Chapter 5: Celebration

It was early. The sun was starting to creep over the horizon and the cocks were starting to crow. James shifted, sensing the sunrise, then realized he was sleeping in a bed with two women. The mature Adaleide slept on one side, snoring away, while Isa slept silently on the other. He stared at her big, round, firm tits. They immediately brought to mind the way she had moved on top of him during their mating.

‘God, she had been tight!’

He managed to extract himself from his companions without waking either up. As his foot touched the floor there was a gentle rap on the door. He walked over and quietly opened it, hoping not to disturb his sleeping beauties.

The Dame looked him up and down; her eyes widened upon seeing the two women in the bed, then narrowed as she cast a questioning look upon James.

“We had fun,” James said with a shrug as a way of explanation.

“Hm,” she answered, noncommittally. “You need to get ready.”

“Yes’m.”

She nodded and he closed the door. He padded back to the two women. He slid his hand over Adaleide’s firm breast and squeezed softly, enjoying the pliable flesh and the crinkling of her nipple as her body reacted. She exhaled gently, then mumbled something that probably wasn’t actually words.

“My love,” he whispered. “We need to get up.”

“Must we?”

He chuckled “Yes, the Dame is already up.”

“Yes, I suppose we must,” she groaned tiredly.

It was necessary to head out, which actually suited him just fine because James desperately needed to wash and relieve a very full bladder.

Shortly after a brief stop at the pisspot, the threesome went into the main bar area and sat down at Ella’s table. As they were served, Ella told the group that she wanted to go hunting.

“Are there any rivers nearby?” James’ reply seemed a non-sequitur.

“Yes. Why?”

“I need to wash,” he flashed Isa a not-very-subtle wink. The witch blushed a bit. Ella nodded her head and pretended not to notice the byplay.

“Well, yes, there are a few streams around here,” she responded through a smile.

They headed out and quickly found an area that suited the small hunt just fine. Now that he knew how to track game properly, James decided he try his hand at hunting. He felt he knew what to look for and the rustiness with his bow seemed to have dissipated.

As he moved through the forest, he spotted something. In his peripheral vision, James saw something move. It was faster than any man could be - more a brown streak that escaped his full sight. Instinctively, James took his trusty bow from his back and one of the new arrows from his replenished carcaj. In a single quick motion, he nocked the arrow and rested it on the step of the bow. James was prudent; the string was not tense and he wanted to see the potential target more clearly before firing.

Nothing. That glimpse was certainly not a human. But surely if he could kill some game, it would make the travel happier. Then James saw it. ‘Excellent,’ it was indeed an animal. Behind the bushes there was a deer, eating leaves and wild berries. Before the prey had time to escape, James drew the bow as quickly as he could. The boxwood flexed silently and then it regained form as he loosed the arrow. Despite the speed of his actions, it was a powerful shot. James’ skill and training assured a straight path. The arrow met the deer’s side, startling the animal while piercing lung and heart. It soon fell. It was done for and the poor creature knew it. James pulled his steel knife from his sheath and moved briskly to slice the deer’s throat. A clean death, quick and rewarding for the man and almost painless for the animal. James saw the spark of life flee from the warm body. The blood stopping flowing as the heart surrendered. He dipped his head for few moments to acknowledge the deer’s unwilling sacrifice.

“James?” The knight had quietly come up beside him. He was impressed that she had been able to move so stealthily in her armour.

James perked up and smiled at Ella, “Yes, Ella?”

“Are you,” she paused, “Okay?”

“Remember, I told you before, that my life was that of plenty?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“I’ve never truly had to kill before and it takes some getting used to,” he shrugged. “Men can fight back and, even then, sometimes it can be a righteous kill. But to kill an animal that cannot defend itself – that still gives me pause.”

She nodded.

“I understand,” she smiled sadly, “Which is why when we do get a kill, nothing is wasted. We should use everything we can, to honor the creature’s soul.”

James nodded and picked up the carcass.

The hunt wasn’t over. They got another deer as well as some smaller game. Ella took all of their bounty back to the small town while the others went to a nearby lake to bathe. The innkeeper was happy to buy it all – it spared his wife some shopping and probably saved him a bit on the price, as well. Ella got nice coin for the batch and headed back to the lake.

After arriving at the lake, James checked the cool water and stripped, completely unabashed at being naked in front of the women. Isa flushed but kept looking at his manhood while Adaleide slipped out of her tan dress. James encouraged Isa to get naked and clean up. Soon the three of them were splashing about and generally getting cleaner, while chatting about nothing in particular.

When Ella arrived, James invited her to get clean as well. He did so wordlessly, turning his back on the other two so only the Dame could see his manhood. James began fisting it as it swelled and Ella flushed under her helmet. He looked her up and down before diving back into the briskly cold water, which took care of his nascent boner instantly.

Pretending as though nothing had happened, James focused on the witch and flicked a splash at Isa. She cringed, saying, “Don’t splash me.”

“You’re not going to melt if I get you wet, are you?”

“You got her wet last night and she didn’t melt,” Adaleide interjected with a laugh.

“Truly spoken, oh wise one. I did,” Isa giggled, “just not that way.”

James laughed and approached the witch, threatening to slap her on the ass. She squealed joyfully and moved away.

Turning back to his land-based target, he entreated, “Come on, Ella. Why don’t you join us in the water? It’s refreshing.”

She blushed a bit more and replied a bit stiffly, “I’d rather not.”

Wading in her direction, he continued his appeal. “You’re not shy, are you?”

She stood indignantly and stared at him. “Certainly not.”

He nodded and arrived next to her on the shore. She stared into his eyes as he brazenly walked behind her and began taking off her pieces of armour. As he released the bindings, her breastplate hit the ground with a thud. He ignored it, already working on her other encasings, but it made the other two jump.

He kept in motion and when he had her out of her armour, he looked at her questioningly. She was in her cloth undergarments. She sighed and pulled her top off, revealing her large breasts. Perhaps not quite as big as Isa’s, but no one would ever call them small. Ella rolled her eyes in exasperation as she saw James grow instantly erect at the sight of her bountiful tits.

“Beautiful.”

“James,” she whispered as she bent to remove more garments.

He smiled and slid his hand gently across her back, her ass, and her thighs. She shivered. The rest of the clothing came off, revealing a toned body. She was tall, yes, but delicious nonetheless. He stared at her dark pubic hair but remained silent. She stared back for just a moment before starting to move toward the water.

“You’ve seen me naked, too, you know,” James said quietly in response to her pointed look.

“Yes, I suppose it is only fair,” and her face softened a bit.

He grinned and they entered the water side-by-side. James waded past the healer and the witch to swim a bit.

Adaleide frowned and followed. “Did I hear you say that she’s seen you naked?”

“I never told you how she found me, did I?”

“No, you certainly have not told me.” He dived back underwater and swam away without answering.

Ella waded past the two women, noting that Adaleide cast quite a look at Ella’s tight ass. The knight smiled and dived under as well, not acknowledging the healer’s unanswered question at all.

When they were dried off and dressed, they mounted their horses and departed the area. They got close to the town and James marvelled at its sight. The view of the town never stopped amazing James.

‘It was so green, so rustic, so ... human. Every last bit of the small walled town was hand-crafted. Each stone had been lifted by strong hand and each rivet made in the smouldering forge of a blacksmith. No machines were involved in any of this. Or were there? There couldn’t possibly be because of the era. But perhaps there’d been a magical assist?’ James’ moment of thought was interrupted by the loud cry of a herald. A young man ran up to them puffing and panting.

“You lot really need bikes,” James mused.

“Bikes?”

“I’ll tell you about it one day. It’s a long story.” Ella rolled her eyes and turned to the young man who caught his breath.

“My brave knight, Ella of the Rosa Argentus, I am most lucky. I was selected to meet you in person. I am pleased to bring you excellent news! Our holy queen has selected you into the draft of the Royal Guard for the Council!”

Ella sat there staring at nothing. She was dumbstruck by the impact of such news because she had not received such an honour ever before. Actually, she had not even considered the possibility of such an honour. It was unprecedented for a woman to be part of the Royal Guard, let alone for the occasion of the Council of Kings.

“Of course,” the messenger continued “This is also an invitation to the annual Capital Tournament, where the greatest of knights shall bathe in glory in the name of his king ... Or shall I say the greatest of Dames shall bathe in glory in the name of her queen? And you, good sir, bear in mind that squires even have their own category! Imagine competing against other apprentices and the winner shall be named a knight on the spot! Games for witches, games for folk, games for wizards and gnomes. In the Games, we are all friends in the city and rivals in the arena! I must return promptly, my lady. What shall I say is your answer?” The man handed her a scroll with a big wax seal. The seal was in the mint and silver colours of the House Schryyndus; it was the seal of the Queen Amana herself.

James blinked.

“Did he say gnomes?”

“Yes.”

“Little guys who wear pointy hats and like fishing?”

“Well they do fish.” James started laughing hard until Ella silenced him with a look.

“Aw, come on. This I’ve got to see. I’ve never seen a gnome before.”

She sighed and nodded her acquiescence to the messenger.

With a smile hidden by his moustache, the queensman finished by telling the group, “In that case, see me in the afternoon by the gate. I will walk you to the queen’s encampment.”

“Oh yeah,” James was rubbing his hands together in glee, looking forward to new things to do. He expected the Capital would have many things of interest: impressive places to visit, fascinating costumes, exotic food, potent drinks, mighty warriors, and lusty wenches. Everything the world had to offer, surely the Capital must have it.

The quartet went back to the inn, walking the stone streets of Aschenburg. In their rooms, they arranged their belongings, packing everything they needed into sacks and bundles made of linen or sheepskin. Ella donned her complete armour, better to impress the queen. James found that he had no formal attire, so he had to do with a used doublet and some pantaloons he had bought. The other women put on their best dresses; Isa even took care to use a corset.

When they were ready, they made for the gate with their possessions.

It was a weird feeling for James to carry everything he owned in one bag. He was not poor, not really, but certainly had not had time to do buy more stuff. No. It wasn’t time. Rather, there simply wasn’t much to buy. No washing machine, no fridge, no computer. Just his clothes and his weapons and, well, that’s about it.

They finally arrived an hour before nightfall and the royal herald – James thought of him as ‘Our guy at the Court’ - was there waiting for them. “Ah, you did come. Follow me, my friends”.

They were outside the town gate and the herald immediately guided them to a path into the forest, where they found themselves occasionally taking turns and sometimes even walking through the bushes. Once they went in a circle which made James lose some trust in the navigation skills of the man. “Are we lost?” he asked.

“No. I assume you saw that we walked in a circle. Everything has a purpose, noble squire. That was to make sure no spy or assassin is following us.”

And they walked on. Night fell and the Queen’s representative insisted on the need for light from a torch. Ella opposed the idea, arguing something about being spotted by enemies. Ultimately, she allowed herself to be persuaded. James’ legs were beginning to ache; Adaleide and Isa were already falling a bit behind. In a testimony of her sheer physical prowess, Ella had not even a drop of sweat upon her brow.

Finally, they arrived at the encampment. It was not the sodden thing James expected to see. Not a bit. It was as if they took the royal palace and placed it in the middle of the meadow. A thousand torches and a hundred pit fires lit up the camp, casting shadows that danced to the rhythm of flame. In the outermost area, a palisade made of real spears stood protecting the area from wild beasts and uninvited humans. There stood pavilions made of canvas, painted in the royal green and silver colours. Those were the barracks where the numerous brigades of Royal Army slept. Perhaps two hundred or more pavilions stood, every last one of them full of loyal soldiers.

The party was received by a guard who let them in when he saw the familiar face of the herald and the royal wax sigil imprinted upon the scroll in the herald’s hand. As they walked, James let the smells wash over him. Grass freshly cut, tasty soups brewing, beef and sheep being roasted, strong mead, and the smells of many men and horses. There were just too many aromas to tell them all. He felt compelled to stay with the women, of course, but his belly wanted to stay with the soldiers and grab something to eat.

So many men, all dressed in the same colours. They passed the barracks and arrived into the heart of the camp. There stood pavilions with the colours of burning fire, of majestic mountains, of rivers and lakes, of the daytime and nightfall. There were tents with rainbow colours some that were as drab as a cave. Each of them had painted shields hanging at the doors, showing almost half a hundred different family crests. He saw lions rampant, proud griffons, roaring dragons, heavy hammers, tall spears, and sharp swords. Each pavilion, he noticed, had a different emblem. And upon all of them, in the centre of each tent, stood the banner of Queen Amana Schryyndus: a silver eagle holding a green bolt of lightning in a black shield on a checkered field.