The Enchantress

by R. L. Weeks

  I grinned and wrapped my arms around his waist. His body, unlike the dukes, was rock hard, steady. I felt the wind whoosh through my hair as we rode down the hill.

  The skyline hits blue as we ride over another hill and I realise we’re riding toward the sea. We reach the beach, the sand swirls around us as the horse gallops. I feel the air swirl through my hair and grin.

  I could smell the sea; its salty, fresh air. The horse stops and he jumps off, then helps me down too.

  “Wow. It’s beautiful.”

  The beach was deserted. The waves slammed against the rocks, spraying the golden sand. The water was a rich blue, the rocks were covered with green, and the sky was a pale blue without a cloud in sight.

  He pulled his shirt off and pulled his hair out of the short ponytail it was in.

  I could not take my eyes off him. Oh. My.

  His olive skin, deep brown eyes, and wavy, unkempt hair made him look like he belonged to the beach.

  He could see the effect he was having on me. I quickly pulled my gaze over to the cliffs.

  He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me closer to him. “The duke is a lucky man.”

  He looked at me such need that legs went to jelly. “I don’t want to marry him.”

  “Who would? He’s awful.”

  I scoffed. “That doesn’t even cover it.”

  “Can I see you again, Felicity?’

  ‘How?... I…”

  “I mean, alone. Like we are now.”

  I blushed. “I guess that would be okay, your highness.”

  “It’s Alastair.”

  He pulled away and looked behind me. I turned to see what had provoked that reaction and smiled.

  It was Anne.

  “Who’s your friend,” he asked.

  “Anne,” I replied. “She’s been travelling, but she came back to visit me.”

  So much for her being ill.

  If I knew what would happen next, I would have never let Anne stay.

  FOUR

  The chandelier tinkled as it swayed. The room shook and dust particles drifted down from the canopy above my bed.

  The entire castle vibrated from the roar approaching. I looked out of my window and choked on my breath.

  They were coming, faster than the wind, on horseback – nightriders.

  They were coming for me.

  I clasped at my amulet and panicked when I didn’t feel the power pulsate through the little stone.

  “Please,” I begged, but nothing happened.

  The roar of them approaching was growing louder by the minute.

  They were by the forest now, so close, too close.

  I pulled on my red travelling cloak and darted out of my room. The flames flickered from the candles as I ran down the dark corridor.

  From the stone walls, shadows grew closer to me, their fingers reaching for mine. At the end of the corridor, a shadow with white holes where its eyes would be stood as still as a statue. The air was thrashed from my lungs as I was pulled out of my nightmare.

  I looked around panicked. What was that about?

  I spent the day walking around aimlessly, as always, and trying to avoid the duke. He hadn’t bothered with me much since our conversation about the prince.

  The questions about the prince still circled in my mind. That dream was so surreal and he did keep leaving at night. I knew he wasn’t a murderer, but something was going on.

  ❦ ❦ ❦

  That evening I walked up to the Queen’s chambers. I had heard that she wasn’t all there, and after clapping eyes on her for the first time that day, seeing her unsure of anything, I was curious.

  I stopped by the doorway when I heard Alistair’s voice.

  “Try to sleep,” he begged.

  There was a slight groan and then music. I watched as Alistair played the violin for his mother as she fell asleep. The song he played was beautiful, it was slow, but each note was played with such sweetness that it could send anyone into the beautifulness of dreams.

  The poor Queen. She must only be in her late fifties. She didn’t know where she was half the time or who she was talking too.

  The king keeping her out of sight made sense politically, the people could not know that one of the rulers did not know what she was doing half the time, yet to another person, it was cruel. She would benefit greatly from going outside to see the bright blue skies, the children playing, the sounds of the birds in the morning.

  I did not see her as a queen, but as a prisoner in a very fancy tower.

  As she began to snore, Alistair leant down, kissed her forehead, and turned and saw me. I felt embarrassed for watching. He walked over and took my hand.

  We walked up the corridor. “That was beautiful.”

  He gave me a small smile and tucked the violin under his arm. “She gets nightmares unless I play for her.”

  My heart could have burst. “That is so lovely for you to do. It is sad, though, that she should be kept hidden like this.”

  His smile turned into a hard line. “It’s for the best.”

  “For the kingdom.”

  “Yes.” He looked at his violin. “We must always do what is best for the kingdom.”

  We walked the rest of the way in silence.

  He stopped by his chambers and bit his lip. “I have to ask you something?”

  “Of course,” I said eagerly.

  “There have been rumours… that, you, well, you have been attending adult parties.”

  My face flushed red. “I- no! That’s not fair. The duke made me go. I didn’t do anything, well, I slapped him, but that’s it.”

  He laughed, which was not the reaction I expected. “You slapped him?”

  I nodded and lowered my head.

  “Brilliant,” he gushed, but his smile quickly dropped as he looked behind me. I turned around and gulped. It was Anne.

  “Cee,” she said brightly. “Your Highness.”

  “A-Anne,” he spluttered and gave her a coy smile. “Can I help you?”

  I looked from him to her with confusion. Was something happening that I didn’t know about?

  No, surely not.

  Anne smiled as if she was oblivious to it. “I was hoping you could help me. My favourite horse has run off.”

  I wrinkled my forehead. She doesn’t have a favourite horse.

  “I’ll help you, of course,” he said and turned to me. “Goodnight, Felicity.”

  “Night Cee,” Anne called as the prince joined her side.

  I tried not to think of it and walked around the corridors, stopping occasionally to look at the royal paintings.

  I heard panting as I rounded the corner. For a moment, I thought I had walked into another sex party, but I hadn’t.

  The duke was pinned up against the stone wall by some man. They didn’t notice me. The man was pushing his head against the wall, while his other arm was wrapped around the duke.

  I was worried he was trying to hurt my fiancé until he moved slightly, revealing his hard length. He pushed it into the duke and he let out of a moan of pleasure.

  I covered my mouth to stop myself from making any noise.

  “Harder,” the duke begged.

  The man was at least a foot taller than the duke and far more muscular.

  I watched with fascination and disgust as the dark-haired man reached around and started to stroke the duke’s length swiftly.

  With every push and each stroke, I felt my body betray me - I was getting hot between my legs.

  The duke’s fingers gripped the wall in front of him for support as he was pounded from behind.

  “Harder,” he moaned.

  I watched beads of sweat drip down their faces as the man pushed faster until the duke's feet were almost off the floor.

  “Oh fuck,” the man groaned.

  My fingers danced down to my skirt. I hated myself for what I was doing, but I couldn’t help myself. Flustered, I laced my fingers up the inside of my thigh and press
ed against my clit, letting out a small sigh.

  My fingers were wet and slid along with ease.

  Hearing the duke groan as the man released into him tipped me over the edge. The hot and tingly sensation spread through me. My legs jolted a little and I bit my lip to hold back my moan.

  The duke and the man leant against the wall, panting. I turned around and quickly rounded the corner before they saw me.

  I was ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty at what had happened – but gosh, did it feel good.

  ❦ ❦ ❦

  I was furious as the whispers reached me. The duke had branded me a whore – his own fiancée.

  The shame got to me and paranoia had set in. I was sure that they hadn’t seen me, but the more I play it over in my head, the more convinced I become that the duke had seen me in the corner of his eye. Now, this was proof.

  “You stupid, petty girl!” I heard the duke’s voice boom behind me.

  I turned, flushed red. I pretended not to know what he was talking about and placed one hand on my hip.

  “What?”

  He ground his teeth. “You told someone what you had seen between me and Marun!”

  “Marun,” I asked.

  He lowered his voice and leant forward. “The man who was pounding me up the arse, "you stupid girl.”

  I almost choked. “What?”

  “Don’t play dumb.” He had begun to pace around the room. “You were there. I saw you playing with yourself. You enjoyed it!”

  My eyes widened. He had seen.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” he mimicked. He was bright red and his eyes looked more dangerous than ever. “You could have cost me everything. My name…”

  "What about my name? You told everyone that it was me, not you. You told them that I attend sex parties and take it up the-” I started.

  He laughed and my blood boiled. “Really, Felicity? You’re a woman. Your name means nothing, mine, however, means everything.”

  Tears threatened to prick at my eyes. “It does! I came here to marry a man who doesn’t love me, doesn’t care for me, and doesn’t even like my gender.”

  “Shh,” he hushed and looked over at the door. “I don’t care what delusions you got dreamt up in that stupid head of yours, but this is the real world, and love doesn’t come into it. You are here to be a dutiful wife and bear children which you will do!”

  I scoffed. “Not now, not ever. I’m leaving.”

  He grabbed my arm as I tried to leave and for a small man, his grip was strong. “Ouch, please, stop.’”

  He bared his teeth and pushed me into the wall. “If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll fucking kill you!” He pressed in harder. Tears were falling down my cheeks as I tried to move. “Got it?”

  I nodded. He let go of my arm and when he left the room, I rubbed my arm and sobbed as quietly as I could. My stomach ached and my head spun.

  I hated it here and I wanted to go home – I’d kill to go home.

  FIVE

  A chill crept over the trees as we walked, the glum weather matched my mood.

  “I’ve been branded a whore,” I said again with teary eyes.

  Alastair squeezed my shoulder to comfort me, which made me smile, despite the rage building in the pit of my stomach.

  He stopped and leant down, when he stood back up, he was holding something so beautiful – a flower I had never encountered before. “For you.”

  I gasped. “What is it called?”

  He smiled playfully. “You have never seen a rose before?”

  I shook my head. So, it was called a rose. Oh, it was beautiful. It’s petals so delicate and – “Ouch.”

  “Careful, it has thorns.”

  I didn’t even notice them. I sucked the blood from my finger and held it carefully, in between the thorns, and looked up at Alistair. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, it is,” he said quietly, his focus only on me.

  I briefly closed my eyes and felt my cheeks flush. “Thank you.”

  He rubbed my arm and I flinched. He eyed the spot he had just touched and looked at me with concern. “Did he hurt you?”

  I pressed my lips together. “No.” I couldn’t tell him the truth. If I did, he may say something and I had no doubts in my mind that the duke would quickly discard of my life. No, if I was going to get out of this, I had to be smart – just like the duke.

  He tilted my head up with his hand and leant in close. He smelled like grass, bark, and the earth. I breathed in his scent as if it were made for me and closed my eyes.

  “He better not.”

  I smiled. “Have you seen Anne?”

  He pulled away. “Yes.”

  “She’s lovely, isn’t she?”

  He shot me a cheeky grin. “Not as lovely as you.”

  I could have melted. “I have to ask you something.”

  He arched a thick eyebrow. “Yes, love?”

  “Where do you go at night?”

  He glanced down at his chest. “It’s complicated.”

  He seemed unsure of himself for once.

  “Please tell me,” I asked, wild with curiosity.

  He let out a long, drawn out breath. “This,” he said, pointing to an amulet dangling on his shirt, “is the source of true power. It used to belong to the wife of a former king, Maurice. She was a sorceress and a good woman, according to the stories. He used her power to get what he wanted, and when he was done, he took the amulet containing her magic.”

  “So, it’s full of magic?”

  He nodded. “Yes. However, the amulet didn’t work for him. He tried everything and finally concluded that he would have to kill her for it to work.” He rubbed the amulet and sighed. “She found out what he was planning and cursed him and his bloodline. She died from the curse. Anyone with greed and darkness in their heart would become a beast.”

  I smiled. “Yet, you are as handsome as ever.”

  He blushed at my comment. “Thank you. Yes, it doesn’t affect me because I only do good, but it comes with a price. Her knights, men who served her, died for her in a final battle against Maurice. It is said their souls became the knight riders and now they ride across the lands and seas, looking for this.”

  My nightmare came back to me as I looked at it. I had dreamt of them, the knight riders, the amulet. I felt its power call to me as I looked at Alastair. I reached toward him without thinking, but he must have taken it for something else because he leant down, smiling, and that’s when I felt it. The explosiveness of what must be love. His warm lips on mine, our lips moving together as if they had been crafted for each other. His hand ran down to the base of my spine and he pulled me in close. He cupped my cheek with his other hand and kissed me harder as if he had never been kissed before – with urgency and need.

  A crack from within the forest broke us apart. I looked behind him, it was just a deer, walking along with no care in the world. Despite the number of hunters in the forest, it did not fear us, as if it could sense we were harmless and walked straight past us.

  “You are the reason for my courage,” he said breathlessly and linked his fingers with mine.

  I felt myself tear up, “But we cannot be together.”

  He sighed heavily. “Felicity, you will always have my heart. Nothing can take that away from you. Do you understand that?”

  I nodded and blinked back my tears. I wanted him, now, and every day and night until I left this world. “I hate my life.”

  “No,” he cooed. “Your beauty touches everything around you – how can someone with such a beautiful soul hate her life?”

  I felt childish. He was so much wiser than me, even though he was only five years older than me. “I wish I was marrying you.”

  “I wish I didn’t have to become king.”

  The words shocked me. “What?”

  He pressed his lips together as if evaluating what he had just said. “I mean, I wish I were free.”

&nbs
p; I gently touched his hand. “I do not judge you, Alistair.”

  He smiled again, and I was always happy to see that smile. “I know you don’t, my love.”

  ❦ ❦ ❦

  Back at my room, I had given into sin once more. I imagined Alastair’s face between my legs and pressed the pillow down on my legs to get some sensation without touching myself. I felt the pressure and pushed my bottom harder into the mattress. My lip was still a little swollen and as I dragged my finger across it, the memories of the duke and the dark-haired man mad my body spasm slightly. An involuntary moan left my mouth as I pushed the pillow down harder until I eventually pressed it between my legs – imagining it was his face. I wondered how he would taste in my mouth and let out another moan when I heard my door swing open.

  Flustered, I sat up and threw the pillow across the room.

  Alastair’s gaze fixated on mine. He knew; of course, he did. What must he think of me?

  “Dammit, Cee!”

  So, he’d picked up my nickname from Anne. How much time had he spent with her?

  He reached down and stroked over his crotch. I eyed his bulge and touched my clit, sending tingles up my stomach.

  With urgency in his gaze, he climbed onto the bed and slid under the cover, going up between my legs. Just knowing how close his lips were made me thrust my hips in need.

  His lips met my bud, he took it in this mouth and swirled his tongue around it gently.

  I pushed his head down with my hands and groaned as I felt every vibration purr through me.

  His tongue darted in and out until he caressed the orgasm out of me with his mouth. I pressed his head down harder as I came in my mouth. He continued to lick as I came, taking my juices in his mouth.

  SIX

  I was bewitched. His breath tickled my neck as we lay beneath the sheets, embraced in each other’s touch.

  Being with him was the closest I had ever been to being at peace. No words were needed, we just knew. We lay in silence and yet we moved together as if we knew each other’s thoughts. It wasn’t that I hadn’t ever loved someone, but this was the first time I truly understood it.

  It was the love I had always dreamt of and more… and yet I couldn’t have it. He was so close to me, yet so far away.