by Eric Vall
“I think maybe you should come in here with us, Joe,” she shouted back.
Shit.
I got to my feet and headed over to the ruins of the cabin where Cienna had been sleeping, and when I got there, Jessamine was kneeling down at the other princess’ side. Cienna was awake, but her eyes glittered with fever in the dim morning light. The color had returned to her cheeks, but they were too red now.
“I… don’t feel right,” the blonde princess muttered and coughed again.
Princess Jessamine and I stared at each other, but I had no idea what we were supposed to do next.
Chapter 10
“Let’s wrap her up in something warm,” I suggested.
“I still have my fur cloak,” Jessamine said. “We could use that.”
“Yeah, good idea,” I agreed. “I also think we should get her out by the fire.”
Jessamine and I each reached out a hand to Cienna, and we were able to pull her up to her feet. She wobbled between us as we stumbled slowly outside toward the fire, and her shaky legs made it clear we wouldn’t be able to travel far on foot.
We situated Cienna on a log, and Jessamine fetched what was left of the water for her. The blonde princess had trouble holding onto the large, leather flask at first, but as she drank, her shoulders straightened, and she was able to grasp it and drink more heartily.
Then Jessamine grabbed the gleaming gray coat, and she placed it around Cienna’s shivering shoulders, who then pulled the fur tight around her narrow body.
“I’m sorry,” the blonde princess said as her voice shook. “I tossed and turned all night, and I woke up feeling like this.”
“I’m so sorry you’re not well, Princess Cienna,” I told her in a hushed tone. The princess didn’t seem to be thrilled by my presence, and I didn’t want to get her riled up again.
“Thank you,” she said as she sniffled and wiped her nose with one of Jessamine’s scarves. “I think I’m going to be alright, though I don’t know what to do about traveling.”
“I’m not sure, either,” Jessamine replied as she patted the other princess’ shoulder. “We can always try the magic carpet again.”
I smiled to myself as I thought about what had happened on that carpet the night before. It would be sexy to travel on it again today and daydream about that blow job…
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. We were in a dire situation with a sick woman, and I was getting horny again like a teenager.
“I definitely think we should try the carpet again,” I agreed with Jessamine and smiled. “It seemed to have some power left in it yesterday. It’s going to be okay.”
“I’m heating up some cider for you, Cienna,” Jessamine said as she started to fuss over the fire.
I liked watching my new “wife” do little domestic chores, especially since she was wearing those damn tights again.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I really needed to focus.
After Jessamine gave Cienna the warm drink, the blonde sipped on it for a few moments, and Jessamine’s eyes widened in relief when she saw the other princess’ color start to return to normal.
“I’m starting to feel better,” Cienna announced and wiped the back of her mouth with her hand. Then she attempted to stand up, but her legs still appeared shaky.
“Whoa, whoa, there,” I said as I jumped up to catch her before she fell down. Then I grabbed her elbow and slowly lowered her back down onto the log.
“Thank you,” Cienna mumbled.
“I wish we could stay here longer,” Jessamine sighed as she furrowed her brow in thought, “but we are going to run out of provisions soon. Let’s start to pack up. I sure hope we hit the next village shortly.”
“I saw a pretty large road when we were flying overhead yesterday,” I said, “so I think there should be some kind of town nearby.”
I helped Jessamine load up our items into the two large packs, and she looked at me shyly from under her eyelashes when we packed the scarves. I could tell from the knowing look in her eyes and the flush on her cheeks that she was thinking about last night just as much as I was, and I smirked with pride.
“How do you think we should travel?” I asked Jessamine when Cienna was out of earshot. “It seemed the magic carpet ran out of power faster yesterday, after we flew so far and so high.”
“I actually have an idea,” the dark-haired princess said. “I am thinking we could try to fly the magic carpet close to the ground, say three or four feet up, and Cienna could lie on it. If any passersby came close, we could pretend we were carrying her, so they wouldn’t suspect the carpet was magic. This way, we can conserve some of the carpet’s power.”
I considered what she had said. It might look odd to see someone being carried around on a carpet, but a flying rug would, of course, look stranger. Jessamine was a smart woman, and I thought her idea might just work if the magic carpet’s energy held out. I was curious how steering would work if someone wasn’t driving it, but we would find out soon enough.
So, Jessamine and I put our packs on our backs and helped Cienna get positioned on the carpet. She laid face up on the rug, and I stood at her head. Then Jessamine stood at the foot of the rug, and we both placed our hands on it. I was shocked when the rug shot up almost immediately into our palms, since I’d never seen it move so quickly before, so maybe there was something to this bonding thing.
“Holy shit, this might just work,” Princess Cienna muttered from her position on the rug as we prepared to leave the campground and head onto the main road. “It’s really fucking bumpy, though. Can you do something about that? Sorry I’m grouchy. I just feel like trampled horseshit.”
“Oh, it’s no problem,” my lover said. “We will take care if you. I understand what it feels like to be quite sick.”
“But I’m supposed to be a tough warrior and leader of a kingdom,” Cienna sighed. “I’ll try to do better about complaining. Thank you both for helping me again.”
“Let’s stop and get our bearings for a moment,” I told my companions when we reached the road a few minutes later.
The sun now rose over the eastern mountains, and I wanted to head in the opposite direction, deeper into Cienna’s kingdom. The road appeared to be approximately oriented east-west, so we started to walk away from the sun. Our little caravan consisted of me, about eight feet of carpet behind me that carried Cienna, and Jessamine bringing up the rear, and I’d almost started to think of the carpet as our pet.
“Joe, do you think you know where we’re going?” Jessamine asked. Her voice was a little high-pitched, and she sounded stressed out.
I understood, though. Princess Jessamine and I had been traveling for days. I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I’d last curled up on her blue sofa, but I, too, longed to feel that comfort once again. I had to give Jessamine credit, because she was so used to luxury yet adapted so easily to life on the road. Then again, the constant warfare she lived with wasn’t exactly relaxing.
“Well, I figure if we stay on this road, we’ll come to a town sooner or later,” I tried to reassure her. I was torn between wanting to run into other travelers to indicate we were going the right direction, and hoping no one saw us with our strange setup.
“Joe, you’re always right,” Princess Jessamine giggled from behind me as we began to walk again. “I know we’ll find something.”
“We could sure use my carriage right about now,” Cienna sighed from her position on the carpet. “I loved that thing so much because it was rock solid, made of thirty feet of wood and iron. If some of my soldiers hadn’t turned against me, I think we really could have helped you, Princess Jessamine.”
“Aw, it’s okay, Princess Cienna,” Jessamine responded in a sugary tone. “I wish I could give you a big hug right now, because I know you were coming to help me. As long as we have Joe here, though, everything is going to work out.”
“Um, yeah, Joe is going to save us,” Cienna muttered from the rug, but I could tel
l she wasn’t exactly convinced.
“Hey, now,” Jessamine scolded her lightly. “You two need to get along. Last night, Joe and I completed the ritual, and it was--”
“O-okay,” I interrupted. “I’m not sure we need to get into all that at the moment.”
“No, Joe, it’s okay,” she replied quickly, and I was afraid she was about to start telling Cienna all the dirty details. “Cienna needs to know we are bonded now as man and wife. We need to be open about these things because Cienna is going to have to marry you, too, and she must accept your seed inside of her body orally and through her sex so you fill her womb. Cienna, do you know about the marriage ritual? You know that your purpose is to become his woman?”
“We really don’t have to talk about this now.” I glanced back at the blonde princess, and she had one eyebrow raised.
“I have heard of it in tales from my kingdom,” Princess Cienna snickered, “but I was never sure it was real. I understand the princesses all have to bond with the hero, or whatever you want to call it. I’m glad you had a good time last night, but I guess I’m still wondering how you know this man is the hero of legend.”
Jeez, didn’t I impress her enough when I took down all those dudes from the tent and rescued her? I wasn’t sure what it would take to win Cienna over, but I was slightly intrigued by the challenge.
“I think you’ll see soon enough,” Jessamine replied with a dazzling smile. “Joe is good at absolutely everything.”
“Well, now, I’m not sure about that,” I mumbled.
“Joe, don’t be modest,” the dark-haired beauty went on. “The ritual was amazing, if I do say so myself. Wait, I have an idea! Joe and Cienna, you need to touch hands to see if you feel the spark.”
“I don’t really want--” Princess Cienna began, but Jessamine interrupted her as she giggled in excitement.
“No, no, Cienna, you’ll see,” Jessamine raved. “As soon as you touch him, you’ll know he’s the real hero. And then the next time we stop, you can do the marriage rites, too.”
“Fine, if it will end this silly conversation,” Cienna grumbled. “Go ahead, let’s stop walking.”
I stopped moving forward, and the front of the magic carpet bumped into the back of my legs and jolted Cienna into the air. I turned around to stop the rug and tried to command it with my fingers to lower itself softly to the ground, but it fell a little more roughly than I’d intended, and the princess landed ass-first.
“Oops, sorry about that,” I apologized and tried to hide the smile on my face.
Cienna glared at me with daggers in her eyes, but she still turned to Jessamine.
“Okay, let’s get this over with,” the blonde muttered. “What did you need me to do again?”
“It’s simple,” Jessamine said. “Just touch hands with Joe, and you will feel his power.”
“Fine,” Cienna sighed as she pushed herself up to a seated position. Then she held out a dainty hand and looked at me expectantly.
I knelt down beside her and took her hand in my own. At first, nothing happened, but then I thought I felt the faintest spark of energy pass between our joined palms.
“Ouch!” the princess gasped and jerked her hand away. “What the hell was that?”
I was a little smug, because it seemed like Princess Cienna had experienced a strong reaction to my touch.
“See?” Jessamine exclaimed as she jumped up and down, and I couldn’t believe the princess was so excited for me to fuck another woman. “You felt it, I know you did! Do you believe me now?”
“It could have just been a jolt from rubbing up against the rug,” Cienna said with doubt in her eyes. “We’ll have to see what this so-called hero does from now on.”
I turned back around to make sure she couldn’t see me, and then I rolled my eyes deep into the back of my head. Sure, it was also hard for me to believe Joe the plumber could be Fairyland’s hero of legend.
But she didn’t have to be so rude about it.
I sighed and signaled to the rug to rise up into the air again. It didn’t seem like this conversation was headed anywhere productive, so I thought we should keep moving.
The first passersby we saw half an hour later were a peasant woman walking along with her young son. I quickly picked up the front half of the rug, and I could feel Jessamine pick up the back. The woman looked down at the ground as she walked, but the little boy glanced at us with furrowed eyebrows.
“Mama, do you see--” I could hear the child begin to speak, but the woman quickly shushed him with only a quick glance in our direction.
“Shh, don’t stare at people,” the woman hissed and adjusted the scarf she wore around her head as she pulled the young boy past us.
I was glad that situation had passed without incident, but I was very aware of how strange we looked traveling in this fashion. I hoped we wouldn’t run into any other people before we came up with a better solution. Maybe Cienna would even be able to walk again soon. Her voice was certainly energetic enough, so I decided to ask.
“Cienna, do you think there’s any way you could possibly walk for a little bit?” I inquired as I tried to keep a friendly tone in my voice. “Traveling this way is pretty hard, plus I know we look strange. I don’t think people are used to seeing anyone ride on a carpet, even if they don’t know it’s magic.”
“Do you think we could keep going a little longer like this?” the blonde asked, and she sounded almost apologetic. “I still feel pretty weak, though I might be able to walk in a few minutes. I’ll try.”
“Sure, we can carry on for a bit,” I told her.
At least we could move faster than we would on foot.
“My war carriage was wonderful,” Princess Cienna began to speak again, and her words were heavy with nostalgia, “but what I really miss the most is my horse, Starlight. She was a magnificent white steed, and we were together for many years. She was always at the head of the team of horses that pulled my carriage, and she was so strong and amazing. Starlight was my best friend.”
I couldn’t believe it when I heard her voice crack, as if the hard-ass princess were actually crying.
“What happened to Starlight, Princess Cienna?” Jessamine asked as her own voice broke in sympathy.
“I lost her,” the blonde sniffled. “When my carriage was hijacked, Starlight got spooked and ran off into the woods. I’m lucky she wasn’t killed at the time, but I have no idea where she is now. I’m afraid I’m never going to see my dear friend again.”
I turned around to look at her, and the gorgeous princess had started to full-on cry. Her shoulders shook, and snot ran down her face. Then she laid back on the rug and attempted to rub the tears from her eyes with her fists, but Cienna was a red-faced vision of total misery, and I started to feel bad for her.
“Hey, maybe Starlight is still alive,” I suggested as I tried to keep an upbeat tone in my voice, but the blonde just cried harder.
“It’s okay, Cienna,” Jessamine tried to reassure her. “We’ve all lost a lot, and I know your heart is sad. But if Starlight is still alive, I know we will find her.”
I wasn’t actually all that optimistic, but I knew we had to keep everyone’s spirits up, so I didn’t say anything.
We continued along the wide dirt path through the thick green trees, and I really, really hoped we’d find the next village soon.
Suddenly, I saw an old man walking up the road toward us, and he stared directly at me.
On the one hand, we could continue on and try to hurry past him, but on the off chance something happened, I wanted to be able to quickly reach my sword, which meant I needed my hands free.
“Jessamine, grab the rug,” I hissed over my shoulder, and I hoped she could hear me from her position at the rear. “Let’s set it down on the ground and try to look… normal.”
I wasn’t sure that was possible, given our mismatched clothing, strange carpet, and the fact that it looked like I was traveling with two Victoria’s Secret swimsuit
models, but dammit, we were going to try.
So, I turned around to hold the rug, and I was glad to see Jessamine already held the tassels on the other side.
“What are you going to do?” Cienna whispered, and her blue eyes were wide as the old man headed directly toward us.
“Let’s put her down on the ground,” I instructed Princess Jessamine. “One… two… three… and drop.”
We were able to set Cienna down much more gracefully this time, and I hoped she was at least a little bit grateful.
“Hey… you over there!” the old man called out to us from about thirty feet away, and I inwardly groaned.
I turned around to look at him, and as he approached, I immediately noticed his unusual hair. The top of his head was largely bald with random strands of wispy white strewn across it, but the bottom of the greasy white locks fell to his shoulders. It reminded me of a medieval mullet, and I snickered to myself. His lips caved in where teeth should have been, and the teeth that were left were buttery yellow. He wore a long brown robe tied with a dirty white rope around his waist, and his feet were bare.
“Can I help you, sir?” I asked him, and I was sure I had a suspicious look in my eyes. The old man had stopped looking at me, though, since I clearly wasn’t the best-looking one in our party.
“Hello, girls,” the man leered as drool practically ran down his chin. “What are you doing out here in the woods?”
“Leave us alone,” I heard Cienna mutter under her breath.
I turned around to catch a glimpse of the princesses’ expressions, and the death glare on Cienna’s face amused me. She sat on the rug and clasped her arms around her narrow shoulders with a furious look. Her long blonde hair fell in limp waves down over her shoulders, and her face was dirty, but she had never looked so fierce and beautiful.
The old man clearly noticed as well, from the lusty look in his eyes.
“Hey, blondie, can’t you talk?” the man sneered as he looked Cienna up and down.
“I’m going to have to ask you to step back,” I told him as I pulled myself up to my full height, but the geezer didn’t move.
