Work Text:
Thump!
Alexis woke as she hit the floor. She lay next to her bed in a dazed lump, gathering her bearings. Princess Iselde… had she really? Done that? And Sir Darian… he had shooed her back to her room after...
She wondered if the entire day yesterday had simply been an odd dream. As consciousness returned to her, she had the increasing suspicion that it had all been real.
There was only one thing to do in that case.
When the call sounded for the knights’ morning exercises, Alexis made sure to cough loudly and continuously until someone took notice and knocked on her door.
“Sir—I mean, Lady Knight Alexis? Are you alright?”
Alexis gave one more hacking wheeze and threw in a drawn-out sniffle for good measure, then answered in her croakiest voice, “I seem to have taken ill. I can certainly come to morning exercises th—“ she broke off in another fit of fake coughing.
“No, no, don’t worry about it!” The voice on the other side of the door squeaked. Alexis could almost see the person’s hand tracing the sigil against illness.
“No, really, I—“
“I’ll just let the quartermaster know! You rest up and stay nice and tucked away in your room!”
There was the sound of hastily retreating footsteps, then nothing.
Alexis climbed back into bed and huddled under the covers. She had a lot of existential crises to get through today.
Princess Iselde allowed the ruse to continue for one day before she called Alexis’s bluff.
“It’s just,” she lamented to Cook, “I am so worried for my knight, the Lady Knight Alexis, you know her of course, yea tall, usually trailing behind me nobly, dutifully on guard at all times.”
Cook nodded, for what else was she supposed to do when a princess of the realm suddenly appeared before her and insisted on speaking to her.
“So you do know Lady Knight Alexis! Delightful. She seems to have developed quite the illness, and I only wonder if you could make her your famed remedy?”
Cook nodded again, with understanding this time. So that’s what the princess was after! Cook’s cold curing concoction was renowned for its ability to clear noses and throats faster than any other treatment available.
Princess Iselde smiled pleasantly at Cook and turned to leave. Only then did she allow her face to break into the evil cackling expression of glee she felt inside.
Cook’s cold remedy was famed less so for its effect and more so for its taste and odor. There was nothing in the world meant for consumption that was so revolting.
And if the good Lady Knight Alexis refused to cease avoiding Iselde under pretense of illness, then that same Lady Knight Alexis would find herself at the wrong end of Cook’s cold remedy.
Sure enough, just the rumors that Cook was preparing her special recipe seemed to do the trick. Alexis was waiting at her post by Iselde’s door by the time she returned (from selecting a new practice weapon from the armory, not that Alexis needed to know that.)
Iselde was glad to see her. The replacement guard they’d assigned her had been no good at all. He was tall, muscled, blond, and utterly chivalrous to a fault. Iselde hadn’t been able to give him the slip and worse, he wasn’t even attractive. Well, she probably would have found him attractive, except in the past two days she had been preoccupied with thoughts of dark hair cropped just below the ears, honeyed brown eyes, sharp cheekbones…
Truly, any other knight would have paled in comparison, for no knight other than Alexis belonged to Iselde.
“My knight!” Iselde cried. “You are well. This gladdens my heart.” She clasped both hands to her ample bosom and smiled her sweetest smile, the one that a courting prince had compared to late summer peaches.
Alexis stared, wide-eyed. “Princess Iselde,” she whispered. “You… are you well?”
Iselde tilted her head, not needing to feign her confusion. “Of course I am! It is for you that I requested Cook’s remedy. Did you need more?”
Alexis paled. “No, no need. I meant only that… you seem to be… unbothered?”
Ahhh, that was it. Iselde let her smile out again, projecting sunbeams from her expression as best she could. “What could I have to be bothered about? The sun is shining, my knight has returned to my side where she belongs, and my poor muscles no longer ache. From now on, I will certainly be requesting your services in that regard, and all others, on a regular basis.”
Alexis gulped.
To Alexis’s surprise, she did not find herself back in the princess’s bed that night, that week, or even that month. It was as if Princess Iselde truly did regard Alexis’s… involvement with her as a non-issue, as if there was nothing untoward or unusual about what Alexis had done for (or rather, to) her.
Being absolved of an apparently one-sided crime left Alexis so relieved, she went about her duties for days before she noticed. She had been willingly following the princess around without comment, scanning corridors and people for threats like an automaton, and frowning and looming over simpering visitors who got too close to the princess.
Suddenly, two weeks later, Alexis realized that it was a little odd that Princess Iselde had been visiting the armory daily, taking a weapon or two, and then retreating to her rooms for an hour or two. Was this something that princesses did?
When Princess Iselde opened the door to her rooms later, Alexis cleared her throat. “Ah, Princess Iselde? If I may trouble you with a question?”
Iselde looked up at Alexis through her very long, elegant eyelashes. Alexis’s breath stopped at how beautiful her dark brown eyes were. She forced herself to exhale and reminded herself of what she wanted to say. “My lady, has it always been your duty to take inventory of the weapons in the armory?”
Was it her imagination that Princess Iselde’s smile seemed to freeze for a moment? A second later, it was as meltingly warm as it always was, sweet like honey on toasted bread. “My knight,” she said, a tad reproachfully. “Please, do not strain yourself in attempting to unravel the royal duties. It is a lifetime’s work to learn all that is necessary for this castle to operate. Rest assured that I take my responsibilities seriously and that of the two of us, I know best of what it is that I must be doing at all times.”
That makes sense, Alexis thought. She knelt, bowing her head in deference. “Of course, my lady. Thank you for entertaining my thoughts.”
“It is no trouble to me,” Princess Iselde murmured. “Now, come along. The dinner bell has already rung twice.”
So Alexis continued on in her duties as personal knight and guard of the Princess Iselde, and it was sometimes boring but she didn’t mind. Stability was a dream she never thought she would achieve as the third of five blacksmith’s daughters, destined never to achieve anything greater than perhaps a mediocre marriage.
Today, however, was a day out of the ordinary. It had been about a month since The Incident in Princess Iselde’s Bedchambers, as Alexis thought of it. Princess Iselde had been ordered by the queen to embark on a diplomatic mission as quickly as possible. The mission involved delivering a letter to a province that seemed to be making noises towards a hostile revolt. The letter could have been delivered by any courier, but the way Alexis understood it, it was very important that the noble recipient see a princess of the realm deliver it herself.
The princess in question was bundled into several blankets to protect against the chill, and then hoisted up into a carriage with a barebones version of her usual baggage for a daylong journey due to the urgency of the assignment. Somehow they still took up an entire second carriage. Alexis didn’t know it was possible to own so many possessions. She herself had only a pack that contained a change of clothes and her extra armor.
The driver closed the door, shouted to the horses, and then they were off. It was only Alexis and Iselde in the carriage; other than them, the other staff were just the drivers. Since this was to be only a daytrip, albeit a long one, it was determined that no maidservants were to be sent along (and also three of them were bedridden with winter illness and another two had just had babies, so there weren’t exactly maidservants to spare). Alexis was glad for the solitude. She never knew how to speak to them, and they always seemed to giggle and shy away from her.
Princess Iselde was engrossed in a book amidst her cocoon of blankets, so Alexis felt free to stare at the scenery outside, both for bandits and for entertainment.
So settled was she in the monotony of watch duty, she didn’t notice that the sky had darkened into a sheet of slate gray until the carriage driver rapped on the roof. Alexis pulled back the heavy curtain and stuck her head out the window to confer with the driver.
When she pulled her head back in, Princess Iselde was watching her curiously. “What is the matter?” she asked.
“The horses are starting to spook, and the weather seems to be taking a turn. A storm is coming.” Alexis took a deep breath. “The driver says he has a feeling it will be a bad storm. We’re about to pass a village. He suggests we stop and shelter at the inn there overnight. Tomorrow, we can either continue on our way if the storm isn’t as bad as it seems.”
“What?” Princess Iselde cried. “But Mother needs this letter delivered today!”
“It is your choice, Princess,” Alexis demurred. “But if we get caught in that storm on the way back, there is no telling what could happen to you. A knight is unfortunately as powerless against the weather as any other.”
“It is only supposed to be a daytrip, there and back. We cannot expect to lodge in the province, given the hostile relations…” Princess Iselde steepled her fingers. “All right. If a storm is to batter this area, it stands to reason the province will also be affected. It is unlikely they will initiate any violence when they will be busy dealing with the aftermath of the storm themselves.” She nodded to Alexis. “Tell the driver to set a course for shelter.”
A little over two hours later, it was fully dark and snow had begun falling from the sky in thick clumps of fluff. Alexis was glad for the carriage driver’s premonition. She could barely see her hand outstretched from her face in this weather. The princess, the two drivers, and she had eaten a simple meal of bread, ham, and cheese before retiring for the night. Princess Iselde and Alexis were now cloistered in the very best room available in the best inn in a small town. What that amounted to was a large room with no drafts or bugs… and only one bed.
Alexis wasn’t sure how it happened that she was sharing a room with the princess, but as there were no maidservants and the two drivers had balked at sharing a room with her, that left only one option. Speaking of options, sharing a room was one thing, but Alexis was loath to force the princess to share a bed with her.
(Never mind that Alexis had already done that before, with no complaints from the princess herself).
“Princess,” she said. “I will sleep on the floor by the door. You may rest easy.”
“Very well,” murmured Princess Iselde, who was absorbed in her book once more.
Alexis called the innkeeper for some extra blankets, then settled onto the rug on the floor. She wrapped herself tighter in the blankets and waited for the night to pass.
A while later, shortly after Princess Iselde had extinguished the lamp and tucked herself into the sheets, Alexis heard a soft sigh, and then the melodic voice of her princess broke the silence. “My knight?”
“Yes, my lady?” The wind howled outside, but in between gusts, all other sound was muted by the thick blanket of snow being deposited by the clouds.
“It is far too cold in here.”
“Princess! Here, take some of my blankets.” Alexis bolted upright and began unraveling herself from her bedsheets. How could she have been so selfish to request extra blankets and not offer them to her princess?!
“My knight, it is far too cold for mere cloth to be sufficient. I require your body.”
“Of course!” Alexis successfully freed herself, then paused. She struggled to keep her voice steady as she asked, “I beg pardon, my lady, but what do you mean exactly?”
The princess was seated upright now. Coils of her long black hair, freed from their usual braids, framed her pale face and her white shift, both aglow from the gray light of snowfall at night. Alexis had to catch her breath at the sight.
Princess Iselde had always been beautiful, no matter what others said. Hundreds of poems and bawdy tavern songs had been composed about how the third princess Iselde was too this or too that, a consolation prize compared to the greater beauty of her older siblings and the queen herself. Her innocence and her sweet disposition served to make up for the ways her face and figure lacked, they said.
Alexis knew better, had known it from the moment she had been assigned as personal knight to Princess Iselde. What other conclusion could she draw after spending all hours of the day in her company? Princess Iselde was quick-witted, effortlessly determining the right thing to say in any circumstance to keep everyone at ease. Princess Iselde worked harder than anyone else, perhaps even harder than Alexis herself, at bettering herself. Princess Iselde grew more beautiful with everything Alexis learned about her, and there was still so much to learn.
Now, in the snowlit moonlight, Princess Iselde was even more ethereally striking than usual, her beauty surely comprehensible enough to inspire untold numbers of odes in her name. Alexis would have dared anyone to see her now and call her anything but beautiful, but that would have required others gazing upon her in such an intimate, vulnerable setting. In this moment, Alexis swore she would destroy anyone who dared to violate the princess in such a manner without her consent.
The subject of her musings pointed a finger directly at Alexis, shaking her from her stupor. “Your body, my knight. Or more precisely, its heat. I require your immediate presence in this bed for the purpose of warming me.”
Alexis swallowed roughly. She remembered the Incident from last month and the subsequent conversation. She had known this was coming.
So Alexis did not hesitate any longer: she stepped forward and joined her princess in the bed.
Princess Iselde held up a hand to stop her. “Remove your clothes. Everyone knows that the best way to warm another with one’s own body is to be unclothed. Yes, all of them. Very good. Very good.”
Alexis stood up straight after removing her last layer, setting the undershirt gingerly on the bedside table. She was intensely aware of Princess Iselde’s eyes cataloguing every inch of her newly exposed skin, sweeping from her face and down her neck to the small bumps of her breasts, over her belly hardened by hard work and old hunger, pausing at the thatch of dark hair between her legs, and lingering on her muscled thighs.
“Very good,” she repeated. “Now, unclothe me.”
Somehow, Alexis hadn’t anticipated this. She really should have, though. Remembering Princess Iselde’s statement about leaving propriety to the princess and duty to the knight, Alexis swallowed her protests and knelt on the bed to obey the command of her lady.
She began by brushing Princess Iselde’s long, wavy black tresses off of her shoulders, exposing the buttons that fastened the princess’s shift together. She let her fingers trail down Princess Iselde’s smooth, elegant throat until they reached the first button. The sight of Alexis’s thick, rough fingers handling the delicate button and finely woven fabric of Princess Iselde’s garments struck her as incongruous. Unbidden, a vision played in her mind of the knight Hazel clad in a similar shift, just as lacy and just as finely woven, moaning wantonly as he squirmed with desire to pleasure Alexis more. An extra surge of heat bloomed in her loins.
“My knight. Alexis,” Princess Iselde said, breaking her from her reverie. Alexis looked up to find the princess’s eyes burning down, their dark brown indistinguishable from the black of her pupils in the low light. She felt as if she was being consumed by dark fire. “Please focus on your task. On me.”
Alexis’s stilled fingers resumed their movement, and she slipped each button from its buttonhole to reveal more and more creamy smooth skin. When there was an open vee exposing Princess Iselde’s belly, Alexis slipped her hands into the shoulders of the garment and slid the upper half down Princess Iselde’s arms.
And then there she was: Princess Iselde sat in Alexis’s arms, bare from the top of her head to her waist.
Alexis’s mind spun with all there was to take in. Those unblemished shoulders, the tuck of her waist, her heavy, round breasts topped with two large pink nipples… Alexis’s heart skipped a beat on seeing them. She couldn’t help but stare a while at Princess Iselde’s chest. She had never thought twice about breasts; they existed and sometimes served a practical function, and that was it. Or rather, it had been it. Now, Alexis found herself longing to hold, to squeeze, to caress, to explore Princess Iselde’s breasts. They looked so very soft and plush. Alexis could almost feel them between her fingers… and then she realized she did.
Somehow, her hands had reached out of their own volition and cupped the princess’s breasts. She looked up to see if she was about to be reprimanded, but Princess Iselde’s eyes were fixed on Alexis’s, mouth parted slightly as her breath sped up.
Alexis hefted Iselde’s breasts in her palms. They were exactly as weighty as they looked, but softer than any imagination could have conjured. Alexis squeezed, first gently, and then firmer. Her fingers, unable to contain all of Princess Iselde’s breasts, explored all there was to feel, starting from the bottom and moving to the sides, up and then back down. When they grazed over the nipple, the princess jumped as if shocked. Before Alexis could begin to worry that she had hurt her somehow, Princess Iselde thrust her chest forward, tacitly demanding more.
Alexis brought both thumbs up to brush over her nipples, feeling the nubs begin to stiffen. Curious, she pinched lightly, and the princess cried out, biting her lip. Still, no protests emerged, so Alexis continued. She brushed her thumbs over the princess’s nipples over and over, feeling them turn into hard peaks. Princess Iselde’s breath was coming in short, sharp pants now, her body swaying forward into Alexis’s touch. Alexis responded by switching back to groping boldly, her hands massaging Princess Iselde’s flesh deeply and interspersing with pinches and tweaks to those firm nipples.
Seeing how sensitive they were, Alexis had the sudden urge to try stimulating them another way. She cupped Princess Iselde’s breasts and pushed them up, fingers tightening so that soft flesh spilled out between them. Then, she lowered her head and took a nipple into her mouth, licking it tentatively.
Princess Iselde’s hand shot to Alexis’s head, but rather than push her away, the hand pulled Alexis closer, fingers twisting tightly in her short locks. Alexis understood the order to keep licking and did so with fervor, emboldened by the reactions she was eliciting. She ran the flat of her tongue over the nub, reveling in the exquisite sounds Princess Iselde was making. With her free hand, she shifted her grip to roll the other nipple between thumb and forefinger. Princess Iselde arched her back, pushing Alexis’s head deeper into her chest, so Alexis kept at it with fervor.
Suddenly, she found herself being pushed away and over. Princess Iselde appeared to have a surprising amount of upper body strength which she had used to shove Alexis flat and seat herself astride Alexis’s thighs. The glow of nighttime snow coming through the window cast the normally soft curves of Princess Iselde’s face into sharp planes. The cold light did nothing to diminish the burning heat of Princess Iselde’s gaze on Alexis’s though.
As Alexis watched, Princess Iselde’s lips quirked upwards into her signature sweet smile, except that muted snowy light must be playing tricks on Alexis’s vision because for some reason that sweet smile looked as hungry as a wolf.
“My turn,” Princess Iselde said.
She dove forward, and it was now that Alexis recalled she had stripped herself of her clothes earlier as she felt Princess Iselde’s bare chest press against her own. Princess Iselde’s fingers slid once more into Alexis’s hair, her thumbs stroking Alexis’s cheekbones gently before they began a slow journey down. The princess smoothed her hands over the angle of Alexis’s jawbone and down the sides of her neck, over her shoulders, mirroring the path Alexis’s own hands had taken on her body. Alexis’s chest was much flatter, her breasts mere bumps compared to Princess Iselde’s heavily endowed bosom. They seemed to fascinate the princess all the same, perhaps due to the contrast. She rubbed her palms repeatedly over Alexis’s breasts, the first person ever to do so other than Alexis herself. And Alexis had to conclude that the princess’s hands must be special in some regard, for she had never felt such pleasure in touching her own breasts. When Princess Iselde took her nipples between her fingers and squeezed lightly, Alexis gasped high and loud, an electric shock igniting her chest that seemed to race straight down to that spot between her legs. Then Princess Iselde leaned forward and wrapped her lips around one nipple, and Alexis’s world turned upside down.
Her mind could not comprehend the pleasure as Princess Iselde’s tongue lapped rapidly, flicking Alexis’s nipple back and forth. The heat in Alexis’s core was now blazing. She spread her legs involuntarily, noting as she did so the sticky dampness that was dripping from her core and smearing her thighs. Princess Iselde noticed, for she was very smart and noticed everything. She drew back, and Alexis mourned the loss of her tongue but it was not for long; Princess Iselde’s head was moving down her body, trailing kisses until she reached the apex of Alexis’s thighs.
Alexis had felt the wet warmth of someone else’s tongue on her core before, courtesy of Hazel. The pleasure from that time paled in comparison to Princess Iselde’s mouth on her lower lips. This was Alexis’s princess, her lady, and she was running her tongue up and down the seam of Alexis’s folds, pushing until they gave way to the wet warmth inside.
Princess Iselde withdrew, pulling back with a parting, wet, smacking kiss. Alexis let out a small moan of protest, which Princess Iselde shushed gently. She slid her hand between Alexis’s thighs, and then a single finger teased at Alexis’s entrance, swiping through the wetness gathered there and pushing slowly, inexorably, inside.
Princess Iselde was not an enormous woman, nor were her hands particularly large. Still, Alexis was shocked at how much just one of her fingers seemed to fill Alexis’s core. It moved slowly in and out, exploratory movements that had Alexis’s breathing quicken. Her other hand bent Alexis’s leg upward and then held Alexis’s hip in a tight grip as she slid another finger inside and sped up, the harshness of her movements eased by how ridiculously wet Alexis was.
Alexis had never before understood the appeal of sexual intercourse, how rubbing back and forth could induce such a sensational height that it caused people to lose their wits. As her princess pleasured her with her fingers, hard and fast, Alexis felt that she now truly understood it all for the first time.
And then Princess Iselde dipped her head and latched onto that button between Alexis’s legs, lapping quickly. The rush of sensation made Alexis jackknife reflexively. Princess Iselde rode the motion, then lay more heavily on Alexis’s legs and hips, pinning her down all while her wet tongue and dextrous fingers worked busily at redefining Alexis’s worldview and priorities.
She felt something cresting within her and lifted her hips as much as she could, trying to signal to Princess Iselde I need more, and also Don’t stop!
Perhaps Princess Iselde was knowledgeable in nonverbal languages. Perhaps it was simply a coincidence. Perhaps it was that indefinable connection between a princess and her knight.
Whatever it was, Princess Iselde doubled her efforts, her fingers slamming in and out of Alexis’s core and her mouth doing its best to coax Alexis’s pleasure to the forefront of her mind.
And then—Alexis screamed as the wave crashed, just for a second, before she covered her own mouth with her arm to muffle the sound. Her hips bucked wildly, seeking more sensation which Princess Iselde gladly provided. She felt her muscles contracting of their own volition, squeezing tight on Princess Iselde’s fingers as if trying to hold her inside forever.
The pleasure went on and on, only abating minutes later. Alexis felt like she had melted into a liquid pool of former knight. Princess Iselde sat up, the flush on her cheeks visible even in the harsh light from the snow. Her eyes were wide, and as Alexis watched, she slowly licked her lips, then wiped her mouth on a corner of her shift, which was still gathered around her hips.
That wouldn’t do.
Reformed into a solid human by the fires of determination, Alexis sat up, lifting and maneuvering the princess easily. Once she was done, Alexis sat against the pillows with Princess Iselde between the open vee of her legs facing outwards. She removed the rest of the princess’s shift, hands trailing along every bit of exposed skin. Her princess had made it clear she wanted to be touched; surely Alexis could indulge? Allow her palms to drag along Princess Iselde’s elegant, dainty ankles, her plush thighs, her hips, her sides, her arms, as she eased the fabric up and off?
Princess Iselde was seated between Alexis’s legs, completely nude and so very close, the heat of her body warming Alexis’s own. Alexis was dizzy with desire, entirely unable to stop her hands from touching everywhere. She hefted the princess’s breasts once more, delighting in their weight, then continued roaming over every inch of the princess’s incredibly soft skin and rounded curves. Her body had never known hunger, and Alexis found herself perversely glad for it rather than envious. It would have been a crime to deprive Princess Iselde of the chance to develop such a magnificent form.
Remembering how sensitive Princess Iselde had been to her tongue, Alexis dipped her head and delivered a soft kiss to the side of the princess’s neck. At the sound of breath hitching, Alexis grew bolder, and she nipped gently in the same spot before licking lightly over it. Princess Iselde’s legs jerked wider, a reflexive action that encouraged Alexis to continue her ministrations.
Her mouth now occupied, Alexis’s hands continued exploring. She stroked Princess Iselde’s chest, flicking her nipples with her thumbs to make her squirm again, then continued on a downward trajectory. Over that soft belly, those thighs, before her fingers sank into that spot between Princess Iselde’s thighs, the place where she had once given a massage that made Princess Iselde cry out in pleasure. One hand found the stiff little nub quickly while the other dipped lower, slipping between folds that were already wet and slick. Two of Alexis’s fingers slid easily inside, and Princess Iselde clenched quickly down on them while her hips bucked up to chase firmer pressure.
Alexis ravaged her princess. She had no other word for what her mouth did to that neck and what her hands did between those thick thighs. Her mind was consumed with desire, thriving off the sounds she was drawing from Princess Iselde. She never paused to doubt her actions; Alexis knew how to read, but until this moment she hadn’t realized she also knew how to interpret actions into words, and Princess Iselde’s were screaming “don’t stop.”
She rubbed and pushed and sucked and licked, feeding off of Princess Iselde’s reactions to increase in intensity, faster and deeper, more and more and more until—
“My knight!” Princess Iselde cried. “My knight—Alexis!” Her body twitched and then squeezed, her inner muscles contracting so very tight on Alexis’s fingers while she continued moaning incomprehensibly in pleasure. When it was over, her body slumped back against Alexis’s in a sudden movement. Alexis took her weight easily, then reached down to maneuver the blankets to cover her princess.
Princess Iselde responded by snuggling deeper backwards into Alexis’s arms, turning her body so her face rested between Alexis’s shoulder and collarbone. Those warm, delicious curves rested on the firmer planes of Alexis’s body, practically a blanket of their own. As Alexis settled the blanket more securely, Princess Iselde murmured sleepily, “Thank you, my knight Alexis. You have done your duty well.”
Alexis was left to ponder what that meant as her princess drifted off to sleep in her arms. The night passed, in that silent way that only thick layers of snow can cause, and still Alexis held and protected her sleeping princess Iselde.