It was Solstice Eve, and Queen Genevieve had a headache. It had been a long day and she wasn't really looking forward to the long tedious evening of celebrations that the Winter Solstice always turned out to be.

The festivals and late night feasting were always tiresome, all the peasants and noise that the celebrations brought into the castle grounds, her head pounded with a sharp pain at the thought.

The King had opened the castle to an even wider range of people this year. Her husband's younger brother prince Charles was going away to fight in the holy lands and all of his men-in-arms and many of the lesser knights from surrounding shires were within the castles walls this night.

Genevieve had always liked the King's younger brother. He was almost fifteen years younger than the King, and always seemed so full of life. Ever since Genevieve had married into the royal family, prince Charles, even at the tinder age of ten had had a crush on her. She knew it, and subconsciously encouraged it.

Now that Charles was 18 and on his way to fight in the crusades, Queen Genevieve would miss the extra attention she had become used to.

The King had decided that the celebrations and feast should be the biggest and best ever. He had two reasons for this, one was that his brother was going away to unknown peril, and the other was that his queen was suffering from a bout of depression.

They had been trying for almost two years to have a child but with no success. Genevieve was 24 and more than ready to be pregnant. As a matter of fact, that was just about all she thought about nowadays. Ever since the royal physician told them that due to a childhood illness, it was unlikely that the King would be able to make her big with child. Queen Genevieve had become obsessed over the fact that she was childless.

The King trusted his physician but cast around throughout his kingdom for other opinions and received many. He took special potions and wore amulets to ward off evil spirits. But so far all to no avail.

The King was upset by this turn of events, but when his trusted physician suggested more frequency in their copulation, he soon felt well compensated. He always enjoyed his young wife's lush body, her thick dark hair, and sparkling green Irish eyes. Now with her new need she was pulling him into her bedchamber for sex at all hours, and he enjoyed it greatly.

"Your Majesty, would you please see the noble knights now? They await your grace," the court magistrate addressed his lord. The magistrate couldn't know that his King had just been invited to his Queen's bedchamber for a little baby making session. To all unknowing eyes the couple were king and queen astride their thrones in a crowded hall presiding over organized kayos.

The King sighed and turned to his queen, "Gene, I'll be back in a bit, I guess I should take care of this, after all they leave in a week for the perils of the holy war. I suppose I shouldn't keep them waiting." It was 10 o'clock, only two hours until the Winter Solstice Day feast began.

Genevieve watched her husband get up from his throne and throw his clock over a shoulder as he followed after his Magistrate. An idle thought crossed her mind as she watched them walk away. She wondered, 'What would the old white haired Magistrate think if he knew that his King had a raging hard-on as he weaved his way through the crush of guests?'

She smiled to herself, because she had been the cause of it. And giving him a hand job through the pocket of his trousers as he'd sat next to her in the throng of people. It had been as much fun for her as for him.

"Your Majesty, a penny for your thoughts?" Prince Charles plopped down beside his sister-in-law. "Looks like His Majesty was having fun over here!"

Genevieve's face turned bright red, and she felt a lump forming in her throat. "What do you mean?" she asked, hoping that Charles had meant something else.

"I just hope when I get married, I find someone half as pleasing as you. My brother better appreciate you as much as you deserve." Charles said as he nudged her shoulder and gave a knowing wink.

Genevieve cleared her throat nervously and tried to change the subject. "Are you ready for your voyage Charles? You will take care of yourself won't you?" She said with real concern in her voice.

Taking pity on his pretty sister in-law, prince Charles decided to let her guide the conversation. "Yes, never fear. I have a brave enough fighting force to survive just about anything. I'm actually looking forward to it. The sun will be a nice change, and maybe I'll come home all darkly tanned like a Saracen warrior. I'd look nice with a tan don't you think?"

Genevieve momentarily envisioned the young man naked -- on her bed. For a moment she could see his well-muscled body all tan and hard. For a fleeting instant in her minds eye she could see his young manhood rising into a smooth mahogany pole, expanding... glistening... throbbing.

"... Hey, a pence for your thoughts!" Charles said once again as his pretty sister in-law sat motionless beside him with a far away look on her face.

The Queen's face turned even a brighter shade of red as she realized that Charles was looking into her eyes with a strange inviting smile on his handsome face.

She realized what he must have been thinking. Here she was; she'd just given her husband the King a hand job almost in public, and when asked what she thought about his future tan, 'well... she'd just been aroused by her husband, nothing to feel guilty about, ' she thought.

Never the less, Genevieve said quickly, "Charles please don't tease me. I'm going to rest for a little while. Will you tell the King to come up and wake me before the midnight festivities? I think I've had a little too much to drink and need a lie down."

"Yes, I'll send him up to you as soon as I see him," Charles smiled knowingly.

The chambers were warm and snug with fires burning cheerily in the warming hearths and no one was about, so everything was quiet. Just what Genevieve needed.

The Queen sat for a moment at her dressing table and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't see any difference in her appearance. She looked the same as she always had, no older than when she was still living at home in Nottingforthe with her parents.

Even at 24 she felt that she could pass for 18 and get away with it. She had one of those petite bodies with enough flesh on it to keep her girlish figure, which she had until recently taken very good care of.

With a sigh, she finally stood and stepped over to a table with a dark wooden box on it. She opened the box and removed a flask.

The court Physician had made her a potion for her ever- increasing headaches, it always made her feel calmer and her pain would invariably go away a short time after taking the medicine.

She took her customary two swallows and put the flask back into the box. Standing in the semi-darkness of her bedchamber, Genevieve longed for her husband. The alcohol that she'd drunk earlier, and now the fast acting drug she'd just swallowed were making her feel sexy all over.

Frustrated and even more depressed Genevieve lay down on her bed and as she drifted off, the vague worry about waking in time for the midnight celebration flitted though her mind...