STORY EXCERPT

Lady Elinor stared at the two children in front of her. One, a girl, looked to be about six years old and dragged a cooking pot with a few possessions inside it. Her arms and legs were stick-thin, her hair was falling out in clumps, and her belly was swollen.

The child had been eating bark and leaves to try to stem her hunger, and her belly was full of air, assumed Garnet, who was standing beside Lady Elinor among the other sewing women of the castle.

The younger child, which could be either a girl or boy and maybe three years old, clutched the older one’s tunic in one hand and sucked hard on its other thumb. It, too, was painfully thin, though less bloated by starvation.

“You wish to become my slave?” Lady Elinor’s voice was even and mild, but Garnet knew she was shocked. Peasant men from the smallest of uncaring Lord Jeffrey’s hamlets had begged to become slaves of the castle in return for food during this terrible winter, but few females, and no one as young as this little child.

“Yes, Lady Elinor. I can scare birds from the crops when they’re planted and clean for you. Ysabel will stay with me. I’ve always looked after her since Ma died, and she won’t touch the seedlings. She’s a good girl and no trouble at all. And I will grow big and learn to fight for you and Lord Rhys, and then I’ll kill the men who murdered our pa and took all our hamlet’s food,” the child finished fiercely, almost in a shout.

Garnet felt her eyebrows rise and forced her face not to break into a grin. It was plain this tiny, starved child had the heart of a warrior indeed.

Lady Elinor rested her hand on her huge belly. It was almost time for the heir to the stronghold to be born.

“Well then, Nerida is already learning warrior skills, and if the heir to the stronghold is a girl, she will be a warrior, too. I see no reason why you can’t also be a warrior, if that is your desire. What is your name, and where are the other people from your hamlet?”

“I’m Ava, lady, and I promise to serve you forever. Most of the people left after the soldiers came raiding. Some have tried to help Ysabel and me, but I’d rather work for my food.”

Garnet watched Ava’s thin, little shoulders straighten as she spoke. At her age, Garnet would never have dared to approach the Lady of the Castle, and Garnet had never been a shy child. But this girl was truly a warrior born. She was that rare being who combined the ability to think of a solution to a problem with the courage to step outside any rules of society and do it, no matter what the consequences may turn out to be.

Without stopping to think, Garnet moved to stand where Lady Elinor could see her. “The two girls may share my room, lady, and I will supervise their activities.”

“It is decided then, Ava. You and Ysabel may join the stronghold. We will feed you, and you will work. You will obey Garnet in all things. Do you understand?”

“Yes, lady, thank you.”

Ava dropped to her knees and pressed her face to Lady Elinor’s feet. Ysabel copied her.

Garnet’s eyes flooded with tears. Peasants always died when there was trouble in the land, especially the very old and the very young. They weren’t strong enough to fight back or fast enough to run away. But this child deserved to live.

Garnet’s husband, Roldan, had been one of Lord Rhys’s soldiers and was killed in the battle that took the lives of Lady Elinor’s father and brothers and caused Lord Rhys to lose his demesne to Lord Jeffrey. They had been married only six months, not long enough for her to worry about not getting pregnant, but now he was dead, the parents of these children were dead, and Ava was a daughter any woman would be proud to call her own.

“I’ll take you both and feed you now, but you’ll be very, very sick if you eat too much at first. All the air in your belly has to come out before much food can go in. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Garnet. I’ll watch Ysabel and help her.”

Garnet led the children out to the kitchen and brought them each one half-filled cup of soup. “One sip only, then rub your belly to help the air get out.”

Wide-eyed and silent, Ava did as she was told, rubbing her bloated stomach enthusiastically. She then held the cup for her sister, ensuring the little one couldn’t gulp too much food at once. Ysabel’s huge brown eyes watched the cup, but she made no attempt to reach for it, obediently rubbing her swollen belly, then letting Ava rub it, too.

Both children belched and farted numerous times before the last sip of soup was drunk. Garnet hoped that was a beginning to clearing their bellies and helping them be well. She was about to suggest they go to her one-room hut inside the castle walls when she heard shouting and screaming outside the castle.

“Attack! Attack!”

ADULT EXCERPT

He opened the door to Byram’s room quietly, not wanting to wake Byram and Garnet, but with aching balls and a hungry dick for his two partners. Garnet was alone in the bed, with just a pile of curls visible at the top of the fur she was wrapped in. His dick hardened even farther at the sight of those curls, but it wouldn’t be fair to wake her from her sleep, and besides, Byram wasn’t there either.

Carefully Carlysle slid into the bed, not touching her, just being with her, and relaxed into the soft mattress. Carlysle was almost asleep when the door opened again and Byram appeared, his candle providing enough light for him to cross the room safely, undress, and join them in bed.

Byram ran a hand down Carlysle’s back, and Carlysle shivered in pleasure. “Have you ever been taken by a man?” asked Byram softly.

“Been taken and done the taking myself. Either way is good.”

“The oil is under the pillow. Use just enough to push your way into me.”

Carlysle’s cock grew longer and harder as he slid his hand under the pillow, feeling for the vial of oil. He removed the stopper carefully and drizzled a little oil on his cock, then smoothed it with his fingers, before pushing the slippery fingers into Byram’s ass. It was just the kind of ass he liked, firm and muscular but not totally flat.

Again, he dripped just a few drops of oil onto his fingers before pressing the stopper back into the vial and replacing the container under the pillow. Byram had kneeled on all fours and thrust his ass back toward Carlysle, so Carlysle teased him with one finger, massaging the oil into the sensitive tissues of Byram’s channel. Carlysle could feel how hot and willing Byram was, so added the second finger, gradually widening Byram’s opening and loosening the tight muscle ring.

Both men were fully involved in their play, Byram pushing back onto Carlysle’s fingers while Carlysle tried to increase the pleasure he gave as much as he could by twisting and turning his fingers this way and that, reaching for that special place which would bring a man to a powerful release.

“Not yet,” gasped Byram.

“Oh, good, because I’d like to join you both,” said Garnet.

“What would you like to do, our woman?” asked Byram.

Garnet slithered under Byram. “I could suck your cock.”

Byram lowered himself onto his forearms. “I see there’s something here for me to eat, too. Enter me now, Carlysle. Plow my ass, man.”

Carlysle didn’t need to hear anything more. He rested his oiled dick at Byram’s entry, grabbed the man’s hips in his hands, and slammed inside. His dick broached the barrier, pressing hard, then popped through into the heat of Byram’s channel. The wonderful, hot welcome almost made his dick explode right then, but he held still until he was under control again, before beginning the steady, driving motion that made for good swiving.

As he pounded in and out of Byram’s ass, Carlysle could feel Byram’s reactions to Garnet sucking his dick. She seemed to be trying to keep in time with him. To test this, he deliberately slowed down his movements. She slowed down, too. Then he moved faster. Garnet sped up. The clever woman had found yet another way to unite the three of them. Although she and Byram were sucking each other, Carlysle was the leader in the game, setting the pace of their journey to pleasure.

Carlysle let himself gradually move faster again, building up the tension so they would all achieve their pleasure. Byram’s ass was so tight, it gripped his dick like a gauntlet, dragging him ever closer to fulfillment. Garnet’s little noises of happiness were like a wick, igniting more flames up and down his spine. Desperately, he pulled almost all the way out of Byram then slammed inside, twisting his hips so his dick dragged over Byram’s walls, aiming for that perfect place that drove a man wild.