Take Heed

The banquet had gone well. Chiron looked out across the floor of the crowded tent and smiled a satisfied smile. His youngest brother had been sent to look for the second; Kervasi, and so it had been left to him alone to present the filly. And rightly so, as it was he who had captured the creature. Although his father had wanted the glory to go to the whole family, it had gone instead to Chiron alone. So his brother’s stupidity had paid off.

He turned back to the Prince. Young Alexae was the son of King Kley, and blood-drunk on his first victory in his first military campaign. He’d let his generals go wild once they had breached the defences of the city; the blood had flowed in the gutters like a river.

“And the takings?” asked the Prince, staring at Chiron through bleary eyes. He was drunk on the wine too, potent stuff, and the tent was full of smoke. He almost had the look of a madman, since his eyes now sparkled with greed as the conversation turned to slaves. “Oh, by the Gods, what takings! The last report said near a hundred captives, but they had searched only a third of the city then, the figure could have doubled or tripled by now! And you, my brave Chiron. You must take some as prizes.”

Chiron inclined his head. The general’s mouth curled into a slight smile. He would have suspected a trap were he talking to any other man, or at another time. Chiron was betrothed to the Prince’s royal sister, and he was wary of insinuating that he might be interested in taking a bed-girl. He thought it best to reply as if oblivious that the Prince might have been offering any such thing “To trade; certainly. If your Grace should be so generous.”

Alexae tossed back his head and laughed. “Such abstinence, friend! I hope you do not expect the same from others, or you will be monstrous disappointed with your comrades!”

He should have known. All the same, Chiron would not be the only man who could be offended by the presence of a pleasure slave in his bed. “I would not offend your father for my life, your Grace.”

“Ha! My father cares not if you take bed-slaves, Chiron! Come, now, friend,” he said, leaning in, laying his hand on Chiron’s elbow. “I’ve a notion. What say you to this; I‘ve seen a few of the choicest pieces already today. I‘ll a girl for you. See just how well I know your tastes, eh, old friend?”

“Your majesty is most kind,”

Smirking, the Prince took another long drink from his goblet and raised his hand to motion to the guard. The man approached cautiously, and Alexae beckoned him to lean down that he may whisper in his ear. The guard bowed and went out of the tent.

“I hope your majesty does not gone to too much trouble,” Chiron began, his voice husky in the smoke of the tent.

“Nonsense,” was all Alexae replied, his eyes fixed again upon the lithe dancing-girl who was now winding her gorgeous body around the centre-pole of the tent. He slid further back against the deep pillows, chuckling to himself, and drinking deeply. Chiron sighed slightly and returned his gaze to the spectacle, wondering how long it would be before Alexae tired of him and decided to take the girl away from the crowd and back to his own tent.

Moments later, the guard approached from the side. It took several minutes to catch Alexae’s attention away from the girl, when he did he nudged Chiron in the ribs. “The sweetest flower of the field, Chiron. For you.”

He was exaggerating, of course, but she was indeed a rare beauty, and perhaps would have been prettier yet without her hair lank and her eyes swollen and reddened. The guard held her beside him by her forearm, which was bruised, but her skin aside that seemed milky and soft.

“Ahh,” Chiron breathed, sitting up and reaching for her. He pulled her towards him and onto his lap, stoking her soft cheek and quickly moving down to her breasts. But she squirmed away from his touch. “Don’t,” he gave the order calmly. “I won’t hurt you.”

She ceased to resist, and he in turn relented his caress until her breathing had slowed, and when he touched her again, she wouldn’t look at him. So be it, though, he preferred it that way, and he pressed her away from him and stood up, putting an arm firmly about her waist.

Alexae was still grinning drunkenly up at him, holding his head lopsidedly with the tip of his tongue sticking out. Not a particularly princely pose, but this prince was not one well known for his regal ways. Besides that, any general could be forgiven a little revelry on the eve of so great a victory.

Chiron smiled back, declaring, “My deepest thanks are yours, my most royal Prince,” before turning to leave.

“Chiron!” cried Alexae after him. “When you tire of her, you ought give her to my royal sister, as a handmaid!” Chiron heard nothing after that but laughter, and when he looked back over his shoulder to give one last bow, he saw that Alexae had finally crossed the room. The dancing girl had stopped her routine mid-flow and prostrated herself at his feet. Chiron saw the prince reach down for her, heard the soldiers cheer, and then turned away, wanting to see no more.

The walk between the main tent and his own little campaign tent was brief enough, but not so brief that they did not encounter a small crowd of his men, drinking around a campfire, who looked over, guffawed and started shouting advice for the night. Chiron smiled and raised his hand, but he felt the girl on his arm stiffen.

He pushed up the flap of fabric that gave entrance to his tent and guided the girl in. “Go and sit on the bed,” he told her, motioning it with his hand and turning to tie up the laces that would keep the rest of the world out.

She had done it, obediently enough. She was perching on his little bed, hands clasped in her lap and eyes fixed on the floor. Chiron stood for a minute, thinking what to say. He was too tired to go through with a façade of seduction, he wanted pleasure and release, and then he wanted to sleep. And besides, it would be an insult to the girl’s intelligence if he tried to pretend he was giving her a choice in the matter. Still, he pondered on how to get started for a few moments.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Dolfreywyn,”

“Come here, Dolfreywyn.”

Slowly, she rose and stepped across the small space, presenting herself meekly before him. Wanting to examine his prize, Chiron curled his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her face up to his. Indeed, she was a fine prize, he had undervalued her in the main tent. She had delicate bones, creamy skin and large, dark eyes. Her features were pointed, but not sharp; she was very pretty.

He found he could span her waist with his hands, and drew her close to him. She shrunk away, and for a moment he was worried that she was going to resist his advances and that he would have to force himself on her, which he was too tired to do. But it is pointless to have a slave who thinks you weak.

Beneath his hands, he found that the slim body had more soft curves than he had expected at first. Both his hands slid down over her waist and thighs, exploring invasively. The girl did not move, but she stiffened with his every movement.

Laying his hand on the small of her back, Chiron pulled her closer still, so that she was pressed against his chest. Then, in one swooping movement, he gathered her up and carried her the small distance towards his bed.

It was impossible to look into her eyes, frightened and pleading, as he kneeled over her. Her dress was plain, and if Alexae’s steward had done his job properly, there would be no garment beneath it. Sure enough, when he put his hand beneath the skirt and slid it up her thigh, it met no barrier.

He was growing hard now, and finding that the fast rise and fall of her breasts was very arousing. His hand reached further, brushing his fingertips along soft skin, until she suddenly flinched and squirmed. Without a moments pause, he nipped her skin between his fingers, pinching hard. “Lie still,” he muttered, sternly.

But she was too frightened to heed the warning in his voice, whimpered “no” and struggled against him. Quickly, Chiron captured he wrists in both hands and pinned her hands to the mattress above her head. That stopped her resistance, but it didn’t stop the tears welling in her eyes.

“I am going to have you,” Chiron said, breathing into her face, looking into her eyes, filling his voice with violence. “I am going to take you again and again, and I will care nothing for you if you dare to resist it. You will spread your legs for me or I will have you thrashed.”

With that, Chiron put his hand between her legs and found the soft, warm slit. Pressing his thumb against her clit, he drove his fingers inwards and up. She whimpered beneath him, closing her eyes, turning her head to the side, and opening her thighs. “Good,” murmured Chiron. “Good.”

It seemed like the next thing he knew, he was inside her. He had pulled off his trews and lifted her dress from over her head, to find her body pink and flushed and himself hard and aching for her. He did not enter her roughly, but no sooner than he realised what he had done, he wished he had been gentler.

The significance of the resistance her felt inside her seemed to hit him in the pit of his stomach; she was a virgin, or had been. Why he had not realised it sooner he could not think. All he knew now was she was shaking and sobbing in pain, blood wetting her thighs. Suddenly, all he could think of was getting this over with, for both of them.

Driving himself into her deeply, he ground his hips against hers. He bent his head to nuzzle against her shoulder, kissing the soft skin he found their. Without making the conscious decision, he soon found that one of his hands had sought out hers and curled his fingers around hers.

Finishing, finally, Chiron released her hand. He looked down at his cock to see how much blood their was. She had not bled much, but the red stain reached down both their thighs. Sighing, he decided to do nothing about it. They could lie in their own dirt for one night. He had done much worse during campaigns.

Dandling her like a doll, he turned her onto her side and pulled up the blankets from under her. Climbing beneath them himself, he wrapped the sheets around her and himself, and then drawing her lithe little body close to him, pressing his chest to her back. She had gone quiet, stopped her tears, and lay limp in his arms. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said, before falling asleep.




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PS Thanks to Mitts