Legends of Godiva: Part 4
A mysterious stranger comes, the lovers are parted.
Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought in 5 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.
"Oh good, I was afraid Sir Hulgar might skip over the mutilations at Sandwich;" Godgifu whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose between her eyes.
"So; so sorry;" Leofric said, slowly turning a greenish color.
"But, God was watching!" Sir Hulgar raged, thrusting his gnarled and scarred finger in the air. "The Danish demon defiled the blessed throne of England but a few weeks, before his own horse threw him to his death, ending forever his accursed reign!" At this point, almost all the children cheered, for indeed Sir Hulgar told the tale with such verve and animation that most people would not have believed it possible from a man who spoke mostly through grunts and threatening glares.
"His kingdom, freed from the ravages of the invaders, the Witengamot restored King Aethelred to his throne; and there was much rejoicing," Sir Hulgar said, nodding at the divinely just outcome. Then, he frowned as he noticed a small hand raised over a head canted in deep thought.
"Don't do it; don't do it;" Godgifu quietly urged through clenched teeth.
"Yes?" Sir Hulgar barked to where Frederic sat with his question.
"He did it;" Godgifu sighed, her shoulders slumping.
"But; why did King Aethelred come back? The Witengamot agreed to make the Danish one king, so why wasn't his son the king, after that? Wasn't that the bargain?" Frederic asked, frowning at the discontinuity.
"The barbarian King's son was a mere youth at the time, and the Witengamot saw the chance to place God's chosen English king on the throne, once more. It came at a dear price, but one they were willing to pay," Sir Hulgar answered, his face grave.
"But what happened to the hostages, then? The kin that the Witengamot gave to the invader to back up their promise?" Frederic pressed.
"The Viking's son discarded the hostages on the beach at Sandwich, after carving off all of their noses, ears and hands," Sir Hulgar answered, gesturing to show the carving motions of the knife and making a wet ripping sound for effect, "returning the wretched victims to their families mutilated, if they even survived their terrible wounds at all. You still see some of them around; veils and gloves covering their hideous scars, forever a burden to the families that sacrificed them to free their land."
At these words, the children all turned with wide eyes to where Godgifu sat, ominously gloved and veiled.
"Uh, I can attest that Her Ladyship has all the proper body parts, having seen;" Leofric began, before receiving a swift kick from his future spouse.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Godgifu sighed, unbuttoning her long gloves and wiggling them off her hands and displaying her whole limbs for the children's benefit. Their concerns only partly relieved, the kids remained dubious and continued staring, trying to fathom the violent secrets her veil no doubt kept hidden.
"In for a pound?" Leofric asked Godgifu, quickly glancing to Sir Hulgar who stood at the ready and glared threateningly at the assembly in the hall.
Leofric and Godiva had talked about this, about her someday shedding her veils and allowing herself to be seen as she was. Knowing he would love her and be by her side, no matter what happened, gave Godiva courage. She nodded, deciding that, if only for the sake of the children, she could do this.
"I;"Godgifu began, her mouth suddenly dry, then spoke to the assembly. "The veils, were for the comfort and tastes of my late husband, Lord Wilfred. God rest him," she said, carefully lifting her veils only enough to show the children that each ear was intact and whole. "They became a comfort to me after he died, but also a barrier between me and all of you. I believe every comfort has the potential to become a weakness that keeps us from being whole;" she said, steeling herself. "And so, I must ask your pardon, if my weaknesses have caused any of you injury; and ask your forgiveness, for hiding from you for so long," she said quietly, slowly raising the veil in front of her face.
Godgifu's cheeks flushed and people gasped as her neck, her chin, and then her lips were revealed. She paused and swallowed, screwing up her courage to raise the veil a little more; just enough to show her nose, when her entire face was suddenly revealed when Leofric decided to be helpful and took the entire covering off her and threw it to the floor.
Wide eyed and speechless, she whipped her face to him, shock clearly written upon her features. Leofric, suddenly realizing he had erred, lifted her veil from the floor and folded it clumsily before returning it to her in a haphazard bundle, but the damage had been done. Terrified, Godgifu nonetheless straightened her neck, squared her shoulders and looked out at the assembly.
Face after face staring at her, seeing her; not shielded by a translucent cloth, but bare and unadorned. She loved them all; and she had lied to them. She had held herself above them out of need, claiming a false standard that she failed to uphold. She was a fraud. She deserved to be dragged through the streets and left to die. The people of Coventry deserved so much better than her.
No one moved. No one spoke. Indeed, it seemed no one even breathed until Frederic rose from the group of children and came to stand before her. "It's nice to see your face, my Lady," he said, head still canted in thought, his eyes taking in every detail. "I don't think there has ever been a beauty like yours seen in Coventry;" he said, offering her a wildflower.
"Hear, hear!" cheered Reverend Palmer, clapping enthusiastically from the back of the room. Cheers and yells of agreement filled the hall, as applause gradually broke out amongst the assembly.
"Thank you, Frederic," she whispered, taking the flower from him with a shaking hand, she looked over the cheering assembly in bewilderment. How was this possible? Did they not recognize her? She hadn't been brazen in her appearances as the outlaw Godiva, but she had been known generally about the town.
Blushing, she stood and nodded to the assembly in thanks, "I don't understand; don't they see?" she asked, glancing at Leofric who smiled down at her.
"Of course, they see you; they've always seen you," Leofric said, looking out at the assembly. "But, as is often the case, people will see what they want to see; and I think they've been waiting to see you for quite a while."
"Do you; do you think they knew it was me? Godgifu and Godiva? All this time?"
Leofric chuckled to himself, wondering how his future wife could be so completely self-delusional as to think her unique height and build would go completely unnoticed when perfectly duplicated by a mysterious outlaw. "I think Coventry is a small village; and that these people love you," he replied.
The gathering winded down and people gradually went on about their business, taking one last look at their unmasked Lady before leaving. The boys, thrilled with their new storyteller, surrounded Sir Hulgar and pelted him with questions about Viking raids and other gory conquests, eventually pulling him from the hall to show them the proper shape and heft of a Viking battle axe.
At length, only a solitary figure remained in the hall. It was a man, extremely tall and broad, and shrouded. He kept himself to the shadows, though the hall was not brightly lit. Uneasy, Leofric watched the man gradually approach the dias. Taking care not to give the appearance of doing so, Leofric maneuvered his own body to be between the stranger and the unveiled Godgifu, at all times.
"This 'Visiting Day,'" the man's accented voice called to them as he approached closer and closer to the dias, "Is good, I think, yes? You see the eyes, and the eyes; they see you," he said, thoughtfully.
Leofric's senses sharpened, exactly as they had before going into battle, and he quickly searched the room for the others that must surely have come along with this shrouded stranger. This was not how such things were done; and the secrecy of it did not bode well.
Sensing Leofric's tension, but not understanding the cause, Godgifu took his arm and petted it, peering awkwardly around his large body to the stranger. "Hello, sir," she greeted him, "Are you new to Coventry? Welcome."
"I am new to many places, here, yes?" the man said, still approaching at a measured pace. "This story; to this, I am not new. This story I hear many times, but not told just so," the voice continued. "This story; it is told in whispers and not to children. But this story is not finished, yes? What happened to the son?" he asked, quietly.
The hairs on her neck rose, and Godgifu looked more closely at the tall shrouded stranger and suddenly understood Leofric's tension, his hand carefully pressing her behind him, resisting her efforts to come forward. This was not how such things were done; but, regardless, she would not allow Leofric to be harmed for her offenses.
With swift resolve, she darted backward until she was free of Leofric's restraining arm and quickly skirted out of reach around him and ran to the approaching figure. Kneeling in a low curtsy as she replied, "The son returned to England with a great force and took back the land he ruled by rights, and despite the violence needed to establish his rule, he showed great mercy in marrying Aethelred the Unready's widow Emma. In sparing her remaining children's lives, and in showing great patience as the people recovered from the wars and accepted him, Cnut the Great, as their ruler and King of the English, Danes and Norwegians; Your Highness," she whispered, bowing her head and closing her eyes.
The hall was silent, but for the heavy beating of her heart. She wondered, briefly, if the king could hear it, as well. As she waited for her fate, other thoughts drifted unbidden through her mind. For one, Godgifu realized she never knew how drafty it was in the hall before, feeling the chill air creeping across the back of her vulnerable, unveiled neck for the first time. Would she be killed immediately? Her blood spilled across the floor, staining the stones until time washed them clean of all but the memory? Or would she be left alive but mutilated, the newly unmasked mistress of the town turned into a grotesque warning to others? Would Leofric stay with her, if she was hideous? Would he even be allowed to live?
Then, she heard the rustle of a hood being pushed back. A hand took her chin and tilted her face upward to a face that was so strikingly handsome that, despite her terror, she found herself blushing. Stunning eyes examined her face and she let out a shaking breath, wondering if this was the last expression so many of her countrymen had seen before they died. Cnut the Great should have looked like a crueler man, ugly and savage, but he didn't. His face was mind-numbingly beautiful; and yet, strangely annoyed.
"And some of the Swedes;" he said, as if reminding her for the hundredth time. "Swedes! Stubborn! Smiling and stubborn! You tell them 'do this!' and always they say 'ja, ja' and then go do what they want! Why no one remember I win them, too? Very difficult people," he grumbled to himself, turning her face from side to side, an appraising look in his eye. Looking up to Leofric, he canted his head with a glint in his eye, "I did not know this was under the veils. If I had;" he trailed off, a hint of a smile on his face.
Relaxing a little, Leofric took a knee himself, "You're better off as you are, Sire. With this one, you would be without the support of the Witengamot, have gnome-sized children, half as much money, and twice as much trouble," Leofric replied dryly. "Your choice of wife was faultless. Your choice of my wife, however;" he said, folding his arms in exasperation.
Cnut returned his attention to Godgifu's recently unwrapped face. "You marry this one, yes?" he stated sternly, nodding toward Leofric, still holding her chin.
"Uh huh;" she said breathily, unable to think clearly beyond a few simple words. The blue of his eyes made her feel like she had fallen under the ice of a frozen mountain lake.
"Umm;" he said dubiously, "You be good? Let this one wear pants?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Uh huh;" she agreed, her eyes drifting leisurely down over his large muscled frame, "Well, some of the time," she amended, swallowing and staring unthinkingly at his groin.
"Seriously?" Leofric complained, arms akimbo.
Cnut pulled her chin upward until Godgifu was standing. He bent over until they were eye-to-eye. "And you will give me what is mine. What I use to protect you. What feeds the soldiers. What builds the ships. And for being bad and making me wait, you will submit to your; punishment," he said, his eyes glinting as Godgifu shivered involuntarily at his last drawn-out word.
Swimming in a haze of terrified lust, Godgifu's mind formed the words "Yes, Your Highness," with enormous effort, but what came out of her mouth was more akin to an acquiescent moan.
"Good," Cnut said, releasing her chin, "Go wait in his bed. I send him soon," he ordered, straightening and turning his gaze to Leofric as Godgifu nodded and obediently wandered out of the hall.
Bewildered, Leofric waited kneeling, as was only proper. One did not question the king about why he came to a town in his own kingdom, much less alone, to all appearances. The fact that Cnut came without pomp was one thing. Many men had little patience for the trimmings and splendor of royal life. But, coming without any apparent companions was another thing altogether. Sir Hulgar would have returned instantly if there had been a regiment of soldiers outside. No, the king was almost certainly alone; and cloaked to hide his identity. Something was wrong; and he needed it kept quiet.
Cnut looked down at him, haltingly opened and closed his mouth several times, seeming to search for words, and eventually becoming frustrated and cursing in Danish. "Shall I search for an interpreter, Sire; or will yours be joining us?" Leofric asked.
"No; no interpreters. A little gold makes their tongues go bad; mine speaks with hands, now," Cnut said darkly. "Stand. We use your English. Aelfgifu of Northampton; you are kin to her, yes?" he asked.
Leofric blinked in surprise, then frowned, "Well, only by marriage; I think my father's brother married her second cousin; or cousin once removed; how does that go?" Leofric fumbled, wondering how his distant kinship with a Northampton noblewoman could possibly matter to the king.
"You are kin," Cnut barked, as if that settled the matter. "Pack for travel and go fuck wife. After dark, we ride north."
"Sire, I; I'm supposed to get married in three days. What will I tell Lady Godgifu? She'll be furious!"
"You not married yet?" Cnut asked, a look of piqued curiosity on his face and a small smile playing on his lips. "Tell her you go, but after you fuck. Say with handsome face. Marry after we return. This is not problem," he concluded, looking appraisingly around the hall.
"Can you tell me where we're going, at least, Sire? When we'll be back?"
"Yes. We ride north. Torskey. Tell no one. Go fuck not-wife. Everything fine," Cnut said, looking at the door through which Godgifu left.
Leofric kept his face calm, despite his inner thoughts. Torskey was not the average out-of-the-way English town; it was an off-season Viking camp where the raiders' ships were pulled up on shore and the populace wintered in tents and rough huts together. Cnut was inviting him to ride along into a camp full of bored barbarians for reasons unknown. Well, Cnut was ordering him to go, more than inviting him; for no Englishman in his right mind would go there voluntarily. Everything was definitely not fine.
"Where are his troops? How many?" Godgifu asked, leaning out the window looking over the town trying to spy out the king's companions as Leofric entered the room.
"Why?" Leofric asked, going about the room collecting items to pack, "Did you want to fuck them, too?" he growled under his breath.
Stunned, Godgifu turned to look at him, "What's that supposed to mean? What's going on?" she asked, from her precarious window perch.
Scowling, Leofric pulled her bodily from the window by her waist and tossed her onto the bed. "He wants me to go with him. North," he snarled.
"But; we're getting married! Can't it wait? Why is he going north?"
"Oh, I have no clue! Maybe Cnut the Cuntwetter intends to subdue the English populace with his Nordic good looks! You certainly didn't put up much of a fight! I need weapons; where's the armory?" Leofric said, stalking out of the room.
"What are you talking about?" Godgifu yelled, running after him. "Are you seriously angry with me?"
"Uh huh;" Leofric cooed breathlessly, mocking her reaction to Cnut. Shocked at his demeanor, Godgifu retreated a few steps, the man before her seeming nothing like the one that had so easily won her heart.
Then, anger replaced her shock and she stomped back into the forfeited space, "Well, fine! So, he's handsome! Like; really, really handsome! So what? Is it really so important to you to be the prettiest face in the room? Why the hell are you mad at me?" she asked, grabbing his arm.
Leofric leaned in, blocking her against the wall with his body, "I guess I just didn't realize a pretty face was all it took to turn your head; I guess you really are all the same;" he sneered, tracing her neckline with his finger, dipping deeply into the crevice of her tits.
Angry, Godgifu slapped his hand away, only to have it return with ruder ambition, "What are you talking about? Just because I thought he was handsome, doesn't mean that I;" she said, suddenly cut off by Leofric's lips crushing hers, his teeth scraping hers uncomfortably. She broke the kiss and struggled against him, trying to see his face to read it, but he grabbed a handful of her hair and bent her head back, kissing down her neck roughly, as if to prove a point.
Godgifu ducked under his arm to escape, but Leofric pinned her to the wall of the stairway, reaching under her dress as she struggled and kicked against him. "Are you telling me that I won't find you dripping and ready after just a few sultry looks from a handsome face? Who cares if he cuts people's tongues out; why should that get in the way of a good time?" he growled, pushing her legs apart with his thigh and hiking up her skirt.
"Leofric! What's wrong with you? Stop it! Let go of me!"
"Oh no, little hypocrite, we're going to see how wet you are, first. I'll probably die before I get a chance at the prize, but maybe if I can get you to be honest with yourself, you won't have to work so hard to replace me. You can just hold a fucking beauty contest," he hissed, thrusting his fingers roughly inside her.
Several things happened at a speed too great for Leofric to comprehend, but in the next instant he found himself on the floor wheezing for breath, cupping his genitals and feeling like his left eye might fall out. Godgifu stood over him panting and rubbing her elbow with tears of betrayal brimming in her large eyes.
Angry, and still unable to see beyond being right, Leofric lifted up his hand and showed her his fingers, glistening and dripping with the honey of her arousal. Her face twisted, and she nodded her head, her lower lip trembling. "Yeah. I get excited; and when I'm excited, I want to fuck;" she choked, tears rolling down her cheeks, "but the only one I wanted to fuck was you; because I was yours. You made me feel safe," she said brokenly, before turning on her heel and disappearing in a flash of skirts.
Leofric stared down the empty passage. She was gone. As the realization of what he had just done settled on him, Leofric felt ill. He had acted in such a way that made her use force to run from him. Back in the hall, he really hadn't even been angry about Godgifu's reaction to Cnut, finding it more humorous than anything else. He had never really doubted her loyalty or love for him, but in his fear and anger over his forced mission, he had jealously lashed out at her in the ugliest possible way. "I was yours; you made me feel safe" her voice coming back to him as pure torture, declaring his greatest accomplishments as things existing only in the past. Coughing, he used the wall to push himself up and wobble on toward the armory. Perhaps, she would allow him to beg her forgiveness before he left; if he could even find her.
Near nightfall, after his search for Godgifu through the great house came up fruitless, Leofric returned to the hall to find King Cnut and Sir Hulgar engrossed in a game of dice. Alongside them, the betting pot consisting of some coins, a knife, a decorative pin, and what looked like a strangely large molar, awaited the winner. Sir Hulgar scowled over the dice as he shook them in his enormous hand, murmuring an incantation and closing his eyes as he released them. With a roar of triumph from Hulgar and an exaggerated howl of pain from Cnut, Sir Hulgar scraped the pot to himself, rubbed the tooth on his tunic, and wiggled it into his mouth.
Standing with his winnings, Sir Hulgar clapped Cnut on the shoulder in hearty approval, despite horrifying the town with stories of his conquest not hours ago. Then Godgifu's knight protector noticed Leofric and grinned, taking in his black eye, swollen nose and ungainly walk with a degree of pride. "The fighting I could teach her, but not the speed; she was born with that. You never see it coming," he said, nodding, then turning back to Cnut, "It has been an honor to lighten your load, Your Highness," he said, bowing low and leaving the room.
"How is it that everybody likes you, Sire?" Leofric grudgingly wondered aloud, shaking his head as he watched Sir Hulgar leave.
"I am Cnut," he said simply, shrugging. Then, turning to Leofric with a look of annoyance, "I tell you 'fuck not-wife first, then tell her that you go,' you do not listen. Now, handsome face not handsome and everything more work. Stubborn! You are Swedish?"
"No, Sire. I made an ass of myself, left her unsatisfied, and with any luck, I'll be apologizing to her for the rest of my life. I am definitely English," Leofric sighed. "Will you please tell me why we are going to Torskey?"
Cnut looked at Leofric for a long moment, then nodded as he led him out of the hall, and began walking toward the stables. "This story the Hulgar tells of my father Sweyn Forkbeard; it begins earlier. It started on the day of the St. Brice. You know this day?"
Leofric nodded, growing solemn, "That was the day King Aethelred, upon being told that they would rise up against him, ordered that all Danes in England be killed. Many innocents were murdered. It was; senseless; a terrible act."
"My father's sister Gunhild, my aunt; she was a Dane in England that day. After that day, she was not. Her husband also dead."
"I'm very sorry, Sire."
"Men; kings; we are told things; we get ideas; what we think right; then we do things and cannot change them. It is too late. My father come to England for revenge. And for more. Denmark, she is small. Not enough. England has more. When I was old enough, I join my father. In Northumbria, my father want to make stronger; what is word; bond? Want bond with leaders. A dead ealdorman had a daughter unmarried;"
Leofric caught on from Cnut's earlier kinship inquiry. "Aelfgifu of Northampton;" Leofric said, "And so you married her so your father could build a northern alliance."
"I did. She give me sons Swein and Harold," Cnut said, proudly.
"Harold, like my horse; a good name," Leofric said, grinning.
"This 'Harold' name for kings, not name for horse. You change name for horse," Cnut declared, with mild disgust. "When father die, I leave England. Aelfgifu go to Denmark to be safe. The English, they kill her, if she stay. When the Aethelred die, I return with more men and take London. Then, the Emma good wife to have. Sister of Norman Duke. Knows how to queen the English, already. Witengamot like her. Good wife. So then, I ask Emma to wife. I promise be good, not kill her Aethelred children, all the good husband things. She say 'yes,' and I win the Emma," Cnut explained.
Leofric suppressed a laugh, "The handsome face, helped there too, I suppose."
"With the ladies, the handsome face always help. And the good fuck. When there is lady problem Cnut say 'Send handsome face.' No one listen. Ladies. Why work so hard? Spend so much?" Cnut grumbled in exasperation.
"And Aelfgifu? Did she take the divorce well?" Leofric asked.
Cnut made a non-committal noise as he looked around the stables.
"You; you did divorce her, right?" Leofric prompted.
Cnut ran his fingers through his impossibly thick wavy red-gold hair, and shrugged, "Aelfgifu in Denmark. Good wife. Do nothing wrong. Give good sons;" he equivocated.
Leofric bit his lips before responding, "You; didn't divorce her, did you, Sire?" he asked gingerly, coming to Harold's stall. "So that's what's going on. You didn't divorce Aelfgifu and Emma found out somehow, she got mad, and now for some reason, she's with the Vikings at Torksey?" Leofric said with realization.
Cnut met Leofric's eyes at this, a grim sobriety settling on the king's annoyingly perfect features, and Leofric needed no further confirmation. As Leofric sorted things in his mind, he remembered that most of the Vikings in Torskey were from Normandy, Emma's homeland. She might even know some of the Vikings, for all he knew. Queen Emma wasn't in danger or being held hostage; she was punishing Cnut.
What was more, Cnut had a serious weakness in his position. He had sent back the Viking forces he used to conquer England, a mercenary army being far too expensive to keep at his disposal. Cnut needed to rely upon the loyalty of the English people and the Witengamot to keep the throne, in other words, he needed political power. Since Queen Emma was the key to Cnut's political power, and any rifts between them would surely be exploited by the power-hungry Witengamot, Cnut's mission to retrieve her was critical to his reign, and the secrecy of it was paramount. Without Emma, Cnut was as good as gone. Men had lost the throne of England over far less.
In this desperate state, apparently unable to trust even his own translator, Cnut had come alone to Coventry to seek his help. Leofric looked at the king, the man responsible for his brother's death, the man who had committed atrocities in war, who had ruined his family's name, and whose reign began with more vicious bloodletting in the Witengamot than had ever been seen in history. Leofric knew that he had only to drop a word in the wrong ear, and Cnut's reign would be at an end; and from the look in his eyes, Cnut knew this as well. He was betting his life on Leofric's honor. "I am honored by your faith in me, Sire," Leofric said, the charisma of the King now a little less of a mystery to him. "We will bring your Queen home."
Cnut clasped Leofric's shoulder in gratitude, and nodded. "Ah! This a fine beast!" he said, changing the subject and taking an exaggerated interest in Leofric's horse. "This 'not-Harold?'" he asked.
"This is he," said Leofric, smiling and patting Harold in greeting. "Not a few months in town, and he already has half the mares pregnant. Maybe I should call him 'Cnut,'" Leofric said, as he laid a blanket on the huge black horse.
Cnut laughed heartily. "This good name for horse! 'Godgifu ride the Cnut hard all day, now she cannot walk!'" he roared. Leofric shook his head, his face and spirits falling as he thought again of his last meeting with her. Cnut looked closely at him, concerned, "Leofric, this funny because it make sound like I fuck your not-wife," Cnut explained, unnecessarily. "This joke, yes? You not laugh?" he asked, as he handed Leofric the packs for Harold.
"Yeah, I got it. Very funny, Sire. It's just; Godgifu. After I left you, we argued; and I was wrong. I hate leaving her like this. It makes me sick that our last words were; what they were," he said, leading Harold from the stall. "I love her. She is everything I would wish a lady to be, but would never think to ask. Every day, my first and last thoughts are of her, and I have never felt more whole. You sent me here to marry her, but I never expected how completely she would capture my heart;" Leofric said, almost to himself.
Cnut's piercing blue eyes took in his companion thoughtfully. "These good words; maybe you not need handsome face. Come. We go to Torskey, you say you are kin and make promise to Emma 'no more Aelfgifu,' and we go home. Everything fine."
"So, you're really going to divorce Aelfgifu, this time, then?" Leofric asked, mounting Harold. "I'm a knight. You can't have me promise something to the Queen of England and then;"
Cnut made another non-committal noise, "Not real English marriage with Aelfgifu, alligevel, no church; just hold hands, say 'married.' Two good sons. 'Divorce' bad, very expensive; I send her to Norway. Norway is as good as divorce. Fjords very nice. Everything fine," Cnut concluded, casually mounting his horse and following Leofric to the road out of town heading north. The two rode out into the darkness, neither of them taking note of the dark figure that followed them at a distance.
After putting a few miles of road behind them, the two men stopped to sleep for a few hours, hidden in the trees near a creek. Each made themselves comfortable after tethering their horses nearby and kindling a small fire between them.
Leofric leaned back and sighed, his hands clasped behind his head. The sky was filled with stars, and the chilly night air made him wish for happier times, and the small warm body of his love curled against him. Noticing his companion's lingering melancholy, Cnut nudged him with an elbow, "Leofric; they say the English; they have the 'prima nocta,' yes?" he asked.
"No," Leofric said, tersely.
"This is certain? I red about the 'prima nocta' in;"
"No!" Leofric said, turning to scowl at the king. "No! No, no, no, no! It's just a myth. A story. No one has ever practiced 'prima nocta' in England. Not ever. It's only something terrible they accuse bad leaders of enforcing, so they can stir the people into bloody revolt against them. Because the people would revolt. Everybody hates a leader that thinks they should get to fuck any bride on the first night of her marriage, and no leader ever tries to do it, because they would lose their kingdom if they did. There is not, and has never been 'prima nocta' in England; Sire."
"Ah. Just; asking question;" Cnut demurred, smirking.
Leofric grunted in annoyance and shifted against the ground trying to get comfortable again.
"Because under the veils, the Godgifu is very good," Cnut said, his laughter barely suppressed.
Leofric chuckled, growing to like the Dane despite himself. "Yes, she is. Good night, Your Highness," he said.
A naughty burglar is captured and punished.
Godgifu crept closer to the small fire where the two men slept, hidden behind some low bramble, wondering what she was doing there. If she had any sense, she would have stayed home in Coventry instead of changing into leather hunting pants and a tunic and following Leofric after they argued in the stairwell. Instead of going to her rooms and crying, she had fixated on something he unthinkingly said in haste, "I'll probably die before I get a chance at the prize;." Whatever else had happened between them, however much she might want to pelt his stupid handsome face with acorns as he slept right now, Leofric had expected to die on this errand with Cnut; and she refused to let that happen.
With Cnut's sonorous snore providing cover, Godgifu crept closer to the fire on Leofric's side and watched him sleeping. He was a different man when he slept. His keen eyes closed, no longer making her feel like her secrets were unraveling before her. His mouth soft and relaxed, his dirty smirk only a memory.
He slept on his back, with his head propped on a rolled horse blanket and his hands folded over his torso. His achingly handsome face bore the marks she had given him when she escaped his manhandling in the stairwell. The swelling on his cheekbone, purpling already. She clutched her hands together to keep from reaching out and brushing her fingertips over the bruise, telling herself she had to do it to stop him, but doubt and guilt filled her. He wouldn't have hurt her. Not really. Sure, what he did was crude and improper, but she knew that Leofric would have died before ever seeing harm come to her from his own hand and yet she had done this to him. How was it that a man with long years at war could have a gentler soul than her own?
Leaning over him, she brushed her lips across the bruise, her kiss softer than breath, allowing him to sleep on. A slight sound of pleasure came from his throat as he slept, and she bit her lips to keep herself from kissing him again.
His neck beckoned to her, the place she usually snuggled her face into as she slept, breathing his reassuring scent. That was her place and fucking Cnut took it away from her without even asking! How was she supposed to sleep without it? Leaning in again, she inhaled him, unknowingly tickling his face with the hairs that had come loose from her braid.
When she tried to pull back, she found that she couldn't because his hand was hooked through the neck of her leather tunic. Sleepy eyes wandered over her. "You're here;" he mumbled, a smile playing on his lips.
"I couldn't sleep;" she whispered, leaning down again and brushing her lips softly against his.
Leofric smiled and pulled her closer against him, wrapping his arms around her. "I looked for you. I didn't want to leave things between us like that," he murmured.
"I know. I was hiding, watching you. Angry. It was so stupid. I didn't want to talk to you, but I couldn't let you out of my sight. I don't know what's wrong with m; what are you laughing at?" she said, frowning down at his smirking face, her body jiggling as he laughed under her.
"Don't you get it? It's just like I said; you would never really know I was yours until I was taken from you. Now, a bigger kid takes away your toy and you completely lose your shit" Leofric whispered, laughing so hard now that tears were leaking down the corners of his eyes.
Godgifu growled and tried pulling out of his arms, struggling against him angrily. Leofric rolled her under him, pinning her down, still laughing. "Let me go! Cnut can have you! I'm going home!" she growled.
"Oh no, little one; you came all this way, I think you at least need to come, first," he chuckled, reaching his hand under her hunting pants and running his fingers through her slit. "You're always so much nicer after you come; approaching pleasant, even," he said, toggling her clit gently as she squirmed and tried to head-butt him, his ease in restraining her making her even more furious.
"No! You and your king can go fuck yourselves! I'm leaving! Get off me, you big; big; oh; oh fuck!" she gasped, her hips bucking against him as her jaw clenched tightly, shaking her head, trying to refuse the pleasure he was giving her.
Leofric growled with pleasure as her slit became positively slippery with her excitement. "Good girl; It's not so easy to take a man down once he's got his full weight on you, is it? Just relax and enjoy it; you'll be seeing sense soon; oof!" he grunted in sudden pain as she landed a blow to his crotch and scrambled away from him.
Godgifu jumped to her feet, intent upon running to Elva and riding off into the darkness, but was surprised to find that her feet left the ground soon after she regained them. She kicked the air in bewilderment as she watched the ground slowly move further away from her. Since she saw Leofric in front of her, slowly getting to his feet with an irritated expression, she had her suspicions as to who was lifting her bodily by the waistband of her pants. Furious beyond reason, she grabbed a short knife from where she'd stashed it in her sleeve and began trying to reach back to jab it backward into Cnut's outstretched arm.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not commit treason," Leofric said, quickly taking the knife away from her.
"Hah! So cute! Like little; what is word? Pindsvin! You have this word? Tiny, sweet and then poke, poke, poke!" Cnut chortled, making little stabbing gestures with his free hand, not even noticing when Godgifu landed a kick to his ribs.
"Dit fjols! Lad mig gå!" Gogifu yelled, trying to lift her legs to wrap them around Cnut's arm and somehow subdue him with it.
"Ah! She speak Danish, too. This is good. Vær godt, pindsvin!" Cnut ordered, giving her a shake.
"Stop calling me a fucking hedgehog, asshole!" Godgifu yelled.
"'Sire,' actually, is the proper; she means, 'Sire,' Your Highness," Leofric clarified nervously. "He cuts out people's tongues, Diva;" he reminded her in an undertone.
Cnut looked away from the struggling figure at the end of his arm to Leofric. "Who say this? With the tongue?" he asked, offended.
"Well, um; what you said about your interpreter and gold making his tongue go bad; and about him talking with his hands, now?" Leofric explained, watching Godgifu glowering balefully at both of them, now.
Cnut's face brightened in realization, "No! No, no no! Åh gud! Interpreter have tongue. Just stupid. Spend night in tavern. Singing battle; ah; contest? Win gold, but tongue; ah, no; voice, voice gone. Speaks with hands. Stupid. Not cut out tongue for this! Wasteful! Interpreter tongues expensive!" Cnut snorted in distain, casually hooking the wiggly load in his hand over his back like a bundle of cordwood and walking to Leofric. "So; you give the pindsvin what she need, now?" he asked in an undertone.
"Um; Sire, I'm pretty sure she won't go for that. I've never seen her like this," Leofric said, trying with difficulty to ignore the rude hand gestures Godgifu was throwing up over Cnut's shoulder.
Cnut scrutinized Leofric, reading him. "This? This nothing. Why you not understand this? Pindsvin frightened. Thinks you die in Torksey. Break rules because need punishment; ah; release? Punish, feel better, then good fuck," Cnut explained, shrugging as if explaining the obvious as he brushed away Godgifu's leg when she tried to loop it over his head to strangle him.
"She's furious with me, and you think that;what;beating her? You think that will make this better? That's insane."
"Not the beating; stupid English; how you not know this? Not beat; smæk, Leofric, smæk. Pindsvin asking you for spænder. You take care of not-wife."
"The first one of you assholes that spanks me loses a fucking hand!" Godgifu yelled.
"Quiet Pindsvin! Spanks! This is word. Pindsvin want spanks. Then fuck. Everything fine." Seeing Leofric was still dubious, Cnut leaned in and whispered, "Would Pindsvin translate this word for you, if did not want spanks?"
Leofric leaned back and blinked, stunned. He was pretty sure Cnut was right, but he was also certain Godgifu would fight things tooth and nail in her current state. He had just broken her trust in the stairwell; and forcing her to endure something like this was not the way to remedy the situation. He took a deep breath, uncertain if he was doing the right thing, but he felt he had to try. "Please put her down, Sire."
Cnut smiled in approval, swung Godgifu down to her feet, then pointed out some boulders nearby for Leofric to sit and administer Godgifu's discipline. Once down, Godgifu angrily shoved at the Dane with both arms, only causing herself to almost fall down, saved only by the fact that Cnut had kept hold of the waistband of her pants. Cnut snorted, "I hold her, Leofric. Pindsvin is;"
"I'm afraid you misunderstand me, Sire. I have no intentions of spanking her against her will," Leofric said, walking calmly to the boulder and sitting. "That's not how we are," he explained. Cnut snorted, shaking his head and released Godgifu's waistband. Godgifu wobbled on her own feet and looked around uncertainly, her eyes reluctantly coming back to Leofric who spoke only to her, now.
"What I mean is, that while I am ready and most willing to paddle your backside until it glows like the rising sun, you will receive nothing from me unless you willingly submit to it," Leofric said. "You are not a child, Diva. If you want this from me, you need only to ask for it respectfully, and trust that I will give you exactly what you need."
Godgifu panted softly, expressions of fear, anger and need were warring on her face, as she looked around for the battle that had not presented itself to her. Almost imperceptibly, Cnut nodded his approval to Leofric and then turned his eyes to Godgifu as if gauging the odds on what she would decide to do.
Widening his legs as he sat, Leofric guided her with his eyes to come stand between his knees. With her jaw set, Godgifu slowly walked forward, still panting shallowly and glancing all around her until she stood a foot or two away from him and crossed her arms. Behind her, Leofric saw Cnut's mouth curl at her passive-aggressive almost-obedience. Leofric returned his eyes to her, reading her face. Beneath the churlish façade, he saw she was nearly frantic; at the thought of losing him. His heart swelled in his chest. She finally knew he was hers; and her fear told him just how precious he was to her, how much she needed him. He wouldn't fail her now.
"Well?" she huffed, trying to keep up her bravado. Leofric didn't reply, but simply guided her again with his eyes to stand between his knees. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, and then she grudgingly stepped between his knees. Leofric smiled, pleased. As he sat, they were almost eye to eye, though as she became increasingly self-conscious, Godgifu had a hard time meeting his eyes and kept dropping them down to where his cock was growing hard in his pants.
He let her wait there, letting her feel her uncertainty, her anxiety growing. Then, when he thought she was just about to speak again, he took the leather of her hunting pants, rubbing it between his fingers briefly, before meeting her eyes. Godgifu blinked nervously, then she fumbled with her pants until they released and she slid them down her legs, shivering a little in the night air. Leofric repeated his gesture with her tunic and her eyes went wide, looking over her shoulder to where Cnut stood, smiling broadly with his arms crossed. Leofric turned her face back to him, ignoring her imploring look, and pursed his lips as if becoming impatient with her hesitancy.
With an effort of will, Godgifu closed her eyes, bit her lips, and pulled her tunic over her head, letting it fall to the ground. Goosebumps crawled across her naked body. She jumped slightly when she felt a slight tugging on her hair until she realized Leofric was unbraiding it until it was loose and flowing down her shoulders and back, running his fingers along her scalp and massaging it until she relaxed more. When he stopped and pulled her into his arms, she was weak and pliant, panting softly. "Tell me what you want;" he murmured.
"I; I want to; feel better;" she choked, swallowing and rubbing her nose with the back of her hand.
"And do you want me to do what it takes make you feel better; even if it hurts? Are you letting me decide that?" he asked, noting how her eyes immediately went to his with concern, but then acceptance. She nodded. "Then, I will; and you will obey me in everything I do to take care of you; and you will say 'crabapple' when you want everything to stop. Because it will. It will stop when you say so, but keep in mind that it will not start again. Saying 'crabapple' makes everything stop, even if you are on the brink of orgasm. Do you understand?" he asked.
Godgifu's breath burst out, surprising her, because she had been holding it without realizing. Leofric raised his eyebrows in question and she blinked and nodded, "Crabapple;," she repeated, nodding, breathing unevenly.
Leofric nodded and guided her, his hand on the back of her neck, to stand beside him and lay across his legs. He thought he heard a slight sob when she adjusted herself, clutching his thigh with her small hands, but when he looked, her face was carefully impassive. She was cold and tense, digging her chin in to his thigh, expecting pain from his hand. He hated the thought of her fear of him, but at the same time, he was moved by her trust. He paused, uncertain how to begin.
A movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Cnut gestured a long slow stroking motion with his hand. Of course. Comfort her. This wasn't about causing her pain as much as it was about building her trust and faith in him.
Leofric moved his fingers over her scalp, massaging her, noting how her shoulders relaxed slightly upon feeling his familiar gentle touch. It filled him with pride and a sense of responsibility. He stroked his hands all over her body, feeling her, claiming every place. She tensed when he brushed his hand over her ass, then gradually relaxed. He felt her breathing change, her fingers unclench and wiggle against him. That was when he delivered the first light spank, leaving his hand on her after placing the blow.
A sound escaped her, almost a question, as the place where he struck became more aware. Her breathing quickened and she squirmed in his lap, clenching her hands on him. Smack, smack; Leofric placed two more light spanks on the lower side of her ass, making the round pale flesh jiggle merrily. He smiled as she squirmed again, more out of need than pain at this point.
From the corner of his eye, Leofric noticed that Cnut had come closer, observing the proceedings from behind, where Godgifu could not see him. He gestured with his hand in a circular motion. Comfort her. Leofric nodded, understanding that Godgifu needed to feel both pain and reassurance from him in order to get her release. He caressed her ass lovingly on the warm rosy spots he had created and felt her sigh under his hands.
Spank, spank; Spank! The sound of the last blow on her creamy skin cracking out into the night and pulling a yelping moan from Godgifu that quickly turned into panting whimpers under his gentle rubbing hand. Leofric smiled as she panted and squirmed in his lap, she was truly enjoying this, if the sweet pungent scent filling the air was any indication. He decided to investigate further.
"Spread your legs;" he said, leaning over to see her rich pink flower exposed as she spread her thighs apart. She was dripping. He ran one finger up the length of her crack, pulling it away covered with her excitement, and showing it to her. "Umm; if I'd known how much you enjoyed this, I would have done it long ago," he murmured, feeling his cock throb when she took his fingers into her mouth and sucked them.
A slight noise caught Leofric's attention and he glanced over to see Cnut casually stroking his exposed cock, while he watched them, leaning back against a large tree. With a smile, Leofric delivered three more spanks, alternating cheeks and positions, feeling Godgifu beginning to shake under him. Her ass glowed, red and swollen in the firelight. Her goosebumps had been replaced with a baking heat radiating from her body. Every pant came out of her with a slight whimper. She was trying to be strong for him, but she was nearly at her breaking point.
"You're doing very well, little one. Your ass is bright red, but I think you can take a bit more. Before I continue, though, you've been very rude to the King, tonight. Is there anything you'd like to say to him?" Leofric asked, stroking his hand down her back.
"I need to come;" Godgifu whimpered.
"I believe you; and I love that you can actually say that out loud, but it isn't quite what I was hoping for. The king knows you need to come. He can see your juices dripping down your thighs," Leofric said, delivering a quick smack to her clit. Godgifu squealed and arched her back, her toes clenched as she panted near orgasm. Cnut strolled forward, stroking his nearly purple cock and enjoying the proceedings immensely. "I want to know what you have to say to the man you kicked in the ribs tonight?"
"Oh! I'm; I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Uh! That was rude! Thank you for being patient with me! I need to come!" Godgifu panted.
"Is that all?" Leofric asked, delivering several more spanks and watching her moan and hump his leg in pain and her need. "The man is king of three different countries; and part of Sweden" Leofric added, seeing Cnut open his mouth to remind him, "It seems a bit inhospitable, dismissive even, to just say 'sorry' and 'thanks.' That's not even mentioning your treasonous tax debt. It seems like a more meaningful gesture is in order, don't you? I think you should invite him to release himself on your very lovely ass," Leofric said, delivering several more spanks to Godgifu's buttocks and clit, his hand now glistening with her arousal. Cnut smiled broadly and stepped close behind her, standing between her legs, stroking himself more quickly.
Godgifu felt her legs pushed widely apart by Cnut's large body and swallowed. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and the pain of Leofric's spanks barely even registered in her mind anymore. She just felt like she was swimming in need. She heard the sound of Cnut stroking his cock behind her and moaned. "If it would please; Your Highness; nuh; please, please.; Oh god; I would be most honored; if you would; please; please come on my ass. Come on me until it drips down like honey. Come on me, Si; ah!" Godgifu cried out, as Cnut grunted and leaned back, splattering the curve of her ass and back with rope after rope of hot cum, as Leofric pushed several fingers inside her slippery passage and fucked her with them.
Once Cnut had finished, Leofric took her by the back of the neck and lifted her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly, making her lose herself all over again. "You're fucking amazing;" he growled, standing with her and walking to a nearby tree and pressing her against it. Her legs wrapped around him, as he freed his long-denied erection from his pants and thrust deeply up into her body. "Oh fuck, woman! What are you doing to me?" he gasped, stroking hard into her impossibly hot cunt as she squealed.
Godgifu clutched him desperately, his urgent thrusts shaking her entire body, filling her with himself again and again. She didn't even realize she was screaming into his chest as his hips pounded against her, stretching her to take more and more of him, until with a hard thrust he throbbed inside her, his breath hitching as he filled her with his heat.
The two panted, breath mingling as they kissed each other, the crisis fading and bringing a flood of emotions over each of them. Leofric, filled with pride and tenderness, brushed the tangled hair away from her face, checking to see if she was all right, and lifting her away from the tree in his arms.
Godgifu, taken beyond feelings that had names, simply cried as he carried her toward the creek, cried as he gently washed her with the cold water, cried as he dried her and examined the scratches on her back left by the tree's bark, and cried as he wrapped her in Harold's blanket and snuggled her against his chest and they drifted off to sleep together, with Cnut's snoring serving as their cacaphonous lullaby.
The rising sun and birdsong awoke Leofric, feeling stiff, but happy. Godgifu still slept with her head on his shoulder, her arm thrown across his chest. He wondered how she would react this morning, their play last night being so different from what they had enjoyed before. Would she be shy? Would she try to pretend it didn't happen? He didn't have to wait long, for she soon breathed deeply and opened her eyes and looked into his.
"Good morning," he said, stroking her hair back away from her sleepy face. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Um; sore?" she said, giggling.
Leofric pulled her on top of him. "I meant, how are you feeling about last night," he said.
"Do we have to talk about it?" Godgifu whimpered. "It's so awkward to talk about; that. Can't we just let it be amazing and never talk about it again?"
"Ah, so you did like it. Which parts did you like?" he pried.
"See, this is talking about it, and I just said I don't want to talk about it."
"No. You said it's awkward to talk about it, not that you didn't want to talk about it. Amazing sex doesn't exist without communication. If we don't talk about it, it will be quite impossible to do it again, so I have to assume you don't want to have your little ass spanked anymore," Leofric said, smirking.
"I didn't say that! We could do that again if I'm; scared, or sad, or; maybe after church when I didn't pay enough attention, or when you wear that tunic that;"
"Do what, exactly? You'll need to tell me what you liked, if I am to do it again," Leofric said, grinning.
Godgifu growled and looked away, refusing to look at him while she tried to do as he asked. "I liked it when you spanked me," she said through gritted teeth.
"I enjoyed that, too. Anything else?"
"I liked it when you made me stand where you wanted me before starting," she said, glancing back up at him from under the blanket.
"Really? You liked that? Why?"
"Umm; because it made me feel like you were in control of things," she admitted.
"And why did you like that?" Leofric pressed.
"Because I was scared, and I wasn't feeling in control and it felt good that you were; because if you were in control, then I'd be safe; and because I trust you and to care of me."
"Hmm; I like that," Leofric said, smiling as he stroked her hair. "What was the best part?"
"Best part when Cnut spray seed on the Pindsvin. This very good," Cnut offered.
"You are not a part of this conversation!" Godgifu yelled, poking her head out from under the blanket to scowl at Cnut.
"Cnut is King. Cnut make law. All conversation are Cnut's. Best part is when Cnut spray seed. This law now, too. Very good."
"I can't believe you're running off with this guy instead of marrying me," Godgifu grumbled.
"The Leofric still marry the Pindsvin. Just help with the Emma first," Cnut explained, getting up and stretching and yawning widely.
"Again; you are not part of this conversation! Wait, what's wrong with the Emma?"
"Uh, Diva it would really be better if you didn't know more about the;" Leofric began.
"Cnut go to Norway and Denmark and the Emma leave Cnut. Go to Torksey with Vikings because Cnut say 'Aelfgifu' when he spray seed in the Emma. This very bad."
"Wait, who's Aelfgifu?" Godgifu asked.
Leofric tried to press Godgifu behind him, speaking directly to the king. "Look, I really don't think we should tell her anymore;"
"Aelfgifu is Cnut not-wife in Norway. Give two good sons," Cnut explained to Godgifu, ignoring Leofric completely. "The Leofric is kin to Aelfgifu. He tells the Emma 'No more Aelfgifu.' The Emma happy. You marry the Leofric. Everything fine."
"Hold on a minute; why is there 'No more Aelfgifu?' You didn't like chop her up or something?" Godgifu pressed, coming from behind Leofric and putting her hands on her hips.
Cnut's face darkened, "Why English always say Cnut chop and cut? Do that one time! Everyone chop and cut hostage then! Cnut very good king to English! Look at the Emma's Aethelred sons! Still not dead! Cnut very good king!" he shouted, kicking dirt over the embers of the fire and stalking off.
Leofric and Godgifu stared after him, stunned into silence. "I; I think you hurt his feelings," Leofric said.
"You think Cnut has feelings?" Godgifu wondered aloud. Leofric turned and frowned down at her, until he realized she wasn't joking.
"Why wouldn't he? Because he's big? Because he's powerful? Everyone has feelings, Diva. Being big mostly means you don't get to show them as much as you feel them; because with your size it scares people. Yeah, I think he has feelings," Leofric said, rubbing her back as he watched her face go from realization to mortification.
"I should go talk to him;" Godgifu said, pulling Leofric's tunic over her head.
"Hmm; yeah. Try not to; ah, never mind," Leofric amended, thinking the better of asking her to try not to get pregnant.
To be continued in part 5. Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought in 5 parts, for Literotica.