by Zoe Blake
He continued to drive deeper and harder, picking up the pace as my orgasm grew nearer.
“Gripir,” I gasped again, arching my back to meet his ramming cock.
The sound of his balls slapping against my wet pussy tantalized my senses. I could smell the musky scent of my arousal. My punished ass and back moved against the bed, reminding me of his dominance over me. My body radiated with energy, and the building orgasm exploded.
Not caring if the other kingsmen heard, for they had all had their fair share of my pleasured sounds, I screamed in wild abandon. Gripir continued to pound his cock into me at a frenzied pace until he too called out my name in a guttural moan. He released his seed inside of me for the second time.
Breathing heavily, we both held each other in silence.
A captor. A man.
A queen. A woman.
11
What seemed like hours later, I stirred and my eyes fluttered open. Plush bedding wrapped around my body, and I saw Gripir asleep on the bed beside me. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats approaching underneath my window, I bolted up. I glanced around the room, briefly forgetting where I was.
Gripir stirred, but didn’t wake. He merely rolled onto his side, his tussled hair falling in his face.
I carefully stood up from the bed, careful to not wake him, and I glanced toward the window hearing the sound of horses approaching grow louder. I ran my fingers through my hair to comb out all the knots, preparing for company. I could feel it. Sense it.
“Queen Zelladine?”
I whipped around to see Gripir sitting up in bed, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He blinked sleepily and looked at me with a small smile playing at his lips.
“People are approaching,” I said as I sat down on the edge of the bed.
Gripir stood up, stretching slowly. “No one can enter through the purple haze,” Gripir informed as he slipped on his clothes. He ran his hand through his hair again and looked at me with stern eyes.
“Stay here.”
I nodded as I watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him. I then walked over to the window and peered outside through the thick amethyst fog to see Troylus, Sigmun and Regin standing below, greeting the approaching horsemen. Squinting, I could see there were five of them, and they carried the king’s colors.
I pushed the pane of the glass open, so I could hear the conversation.
“It’s King Basil,” Troylus said.
“We told him we would bring the information to him. Why is he riding out here?” asked Regin.
It wasn’t long for that question to be answered, because the five horsemen, led by King Basil himself approached just as Gripir walked outside to join the others.
“King Basil,” Troylus greeted. “What brings you all the way out here?”
“I’ve come to retrieve the evil queen,” the king announced, not dismounting, nor did his men.
“We told you that we would get the information out of her, and also have her lift the curse,” Troylus countered.
“And have you?” the king asked.
“With time,” Troylus said calmly.
“I do not have time,” King Basil countered, readjusting himself in the saddle. “My patience has run out. I expected Briar’s body by now, and most certainly the end to the curse. You all have failed me.”
“We have not failed in our mission,” Sigmun said with a cross of his arms. “We simply have not completed it yet.”
The king glanced at his men who flanked each side of him. “Yes, well, I’m here to complete it for you. Give me Queen Zelladine. I’m positive my ways of convincing Zelladine that I am not a man to cross will be more convincing.”
“We are not handing her over,” Gripir stated simply.
The king chuckled and looked at his men who also smiled in trained and puppeteered amusement. “Maybe you are confused as to who makes the rules around here. I am king, and what I dictate will be followed. It would be wise for you kingsmen to remember that.”
“And what exactly would you do to Zelladine that we could not, or have not done already? You can’t simply kill her. Her death would not give you what you want,” Troylus said.
“I would have revenge!” the king shouted. “I would whip her publically in front of all the villagers, then have them throw all their waste upon her. I would make it very clear that one is never to cross my rule or threaten my family. If her death is to come before I find Briar’s body, then so be it. The respect for my throne and reign is far more important than my daughter.”
It took all my might not to shout out from my window and unleash all the rage I felt inside with words. This man was far more a monster than any dark force I had ever encountered. I would vow to make this man pay someday. Something far worse than just a curse.
“King Basil,” Regin said as he took a step toward the line of horses. The action had all the guards placing their hands upon the hilts of their swords in preparation. Basil raised his hand in peace. “We can not simply hand her over to you.” He pointed at the fortress. “Do you not see the spell thick in purple fog? If we were to remove Queen Zelladine from the fortress, the spell would be broken, and all of her powers would return. You and your men would not stand a chance against her.”
I stared down in fascination, wondering why the kingsmen didn’t simply hand me over. I couldn’t understand their resistance. I also believed that Regin was lying to the king to prevent an attack. Yes, the purple haze held me captive, but the kingsmen had proved that they could use the crystals elsewhere, yet they were not sharing that information with the king and his men.
The king looked up at the window. I backed away, not wanting him to see me, in fear that the sight of me would only make the situation worse. I could see the tension was high, and Regin was trying his best to soothe the impending storm.
“I mean,” Regin looked over his shoulder at his fellow kingsmen. “We would hand her off if we could. But we can not risk her regaining her strength and destroying us all with very little effort if her magic was restored.”
Sigmun nodded and added a smile to help Regin’s story. “Aye.”
The other kingsmen did not seem so willing to appease the king, but remained silent.
“Plus,” Regin continued. “No one but the four of us can enter the fortress. You and your men could try, but you would fail. And I can’t say that you would survive trying to do so.”
“What is this dark magic of yours?” the king asked.
“It takes dark magic to fight dark magic,” Troylus countered. “And we are doing as you originally asked. We will find out what Zelladine did with Briar and have the curse lifted. But none of this can be done if we don’t have the queen in our possession.”
The scowl on the king’s face revealed he was not pleased in the slightest. He pulled his horse forward and began walking along the edge of the thick purple seeping all around the stone structure of my prison. He never once got close enough to touch, but you could see that he was seeing if there was a way to penetrate the smoke.
“You men would be wise to not deceive me,” the king said with skepticism washing across his face.
The kingsmen said nothing but allowed the king to circle his horse around them in the hope of quenching his doubt.
Troylus finally spoke. “King Basil, we will complete our mission soon. That is what you sought our services for, and that is what we shall do. We will break Zelladine as we said we would do, but it will be us doing the breaking and no one else.”
King Basil guided his horse to join his men. “Do not fool yourselves, men. You can not stand against me. Don’t allow your arrogance on your reputation alone convince you otherwise.” He paused and looked at each of his men on steeds. “My patience is growing thin. Remember that.” Kicking the sides of his horse, he rode off with his men riding behind him.
When the king and his men were gone, Troylus was the first to speak. “Pompous ass.”
“I don’t think we made his royal ass hap
py,” Sigmun added with a chuckle.
“I think he was trying to figure out a way in,” Gripir said.
“Yes.” Troylus nodded. “I have a feeling the king will return. But this time, with a far greater army than four men. I don’t think he was expecting us to not hand over Zelladine.”
I walked away from the window and sat back down on my bed wondering why the kingsmen had fought to keep me here with them. It was unlike any man to not cower to the king’s will, and I had never seen anything like it before. These men had shown me that they were far stronger than I had anticipated, but watching them below my window proved it so much more. I had always considered men weak when it came to the rule of a king.
With the kingsmen, I was wrong.
12
“Foes on the hills ahead,” Troylus announced, sliding off his steed as he entered the fortress.
He nodded, glancing over the kingsmen. His eyes then fell on me standing beside them near the well. The kingsmen had agreed to allow me to get some fresh air and sunlight in the exposed courtyard, and we were drinking some water pulled from the well when Troylus came storming in.
Scowling slightly when he glanced down at my ankle and saw me free from my shackles, Troylus continued. “There was word of an approaching army with the intent to defeat the mighty kingsmen. I rode out to see if this were true myself. Indeed, there is an army approaching. Smaller than most armies, but there are far more of them than us. But we will not cower. Zelladine, remain at my side. Men, form in front of the fortress and be sure to protect the queen. If she falls, so do we. She is ours to protect at whatever cost.”
Animated by the prospect of a fight, the kingsmen scattered to their positions. I stood alongside Troylus waiting to see what was about to unfold. He led me toward the entrance of the fortress but would not allow me to exit as the kingsmen had.
“You do not need to be afraid, Zelladine. If we fall in battle, I want you to close these gates and hide behind the fortress walls. They may not come in here if we remain outside to fight.”
“Oh, I am far from afraid,” I said with a hidden smile. Licking my lips, I schooled my face to remain expressionless as a movement caught my eye. Several hundred yards away, a head poked from the top of a hill then ducked down in a hurry.
“A scout,” Regin said, keeping his voice down so only the kingsmen and I could hear him.
Gripir nodded, before calling out. “They will be here soon. Be ready.”
Reaching back, Sigmun grabbed his bow and strung it. The quiver was accessible, hanging just behind his right shoulder. Positioning himself in battle stance, Sigmun silently waited for victory or death.
We did not have to wait long. Over the grassy hills and through the light of the setting sun, charged a mixed body of men. Twelve had horses and the rest were on foot. But leading the army was a woman. A woman I recognized, though I wasn’t sure yet if the kingsmen had yet, for her identity was hidden by her helmet with the only sign of femininity being the long blonde hair that flew from underneath the heavy metal.
Sigmun drew back his shaft, watching those on horseback. As the attacking army—led by a woman on a mighty white steed—drew near, the kingsmen raised a wavering cry and prepared for battle. One of the horsemen came within range. Sigmun smiled as he released the shaft. The arrow sped true, piercing between the slit of the horseman’s visor to send him crashing to the ground. The first casualty signaled that the war had truly commenced.
Troylus pushed me back further into the fortress and said, “I must fight with my men and cannot stay here to protect you. Do not leave these walls no matter what. Even if we all perish, you stay behind these walls where you are safe.” He didn’t wait for me to say a single word. Nor did he notice that I followed him out so that I could watch the battle from afar.
The other horsemen reined back with shock at seeing their fellow men shot one by one from Sigmun’s sharp aim. The rest of the kingsmen had yet to fight due to the aim and precision of Sigmun. It was quite clear few fighters could fire a shaft as Sigmun could. The attacking army had thought themselves safe with their numbers, but slowly those numbers dwindled. Sigmun continued to smile, loosing arrows at random among the advancing foe, most of whom had left their faces completely unprotected thinking four kingsmen would be no match.
The kingsmen dodged some arrows with shields drawn, and Sigmun returned fire taking out one of the archers.
“They are closing in,” Gripir called to the men.
“Prepare for hand to hand!” Troylus called, gripping the hilt of his sword. Regin made quick eye contact with him and nodded, drawing his own sword and holding it easily in one hand.
They both sprang up, followed by the rest of the men, whirling their weapons into the faces of their rivals. Shocked, the leading rank stumbled backward from their attack. With the lust of battle filling them, the kingsmen charged into the center of the fight. The axe clove armor and dented helms surrounding them. Dodging many of the blows aimed at each one of them, the kingsmen fought bravely, releasing everything they had upon the much larger enemy.
I watched Regin face off with one of the armored men who had dismounted. As sword rang against sword, he ducked a blow, leapt another, and spun into a whirlwind of blocks and parries. The man never let up, and I couldn’t take my eyes off such glorious strength and skill.
A movement to the right of Regin caught my eye. Troylus drew one of his smaller and lighter axes from a holder along his spine. Spinning rapidly, he blocked a sword coming from the side. Leaping back, he engaged two foes. Now hard pressed, he permitted himself to be driven back. Two horses stood behind him, by about ten yards I guessed, and just in front of them were the other two mounted men prepared for kidnapping with a length of dark cloth. As the enemy thrust at him, Troylus dodged, letting the sword glance off the cloak roll on his shoulder. Spinning sidewise, he turned and ran for the two remaining mounted men. Quicker than thought, Troylus hurled one of his axes at the man on the right while drawing his sword once again. The thrown axe flew true, striking the slits of the visor and hurling the man dead off his horse. Planting one hand on the horse’s neck, Troylus vaulted up. Drumming up renewed energy, he kicked the other man in the chest. The force of his kick knocked the enemy off the horse as Troylus’ sword found the weak spot at the joint of his armor and helmet.
I scanned the battle before me and saw Gripir spurring forward. He charged his opponents, now nearly upon him. Dropping onto his back, Gripir avoided a swiping blow meant to slice him in half. Twisting up, he hurled the dagger into the man’s face. He then charged at the remaining man who was trying to mount his comrade’s horse.
I then watched Sigmun aim his arrow directly at the female—her identity still hidden by her helmet—who had retreated a bit when the battle fully engaged. On her shoulder was a black raven—Hrafn. I saw her lips moving, her hands rising, and as she did so, the purple haze around me lifted just enough that I was able to step out from its suffocating hold. Hrafn was having her lift the spell. I glanced back at Sigmun and saw he couldn’t get a clear line of fire, but he was dodging swords and bodies to try to get his shot.
It was time I ended this. A little human death was inevitable in battle, but…enough. I had the power to stop this with a raise of my arms, and a few spoken words. The kingsmen were all too engrossed in battle to see that I had emerged from the fortress and the purple haze. But as I chanted the last word needed to freeze all men engaged in war, Sigmun was able to fire the arrow directly at Briar Rose.
Her cry was the only sound I heard as I watched the arrow pierce her skin.
The sounds of battle suddenly ceased as every single man was forced by my spell to become as still as stone. They could see, they could breathe, they could hear, but there was nothing any of them could do until I deemed it so. For the first time in a long time, I was in control. They were all at my mercy. But my attention was on something far more important.
Briar.
She swayed on her steed, able
to move because only men were cursed by my spell.
Grasping the pommel tightly, Briar leaned forward. Her breath became shallow and fast. Glancing down, she realized she was wounded. Barely able to keep her balance, she slid off the horse’s back and leaned against its side.
I ran up, worry pounding against my heart. Briar raised her hand, stopping my panic before it could begin.
“I have a leg wound, and it feels like a few other scrapes and cuts. It doesn’t seem that serious except for the blood loss and drop in excitement. I’m just a little lightheaded.”
“Briar,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. “You could have been killed! What were you thinking of, charging the kingsmen like that? You are wounded, and you are a fool. If you were not hurt, I would take a lash to your foolish backside and whip some sense into you.” The memory of Sigmun’s lashing had me blushing, and I hoped that Briar hadn’t noticed.
“You are my friend, Zellie,” Briar retorted.
I shook my head and sighed. “This is my fight.”
“That you need a good friend by your side to help with,” she countered, dabbing at her leg with a piece of cloth she pulled from a bag hanging off her saddle. “She looked up and around at all the frozen men, including her prince. “How long do you plan to keep them all like this?” She giggled. “I have to hand it to you, Zellie. This is one of your finer spells. The looks on their faces.” She leaned over to where Frederick sat motionless on his horse and poked him in the chest playfully. “I could have some fun with this.”
“Be careful,” I warned. “They can see and hear us.”
Briar froze, then stroked the area that she had just poked. “Sorry, my love,” she said to Frederick, her prince and now husband with another giggle.
I tightened my grip around her tired frame. “I guess we better decide what to do now. When my spell wears off…the kingsmen are not going to be pleased.” I took the time to look at each one in their immobilized stance, knowing they were sizzling inside with rage.
