No Rest for the Prince's Virgin

by Morgan King

  She smiled shyly up at him, the heat of a blush warming her cheeks and making her look away quickly. “In my hands it was not an invitation, but a guide. I have never seen anything magical before, and you are right: I could not resist the invitation.”

  “We are honoured by the presence of magic in this kingdom. You are meant to be here.”

  Katrine wished the prince’s words to be true. There was no way of knowing what purpose her presence here would serve, wherever this place was. “You do not know the land I come from. Likewise I do not know what land this is. Will someone tell me, please?”

  “This is Lerrendor, a land of peace and plenty, at least these past thirty years.” The prince answered her question, pride ringing in his voice.

  “I have not heard of it before. I do not understand how I can have walked so far.”

  “Some mysteries we are not destined to know the answers to. You are here now, and if there is anything we can do for your comfort you just have to ask.”

  Katrine was being treated like visiting royalty. Surely this wasn’t right. Not right, but a dream worth sleeping for. She resisted giving herself a pinch. “I don’t think you understand. I am just a villager where I come from. You are royalty. Is everyone equal in your land?”

  “You are our guest. As for equality, we are as equal as we can be where people have been born to different stations in life.”

  “But I have seen servants. How is that equality?” Katrine didn’t intend to challenge her host, but she was curious.

  “There is opportunity for people to change their life if they do not like their family’s profession. Our staff earn a decent wage.” The prince took her question seriously, answering in more detail. “There is a democratically elected council that makes the rulings governing our people, but a member of the royal family always chairs the council. Provided there is one who can prove his or her worth. My mother the queen currently presides.”

  “Does that mean you will rule one day?”

  “Yes, the people are happy that I will take over from my mother. I am an only child, not for want of trying it is said, and that makes it more straightforward.” The prince’s smile drew Katrine’s gaze from his eyes. She could happily look at either all evening. Hastily she took a sip from the goblet that had also been put beside her, so it did not appear that she was staring as the prince continued. “Although it does mean my parents are keen to see me married to ensure the royal line and tradition continues. Any change can be upsetting or a potential weakness for the kingdom.”

  “You have enemies?” Katrine couldn’t remember ever having had such a fascinating conversation before.

  “We have a prosperous land, so yes, there are those who would try to take it for themselves.”

  It all sounded so much more interesting than the life which Katrine was familiar with.

  “And are you keen to be married?” Katrine continued to ask questions with a temerity that surprised her. Normally she would hold her tongue unless assured someone wished to hear what she had to say.

  Her liking for the prince made her eager. Her eagerness for the prince made her uninhibited.

  “To the right wife. If I were to fall in love. I wish to experience the happiness I have witnessed love and marriage bring.”

  He could have given a negative answer. Dare she hope he was flirting with her?

  Anything was possible where magic was involved it seemed.

  ****

  She was a delightful creature. Sweet and demure. She shouldn’t tempt him.

  He needed a partner who could live with his passions, his deeper, darker desires. When he took a wife he intended to be faithful, out of respect and, he hoped, love. They would need to be equals in and out of bed. He suspected he was unlike any man Katrine Smithson had had dealings with before, as otherwise she would not blush so easily.

  If she set him up on a pedestal because of his birth, his form, or even his outward manners and actions, she would be disappointed to find him flawed. And he was flawed. He would not be an easy husband to live with if his wife did not care to indulge his carnal appetites.

  In all his previous considerations of the women he might choose to ask to marry him this had never mattered as much as it did now, because, he realised, none of them had attracted him this much. None of them had called to his soul, causing it to seek satisfaction. If he failed to fall in love he had intended to marry someone with an equally healthy desire for sex and the experience to satisfy his needs. Katrine, he suspected was not so experienced. Still he wanted her.

  He was worried she wasn’t a good match for him, because already he knew he wanted her to be.

  As Wilhelm reflected people murmured to their neighbours, and rumours could be seen billowing across the room. Let them gossip. He wished to hold her, get to know her better.

  “Katrine, would you care to dance?”

  ****

  It was the Cinderella moment every girl dreamed of, being asked to dance by a handsome prince who was looking for a wife. Most girls also prepared for it. Katrine had never had opportunity or reason to do so. Regret mixed with nerves, and she was unable to answer. The prince’s hand remained outstretched awaiting her response. He wore an expression of patient expectation. It was slowly replaced by bemusement.

  “Perhaps she can’t dance.” Katrine winced at the accuracy of the taunt that came from one of the other ladies near them.

  There were dozens of other ladies just waiting to take her moment. The one that had spoken was dressed in a gown of gauzy scarlet, made respectable by its fine embroidery stitched with thread of gold and silver. She came to stand next to the prince and brazenly placed her hand in his. He looked to Katrine, instead of the woman whose hand he held, but still Katrine could not answer.

  Without an answer the prince turned towards the lady that would be his dance partner. Had that been disappointment or anger in his eyes?

  Katrine watched as the couple departed for the centre of the room. They joined the other dancers becoming part of the changing pattern of colours being cast like a kaleidoscope.

  Katrine gave a delicate yawn and used the action of covering her mouth to stretch her fingers and thumb to wipe at the corners of her eye. Moisture was gathered there. She would not openly show it.

  “Would you mind if I retired. It has been an exhausting day?” Tiredness gave weight to the feeling that maybe it was not just a mystery why she was here but maybe also a mistake.

  “Of course, my dear. We shall look forward to your company on the morrow.” The queen’s words sounded sincere. Katrine didn’t want to be a burden though. She had best start finding a way to work out how she had got here.

  A candle flickered on in her mind. A map, they must have maps somewhere in the castle so that she might figure out how to get home. She hoped the weather would relent and the journey would not be so hard.

  Rising from her seat, Katrine curtsied once more to her hosts and began to make her back to the door she had come through. This time she skirted the edge of the room not wanting to have to dodge the dancers. They all looked so graceful, and Katrine felt a pang of longing, unhappy with the limitations of her body and its abilities for the first time in her life. She had never needed to do more than the basics before. She was good at walking, average at running, could manage things like climbing and throwing. But oh to be able to dance!

  With her eyes she sought Wilhelm and his dancing partner in the crowd. They were talking, Katrine forgotten. Unless they talked about her. Katrine wished she could hear what they were saying. Her own mind had a tendency to conjure up the worst. Maybe they laughed about the poor little lost girl.

  If Katrine managed to find a way home and was to leave the next day she would never know how the prince felt about her. The looks he had given her made her want to know. The sight of him with another woman in his arms made her burn to be the one he held. No trace of the cold was left beneath her skin now. Jealousy fired her blood.

  She forced h
er feet to carry her out of the room before she did something silly. Waiting to see what the morrow might bring was the only sensible thing to do. With a clear mind she would be able to reason with her feelings. All she knew right now was that she had never felt this way about a man before.

  ****

  The queen and king watched their mysterious guest depart the room, each momentarily absorbed in wondering the same thought: Is she the one, has the blessing somehow been fulfilled?

  Chapter Two

  Wilhelm lay in his bed, but he couldn’t sleep. His mind wouldn’t settle. It was filled with thoughts of the guest who had arrived late that evening. She was now lying in a bed just the other side of his wall. No more than twenty paces away.

  He wondered where she came from. She had named a town, described its location, and he was none the wiser. No one seemed to recognise her, yet she had an invitation.

  Magic maybe. Wilhelm preferred things to be tangible, understandable, and under his control. Especially things he wanted to be his. The problem with magic was it was normally someone else who controlled it or no one at all. Sometimes it had a life of its own, particularly if set free from its creator.

  He had only just met the Lady Katrine, but he definitely wanted her, and not just for a night. He wanted her for his. To keep.

  When she had presented herself, having bathed and been lent fresh clothes, her beauty had shone through. No longer dampened by the elements, her looks were intriguing, and arousing. And to think he’d mistaken her for a child, possibly even a boy! She may be small of stature, but when not wrapped in a cloak she was all woman.

  Long dark curls fell in thick waves down past pert breasts, trim waist, and flaring hips to caress her mid-thigh and further. Several strands drifted over the sides of the bed falling to the floor. Wilhelm knew that from the back they tumbled past a delightful derrière. Wilhelm longed to touch the rich mass of her hair. Combined with her striking green eyes, and strong features set in a perfectly oval frame, she was breathtaking.

  Her wide lips took more than his breath. They taunted Wilhelm, made him wonder what they would feel like wrapped around his cock.

  He could no longer resist temptation. He needed to see her. He climbed out of bed and lighted candles about the room. Against the wall opposite his bed stood a sturdy chest of drawers which he hauled himself up onto. Reaching out he carefully lifted the framed picture that let him view his lands before he went to sleep and kneeled down to place it on the floor. Straightening up he leaned close and peered through the long crack in the stone wall which gave him a restricted view of the room the other side of his.

  If the bed in that room hadn’t been against the far wall, mirroring his own, he would not have been able to see anything of interest. As it was, he could see most of the bed and Katrine lying atop it. There were four posts reaching high, a canopy at the top, but luckily the curtains, red and gold brocade, were still tied to each corner.

  She tossed and turned, appearing as restless as he.

  Her agitated movements had twisted her nightgown around her body and caused it to ruck up revealing the long slim lines of her legs.

  They would feel divine wrapped around his hips.

  Her feet looked dainty across the distance, but Wilhelm had no doubt they could dig in and spur him on.

  The feast for his eyes and his erotic musings were having a distinct effect on his body. His cock was rearing its head and pushing vehemently against the front of his drawstring trousers. He slid one hand down to adjust its positioning, and as he did so he saw Katrine move her own hand, sliding it down her body in what looked like a sensual caress.

  Was she awake?

  Wilhelm couldn’t be sure. Enthralled he watched as she gathered the folds of cloth around her thighs pulling them higher to reveal the apex of her thighs and, delight of delights, her pussy. She slipped one finger between her own folds, the tip disappearing from view. The movements of her hand suggested she was rubbing that small pea-sized nubbin that gave a woman such immediate pleasure

  It was a beautiful sight. Wilhelm had never seen a woman touch the intimate parts of her own body before. He was normally intent on controlling a woman’s pleasure. Now he wished he could be closer and see more.

  The fact that it was Katrine touching herself was a very welcome surprise. He had assumed from her shyness that she might not be comfortable or in touch with her own sexuality. He thrilled to think she might be a suitable match for him in bed. She looked perfect, brimming with sensuality in fact.

  There was no way he could hold back from touching himself. He took his cock in hand while he watched Katrine touching herself. Beads of pre-cum had formed at the top of his penis, and he smeared it around, lubricating himself to ease any friction as he pumped his hand.

  Katrine was working herself up as well. Her hips were lifting up and down, only an inch or two each time, but rapidly getting faster and faster. Low moans released from her mouth in time with her movements, and Wilhelm believed she must be reaching a climax. The very thought had him perilously close to climaxing himself. His balls drew tight. It was going to feel so good.

  With a rush of semen he came.

  He drove his hand quickly up and down his shaft, wanting to push every last drop of pleasure out. All the time he continued to watch Katrine, and within seconds of his release he saw her body stiffen as she went into the throes of climax. Her hips bucked hard, and her hand emerged covered in juices. A final spurt was his cock’s response.

  There was nothing Wilhelm loved better than sharing a woman’s climax, except in this case he couldn’t help but think that they hadn’t entirely been in it together. As far as he could make out, Katrine’s eyes had never opened. He and she had never even touched, and the stickiness covering his hand would be rather more awkward to clean than hers.

  Wilhelm couldn’t bring himself to care. He stood and stared in wonder at the woman who contained such passion, until she became completely still, obviously moving into a deeper sleep. He gingerly climbed back down to wash. Luckily there was still a bowl and half a jug of clean water on his dressing table.

  Immersing his hands, Wilhelm wondered if there was any chance she had been dreaming of him. He liked to think so. If she hadn’t been, by tomorrow night she would be. Wilhelm was determined that on the morrow he would fill Katrine’s head with thoughts of him. Seduce her mind so that her body would long for his touch. It was only fair. She had already enspelled him.

  Chapter Three

  “Did you sleep well?”

  How to answer? Katrine didn’t want to appear impolite, ungracious, or worse ungrateful, but the truth was she hadn’t slept well. She’d tossed and turned all night. The bed had been perfectly comfortable, the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in. It just didn’t feel as though she had actually slept. “I’m afraid not. I think it must be being so far from home.”

  “Was there anything wrong with the bed?” the queen asked.

  “Oh no, the bed was lovely. I’ve never had a feather filled quilt or pillows before.” Katrine was quick to reassure her hostess.

  Some of the other ladies also sitting and eating their breakfast laughed at this.

  “Honesty is an admirable trait for anyone to possess. We’ll check the bed out to see if there was anything,” the queen said, her gaze directing her disapproval at those that had obviously laughed.

  “Oh please, don’t go to any bother for my sake.”

  “Maybe one of the feathers was sticking out and kept tickling you to keep you awake.” This came from the lady who had danced with the prince in Katrine’s stead and caused more titters to be quickly muffled.

  “Serena,” the queen said, letting Katrine know the other woman’s name. “If there were such a thing keeping our guest awake it would be a fault on our part that we would be glad to rectify.”

  Katrine was amazed that the royal family was supporting her so vocally. It wasn’t necessary, but she was grateful. Then again there was something
about Serena, a niggling unpleasantness. Maybe the queen felt it, too, and was keen to show the lady up where possible. Serena registered her distaste for this by pushing her chair back with enough force to cause the wood grating against flagstone to make a horrible scraping noise.

  The queen showed no signs that this troubled her. “What entertainments would you ladies like this morning? There will be no going home ‘til the roads can be cleared of debris and some of the water has subsided.”

  Katrine guessed this applied to her as well. If the roads weren’t fit for carriages she could hardly walk it, even if she was to borrow a sturdy pair of boots. She waited for a twinge of regret, a touch of instinctive home-sickness to tighten her chest, but it never came. Apart from not having slept well, Katrine was still enjoying the adventure. Her life up to this point had been full and busy, but there had always been the nagging sensation that there should be more, if only she knew where to start looking for it. At the end of a long walk her future was now laid at her feet, firmly pushing against her toes, as if to say “hello, catch me if you can!” Katrine didn’t need entertaining. Just absorbing her new surroundings, taking it all in, was enough for her.

  “Ooh, let’s play party games!” one of the younger ladies squealed, her eyes wide and hopeful, blonde curls bouncing. Either she was one of the other ladies’ younger sister or the king and queen were really desperate to find their son a bride. Perhaps he had already seen and dismissed all the other ladies who had come of age before this year.

  “Very well, I suggest Hide and Seek,” Serena, whom Katrine was taking an increasing dislike to, said, taking charge without even a look in the queen’s direction. “Jane, as it was your suggestion you had better count first.”

  At this Jane looked a little disheartened, but didn’t object. All the other ladies also seemed willing to go along with the plan presented to them, and there was a rush of movement as last sips of drinks were taken, mouths dabbed with napkins, and chairs pushed back from the table.