by Aaron Bunce
The doors swung open with only the slightest hint of a groan from the large hinges. Gladeus made a mental note of that. He would have to dock his house staff in their earnings for growing lax in their duties. Brilliant sunlight filled the room beyond. His chamber was a cavernous space, occupying a host of interconnected rooms.
Elaborately carved trim covered each doorway and window. Beautiful paintings covered the ceiling, depicting flowing landscapes and triumphant battles of Kingly looking men. In the center of the large room stood an enormous bed, cornered by large hand-carved wood posts. Numerous fur pelts and overstuffed pillows covered the mattress.
A lone figure stood on a large white bear skin before the bed. The young lady wore a simple, sheer robe. Her hair was raven-black, and fell in a glossy curtain, obscuring her face.
Gladeus closed the doors behind him and turned the heavy brass key, locking the doors. He dropped the key into the pocket of his robes and walked over to the polished sidebar, where he proceeded to fill his favorite jewel encrusted goblet from a carafe of fresh wine.
Gladeus put the goblet to his lips and took several long pulls. He didn’t stop to enjoy all of the wonderful aromas and flavor undercurrents of the fine northern fare. Instead, he gulped it down. Gladeus pulled the goblet away and managed to spill it down his chin. The deep red fluid dribbled onto his chest and then the floor.
He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his robe and paused to consider the young woman standing before the bed. He looked her up and down, taking another long drink of wine before settling his massive frame into a high-backed chair. The seat groaned under his weight.
“Well, let me have a look at you, child,” he said, lifting his arm and motioning for the young woman to turn.
“Well, well, you are quite pretty. But tell me, how old are you, child?” he asked, slopping more wine onto his robe. He took another substantial drink and belched loudly before she could reply.
“I am still quite young, my lord,” she said weakly.
“Do not be frightened. I am not going to hurt you,” he said reassuringly. Gladeus liked the poor girls. Most weren’t educated in basic scrolls and runes. It made them so much easier to impress, and in the end, discard.
“Did my attendant tell you why you are here?” Gladeus asked. The girl nodded, the gentle motion rippling through her raven-black hair.
“You’re a little old for my taste,” Gladeus whispered as he motioned for the girl to turn again. She had seen sixteen or seventeen thaws already. She is practically already a woman.
Gladeus almost dismissed her but paused. Balin knew his fancies and perversions better than anyone, and if he chose this young woman, it was probably for a good reason.
“Please drop your robe,” he instructed.
“Don’t you want to know my name first?” the girl asked, still facing the floor.
“I need not know your name, child. Now please,” he said and drained the rest of his wine. His tone was crisp, with an aire of finality.
The young woman turned around, letting the sheer robe slide from her shoulders. Brilliant sunshine cascaded through the window, exposing her alluring curves beneath the silk shift covering her body.
“Oh Balin, you outdid yourself this time. Yes a little older than I like, but I think I can make an exception for this one,” he mumbled.
“I am weary from my strenuous duties. I will have you massage me first,” Gladeus said, heaving his bulk from the chair. He lifted the girl’s chin with a chubby finger. Her hair fell back, exposing flawless, creamy skin, with none of the pocks or blemishes he often found with street girls.
She lifted her gaze up to meet his. Her eyes were large and shone like green crystals in the bright light. Gladeus felt himself pulled into her gaze, tumbling into the strange glittering depths.
Chapter 15
The girl with the emerald eyes
Gladeus’ tastes were very specific. It was true for most things in his life, but more so for his companions. They would ridicule him. Perhaps even cast him down from his lofty station if they found out, so he took great pains to keep his lifestyle private.
A large tray covered in stoppered bottles lay on the bed. Some were filled with exotic oils, while others, remedial tonics. He was specific about what was used where, and when.
Gladeus plopped down on his stomach. The girl, as she was instructed ahead of time, straddled him. He could hear glass clink together as she rifled through the tray.
He was a creature of habit. It was necessary that things fall in the proper order. His massages, for example, needed to follow a very specific path. Otherwise, he couldn’t enjoy any of it.
Like clockwork, he smelled the relaxing aroma of crushed mint as the girl opened the first stopper. Oh, Balin, you are a magician, he thought. He would have to pay the slippery little rogue a healthy bonus for all his hard work. He was the machination keeping Gladeus well fed and satisfied.
He allowed his mind to wander as the girl massaged the exotic oil into his back and shoulders. His stress and anxiety started to melt away, allowing his mind to wander. Birds sang from somewhere outside the open window, their delicate song riding the gentle currents of autumn’s failed warmth.
The wine swirled in his belly. The fine northern grapes and luxurious spices warmed his insides and made his head buzz. Gladeus felt completely at peace. He felt the girl towel his back dry, and then another bottle was uncorked. Spicy, rich aromas wafted over him this time. It wasn’t relaxing, but arousing.
He felt the girl’s soft velvety skin slide against his. He felt the warmth radiating from every inch of her body as she labored over him. He could smell her as well. Through the overpowering aromas of the massage oils, he could smell the slightly musky, sweet redolence of her body. There was something even more enticing about how she smelled than his expensive concoctions.
The wine crept more fully into his head and the stirrings within him intensified. His loins throbbed as he anticipated the next step in his process.
The girl labored to continue, her hands growing weaker with each passing moment. Gladeus decided he had waited long enough.
“You may stop now,” he said.
“Yes, my lord,” she said and slid free. Gladeus rolled his ample girth off of the bed and rose to his feet. He used a clean cloth and wiped the perspiration from his face.
“Would you like some wine, my dear?” he asked. He didn’t wait for a reply, however, and retrieved another goblet.
Gladeus put the goblet in the girl’s hands, and she instantly raised it to her mouth to drink. He sat down in his chair and gave a slight start when he found the girl standing directly before him. She stood so close her toes brushed against his.
She held her goblet up, “May I have some more, please? It was very good.”
Gladeus chuckled, “slow down, my dear, I don’t want you to get sick.” He was used to this. He had learned that when you took girls from the street, girls used to having nothing, most of them would overindulge to the point of sickness, or worse.
He took her goblet and returned to his side bar where he refilled it. He quietly removed a small bottle from the first drawer and put a few drops of the clear solution into the wine. He had become quite practiced at this subtlety, as he replaced the bottle back in the drawer and pushed it closed with his belly.
The bottle’s contents were a secret known only to Gladeus and two other people, Balin, and his alchemist. Two droplets of the bottle’s caustic contents could rend the fight from even the most spirited of people. It allowed Gladeus to enjoy himself and avoid any unnecessary resistance.
The poisoned individual also had a tendency to lose a large portion of their memory in the process. It was an unintentional, albeit beneficial side effect.
He turned with the two goblets, careful to keep the special mixture in his right hand. It would do him no good to drink the wrong wine and end up a slobbering wreck on the floor. He walked over to the girl and dropped goblet into her hands.
“Thank you,” she said weakly.
Gladeus watched her eyes. Her nose worked over the goblet for a moment as she smelled it. Gladeus’ heart skipped a beat, as he wondered if she was somehow able to smell the elixir hidden within the complex motes of wine. She brought her eyes up from the wine for a moment. Those eyes, he thought. They seemed to trap him within their refracting depths, like large hollow emeralds.
“To your health,” he toasted nervously.
“And to yours,” she replied.
The girl had drained her goblet before Gladeus lowered his, setting it down noisily on a spindly-legged table. Gladeus sputtered in his wine.
The elixir, is it working already?
He watched the girl for a moment, expecting to see her go blurry-eyed and unsteady. But she walked towards him, no teeter or sway marring her step.
“Hey now!” he said in alarm as she took the goblet from his hand and set it down. She grabbed his hand firmly in hers and pulled him back across the bearskin rug towards the bed.
Gladeus was confused, and the buzzing in his head was starting to get worse.
Did I mix up the goblets, he wondered. She showed none of the effects of the elixir, no stagger in her step or droop to her eyes.
The tray full of his favorite massage amenities was still sprawled on one of his wolf pelt blankets.
It must be the wine. Why did I drink it so quickly?
He staggered a little. He didn’t know what had come over him. He always kept a clear head during these times. He wanted to enjoy himself. It was the culmination of the entire process.
The timid, meek girl from before was gone. She manhandled him, her hands winding all over his ample figure like hungry snakes. His objections were quickly pushed aside as he felt her body rub against his. Her smell was overpowering. It gripped his senses and tore at every resolve.
She shoved Gladeus backward onto the bed with surprising strength. He laughed, crawling back to sprawl amidst the blankets and pillows. The girl crawled teasingly onto the bed at his feet. She slunk forward like a cat, stalking a mouse. Her green gaze never left his, making Gladeus feel like he was being hunted. This added to his excitement.
Gladeus moaned longingly as she crawled atop him. Her sheer garment caught and tore, exposing the alluring curves of her breasts. He couldn’t keep his hands idle.
His hands crawled eagerly over her body. But she playfully wriggled out of his grasp, waggling her index finger in front of his nose, her lips puckered in a pout. Gladeus almost couldn’t stand it, his loins were on fire, and he felt like he would explode if he did not have her. He was not used to his partners having the power, the control. It was horribly exhilarating.
She was kissing him on the neck, nibbling on his ear, her hot sweet breath on him, tickling his sensibilities. She was so warm. Gladeus felt his body becoming slick with sweat.
A fleeting thought popped into his head. She drank two full glasses of my wine, plus the special elixir. She should be a slobbering mess by now. But she seemed to be overflowing with life.
That thought didn’t plant for long in his consciousness, however, for the lust bubbled back up and blew it aside. Gladeus tried to wrestle her still to kiss her, but she could not be contained. His blood pounded through his veins like wild horses, and he could barely catch his breath. He had never felt so alive before in his entire life.
The heat continued to radiate off of her body. Her skin burned against his, but he felt so lost in the moment that even the unpleasantness no longer mattered.
“I must have you. Give yourself to me, please!” Gladeus gasped.
Gladeus had flogged people for begging. Begging signified weakness, and he had no sympathy for weakness. But he had been pushed beyond the limits of reason.
The young woman pulled a sheaf of black hair out of her face. Her skin was perfect. She was perfect. He stared into her eyes. They were so green they seemed to glow, like stained glass trapping the sunlight.
“You want me?” she whispered, bending closer.
Gladeus giggled, tickled by her sweet breath upon his ear.
“Yes, yes…oh please,” Gladeus begged, nodding his head stupidly.
She laughed. It was sultry and throaty, a sound that seemed out of place for a creature so young and petite. She lifted her head towards the ceiling and closed her eyes. Gladeus kissed her neck and chest. The sweat ran freely from his forehead and face.
Her hands clenched his shoulders, one on each side of his neck. She clamped her legs around him with surprising force. This is it.
Gladeus tore the remainder of her garment free and ran his hands over her breasts. This time, she did nothing to stop him. She started to moan. No, not a moan he realized. The sound came from deep inside of her. Gladeus’ skin started to tickle all over. It’s just the heat.
He felt a twinge, and the girl drove her sharp fingernails into his tender flesh. His heart hammered in his chest, but it seemed to skip a beat and then fluttered precariously for a moment. The girl arched her back cat-like atop him, and her eyes flashed open. Her eyes, so bright, and now they did glow green. They pulsed rhythmically as the room seemed to darken, an oddity for the middle of the day.
Gladeus croaked, suddenly unable to put sound into words. Something was very wrong, but he couldn’t rationalize what or why. Searing pain rippled through him. It originated from his shoulders and cleared his mind a bit. The pain was horrible. It split into him like a hot knife. It radiated with a sudden surge, from his feet all the way to his head.
“Ahh,” Gladeus gagged, staring up into her pulsing green eyes. His heart fluttered again in his chest and the pain redoubled. His bedraggled mind grew frantic, but he could not coax his body into motion.
All of the vitality and energy that coursed through him just moments ago was rushing from his body. It rippled like waves on the shore, pulled upwards through his body, painfully passing from him.
“Get…get off me. Need a…healer,” he managed and made a feeble attempt to roll the girl off of him, but her grip was too strong. Her body seemed to swell against him, and her grip only grew stronger.
His vision grew darker, and his heart slowed until labored moments passed between faltering beats. No matter how hard he tried, air refused to enter his lungs. His eyelids drooped.
Gladeus’ terror bled away, replaced by a soothing sense of peace. Finally, he closed his eyes, but with them closed he could still see the glowing green of the girl’s eyes.
Gladeus swirled downwards into the milky darkness. Deeper and deeper, until he was floating, weightless and alone in an embrace he was sure would be everlasting.
Chapter 16
Bend to me
He felt pain in every muscle and joint. Gladeus opened his eyes. Everything was upside down. Blood pounded angrily through his veins, causing his head to throb. He thrashed his arms and legs for a moment, his head and shoulders hanging off the side of his massive bed.
He tried lifting his head, but a wave of nausea stopped him. Gladeus slid head first, landing with a slap on the cold, unforgiving floor.
“Ahhhhggg. Far too much wine,” Gladeus groaned as he rolled over slowly and tried to stand. He burped, and bile washed unpleasantly up his throat. The pounding in his head only grew worse as he tried to stand.
Gladeus sat on the floor, exhausted from the effort, and fought with a furious resolve not to throw up on himself. After a few steadying breaths his nausea settled, and he was able to stand.
Gladeus walked heavily across the room and leaned heavily against the sidebar, trying to catch his breath. He filled a goblet with wine and sipped slowly. He tried to collect his thoughts and remember how he ended up this way.
A strange fog drifted heavily in his mind, leaving the memories of the previous night frustratingly out of reach, and in fact, he had a hard time recalling much of anything from the past few days. Gladeus turned and coughed, sputtering in his goblet.
Sitting in one of his high-backed chairs was the radiant young
woman, her raven-black hair spilling down over her shoulders. She sat stark naked and watched him, a bemused smile on her face.
Memories started to pop back to him, but he couldn’t make sense of them. He remembered having a conversation with a troublesome monk, the girl, and his massage, but everything after that was blank.
This was so unlike him. He surely never kept girls overnight, and never allowed himself to become so muddled with wine that he lost control of himself. He made it a point to remain in control of every situation.
Gladeus licked his parched lips. A film had settled over his teeth. It was an unpleasant sensation. His exhaustion was profound, and he ran his hands over his belly, stopping to scratch an itch just above his genitals. It wasn’t just the deep seeded fatigue, but he also felt diminished, thinner.
Gladeus looked from his shrunken belly to the girl, who lounged in the chair not ten paces away. She looked even more voluptuous and attractive than he remembered. The curve of her rump and the pout of her breasts seemed fuller.
Gladeus tried to wash away the ick in his mouth with another gulp of wine, but it just made it worse. The girl continued to watch him from her comfortable perch.
Gladeus grew uncomfortable. He would summon Balin to take her away. The way she watched him unsettled him. He didn’t like it at all. Gladeus made it only three or four plodding steps toward the servant bell before he remembered that he had sent Balin away on an errand. The rogue would not return for some time.
Gladeus spun on the spot, trying to decide how to handle the girl. But then a thought popped into his head. It came to him so suddenly that it seemed laughable at first. He chuckled quietly at its absurdity. It was so unlike him, but then he glanced at the young woman.
He locked eyes, and the idea rooted itself. Before he knew it, he was walking towards her, wondering how he had come to such a strange conclusion.
“Good morn my lord,” the young woman cooed. Gladeus swayed, his legs going wobbly beneath him. He fought an inner battle between what he had always done, and what he now felt compelled to do.