Caeruthir

Hand of a Princess

Hand of a Princess

Caeruthir III

Caeruthir III

The ships that at long last lumbered into port of Cammaith had traveled two thousand leagues to reach their berths. When they were first sighted, few eyes ashore turned toward them. Dozens of ships put into Cammaith every day. Yet as the lead ship drew near and eagle eyes on the harbor's watchtowers spied the banner flying atop her mast, word was shouted down to the harbor thatTempesthad returned.

In response, crowds began to form on the wharf. Curious eyes strained to see who stood on the decks. Had the upstart lordling Caeruthir returned successfully? Rumors abounded on why he had gone to see. Was it to forestall an invasion of their beloved Tirannion? Was it to conquer? Or had it been on a secret royal mission?

Caeruthir had set out in three ships, and now many more than that returned. There wasTempestherself, yet some of the other original ships were nowhere to be seen. That too sent rumors rushing through the crowd.

By the time the great frigate had drawn up to the quay, her pale hull gleaming in the midday sun, the crowd that had gathered to watch numbered in the hundreds. AboardTempest's deck, the elven crew moved with practiced grace to make the final preparations. The hawsers were thrown ashore and quickly secured by the dockworkers and the famous ship gently swung into her berth. A gangplank was laid down, and the crowd held its breath.

A figure climbed to the quarterdeck. He was tall, with long brown hair bound up in a sailor's braid. With deep blue eyes he surveyed the waiting crowd and smiled a regal smile. Clad in rich blue silks, he cut an impressive figure with his white cloak blowing in the wind behind him. He laid one hand onTempest'smahogany wheel and turned to look over the dock, his cold blue eyes sweeping the assembled crowd. The crowd gasped.

Caeruthir had returned.

Soldiers marched forth from the frigate's hold, armored in silversteel and carrying firelocks on their shoulders and swords on their hips. They advanced down the gangplank to the quay and formed a wall to ward curious onlookers away fromTempest.

Behind the frigate, other ships from Caeruthir's fleet approached the dock. Nine ships, captured from the seas between Leiyan and Cammaith, bore his plundered treasure to port. Some still showed the battle damage from their capture, but all were in seaworthy condition and manned by expert sailors so that their approach to port was smooth and uneventful. One by one, they slipped into berths besideTempestand threw gangplanks to the quay. Once all were moored, they began to disgorge their stolen cargoes.

Under silvery guard, sailors began to haul the plunder from the holds and arrange it on the quay. Runners had already been dispatched to summon the drovers for transport, but for now Caeruthir was content to display his spoils where all might see.

To the amazed stares of onlookers, they stacked bolts of silk, chests of gold and jewels, crates of porcelain, sacks of spice, and rarer treasures from the elf's great victories in the east. And then came the captives. A hundred beautiful, naked, jewel-bedecked slave girls were marched from the ships' holds to kneel on the wharf with their hands bound behind their backs. Exotic eastern beauties were separated into two groups, one for the elf lord's harem, and the others for the city's slave markets.

The crowd had now doubled in size as word spread through the city like wildfire. Watching the growing mob of gawkers from the helm, Caeruthir smiled. His eyes turned from the crowd to his hundred slave girls, then to another elf approaching him.

"The wagons should be here shortly," said Linanthras,Tempest'sfirst mate. "Are your orders final?"

"They are," Caeruthir replied, his voice serenely pleased. "I will ride north ahead of us. Meet me at the royal palace as soon as you can."

"You think the ships will be safe here?"

"As long as we stay in the king's favor, he will not seize our ships."

"AndStarseeker?"

"Syrandor knows what he is doing. We will see him again in the western sea."

"The plan is fraught with risk. And we have been away a long time."

"Not so long in the grand scheme of things," replied Caeruthir. "And remember, we were victorious! Now, attend to the plunder. I must find a fast horse. Several of them, in fact."

He descended from the quarter deck to the quay and was preparing to leave when a from the frigate's cabin emerged a young woman in rich brocade, her face hidden by a veil of clacking beads. She made her way with deliberate, regal grace to a lacquered palanquin waiting on the frigate's deck, a gaggle of richly attired women following in her wake. She stepped into the palanquin and closed the curtains, at which point it was hoisted onto the shoulders of four strong slaves who carried her down to the quay.

Caeruthir stopped the palanquin as it passed and pulled aside the curtain. From inside, a pair of jade eyes stared back at him from beneath the veil.

"You are leaving, husband?" asked Princess Daiyu, her porcelain doll face failing to hide her sadness. Caeruthir gave her a soft smile and patted her hand.

"We will see each other soon, but I must reach the palace at Lanaith before word of my return does. I must take control of the conversation."

Daiyu took his hand in hers. "Please do not forget me," she pleaded. Caeruthir's smile widened. He reached in to stroke her swollen belly.

"Never. We will be together soon, I promise."

Daiyu looked as if she was going to say something else, but then her husband withdrew his hand and let the curtain slide back. Caeruthir strode away from the palanquin.

The crowd parted before him in awe, though they shouted for tales of his voyage as he passed. He ignored them, elf and human alike, and headed for the street that went into the center of the city. The wide boulevard was crowded at midday with commerce. Hawkers shouted to attract the ambling crowds, which divided to admit a train of wagons headed for the wharf.

Just heading up a block seemed to erase Caeruthir's fame. Here on the boulevard, he attracted hardly any notice. That suited him well enough, but he pulled a nondescript cloak over his shoulders just to be sure. He went four blocks up the boulevard and turned into the front entrance of a stone inn called the Prince's Cap.

Inside, the taproom was empty except for the innkeeper and his wife cleaning up. Caeruthir caught the innkeeper by the shoulder.

"I am looking for Kasya."

The innkeeper looked him up and down.

"You must be the one she's waiting for. She's out by the stable."

Caeruthir nodded curtly and went out the back door of the Prince's Cap. In the courtyard, a blonde elf woman was tending to four horses. She turned at his entrance and smiled.

"Good to see you again, Caeruthir."

"Kasya," Caeruthir spread his arms, and she dove into his embrace. "It's been a long time."

"It has, but not long enough that I forgot my duties. These horses are prepared for our ride. They will carry us to Lanaith within three days, gods willing."

"Three hundred miles in three days," Caeruthir mused. "It will have to do, but any swift courier will precede us."

"A coach would be too conspicuous," Kasya told him. "With luck, our departure from the city will go unnoticed until after you arrive at the palace."

"Very well. We should get moving then, or else waste your hard labor."

Kasya swung herself into the saddle.

"When was the last time you rode a horse?" she asked with a smile.

---

Caeruthir felt the three days of hard riding in his very bones by the time they reached the outskirts of Lanaith. Yet his heart was cheered to see the familiar trees, the white paved roads, and the green-dressed palaces looking down from the hilltops. Lanaith was the most beautiful of the world's cities, and a sight he had long missed while away in the lands of the mortals. The wind blowing across the fruit-laden plain was so unfamiliar to him, having spent so long aboard a ship where the character of the winds was entirely different.

Lanaith came into view as he crested a small rise. The great city had no walls, for it feared no army nor siege. Instead, the city's homes and gardens spilled from its central hilltop like water droplets from a spring. Tightly clustered around the hilltop, they became thinner as they spread across the plain and gave way to orchards, fields, pastures, and small towns. The plain seemed a mosaic of green and white, for the elves preferred their buildings to gleam in the sun and planted lush gardens everywhere they would take root.

He had returned in the summer, the most beautiful time of year. The vines and trees were heavy with ripening fruit, the sky clear and blue, and the animals grazing contentedly in the pastures. Everywhere there was song and merriment. Crossing a stream by a wooden bridge, he heard music and laughter from below. Looking down from the bridge, he saw swimmers in the water and harpists on the banks. Caeruthir smiled, memories of past summers in the Andyllas River playing through his head.

Spurring his horse again, he hurried to keep up with Kasya. The pair of them were near his goal now. The roads had become crowded, with coaches and wagons outnumbering those travelers on foot so close to the city. They passed a shepherd and his flock, the animals obediently making way for the four horses, then an elf lord's carriage. The lord did not spare the pair of them a glance, and Caeruthir was glad to ride by without speaking.

They turned off the main road and Caeruthir spurred his horse on faster. They were so close and he could not help but feel impatient. A new road stretched away from him, rapidly disappearing under the hooves of his horse. He smiled. He was nearly there.

Oak boughs overhead formed a tunnel through which he rode, his heart quickening its beat. The marble archway demarcating the edge of a palace's grounds came into view and Caeruthir kicked his tired horse to a gallop. He shot through the archway and swung from the saddle to dismount, running alongside his steed to a halt. He looked around.

The palace was as he remembered it. A wide green stretched from the boundary fence to the palace itself, an elegant, delicate stand of structures clustered together under towering oaks. White walls and red roofs bathed in sunlight called to him, and Caeruthir heard more music from within, accompanied by laughter and running water.

He smiled. Beside him, Kasya dismounted from her horse and gathered all four sets of reins in her hands.

"Wait here," Caeruthir said. "I'll have her send someone for the horses. Get a fresh one and head into the city to prepare. I'll meet you at the house in the morning."

He strode eagerly toward the palace. He made not for the front door, a ten-foot-high set of doors banded in wrought iron covered in silverleaf and runes, but for the side of the main structure. He followed a brick path around the side and passed underneath a long arbor choked in flowering vines. The splashing of water grew louder now, accompanied by singing in ethereal tones.

Caeruthir rounded the corner and entered the courtyard at the palace's center. Here a spring bubbled up from the rocks in the center of a bathing pool. The pool ran in an arc between two residences, its front set against a wide patio where musicians played and listeners sat drinking wine.

In the pool swam four elf women, all long-haired, lovely to behold, and completely naked. They rose up from the water, wet hair clinging to wet bodies that gleamed with the sun. All four were pale as the alabaster walls, two with hair of gold and one with hair of copper.

But it was the fourth and shortest of them that caught Caeruthir's gaze and held it fast. Her long brown hair hung behind her in a wet mass, swinging heavily with her head but bound into a single lock with silvery chains. Her slender body was everything he remembered, and he stopped to stare in awe.

As if she could feel his gaze, she stopped her playing with the others and turned her sky-blue eyes toward him. Her pretty red mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You return," she whispered in a melodic voice that sounded stolen from the mouth of a goddess. Caeruthir nodded and took a step forward. "It is done?"

"It is," he replied. "My mission is ended, Your Highness."

Princess Arithel stepped from the pool, clear water falling from her naked body in cascades. Leaving wet footprints across the flagstones, she approached him and each step was faster than the one before it until she hurled herself against him and threw her arms around his shoulders. They kissed a kiss long in the making and Caeruthir crushed her wet, naked body to his and kiss long and deep. Her deft tongue penetrated his lips to entwine with his as her hands stroked his hand and plucked at his collar.

She wanted him now. "Take me," she whispered in his ear. She wrapped her naked legs around his waist, grinding her bare sex against his clothed cock. "I've been waiting for this for so long."

"I smell of the road, love," Caeruthir replied through the rain of her kisses. "I need a bath."

Arithel lifted her lips from his and sniffed the air. She seemed to notice the dust and sweat for the first time and lowered her bare feet to the flagstones.

"So you do," she said airily. "Into the bath, then. Ellyria, bring me the bathing oils."

One of her blonde handmaidens rose naked from the pool to retrieve the requested items. Caeruthir stripped out of his clothes, which Arithel directed another of her maids to retrieve and sent to the washers. Caeruthir paid little mind to it and instead walked slowly down the pink marble steps of the pool and into its rose-scented waters.

Three days of hard riding and all his years at sea seemed to wash right off him in the waters' warm embrace. He felt the water rise up his thighs, then over his cock, up his torso, and all the way to his shoulders as he sank down to a squat in the pool.

He dipped his head underwater and sank to the bottom. The sunlight playing through the choppy water was broken into a shimmering mosaic of light. He felt at home after a long mission at sea.

Surfacing, he found breathed deep of the air and opened his eyes to see Arithel approaching with the bath oils. She smiled at him with love and he felt his heart swell for her. They were made for one another.

"Let me clean you of the years," she purred, and he submitted to her touch. The princess oiled and scrubbed him, cleansing him of dirt and worry. Her maids sat on the lip of pool, naked, and watching with quiet amusement. They leaned close together and whispered softly among themselves, smiling with pride. Behind them played the musicians and Caeruthir wondered if the palace of Nystra herself was more enjoyable.

Arithel took him by the chin and kissed him again.

"There," she whispered. "Now no one will ever know that you spent years on a ship."

"Well, that's no good," teased Caeruthir. "I need them to know that I have been away, winning glory for our king."

"You will just have to tell him yourself."

Caeruthir smiled. "Please, Arithel." He ran his hands down her naked body. "No more talk about your father until tomorrow. I have spent too many nights and days without you to be denied much longer."

His fingers found their way between her legs, where they began to play with her sex. Arithel seemed to blush slightly as she looked down. She licked her lip and closed her fingers around his stiff cock.

"Hello, old friend," she said with a slight giggle. "I have missed you so."

"You were not the only one to miss our joinings," Caeruthir replied.

"I doubt that. I know the ways of men. Tell me, love, how many women has this conquered on your voyage?" she asked, stroking his cock. Caeruthir had been hard for her before even entering the palace, but now his cock seemed to be reaching a new state of hardness as he ached to be inside Arithel once again after so long. He smiled at her question and caressed her chin.

"Many, but none so beautiful as you." He would leave the matter of Daiyu for another time. Instead, he touched her between her legs and changed the subject.

"How many men have been in here while I was away?"

Arithel stroked his cock with both hands and smiled sweetly back at him.

"None," she answered without a hint of deceit. "I have had only my maids for company while you were gone."

Caeruthir was touched. He kissed her brow and laid his hands on her naked hips.

"No man should be denied such a faithful lover," he whispered in her ear. "Let me now reward your loyalty."

He slid a finger inside her. Arithel gasped slightly, her big eyes and mouth widening. She gripped his cock tighter as he began to pleasure her. His fingers played with the bead of her sex and he saw Arithel's face change. Her breathing came faster now, her hands on his cock stroking more insistently. Caeruthir bent and kissed her neck, pinching her womanhood between two fingers. Arithel shuddered. Her face flushed red and she whimpered with pleasure.

"Don't stop," she pleaded, and he slipped closer to her in the water. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her against him. Behind them, he heard her maids giggle amongst themselves. Caeruthir slightly turned his head to look at them, and they smiled back. There were four of them now, all crowded together on the edge of the pool, naked and wet and sitting together. His cock ached at the sight.

Arithel seemed to detect his lust, for she broke from the kiss and began to make her lips' way down his neck, his chest, his belly, and then to his cock. She went to her knees before him, the water rippling around her shoulders as she licked the length of his shaft and swirled her deft red tongue around his cock head.

She embraced him then, sliding her lips over his cock and meeting his eyes as she went to the base. Her blue eyes glittered in the sun, dancing with delight and long pent-up desire. He laid his hands on her head, stroking her long and lustrous hair. His hands idly played with the silvery chain that bound her hair, deftly undoing it until her long hair fanned out behind her in the water.

"There was a great deal of work put into that," called her chief handmaiden playfully from the edge of the pool.

Caeruthir took a long moment to come up with a response, so distracted was he by the princess' mouth on his cock.

"She will be more of a mess before I give her back to you. But we are not like to have need of you until the morning."

"It will be quite a task to make her presentable for the court after a whole day with you," her handmaiden called back. Caeruthir could not disagree.

Arithel drew back from his cock and looked up, her sapphire eyes staring lovingly into his. She turned to her maids.

"Caeruthir is right, I have no need of you now. He and I must be alone. She turned and dove underwater, still holding his hand, and swam toward the wall of the house. Caeruthir smiled with fond memory as they passed through an underwater tunnel to the indoor bathhouse. Here the waters were heated by subterranean tunnels, and when they surfaced in a humid chamber, they were alone. Arithel threw her arms around him and kissed him again.

Caeruthir returned her kisses with passion stoked by long years of waiting. Their hands clawed and clutched at each other's naked bodies, abandoning all pretense of bathing. Caeruthir entwined his tongue with Arithel's, his hands cupping her ass as his hard cock was pressed between them. He lifted her onto the stone lip of the bathing pool and spread her legs.

Her pink sex called to him. Caeruthir stepped between her legs, cock in hand. He laid it against her rosy lips and took a deep breath. He had longed for this day for many years and now that he was here before her, he half thought he was in a dream.