by Iva Britt
The kingdom ruled by the Family Hawke had long been looking to expand their empire. They conquered more and more southern provinces until they were practically on Laurelasa’s doorstep. Only a small band of neutral territory separated the two kingdoms. Linnea’s father and his advisors were convinced it was only a matter of time before they crossed the line and attempted to take over parts of Laurelasa.
There was much debate about what they should do. Did they prepare for war? Did they make the first move? Laurelasa had always been a place of peace and forging an offensive was not their style. Despite this, they could not just sit there and wait to be destroyed. They had to find another solution.
Linnea tried to keep herself busy during times like these. The nineteen-year-old would walk around the castle trying to appear happy and strong for her people who burned with apprehension. People were always on alert, looking to the sky for flying arrows, and no one ventured close to ‘no man's land’ for fear of being kidnapped or worse. On the outside Linnea was a picture of resolve, but on the inside, she was just as scared as they were.
“My lady,” a voice called.
Linnea turned around at the sound of one of her handmaidens racing up the path. During more peaceful times, she would have had the girl accompany her, but she wanted to keep her ladies safe from unnecessary harm. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine my lady. It’s your father. He wishes to see you in his council room.”
Linnea thank the girl before she changed her course and headed toward a part of the castle she didn’t often visit. She and her brother and sisters were always welcomed in her father’s study, and in his various quarters, but seldom invited to the council room. Her older twenty-one-year-old brother, Cavan, had just started sitting in on sessions. Whatever her father wanted to discuss must have been important if he wanted her meet with all of his advisors.
When she arrived, her father embraced her warmly before she was ushered into the room. Linnea stood by Cavan’s chair as they began to talk about the Hawke Kingdom and how spies stationed on the edge of ‘no man’s land’ noticed activity as if they were planning on moving their camps. Linnea’s father was deciding how to proceed.
“I am not ready to ride to war,” he admitted, “but something must be done. I want to ride out to meet this Richard Hawke and his family.” Just when Linnea wondered why she had been invited to the council room, her father added, “I will take Cavan and Linnea with me. It will look less threatening that way.”
Both brother and sister exchanged glances as their father’s advisors agreed. It was settled then. They would send a raven to the Hawke Kingdom when the meeting adjourned and they would plan to head out a day later.
***
The following day, Linnea, her father, brother, three advisors, a small group of knights and one of her handmaidens disembarked from the palace. It was late spring and even though the days were getting warmer, she still wore one of her warmer dresses underneath her cloak. She’d braided her reddish-hued hair back and rode on horseback like the rest of the men, wanting to impress the Family Hawke when they finally met them. The handmaiden rode in a carriage in the middle of the convoy with two advisors too old for riding.
It was a two-day’s journey to ‘no man’s land’, but Linnea tried to be hopeful. Maybe the Family Hawke would want to work with her father. Maybe they could join forces so that if another threat ever reached them, they would be unstoppable. She didn’t voice her opinions because Cavan looked anxious. He would be king someday. What happened today would someday affect the future.
When they arrived at ‘no man’s land’, the Family Hawke already had their encampment made. There were half a dozen tents set up with standards billowing in the breeze. This sight caused the group from Laurelasa to raise their guard. The other kingdom looked perfectly at home set up in ‘no man’s land’. How far behind was the rest of their armies and people?
“You’ve finally arrived!” a young man said as he exited a tent. He had dark brown hair, a well-kept beard and deep blue eyes that seemed bright and excited. It was not at all what Linnea had been expecting. She’d expected savage brutes, not athletic looking bodies covered in leather armor and fur.
The group from Laurelasa dismounted and let their horses graze as this man shook hands and introduce himself. “I give you my warmest welcome,” he introduced. “My name is Brendan. I am crown prince of the Family Hawke and our empire. My father wishes to speak with you.” His eyes stopped on Linnea and her light coppery hair. “I had heard there was a princess of Laurelasa, but I did not think she would be as fair as you.” Apparently, both sides had made assumptions about appearances. Beside her, Cavan cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Linnea found herself becoming red in the cheeks.
Brendan guided the group into the largest tent where a man stood at a large table, while others sat around it and conversed quietly. It was almost an identical sized group to the one Linnea had come with. The only difference was that she and her handmaiden were the only women. Linnea knew the man was King Richard of the Family Hawke. He looked important and his son, Brenden, was a younger copy of him.
“I hope your journey was easy,” Richard said as chairs were brought in and everyone was made comfortable.
“My good man,” Linnea’s father began, “You speak as if this land is already your own.”
Richard Hawke smiled at him. “It will be, my friend. It’s the Family Hawke’s destiny.”
Linnea stared at the man dumbfounded as he told her father that there were ancient texts describing the Family Hawk’s ascent to greatness and if he didn’t follow it, he would be ignoring God’s plan for him. Linnea and the people of Laurelasa were god-fearing people but this was madness.
“You seem like kind people,” Richard Hawke continue. “We’ve learned that your kingdom is one built on peace. We do not want to see any harm come to you. However, we have a mission to fulfill and we will not stop. We will destroy you if we must.”
“We do not wish to fight you,” Linnea’s father admitted. “We do not wish to have our freedom taken from us either.”
Linnea tried to hide the fear that was trying to take control of her. Her eyes bounced from the king, his son, to each of his advisors, before she noticed a young man standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed over his chest. His chin-length hair was jet black and his dark eyes studied her like he felt sorry for her. She didn’t know if it scared her or made her angry to see him looking at her that way.
“We have a proposition for you,” Richard Hawke offered. “If you are willing to hear it.”
Everyone from Laurelasa exchanged glances and quickly admitted that they had no other option. “We are willing to hear what you have to say.”
“We would like to annex your empire with ours. There will be no bloodshed, and you will be able to rule over your provinces just as you always have. You will just have to answer to us from time to time.”
“What is the catch?”
Richard Hawke and his son Brendan turned their gaze to Linnea and she felt her pulse race. “In order to continue our family’s golden age, we will need heirs. If you daughter became part of the Family Hawke, that would make that a reality. That, and it would strengthen both of our kingdoms if we were a united force against any other enemy.
Linnea had a feeling that was part of the reason why her father had brought her along but she still found herself shaking at the thought of being a literal peace offering.
The fate of the kingdom rests on my shoulders, Linnea thought to herself. What am I going to do?
Chapter 2
Cavan jumped out of his chair. “Father! You can’t put Linnea through that! I’ve heard about these men from the north! They share a woman, they don’t have actual wives!”
Linnea winced at her brother’s words. She was still a virgin and thoughts of sex with a man often made her anxious. Two men at the same time made her feel like she was going to faint.
“It is true,�
�� Richard Hawke explained. “My sons were both conceived by a woman that my brother and I shared. Our ways are not conventional, but it is what the Family Hawke has done since ancient times. We believe that relationships don’t need to have boundaries or titles.”
“Then will you be putting your hands on my sister as well?” Cavan demanded.
Linnea’s father urged her brother to calm down, reminding him someday he would be much happier to have an ally than to have made an enemy. She grasped onto Cavan’s hand tightly when he dropped roughly into his chair. The Hawkes’ might have looked like people from Laurelasa, but they were barbarians on the inside.
“Please do not worry, young prince. I am perfectly happy with my companion and queen. I am too old to sire another son anyhow.” Then he turned back to Linnea’s father. “She will be well taken care of. I can assure that any traditional marriage would not provide her with the power or happiness that she will find with Brendan and Carter. Plus, I will remind you of the benefits that it has for you and your people.”
Linnea noticed the dark-haired man look at her again when his name was mentioned. So he was a prince too. She bounced her eyes between the brothers and noticed that they had similar features, but were incredibly different in how they held themselves. The crown prince was right in the thick of things, while the other stood back and took everything in.
She always knew that she was going to be married off to someone of her father’s choosing, but she still felt the shock course through her when her father agreed so easily. She knew he had his reasons— that making this deal would be easier than going to war. The people would be at ease now that their lives wouldn’t really change. There would be a king in charge of their king, but they would otherwise be free. Everyone won but Linnea.
“A wise choice, my friend,” Richard Hawke answered. “We will begin the changes shortly. We would like to have the princess come back with us immediately. We can send for her things and other maidens once we return home.”
Linnea couldn’t believe how fast things were moving. Typically, there were wedding plans made and a large ceremony before the girl was sent off to her new kingdom. Seeing as how members of the Family Hawke didn’t marry and fraternized with one another, there was no need for all of those preparations.
“I suppose that would be best,” her father agreed and once more, her older brother was outraged.
“You’re just going to give her over to them. What about mother? What about Lyra!?” Lyra was their thirteen-year-old sister who had remained behind.
Linnea’s father looked sad, but knew there was no other choice. “I do what I must, my children.
The meeting of clans began to disband, and the people from Laurelasa began to collect what few things that belonged to Linnea and move them into the Hawke Family tents. Her handmaiden, Penina, looked just as shocked as Linnea as she was escorted away too. All that was left were the goodbyes.
“I love you my sweet daughter and I hope you don’t hate me for what I’ve done.”
Linnea tried to keep strong as she told her father, “I know I am helping you and my people.”
“That’s my brave girl,” he said before he hugged her and assured that her mother and Lyra would visit as soon as they could.
She had saved Cavan for last. Since there were only two years between them, they had been very close growing up. She hugged him tightly, probably longer than she needed to because tears were beginning to blind her vision.
“Will I ever see you again?” she asked.
“I promise you,” he assured. “You will come back to Laurelasa Castle and we will come to you.”
Linnea smiled up at him, feeling more confident than before. “Write me. It will keep me sane.”
Cavan agreed and he promised to make sure she was sent things that would remind her of home. Then he tried to be hopeful. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe they’ll be so busy, they’ll barely come around.”
Linnea tried to agree, but as she watch both princes watching her from the edge of their camp, she had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.
***
Linnea’s initiation into the Hawke Family happened that night. In the middle of what was formerly ‘no man’s land’, they lit three fires, and she stood in the middle of them waiting for what would happen next. She nearly gasped when Richard Hawke approached with a huge hawk on his shoulder. The fire made the creature look like it was made of gold. His sons walked behind him, followed by the rest of his followers. Linnea had wished that her family had stayed, but they were long gone on their way back to Laurelasa. Her handmaiden looked on at the shadows and looking as though she was scared out of her mind.
“Oh powerful bird of prey, oh name sake of this glorious family. We offer you this new being to do your will, to create more members of our adored family, and who will one day be your sacred queen.”
As if the bird understood what Linnea’s purpose was, it hopped off Richard Hawke’s arm and landed on her own. Linnea tried not to freak out when its sharp talons cut into her bare arm because she didn’t want the creature to peck her eyes out or make the Family Hawke believe that she had created a bad omen. She gritted her teeth and looked into the majestic bird’s eyes as she thought to herself, please let me get through this is one piece.
“Let him fly,” Richard Hawke urged.
Linnea studied the bird for a few more seconds before she raised her arm skyward and the bird opened its large wings and flew off. She saw the beads of blood forming where the hawk had grasped with his talons and she could feel the sting that came along with it.
“Come with me to get that cleaned up,” Brendan the crown prince said. Everyone murmured among themselves as he led her toward a smaller tent, and Leanna found herself getting nervous.
“Why do they whisper like that?”
“Have you ever heard the expression that boys will be boys?” Even in the moonlight she could see the handsome man’s smirk. “They know what is inevitably to come. Yes I am going to dress the wound the great hawk gave you, but I’m the crown prince. I get to lie with you first.”
“Well, at least we’re not making this awkward by trying to be subtle about it,” Leanna said full of sarcasm. Luckily the crown prince took it in stride as he opened the tent flap for her and led her inside.
It was smaller than the room the families had their meeting in, but it was still nicer than what she expected. There was a bed made of mats and furs and a few other trunks of supplies where he had a map of what must have been his kingdom and nearby provinces of other rulers. She recognized the shape of Laurelasa even in the near darkness. The flower their kingdom was named for depicted in blob of white.
“Come here,” he said. He poured some water from a canteen onto a cloth and wiped the blood from her arm before he found a container of green paste that he rubbed over the wound and wrapped in a bandage. It smelled like herbs and she could feel the skin tingle under the gauze. “You’ll have a scar, but don’t worry we all do.” He pushed up his sleeve to show her six similar looking scars curled around his forearm. “When you are born in the family, the ritual happens when you’re thirteen.”
Linnea looked at the man. He might have been a few years older than Cavan, it was hard to tell with the beard. He was confident and, though she should have been afraid for what her life was about to become, she found herself not afraid of the him. She looked over at the strange bed made of furs and took a deep breath.
“I’m a virgin.”
Brendan smiled at her, putting his palm against her cheek. “That’s okay. I promise I will make you as comfortable as I can.”
He delicately helped her out of her cloak and gown before he told her to lie on the bed. Linnea felt very aware of herself, her ivory skin feeling cold in the night air, and the fur from the bed feeling luxurious underneath her. She watched as the crown prince removed his various layers before he stood before her, hand on his manhood, looking her over with approval.
“I said it whe
n you arrived and I will continue to say it. You are beautiful, like a goddess.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.
He crawled onto the furs and lay beside her. Linnea braced herself for him to be rough and forceful, but he was so cautious. He ran his fingers through her hair before he kissed her tenderly. It wasn’t long before she was letting down her guard and kissing him back, running her hands over his broad shoulders and arms. She worried about the pain, but she was not afraid of the man who eventually made his way to lie on top of her.
Linnea didn’t know what surprised her more. The fact that when he finally entered her that it did not hurt as bad as everyone said it was going to, or the fact that she found herself enjoying it after he began to fall into a rhythm of thrusting. It seemed the faster and harder that he pumped his cock in and out of her, the better she felt. She found it harder and harder to hold back moans and noises of pleasure so that she eventually stopped trying to be refined and let her instincts take over. Just when she didn’t think it could get any better, her muscles began to tighten until a sensation rocked through her body, and she was grabbing onto Brendan for fear that the feeling would go away. This seemed to excite him even more because he was soon screaming and falling down on top of her. Then it was over, nothing left but their gasping breaths.
Linnea felt tingly and tired as Brendan rolled off of her and propped himself up on one of his elbows. He kissed her tenderly before he said, “That was great and it was only your first time. If you get more experienced you may be the death of me.” He kissed her again. “I hope it was good for you too.”
Linnea nodded, surprised at the course of events that led her to this moment and even more surprised that she wasn’t feeling revolted or scared. “It was better than I could have imagined.”
Brenden pulled her flush with his body, wrapping her arm around her stomach. “Welcome to the family,” he whispered in her ear.
