by Lexi Lane
The warriors rushed out in a maddening herd. Terror gripped her. She had always known those men; she feared them only because it was no secret that if a concubine failed to please she was given to them to do with as they pleased. None ever came back from that punishment. There were also concubines who never achieved much favor despite their obedience and when the master tired of them or wanted to see fresh faces in his harem, some were wed to the warriors and others sent off to do hard labor until they dropped dead from exhaustion. The unlucky ones were simply handed over, discarded like yesterday’s garbage.
To see the warriors running, weapons at the ready and their usually inscrutable faces tight with a dark look that she didn’t comprehend made her cry out in fear. She began to run; almost pulling the eunuchs behind her in a reversal that would have been comical if it had not been happening under such dire and uncertain circumstances.
Astrid Turgis laughed as he saw the enormous palace on the seashore ahead. He had known that the trails of the long voyage would bring great reward but to see the city in the horizon reminded him of just how much he desired it. His crew had been doubtful, the voyage had been plagued by angry, unforgiving storms, and many of the men had felt like the Gods were upset with them. Several had tried to mutiny and he had had to kill them, an act which had pained him greatly as he had known them all of their lives but as their chieftain he simply had no choice. He could not allow his authority to ever be questioned, much less overthrown, even if the acts were in vain.
“Look there!” One of his crew, Leif, a massive red headed fellow that was his second-in-command, cried, “We come to a land so rich they build their keeps of gold!”
“Aye,” Astrid said, satisfaction darkening his blue eyes until they were the same color as a stormy ocean, “And we will conquer this land!”
The other men cheered and roared. The warriors, running for the shore, stared in wonder at the huge ships sailing into their harbor. Smaller boats lowered from the sides and men swarmed into them. As they neared the shore spears were suddenly aimed at them and the Northmen gave off long howls that signaled their readiness for battle.
***
Tabitha was thrust into the darkened room where the women spent most of their days waiting to be called for service. The far side of the large room was open, covered only by gauzy nets to keep out pests while still allowing sunlight and thank the Gods for it, as the hopeless shadows in every corner were constant reminders that the women’s lives were no longer their own, nor were their desires of any importance. They were there only to service the Emperor’s ever pleasure, no matter how dark of a desire it may be. The walls of solid marble, the center filled with large silk cushions, instruments and small tables on which sat plates filled with delicacies like crystallized violets and ginger, and honey dipped figs and pitchers of sweet wine.
The doors suddenly clanged shut with a sound of finality that made all of the women cringe and cry out in terror. They moved to huddle close to each other, their typical squabbling forgotten as the sounds of battle drifted through the walls. Screams, running feet and a low coppery tang filled the air. Most of the women wept, some stood silent and tall and only a few spoke in soft tones, none of them asking the obvious questions.
Tabitha had to sit down; her legs trembled too much for her to stand. Her belly was filled with butterflies and her mouth was incredibly dry from the long run from the courtyard to the harem room. Unable to help herself she poured a glass of wine, ignoring the reproving stares from the others.
Long hours passed and Tabitha stared at the door. There came a scent of smoke and fear that filled the room, some of the women had begun to weep loudly but Tabitha was far too frightened to cry. The doors began to bow under a heavy series of thuds. The heavy bar across it shuddered and shook; she knew it would not be long before it broke.
The eunuchs screeched and clutched each other and the women tried to hide but when the Northmen came in Tabitha could do nothing but stare in shock at the tall broad man with the long shock of golden colored hair and deeply blue eyes that entered in a wave of aggression.
He was so foreign that he didn’t seem real, though the blood dripping off of the enormous axe and sword he held in his large strong hands certainly looked real enough. His broad chest and heavily muscled arms were so at odds with the slender built men she was used to that she stared at him in total fascination and awe.
He wore a skirt of some kind; it ended right above his incredibly well defined upper thighs, and a white shirt of coarse cloth. She caught the spark of a single gold hoop in one ear and a black inked tattoo showed on his left palm when he held it up.
She didn’t understand the language he was speaking, but she understood his gestures quite clearly. He pointed to her, to the floor in front of him and then back to her again. He wanted her to stand in front of him. Why? So it would be easier to kill her? One of the other women broke and ran; one of the men grabbed her around the waist and slung her over one shoulder, patting her ass with a satisfied air that sent chills down Tabitha’s spine.
Astrid had never seen so many beautiful women before and it caught him off guard. Every last one of them had beautiful long hair and smooth olive skin, and they wore diaphanous clothing or very little at all. Their limbs flashed and their skin gleamed as they ran; he roared at his men to let them go unless they planned on keeping them permanently. Rape and pillage was not his style and he did not encourage it in his men either. If they wanted a woman and she didn’t object they were welcome to take them but he was and always had been adamant that the woman must be willing.
Some of the women ran for the courtyards and some cowered but the one that had caught his attention stood there, staring at him with her deeply brown eyes widened from fear and awestruck admiration.
He had to admit she was quite stunning. Her hair was so black it had a blue tint to it, as if she were a beautiful raven. The silky locks hung in a straight and thick sheet that fell to the back of her knees and her mouth was as full and ripe as a berry. There was something both incredibly sexual and yet innocent about her, a touch of naiveté in her eyes despite the obvious knowledge she would have to possess to live in the room they stood in. She was tall and delicately boned and as his eyes scanned her curvy body, he couldn’t help but notice that she wore a top that barely covered her small perky breasts and filmy pants that allowed a hint of the dark hair that lay at the junction of her thighs. His cock stirred to life beneath his kilt and he felt his face heat in smoky desire. That wasn’t so unusual after a battle but what was unusual was his decision to have her. She looked like a goddess standing there and he could not resist, he had to keep her for himself.
He grabbed her by her arm and Tabitha shrieked as the bruises already rising there thanks to her having been dragged through the courtyards stung and ached. Her foot came out and connected with the giant man’s shin. Her toes ached and she instantly wished she hadn’t done that. She hopped on one foot and when he went to swing her over his back she bit him, her teeth sinking deeply into the flesh of his shoulders.
Astrid yelped. The other men in the room howled laughter. “Let that wild thing go!” Someone jeered, “You cannot handle her it seems!”
“Let me try!” Someone else yelled.
A few of the women, sensing what the men were really interested in and deciding that giving them sex was better than dying, fell to their knees and smiled, holding their arms up in an unmistakable surrender that was met with yells of excitement. Tabitha closed her eyes, unable to comprehend what she should do.
Her head bounced against his back and she had a clear view of his muscled ass, and despite it being hidden under his odd garment it was obvious that it was round and firm. Her hands swung out and she struck him on his back and shoulders, hoping he would let her go but instead he responded by slapping her ass so hard she screamed in a mixture of anger and pain that made him laugh. She could feel the rumbling of that laughter in his back; it vibrated against her breasts and stomac
h. A strange feeling rose up in her belly and traveled to her pussy, a tingling heat she had never known before. That heat angered her and she beat into his back with her small fists in an attempt to inflict some pain on him, but all that did was create more laughter.
She was seething as they exited the harem but her anger turned to sorrow quickly. Men lay dead on the once pristine floors. The peacocks were also dead, a fire had been built and one of the majestic birds was roasting over it, its body neatly skewered on a long slim rod. The smell of smoke got worse as they entered the long room where the Emperor had once sat on his throne. Lifting her head was painful but she did it anyway and what she saw made her weep. The golden throne was gone and the Emperor lay on the floor, his royal robes covered in blood.
She had never enjoyed his lovemaking or his company, she had always felt too heavily the burden of being his concubine but seeing him there forced her to a realization that the life she had known with its safety, precarious as it was, and comfort, was forever gone.
But what would happen to her now? She had no idea. The Northmen were still in the palace, seeking out whatever treasures they could find. The warriors were all dead; they had not been prepared for the ruthless pale skinned men who had ridden in on the treacherous waves of the sea.
The night had not yet fallen. She couldn’t comprehend why it was still daylight; it felt like an eternity since she had first seen the ships approaching. To her relief the city lay intact and unharmed. While Astrid would have liked to have sacked it too he was concerned that his clan had too few in it to survive an attack. He had no way of knowing how many warriors were in the city and he dared not risk it.
He knew the other men would finish their fucking and hunting for loot very soon. He had already ordered the throne and other things to be taken to the ships and he could see the small boats returning as he strode toward the shore.
The tang of the sea grew stronger. Tabitha fought like a tiger as she was tossed into a small boat that reeked of dead fish and unwashed men, but she was held down by Astrid’s strong hands and the men rowing hauled them back out into the sea.
As soon as she realized that they were leaving the shore she stopped fighting. Her eyes frantically scanned the sides of the boat, noticing the hard water knocking against it and wondered if she would be better off throwing herself overboard and giving her life to the ocean floor. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, she felt her body grow rigid, her bones rattled in tremendous far, and there was something else. A dark desire and an unwanted attraction to her mystery captive had crept its way into her body, leaving her shuddering in a confused mixture of dread and need.
Staring into the darkness of the waters, she caught sight of strange sea creatures that rolled gently under the placid surface and she shrank back, her fingers digging into her captive’s shoulder in an attempt to feel safe.
Astrid looked down, the large grey man-eating monsters were swirling, their tall fins slicing through the water. One’s head shot out of the blue waves, its teeth showing and the woman in his arms screamed and kicked, her fists flying out in an instinctive gesture.
He had already ascertained that the people that they had overtaken were not sailors, they had had no boats to speak of and so he understood her fear. He wrapped an arm around her and Tabitha, unable to explain the horror she had felt at the sight of those awful teeth, slumped against his hard and warm body.
She had another moment of panic when she had to climb the rope ladder to get into the large ship. Her arms trembled with effort despite his help and every few inches she went up she would scream, below her the sharks swam in angry and starved circles. She was sure she would fall and land in the midst of them and be eaten alive.
The deck rolled under her feet and she pitched forward, into his arms again. Astrid, seeing the dark circles of shock under her incredibly liquid eyes, barked out orders and dragged her to his small cabin. Tabitha stared at it - austere and cold it was a rude little space carved out of bare boards. A small bed sat below a low hanging eave and a chest sat in the other corner of the room. A low table was the only other furnishing.
Astrid pushed her to the bed. Tabitha resisted, too tired to give into him but he didn’t have sex on his mind right then. Or, at least, he had things he had to do first. Tabitha huddled into a corner of the bed; her back pressed into the wood, watching him leave. Tears poured down her face and the ship rolled again and her stomach rolled along with it.
Eventually she slept.
***
Three days later the seasickness ended and she was finally able to get out of the stinking bed and stumble to the tiny bowl of water he had brought for her to bathe with. Her clothes were ruined and she tossed them aside, scrubbing at her skin with the water and the tiny sliver of harsh soap. She longed for the sweet perfume of the soaps she had always known but just being clean made her feel better.
Astrid came in again just as she finished her ablutions. Too used to being nude around men she didn’t flinch from his hot gaze. Astrid gave her lean body an appreciative assessing look – her bare breasts were capped with delicately pink nipples and her belly was concave, her legs long and slender and her hips belled out beautifully, her ass firm and high.
He had waited for her to recover from the sickness and he was glad to see her up and about. Moving to the side of the room, he opened the tiny window, letting in a gust of fresh salty air that she inhaled gratefully. It cleared out the smell of the sickness and her sweat and when he tossed the wrinkled and rough sheet and cover out the window and another one onto the bed she immediately went to smooth it, understanding that the days when others waited on her were over.
Without saying a word, Astrid gave her one of his shirts to wear and then wrapped a cloak over her. Barefooted she followed him up on the deck and her breath caught at the magnificence of the view. The sail was unfurled and filled with wind, there was a bustle of activity from the men and the throne sat dead center in the deck. Someone had lashed it down and a white seagull had taken up residence upon it, much to the Northmen’s amusement.
The ocean lay all around them, glittering under a bright sun. Puffy white clouds dotted the endlessly blue sky and there was the scent of pine pitch, a scent she had never smelled before. Looking around she saw men putting a thick black substance on the boards of the ship and guessed that was where the odor came from.
The men all spoke in the same lilting language that Astrid used but she had yet to decipher a word of it. Needing to communicate she looked into his face and spoke in her own language but he just looked at her uncomprehendingly. Next she tried Latin, saying “my name is Tabitha,” and his face grew excited.
Astrid was shocked to hear the language of the priests coming from the mouth of the woman he had taken from a harem. For a moment he didn’t answer and her face fell. “I’m Astrid,” he replied.
Joy burst through her; she had not understood until that moment just how alone she felt. “Where are we going?’
“To my home, your home now, in the Northlands where I’m the chieftain of a large village. You will be treated well there and will be taken care of by your servants.”
Tabitha lowered her head in a gesture of obedience and relief. She would be safe from death, and the tremendous relief that washed over her body left her exhausted. She had been terrified of what was to come and while she still wasn’t certain that she could trust him, something in his eyes told her that she would be safe with him and she believed it.
The ship pitched violently and she was suddenly thrown against his large chest. As her soft body fell against him she was incredibly aware of his maleness, and she could feel the hard jut of his cock against her side when he helped steady her. Astrid was equally aware of her as a woman.
Before she could speak, the ship rolled again and he commanded her to go back below decks so she would be out of harms way.
In the tiny cabin Tabitha had an idea. She hunted around in the large chest, finding long bolts of fabric and
folding it until it resembled a costume. She left her breasts bare and brushed her hair with a large comb that she found, enjoying the way it rippled and hung down to her knees. She hummed and began to move, limbering up and practicing. Her muscles protested and stiffness gave way to the supple movements she was used to.
Astrid came downstairs, and stopped dead in the doorway. Tabitha had created a sensuous outfit and as she stood in the corner, the sun streaming through the window outlining her body below the material, he couldn’t take his eyes from her.
She smiled at him; twisting her hips in a sinuous motion that hardened his cock so quickly it was actually painful. She held her arms up high at an angle, her hips shaking and her breasts bobbing up and down. He swallowed hard, her hair swirled around her, a long black cape, and her slender feet stomped and tapped.
The henna had faded but it was still exotic enough to draw his eyes to her hands, which were drawing designs on the air above her head, she moved her shoulders in a snake-like movement and somehow managed to do a figure eight with her hips even as she shimmied them so quickly that her lower body was nearly a blur.
Tabitha knew he was pleased with her dance long before she ended with a flourish and dropped to her knees. His kilt ended just at her forehead and she could see the tented fabric over his large erection. It seemed only natural to rest her head on his flat belly and to place her palms on his upper thighs. The position had its intended effect; Astrid became immediately aware of the fact that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
Astrid didn’t even think about it, his cock had a mind of its own at that pointy anyway. He raised his kilt and gasped as her skillful fingers danced across the swollen head, her thumb stroked the tiny drop of pre-come into the skin, lubricating it.
Tabitha had never felt so excited. That burning heat was back and her pussy felt too heavy, too full. Her nipples were taut and hard, butterflies danced in her belly. He was erect and incredibly hard. She bent her head to his cock and let her tongue lick across the oiled surface of its helmet.