large structure of three stories and a high gable roof. Its insides were loud as apparently many had decided to make a stop there, and that scared Lothair, no matter how good his disguise was he feared that among the many people inside one would recognize him.

Mira pulled Lothair’s arm and pointed at a piece of paper on a board near the main door. On the yellowish print Lothair saw an awfully accurate depiction of his face, his name engraved above it and in an even greater font below, the reward of fifty thousand Draelian tenders on which anyone would be happy to lay their hands on.

Lothair gulped, only slightly calmed down by reading that he was wanted alive only. Mira chuckled, she found the fear in the eyes of her feminized prisoner endearing.

Inside the tavern the scene was what both Mira and Lothair expected, they, people filling tables and some dancing on an open space, most of them drinking, some eating too. The warmth from the fireplace did little to calm down Lothair, whose heart began to beat even faster as he saw just how many people were there.

Dragged by Mira, Lothair walked up to the bar where his captress asked for a room.

“How many beds?” The bartender asked.

“Just one, I believe we can manage” Mira replied as she gave a teasing look at Lothair.

Not daring to raise her voice, Lothair did not question Mira and waited silently by her side as she was served a beer, she didn’t even ask if Lothair wanted something, but in that situation Lothair was not in even in the mood for a glass of water.

So the surprise in Mira’s and Lothair’s face when they received a cup of wine intended for Lothair, to whom the bartender referred merely as ‘pretty lady’, was evident. By looking at their side the two were able to see a group of finely dressed men which winked at the pair, although most likely at Lothair.

“Sorry, but she’s taken” Mira replied before drinking the wine herself “Let’s go to the room shall we?”

With difficulty Lothair walked up the stairs behind Mira until they arrived at the designated room. A rather small place with views of the road and the forest beyond, a table, a chair and like Mira had asked for, a single bed.

“I’m starving so let me leave you here and go get something downstairs” Mira said after locking the door behind her “If you behave I may even bring you something, you must be tired of what I’ve been feeding you”

Mira turned the chair and faced it towards Lothair.

“Now sit” She ordered.

Lothair obeyed and as he sat Mira draped his arms over the backrest of the chair. Once he was sitting she laid her backpack on the floor and began to retrieve ropes from inside.

With those cords she began to tie Lothair to the chair. She tied his legs together, uncomfortable putting her hands below the dress Lothair was made to wear and tethering the ropes around the soft stockings which covered his legs. She tied a rope around Lothair’s waist to pin him to the backrest to which she tied his wrists, and a pair more in the same manner above and below the non-existent breasts of her captive.

“I know you can’t really cry for anyone’s help but just to be sure…” Mira said as she knotted the white cloth she had used to gag Lothair since she captured him “Open up”

Despite feeling her action to be pointless, Lothair accepted his fate as he was in no condition of fighting back, he hadn’t been in a really long time, and allowed Mira to gag him.

“Good boy” Mira said as she stroked Lothair’s hair “I might bring you some food after all”

When Lothair had told Jean that princes weren’t damsels in distress all those years ago he would never have imagined that years later he would find himself to be exactly that. Dressed like a pretty young woman and tied to a chair with a gag in mouth, at that moment he was more of damsel in distress than Jean ever was.

He waited in boredom as the strain the ropes placed on his body grew to become painful, he was certain that Mira was doing far more downstairs that having a plate of food, and at a certain point he began to lose hopes of even receiving food from Mira.

So he was pleased when hours after she returned, apparently slightly inebriated, but with a steaming plate of food in her hands.

“How is my little princess doing?” She asked teasingly “Everything comfortable”

Lothair stayed silent and hoped that the plate was indeed for him. Its sole smell had made him realize how starved he was and his mouth, which was already drooling because of the gag, began to salivate even more.

Mira left the plate on the table and dragged the chair next to the bed, then she took the plate again and placed it on her lap as she sat down at the edge of the bed in front of Lothair.

“Since you’ve been a very well-mannered lady I am going to feed you okay?” Mira said “But remember, try anything and this food is going out the window”

Now that they were close enough Lothair was able to smell the scent of alcohol in Mira’s breath, she had certainly been drinking far more than her body could take and her blushed her face was only more evidence of that. But the sight of recently made food was enough to distract Lothair from that,

Whatever bird was that Lothair was allowed to sink his teeth on that night seemed to taste better than all of what he had been feed by the best cooks of the kingdom during all of his years in the castle. Of course, there is no better seasoning than hunger.

After he was done eating Mira left the plate aside and put the gag back in Lothair’s mouth. Then she laid on the bed, apparently tired after drinking so much.

Lothair would have liked to ask for water, the food he had been giving was rather salty and only a few minutes after the gag had been placed back inside his mouth he began to feel his tongue beg for water. But too scared about what retaliation could be from a drunk Mira he stayed silent.

As Mira laid on bed with an arm over her eyes Lothair, who was still sitting bound to the chair beside the bed, was able to eye her body in quite a lot of detail. Her exposed midriff was quick to catch his eyes, toned and flat, Lothair looked at that exposed part of her body for more than he realized.

Her well-developed legs were clear evidence of the life she lived, as she had apparently become used to running and climbing, her legs were there to show that, tightly pressed in her leather pants and the boots of the same material which she didn’t bother to remove before laying on bed.

And even though Lothair had to admit that her breasts were smaller than Jean’s and therefore far smaller than Tanis’, he would have been lying if he had said that they did not catch his attention more than one time.

Mira woke up from slumber a few hours later and allowed Lothair a bathroom visit before going to bed. The few seconds Lothair spent in the woman’s bathroom were the first in a long time he had spent completely untied, but no matter how much he rubbed his wrists the rope marks around them seemed to imprinted on them like scars.

Mira, who had waited for him outside, then walked him back inside the room where he told him that he could finally remove the dress and gave him a tissue to clean off the makeup.

Much like Lothair had done when Mira had fallen asleep in front of him, Mira didn’t waste the opportunity to gawk at Lothair’s body as he shyly undressed, taking a detailed look of the movements of his back muscles as he undressed and put the loose prison clothes back on.

Lothair did not saw her gawk at him or bite down her lower lip as she saw him extend his hands above his head to put on the prison shirt, he was too ashamed to even turn back to look at her. Lothair only shyly turned back when he was done dressing up again, and he saw that not only had Mira been looking at him the entire time but that she had was also holding a few coils of rope.

“Good things don’t last long” She said as she saw Lothair take notice of the ropes “Sit on the chair”

Lothair sighed tiredly and obeyed, once he was sitting down Mira began to tie him up again much like she had done when they first arrived tying his hands together behind the back of the chair, tying his legs together on the usual places and pinning his chest to the backrest.

“Good night my prince” Mira said jokingly after dragging the chair away from the bed.

Gagged as Mira had left him, Lothair could not say much in response.

Even though it was not the first time Lothair made to sleep tied to a chair he did not found it to be any easier than the previous time. Much like then, he expected to succumb to sleep after hours of tiredness overrunning his body, only to be periodically woken up the strain caused by his position from time to time, ensuring that he would not wake up well rested.

But he was surprised to see that he was not the only one having trouble sleeping, as Mira kept huffing and rolling over, apparently angry about not being able to fall asleep despite laying on what seemed to be a very comfortable bed.

Eventually Mira rose to sit at the edge of the bed where she sank her face on the palms of her hands, she gave a deep sigh and announced that she was going to the bathroom. When she returned her face was poorly dried as she seemed to have soaked it, she looked tired and seemed to be in a less than good mood, so Lothair didn’t dared to look at her for too long.

But she did, and after taking and uncomfortably long look at Lothair she broke the silence that ruled the dark room.

“Hugh, just look at you” Mira sighed as.

Lothair shyly looked at her, puzzled to know what she meant.

“You want to sleep on the bed don’t you?” She asked.

Feeling too tired to deny it, Lothair slowly nodded in respone.

“Fine…” Mira sighed again as she went to untie Lothair from the chair “It’ll be the last night we spend together after all”

After untying Lothair Mira ordered him to lay on the bed, which he happily did. What he did not expect was to have Mira straddle him almost immediately after, which needless to say filled him with sensations that quickly made him forget how tired he was.

Despite not being surprised by what she did next, which was tying his hands together to the headrest and his feet together to the bottom of the bed, that only increased the intensity of those sensations, which took an awfully long time to leave his body.

“Have you been told that you move a lot when you sleep?” Mira asked as she made herself comfortable in the larger chunk of the bed she had left for herself after she tied Lothair “I think not; you don’t look like you shared your bed much in the castle”

Lothair blushed because of how easy it had been for Mira to read him, and only then did he realize that she was the first woman with whom she had shared a bed, which brought him memories of yet another woman in his life.

Jean, what would she think if she saw him like this? Laying on bed tied up by the side of another woman. He wondered if he should he have rejected Mira’s proposal of sleeping together out of fidelity for Jean? Or did he have an excuse?

Those questions plagued the mind of the prince far more than the much more important one of: what had happened to Jean on the first place? But amidst tiredness, confusion, guilt and arousal, Lothair’s exhaustion triumphed over the other sensations fighting for domain over his body and made him fall asleep.

[Syko Sith]

And the prince returns as Mira's captive. This guy tends to get tied up a lot. I'm actually jealous.

[crow3467]

Finally caught up on the story again I'm glad to see you continue

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty-four!

Chapter 24

After they retreated from the heart tree, Jean, Emelia and their newfound ally of Alcinne took refuge in the forest, which became far easier to traverse with the dryad’s help. She was a guarantee that every dangerous animal would stay away, that none of the food they ate or water they drank was foul and with her ability to twist and bend plants she always procured shelter for the girls.

They had set up camp near a small creek beside which Alcinne used her powers to sculpt a small shelter atop some trees, which was by far the most comfortable place Emelia and Jean had been in since they left Emelia’s manor.

When night fell Alcinne provided light for the shelter in the form of a swarm of fireflies which she made to congregate on the shelter’s ceiling, clearly signaling that there were things she wanted to discuss with the girls before they went to sleep.

“I think the time has come for me to explain to you what is really happening on this land” Alcinne spoke as she sat down.

“I’d say so” Jean replied “All we know now is that you were this forest’s protector, ended up chained on that tree by Tanis, and that you managed to use your power to give me this sword”

“I feel that there is a lot we are missing” Emelia added.

Alcinne sighed, although she did not get tired in the same way humans do she could sometimes understand that very human sensation, and realizing all that she had to explain certainly got her closer to it.

But what she had to told had to be known, especially by the people whom she thought fate had burdened with the responsibility of saving the land from the scourge that had fallen over it, a scourge which they knew by name, Tanis.

Alcinne revealed much about Tanis to the girls. Even though she could not tell of her origins, as they were as unknown to her as they were to Jean and Emelia, Alcinne had a lot to say of her life.

Tanis was far older than she appeared to be, and in previous times she had gone by different names, but she always assumed similar forms. A young sorceress who approaches people with power, and who exploits said power for her twisted gains by manipulating those who fall to her charms.

Even though her latest victim had been Lothair, before him were many others, chief among them was emperor Cyril, the man who had waged wager against the kingdom of Drael was a defeated after a staggeringly long war which costed him his popularity with his people and eventually his life. As Alcinne revealed, the emperor would have probably not embarked in such a bloody campaign had it not been for the advice of his suspected lover, a certain sorceress from a faraway land which convinced him of waging the war that would eventually cost him his life and legacy.

Said sorceress mysteriously disappeared after the war, and only a few years after Tanis appeared in the court of Drael, invited by a curious queen Eliza.

But before trying to slither her way onto power Tanis had done something, she had dealt with the only one who had seen through her deceit and tried to stop her, Alcinne. The dryad was aware of the doings of the sorceress, and when she was told about the mysterious newcomer pacing around the kingdom she knew that she had to stop her.

Sadly for Alcinne, when she decided to attack she realized that she was expected, and that Tanis was far more powerful than she had expected. After battling the sorceress, Tanis emerged victorious, and seeing how the dryad couldn’t be killed she decided to imprison her instead.

She bound her with steel chains to the tree which once breathed life onto her and the whole land, which she infected with a necrotic disease which would slowly kill it. For years Tanis left the dryad as when she first defeated her, taking full advantage of her magical nature, because since she didn’t had any mortal human needs nothing stopped Tanis from never removing her chains and almost never removing her gag.

“That’s horrible” Jean managed to speak.

Even though only Jean manage to utter words, Emelia felt just as sorry as Jean did, but was too shocked to speak.

Even though they understood the dryad’s immortality they could not help but feel bad for what she must have felt during her seemingly endless imprisonment. Jean had only spent almost a day in chains, and it had been hell for her, Emelia had never been bound in such a way, so needless to say neither of them could imagine the agony of what Alcinne had endured.

“But during my captivity I learned something, something that can help us defeat Tanis once and for all” Alcinne spoke, after again thanking the girls for saving her “I learned of her true nature, what she really is…”

As Alcinne explained, the way in which Tanis had been able to remain alive for so long had been thanks to the souls of others, the souls of those who had died in the endless wars, famines and rebellions which she had led many to create.

That meant that as long as she had trapped souls she would not die, no matter how much time passed or how many daggers were driven into her heart. Her body would always be reborn in whatever image she wanted.

“How do we kill her then!?” Jean interjected to ask with frustration “If you’re right she just immortal!”

“A phylactery…” Emelia murmured her thoughts out loud.

The young wizard’s words caused Alcinne to smile, she was slowly beginning to take a liking on the girls who had rescued her.

“As your friend says, a phylactery” Alcinne repeated Emelia’s words “A magical cage in which souls can be trapped, if we destroy it Tanis would become mortal once again”

“But how can we destroy it?” Emelia asked “Phylacteries are said to be indestructible, how can we even…”

Emelia stopped talking when her eyes met with the sword laying by Jean’s side, she had become so used to its sight that she had forgotten that she was sitting beside a weapon of legend.

“As I assume you’re thinking; the sword of the ancients can destroy it” Alcinne explained “So all we must do is travel to where the phylactery is, and once there we will destroy it”

“Do you know where it is?” Jean asked.

“I do, it is on the northeastern boundary of the kingdom, the place called the blood pass” Alcinne explained “So rest well, because we should start our way there as soon as possible”

“Wait wait!” Jean interrupted Alcinne “I think there’s something we should do before don’t you think Emelia?”

Emelia looked at Jean with almost the same confusion as did Alcinne.

“We came here and saved you, we’ve playing the part of your prophecy for a good amount of time, I think now we should get to what brought us together on the first place” Jean said as she looked at Emelia “Saving Lothair”

“The prince can wait, even if you save him it would be of no use if Tanis is not defeated!” Alcinne tried to argue.

“Can’t you destroy the phylactery yourself” Emelia asked, trying to deescalate the disagreement.

“The sword can’t be wielded my me, it is meant for humans” Alcinne explained “And as of now, I know only of one human who can wield it” She said as she looked at Jean.

“We can defeat Tanis later, but I won’t be able to focus on doing that if I know that as we speak Lothair is somewhere, deep in a dungeon and in chains” Jean argued “And since we saved you, I think you owe it to us to help us with this”

Alcinne sighed, after years of imprisonment she had forgotten how much humans are driven by their emotions, but she had to concede, the favor Jean and Emelia had done for her was too great for her to simply deny her saviour’s request.

“Fine, I will help you find the prince, and rescue him if I must” Alcinne sighed “But as soon as he is rescued we will venture east to destroy Tanis phylactery”

The girls followed Alcinne out of their shelter since she said she needed something from outside to help them find the prince. She also needed something which once belonged to him, to which Jean could only provide a hair tie which he once lent her and she never returned, which sufficed for the spell.

Alcinne dropped the hair tie onto the water of the creek and began to conjure her magic, at first the girls could not notice it, but they slowly began to see shapes the moonlight reflecting on the water, and they eventually recognized someone on the image revealed to them.

It was Lothair, he was bound to a bed in a place which did not seem to be a dungeon, which surprised Emelia and Jean who expected him to be in jail. But what surprised them even more was seeing a woman sat on the bed beside him, they couldn’t make much of her features in the shapes the water provided, but the sole image of Lothair bound to a bed by another woman ignited fire in Jean’s heart.

But before the visions could further provoke Jean the water returned to its normal clear state, with Alcinne quickly ending her magic when she saw the girls’ face get red with the sight of what she revealed.

“Where is this?” Jean asked immediately after the vision ceased.

“To the north, near brehil river…” Alcinne replied.

“Damm it, that’s really far from here” Jean cursed.

“Not for me” Alcinne said.

Both girls looked at the dryad with intrigue.

“Remember this?” She asked as she gestured to the other side of the river.

There the girls saw one of the circularly bent trees, like the one they had used to reach the heart tree and to escape it. The portal glowed dimly in a yellow light akin to that of fireflies.

“Rest well, tomorrow we will reach your prince” Alcinne said.

[Syko Sith]

And the heroines return. No surprise that Jean decides to focus on Lothair. She does love him. Proceed when you can. I almost can't wait for more.

[Hakimi]

Great story so far can't wait for the next part

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith @Hakimi Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty-five!


Chapter 25

When Lothair woke up he was more surprised to find out that he was on a bed than he was about being tied up, that he had already gotten used to. Just like he remembered, his hands were still tied together above his head and to the headboard while his feet were tied together to the bottom of the bed, leaving him neatly stretched along the bed.

He blamed the cold for waking him up, as autumn approached mornings were getting tougher for the bare skin, and as he found himself only partially covered by the blankets from his waist down, it wasn’t a surprise to see that the cold had gotten to him.

He saw Mira had already woken up, which was probably the reason why he was only partially covered by the blankets, and she seemed to be in the middle of the process of dressing, Lothair looked away out of instinct even though he would have liked to have a more detail look at his captress.

From the looks he couldn’t resist but sneak in, Lothair saw Mira put on her underwear, and even though she was facing away from him, Lothair was anything but displeased with the show her toned back muscles provided for him as they contracted when she dressed and combed her messy hair.
“Oh, awake already?” Mira said as she looked over her shoulder “No need to be so shy, we shared a bed after all”

Mira turned around and showed that she was in just her underwear, simple black cloths covering her breasts and hips but leaving little else to the imagination.

The girl was quick to notice how Lothair was made to feel by the sight she was providing, and it made her grin, she enjoyed seeing him blush and attempt to look away and be met with her eyes every time he tried to sneak in a look.

Lothair felt his body begin to shiver out of sheer nervousness when he saw Mira walking towards the bed and sit beside him at its edge. Even though they had, like she had said, shared a bed, whatever Mira was doing at that moment felt far more uncomfortable.

“You’ve been very well behaved so I’ll bring you some food from downstairs” Mira said as she stroked Lothair’s hair “But before I do that, I’d like to ask you something”

“What is it?” Lothair asked shyly as he tried to bury down his face.

Inadvertently Mira grabbed Lothair by the chin and forced him to look at her, the prince tried his best to affix his gaze to Mira’s hazel eyes, which at the moment seemed to be more piercing than they had ever been, and even though it was difficult he knew that if he didn’t look at her his eyes would inevitable look elsewhere in Mira’s body.

“Are you enjoying this?” Mira asked, getting slightly closer to Lothair.

Lothair felt the blood rush to his face when those words were pronounced by Mira’s lips. He thought he was being subtle, or that at least Mira was making an effort to ignore him, but as it turned out she was neither unaware of what she was causing in him nor did she intend to ignore it.

“What do you mean?” Lothair asked as if he could avoid the situation.

Mira answered with no words and with her free hand uncovered Lothair completely, throwing the blanket aside and leaving him exposed from the waist down.

Lothair saw what he was already feeling since the moment he woke up, a raging boner, of the same type he had been feeling every single morning since he had been taken by Mira, maybe even slightly stronger, only comparable to what he had felt the previous time they slept together.

“I know this sometimes happens out of the blue” Mira said as she eyed Lothair’s member while she directed the prince’s gaze towards it too “But this intense? And every night?”

Lothair tried to look away but Mira’s grips didn’t allow him to.

“I’ll ask you again, do you enjoy this?” Mira repeated her question “I’d be surprised if you say you don’t, but neither would I mind you saying you do…”

As she pronounced those words Lothair saw Mira look at him like he felt nobody had looked at him before, eying him from head to toes as she bit her lower lip slightly in a gesture she didn’t seemed to mind if Lothair saw.

Failing to see a point in lying, Lothair decided to answer Mira with the truth, but as his nerves had rendered him unable to speak long ago he merely replied with a shy nod and a barely audible mumble.

“No need to be ashamed of it then” Mira said as she let go of Lothair’s face “Like I said, I don’t mind…”

Mira was expecting Lothair to finally speak, but she quickly realized her hopes were too high, while the man she had tied to the bed was an outlaw, his still behaved very much like a prince.

“You see, seeing as how you’re going to be thrown back in jail after I turn you over, I thought you could at least leave with a nice memory of me…” Mira said as she leaned forwards and began to stroke Lothair’s hair, making him shiver “How does that sound to you?”

Lothair closed his eyes as if he could no longer bare the sight of Mira, who at the moment was giving him so much pleasure that he completely ignores her reminder of what she was going to do to him afterwards.

“Would you like some help with this then?” Mira asked as she gently slid her free hand down Lothair’s torso.

Again Lothair did not manage to speak, this time he couldn’t even mumble, but his energy did suffice him to nod frantically in response to Mira’s question.

Lothair could not see it, but Mira smiled upon hearing those words, again biting down her lower lip as she did. She crawled on top of the bed with Lothair, straddling the prince and resting her hands on his chest, on which she could feel the outraged beatings of his heart, which seemed to be struggling to keep up with the prince’s nerves.

“I know you’re anxious to get started but let’s set some guidelines first” Mira said as she leaned into the prince, the sole rubbing of her body making Lothair moan.

Lothair managed to open her eyes and made an effort to return to reality when he heard that Mira wanted to say something which seemed important, but a large part of his attention was still elsewhere.

“I may be a thief, I may have kidnapped you and I will not elaborate on whether or not I’ve killed people” Mira said, seemingly enjoying the subtle reactions to her words she could see on Lothair’s face “But I’m not a rapist, whatever we are going to do now it’s going to be because we both want it, understood?”

Lothair nodded, he thought it had always been like that, not even considering the fact that what Mira wanted to do, she could have done it regardless of his consent.

“So if you want me to stop, tell me and I’ll stop, understood?” Mira said as she caressed Lothair’s face.

Again Lothair remained silent, limiting his answer to a nod.

“I want to hear it from you” Mira said as she leaned closer to the prince.

“Understood…” The prince moaned shyly.

“Good…” Mira said before biting down her lip.

Without warning Mira reached down and grabbed the prince’s ragged prison shirt, she slid her hands beneath it and began to pull it upwards until she lifted it over the prince’s head, leaving his chest and abdomen completely exposed.

“Never thought I’d be doing this with a prince…” Mira said out loud as she looked down at Lothair’s toned body “Bet you never thought you’d do it with someone like me either”

Lothair shook his head, unsure of whether or not Mira really wanted an answer or if she was even asking.

Lothair could only keep his eyes open for long enough to see Mira lean down towards him and when her lips touched the soft skin of his neck his eyes immediately closed, the tickle of the girl’s soft lips made him tingle with a pleasure he didn’t knew if he did not know of or that he had forgotten.

The tingle caused by the kisses seemed to calm down only slightly when Mira descended past his neck, but reignited when she decided to kiss and almost bite one of her nipples, making Lothair let out a moan louder than any words he had yet spoken that day.

“Calm down, you wouldn’t someone to find you would you?” Mira asked teasingly as she looked at the prince face in an expression of absolute pleasure.

“Sorry…” Lothair replied between breaths.

“Try to stay quiet now” Mira said before continuing to Kiss Lothair’s body.

As he began to feel Mira’s kisses get closer and eventually past his waist Lothair began to ask himself where would they end, and as if Mira had read his mind and wanted to answer him without getting her lips away from his skin, Lothair felt one of Mira’s hands grab his cock, which seemed to be even harder than before, and slowly begin to slide her hand up and down its length.

Again Lothair let out a loud moan of pleasure, and even though Mira found it cute she had to remember that they were in a inn with walls which thickness left much to be desired, so as much as she would’ve liked to make the prince moan even louder she had to shut him up.

“I told you to keep it down” Mira said as she playfully slapped Lothair on the abdomen.

“Sorry, I can’ control it” Lothair tried to excuse himself.

“I know, so I’ll help you with it” Mira said as she moved closer to the prince’s face to fill his still open mouth with a piece of cloth, the same one he had been using to gag him this whole time “I won’t tie it, so spit it out if you have to say something okay?”

“Mpghg…” Lothair replied as he nodded, slightly desiring that Mira had tied it after all.

With Lothair now silenced, Mira continued teasing his body, making the prince squirm in his ropes as he tried to instinctively avoid the kisses and touches that were pleasuring him so much. And when her kisses reached the height of Lothair’s hips she knew she had only one place to reach for further down.

Raising her gaze to see that the prince was still in ecstasy, Mira reached below Lothair’s pants and underwear, and began to perform the same movements she had been doing before, only that this time there was nothing between the skin of her hands and that of Lothair.

As the speed and depth of Mira’s strokes increased in intensity Lothair felt that he was only one movement away of making a complete mess of the bedsheets, but when he thought the last stroke he needed was nigh Mira stopped.

The surprise was enough to make Lothair open his eyes, he was mira, still straddling him and sitting over his thighs, looking at his member beg for release as a single drop slid down from the tip.

“Don’t worry, I’m not done yet” Mira said as she saw Lothair’s surprise “I just thought that I could do this in a more special way”

“Mpghg?” Lothair tried to ask.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see it really soon” Mira said as she grabbed Lothair’s member again “Or better said, you’ll feel it”

With a swift movement Mira grabbed the shirt she had pulled over Lothair’s head and pulled back down enough to cover the prince’s eyes, but leaving the rest of his face exposed.

“I’m sorry but I don’t like to be seen doing this” Mira spoke as she tied her hair “But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have more than enough feeling it”

Darkness left Lothair alone with the sounds of his excited body, the rapid beating of his heart and his heavy breathing drowning out all other noised that could be heard in the room. Without his eyesight Lothair had no idea of what to expect from Mira, who until that point was showing her pleasures that he did not know of, or maybe he did.

For some reason neither Lothair nor anyone else will ever know, the darkness his improvised blindfold imposed on him quickly brought him back to another time, a time not to different from where he was at that moment.

It brought him to the forest, the castle grounds of a time when he still was meant to be king, and most importantly, it brought back to him the image of Jean, whom he had briefly forgotten. Sweet Jean, his first love, what would she say if she saw him on this situation?

But just as Lothair’s mind began to concoct answers to that question Lothair’s body was overridden with another sensation. The prince could feel his erect cock being stimulated again, but this time by something far different from a hand.

It was wet, warm and Lothair felt it engulf his member like a hand could never do, and before Lothair could think of what it was his mind finally provided him to answer to the question he was asking himself.

Now he knew the answer, he knew what Jean would think of seeing him like this, or at least he thought he knew. But this revelation had to fight against the immense pleasure that overran Lothair’s body.

Yet with surprising bodily ease Lothair spat out the rag Mira had placed inside his mouth and spoke one word.

“Stop”

Mira immediately did so, and Lothair felt as if he had been left hanging away from heavenly pleasure by a string of hair. But he knew the guilt brought by what he had done would have only been greater if he had allowed Mira to finish.

“I’m sorry but I can’t…” Lothair spoke, feeling as if he was on the verge of tears.

Lothair quickly became scared of Mira’s retaliation, expecting her to be angry at him because of what he had just done, so he was surprised when she gently pulled down his shirt and saw her face, which was far from angry.

“It’s okay, I’m the one who’s sorry” Mira said as she gently stroked Lothair’s hair “I told you we could stop whenever you wanted, so there’s no shame in what you did”

Mira stood up from the bed and untied Lothair’s hands from the heading, leaving them just tied in front of him, then she walked away to get the rest of her clothes.

“Don’t take this as an opportunity to try anything” Mira said as she began dress “Just to finish business before I bring you the food, but try not to make a mess”

It took far longer than he would’ve liked to admit for Lothair to get what Mira was trying to say, but by the time she left him alone to get food downstairs he was far from the mood to finish what Mira had started, the only sensations left from that experience being a deep sense of guilt and an even deeper pain in his testicles.

Even though Mira couldn’t deny that she was slightly disappointed by what happened, she was convinced that it would’ve been worse to do otherwise, so it wasn’t that guilt which burdened her.

What Mira was being burdened with were her growing feelings towards Lothair. Even though her intentions had not changed since she took him out of that cell, she had grown from thinking of the prince as a something to be traded to feel bad for what she had to do with him, from giving the prince in exchange for her sister’s freedom as something she’d gladly do to consider it something she only did because it was the only way it could be done.

‘He’s not a good person, he’s a murderer after all’ Mira said to herself as she felt herself feeling bad for the prince and what she knew will happen to him once she turned him over, but those words couldn’t change her mind. She could not fool herself, she never cared for what the royal family did, and she wasn’t going to start caring now.

Lothair did not seem like a murderer to her, Mira had a hard time picturing him hunting, let alone killing someone in cold blood like he was being accused of. And that was just to say that Mira knew very well that her track record wasn’t clean either, and that she was one to make excuses for murder more often than not, and who was to say that the murder Lothair committed was not one which she could excuse?

Mira sank deeper and deeper in those thoughts as she sat on the bar waiting for the food, and the beer she was drinking was only making her situation worse. But she was quickly brought back to the real world when someone new entered the Inn.

Much like everyone else who could see or hear, Mira turned towards the door to see a tall figure covered in dark plate armor. A pelt felt over its broad pauldrons and a huge sword hung on its back

A great helm adorned with dark bat-like wings concealed its identity, with nobody being able to see who was behind the iron headpiece through the small openings meant for the eyes.

With its armor loudly chattering as it walked across the inn to sit on the bar the figure strode as everyone kept silent, fearing something bad was about to take place right then and there.

Luck had it that the only free seat was besides Mira, so the armored figure sat there. It removed its helmet with both hands, and as a mane of inky black hair fell out of it the figure revealed itself to be a woman, one which is already know to us as Januth.

Without a care for manners the woman drank out of Mira’s mug, emptying its contents completely, and demanded to be served another one.
The inn slowly and uncomfortably resumed its activities, with people mumbling lowly and asking questions about the mysterious woman hoping she would not hear them. Mira was not surprised to see that nobody stood up for her when the woman stole her drink, she wouldn’t have done so either.

“I suspect none of you have seen this man” Januth said as she showed a piece of paper around.

It was a portrait of the prince.

The people of the inn gave their negative replies lowly and shyly in a collective mutter that they hoped the armored woman would understand.

“Do you?” Januth asked directly at the bartender as he served her a drink, to which the man frantically shook his head as he said no. “And you?”

Mira cursed her luck as she saw the huge armored woman turn towards her and show her the portrait of a man she knew too well. She sighed and pretended to be calm, a skill at which she excelled.

“Never saw him” Mira replied nonchalantly.

“Are you sure?” Januth asked, surprising Mira who expected to be left alone after he brief answer “Not even once?”

As if to make up for her current bad luck, the food Mira had asked for arrived at that exact moment, giving her the perfect excuse to get away from that woman who was asking her question with more insistence that Mira would have liked.

“Like I said, I never saw him, not even once” Mira said as she grabbed the plate and stood up from her seat “Now if you excuse me, I have to leave”

“With your food?” Januth inquired “Wouldn’t you prefer to eat it here?”

Mira stopped and sighed, annoyed by the woman’s questions but too scared of her to reply with her usual sardonic tone.

“My companion is bedridden; she can’t come downstairs” Mira excused herself.

“Companion? I’d like to ask her if she has seen him” Januth said she waved the piece of paper.

“She can’t talk right now” Mira said as she hastened her pace and went upstairs to the room.

Mira could feel how the woman’s gaze pierced her back as she left, and she quickly became convinced that she and Lothair had to leave that place as soon as possible. Mira feared that the woman she had the misfortune to come across knew far more than she let on, and she wasn’t willing to take chances with her.

[harveygasson]

Wow Lothair showing a lot of self control there. Still loving this story

[tiedinbluetights]

Wow, I had to bookmarked this story! Fantasy! High-Fantasy bondage! I've only read the first chapter, but it got me hooked, and just had to leave a positive comment, so that you know @banshee that your work is appreciated by even more than those who post regularly. I've got some catch-up reading to do now (while continuing my own stories).

[Syko Sith]

Of course Mira turns out to be a softy towards Lothair. She definitely has feelings for him. Him being able to stop enjoying the pleasure she gave him from simply thinking about Jean. THAT is proof of his love for her. Likewise her insistence on finding and freeing him BEFORE helping the dryad. Yet another enjoyable chapter. Keep em coming!!! (Pun intended)

[banshee]

@DallasNotAustin @TripleZero @crow3467 @charliesmith @VoidEmperor224 @Simo @Pleasurechip95 @harveygasson @Syko Sith @Hakimi @tiedinbluetights Thanks for commenting enjoy part twenty-six!

Chapter 26

During his dinner with the queen and her cabinet Adelard was surprisingly well behaved for someone of his fame. Since he was known as an indulgent immature man, too comfortable with knowing that he would never be king and therefore could afford to live in the luxury of royalty without not a sliver of its responsibilities everyone expected him to behave as such, but that was not the case.

He showed well manners and knightly behavior that nobody expected from the man they were supposedly meeting, and although he was evasive when talking about his life, he didn’t appear to be nearly as untrustworthy as most had expected him to be.

Arguably his looks also helped, when hearing about him most pictured a rather unpleasant man in their heads, like if his behavior would reflect on his appearance, but again, that was not the case. His sharp looking features and his elegant body were quite a magnet for the looks of the women who found themselves alone, and also for some who didn’t.

Adelard was not surprised at all, he was well aware of how people expected him to be when they met him for the first time, and he enjoyed seeing the surprise in the eyes of those who expected him to be a pig in fine clothing.

He was also quick to notice the many eyes that fell on his because of his appearance, he was also used to be lustfully eyes by women around him, and although he wouldn’t have minded entertaining the fantasies of some who laid eyes on him that night, he was not there to do that.

That didn’t prevent him from eyeing back those who did the same to him, but the two women who attracted his gaze the most were in fact the ones who looked at him the least.

Firstly was Eliza, Adelard always had a thing for women older than him, and the queen tapped right into that sensibility of his. Her body seemed to have aged like wine, and while some saw her beauty at her age and wondered how she must’ve looked like when she was younger, Adelard did not feel the need to use his imagination, to his eyes she was already beautiful.

He playfully winked and looked away every time he and the queen crossed eyes, smiling at the queen and finding pleasure in her stoic reactions to his flirtatious looks.

The other woman who caught the duke’s eyes was Tanis.

When Adelard received that mysterious letter alongside the queen’s with its tempting proposal and saw that at its end it instructed him to meet with the queen’s court wizard he had pictured an old man of wrinkly skin and long white beard, not exactly his type to be sure. Initially he wanted to dispose the letter, maybe even turn it over to the queen as he had no interest in taking her son’s place, but when the letter anticipated him and burned on his hands on its own, the duke’s curiosity had been caught by this court wizard.

Since by the time he arrived at the party he was still expecting to see the man he had pictured in his head he was met with a great surprise when he first caught a glimpse of who this head wizard actually was.

A curvaceous body tightly hugged by black robes, soft brown skin and silky short black hair, and a pair of eyes of such strange color that he could not help but be captivated by the exotic beauty of the mysterious woman.

However, Adelard did not get an opportunity to talk to her until the party, and even then he was cut short when he attempted it.

He approached Tanis affably, intending to court more than he intended to talk about the contents of the letter she had sent him, but Tanis’ reply was her index finger against her lips and a playful wink before elegantly walking away from him.

“Meet me in the forest grounds after the party” Tanis whispered to him before leaving him.

If Tanis had not caught his interest before, she certainly did so then.

The celebration became agonizingly slow for Adelard, who could not wait to finally meet with the sorceress whose image lingered on his mind like a mirage.

As people started to leave the party the only ones left were those who resided in the castle, and among them was of course the queen. Adelard was happy to be left with her, mostly enough to forget his important meeting, and when there was nobody left aside from them and the people cleaning the ballroom, he decided to talk to her, but she was quicker.

“I am pleasantly surprised with you Adelard, and I presume so is most of the court” Eliza said “We will continue talks tomorrow, so rest well”
The queen left the room without giving Adelard a chance to keep talking. His frustration with the queen’s escape was large, but he quickly forgot about it when his meeting with Tanis’ came back to his mind.

He left the ballroom and made his way to the castle grounds, telling the guards that he needed to take some air after the party, which was a lie, someone like him would have been too content with going to sleep on warm large bed instead of venturing into the castle grounds in such a cold night, but that only goes to show how much he was awaiting meeting with Tanis.

Before Adelard could began to wonder where he should look for the sorceress, she showed herself, coming from out of the shadows and greeting him.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you sorceress” Adelard spoke “I’ve actually thought of doing more than just talking, but we can stick to words for now”

Tanis chuckled, after dealing with a shy prince like Lothair for so long she found fun in the duke’s overwhelming confidence.

“I suppose you read the letter then” Tanis said “What do you say about my proposal then?”

“Well, I’ve never been one for this whole ‘being king’ thing, just dealing with the court back there left me exhausted” Adelard replied “But I must say, your proposal was certainly interesting, even for me”

“Are you willing to follow along then?” Tanis asked “You must know that this conspiracy isn’t one for the weak willed”

Adelard chuckled to hide his annoyance with the sorceress serious tone.

“You see, what you offer me is undeniably a good deal, believe me, others would kill to get it” Adelard said “But that brings me to the question, why me then? Surely you could bother someone with more compromise with this whole kingly shit with your conspiracy”

‘Oh if you knew…’ Tanis thought to herself ‘If only he knew that the reason why I want him is exactly that’. In other circumstances Tanis would have gladly disposed of Adelard just because he suggested he was being bothered, but since she couldn’t afford to lose such an asset, she kept playing along.

“The others likely think too high of themselves, they would likely tell the queen of my doings which would only get me expelled from the court” Tanis explained as she stepped closer to the duke “And besides that, I believe you are the perfect substitute for the previous prince for other reasons too…”

Tanis leaned onto Adelard, since they were of the same height she laid her head on his shoulder while she hugged him, and with one hand she traced circles on his back while she laid the other on his chest.

“Do you really think the other candidates are suited for this task?” Tanis asked “The people of Drael do not need them, they need someone young and strong like you, someone who can make them forget the prince they lost”

Enthralled by the sorceress touch, Adelard kept paying attention to her words, expecting her words to eventually lead to her getting undressed.

“Do you think you can give them that? Do you think you can be the handsome face to be engraved on coins, the strong body to be sculpted in bronze statues?” Tanis asked as she kept caressing the duke’s body “You don’t have to care about the rest, that can be arranged”

“I’m starting to like your proposal more sorceress” Adelard said as he hugged back Tanis, slowly lowering his hands towards the sorceress’ bottom “I think I’ll accept…”

“Great” Tanis said as she stepped away from the duke before he could reach her bottom “We can continue this talk tomorrow, after your meeting with the queen”

Adelard clasped his fists, disappointed about being left on the edge by Tanis when he felt he already had her on his grasp.

“Sorceress, don’t you feel like I should be given some form of payment?” He asked flirtatiously “You know, for taking such a great task upon my shoulders”

“You will receive your reward at its due time” Tanis replied “Once you are king, your reward can be whatever you desire”

“If so I’d like to ask for something in particular” Adelard said with a grin on his face.

“Anything you desire” Tanis repeated.

“Then I’d like to ask for…” Adelard made a pause just to lust over the scenario he was picturing on his head “The queen”

Tanis also smiled, ‘that takes care of her’ she thought.

“Gladly” The sorceress replied before leaving.

[Syko Sith]

Holy crap!!! I never knew someone like Adelard could be so easy to manipulate. Tanis must be drooling over his request. I think it's time for the fallen prince to encounter his true love again. I'm waiting for it. Continue when your ready.

[harveygasson]

Wow things are definitely moving now

[Roboticrobin20]

Awww man, can't wait to read more. Mira is slowly catching up to be one of my favorite characters. Jean still remains the OG badass but I have a soft spot for thief characters like Mira.

Great writing, hope you continue