Strange Bedfellows

Shara waited with bated breath for the answer to her question. If he did take her, if he did force her, the odds of her marrying well would drop precipitously. There were too many virginal women to choose from and she would no longer be a princess by the war's end. The only thing she had left to entice a husband was her virtue. If that was lost... if it was stolen from her...

She could feel her throat beginning to get tight.

Still, he was silent.

She couldn't take it. He surely would've spoken by now if he wasn't going to rape her, right? Maybe he was a cruel kind of man? Maybe she had misjudged him earlier and he liked to play with his conquests as a cat plays with a mouse before eating it?

After nearly a minute, he finally spoke. "Are you a virgin?"

She nodded as the lump in her throat got tighter and she could feel a knot forming in her stomach. There was no reason for him to ask unless he was going to take her.

What if she got pregnant?

What if he finished inside of her and she carried his child out of wedlock? The world could be very unkind to such women and she would be spoiled beyond redemption, especially after her father lost the war and she was no longer a princess.

He narrowed his eyes. "Speak truthfully. If you lied and confess now, there will be no punishment. If you lied before and lie again..." He set his jaw hard as he let the end of the sentence trail off.

He would what?

What would he do?

"Are you a virgin?" He repeated.

She was a virgin. No man had ever touched her in all of her eighteen years, nor even seen her undressed. But his question almost made her doubt herself. He seemed willing and able to inflict great harm if she lied, but she wasn't lying. She was a virgin.

She nodded again, then tried to compose her face into a brave expression.

"Good." He seemed to relax slightly, then pointed to the tray of food next to her. "Eat; I doubt you've had a decent meal in the tumult of the day."

She nodded and then meekly took the plate.

It wasn't appealing.

The knot in her stomach seemed to grow tighter. He had confirmed she was a virgin; why would he ask unless he was going to take her virtue tonight?

Her stomach roiled.

She put the plate down.

"You're not hungry?" Kalus asked.

She shook her head.

He shrugged and took a bite of his chicken, tearing it off the bone without a utensil. She looked away. She couldn't bear it. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be forced. It had occurred to her as the enemy's army had encroached ever deeper into her father's kingdom. But now...

She sniffled.

He made a thoughtful noise. "I suppose we should get this over with."

She instinctively flinched away before he moved.

"Relax girl, I won't hurt you." He said.

She didn't believe him.

He rifled through a travel pack on the ground and then stood with some kind of sash in his hand. He walked over to her, his large frame towering over her and making her feel even smaller than she was.

"Give me your hands." He ordered, rather more loudly than she thought was necessary. She swallowed hard. He was going to tie her up so she couldn't even resist. Once she was tied, it would be all over. There would be no way she could resist.

"No, no please sir. Please don't--"

"Your hands!" He barked loudly.

She flinched at his volume. This was it; there was nothing she could do. She only hoped he would be gentle with her, but that didn't seem likely looking at him.

She slowly, haltingly held out both her hands.

He took them rather more gently than she thought he would. He pulled her to the top of the bed, then held her hands on either side of one of the internal posts that gave the tent its shape. She realized he was going to tie her hands around the post and she started fighting to get away.

"Stop moving girl!" He thundered, but the expression on his face didn't match the anger in his voice.

For some reason, his tone and demeanor shocked her and for a few moments she was too stunned to move. Those few moments were all he needed. By the time the shock wore off mere seconds later, her hands were already securely tied to the tent post. She pulled, she tugged, she jerked, but they were securely fastened.

She couldn't use her arms.

He got up, fished out two more sashes, and then approached her left leg. She instantly jerked it out of the way, but he was too fast. She tried to kick him with the other leg but he caught that too. He used one of the sashes to tie her ankles together, and the other sash to tie her ankles to another tent post.

"Help!" She shouted. "Somebody help m--"

His hand clapped over her mouth. She tried to bite him.

He responded by pulling a long bit of cloth out of his belt and slipping it between her teeth when she next tried. He pulled the cloth tight around her mouth and tied it behind her head -- all while she was fighting -- and then stood up.

Shara tried to move, but she really couldn't move much. Her arms were tied above her head and her ankles tied together and below her feet. She was gagged and an impassive man was standing above her looking disapproving. She tried to get out. She tried to hurl all the insults and abuses she could think of, but the gag prevented her. It came out as a set of muffled and incoherent sounds instead.

He sat down on the bed next to her, and she tried to scoot as far away as possible with her hands and feet bound as they were. He placed his hand over her stomach and she flinched away as far as she could.

She wasn't going to let him touch her.

She wasn't.

Not if she could help it.

Without warning, both his hands shot out and fastened on either side of her stomach; above the hips and below the ribcage. She tried to scream and wiggle away but couldn't; not with how she was tied. His hands began to move, but the movement didn't seem to be sexual.

It felt like--

She involuntarily flinched as his hands moved across her stomach; never going higher, never going lower. She began to wiggle all the more fiercely as she realized what he was doing.

He was tickling her.

She tried to protest, but all that came out was a set of muffled moans and sighs through the gag. She tried to yell 'no' and 'stop', but he just kept going. Her gut began to clench and the noises coming out changed. She began to blush as she realized exactly what those noises sounded like through the gag.

To someone outside the tent, it might sound like they were doing... it.

He did this for a minute or two and then stopped. She tried to catch her breath as she was exhausted from first fighting him and then the intense tickling.

He stood up, grabbed a cup from the desk, and then pulled out a large dagger.

Her eyes went wide.

* * *

Kalus took the knife and gently prodded one of the shallow wounds he had received earlier in the day. It started to slowly bleed, and he let several drops fall into a shallow cup. He then added several more drops of water to the cup.

He walked over to the very confused girl.

"I'm going to untie and ungag you." He said quietly. "When I do, I'm going to turn my back and you're going to pour this over your nether regions and in between your thighs. Make sure some gets on the sheets as 'proof' I took your virginity. Do you understand?"

She didn't move for several seconds, then nodded hesitantly. Kalus sheathed the knife, untied her hands and feet, and then ungagged her. He held out the cup, which she accepted almost automatically.

"Tap me on the shoulder when you're finished and decent again." He whispered and then turned around.

About a minute later, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see her standing with an empty cup looking extremely confused.

"Why?" She whispered.

He glanced at the bed and saw a small bit of blood on the sheets, about where it would've dripped if had he taken her virtue.

He looked at her. "Because Illuminar forbids a man from bedding a woman who isn't his wife."

"Blessed be He." She quoted quietly with relief all over her voice.

"Blessed be He." He echoed nodding.

She bit her lip and stared at him for a moment. "Thank you."

"I'm not done." He quietly. "I am sorry, but I will need to give you a rather large, visible bruise."

"Why?" she said as she shrank back.

"Think about what someone outside would've heard." He explained. "It will be much more convincing if there's proof other than a little blood on the sheets."

She trembled slightly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He said with a sigh. "Unfortunately yes. I have a reputation for not tolerating insubordination. I'm not a cruel man, but I don't tolerate challenges and deal with them both immediately and strictly. It must appear as if I did the same with you."

The girl nodded but clearly wasn't happy with the idea. He didn't blame her, but it would likely save her from a much worse fate.

"Lay down on the ground." He instructed. "I will give you a bruise with as little pain as possible, but it cannot be done without some pain."

She hesitated.

"Katia, I could have your virgin blood on my cock right now if I wished." He whispered impatiently. "I'm defying my king to preserve your honor and virtue, and the consequences if he discovered the deception would be severe. If I wished to harm you, believe me; you would know it."

She nodded, then laid down on her back.

Kalus grabbed a small peening hammer and a piece of thick leather. He had the girl lay with her head turned slightly to the right, so her left cheek was facing up. He set the piece of leather on her cheek, right where his fist would've landed if he was the sort of man to punch or backhand a woman. He wasn't.

Her eyes widened when she saw the hammer in his hands, small though it was.

He didn't blame her

"Close your eyes." He instructed.

She looked scared, like she was having a hard time believing that he wouldn't hurt her. Again, he didn't blame her. He was far larger than she was and was leaning over her holding a raised hammer. A small hammer to be sure, but a hammer nonetheless.

"Trust and close your eyes. It'll be over in a moment."

She looked him deep in the eyes as if searching, then her lovely eyelids fluttered closed. The moment they were shut, he gave a single measured swing of the hammer and hit the piece of leather, which was forced into her cheek.

She cried out in pain.

He winced.

He'd hit it hard enough to leave a good-sized bruise, but not hard enough to do any real damage. Plus, using the leather would greatly reduce the pain and chance of damaging her beautiful skin. She pressed her hand over her cheek and winced. Then she opened her eyes and looked at him with a strange look.

They stared at each other for several moments before she spoke. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but let's not make this a habit."

She nodded. "Agreed."

"Now that you know your virtue is safe, are you hungry?"

"Starved."