Castle: 3. The Lesson

The Morning Light

The sound of the roosters had brought Sierra to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the castle. The sun beamed behind Shelby as she walked in, her friend smiled upon laying sight on her. 

“So, how was it?” Sierra asked, giving a knowing grin. “Did he come in all hard and bothered and then fall limp in his own hand?”

“How did you know that?” Shelby asked.

“Let’s just say I know how to take the wood out of a man. The best part is that most men believe it’s just that they drank too much.” Sierra looked over as one of the other women from the kitchen got closer and got quieter.

Shelby quietly commented “Yes, he threw me on the bed and his little cock was hard, but by the time he climbed behind me, it was limp and just banged against my thighs. I could barely even feel him.”

“Ha! It really is a little cock which helps when he stays hard, you can barely feel it.”

“So…” Shelby trailed off. “You’ve been with him before?”

“Did he threaten you about telling others? You can’t tell anyone you have been, and especially about what happened to him last night.”

“Why is he so hung up on it?”

“He wants to marry a beautiful woman, a virgin. To do that, most kings would require that he also be a virgin. He wants to keep up the appearance. Did he swear you silence?”

“He did, but it made little sense to me.”

“When has a man ever made sense?” Sierra giggled at her own question.

The girls stopped talking for a moment as one of the prince’s guards came into the kitchen.

“Is there any bread this morning?” He asked gruffly.

Sierra pointed to a small table behind the guard. He turned, saw the bread, grabbed a few pieces, and then reached over to the table where bacon and ham had just finished. He grabbed a few pieces of each for his plate. He stood there for a moment waiting on tea.

The girls giggled and talked while the guard was across the room. He watched them; he ate his bread and meats while he did. Finally, as his tea became ready, he looked over at the girls again and saw Shelby raise her hand and slip her fingers two inches apart, and then the girls laughed loudly again.

Another Day, Another Hunt

“Boy,” Arthur said briskly to Ian. “I want the best horse in the stable today.”

“Of course,” Ian responded and headed into the stable. His blood boiled at the thought of the prince. He threw the closest saddle over the back of the closest horse and led the horse to the entrance. He handed the reins to Arthur when he saw Shelby come around the far corner of the stables. As she saw the prince, she stepped back into a shadow of the doorway and studied his movements. Ian watched her as he got the prince on his way.

“Boy, what is taking you so long?” Arthur finally asked and started to move into the opening of the stable.

“Almost done, this one was fighting the saddle a little.” Ian finished the last couple of buckles and handed the reins to Arthur.  Ian looked back over the horse as he stood back up and saw that Shelby was watching the two of them talk. “Here you go.”

The prince mounted his horse and headed toward the gates of the castle. The hunting party galloped away. Shelby left her perch in the doorway and disappeared back into the castle. Ian watched her leave, his heart sank further.

Shelby walked up to the group of chambermaids and kitchen staff that had gathered in the kitchen to gossip. As they saw her, they quieted and most either looked down at the floor or away. Most of the women knew what had happened to her last night. Most had even had the same experience.

“Look here,” Shelby said to all the ladies. “Yes, he tried to fuck me last night with that little thing he calls a cock, but he couldn’t get hard and fell asleep without entering me.” A large hand clasped down on her shoulder.

“All I wanted was a snack,” the guard said. “I’m sure the prince will want to hear what you are saying.” The guard looked at the rest of the women, “what did the rest of you hear?” 

“Nothing sir,” Sierra blurted, the rest of the women nodding in agreement. “We closed our ears as she was crazy.”

“Good girls,” the guard said. He reached down and twisted Shelby’s hand upward in his massive hand. He shoved her forward out of the room.

An Easy Decision

When the prince returned from the hunt, the guard met him and they went to the Dungeon. On the stairway, the guard gave only a few details of what happened as he didn’t want Arthur’s anger to be turned toward him.

“I heard you were spreading lies earlier. What did you say to the women of the castle?” Arthur asked.

“I told all the women how little your cock is. How you couldn’t stay hard.” 

“I can’t believe the lies you are telling. About me, your prince, and your soon to be king. I’m a virtuous man. I’ve never been with a woman and will not be with one until I find the woman I am to marry.” Arthur looked around the room to make sure that all of his men heard him.

Shelby looked at Arthur with disgust and contempt in her eyes. “It sounds like you’ve been with many of the women in this…” A rag got stuffed into her mouth.

“What shall we do with you?” Arthur asked. “I’ll give you one last chance to recant your statement here, and then never hear of this again.”

Shelby shook her head vigorously. She even attempted to kick at Arthur.

“OK, done.” Arthur pointed to the guard, “Take her to the executioner and have her drown.”

The guard grabbed Shelby and led her down another hallway until the pair stood before a door with a battle axe insignia on it.

A Night Swim

The executioner dragged Shelby out to the beach. Sometimes he pulled her by the hair and she would follow. Sometimes he had to lift her up and just carry her out onto the sand. He carried a torch in one hand and dragged her with the other. He wore a hood as every executioner before him had. He waded into the water; it got deeper and deeper until it was up to his waist, up around her chest. He grabbed her hair and pushed her head down into the water. She could feel the strength of his hand as he held her under, his arm didn’t even waver no matter how much she struggled. Her eyes opened wide, and even though they burned from the salt water, she couldn’t close them. She tried to lift her head, but every breath only caused her to suck in water.

Suddenly, the executioner’s grip went slack. His hand slipped out of her hair, and she could feel his body slip past hers into the water. She quickly lifted her head and pulled the rag out of her mouth. The sound of the breath she took was loud, the coughing a louder sound.

A hand came down onto Shelby’s back, gentle and soft. It wasn’t the large hand that the executioner had. She could feel the softness of the palm. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ian standing there in the water, two feet over from her. He smiled at her.

“I guess we’ll both die now,” Ian said.

“I guess so, but we should do as much as we can before that happens.” Shelby taking a breath with each word. Her heart beat still fast, furious.

“I think we need to head up to the castle, find the prince, and help him find his executioner.”

Shelby looked at the executioner that lay beside where she stood. He was face down, starting to float away. A long spear was sticking from his back.

“It was worth it,” Ian said as he smiled with pride. “Maybe the next executioner will wear more than just a hood and a pair of pants.”

“Hopefully we won’t find out.”

The couple worked their way up to the beach. They wrapped arms around each other, kissed and within a few minutes, they had made love for the first time.

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