I tried to avoid him. I tried to avert my eyes as he passed by. I tried to think about anything else when I was falling asleep at night. It didn’t work. The less I looked at him, the less I thought about him, the more intensely he would feature in my dreams at night.

  There we would be alone in the world. He would find me, bathing in a ke, or sitting in my room, or walking in the forest. He would grab me with his rough hands and draw me close to his warm body. He would kiss me with those soft lips that I already knew too well. Then he would undress me, caressing every part of my body as it became avaible. Then I would usually wake up. I was a virgin. I didn’t really know what it would feel like after that.

  It was two weeks after that day in the woods, six weeks before I was supposed to arrive in Medolina, the capital of Medora. That was when I finally cracked. We were camping yet again, in a different forest. Each one was getting leafier and lusher the further south we travelled. As I passed him on my way to get a second helping of stew I whispered:

  “Meet me behind the tent tonight after everyone falls asleep.”

  He nodded, almost imperceptibly. I knew he understood.

  I had wondered if it would be hard to keep myself awake that night. It was not. From the moment I id my head on the pillow I waited in bated anticipation for the other women to fall asleep. Old Sir Thanmar was the night guard that night. I had pnned it for one of his nights, because I could always hear him snoring at the guard before I even fell asleep. How he could sleep with a breastpte on was beyond me. Hours passed, and finally the time came.

  There was a sizeable tear in the fabric of my tent on one of the sides. It had happened early in the trip, when some of the men had been clumsy when packing it up one morning. That was also the side we kept the chamberpot on. The dies and maids were all snoring, and the ones that stirred probably didn’t think much of it as I walked towards that corner. I waited a few moments, trying to discern if any of them were awake. It was hard to tell in the darkness but I didn’t hear anything, so I crouched down, and slid out.

  The night was almost cloudless and the moon was waxing gibbous. I could see Alvar’s outline sitting propped up against a tree. When I exited the tent he perked up. Careful not to alert anyone, we didn’t make a sound. He took my hand and led me into the forest.

  It was like he could see in the dark. Holding me by the waist he slowly moved me into the forest, guiding me to step over branches and rocks. I could feel his warm body next to mine. He was wearing a linen shirt and pants, not the cold hard armour I was used to. Under the arm he was not using to hold me he carried something like a sleeping mat.

  After what felt like forever, but was probably only a few minutes, he stopped. It was a small clearing, I could almost make out his face in the bright night. He smiled down at me, a full head taller than I was.

  “Your Highness, are you sure you want to do this?”

  It was barely a whisper. I nodded.

  “I need more than that, answer me with words,” he whispered firmly.

  “Yes,” I whispered, “yes I’m sure.”

  He kissed me. His lips were soft but firm, pressing against my mouth. He grabbed my arms with his rough hands. They were rougher than anyone I’d ever touched before. Workman’s hands. He pulled me closer to him and I could feel his big warm chest and belly pressed against my body. I could also feel his member hardening in his pants. It rubbed against my stomach.

  I was only wearing my chemise. That was all I wore to bed. He pulled open the string at the top, pulling it down to run his hand over my breast. My nipple perked up in his hand and I moaned softly into his mouth.

  He paused for a second to spread out the mat, and I stood catching my breath. Then he guided me to lie down. He y on top of me, and I could already feel his hardness rubbing against me from inside his pants. He kissed me slowly, starting with my lips and moving down my neck, my colrbone, my breasts.

  He cupped each breast in his hand. They didn’t even begin to fill his rge hands, but he kissed them softly and ran his fingers over the nipples. I put my hands in his thick hair as he moved further down, arching my back to help him pull my chemise down. I squirmed when he kissed my belly, so he only did it once. He pulled my chemise up from below, leaving it circled around my waist. He kissed each of my thighs and then moved back up to kiss my mouth again.

  I moved my hands up to touch his sides and his back. He let me touch him, but would not take his shirt off. He was so strong. His muscles rippled under a thin yer of fat. I pulled him closer to me as I kissed him intensely.

  He moved his hand down to his pants, and opened them in front. His member sprang out, rge and hard. We were both shivering with excitement as he pced it between the lips of my vagina.

  He pushed in slowly and my mind went silent. All I could think about was the warm feeling of him pushing inside me. I gasped and he shot his hand over my mouth.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “but you must be silent. Are you all right?”

  I nodded. He started moving slowly. The friction was intense. I still held tightly on to his back, as if letting go would get me lost. He took his hand off my mouth and held my waist as he pushed in and kissed me. He started moving faster, and I had to use all my power not to make a sound. I grabbed even tighter onto his sides, digging my nails into the flesh over his ribs. If it hurt him, I didn’t notice. He thrust in, again and again and it hurt a little, but mostly it just felt incredibly good. I moaned softly into his mouth, and hoped that no-one could hear. He shuddered, and I could feel his liquid shooting inside me.

  Slowly he lowered his body down, propping himself up slightly with his arms, not letting himself fully rest on top of me. The weight of his body was comforting as I could feel him softening inside me and the liquid starting to trickle out. He kissed me softly one more time before moving off me, lying on his side next to me.

  I think we both wished we could hold each other all night, but we knew I had to return to my tent. He helped me pull up my chemise and tie the tie at my colrbone again. He led me back to the hole in the tent where he had found me and helped me crawl back inside.

  I tiptoed back to my bed and id down. His come was still trickling out of me as I y in the bed, and it formed an itchy spot in my chemise. I fell asleep quickly, drained and satisfied.

  The next morning I woke up bright and early. None of the dies or maids said anything about the night before and I felt great. I still had butterflies in my stomach from the night before, and I couldn’t wait to see Sir Alvar again.

  I helped the people pack and got ready to get in my carriage. As I was walking towards it Lady Agatha came from the other direction. As she brushed past me she said:

  “I know what you did st night.”