Chapter 3

As the Princess went about her shopping she came upon a shop that carried clothes. This gave an idea. “David, could you come here please?” David stepped into the shop and came up to her

“We need to get you some new clothes – these peasant rags may have been all right for an apprentice carpenter, but they are just not suitable for the personal guard of the Princess of Castle Breckinridge!”

She picked out some nicer, more upper-class type clothes for him. Something more suited for his elevated status. He tried them on patiently as she fussed over him and when she was satisfied with his new look, she gave the shopkeeper two pounds for the clothes – for her, that was a good day’s pay!

“There. Now you look like a royal guard! We can just throw these old things in the fireplace when we get home!”

David had a better idea. “Rather than burning them, why don’t we give them to one of the villagers who could use them. I mean they are still serviceable and I notice some of the villagers’ clothes are in a lot worse shape!”

“Oh, David, what a wonderful idea!” And so it was settled ... David would donate his clothes to the less fortunate. And that started a trend – when Arabella told her father the King about David’s generosity, he commanded the entire nobility to search their closets for hand-me-downs to give to the needy.

It was about a month later and David and Arabella had been on several outings to places inside and outside the castle. This particular day was a beautiful one with the sun shining brightly in a nearly cloudless blue sky. There was a soft warm breeze blowing just hard enough to provide some cooling and to keep the bugs at bay. The birds were singing happily and it was a perfect day.

“David, let’s go on a picnic! It’s such a lovely day, it seems a shame to waste it indoors!” Arabella said when he showed up to see what her plans for the day were.

“As you wish, Princess.”

So while the Princess and one of the maids put some things in a basket, he went to get an old blanket for them to sit on. When both were ready he pulled up a horse driven cart and they put the basket and blanket in the back. David helped her into the cart and he took the reins and they were off.

They rode out to this small grassy field in a far corner of the clearing around the castle. Here they could have some privacy as there was a little rise in the ground that blocked the view of the castle except for the very tops of the towers. David let the horse graze while they set out the blanket and food.

“This is a wonderful picnic lunch, Arabella.”

“Yes, it is. And the perfect day for it too.”

After they had eaten They laid down on the blanket with David on his back and Anabelle laying with her head on his chest.

“I always have the best times with you, David. I’m so glad you came along. Life was just too unbearably dull around here before you came. Now I can hardly wait to the next day to see what it will bring for us.”

“I have had a good time with you too, Arabella. Better than I have had in a very long time.”

Suddenly Arabella jumped up. “Come on David let’s go for a walk in the woods. I’ve always wanted to see what’s in these woods around the castle! C’mon!” she started towards the forest edge. David, remembering the legend and the King’s warning, jumped up and went after her.

“Arabella, don’t! Don’t go in those woods! Stop please!”

Arabella’s playful side came out just then. “Catch me if you can, David!” she said running even faster.

David chased after her as fast as he could get his legs to go. “Arabella! You can’t go in the forest! Stop!”

David caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm just a couple of feet from the edge of the forest. He pulled her away from the forest edge and spun her around to face him. Holding her firmly by both arms he scolded her.

“Arabella, you can’t go into these woods. It’s not safe. Something could happen to you!” It was then that he remembered she had no idea of the curse. “If you had gone into the woods you might have gotten lost. And I couldn’t bear the thought of you lost and alone in these woods – what if a wild animal had attacked you! Or you got so lost we never found you again.”

“I wasn’t going to go that far into the woods!” she said almost indignantly. “And you can’t lecture me – you are the bodyguard, not the King, you know!”

Her bratty attitude set David off. He hadn’t expected it and it just made something snap in his head. He walked her swiftly over to an old stump and sat down on it. He dragged the Princess over his knee and hiked her long dress up over her waist. “I may not be the one to lecture you, young lady, but I am charged with protecting you and you’re going to have to learn that when I say don’t do something, it is for your safety! You know the rule about going into these woods and you chose to try to break it. So now you are going to get a spanking – maybe THAT will help you to remember these rules are to keep you safe!”

“WHAT! You can’t spank me! I am Princess Arabella, daughter to King Breckenridge! If you so much as lay a hand on me, I’ll ... OWCH!

The first swat landed square on her upturned ass and even though she had bloomers on, the impact still managed to get through! Arabella squirmed and wriggled on his lap, struggling to get free. But he held her fast, despite her thrashing around. He followed the first sway with several more, raining down the blows until her protests turned to soft moans and whimpers.

When she had stopped protesting and lay quietly draped over his legs, he pulled her to her feet. “Now, young lady, when I say stop or don’t do something, I expect you to do as I say. I don’t boss you around for my sake, but for yours. I am trying to keep you safe. Do you understand me?”

“Y-yes, David. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried running away from you. I won’t do it again. From now on, I will listen to you when you are trying to keep me safe. I’m sorry.”

“Good. I’m glad we have reached an ‘understanding’ then.”

Then they began gathering the basket and the blanket and all the food left and put it in the cart. He helped her up into the cart and she sat – more gingerly now – as he went around and got up in the driver’s seat. He took the reins and they started back for the castle.

“David?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure what is it?

“Umm ... did you mean what you said ... about how you couldn’t bear the thought of me lost in the woods?”

“Of course I did. Arabella, this is not a job for me – being your guardian. It is much more than that. It wasn’t my job to save you that day when you nearly got trampled. Protecting you is what I want to do – it’s what I need to do. I care about you, Arabella and I want to see that you are safe and happy. And I would do it whether your father had appointed me or not. The fact that I get to live in the keep and I get to be your escort only makes it all the more important to me.”

“Oh,” she said, looking at her hands. The rest of the ride was quiet – neither spoke further. After David had dropped her off and saw her up the stairs to the royal quarters, he went back downstairs to take the cart and horseback to the stables.

That evening at supper, the conversation was notably absent. When the King would ask how the day went, Arabella only gave short answers like “Fine.” or “Okay.”. And David wasn’t much better with his answers. As soon as supper was over, David quickly retired to his room. As he lay on his bed thinking over the events of the day, he wondered if his spanking her had undone their whole relationship. Things up to then had been going great and he’d never been happier, and he thought she was happy too. But then this had to happen. Maybe he did get carried away and reacted too swiftly without thinking...

Then David heard a soft, almost imperceptible, knocking on his door. Thinking it was the maid or something, he got up to answer it.

“Arabella! W-What are you doing here?”

“Shh! Let me in!”

David opened the door and pulled her quickly inside. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be in here alone with me! And especially at this hour – what would your father say?”

“Oh, David, I just couldn’t go to bed with things the way they are between us! I am so sorry that I misbehaved like a spoiled brat today! Please forgive me – I can’t stand your being mad at me! Please!”

“Arabella, I’m not mad at you. If anything I thought you were mad at me for spanking you. I didn’t talk at dinner because I didn’t know what to say. And I didn’t think it wise to tell your father, the King, that I turned his daughter over my knee, pulled her dress up to her waist, and spanked her. Such things can get you banished from the castle at best, and beheaded at the worst!”

“Well, I wouldn’t have let either of those happen to you. It was all my fault and you were only doing what needed to be done. You were right – I am a spoiled brat and I deserved that spanking. I shouldn’t have put you in that position ... it was thoughtless and I am so sorry. Please, David, can we just forget about the whole thing and go back to being friends?”

“Arabella as far as I’m concerned, we never stopped being friends. But yes, I would like to forget this little incident and go back to that morning when we were so enjoying each other too.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, David.” Arabella threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was an innocent, excited, thank-you kiss at first. But then something happened to them both. The kiss, originally meant to be quick and casual, began to deepen and he pulled her tighter to him. Arabella moaned softly into his mouth as her hands went up to play in his hair. David’s hands took a decidedly different direction, moving lower on her back and over the small of her back pulling her hips to him.

David made sure the door to his room was locked and then he turned to Arabella who was now standing with her back to him looking at the bed. He walked up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss the back of her neck.

Arabella moaned and tilted her head to the side, offering her neck to his hot mouth. David pulled her long brown hair aside and kissed her neck again as his hands moved up to the laced bodice around her waist. He began to unlace the outer garment and Arabella’s breath quickened in excitement. He continued to kiss her neck as he worked, each kiss eliciting a new and more impassioned moan from her. When he had unlaced the constricting garment, he peeled it back off her shoulders and tossed it to one corner of the room, leaving her with only the white linen off-the-shoulder chemise that she wore under the bodice. His hands moved over her breasts and he felt the hard points poking the palms of his hands. He moved a bit lower and cupped the soft mounds, lifting them slightly to feel their weight.