by Mlyn Hurn
Brand moved away, recognizing the other man’s voice. “Damn! Robert! What the devil were you thinking? You will get yourself killed someday marauding this way.”
Avalon stared from one man to the other. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. She moved her hand to her boot, slowly removing her knife. She had not wanted to pull it out too soon. It hadn’t been easy, but she had decided that if she had to she would wait until he was caught up in his manly throes. Then she would have moved her leg, plunging the knife into her rapist’s back. It appeared as if her husband wasn’t going to kill him. Then she would. Before she could react, Brand was holding out his hand to help the other man to his feet.
He reached out as Brand put the knife away, giving his cousin a bear hug. “It is good to see you, cousin. Don’t tell my father about this, or he will have my head. You know how he feels about the old ways. I agree with him, except when I see a pretty woman.” Robert shrugged his shoulders. “Good thing, I guess, you got here when you did. I don’t think our fathers would have liked it if you murdered me.”
Avalon could stand it no longer, and she lunged at her attacker. She managed a tiny scratch to his arm before her husband stopped her. Brand held her tightly, easily wresting the knife from her hand, dropping it to the ground.
“Avalon! Stop!” Brand finally loosened his grip when Avalon stopped struggling. He released her slowly, but when she reached for the knife again, he was forced to wrap both arms around her from behind. “Stop it, Avalon, right now! Robert obviously made a mistake,” Brand told her between gritted teeth. The only thing that saved his younger cousin was the fact that he had not known that Avalon was his wife.
Avalon glared at Robert. “You must kill him, husband! I don’t care who he is. He has dishonored your wife! You must!”
Brand tightened his hold, surprised at the vehemence Avalon was showing. “Darling, I can’t kill him. Our fathers are brothers. Surely you understand—”
Avalon shook her head. “What about Althea? I have to avenge her honor. God only knows what horrors she has suffered at the hands of these louts!”
Brand turned her around, holding her upper arms tightly. “Althea is fine, Avalon. We found her first, before you. And since you had left the main camp, it took me a little longer to find you. Now, I suggest we all go back and make sure no one else has been killed.”
Robert grabbed Avalon’s knife, not wanting to leave it anywhere near the angry woman. He let his eyes travel over her one more time, shaking his head regretfully, but when he saw Brand glaring at him he stopped and led the way back to the camp.
Chapter 8
When Avalon awoke the following morning, she stretched slowly. She became aware around her that the camp had already awakened. She could smell breakfast cooking and realized she was starving. She sat up slowly, pushing her blankets down. She remembered then that Brand had decided they would stay at Robert’s camp until morning, and then start the final ride to his home. They had not put up any of their usual tents, and she had slept outdoors, like everyone else. She pushed her hair back, out of the way, again thinking about their return to camp.
Brand had seemed distant all evening, not touching her, and not kissing her even once. And when she had finally asked about sleep, he had laid her blankets out for her, but not beside his own. She couldn’t push the thoughts away that perhaps he couldn’t bear to touch her now that he had seen Robert with her. Maybe Brand assumed that what he had interrupted had not been the first time…
Avalon jumped up suddenly, but she never took more than half a step. She tripped and fell to the ground. She turned angrily, thinking she had caught her feet in the blankets. She stopped though, seeing that there was something around her ankle. She pushed aside the blankets and her long skirt and shoved the soft leather of her boot down. Avalon gasped in surprise to find a finely woven, but amazingly strong leather chain surrounded her ankle.
Her eyes followed the soft leather and she saw that she was tied to a small tree a few feet away. She flushed angrily as she realized she had been tethered to a tree like a horse. Her fingers scrambled to undo the leather, but it was secure. She glanced over at the tree, and started to crawl toward it.
A pair of boots stepped into her path, halting her. She looked up and saw Brand. She glared up at him. “Husband! Someone has dared to tie me to a tree! Give me your knife so I may cut this ridiculous tether!”
Brand ignored her demands and reached down and hauled her to her feet. “I have tethered you, madam wife. I am tired of these ridiculous games. Until we reach the castle and I can fashion something else, you will wear this.” He turned and unfastened it from the tree, and replaced the loop around his own wrist. “Althea! Bring Avalon her breakfast, and then we will be on our way.”
Avalon glared at her husband. How dare he treat her like an animal! There would be hell to pay for this treatment, and in front of his men, as well. She turned as Althea neared with a plate of food. She thanked her cousin, accepting the plate. She didn’t sit back down, but ate quickly.
“I need to relieve myself, sir!”
Brand nodded and started walking toward the dense surrounding bushes. Avalon was forced to follow or fall down. He stopped a few feet inside the cover, and folded his arms across his chest. He stared right back at her when she started tapping her foot impatiently.
“I’m waiting for privacy, sir!”
Brand nodded, but shook his head the very next moment. “I know you are, wife, but you aren’t getting any. Now do your business and we’ll be off.”
Avalon shrieked her anger and frustration, but it was obvious he was determined in this action. She stretched the leather leash as far as possible and turned her back on him. She raised her skirt, and squatted.
* * * * *
Brand smiled as he watched his proud wife dealing with this overwhelming frustration. He could have allowed her this small courtesy, but he was determined to teach her who was in charge. And he was damned tired of her little games. When she walked back toward him, she didn’t even look his way, but went right past him, obviously expecting him to follow her back to camp. Brand didn’t move and Avalon was brought up short a few steps later. He waited until she turned to glare at him angrily. He then calmly walked at a fast enough pace so that she had to hurry to keep up with him.
He put her on his huge destrier and mounted behind her. He urged his horse into a gallop, and soon the others fell in alongside them. It was nearly noon when they came atop a ridge and could see the castle below. Brand paused, taking in the magnificent stone structure. It could rival any castle in the land, and hold off any invader for months, if needed. He spurred the horse to a gallop and started headlong down the hill. He heard the cry being raised as he and his men neared the castle. The gates were opened and people were soon spilling forth.
* * * * *
Avalon saw people cheering and greeting him eagerly. Someone tossed a bouquet of freshly picked flowers into her arms. Inside the courtyard, Brand slid from the horse behind her. He took the leather from his wrist and handed it to Avalon. His voice was soft as he spoke.
“I will spare you the embarrassment of meeting my family on my tether, if you promise to behave yourself.”
Avalon looked at the leather in her hand. She knew that he didn’t have to do this, so she nodded quickly. She didn’t relish having everyone wonder why Brand had his wife tethered to him. He lifted her down and offered her his arm to lead her up the steps of the impressive castle. Seeing the glazed windows, Avalon was most strongly assured of the wealth and importance of this castle.
Avalon looked behind her and saw that Althea and Gandalf had followed a few steps behind them. Althea smiled with encouragement and Avalon tried to match her cousin’s surety and confidence. But of course, Althea was obviously in love with her husband, and he with her. Their marriage had not been contrived and forced upon them.
Avalon stopped thinking as she saw an older man with the most beautiful woman she’d ever
seen at his side, coming toward her. She watched as Brand greeted his father, Lord Carlton, and his stepmother, Lady Elizabeth. Avalon was too nervous to do more than murmur greetings, and accept the kiss on the cheek from her stepmother-in-law. They spent the next two hours in the main hall, talking and then eating an early dinner.
Lady Elizabeth stood finally and indicated that she would escort Avalon to her rooms. Avalon looked toward Althea, begging her silently to come with her. She watched as Althea whispered to her husband and then stood and walked upstairs with the other two women.
Avalon was shown to a large room that was a hive of bustling activity. The bed had been freshly made, and she saw that flower petals had been scattered across it. She listened as Elizabeth pointed out different things around the room before leaving the two younger women alone, or at least, as alone as you could be with three serving girls. It was obvious that a hot steaming bath had been prepared for her, so Avalon undressed and climbed in. She felt embarrassed being attended to by so many servants. At home, she had one, and of course Althea was always there for her.
With her hair freshly washed and combed, and dressed in the softest of sleeping gowns, Avalon sat on the bed. Fresh water had been brought in a moment earlier, and she realized it was for Brand. No one had commented on the leather around her ankle, she had been happy to see. The serving girls had just left when the door opened again. She was surprised to see Brand was not alone. Gandalf stood at his side.
Gandalf grinned and held his hand out. “I’ve come to reclaim my wife, Lady Avalon. We won’t promise to see you tomorrow, because once I hit that comfortable bed, we may not rise for days.” He laughed heartily as Althea blushed.
Brand closed the door behind them, and looked over at his wife sitting cross-legged on the bed. With her hair loose and streaming over her shoulders, she didn’t look old enough to be anyone’s wife. He moved into the room, and began discarding his clothing as he went toward the tub of water. He saw his shaving kit had been laid out on the table beside the tub.
With a great long sigh, Brand climbed into the tub. As his body relaxed in the hot water, he sighed once again. He leaned back and slumped down into the water. A few minutes later, he held a hand up with the sponge in it.
“Come and wash my back, Avalon.”
Avalon paused for a moment, but slid off the bed and walked over to him. She took the sponge and dipped it into the water, and then rubbed it on the bar of soap. She spoke softly and told him to lean forward, but Brand took the sponge from her first.
“You had best slip your gown off, or you’ll get it wet,” Brand reminded her softly.
Avalon considered his words and finally dragged the gown up and over her head. Not looking at Brand, she took the sponge and knelt at the side of the tub. Brand leaned forward and she began washing his back. She went to hand him the sponge, but he grasped her wrist firmly.
“There’s a lot more of me to wash, wife. It will be easiest if you climb in here with me.” A huge smile curved his lips.
Avalon paused, finally acceding to his logic. She stood and stepped into the tub facing him. He spread his thighs and had her scoot between them, handing her the soap.
“You can just soap your hands, instead of the sponge,” Brand told her softly.
Avalon flushed, guessing he was saying that so she would touch his skin. She was already aroused, just being this close to him. She raised her soapy hands and started by washing his shoulders and down each arm. Washing under his arms seemed very sensual to her, but she didn’t know why. And when she moved her hands to his chest, her hands seemed to be unable to move away from his nipples. And it was Brand who finally moved her hands down his body.
There was no soap as her hands curled around his hard shaft. He moved her hands to cup and fondle his balls. Brand began whispering to her how to touch him. It was Avalon who moved in the water, actually sitting on his lap and wrapping her legs around him. Her hands guided his cock toward her body as she rose upward in the water. She didn’t give him a chance to help her, and brought their bodies together. She welcomed him eagerly, threading her hands into his hair. She tugged his head backward and kissed him wantonly.
* * * * *
Brand was surprised at her aggression. He felt her hips moving and setting their sexual rhythm. Her lips kissed him eagerly, and then slid to the side of his neck. She kissed and licked and finally bit him, even as she rode his cock. Brand slid his hands to her waist, trying to slow her hell bent drive toward climax. But Avalon was too intent, and worked her body on his, rubbing against his hardness, even as it slid in and out of her cunt. She cried out a moment later as her climax washed through her. And as her sweet aftershocks shook her body, Brand’s hands moved and directed her until he groaned a few moments later and filled her with his cum.
Brand leaned back in the tub, with Avalon draped over and around him like a wet cloth. It felt so sweet and delicious, being inside her body, and each time it was something new. He stroked his hands up and down her back, caressing her skin. He shifted her hair to the side, and then moved one hand back to cup the side of a breast, mashed against his chest. She certainly had proved to be a handful, he thought to himself, in more ways than the obvious. He remembered the previous night, after Avalon had gone to sleep.
He and Robert had sat talking as the fire died down. It was Robert who had told him he had better “seed his wife’s belly quickly, or that firebrand would singe him.” He had laughed at the time, but he knew it was probably true. The only thing that would tame Avalon would be to get her with child. Nothing slowed a woman down like a rounded belly, followed by a babe suckling at her breast.
Brand closed his eyes as he eased her breast more fully into his hand. He could imagine Avalon’s body as she carried his child. Her belly would round itself slowly as her breasts got bigger. And as her belly neared her sixth month, it would be obvious to everyone that she was expecting. He visualized her breasts, fuller, more rounded, and drooping from the milk she carried to suckle his child. He would happily suck her tits every day, helping prepare them for an eager baby. He did enjoy sucking big tits, and he was getting hard again just thinking about it. His cock flexed inside Avalon’s cunt, eager for more exercise. He lowered his head and kissed the side of her neck.
Brand eased his other hand between their bodies to cup both breasts, and began squeezing them even as he started to move his hips. He watched Avalon’s face, but her eyes stayed shut, even as he came inside her body a second time. They stayed joined until the water cooled, and finally Brand helped her from the tub. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow. Brand smiled and covered them both up with the blankets. And twice more during that long night, he came into her body. He had decided that Robert was right and the easiest way to settle his wife down was to give her a baby.
Chapter 9
Avalon’s days and nights flowed into one another. During the day she learned how the castle was run, and how things were done. And nights were spent making love to her husband. He had removed the leather leash and not replaced it as planned. She was glad for that, at least. She had a hard time accepting that this was to be her life from now on. She went riding, but only with her husband, never alone.
Elizabeth gave up trying to teach her certain things, finally convinced by Althea that she had been trying for so many years, that she had decided it was hopeless. The second month, Avalon was becoming bored. She had started wandering the courtyards, introducing herself to the different people who came and went. There were many peasants and peddlers, and one day she met an old woman who had a small wagon that she pulled herself.
Avalon had taken to the wrinkled and wizened old woman instantly, and the second day she had come out looking for her, she had brought a huge pouch stuffed with all kinds of foods she had pilfered from the kitchen. The woman had looked surprised to see the lady return a second day, but had gratefully accepted the woman’s food. The third day, she told Avalon she must leave the next morning, but of
fered Avalon a package, wrapped in brown cloth. When Avalon came the fourth morning, the woman was gone.
Avalon returned to her room and pulled the package out from beneath the bed where she had hidden it. Seated on the floor, half-hidden by the bed, from anyone who might enter, she removed the thin brown cloth concealing the old woman’s gift. Inside she found it was a book. On each page was writing, and a pressed flower, or herb or grass. She quickly learned it was a book of scents, which the woman had sold small vials of from the back of her cart. The last page contained a recipe for a scent that was called “Lady Avalon.” Avalon realized the old woman must have added it before she gave her the precious tome of knowledge. She closed the book and looked at it for the longest time. Finally, she decided she was going to follow in the old woman’s footsteps, and not let these precious scents die.
Avalon didn’t tell anyone her plans, but found a deserted room in the castle that received lots of light throughout the day. She began gathering what she needed slowly, asking different people for different things. By the end of two weeks, she had her laboratory ready to begin. She needed to start finding the different plants listed in the book, and for that she would have to go herself. She could leave the courtyard on foot, and no one seemed to notice. She began carrying water, a sandwich, and a large bag to place her finds into.
* * * * *
Avalon had been gathering and drying her finds for over a month before Brand came looking for his wife in the middle of the day. Of course, no one could say where the lady was. One was sure he had seen her here, but another said no, she had been outside with the children. After an hour of fruitless searching, he had mounted his destrier angrily and gone in search of his wandering wife. All the while he looked for her, he began devising ways to confine her to the bed.
He had been out for two hours searching when he finally began riding back toward the castle. He was stunned to see her sitting in a field just a short distance from the side entrance of the castle. As he rode toward her, he saw that it appeared she was picking blades of grass, weeds and flowers.
