by J W Murison
The doors opened and closed silently as he passed through them to his private chambers. He found both his wives waiting for him on his bed in their finest bed cloths. He felt his blood rise.
‘I am going for a bath you will both attend, send the servants out.’
They both shot off the bed like scalded cats. They took Gareth through to the bath and helped him off with his cloths. He sank into the hot water with a sigh. Melina slipped into the water beside him and Catherine immediately saw how the wet material clung to her skin and did the same. They took a side each and began to soap his body.
Gareth also noticed and quickly became aroused, their hands slid lower. Catherine was bolder and found him ready, she immediately slung her leg round and slid on to him. She cried out in ecstasy as he filled her. He thrust deep and she cried out again, her need was so great she quickly came. Melina barely gave her a moment to catch her breath before pushing her of, she didn't even pause to wash him but slid on herself. It was Gareth's turn to cry out and she rode him to climax.
Melina slid off and Catherine moved in kissing him and fondling him gently. Melina took a sponge and began to wash him. When Catherine paused for breath Melina took over and Catherine washed. Between them they soon had him aroused again.
He took them in hand and dragged them through to his bedchamber where they quickly disposed of their wet clothing. They fell on the bed in a welter of arms and legs all getting entangled. He pushed them down the bed and they knew what he wanted. With two tongues teasing him he was soon growling with pent up passion. He dragged Catherine up and she straddled his face. A barked command and Melina mounted him. Melina couldn’t help but grab Catherine for support.
Catherine and Melina came together and Catherine pushed her gently aside and slid him deep into her mouth. It didn't take her long and Gareth exploded, Catherine came again and rolled off to lay on her back gasping for air.
He got up onto an elbow to watch them lying side by side head to toe beside him. They were looking pretty pleased with themselves and he noticed the look that passed between them.
Melina noticed him watching, ‘what are you thinking husband?’
‘I'm thinking of a memory that isn’t my own, on a night I wasn’t in command of my own body, of a memory you put there.’
She felt his mood darken, ‘you should not tax yourself so, you have punished us.’
‘The memory isn’t taxing Melina, far from it, in fact it is quite inspirational as a matter of fact I would like to see you do it again.’
Melina paled, ‘husband I could not.’
Gareth cut her off, ‘why not, you did it to serve your own ends, now I would see you serve mine.’
Melina balked but Catherine smirked and slung her legs open, ‘I have no objection.’
Gareth smiled coldly, ‘that's good because I would have you do the same to Melina.’
Catherine sat up, ‘what!’
‘You would shame us Gareth,’ Melina moaned.
Gareth oozed menace, ‘the pair of you shamed me and the whole world knows of it, don’t even try and deny it. So now I don’t care if I do shame you, you will entertain me or return to you fathers.’
They were trapped and knew it. They had a choice, but neither could live with the shame of returning home. For a long time neither of them moved.
‘Ach who gives a shit,’ Catherine spat and grabbed Melina’s legs swinging her round. Melina squealed but never resisted. Catherine hesitated for only a second, took a deep breath and plunged her head between Melina’s legs.
She squealed and gasped then squealed again, but Catherine’s probing tongue soon found the sweet spot. Melina’s back arced, half in ecstasy and half in horror. Catherine could taste Gareth and began to warm to the task, she let out an in voluntary gasp as Melina’s tongue began to explore. Melina had done this before and soon had Catherine crying out. The two women quickly reached orgasm and rolled apart, Catherine began to laugh and soon Melina joined in.
Gareth growled with pent up lust and the laughter stopped, their eyes grew hungry again. What followed was a night of sex Gareth would never forget, the three became completely immersed in each other and they reached heights of passion they were unaware existed. They two women discovered the secrets of a feminine touch on their bodies while Gareth found himself aroused to greater and greater heights of passion by the visual delights open to him for the first time.
By the time he had exhausted himself both women were spent. Melina felt she was floating above the clouds without the aid of wings, she could barely feel her body as Gareth carried her to her own bed. Catherine slipped off to sleep in his arms. Gareth returned to his own bed and before he could close his eyes he was asleep.
CHAPTER 43
The wind snapped the rigging taught and every time Gareth was covered by a fine spray. The ship groaned horribly as it worked itself deeper into the fine sand on the beach. All three ships lay with their prows buried in the fine sand. The captains screamed frantically at their men as they fought with anchor chains and ropes trying to stop the ships being shoved farther ashore. The storm had sprung up hours after Gareth had returned to the expedition and since it had become a desperate battle as the ships dragged their anchors nearer and nearer the shore.
In the end the admiral had ordered the raising of their fore anchors to prevent the three ships broaching on their sides against the shore where they would be pounded to pieces by the huge waves.
‘Why beach her nose first,’ Graun shouted at the captain. ‘Would it no be easier to haul her off that way.’
The captain raised an eyebrow at the unprofessional language used by Graun but knew better than reprimand the war master for it. ‘If she broaches, uh,’ he hesitated, ‘if we approach the beach arse end first sir we will smash the rudders and that’s week’s worth of work to fix providing we can find the right wood to replace it.’
‘Right I got ye, sorry wasna thinking there.’
The captain smiled, he liked Graun, ‘that’s ok sir, but if I may.’
Graun nodded and stepped back, ‘I’ll get out of your way.’ He joined Gareth at the rigging and was promptly soaked, ‘shit man why you standing here?’
‘There isn’t a dry spot on the ship Graun; this place is as good a spot to get soaked as any.’
‘I suppose so,’ he looked up and pointed at the snapping rigging, ‘never seen anything like that before.’ A cloud of droplets descended on him and he spat out the salt water, ‘fuck.’
Gareth was thoroughly mesmerised by the process, ‘close your mouth dipshit.’
‘Aye thanks for that Gareth I’ll take it under advisement,’ Graun growled sarcastically.
The admiral fought his way over and saluted, ‘I’m sorry Sire but I think we are losing the battle, all three ships have their anchors hove short and there's little now stopping us from broaching and being washed up on the beach. You need to grab anything you need now before that happens. Once she broaches it will be too dangerous to go below. I'm going to try and send a team ashore with a rope before that happens and you will want to lash yourself to something before we broach.’
‘Will we lose the ships Admiral?’
‘They are going to be smashed to driftwood sir,’ he shrugged, ‘sorry Sire it will take a miracle to save them now.’
As the words left his mouth the wind dropped and the sea went calm. The three men looked around them in wonder. The ships groaned and settled and water cascaded off the decks.
‘What the fuck,’ cursed the Admiral.
There was a flutter of wings and they looked up as a Grey Eagle came into land, it transformed into the naked form of Amber, ‘my father can’t hold this weather for long you need to hurry ashore.’
‘How long can he hold it?’ The Admiral growled.
‘With my help about an hour.’
‘That’s long enough girl, go help your father.’ He dashed off and began screaming orders. ‘Lower the long boats and haul the anchors in. I want
them rowed back out to sea and I want four anchors for every ship we have an hour at best so move you arses.’
Amber returned to her father and helped him control the elements while desperate seamen rowed the longboats with the anchors on them out into deeper water. It was a race against time. Gareth joined Amber on the beach and stayed quiet unwilling to break either’s concentration. He realised they were inside some kind of bubble and outside it he watched the storm rage.
They barely got the longboats back on board when Grey Eagle collapsed and the bubble burst. The blast of wind almost knocked Gareth off his feet. Both Amber and Grey Eagle were plucked from the ground. Gareth raced after them. He caught them both and carried them to safety behind towering sand dunes where they could catch their breath and rest. He made his way back to the ships which now seemed to be holding their own but there was no way he would be able to get back on board.
Gran spotted him from the deck and waved him away. Gareth couldn’t catch his words but understood the hand signals. He climbed back up the dunes the wind snapping at his kilt and the sand stinging his legs raw. The two were sitting up partially recovered. A surge of water slammed into the dunes and threatened to spill over. Cold salt water cascaded down on them.
‘We have to get somewhere safe,’ Gareth shouted over the roar of the wind. Trees crashed to the ground in the nearby forest.
‘There is nowhere safe,’ Grey eagle cried back, ‘nowhere but deep within the forest; but we have to get there.’
Another surge leapt over the dunes farther along, ‘any more waves like that and well have those fucking ships on our heads,’ Gareth growled to himself. His eyes fought to see a clear avenue in front of him. He thought he saw a safe path a little farther along and guided them to it. As soon as they entered the trees the effect of the wind was cut in half. Dead branches fell around them like rain and they ran as fast as they could deeper into the forest.
Grey eagle was exhausted and Gareth stopped for a short rest a mile in. The wind made a peculiar roaring sound as it raced through the branches above, a sound Gareth had never heard before and found unsettling. Amber smiled at the expression on his face but hid it when his eyes flicked down to her face.
Grey Eagle stood, ‘we need to get much deeper.’
Torrential rain began to batter down on them. Within a few miles they came upon a swollen stream. ‘Enough of this,’ Grey Eagle cried out. He wandered up and down the bank until he came upon a small eddy and waded in. They grasped hands and in a moment were transported far away.
Gareth immediately noticed they weren’t at Grey Eagles home. He had no idea where they were and it was getting dark. Above the wind was strong but nowhere near the raging storm by the coast and it wasn’t raining.
‘I'm too tired to take us any farther; we will camp here for the night. Can you to build a shelter for us. I'm afraid I'm not able.’
It didn’t take them long to build a rudimental shelter and Gareth began collecting firewood. ‘Do you have a fire stick with you?’ Amber asked.
Gareth scratched his head, ‘a what?’
‘A fire stick, you know to twirl.’
Gareth smiled, ‘I've seen that done, but no I don’t have one of those, but don’t worry I have something better.’
‘Oh ok.’
‘I thought you Eagles could start a fire with magic, I see them do it all the time.’
‘No not fire, magic light.’
Gareth thought it over, ‘I suppose your right, but it looks like fire.’
‘An illusion, fire is the hardest element to control and few master it.’
‘Element?’
‘There are four elements, Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. Fire is the only element that doesn't occur naturally in nature therefore is the hardest to control and command.’
‘I see, but you can handle wind and water very well.’
She smiled, ‘my father is the strongest of us all, I was he who controlled it I merely let him use my energy.’
Gareth frowned, ‘not quite sure how that works but thank you both anyway, we were just about to abandon ship.’
‘You may lose them anyway,’ Grey Eagle interrupted, ‘I have never seen so fierce a storm, I have heard of them though, they call them Hurricanes. You should have ordered your people ashore while you had the chance.’
‘They will be ok, don’t worry about them.’ He took out a flint and iron rod from his fire making kit and stuck one against the other. After a few strikes smoke began to rise from the tinder. He blew into it and it burst into flames. It consumed the tinder quickly and he put it amongst his carefully prepared kindling. It caught and he fed the flames until it had caught well.
When he looked up from his task he found father and daughter staring at him open mouthed.
‘Now that is real magic,’ Grey Eagle breathed in wonder.
Gareth shook his head, ‘nothing magical about it, flint and iron when struck produce a long burning spark, well they do if you do it right.’
‘When two elements are combined to make a third that is magical.’
‘Hardly two, both of these come from the earth.’ Gareth smiled smugly to himself.
Grey Eagle arched his eyebrows, ‘you blew on it didn’t you.’
‘Uhh, aye,’ Gareth knew he had already lost the argument.
It was Grey Eagles turn to look smug, ‘there you go, earth and wind, two elements that make a third.’ He pointed to Gareth's Claymore, ‘and your metal swords, elements taken from the earth and combined with fire, magic. You insist your people have no magic Gareth but that’s not what I see.’
Gareth handed over his fire making tools, ‘here you can have these I have spares.’
‘Truly,’ Grey eagles face split into a big grin, ‘it is a great gift and I have nothing for you.’
‘You gave me and my men a chance at life, it is gift enough.’
Grey Eagle nodded solemnly; it was good Gareth saw it like that. Despite his tiredness he couldn’t wait to make fire from the two stone. What happened next was a comedy of trial and error where he managed to burn himself twice before he finally got a small fire going. Gareth and Amber both laughed at him before Amber took to the wing. She returned soon after with a small deer. They cut strips from it and roasted the over the fire.
After the meal Grey Eagle quickly fell asleep leaving the two intended wide-awake and feeling awkward. Gareth toyed with the fire for a while and watched the sparks curl up through the trees. The wind was beginning to get stronger. Gareth closed his eyes for a moment and spoke to one of his Eagles on board the ships, they were still in the grip of the storm but the ships were holding their own.
‘Were you talking to your people just then?’ Amber asked in an attempt to break the ice.
‘Aye they are fine at the moment.’ He lapsed back into silence.
‘That’s good,’ she ventured. ‘Did you tell your other wives about us?’
He nodded, ‘I did, they congratulated us.’
‘Really!’
‘Oh aye, they were as mad as hell like.’
‘Oh, I didn’t think they would be pleased.’
‘Only because they weren’t involved in the process, when are we getting married by the way?’
‘I thought tomorrow if it’s all right with you?’
‘Aye that will be fine. It’s funny you know, back home the women make a big fuss over it, marriage that is, big celebrations, fancy speeches, everyone getting drunk.’
‘We believe marriage to be a private thing between two people, most marry because they are in love.’
‘But not Royalty, eh!’
‘No, but isn’t that the case with all royalty.’
‘Won’t be with my children, I can promise you that. I won’t marry my daughter off to some fat old bastard she despises and who will treat her wrong. If she falls in love with a prince then fine, if not then tough shit.’
‘It can’t be like that.’
‘I appreciate not being told wh
at to think by a woman before I marry her.’ His smile made her laugh. ‘Are you sure you want to do this Amber? If you want to walk away tell me now and I will refuse to marry you tomorrow.’
‘You would do that for me?’
He nodded, ‘of course.’
‘Don’t you desire me?’
‘What has a man’s desires got to do with it, you are beautiful, every man desires you.’
‘I know that, but what I don’t know is do you desire me?’
‘Of course, isn’t that obvious.’
Her skin seemed to darken in the firelight, ‘actually, no, it isn’t.’
‘So, what do you want to do about tomorrow?’
‘I want to get married.’
‘To a man?’
‘I confess I once found the idea repulsive, as do most of my people, now I can’t think of anything else I would rather do.’
Gareth raised an eyebrow, ‘truly and honestly.’
‘My word and heart on it.’
‘Then what will be will be. We had better try and get some rest.’
It took both a long time to fall asleep. Gareth lay on the opposite side of the fire listening to the roar of the wind as it got louder. He never realised he had fallen asleep but the sound of a falling tree brought him wide-awake. A shadow moved above him and he moved swiftly. The two Eagles were barely awake when he grabbed each by an ankle and dragged them out of danger.
The tree trunk missed them by a whisker. Grey Eagle and Amber lay in shock covered in leaves and dirt. Gareth let out a long breath, ‘that was bloody close,’ his words were whipped away by the howling wind.
Grey Eagle struggled to his feet and helped Amber up, then put his hand on Gareth's shoulder, ‘You saved our lives, thank you.’ He shouted into Gareth's ear.
Gareth looked up through the branches, it was beginning to get light and he could just make out the clouds racing across the sky, ‘well it would have been a bit of a disaster on my wedding day if you had been killed.’
Grey Eagle laughed, ‘well said, we need to leave here, my strength is fully restored. Can you speak to your people?’