by Rizzo Rosko
"'Tis the only payment proper for slaying a dragon." The sandy haired boy said, jabbing his sword forward to stab an unseen foe, who happened to be in front of her.
Eliza ducked backwards to avoid being hit. She did not mind. "And who was it that told ye there was a dragon in the woods?"
"I did."
Eliza looked up. Blaise stood in the doorway smiling down at her. She was so enraptured with Edward's play that she had not heard the door open.
She leapt to her feet and ran to his open arms, allowing the warmth of his chest to seep into her and delighting in it.
"We shall wed tonight." He leaned his mouth to her ear. "I hope ye are prepared for my bed."
Despite the effort to keep Edward from hearing the remark, the boy made a sound of disgust and stuck his tongue out. Blaise swatted at him but Edward dodged the blow.
Eliza cleared her throat and thought of a way to take Edward’s mind from what he just heard. "Yer brave brother was just telling me of how he plans to be a knight by the age of twelve, and king by thirteen when he slays the dragon."
Blaise raised a brow. "Oh? Bit young to be a knighted."
Edward puffed his chest out and held his sword firm. "I'll be the youngest!"
Blaise scratched his chin. Eliza was overcome with the urge to take his hand and kiss the fingers that touched his face, but she squashed it down for later.
"Will ye not still need yer nurse?" Blaise asked.
"She's hardly a nurse." Edward grumbled, turning his head to stare at the older woman who slept on Eliza's bed. She'd come in with Edward so that the boy could see his new sister. First she sat on the bed for the lack of another stool, then complained of her joints so that she might lay down, and now she slept deeply, snoring like the dragon from Edward’s tale.
Blaise shook his head at her. "Marianne is too lenient with that woman."
"Why is she lenient on her yet demands everyone do their work?" Eliza asked.
"Because the old bat is good for naught else and my step-mother does not wish to feel any guilt that she sent the woman out into the cold." Blaise shoed Edward out the door. "Go and find yer mother. She should be making arrangements and informing guests of the new celebration we are to have.
Edward bounded from the room, leaving her and Blaise alone apart from the log on Eliza's bed.
His mouth latched onto hers when he was gone. He backed her into the wall, taking advantage of her open mouth when she gasped in shock.
Eliza adored the caress of his warm tongue and the feeling of his large hands as they massaged her waist and pulled her close. Her breasts peaked beneath her corset, and the friction between her nipples and tight cloth erased all thoughts from her head as the madness took over.
"I think we shall have to go to my chamber if we are to take this any further."
His words ripped her from her pleasure filled haze. "Nay, please. I wish to wait until we are wed."
He sputtered, and Eliza became aware of the hardness between his thighs, and she flushed with guilt. Of course he would wish to be with her as soon as possible considering the interruption he had to face when Sir Nicholas attacked him.
She licked her lips and spoke quickly. “I can hardly explain it. Last night ‘twould not have mattered, but now that I am nearly yer wife...” She took a long breath. “I would like my first experience to be proper.”
Blaise’s lips curled devilishly.
Her panic that he may not understand broke through her. "'Tis only a few more hours yet. I promise I shall make it up to ye."
He barked a laugh. "Ye do not even know of the insinuation ye have just given me, do ye?"
Insinuation? Her face became as hot as fire. "What insinuation?"
He threaded his fingers through her hair. She had left it down since its thickness and tangles made the process of putting it up entirely too long and difficult, which would have halted Blaise's romantic action. "My sweet Eliza, I will gladly wait until the vows are spoke if that is yer wish, and rest assured, 'tis I who shall make it up to ye."
***
Lady Gray was not a lady at all, Eliza reasoned. She was a sorceress. After the entire castle and all of its guests consumed every bit of food prepared the night before, she had somehow managed to have another feast ready in short notice for the wedding.
Roast mutton, quail, boar, and partridge lined the long table in the Great Hall, along with various other fruits and vegetables sliced and surrounding each dish for a colourful decoration. Wine goblets were prepared, and bowls of sauce placed. The servants had to struggle to keep the guests from consuming everything before ‘twas time.
'Twas not as big a feast as she had seen during the celebration of Blaise's safe return, but the men and women attending did not seem to mind as they eyed the line-up with dripping mouths.
Lady Gray and Olma had worked to paint her face, lips, and crown her hair with flowers for the occasion. Marianne insisted that Eliza wear her red gown for the occasion, and would not allow Eliza to be talked out of it as she wrapped a blue ribbon into her hair to accent the flowers.
Eliza was made a wife in the courtyard. Lord Gray had found a priest willing to perform despite the lack of a betrothal ceremony, though Eliza suspected that Lord Gray paid a steep penalty for it.
Her love for the man standing before her swelled so deeply that the ceremony ended before she realized it. She thought Blaise had wanted to kiss her, so she returned it, but then grain rained down upon her and cheering erupted.
Blaise took her and rushed her away from the guests. The men dove, leaped, and grabbed for her gown and tried to get under it in a mad frenzy. Blaise laughed, lifted her into the air, and ran faster with her in his arms.
Fear swelled inside her as the men continued their chase, each seeming more desperate than the rest to remove her gown. “What do they want?”
"Yer garter, my love, or any other piece of yer gown. They believe 'twill bring good luck to their own loves. Did ye not know that?"
She had not known. She had never attended a wedding and had never learned about them. "Oh," She could not bring herself to admit her fear, but relief filled her that 'twas merely a group of men who simply wanted the luck of a garter rather than her body.
Glee filled her as the good cheer of the men who chased them infected her. She reached down, lifted her gown and exposed her legs.
Blaise groaned and his steps quickened, as though eager to get to their chamber at the sight of them and not because the men behind him sped up as well.
Eliza took her garter and pulled it down her leg and off the end of her foot, losing a shoe as she did. She twisted herself and flung the garter to the crazed crowd behind Blaise's shoulder.
They stopped abruptly as a group, as though the sight of it in the air put them in a trance before it landed in the grass. Eliza watched them dive for it like starving men, and she burst out laughing before Blaise turned and they were back in the castle.
Blaise's warm breath came out rough and needy against her cheek as he leapt up the stone stairs two at a time. "I have wanted this since the moment I set my eyes on ye. We shall join the feasting and celebrating after."
She shivered, knowing perfectly well what he intended to do to her. For the first time she wished she were experienced so that her nerves would not be working so tirelessly on her now.
She grabbed his chin and forcefully turned his head, bringing his lips to hers since that usually worked to make her forget her troubles.
He tried to pull away so that he might see where he was going, but she clasped her hands about his head and refused to let him leave her. Before she slid her eyes shut she saw that he kept his open so that he might see where he was going.
She giggled through their kiss. How silly he would look should a servant see him kissing her so passionately while looking in the other direction.
Because her eyes were closed she did not see exactly where he took her, but had the vague sense of when he stopped to open a door and ente
r a chamber.
Her eyes flew open when her back landed on a bed, and she smiled as Blaise hooked his legs over her waist to straddle her before he leaned down to resume their kiss. Her fingers found the hem of his jewel encrusted robes and slid inside, searching for warmer flesh.
He pulled his mouth away with a smack of their lips. "I love ye. I hardly know what I ever did without ye."
Her face heated, and he seemed to take it as a sign that his words of love had their proper effect before resuming the kiss.
‘Twas the opposite that was true. Her guilt attacked her again at his proclamation, but she forced it to the back of her mind and allowed his kiss to fight off the rising shame building inside her.
As he worked on tearing the laces of her bodice out a new pressure built inside her. Her breath turned heady before she realized it, and her mouth craved more of his until she moved her lips faster and faster against his.
Blaise jerked his head away. "Ah!" His hand touched his bottom lip.
"What is it?" Her breathing made her sound as though she were the one running from those men carrying him.
"Ye bit me."
Her eyes widened. "I did no such thing!"
The side of his mouth that he did not touch lifted in a smile. "Ye did so, look." He removed his hand and indeed, a small red swelling was growing there.
She had done that? Confusion over whether or not to be frightened or humiliated coursed through her. "I—I am sorry."
He laughed. "Fear not. Ye are free to do that whenever ye wish."
She opened her mouth to ask why but he seemed to see it as an opening and swooped in to take advantage. Again, Eliza lost all thoughts to the sensations his mouth delivered while he pulled off her bodice and threw it aside. With both hands he took her chemise and ripped it down the center.
Eliza squealed at the desperate attack before moaning as his mouth found her breast.
She arched her back up towards the hot cavern, her hands fisting into his orange hair and gripping tightly. He groaned but made no complaint as his other hand found her nipple and tweaked it in time with his mouth.
The pulsing between her legs intensified. She had not even realized it was there, but now that she did, it felt wonderful, fast, and heavy.
Her gown sailed across the air next, following the discarded bodice. Despite how he removed her layers and tore holes in her flimsy chemise, Eliza still felt hot. She wanted it all off!
"Take it off. 'Tis too hot." She tugged and pulled at her chemise but it did not rip anymore like it had done for Blaise.
"In good time. Ye can handle the heat if I can. See? I'm still fully dressed."
She raised her head. He was telling the truth. Though his garments were dishevelled from her earlier treatment, they all remained firmly in place. That could not be comfortable for him. Eliza reached her hands out to rectify his situation when he grabbed her wrists, stopping her.
She turned up to face him questioningly, though he merely smiled a lecherous smile. "'Tis not time for that yet."
Remaining on his knees, he moved down her body and lifted her knees. Her entire body turned to fire at the awkward position.
"Sit up." He ordered.
Stupidly, she did as be bid her, resting her body against her elbows as she watched with curious fascination what he was doing. His mouth touched the side of her knee, his proud eyes glancing up at her as though wishing to see her reaction as his mouth went further and further up her leg, or down, depending on the view, leading to her—
She grasped his shoulders. "Nay, what are ye doing?" Surely he could not mean to kiss her there!
His mouth touched her lips once. "Hush, ye will enjoy this."
She did not believe so, and the look on her face must have told him her thoughts before he set back to his task with a new passion she had never before experienced. His mouth touched her opening, just after the spot where her legs met.
A rush of lightning jolted her from that space all the way up to her neck, spreading at her arms and weakening her elbows.
"Lord!" She fell back on the mattress. Her legs quivered but she refused to allow them to fall like her arms had done, not if it meant having Blaise pull his tongue away and having that delicious feeling disappear.
His lips kissed her there while his tongue worked and probed. She felt rather than heard him release a delicious moan that vibrated along her skin and inside her, tingling the sensitive, pulsing flesh.
Stars erupted behind her eyes as the pleasure rose, became stronger, pulsed faster, and then made its final bloom between her legs. The shock that touched her body was so great that she arched, a foreign sound tore away from her throat before she landed back on the bed.
Her breathe came in unsteady puffs as the air slowly cooled around her. Her heart pounded like the stomping feet of everyone who danced in the great hall. Her heart pulsed like hands against a drum before slowing, as though tiring after being petted and stroked so wonderfully.
Blaise climbed up her body to lay with her, facing her. A pleased grin touched his face.
"That was wonderful." She moaned, curling into his delicious warmth. Her eyelids felt remarkably heavy. “I wish I had discovered it sooner.”
“Discovered—?” Blaise hesitated, and in that time Eliza nearly fell into slumber. “I know ye are an innocent, or, as innocent as can be after this, but have ye never so much as touched yerself?”
Her eyes flew open. What sort of question—? How could he ask her—? But he did ask. How should she answer? If she lied would it be obvious?
Her answer seemed to take too long as Blaise brushed a thick lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “I suppose with yer limited knowledge of intimacy ye would shy away from it.”
Her face heated. He was correct. As though he looked inside her head and saw the answers, he knew. Years of waiting outside of her small home while her mother earned their living inside gave her an idea of lovemaking that she did not enjoy.
And yet, she forgot of the horrible possibilities that she always feared when Blaise brought her to his, their, chamber.
Eliza swallowed hard. “Would it please ye if I touched myself?”
She felt his arms tense around her. “Would it—? By God, yes!”
She snuggled further into him. She was pleased with his response, with how she did not fear the thought of what she offered to do, and everything around her.
Blaise cleared his throat. She felt his lips press against her forehead. "That can wait, at least for when yer heart has calmed enough to try again."
Her eyes snapped open again. "Again?"
He chuckled. "Surely ye did not think I would be going the night without satisfying myself."
She tensed in his hold. She had not thought of that at all. Now that he mentioned it, she could still feel his hard arousal pressing against her.
Her mortification must have showed, because he burst out laughing. "Eliza, ye are far too innocent for an older woman."
She huffed and turned her back to him. "I am barely four seasons older than ye are! 'Tis not such a difference."
His hand reached around and plucked one of the blossoms that had come loose from her hair, took her hand, and placed it in her palm. "Nay, I suppose not."
She could not remain angry at him while she admired the pretty flower as his hands massaged her bare arms. "When shall we try again?" She asked.
"In a few moments, I'd say. After that we should go back down to enjoy the feasting in our honour, otherwise Nicholas will likely become displeased with me."
Her lips tugged upwards in a lazy smile. 'Twas an amusing thought. "I look forward to learning more of yer bed."
"I look forward to teaching ye." The sharp points of his teeth showed as he grinned. “I never thought a lady could curse in such a lovely manner as ye do, especially while in the throes of passion.”
Had she been cursing? Sounds were escaping her throat but she hadn’t known she’d been speaking foully.
Knowing tha
t denying his claim would only prompt more jesting, she closed her eyes and made herself comfortable, intent on resting until their next love play. Then she frowned against the layers of clothing he still wore.
"Remove yer tunic and hose, 'tis too uncomfortable resting against the jewels sewn into them."
***
A small group of men sat around a weakening firepit, all grumbling to themselves as they picked at the bones of their catch and huddled closer to the dying light for warmth.
They muttered hatefully to themselves. "We do all the work and that little bitch reaps all the benefits."
“‘Twas I who did all the work.” Ivan muttered, the pheasant he just finished eating barely amounted to a stone being dropped in a well. His hunger put a growl in his voice as well as his stomach. “Colin stopped ‘im, but I was the one ‘ou ‘ad to sneak up on ‘im and pull ‘im from ‘is horse.”
The shorter, heavyset one in the center spat out a small bone. "Is going ta marry the boy we took out. Works fast, she does."
The third man, the most handsome of the three as he was neither too tall, short, skinny nor fat, with hair of spun gold and the face of a perfectly carved statue, tossed a rock into the fire, sputtering sparks and ashes. "Had I known the little wench was going for a bigger prize I would've demanded more than the few coins she had."
"Don't think she had anything else," said the heavyset one.
"Don' be a fool, Colin. She 'ad plenty to give under those rags o' hers." He snarled. "We could o' been killed doing as she asked. Wha' if someone should a' figured out 'twas us who knocked that boy from his horse? Damn animal ran like a coward. Couldna even find it to sell it."
The other two men turned to stare into their dirty hands. Then they turned back to their leader, who nodded as though he'd just proved his point.
"See? We took all the risk, did all the work, and she gets to be a lady while we starve!" He slammed another rock into the pit, scattering the remains of the burning logs that nearly went out with the assault.
"Stop! We need those. The nights are gettin' colder." Said Ivan, quickly tossing a few more dried twigs into the sparks in the hopes of feeding the flames that were as hungry as themselves.
