To more fully enjoy this story in living, breathing HTML, please visit our website at: /~vivian Now offering over 140,000 words of pure prurience! -------------------------------------------------------- Sangrelysia by Vivian Darkbloom The Journey Begins It's amazing how a little nothing, a non-event that seems inconsequential, can expand and take over everything. It doesn't take long for something to happen which changes your whole life. I rode in the front of the procession with Roderick. "What's gettin' to ya, lad?" "It just steams me. Rrrrr." "What?" "Did you see the way the King put down that poor woman? The lady in white, whose son was lost in battle." "Sheila." "Who?" "Sheila Cyndham." "I just can't believe how nasty he was to her." He shrugged. "That's King G. for ye." "What a stinking misogynist! Doesn't he have any respect at all for women?" Another shrug. "Lovely day, anyway." Impulsively, I drew out the tiny crystal ball, and placed it in my palm, fascinated by its clarity. He had a point. The warmth of the sun was stirring up the fragrance in the flowers, and the butterflies in the meadow. The road was wide and smooth, and our company traversed easily, everyone smiling and chatting amiably. The contingent of guardsmen and women that traveled with us were dressed casually, in dark brown cotton uniforms. I restored the crystal back to its place in my pocket. A page came galloping forward. "Mr. Wizard, sir. The princess would like to have a word with you," she said. Roderick raised an eyebrow, and I rolled my eyes. He chuckled as I signaled Vianne, my chocolate mare, to halt, falling back in line as the procession advanced. I matched my pace with the carriage as it clopped along from behind me. Sylvia was leaning out of the window. "I wanna ride a horsie." From inside the carriage, a voice cried out: "How long till we get there?" "But. . ." I stammered. "The carriage is warm and comfy, even in the rain." "It's sunny out." "You're not big enough to ride a horsie." "I could ride with you!" "Your mother would have my head on a silver platter!" "She will," replied Sylvia cheerily. "I appreciate your optimism, but no." Sylvia pouted. No ordinary pout, this, but a carefully crafted, particularly nefarious pout reserved for special occasions: the legendary death-pout from hell. Unfair -- she knew I couldn't resist for long. Once more, a voice cried out: "How long till we get there?" The death-pout crescendoed in intensity. "Look, OK, fine. I know I'm going to regret this, but you can ride with me." "Yay!" She was all smiles again. I called out to the driver, and we halted for a few moments while she daintily climbed down the steps, lifting her fine royal dress to ensure her footing, and the attendant lifted her up onto the saddle in front of me. It would have worked better had she been wearing riding pants of some sort, but we hitched up her dress enough to make it work somehow. She glanced back at me coyly as we started up again, twitching her buns mischievously, as I felt her delicate softness and warmth, like a sweet baby dove in my palm. We rode in pleasant coziness for awhile, I running my fingers gently now and again through her silky-soft long dark hair, she running her tiny hand dangerously along my thigh. "I love you," I whispered in her ear. She smiled sweetly back at me, then made me bend over so she could whisper back, cupping her hand softly against my ear: "I love you too." Then aloud she said: "Can we go faster?" "Hm. Sure, why not?" We wound up riding a few galloping circles around the slow-moving entourage, with thudding hoofbeats across the grassy meadows on either side of the road. Until winded, we returned to the carriage to catch our breath, not to mention giving Vianne a little rest. The driver stopped once more while I climbed into the carriage to see a few things Sylvia wanted to show me. Inside, we were greeted by the pleasant faces of Sylvia's girls-in-waiting: dark-skinned Shannon with long curly hair, and autumn-blonde Meredith, with whom we had made love a few days before. The two smiled at me with knowing fond intensity, and I was required to greet each one with a little hug and kiss on the lips. I sat between them, facing backward with the Princess settling on my lap, as the carriage jolted once more into forward motion, resuming the hypnotic clip-clop of progress. Across from us sat Lindsay, a petite ivory-brunette, and Stacey, with a huge headful of red hair. "How long till we get there?" somebody said. "So look what I got for Aunt Peg," bubbled Sylvia with excitement. She opened the box she had brought out, tissue-paper rustling. "Ow!" she yelped, sticking her finger into her mouth. "What?" I asked. "I pricked my finger on a pin," she said, holding it up to show me. I kissed it for good luck. Sylvia pulled out a beautiful new dress. "The royal tailor made it, special for aunt Peg. She said that Peg's about the size of Queen Megan, but thinner. My mom does like her chocolates!" Her use of the present tense made me uneasy, but I remained silent as she chattered away. The dress was off-white with delicate lace and embroidered springtime floral patterns. There was a necklace and earrings to go along, all elegantly matching. Quite beautiful. I knew Peg would enjoy it, and looked forward to seeing her try it on. Not all of the girls had been to visit the Queen's sister before, so Sylvia was busily explaining at about a million kilometres an hour. "Aunt Peg is such a doll. She has no kids of her own, but the coolest toys! Last time I was there, we played with these dueling kites, and it was so fun!" And so on. I began to feel slightly drowsy, as the feeling of coziness grew with the increasing heat of the young ladies' limbs pressed against mine from all sides, the warmth and softness surrounding me. Perhaps I even drifted off to sleep for awhile, leaning back in the plush cushions. I awoke with a start. Low rumbling in the distance. Thunder. "How long till we get there?" asked someone. A commotion outside. Curiously, I rubbed my eyes and drew open the window curtain. We were at the edge of the forest, and the sun had disappeared behind dark clouds. It sounded like several of the horses had spooked, and the riders were trying to convince them to calm down again. I pulled the crystalline globe from my pocket. The inner core of it had turned completely dark. The princess scowled. "Why did you bring that thing, anyway? What if it's leading us into a trap or something?" I considered the idea. "No, I don't believe it is," and put it back in my pocket. Gently, I lifted Sylvia from my lap and threw open the door, clamboring out into the cold, soles of my boots hard against the brittle stony trail, now barely wide enough for the carriage. Encircling us, towering overhead, dark leaves of the forest canopy occluded the light of the sky, which itself was overcast with ominous grey. High above, a large, black bird with ragged wings disappeared into the foliage. I peered as deeply as I could between the branches, but could discern only darkness. An eerie silence lingered uneasily all around, clung to the chilly breeze. The prickling sensation of unseen eyes watching from the concealed depths. I shivered. Poor Vianne was going crazy, stomping and pacing. I strode over and took her halter from the page who was struggling with her as well as her own horse. One of the horses had bolted, running back the way we came, and its rider was attempting to persuade it to return to the group. I turned to Roderick. "You're still sure you don't want to go the other way?" "Ah lad, you worry too much. We've got plenty of foul weather gear. We c'n handle it. The horses just caught a bit of a fright from the thunder, that's all." As if on cue, another thunderclap roared, closer than the last. I continued to soothe Vianne, standing beside her, talking softly. She whinnied, and stamped impatiently, jingling the reins as she shook her head. "This horse has seen a few things," I said quietly. "She doesn't just spook at nothing." Roderick scratched his chin thoughtfully. Then he turned, yelling out to his men and women: "Chainmail, all of you. Secure the perimeter!" Amid grumbles of protest, they broke out the chest containing the body armor, and suited up, amid the slinking sound of linked tiny metal rings. And a voice cried out: "How long till we get there?" Chapter 11 _______________________________________________________ For more stories, please visit our site: /~vivian