Deck of Cards (11 page)

Agatha promptly spun Katey around and started unlacing her dress.  Katey’s confusion rose to a new level as Agatha continued to
remove article after article of the princess’s clothing.  “Now,” she said when Katey was down to her undergarments.  “I know you have no mother,” she began, rather tritely. Katey was facing her now and she was hopeful that the stripping would stop.  But it did not.  Agatha continued to take Katey’s undergarments off as she spoke.  “Perhaps you have had some advice from your older sister, though I doubt it,” she added under her breath. “Let me lend you some council. First of all, he’s your, uh, husband,” she stammered, knowing that wasn’t quite accurate but who was she to argue with the king? “You must be obedient in every way. Secondly, it has been suggested that bracing oneself may help, though I do not recommend it.  In my personal experience, that seems to cause more pain, especially when one is, shall we say, inexperienced?  Which brings me to my final point,” she spun Katey around to face her.  Standing in the king’s bedchamber, completely nude in the presence of a stranger, Katey was both embarrassed and terrified. She was very much aware of her arms and could not decide if she should use them to cover herself or hold them to her sides. The result was a strange pantomime of limb shifting that made her feel even more humiliated than before.  “ Some mothers attempt to comfort their daughters by telling them stories of how lovely and beautiful this moment will be.  Let me be honest with you, young lady. It is going to hurt like hell.”

With that, Agatha grabbed Katey by the shoulders, pulled up the bed sheets, and shoved her in, pulling them back around her shoulders and tucking her in.  Katey stared up at her, her eyes widened in fear and disbelieve. 

Agatha picked Katey’s clothing up off of the floor, put out the small lantern next to the bed that had provided the only illumination, and draped her clothing over the back of a chair across the room before she approached the door.  “The king will be in shortly,” she added as she opened the door and exited, locking the door behind her.

Katey was petrified.  She literally felt like she could not move.
Here she was, sitting in the king’s bed, wearing only her ring, waiting for him to enter the room and do who-knows-what to her. 

And she really wasn’t exactly sure what was about to happen.  There had been instances over the years when she had been groped by older men, those who thought they could take advantage of her because of her inability to speak and the unlikely possibility that they would be caught. They usually fondled her breasts or her bottom.  There were a few occasions when one
member of her sister’s advisory council had forced her to touch his private area. It had been dark and she had not seen it but just the thought of what it had felt like left her skin crawling.  Even though she had known for the last several years that she was to marry King Philip and that meant she would be asked to perform wifely duties, the fact that she was not yet his wife and she had grown to despise him over the last two weeks left her praying that the cannon fire she heard outside really was drawing closer to the castle and that Matthew’s brother would soon save her. 

Just as she began her prayer, she heard a key in the door, a jingling of the knob, and in walked her betrothed. So much for prayers.

She could tell by his gait that he had been drinking, though he certainly was not drunk.  He barred the door behind him and then began to kick off his boots. “Well,” he said, squinting into the darkness. “If it isn’t my little Katey-did.  Just where I’ve been dreaming of seeing you for weeks.”  He slid his tunic off over his head as he sauntered over to the bed.  She did not move, her hands clasped tightly around the top of the blankets as they lay tucked under her chin.  He stopped next to the side of the bed nearest the door, unbuckled his pants and let them slide to the floor.  Still wearing his briefs, he climbed on top of the blankets and slid on top of her. 

She still did not move. In fact, she may have grasped the blankets even tighter if that were possible.  She could smell the wine on is breath as he slowly began to kiss her cheek.  He nestled his nose against her ear, nipping at it gently with his teeth.  “Don’t be frightened,” he whispered softly as he began to kiss her neck.  “I promise not to hurt you,” more kisses, harder kisses, “the first time.”

With his left hand, he reached up, grabbing her hair gently and pulling her head towards him.  She could feel the long, flat surface of his tongue against the skin on her neck.  He began to kiss her shoulder, occasionally testing her flesh with his teeth.  His hand worked its way down her head, to her neck, his thumb caressing her chin and then her bottom lip.

Katey was still practically immobilized with fear, but she began to feel another sensation.  As much as she despised Philip, a feeling of longing arose w
ithin her.  It was a dull-ache originating between her legs and spreading up to her chest.  She had never felt anything like this before and as much as she wanted to push him off of her and run out of the room, she also wanted to pull him close and spread her legs for him.

Philip continued his slow exploration of Katey’s body. He could feel her start to loosen up beneath him. Though he knew she both feared and detested him, he also knew she
longed for him, as all women did.  Her grip on the blankets released and he slid his hand over her right breast, feeling her nipple respond from his graze. He continued to caress it as his mouth made it’s way down her neck to her left breast.  Again, he could feel her becoming aroused and he gently kissed the area between her breasts, his left hand dragging down the side of her body, down her stomach, up her thigh, coming to rest on her hip.

She was no longer lying stiff as a board. In fact, she had her hand on the back of his head, pressing in to him as he gently pulled on her nipple with his teeth. Her right
leg was bent and he could feel the pressure of her knee against his erection.  Though she did not moan as he had hoped, her back arched in response to his touch and he knew she was nearly ready for him.

He liked his girls wet and he never had a problem getting them that way.  He gently ran his hand around the curve of her thigh, stroking the inside of her leg teasingly. At first, he found her muscle flexed, as if she was forbidding him to enter, but as he continued to kiss her breasts and brush the inside of her thigh with the back of his hand, she began to relax.
He slipped his index finger between her outer lips, causing her to gasp, confirming that she was indeed ready.

Though she had intended to fight him, Katey could no longer keep her body from responding to Philip’s expert touch.  When she felt him slip his finger between her legs, she began to quiver, wanting to press that wayward finger inside of her.

He pulled the blankets off of her with his left hand, and then slid off of them himself so that he was now lying on top of her naked body, only his briefs between them.  His pants were slightly damp with anticipation.  He took a moment to admire her figure. Though it was often hard to tell through so many layers, there was no hiding that Katey was an exceptionally built woman.  Even in the darkness of the room, he could see that she was no disappointment.

The weight of his gaze on her naked body brought a fresh sense of embarrassment. She started to curl up, t
o hide herself from him, but he pushed her arm away. “No need for that,” he said.  “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Just as he was about to kiss her lips for the first time, there was a knock on
the door. Philip sighed, hanging his head, hoping for a moment that it could simply be ignored.  But the pounding repeated, louder the second time and he knew whomever it was they were not going to just go away.

Turning his head so that he would not be yelling in to her face, he called, “What is it?”

“Your Majesty,” Charles’s voice replied. “I must talk to you.  Immediately.”

There were not many people in the castle who knew exactly what had the king occupied at the present time, but Charles was one of the few who did. “Can it wait ten bloody minutes?” he spat back.

“No, Sir.” Charles responded.

Philip glanced down at the frightened, embarrassed, and completely turned-off girl beneath him. He ran his hand quickly through his hair, pushing himself up off of the bed and bounding across the room.  He heard Katey grasp the blankets and pull them back up, covering herself completely.  He fumbled with the bar for a second, absently wondering why the cannon fire was so unbelievably loud, and finally pulled
the door open just wide enough to stick his head out. “What in the world could possibly make you interrupt me right now?” he demanded.

“May I speak with you in the hall?” Charles asked, aware that the king was probably not dressed but not wanting Katey or anyone else to overhear what he was about to say.

Philip disappeared behind the door, leaving a trail of obscenities behind him. Charles could hear him hastily pulling on his clothes.  He returned to the door momentarily, coming out into the hall and slamming it behind him. “What? What is it?”

Charles sighed, hating that he was the one to have to deliver this news.  “The Arterians have broken through at Skull Creek.  They are over the wall around the village outside of the castle. That cannon fire you hear is their shell, knocking our fortifications to pieces.  They will be inside the wall, inside the castle, probably within the hour.”

Slumping against the wall, Philip felt his breath catch in his throat.  When he regained his composure, he asked, “What? How did this happen? We did so well today?”

Charles was shaking his head.  “I don’t know, Sir. We just got word from the town’s people a few minutes ago.  No one from the army even sent
notification that we were under attack. “

“Where’s Cuthbert?” Philip demanded, picturing all the different ways he would like to put that bastard out of his misery.

“No word,” Charles replied.  “Sir, we need to get you and the . . . Queen out of here, as quickly as possible.”

Philip paused to consider the situation.  “Where is the
Gradenian cavalry?”

“We have not seen or heard from them, Sir.  We can take you out the northern tunnel.  The King’s Guard is equipped and should be able to provide you
with safe passage to the Gradenian border.  Hopefully, by then, the cavalry will have advanced far enough to meet you.”

“I need to assess the situation for myself,” Philip concluded. 
He did not want to flee to Gradenia unless it was absolutely necessary.

Once again, Charles found himself pleading with Philip.  “Sir, there isn’t enough time.  Think of your mother, your wife.”

“I want to see it for myself!” Philip spat. “Have the guards begin escorting my mother to safety.  Send another group to acquire Matthew and take him down as well. I will go up to the observation deck and survey the situation from there. If I determine we need to leave, I’ll collect Katherine and we’ll make our way out through the northern tunnel.”

Having known Philip as long as he had, Charles knew there was no sense in arguing with him. He felt fairly certain that this was a mistake, but he acquiesced.  “Very well, Sir,” he said.
Spotting some guards at the end of the hall, he ran off to relay the orders.

Philip stepped back inside of the room. Katey was still on the bed, the blankets pulled up to her chin.  She had over-heard much of the conversation and she knew her
moments in Clovington were numbered.  It seemed she would be able to keep her virginity just a bit longer. 

“I want you to stay right here,” Philip said, picking up his boots and crossing back to the bed.  He sat down on the side nearest the door and began pulling them on.  “I will be back in just a few minutes. There’s
just . . . something I need to take care of. “ He walked around to her side of the bed, pulled open the top-drawer of the night stand, and produced a black velvet rope.   He tied one end around her wrist, wove it through the top of the headboard, and tied the other end around her other wrist, securing her to the bed. Katey’s eyes grew wide with fear. Now, she had no chance of escape and every chance of being discovered in the king’s bedchamber—naked. 

He tucked the sheets around her so she would feel a bit more comfortable.  “Just to make sure you don’t go anywhere,” he said, quickly kissing her on the top off the head and crossing back to the door.  As he left, she heard the turn of the key and, overwhelmed with anxiety, she began to sob.

Another barrage of cannon fire sent Philip and Charles sprinting down the hallway towards the observation tower.  The halls were crowded with civilians seeking refuge, soldiers in the King’s Guard completing tasks, and members of the gentry seeking answers as to where they should go and how they would hide.  Philip literally pushed them aside, feeling the urgency of his mission growing more dire with every second.

They approached the tower just in time to see a large number of Arterian soldiers pouring through a contravention in the wall outside the castle. “Holy Hell!” Philip muttered.  The men just kept
climbing through, Philip’s own men running in fear.

Charles pulled him by the shoulder.  “Sir, we have to go.”

Nodding but still not moving, as if frozen by the sight before him, Philip tried to understand what was happening.  He had only minutes to escape.

“Sir, we have to go now. Right now!”

He heeded Charles’s warning this time and took off back toward the stairs. If he was going to collect Katey and get to the northern tunnel before Caleb’s men came crashing in, he had no time to waste.