Legends of Godiva: Part 3
The Lady’s Vulnerable Moments.
Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought in 5 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.
"Well, I won't keep you any longer. You always have so much to do, so many to please. I, myself, only have my pew plan to go over today;"
"The church seating? Why are you looking at that?"
"From what you've said, if Sir Leofric is truly Northman's brother, not to mention the Ealdorman of Twywell, we can't have him sitting just anywhere. He'll need to sit along with those of his rank; aside from you, he's probably the most notable person in town."
"You're going to make me sit next to him every Sunday, aren't you."
"Well, if he's still in town, I'll have no choice. One of those niggling things that they never tell you about when you go to seminary; all the politics of seating. It's a nightmare, really. You'll probably be sitting next to Sir Leofric every Sunday for the rest of your life; next to him and whomever he takes to wife; watching his children grow up. Of course, if he's no longer in town, you'll have nothing to worry about, will you?" he said, smiling fondly down at her.
Through her veils, she shot the holy man a baleful look. "You're so full of shit, Eric. You're doing this on purpose. You can't tell me God has arranged seating in heaven," Godiva grumbled under her breath.
"If there were pew plans to work out, they wouldn't call it 'heaven,' my dear," he said leaving the sanctuary before he paused at the door. "And Cousin, a thought before you go; if your every fervent prayer is for the health and happiness of your people; what is it you think they are praying for just as fervently?" he asked, before leaving her alone in the sanctuary.
Godiva leaned forward in the saddle, letting Bree gallop hard out of town, needing to feel the freedom and exhilaration of speed. She couldn't spend another minute in the church after picturing herself sitting next to Leofric and some faceless woman and their children for the rest of her life. Until Eric said it so offhandedly, the fact hadn't crossed her mind that if she didn't marry Leofric, he would marry someone else. Leofric would marry some other woman and she would be the one that he teased, that trembled when he looked at her, that felt him cup her face as he filled her again and again. What would it do to her over the years to see that woman's happiness; knowing she had thrown it away with both hands?
She urged Bree faster and the wind pressed her veil against her face, her tears soaking into it and making it cling to her. She'd never ridden so hard with her veil on. Riding hard was something Godiva did, feeling the wind wild on her face and in her hair. Now, she couldn't even have that release. She probably couldn't even ride Elva anymore, since she was known to be Godiva's horse. Bree was fast, but young, flighty and prone to startle at the slightest things. Elva was swift and ran smooth as oil, seeing dangers and outsmarting them while they were still miles away.
If she had been less distraught, Godiva would have slowed and prepared better for the terrain she knew was coming, but when she reached the creek, she was going at such a speed that she barely even needed to jump to clear it. The problem was that as Bree fairly flew over the brook, a fish chose that moment to jump out of the water. Spooked, Bree suddenly twisted in midair and flung Godiva off her back. Time seemed to slow as Godiva flew through the air, her robes and veils spreading out behind her like sails. Strangely, the last thing she remembered thinking as she saw the distant ground begin to come closer was, "At least if I die now, I won't have to see him loving someone else instead of me;"
"Ow;"
"Godi-Gifu! Fuck! Woman! an approaching voice shouted above the sound of thundering hoof beats and burbling water.
"Oow;" Godiva moaned, once more of her breath returned, opening her eyes to see an enormous black beast charge up to the far bank of the creek. She pushed herself up on a sore elbow and squinted upward at her irate visitor.
"You dewbeater! You fucking harecop!" Leofric shouted, his eyes crazed as he leapt off Harold and ran down, splashing into the water until he was at her side.
"Ninn; ow; don't be such a gnashgab;" she retorted, pushing herself up on her side before collapsing back into the water.
"Shut up, and stop moving before you make it worse, you; you; gowpenful-o'-anything!"
"Oh, that's a good one; ow, ow, ow; for a klazomaniac;" she added, slumping back down into the wet sand of the creekbed, her entire body aching and her blood still filled with the lightning of fear.
Leofric paced frantically, sometimes bending to help her as she tried to get up again, then turning away quickly as if he feared he would strangle her the moment he touched her. "Goddammit, woman, you skelpie-limming idiot! This morning you actually had me asking myself if anyone actually wanted to break their neck, but now I'm shocked to find I was wrong!" he yelled.
"Yeah; well, that's only because you haven't been married; once you do, you'll get used to being wrong," she panted, bent over with her hands on her knees. At this point Leofric's face actually turned purple and he fell to his knees in the water next to her, his eyes closed, breathing hard. "Hey; hey, it's okay; I'm all right," she said, patting him on the back.
"I saw you leave town from the roof of the inn and followed. You were riding like the devil was chasing you before you went airborne. My heart stopped and all I could think was that I'd find you dashed on the stones," he said, his breath shaking. "Why in God's name were you going so fast?"
"Just; people; and pew plans and; I; I don't want to talk about it," she said, pulling her wet robes away from her legs so she could climb out of the creek without tripping. As she began climbing the bank, she heard Leofric splashing water on his face and neck before following her out of the creek.
Godiva stumbled over to a large oak and sat down, testing various places on her body for injury. Leofric mounted Harold and rode off, quickly coming back holding Bree's reins in one hand. "Is she okay?" Godiva asked, beginning to shiver in the breeze and her wet clothes. "I worried she hadn't landed properly;" Godiva called, earning a glare from Leofric.
"Oh, you were worried about that, were you?" he called, piqued. "She's fine. Harold's more jittery than she is. Take off your dress," he ordered brusquely as he dismounted and took the bridles off the horses to let them roam in the pasture.
"You know, I don't know how they do things in Twywell, but it's not actually a courtship requirement that I get naked for you every time we meet. I think I've actually given you the wrong impression of how we normally;" Godiva said, her teasing ending with a yelp when she turned around to find Leofric standing over her glowering. Raising her hands in acquiescence, she pulled the wet fabric up and over her head.
Leofric helped her tug the rest of it off, cursing as he saw the bruises beginning to bloom on her slender back. He flung her dress over a high branch of the tree to let it dry in the breeze before pulling off his own tunic, "Should have left you in jail;" he grumbled, lying on his back in a patch of sunshine on the steep bank.
Godiva looked up at her dress, realizing that it was up so high in the tree that there was no way for her to retrieve it quickly by herself, which was surely Leofric's design. Then, she lowered her gaze to where his mountain-like body lay shirtless in the sun, one arm spread in invitation. Rolling her eyes resignedly, she went to him and curled up in a ball on his broad chest and torso, putting her face into the crook of his neck as he spread his tunic over them.
His body was so warm, she fairly purred as he put his arms around her and let his heat seep into her naked form. She had never lain like this with her late husband Wilfred. Indeed, she had trouble remembering a time when she had been exposed more than absolutely necessary for him to briefly lay with her. She remembered feeling ashamed when Wilfred first lifted the hem her shift high enough that she felt the night air on her nethers, before he quickly covered her with his body. With Leofric, though, nothing felt more natural than to lie naked in his arms in the sunlight.
"Why don't you tell me what's troubling you," Leofric said, leaning over so she felt his warm breath in her hair.
"Right now, I can't think of a thing that's troubling me," she murmured, snuggling closer to him. She felt his mouth smile against her head.
"Well, I did take you to jail last night; I worried you'd be vexed with me over it, but I wanted to see what foul acts were planned for me while I was dead to the world," Leofric said, casually stroking his fingers through her hair, trying not to laugh as he felt her body go tense.
"And um; did you; find anything?"
"Oh; a little," he said, now massaging her scalp with his fingertips. "A little last night, a little when I poured you into Sir Hulgar's arms early this morning, and much more than enough just now," he said, adjusting his embrace when she began squirming uncomfortably. "Sir Hulgar's surprise was completely forced when I told him you'd accidentally drunk dwale this morning. And just now, he let you leave the town without guard after what could have been an attempt on your life, which would be beyond belief; unless he knew exactly where the dwale came from. How long has he been disposing of your suitors for you?"
"Um; since I've had them, I guess. After they stopped listening to the word 'no' at any rate. He wasn't supposed to do that anymore, though; not to you," she said.
Leofric's mouth quirked. "So, you don't want me drugged and carted out of town, now? My lady's affections are increasing. Of course, you could have just told me not to drink the mead, or even tipped the glass over so I couldn't. Instead, you drank it and showed me there was a plot against me, all the while leaving yourself completely helpless in my care. Why did you take such a risk?" he asked.
Stunned, Godiva lifted her head off his chest, meeting his eyes. The thought hadn't even occurred to her at the time. She could only think of putting herself between him and the danger she thought he faced, "That was pretty stupid. I; I guess I'm just not cut out for intrigues," she said, her face coloring.
"Hm. I've met many stupid people, Lady. You don't strike me as one. You're impetuous; restless; and passionate, but you are no fool," he said, gently stroking his thumb over her soft lips. "It couldn't possibly be that you trusted me; that part of you was aroused by the thought of letting me do anything I wanted with you; that you wanted to let me to take care of you?" he murmured.
Godiva felt something clench needfully at his words, and she squeezed her legs tightly together, wrestling with the feelings inside her. Oh, God, she wanted this man. His eyes that looked into her, seeing things she never intended to show him, his smell that calmed her and enflamed her at the same time, his lips that looked like they could have been sculpted from stone but felt so warm and alive when they started moving to capture hers. She blinked, realizing he was curling up to kiss her and knowing where his lips would effortlessly lead her, she quickly ducked under his tunic and hid from him.
Leofric burst into laughter, shaking her entire body with it. "Stop that!" her muffled voice yelled from under the leather. "Stop kissing me and making me go all squishy! I can't think when you do it! Maybe all this is easy for you because you just do as you're told out of duty; just marrying someone you don't even know, but I have responsibilities! I actually have to think about what I do!"
"Wonderful! When did you intend to start thinking?" Leofric laughed, moving his hands to tickle her ribs. Godiva screamed and moved to cover them, when he swiftly flung away the tunic and rolled her to the grass under him, still laughing.
Though still trembling, she immediately grew still under him, the weight of his body creating a heavy heat inside her. Stretching her arms above her head and holding them by the wrists, Leofric lowered his face close to hers, his eyes glowing as they held hers in their gaze. "Leofric, please; please; d-don't kiss me;" she whimpered.
"I'm not kissing you;" he said softly, coming closer and brushing his nose and cheek against her face. His cheek was not shaven, but it had grown in enough that it didn't feel prickly or scratchy and without thinking, she rose up to him every time he touched her with it. A man true to his word, Leofric didn't kiss her, but instead drove her mad with all the things he wasn't doing to her.
She felt his warm breath curl into the hollow of her collarbone, and slowly travel up her neck as she shivered and moaned under him. "Now, I'm not nibbling on your ear," he whispered, his lips barely brushing against her lobe.
"Leofric, I; I can't just; marry you because the king tells me to and because you make me; make me;" she gasped, shuddering in pleasure when he began pulsing his hips against her.
"Yes? I make you;? Incoherent with lust? Forget which name you're supposed to answer to?" he prompted, grinning down at her.
"Yours;" she whispered, a stray tear trickling down the side of her eye. "I can't keep letting you kiss me, and touch me and make me feel all these things; because what if you make me yours and then, for whatever reason, I can't marry you?" she said, closing her eyes, her face twisting in misery.
Leofric's face grew serious and rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him again, spreading his tunic over her shoulders and back again. "You're right, of course; forgive me," he said, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Wha-what?" she asked, taken aback at his sudden capitulation.
"You're right. It's not fair of me to overly tempt your heart before I've made it safe," he said, simply.
"Well, it's; it's not like I'm a child! I have;"
"No, no. You're absolutely right; I mean, certainly, I was overwrought at the thought that you had just died, but there's no excuse for me losing control like that. You have obligations! The people of Coventry depend on you for their happiness! You can't just marry someone because you like them. The Lord of Coventry needs the support of the people;"
"Well, yes, but;"
"And you can't risk marrying some blaguard with a tainted family name, either. You should hear the whispers at court about Northman. If I became Lord, the counties would build roads ten miles around Coventry just to avoid it, and then what would happen to your horse tax?"
"Don't be ridic;"
"No, I won't hear another word. When you're right, you're right. I've behaved as a cad. Here, put my tunic on;" he said, wrestling the tunic over her head, muffling the sounds of her protests.
When Godiva's head popped through the neck hole in his tunic, she looked furious and began slapping his hands back, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Stop doing that!" she yelled.
"Doing what?" he asked, innocently.
"Stop running yourself down like that! Stop making me argue your side! Stop being ridiculous!"
"Well, those are your arguments against marrying me, aren't they? I mean, you certainly like me enough to take me as your husband," he said, gesturing to her obvious affection as she turned to slap at his thighs that had moved to trap her between them.
"Not at the moment, saddle-goose!" she snarled.
"And I daresay, you could suffer through performing your marital duties, as required," he chuckled, thrusting his hips up under her lasciviously.
With a noise between a screech and a growl, Godiva scrambled up and marched back toward the tree where her dress hung drying in the breeze and began climbing up to the lowest branch, his tunic hanging on her like a short, loose dress.
Leofric leisurely followed her with his long loping stride, watching her inch out onto the lowest limb, looking for another that was closer to her dress. Seeing him stop directly beneath her, Godiva ignored him out of spite and took a long step onto another limb, grabbing a branch for balance. Leofric shifted slightly to remain directly below her as she climbed, his gaze never wavering from her. "If you think throwing my dress up higher than I can reach will keep me here against my will, you've got another thing coming!" she called down in annoyance. "I can climb with the best of them, longshanks!"
"Oh, I don't doubt it, my Lady. With a stature like yours, climbing must be second nature. Don't mind me, I was just enjoying the view!" he called back, smiling when she yelped and squeezed her legs together to hide her naked womanhood from his appreciative perusal. Unfortunately, the branch she had grabbed broke and left her dangling down by one arm.
"Of course, I would much rather have our picnic together, if you can delay your other endeavors," Leofric called up.
"What? What are you talking about? Help me, you fustilarian!" she yelled, kicking her legs angrily.
"Our picnic! You kindly offered this morning to share an outdoor meal with me this afternoon. Several ladies in the town seemed to think you'd forget about it, so they kindly filled Harold's packs with delicious foodstuffs for our sup! What say you?"
Incensed, Godiva began swinging, trying to reach another limb with her foot, making Leofric sway side to side as he tried to stay beneath her. "Fine! Yes!" she yelled, adjusting her grip as her hand began slipping. "Just help me!"
Leofric smiled magnanimously and whistled, bringing Harold directly below her and mounting him to reach her better. "Now forgive me, my Lady, but I'll need to take some liberties with your person to affect your rescue;" he said, reaching up his hands to grab her ass in one hand and her hip in the other. She felt his fingers slide through her slippery crack as he adjusted his grip. After some maneuvering, he lowered her carefully to the saddle in front of him, deftly sliding two fingers inside her in the process. "There we are," he murmured against the top of her head, "isn't that better?"
Godiva moaned, going limp in front of him as he began slowly thrusting his fingers through her passage, feeling his hard cock pressed against her. She was shocked at how ready she was for him, as if simply by arguing with her and aggravating her, he had set her blood on fire. Fumbling behind her, she released his cock from his pants, rubbing it against her bare ass. "Leof; Leofric; I need you. Please;" she whimpered, afraid he wouldn't understand her readiness.
"Stand," Leofric commanded. Obediently, Godiva sat up, reaching her feet down toward the stirrups, trying to stand in the saddle on wobbly legs, but her legs were far too short to reach. "Harold, dearest, not you," she heard his voice amend with a smile. "You, lean forward and lie still," he instructed.
Godiva leaned forward along Harold's neck and groaned as Leofric removed his fingers, missing the fullness and demanding presence of him inside her. She felt him shift in the saddle and began to sit up, expecting him to dismount and help her down, but then his hand clasped the back of her neck and held her where she was. His other hand pushed the tunic up her back, exposing her ass.
Realizing his intentions, she scooted her legs up under her, kneeling now on Harold's back and arched, presenting herself to him. Looking over her shoulder, she met his eyes, watching him stroke himself slowly. Quivering, she closed her eyes and lay her head down in the coarse hair of the mane and waited. She felt the hot head of his cock slide into her entrance, then with a thrust, sink in deeply. Her shuddering cry and his soft grunt announced their reunion. "Oh; I've missed you, my good girl," Leofric groaned, flexing his hips, "Let's never fight again;"
"Uh, uh, uh, uh; you thought that was fighting?" she gasped, pushing herself back to him with each thrust, loving the feel of his hand on her neck and hip as he pumped himself into her. "I thought it was foreplay;"
"Shut up and say, 'I'm yours,' wench," Leofric growled, sinking his teeth playfully into the join of her shoulder and neck, making her squeal and push back harder against him.
"Ooh, ooh, nuh; uh; uh; you're; mine;" she said, lost in the wet, slurping sounds his cock made as he churned inside her.
With a muted roar, Leofric pulled her lips up to his, devouring her mouth while he pistoned inside her. Godiva's panting turned to shaking cries when his fingers reached around to her clit and stroked firmly as he drove deeper and deeper. "Say it; say you're mine!" he rasped, feeling the muscles inside her begin to tremble and twitch around his cock.
"You're; mine! You're mine! Eee! You're mine, Leofric! I love you! I love you! I love you!" she squealed, hunching over his cock as it swelled and burst inside her, filling her cunt with his molten cum. "I love you; I love you; I love you, Leofric; please, don't ever leave;" she keened, falling limply forward until he caught her up in his arms and held her against his chest.
The two panted together, still intimately joined, Godiva weakly resting her head back on his shoulder, staring at him with shy adoration until she closed her eyes as he softly kissed every part of her face. When she opened her eyes again, she couldn't help but smile at the warmth and pride filling his, and she reached up to stroke his cheek gently. "So; you love me, hmm?" he asked, bending to rub the tip of his nose against hers. Smiling, Godiva bit her lips and looked away from his intense gaze and shrugged her shoulders. "Umm; I mean, I really just wanted you to say that you're mine; a sex thing, you know; it gets me going. I didn't really think we were there yet with the "love" and all, but;"
Godiva growled and grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him in for another kiss, leaving him breathless again when she finally released him. "You're such an asshole;" she murmured.
"And yet; you love me," Leofric gloated, unable to wipe the grin off his face.
Two proposals - one marriage, one indecent.
"Her Ladyship will now hear matters of the utmost importance first," the scribe called out to the unusually crowded hall, "Please step forward, one at a time, and state your business clearly and slowly." As usual, nearly every child present ran forward to the scribe's desk, but most unusually, they sat down quietly in a row. "Uh; thaw, thank; thank you?" the scribe said, looking uncertainly at the well-behaved youngsters. Even Sir Hulgar was unnerved by their strange behavior, taking a step forward and resting his hand on his sword.
A hissing sigh puffed out the veil of the seated Lady Godgifu, as she stared over the heads of the children toward Sir Leofric who leaned quietly against the back wall, a beatific smile on his face. Her informal meetings with the public had become one of Leofric's favorite occasions to torment her, second only to their meetings in church when she was forced to nervously use her veil to shield others' views when he used his fingers to pantomime two lovers accidentally falling off horses into a variety of sexual positions and copulating. She wondered what perversions had he planned for her now, and when, in His wisdom and mercy, would God turn Leofric into a pillar of salt for involving the children?
Lilly, the smithy's daughter, was first in line and got right to the point, "Are you going to have a baby now?" she asked with the volume that only a child asking an indiscreet question could attain. A wave of gasps and tittering went through the crowd, as Lady Godgifu's head jerked up and looked accusingly in the direction of Sir Leofric who looked alarmed and raised his hands, shaking his head quickly.
"What; what makes you think I would have a baby, Lilly?" she asked, trying to make her voice as steady as possible.
"My cousin said that babies happen when a man and a woman do a special dance together and you and Sir Leofric danced at the Miller wedding, so are you going to have a baby now?" Lilly persisted. Nearby, Godgifu heard Sir Hulgar clear his throat. After drinking some mead at the Miller girl's wedding, she and Leofric had drawn a bit too much attention to themselves when the pipe and drum music had started up. Godgifu had awakened the next morning to another glare from Sir Hulgar. Perhaps his long lecture to her on the importance of propriety had left his throat parched.
"Well; ahem; Sir Leofric danced with a lot of women at the wedding;"
"That was just the carol, dance, though! When you danced with Sir Leofric it was special!"
"Honestly, sweetheart, dancing with Sir Leofric isn't all that special," Godgifu said, dismissively, "He's so tall he just stands there and sways. It's rather like dancing with a tree in a strong breeze." Sir Leofric closed his eyes and dramatically clapped his hand over his heart at the pain of her critique.
"But then he picked you up and twirled you in his arms! That was special!"
"That's just how they dance at court, now. Sir Leofric was showing me;"
"I was concerned for Her Ladyship's safety, Lilly. Her Ladyship's stature is rather dwarf-like and I feared we would lose her amidst the stamping feet," Sir Leofric offered, simultaneously.
"Then, why did you have your head under her veil?" Lilly asked, turning around to look at Sir Leofric.
"Oh, well now; um; that was;"
"No, Lilly," Godgifu cut in before Sir Leofric could make her situation worse. "To answer your question, no. I will not be having a baby, now. That was not the special baby-making dance that you saw at the wedding. I'm afraid we have to let the other children have their turns, now. I hope you had a good time at the wedding."
Lilly looked like she still had several more very loud questions to ask, but instead nodded, accepting that a turn was only a turn. She did not leave the hall though, as usual, but instead walked directly to Sir Leofric and held up her palm. Godgifu canted her head and snorted under her veils as Leofric began quietly arguing with the little girl who insistently kept her palm up. Leofric squatted next to her and continued their conversation face-to-face, gesturing several times toward Godgifu on the dais in frustration, when Lilly finally yelled "but You Said To Ask Her About Dancing!"
Muffled laughter filled the hall as Leofric grudgingly pulled a coin out of his pocket and put it in the little girl's hand. Lilly thanked him with a curtsey before going to sit with her mother. Leofric slowly stood again, his smile less beatific and far more uncertain as he looked at the remaining children in the line before Godgifu.
Next, sweet little Anna Morgan climbed the steps and sat next to Godgifu at the embroidery table. "If you get married again, will you still wear a veil and how do you do the special baby-making dance?" she asked. At that point, somewhere behind Godgifu's left eye, a terrible stabbing headache began.
On and on it went. Finally, having found a willing, or at least captive, adult to talk with them about topics normally forbidden to them, the children proceeded to cheerfully crucify Lady Godgifu with their questions. Her only consolation was seeing the progressive deterioration of Sir Leofric at the back of the room. This apparently hadn't been how his plan was intended to go.
Last in line was Frederic, the son of a farmer that raised wheat, barley, rye, sheep and pigs, a boy of seven years who had obviously spent each and every second of them thinking. "I think I want to marry Sara;" he said, as if he'd finally decided the matter after they'd had a long discussion about the topic.
"Oh really?" Lady Godgifu said with tired interest, wracking her brain to remember which Sara he could be thinking about. There were many girls named "Sara" in the village, but she could only ever remember Frederic talking about anything but his farm. "What is it about Sara that you think would make a good wife?" she asked.
"She's very smart; and I like that. She doesn't go and do all the silly things the others do. She likes to sit by me and we can just be quiet together," he said, thoughtfully.
"Well, that sounds like a very good start, Frederic. Do her parents like you? That's also very important. My late husband Wilfred made sure to talk with my father a lot before he asked to marry me," she said, noticing that Frederic's mother was beginning to look ill at ease.
"Sara's father died last year, Lady, but I'm very nice to her mum and I always make sure to help her across streams and show her to the best grass." At this, Leofric's shoulders slumped and Frederic's mother closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Oh; she's an ewe? Your Sara?"
"Yes, milady. Her mum, Cleo, is too. She's a widow, like you."
At that moment, Godgifu decided she was done figuring out everything for children and decided to let her cousin do some of the work, "Well, then I think the next order of business would be to talk with Reverend Palmer and see when he could fit your wedding into his schedule; oh dear, it would probably make him change his pew plan again. He won't like that. Are you sure this Sara is really the one for you? Couldn't you just be good friends? People keep a favorite pet; and sometimes a pet can be a closer friend than a human can be. Why marry?"
"We; we understand each other, milady. Sara and me. And even though we're different; we make each other better, see? I think better when she's there with me, and she's happier being there," he said, simply.
Lady Godgifu felt her throat begin to tighten. She knew exactly what Frederic meant. Sometimes it was like her horse Elva could read her mind. They never were so happy as when they were riding together, Elva sensing her wishes with only the slightest pressure or movement. Now, since the criminal Godiva had been taken into custody and her horse confiscated, Godgifu couldn't go around riding the horse of a criminal and just had to content herself with the occasional visit to the stables at night. Elva kept asking her when they were going out, not understanding why her small mistress didn't pull off her strange clothes and just ride her again. It was her inability to make her equine friend understand her neglect that broke Godgifu's heart the most.
"That sounds; it sounds like you and Sara have a very special relationship," Lady Godgifu choked out, discreetly wiping the tears from her face from under her veil.
"I just want us to belong to each other, you know? So, we can just wake up together every day and smile at each other. Isn't that why you marry someone?" Frederic asked.
Godgifu slumped in her seat and only nodded, sobbing silently. Sir Leofric was now crouched against the back wall, his arms covering his head. Concerned, Frederic patted Godgifu's shoulder gently and then walked to the back of the hall where Sir Leofric sat. Without looking up, Leofric held up a coin, resignedly. Instead of taking it, Frederic took his hand and pulled, prompting Leofric to rise. Continuing to herd his reluctant sheep, Frederic kept pulling until Sir Leofric stood before the dais and then the boy left him there to his fate.
Drained, but at least composed once more, Godiva looked at him and sighed. "Sir Leofric, have you concluded your demonstrations of courtly love for today?" she asked, tiredly.
"I; I had one more thing planned, but; I think it's probably just better to call it a day;" he said, sounding thoroughly defeated.
"No, no; if Christ endured the cross, I can surely withstand your courtship; let's have it," she said, taking a deep breath, stretching her neck and squaring her shoulders again.
"Well, if you're sure, Your Ladyship;" he said, taking a knee before her. "As you know, I recently brought to justice a rather troublesome character in Coventry;"
"I am tempted to address the irony of you calling Lady Godiva a troublesome character, Sir Leofric, but do go on;" Godgifu muttered.
"Yes, Your Ladyship. And knowing your love for the people of Coventry, over the past few weeks, I have also settled accounts with them and performed numerous services beyond to make clear to you and to them my most honorable intentions. In all this time, though, it has troubled me that I had not been able to do anything for you. So, if you will indulge me, I would like to present you with a gift that I hope with all my heart that you will accept;"
Her heart leapt into her throat. This was it. This was his proposal. Godgifu's mind raced, torn between her wishes and her worries. Still, Leofric was a good man, and it wasn't right to keep him hanging on or being used for unpleasant labor by the townspeople. It was time for her to do what was right.
"Sir Leofric, I am most honored by your kindness and forbearance;" Godgifu began.
"Wait, Lady. Don't say no, you haven't seen the gift yet;"
"Please let me finish, good sir. I am most gratified by your;"
"Will you just let me;"
"And the fact that you have troubled yourself to gain my people's favor is most;"
"Will You Just Listen, Woman? I'm Not Proposing To You!"
The crowd fell silent after gasping in unison. "You're; you're not?" Godgifu whispered, feeling her heart sink through the floor. A dangerous-sounding hum began to buzz in the hall, only to be pierced by a shrill whistle from Sir Leofric.
The doors to the hall opened to reveal the graceful figure of Elva, led by Ham the stableboy. A choked squeak came out from under Godgifu's veils, as she watched the graceful marbled white mare brought into the hall. "As I was saying; it troubled me that, while I had performed many services for your people, I hadn't the chance to give you a gift to show the sincerity of my affections. Although our union would be favored by the King, you must know that I thank God every day that His Highness made it my duty to win you, Your Ladyship. Therefore, please accept my gift of Lady Godiva's horse to you as a token, not of my duties to the King, but of my enduring and sincere affection for you."
With a cry, Godgifu left the dais, ran heedlessly past the outstretched arms of Sir Leofric and embraced the graceful creature. She was bawling so hard now, that she began hiccoughing as she held her forehead to Elva's soft nose. "Sir Leofric; will you marry me?" Godgifu choked out between hiccoughs, still not turning away from her beloved horse.
Leofric bowed his head, "Most gladly; my Lady," he said, smiling as the people in the hall burst out into cheers and whoops of joy. His heart lighter than he'd ever remembered it, Leofric decided that making Godgifu happy would be a good use of the rest of his life. As he strode to join his future wife, he realized he still held Frederic's coin. He looked around the hall for the boy, and finding him, Leofric nudged his head to beckon him forward.
"So, I guess we'll both be visiting the Reverend, Frederic," he said, flipping the coin to the boy who caught it midair and held it up to the light to examine it.
"Will we, sir?" Frederic asked, biting on the coin and checking for a mark.
"Me and Lady Godgifu, you and your sheep; Sara?" he said, looking away from Godgifu, down to the boy.
"Between you and me, sir; I never name the sheep. Makes my sister cry when we take 'em to butcher if they have names," Frederic replied, watching Lady Godgifu coo over the flowers braided into Elva's mane. "I don't think I'm a marrying man, myself; I prefer gold."
Leofric blinked and looked at the boy again, as if seeing him for the first time. "You mean, you never; that; that whole story about Sara;"
Frederic tucked the coin into a small pouch on his belt, then looked up at Leofric with his eyebrows raised. "I saw the horse outside; and I knew her Ladyship liked it. I knew the thing you planned with the other kids would be a disaster and that you'd never get the deal done without some help. Of course; the other kids will be teasing me something awful about saying I was in love with a sheep, sir;"
Taking the hint, Leofric fished several more coins out of his pocket. "I'm glad you're on my side, Fred," he murmured, dropping the coins into the boy's hand.
"Yes, sir."
Leofric felt Godiva's naked body crawl up onto his back in the large bed of the guest room he had been given in her house shortly after the announcement of their plans to wed. Sir Hulgar had caught Godiva sneaking to his room the very first night of Leofric's residence. It was only after a long lecture and a promise to get back to her own bed before Astrid awoke her each morning, that Godiva was allowed to continue her visits without her protector standing outside Leofric's room and grumbling to himself. After all their outdoor trysts, it felt like an unbelievable luxury to finally lie with each other in a soft bed.
After a day spent bringing loads of tiles up to the roof of the church, Leofric was tired in his bones, but still glad to feel her slight weight on his back and legs, her long hair flowing down over his arm.
"Did you require a service of me, My Lady?" he murmured.
"Oh no; I just; no," she said, stroking his skin. "I just wanted to be with someone that; liked me," she said, tucking her head onto his shoulder and smelling his skin.
"By that count, you could find yourself crawling into bed with most of Mercia; something I'll have to forbid when I'm your husband, Lady; unless I'm allowed to watch," Leofric said, chuckling when she slapped his chest. "Tell me what's made you unhappy," he said into her hair.
"I'm not unhappy; just worried," she murmured, resting her cheek against his skin.
"You want to know what knights do when they're worried?"
"What?"
"We tell someone what we're worried about while we rub their shoulders," Leofric said solemnly.
Godiva snorted, "You made that up. I've never seen knights rubbing anyone's shoulders," she said, climbing up and straddling his chest, kneading the muscles joining his neck and shoulders.
"We do tend to be a rather untroubled lot," he said, "use the heel of your palm instead of your fingers and push along the muscle, not across," he advised, groaning in pleasure when she leaned up and put her weight into her hands.
"It's just that; I think; I was in the market, today, and I think someone threw something at me; I'd just finished talking with someone and I felt something small hit me in the head. Just out of nowhere! I hadn't argued with anyone or anything. Other than deciding to marry you, I can't think of anything that would make someone so mad at me to actually;"
"Ah," he said, succinctly.
"What do you mean 'ah,' Leofric? Someone attacked me for no reason!"
"No, no, you're right. Did you have Sir Hulgar round up suspects? Do we have them in thumbscrews until we get a confession?"
"What? No, of course not! Don't be ridiculous - it was nothing, but; but why would they do that? Why not just say something to me? Why do they hate me? How do I know how to make it better if they don't;"
"Diva; you're a leader. People are going to have bad days in life and look for a way to take it out on someone else, and as a leader, you're always going to be an easy target. I'm not saying that you shouldn't care what people think. What people think matters. But, if your every move is dictated by whether people approve of it, you are not leading them; you are following them. You can't just fall to pieces and doubt yourself every time someone throws something at you," he said, sleepily.
"You're right," she sighed, sliding off his chest and curling up against him again. "Well, at least you like me," she said.
Leofric grunted in response, and after shifting in the bed and pulling her tightly against him, he fell asleep almost instantly. Warmed by his skin and soothed by his heartbeat and deep breaths, Godiva soon fell asleep, as well.
Her dreams, though, were troubled. It felt like life was speeding around her at an impossible speed, but she couldn't see. A cloud of gauzy cloth had wound itself around her head, blocking her view and almost suffocating her. Just when she was able to dig a hole through the cloth to see what was happening, Wilfred was being attacked by someone that wanted to steal her away. Then the veils wrapped themselves around her again, and when she cut through them with a knife, instead of Wilfred, it was Leofric surrounded by the King and a courtly crowd of highborn men, smiling at him while hiding knives behind their backs. "Leofric!" she screamed, taking his hand and suddenly she had disappeared with him into an encampment of soldiers; except they weren't soldiers. Her veils were gone and she could see more than her eyes could believe, because it looked like the men were having sex with each other, one on his knees and the other behind him thrusting away. It was confusing, the intense fucking and men yelling out was incredibly arousing, but there were no women anywhere. Cruelly, her dreams gave her the wild abandon she craved, but came just short of delivering satisfaction, leaving her impossibly aroused.
Leofric's arm was curled around her body, his hand cupping her tit, his thigh resting between hers. By his breathing, she knew he was still sleeping and she had not the heart to wake him. She knew he was exhausted. She had watched him climb the ladder to the church roof again and again with loads of tiles, body breaking work and yet he hadn't complained a bit. He needed rest, and waking him because she needed to come seemed so selfish.
Godiva decided to address her predicament herself, because she knew there was just no way she could fall asleep until she found release. She thought about trying to go back to her room, but Leofric was holding her so tightly, she would surely wake him if she tried. She didn't want him to know that she would ever touch herself for pleasure, though. She could only imagine what Wilfred would have said if he had ever found her with her hand between her legs.
Torn between fear and need, she shifted under his arm until she could get her hand down to her slit. When her fingertips finally touched her swollen clit, she shivered with the blissful thought that her misery would soon end. She reached lower and dipped her fingers into her wet opening, her breath catching as a wave of sensation went through her. Moving her slippery fingers back to her clit, she began working herself slowly, when a problem presented itself. She couldn't move her arm properly without jiggling the bed or bumping into Leofric's sleeping form. As if to confirm her concerns, Leofric's heavy sleep breathing paused and she froze in horror, not daring to breathe.
Desperately, her clit throbbed, begging her for relief, but fearing Leofric would wake with any slight movement, she kept still. Mercifully, after a few minutes of tense silence, Leofric took a deep breath and sighed, returning to his slumbering breaths. Giving thanks to God, Godiva began wiggling only her fingers against her clit, hoping it would be enough.
It wasn't exactly what she needed; she couldn't press as hard or as fast as she wanted against the pubic bone with just her fingers, couldn't slip lower in her strokes, but it might be enough to take her over the edge. Might be. She tried to focus, thinking back to the dreams, watching Leofric's body push inside her and feeling his pounding strokes, while thrumming her clit back to life. She began to shudder, her mouth opening so she could pant through her need without sound. As her pleasure began to take her, her legs stiffening, she dared to use her arm to rub hard, just as she needed, shaking the bed slightly, the wet squishing sound of her cunt almost deafening in the silent room. The silent room;
The room was silent! Godiva thought in panic. She froze again, holding her breath on the brink of release, waiting, listening for Leofric's deep breaths to return. After an endless pause, though, he cleared his throat, shifted her body more tightly against him and sighed, returning to his restful breathing. This time, each breath of his fell on her neck from where his lips brushed the back of her ear and she had to stop herself from whimpering. If she hadn't been on the brink of coming before, this surely would have driven her to it!
Nearly frantic, she returned to quietly thrumming only her fingers against her clit, her body tingling and alive with the need to come. Leofric's breath curling into her ear, his chest rising and falling against her back, the knowledge that his warm cock was stiffening in his sleep against the back of her thigh, all of it became unbearable torture, because she could feel that she wouldn't be able to get release and she would be in this agony for hours and hours. Hopeless, she began to quietly cry.
"Really?" Leofric's voice rumbled against her ear, sending goosebumps through her body.
Uncertain of what he meant, and thrilled he was awake at the same time, she feigned ignorance. "Um; what?" she said lamely.
"You'd really just sit there and cry all night rather than have me catch you masturbating? Or even better, asking me for what you wanted?" he asked, pushing his hips against her ass, making her release her shaking breath in a hopeful sigh.
Still, appearances were hard to discard. "I; I don't know what you're talking about. I don't do; that. That's; unnatural," she said, squirming in discomfort.
She felt Leofric's lips smile against the back of her ear and she had to stifle a whimper. She loved it when he smiled; especially while he was thinking about sex. "You don't 'do that?'" he asked, shifting his hips and rubbing hardening cock against her bare ass. Biting her lips to keep herself from moaning, Godiva shook her head vehemently, not trusting her voice. Leofric's chest shook with silent laughter. "So, you're not quivering on the edge of a shattering orgasm right now?" he asked, nibbling along the back of her neck.
"N-no; I can't believe you're even asking me," she said, managing to sound offended.
"Mmmm; my mistake," he said, rubbing his face into her hair and pulling her in tighter to his body, moving his other arm under and around her.
Godiva squirmed, the new position uncomfortable with his lumpy, muscled arm under her. She was about to complain, when she felt his upper arm take her wrist and begin to raise her hand to his face and a sinking feeling of horror took her. "Wha-what are you doing?" she whispered, trying to pull her wrist out of his enormous hand, but finding that while his grip was gentle, it was stronger than a vise.
"Oh, me?" he asked, tightening his other arm around her to prevent her escape. "Just like you, I'm not doing anything," he said, bringing her fingers to his nose and inhaling deeply. "Hypocrite," he growled with a smile, upon smelling the rich scent of her cunt on her fingers and then putting them in his mouth and sucking noisily on them. "I think I'm going to have to watch you play with yourself, now; consider it your punishment for lying."
Godiva squirmed in his arms, turning her head to see him putting her fingers back into his mouth, sucking and rubbing them with his tongue to get every bit of her flavor off them. "No.; I; I can't d-do that," she whispered, "Please; please don't make m; wait a minute;" she said, grabbing his hand holding her wrist and smelling it. "Why does your hand smell like my cunt, Leofric?"
The shaking of his torso in silent laughter was answer enough and she squealed in anger, kicking, jabbing him with her elbows, struggling in earnest until he rolled her face down into the bed, pinning her with his weight. "Easy now, little lady. There's no need for such hostility," he said, straddling her and spreading her legs with his while she bucked uselessly against him. "You were whimpering in the night and in your dreams, you called out to me. Being bound to the Code of Chivalry, as tired as I was, I was obliged to come to your aid. Your suffering in your dreams seemed only to be alleviated when I began thrusting my fingers inside you," he chuckled.
"You were awake all this time? You knew that I was;"
"Of course, I did. You seemed particularly delighted by this digit," he said, moving his smallest finger to her nose.
Recognizing the musky scent, Godiva gasped, "You; y-you put your finger there? That's; that's; H-how could you?" she squealed in outrage, her struggles renewed.
"Oh, it was quite easy, actually. I just got it ready at the local well;" he said, running his fingers through her wet lower lips, "and then they just slipped right in, like this," he said, pushing two slippery fingers deep into her ass.
Godiva struggled in earnest, then cried out at the sharp unfamiliar pain that consumed her.
"You're going to want to stay relaxed, dear. You'll only cause yourself misery by fighting," he said, holding his fingers deep, gently spreading them inside her, stretching her. Godiva then began trembling under him, her acute arousal now entwined with shame and embarrassment. He knew she had been masturbating! He had felt her rubbing herself, building her excitement to the brink of ecstasy and said nothing! Now, he had his fingers deep inside her filthiest place and was exploring it inside like he intended to;
"But; but;"
"Precisely,"
"Wha-why there?" she asked, panting into the pillow where her head and his arm rested. The intrusive finger had begun slowly stroking in and out of her, her trembling turning to shaking as she spread her legs wider for him.
Leofric chuckled, " Because; you've lived your life behind veils; showing the world only what you wanted it to see; and this is something you can't fake. Because it makes you submit, not just on the outside, but inside; and it won't work unless you let go."
His words hooked her somewhere behind her navel and began unraveling her from inside. She needed to come so badly that she could barely breathe, and as he stroked in her anus, she felt his invasion become more of a caress as her body relaxed and submitted to him. "There you go; you're going to feel my cock so deep, you'll think I'm writing my name inside you; or it'll be the worst pain of your life," Leofric added, making her tense around him and squeal in pain again. "Shhh; relax. You don't want Sir Hulgar barging in here and seeing this, do you? His pretty little mistress with a man's fingers up her ass; or his cock in there pumping away;"
Leofric's words and imagery did nothing to ease her tension, seeming almost designed to increase it instead, and she began whimpering, "Please; please, it hurts;"
"It's because you're not relaxing; you're too tense; there is something we could try, but;"
"Anything! Anything! What do I do?" she begged.
"Well, they say a woman relaxes more if you can make her come while she's being stretched, but my hands are rather occupied at the moment. If only it weren't 'unnatural' for a woman to pleasure herself;" Leofric said, his words curling in amusement.
Godiva closed her eyes and growled, imagining all manner of horrific violence befalling the man she still intended to marry. "Well?" he asked, laughing silently.
"I hate you," she said, raising to her knees and sticking her ass in the air. Leofric growled his approval as she reached her fingers down to her clitoris, placing one on each side of the hooded bud and began rubbing up and down, pushing it firmly along the pubic bone.
Leofric stretched her wider and wider, but she noticed nothing, lost in the surge of finally getting release. "Oh God, Leofric!" she wailed, her toes squeezed tightly as her body fairly exploded with her long-denied orgasm.
Shaking, she slid weakly to the bed, barely aware of the pillow he had slid beneath her hips, and she lay there like jelly panting, crying and laughing in equal measure. "That's right, little minx; you can make yourself come better than I can; but not for long because you're mine," he said, dribbling what felt like an oil between her rounded cheeks and rubbing it over and into her puckered hole. "You're mine; and I'm going to learn everything about you; even the things you deny. Now, tell me who owns you," he purred.
"You! I belong to you!" she gasped, weakly pushing her ass back against his stroking fingers.
"That's fucking right, you do. And why am I going to fuck the dirtiest hole you have right now?"
"Because it's yours!"
"That's right, it's mine. And I get to know everything about you;" he said, pushing the head of his cock inside her and clamping his hand over her mouth to muffle her scream of shocked pleasure. "I get to know everything about you; even if it's something you're ashamed of," he said, pushing deeper, feeling her arch under him, actually pushing herself further onto his cock. "Because that's the only way you'll really know you're mine;" he said, pushing the rest of the way into her tight sheath.
Godiva twitched randomly under him, her mind on overload from what she was feeling. Leofric was everywhere inside her, his heartbeat throbbing where she had never felt anyone else inside her. His breath falling on the back of her neck as he held himself still, trying to let her body adjust. His legs holding hers widely open, exposing her and covering her nakedness at the same time. He was everything; and knowing it made something inside her release. "I love you; I love you so much," she sobbed, tears soaking into the pillow below her.
"Yeah, I love you, too;" Leofric panted, "even if you are a pain in the ass," he finished, as he slowly pulled out, watching her rosebud cling to his cock, almost sucking on it in its reluctance to let go. It was torture to go so slowly, but he needed to focus to make sure he wasn't hurting her. She would try to hide it if he was, and he didn't want that. She'd hidden too much, already.
He cupped his hand around the back of her neck and felt her twitching go still, her body responding to the reassurance of his touch. Slowly, he pushed forward, feeling her accept him, her body still loose and taking shaking deep breaths as he filled her up again to the hilt. "Are you alright?" he ground out.
"No; you're killing me. If I have to give it all up, so do you. Stop holding back so mu;" Godiva's words turning into a squeal of excitement as Leofric grabbed her hips and began fucking her ass the way he really wanted to. Slowly, at first, then increasing speed and force as she welcomed his strokes with shaking cries, begging him for more. His huge hands grabbed her hips with bruising strength as he surged into her with rapid thrusts, his hips clapping against her ass. "Yes! Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh oh god oh god oh god ah!" she screamed.
"Oh fuck! Fuck! Fuck that's good! Uh!" he yelled, slamming into her ass roughly until with a rush, she felt him swell and shudder, throbbing as he spilled his heat deep inside her. He moaned softly, emptying himself with a few more strokes until she collapsed under him weakly, clutching his arm on the pillow.
His breath rasping, he disengaged himself slowly from her and rolled them to their sides again, holding her against him; his perfect girl, weak and happy in his arms.
"Don't hide from me. You're mine; and I need you to trust me. No more hiding. I can't watch you live a half-life; even if someone's throwing crabapples at your head," he said into her hair, kissing the top of her head.
"I'll try; I want that, too. It's just; hard," Godiva said, smiling as she stroked his arms holding her, bliss carrying her off on a cloud. "So, if I'm yours, does that mean you're mine?" she asked, sleepily.
"Of course, it does; but knowing you, you'll probably only realize it when I'm taken away from you," he chuckled.
A cold fear settled over her at Leofric' words. "Don't; don't say that," she said with a shiver, cuddling back into his chest. "I don't think I could bear it again if;wait. Wait a minute; how did you know it was a crabapple?" she asked, turning to look into his face. "I never said it was a crabapple they threw at my head;"
Leofric raised his brows slightly, "Was it?" he murmured, his lips twitching, "Lucky guess, I suppose;."
Godiva swelled in outrage, "You! You threw it! You threw it at me, knowing it would drive me crazy thinking about it and you just let me sit here and;" she yelled, her argument being cut off by his lips covering hers, his tongue slipping between them.
After a long interval, Leofric released her, no longer struggling, but weak and pliant in his arms again. "I'm still mad at you," she panted, throwing her leg over his. "Just because you can make me come, doesn't mean I don't want to; hurt; something of yours; somehow; sometimes;" she said, completely annoyed that she couldn't think of vivid ways to cause him pain anymore, unless it involved bouncing on his cock.
"Well, thank God for that," Leofric replied, smiling into her eyes, "It wouldn't be half as fun otherwise."
"And that summer, the evil barbarian Viking king spilled endless floods of innocent English blood upon our peaceful shores, enslaving women, biting and beating children, and defiling our holiest places. It was upon the savages' attack at Humber that King Aethelred's fearsome heart failed, and he followed the cowardly ill-advice of the Witengamot and fled England to his Queen's homeland of Normandy," Sir Hulgar intoned, his tortured eyes far away as if seeing each atrocity anew. Whether out of mortal fear, or catatonic shock, the huddled children remained motionless, breathless, and clutched their arms and legs around their vital organs waiting for the knight to continue his story.
Godgifu leaned over, her veil brushing Leofric's arm on his chair next to hers on the dias, "I can't tell you how glad I am that you offered your help in entertaining the children on Visiting Day," she murmured.
"I; I am so sorry," Leofric repeated, yet again. "He said he had a story he could tell them; how; how could I know;" he stumbled, nearly tongue-tied in a mix of horror and awe.
"Ask, dear. Or spend two minutes with the man. Either would suffice," Godgifu said through tight lips.
"Then, the savage beast cut a path paved with English flesh and blood toward London, intent upon carving out the beating heart of our homeland. The Witengamot bowed their heads to the heathen King and sent their innocent and beloved kin to be the barbarian's hostages, as proof that they would keep to their word and acknowledge ungodly monster as their king," Sir Hulgar growled.
To be continued in part 4. Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought in 5 parts, for Literotica.