by Klara Raškaj
Krampus stared back into Maximilian's eyes as his gaze softened and stepped forward. "I am not like them," he said. "I'm not as kind as they are. I am not as brave. They have faults, but their hearts are filled with good intent, believe me. Their only wish is to enjoy life and help bring joy into the lives of those who are kind enough to take them into their homes when all the wild beasts had retreated for the winter. I bring nothing but misery. I sought to hurt the one woman I ever loved. I deserved none of the things I've been given. I am nothing like them."
Maximilian continued to glare deep into his eyes. "You will pay for this," he told him. "I will see your head on a spike!"
Suddenly, Barbara stormed over to them and planted a loud, hard slap onto Maximilian's face.
He turned to her whilst rubbing his skin, utterly shocked. "Mother?"
"How dare you?" she told him in a low, threatening tone. "You insolent devil. Bite your tongue before I am forced to cut it. For centuries you men have been feeding the hatred for these people from father to son. And for what? Jealousy? Spite?"
"I will not have my own mother speak to me that way," Maximilian threatened her.
"Then go right on ahead," she said as her eyes glimmered from her tears. "Kill me. Kill me like your bastard of a father killed my every chance at happiness. These men may live in the cold and the dirt, but we are less of animals by their side than here in this hell! The only reason I married your father was because I did not wish to dishonor my family, but I realized too late that same family cared less for me than I did for any of them. I sacrificed my life for them, and yet they gave me away to that cruel man for a nothing but a few damned coins! That was how much I was worth to them!"
"Father loved you!" Maximilian argued.
"Oh, is that what he told you?" Barbara chuckled. "I suppose he just had too big of a heart to share with only one woman, and too big of a fist to keep to himself."
"If it was his will, then so be it," Maximilian added. "He never would have struck you if you hadn't given him a reason to."
Barbara shook her head. "I should have taught you better. I shouldn't have allowed him to speak to you. Perhaps you would have turned into a more righteous ruler for this land, and a better husband for poor Elisabeth."
"Don't you dare say her name in my presence!" shouted Maximilian.
"You said yourself you've always fancied Adelaide more."
"That whore abandoned her duties and ran off with these animals," Maximilian continued. "She abandoned her king and her daughter! If she'd have dared come back, I would have hanged her for the charge of highest treason!"
"And thank God she escaped!" Barbara added. "For God's sake, you were sleeping with Adelaide in the same bed you lay in with Sissi every night! Have you no shame?"
Geli turned to Adelaide with a gaze of sadness and disbelief.
The queen merely looked away.
"If you were allowed to be with whom you truly loved, why couldn't you let her find her own happiness, too?" Barbara asked her son.
"You shut your whore mouth!" he said. "Not since the first men has anyone questioned the king, and you have the gall to stand here and accuse me! My father was all I had! He was there for me while you shunned me every chance you got! Do you think I didn't know how much you despised me? And for what? Because you didn't leave to bed those demons with the rest of the whores? Do you think the people should have erected a statue in your honor for staying here? Nobody will write ballads about you for doing what is already expected of you, Mother! It wasn't your choice to do what was right, it was your duty!"
"As it is your duty to be a kind and righteous father, husband, and king," argued Barabara. "But you seem to have forgotten that part of your oath, as did all others before you. The Khazarassi are more civilized in that respect than any of us."
"You wish me to be more civilized?" He turned around and spread his arms as he addressed the crowd. "Let your words fall into God's ears, then." He pointed at Krampus as he looked at him. "Tomorrow, this pig will be trialed for his crimes against the crown, and if he is proven guilty, he shall be given the punishment he is due for defiling our sacred name."
Krampus stared back at him with a resolute look in his eyes.
However, Geli took a step forward, glaring at her father with clutched fists. "I've heard enough," she said. "He's not the one guilty of these crimes. I am."
"What are you doing?" Krampus growled. "Move aside."
But Geli refused to listen.
"You've turned my own daughter against me," said Maximilian. "What kind of a creature would do such a thing but the devil himself?"
"If the Son is the king of kings, then all kings must aspire to be as he is," said Geli. "A true king makes the greatest sacrifices of all for his family and his people. You keep telling yourself that you are just, but the only thing you are doing is feeding your own feeble sense of self-worth."
"The king knows what is best, you insolent girl," he replied. "And what is best for you is that you be taught a lesson of obedience." He shook his head. "I believed in you. I believed you would do your family proud. I believed you would succeed where your mother failed. I supposed it only goes to show that demons can possess even the purest of us." He turned to the guards that stood by the doors and called for them. Once they arrived, he spoke to them. "Please escort Princess Gerlinde to the dungeons and keep her there until her trial tomorrow morning."
"Please," said Adelaide, gripping her husband's arm, "don't do this. She's your only daughter."
Maximilian tore his arm away from her. "If she wishes to wallow in the mud with the rest of the pigs, then she will be treated like one."
The guards grabbed Geli's arms and took her away as everyone watched helplessly.
"Enjoy the rest of the evening," growled Maximilian as he took his leave.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Dungeon with No Chains
CLOVEN HOOVES CLOPPED against the stone steps in the darkness. The orange light from a single torch became brighter as the visitor approached the heavy wooden door with a small window to Geli's cell. Keys rustled, and the lock clicked.
Krampus entered the cell and locked the door back up behind him after placing the torch he'd been carrying onto one of the metal torch holders on the walls.
"Unless you've come to bring me food, I would kindly like to ask you to leave," said Geli without even so much as looking at him as she sat on the bed-like structure made entirely out of wood.
"As a matter of fact, I have," he replied and revealed some bedsheets and a large piece of cloth containing food that had been served at the ball. He walked over to her and presented it to her. But before she could reach it, he pulled it away and sat down next to her. "But that will have to wait until we've discussed some important matters," he said.
She threw him a glare and looked away. "I'm not hungry anymore."
"I already know you're going to stop me if I try to walk away, so I won't even waste my time," he said as he placed the food beside him, far away from her. "Why did you do it?"
She leaned back onto her hands, staring into the empty space before her. "Perhaps I got sick of him terrorizing my family and my people," she explained. "Perhaps the fact that I didn't want to give you up gave me the courage to finally stand up for all those poor souls who were denied their own happiness." She turned to him. "Why did you do it?"
Krampus sighed. "I didn't want you to have to make another sacrifice," he confessed. "You always do what everyone asks of you, and you never wish to bother anyone with your own problems unless they force you to confess. I didn't want to be yet another burden to you, so I...thought I could help you by making such a difficult choice in your stead. It's just a shame you had to do something so incredibly stupid as telling everyone about us."
"Yes...I've been making some very foolish decisions these past few days," she added with a nod. "Falling in love with you...asking you to marry me..."
"Well, the love part I agree with," he told her with a s
mirk. "But I can't say I'd make any worse of a king than your father. I dare say I even know as much about your culture and way of government as any nobleman. At the very least, I'm only truly cruel to those I care about most. When you really think about it, I've struck you more times these past few days than I had any man in my entire life."
Geli couldn't help but let out a chuckle. She then sighed and looked down at the floor as her smile relaxed. "Why did you run away when I kissed you...back when we were kids?"
"First of all, I didn't run away. It was a tactical retreat," Krampus argued. "Second, you were the only child who paid any attention to me up until that point. I thought your friends would jump out of the bushes at any moment and...you would all laugh at me together for having thought you actually liked me." He turned to her with a puzzled look in his eyes. "Why did you insist so much on spending time with me anyway? All I ever did was try to push you away. Why such persistence? You could have approached any other boy or man and they would have showered you with admiration. You could have had anyone you wanted."
"The first time...I suppose it was because I felt bad for you. You looked miserable. You kept making these strange, angry faces..."
"No, I wasn't," Krampus scoffed. "I was just concentrating really hard."
"Well, you seemed to me like you were plotting to murder someone," said Geli.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" growled Krampus.
Geli chuckled. "And the second time..." She averted her gaze and tried to hide her coy smile. "...I sort of wanted to get back at you for having been so mean to me. I thought...if you hated me so much, then my affection would be torture for you." She shrugged and glanced at him. "And then... I can't really explain it..."
"I can," he told her with a smirk as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back. "You're a dirty little slut."
Geli slammed her hands against the wooden bed. "You know what? Fine!" she argued. "But then you are a deviant and a rapist!"
"Since we're handing out confessions, I suppose I could tell you that...I never meant to truly do anything that night," he said. "I just planned on tearing up your dress and frightening you a bit so you'd leave me alone for good. But you...didn't exactly react the way I expected." He turned his face towards her. "You know, for someone who is treated more like cattle than a woman by her own family, I'm a little confused as to why you enjoy it so much when I do it to you."
"Because it's still my choice!" Geli told him, then let out a long sigh as she looked away. "I've never minded living to serve others. I really haven't." She looked up with a smile. "I love being able to please the people I care about. I feel good when I'm able to make them happy." She then tilted her head back down and frowned. "I... I just want to be able to choose to be that way...not because it's my duty."
"It shouldn't be anyone's duty to live for the happiness of others," said Krampus, sitting back upright.
"It should be," Geli told him as she looked back at him. "It should be the duty of the king."
"But taking on that role should not be a duty in and of itself," Krampus added. "It should just as much be a choice. The choice of the person to wear the crown and the choice of the people who will give it to him. Not every choice we make is a perfect one, but because of that system, my people won't have to suffer through having a man like me as a leader once my father steps down."
Geli looked at him, puzzled. "I thought you said you'd make a good leader before."
"I only said I would be a better one than your father," Krampus explained. "Better than the worst is not good enough. You are a far superior choice compared to me."
"Why would you think that?" she asked.
"You're compassionate...you're reasonable...you're--" He sighed, shook his head, and stood up, slowly making his way towards the door. "I'll apologize to your father on your behalf and take full responsibility. You are the only one in this castle who deserves to sit on that throne, Geli...and you deserve to have a choice..."
She ran after him, grabbed his arm, turned him around, and pulled him into a deep kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. "And I chose you," she told him, gazing into his glassy eyes.
He stared back at her in awe for the longest time. Then, he embraced her, gripping her hair as he kissed her. "Geli..." he moaned through a whisper.
"I want you," she said. "Take me. Right now."
He pulled back as he gave her an impish smile. "Hold that thought," he said. He went over to the wooden bed and spread the sheets he'd brought over it. Then, he turned around and stuck out his hand towards her.
With a bashful smile and a loving gaze, she obliged and let him take her hand.
He sat her down onto the sheets and rose her arms up as he kissed her gently, using the chains from around his neck and torso to tie her wrists together to a metal hoop on the wall in such a way that her arms would be raised up above her head. With a quiet exhale and hungry eyes, he cupped her breasts as he observed them.
"I thought you weren't satisfied with them." she chuckled.
"I'll take what I can get," he replied as he tore off the front part of her dress with one long, loud rip.
"No!" she shouted. "Damn it! Why can't you just take my clothes off like a normal person for once? Do you know how much work was put into those?"
"I'm sorry!" he yelled back. "I already put the chains on you--I didn't want to have to take them off and ruin the mood!"
She groaned. "Just untie me... We should both get some rest."
He just sat there, glaring at her for a moment. He then took the bottom part of her dress and tore it up all the way to her stomach.
"What are you doing?" she protested.
He ripped off a small piece of her dress and tied it around her mouth as she struggled. With a sly grin, he gazed at her as he slid off her undergarments. He stood up and took off his cape and loincloth, throwing them onto the floor. A low chuckle came out as he knelt over her. Then, he roughly grabbed her chin and tilted her head up as he gazed into her eyes with a more serious expression. "Don't talk to me like that."
She just glared at him, breathing heavily through her nose.
"I need you to relax," he whispered softly, leaning his lips closer to her ear. "Can you do that for me?"
His voice and hot breath made her skin crawl with excitement, though she tried her hardest not to show it.
He gazed down at her breasts and caressed them, squeezing them between his palms.
A subdued, muffled moan escaped Geli's lips as she turned her head away.
Slowly, he traced his lips over her ear and proceeded to lick and nibble at it while he tugged at her erect nipples with his fingers.
Geli arched her back and moaned into the piece of cloth covering her mouth, closing her eyes as tight as she could, angry at her own body for betraying her. Her pussy was oozing with clear liquid and aching for his touch. Her expression slowly softened and her legs spread as she sat there. She couldn't continue pretending she was upset for much longer. Her body reacted to his touches like a puppet moving at each pull of a string. But it wasn't until he pushed his tongue deeper that he truly brought down all of her defenses. She took short, rapid breaths, moaning and squirming as he continued to caress her ear with his tongue.
Suddenly, he placed one hand on her back, and the other onto her pussy lips, pinching them together and caressing them with strong, rough touches.
With closed eyes, Geli moaned, nodding frantically.
The fabric covering her mouth soon loosened and slipped down.
"Yes." She panted. "Yes!"
He traced the entirety of her earlobe with his tongue, then slowly moved away. He got down on his knees and caressed the skin on her abdomen with his lips, moving lower with each kiss as stroked her inner thighs with his hands.
"I know I haven't treated you as well as I should have," he told her. "I'm sorry..."
She gazed down at him, her heart pounding like wild. "Master..." she moaned.
"You've been so s
weet to me," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "I should have been more kind to you."
"Take me," she continued.
He chuckled. "Don't push your luck. I might be feeling apologetic at the moment, but I might not stay that way if you keep being difficult."
"I don't want your apologies," she argued. "I want you to fuck me until I faint."
"That's no way to talk to your master, Geli." He smirked.
"Shut up and fuck me already," she growled.
"Please, don't talk to me like that," he cooed. "You know I love you very much." He gently placed his lips over her pussy and started gliding his tongue over her swollen pearl.
She leaned her head back, moaning loudly as her body filled with heat. "A-ah! Oh God!"
He breathed out a hot breath onto her wet skin and continued lapping at her slit and nub with his big, long tongue. Softly, gently, he kept moaning into her as if he were truly enjoying himself.
Geli couldn't keep her eyes off him. His touches were like magic, but it was the way he seemed so peaceful and tranquil that kept pushing her towards the edge. She brushed her fingers through his hair. A giggle escaped her lips with her next moan. "Master..."
He leaned closer, pushing his tongue between her folds and into her slit.
She pressed her thighs against her abdomen, curling up so she could give him more room. She laid back onto the stone wall with her eyes closed and panted. Her body relaxed under the warmth of his touches as gentle waves of pleasure began to wash over her and her heart pounded faster and faster. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Don't stop..."
He pushed his tongue as deep as it could go, lapping like a hungry animal.
First her legs and feet, then her arms--soon, Geli's entire body went completely numb. She breathed out a long moan as pleasure consumed her, and her aching pussy released clear liquid onto his lips and tongue.
He slowly pulled back, rubbing her pussy lips and pinching them with his fingers.
