The Medieval Maiden

Author's notes: This story's main focus is based on the idea of premarital relationships with a strong polysexual theme and a moderate pinch of androcentric perspective towards women, so there are some modest touches on bdsm. There are also scenes of voyeurism. The narrative is strongly founded on the depth of characterisation that plays a vital factor in eroticism and the sensual art of seduction, hence it can feel a bit drawn out in the beginning. If you are not a fan of these stories or expecting quick-fuck, please stop reading. All characters are 18+ when they engage in sexual intercourse. As this is my first attempt, I'd love to have your feedback in the end.

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Chapter 1 : The Massacre

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I heard a loud thud, it woke me up. It was the rumbling sound of a tree falling flat to the ground. I sat up on my bed, rubbed my eyes then looked outside the window. The sky was bright and clear just like the other days of the month. The weather is usually sunny this time of the year. After a little stretching, I reached out for the jug of water and realised it was empty. I gave out a deep sigh, stood up and walked towards the entrance of the house. I was able to overhear my father chopping wood with his everyday axe.

"Good Morning" I said, not looking up at my father's face.

"Ya! gud-for-nuthin lazy bone, it is half past midday" he yelled at me.

My mother went to visit her brother who lives in a city called Iron Haven. It is quite far from where we live. My mother has always wanted our family to live a city life, but she hasn't convinced my father still.

"Your mother could not have picked a better time to visit her brother" he moaned.

I shrugged. I knew I overslept but I didn't realise it was already noon. I had to make it up to my father for sleeping past work time. I was ready for whatever work my father had planned for me.

"I'd like you to run an errand for me, boy" he mumbled in a quiet voice.

"Yes, what would you have me do today?" I replied swiftly in an obvious attempt to show that I care about work.

"My axe is getting rusty and the handle doesn't hold like it should, I want you to go down to the market and buy a bag of nails for this handle, I'll need a grindstone as well to sharpen the edges." He uttered in a stern voice.

"Noted" I said and turned my head away.

"Oh, Andrew. And don't fuck up your sleep schedule again" He said in a serious tone.

"I nodded softly as I walked past him".

I steered my eyes towards the pile of tree logs and noticed there was a fresh cut tree on the side. The loud sound that woke me up a while ago must have come from this tree. It was the same tree that I admired not too long ago, I always enjoyed its shade. It was a pity but such is life. Nothing lasts forever, we must learn to enjoy things while it lasts. I pondered over that thought as I strolled my way down the hill to the village market.

My name is Andrew. I am from a small mining village called Silverfields. My father is a woodcutter. We supply timber logs to artisans, traders and carpenters around the province. I've just begun to learn the trade, starting by learning the ropes and working to slowly understand the nuances that come with the trade. The year is 1503, just a few decades before the height of The Great Italian Renaissance. However, my country is facing a civil war and is often neglected by the Empire. The village population which is barely close to a few hundreds got used to living on their own as one big family without expecting much aid from the authorities.

I reached the village market and found Mrs.Grace standing next to her stall. I went up to her and bought the stuff my father wanted for a good bargain.

"Good Day Aunt Grace" I greeted.

"Hello Andrew. How are you today?" She replied cheerfully.

"Not bad. Just got a bit of a headache but I am sure it is fine." I added.

"Oh. You poor boy! Here take this, crush these and apply the cream on your forehead" she handed me some odd looking leaves that probably has some medicinal value.

I expressed my thanks and took my leave.

Mrs. Grace is cheerful, religious and very responsible. She is always ready to help the people and community whenever she gets a chance. I always referred to her as Aunt Grace. She always tied her hair in a neat low bun. I assumed she was in her late 30s. I'd say she is 5 feet 10 inches, taller than most men in the village. She lost her husband to the plague. Nevertheless, she has a very good reputation among the village people. I've known her since I was very young.

"Hey Mate" I heard a familiar voice to my right.

It was Dave. He was carrying a giant buck with its legs tucked around his shoulders. The deer still had an arrow buried deep in its neck. From the looks of it, the animal must have weighed at least a hundred and fifty pounds. He walked past the market square towards the butcher shop in a relaxed manner like nothing was weighing him down.

Dave is a Hunter. He lives with his family, they recently moved to the outskirts of the village closer to the woods but he still spent his free time in the village. I started to see him less often since he moved. His father started teaching him the profession from very early on in his life. I grew with him and other boys in the village. Even as a child, Dave never really spent much of his time playing like the other kids in our bunch. We managed to be best friends even though he became more obsessed with trophy hunting the big animals in the region.

"Hello Dave, How's it going mate?" I greeted him back.

"Good..Good...Do you want to catch up for a drink?" He stood next to the butcher shop and faced me. He seemed lively.

"Sure mate. I just need to drop these off at the camp..........." I tried explaining to him.

"Ah! We'll be quick. Just a quick round" He asserted.

"Well. Ok then. I am thirsty anyways" I agreed to the proposition since I wanted a drink, the jug back home was empty when I woke up.

He unloaded the deer off his shoulders onto the butcher shop floor. After a brief chat with the shopkeeper, he turned to my side and started walking towards me. We made the customary forearm shake that was quite common among friends in the village. The last time I saw Dave was a week ago, he was crafting a new bow. I helped him choose the proper wood for the bow frame. He loved hunting so much that he never felt like working a day in his life.

We reached the tavern, it was an old wooden building behind the market square.

"Here we are." Dave made a hand gesture at the building.

I spotted Ada standing close to a wooden handcart before I turned my head to the tavern.

"Ada! Wanna have a drink with us?" I invited her.

"Hello boys. Sure. Why not, I haven't got much else to do today" She said with a wide smile on her face.

Ada is the daughter of the village stablemaster who is also a famous horse trainer. She calls herself a tomboy which everybody believed to be accurate, she never hesitated to mingle with the boys nor was she ever shy about drinking. In fact, she enjoyed boys' company. We've held drinking contests during festive times where she had even beat many from the opposite gender. She knows a lot about horses even though she is just a stable hand. Her father had always continued to see her as a child. He rarely lets her handle difficult tasks, he is still under the impression that she is not ready yet. You would usually find her grooming horses at the stable, sweeping the stable floor and keeping the place neat and tidy.

As I opened the main door, it let out a shrieking sound that was painful to our ears.

"God! Eva should get that door fixed" Ada complained in a high pitched voice.

Eva is the barmaid and the daughter of the tavern owner.

Dave and Ada followed me into the tavern. The place was somewhat full. They had four round tables inside and two outside the building. Eva was chatting with Sylvia at the corner of the room near the counter.

We identified the fat person drinking ale at the table to our left. It was Jake.

"Jake! You dog! Are you nuts? Getting wasted at this time of the day." Dave said this in a somewhat scolding tone that came across as harsh even though he didn't mean it that way.

"Stop it Dave! Cut the guy some slack!" Ada intervened to support Jake even before anybody could say anything.

Almost all girls in the village had a soft spot for Jake, mostly out of pity. They always expressed warm feelings towards him because of what he had been through.

"What are you upto Jake? Are you feeling better these days?" I wanted to check in on him to see if he was feeling better lately.

"Aye! Andrew. I am good. I am good" he said in an assuring tone.

Jake's table had exactly 3 empty chairs, it was perfect. Each one of us took a seat and started chatting. It was nothing unusual, just the usual bunch of friends having the usual catching up talk.

Jake had a rough childhood. His father was a scum and drunkard. His mother ran off with a wealthy accountant as a result. His parents neglected him and he was never really taken care of by them as a child. Jake worked in the mines for a few years before he started to mentally come crashing down as well.

The mines of Silverfield are a vile place. It is dark, deep and empty inside the earth's orifice. Once you are inside the mine, you will come to the realisation that the very air you feel and breathe on the outside is not the same on the inside. The air feels still and motionless. You will need a torch to enter but even with one, one can only see muted colours of grey and black surface of rocks everywhere around them. The mines have the power to fuel the feelings of desolation and play tricks on human minds. It forces you to feel isolated, abandoned and forgotten by the outside world which can have an amplified effect on someone like Jake.

The things that we take for granted almost always look ordinary and usual to the common person. However, once you spend enough time inside the mines, you would crave the feelings of the wind gushing from all directions on your skin, the sight of clear skies, wide open farm fields, the vibrant flowers found in nature, the relaxing sound of rivers flowing and bright sunlight like never before in your life.

The barmaid Eva approached us.

"What would you like to have guys?" Eva inquired

"Just water please" I responded swiftly.

Jake was already drunk. Ada and Dave ordered a large mug of beer and got lost in their conversation. These two should go on a date, I thought looking at Ada and Dave - it was not a new thought. I leaned back on my chair and found Sylvia standing near the bar counter waiting for Eva to come back. She caught me looking at her. I smiled, she smiled back.

I realised it was getting late and I still hadn't finished the delivery request. It was not wise to keep my father waiting. I bid farewell to the group and stood up. At the same time Sylvia was finishing up with Eva at the bar counter.

"Hey Sylvia, I'll walk you to your house" I suggested a short walk together.

"Hello Andrew. Yes we shall, let me just collect these items" She agreed to my proposal.

We both collected our things and exited the building through the main door and soon started walking up the hill. Sylvia's house is not far from where I live. So we didn't have to walk in opposite directions.

"How is your father? Is he still nagging you about marrying that old goon?" I checked in on her. I could talk about personal stuff because there was nobody around.

"Oh! Don't even ask! I feel quite disturbed when I am home. He is so annoying, always going on about how rich that old merchant is and how he will provide for a happy life." She vented.

"The only future I see is ending up as a rich widow." She appeared sad and broken.

"Don't fret it. Nobody will be happy seeing you marry a grandfather. Your father will come to his senses soon." I comforted her, hoping it would boost her morale.

I turned my head to her side and caught a glimpse of her eyes, she looked back at me. There was a slight pause, It was enough for me to feel the strong connection I've always felt when I was alone with her. There was a surge inside me that reminded me that I should be the one to marry her. There is no way she would be happy with him.

Sylvia is my most favorite person in the whole village. She has a calm, composed personality, and treats everyone kindly. We were childhood sweethearts that still had feelings for each other. We have danced together in the village festivals. Although she is my best friend, there have been many instances where we both felt like we should be more than just friends. The village thinks we are lovers and we never corrected them.

Her father is a farmer. They own cattle as well. Sylvia's chores are especially hard in the mornings. She is probably the first person to rise and shine from her sleep in the whole village. Her line of work is more inclined to being a dairymaid and her usual duties involve milking the cows, stacking the milk buckets and delivering them to the market before noon. Her father takes care of the farm. So naturally, she is somewhat relaxed in the afternoon.

I peeped into her house. "The house is empty. Nobody here. Father must have gone to the mountains to pluck some flowers" She pointed out.

It thought it was a good opportunity to declare the fondness I felt for her but I was wrong. All of a sudden, we heard the village alarm.

"There is an emergency!" I reacted quickly.

"Andrew! Is something wrong?" She panicked.

I heard my father shouting from a distance. "Andrew, take the south exit and run for your life! I'll fight my way and escape through the east exit!"

I quickly climbed the rocks beside me to get a clear picture of what was happening. There were barbarians at the north gate. They came in big numbers this time - there were two hundred warriors, at least half of them on horseback. Silverfields had no defence to repel or fend off the attack, we had hardly 20 guards spread across the village.

I was confused but I realised the wisest option would be to listen to my father and charge to the exit. I grabbed Sylvia's hand.

"There's no time to waste!" I hurried her.

"Andrew! Please explain to me what is happening. Nothing is making any sense" She became anxious.

"I'll explain it on the way" I declined to engage in a conversation.

We began to rush to the exit, the barbarians already made their way into the village. I could see them slaughtering people to their left and right and setting fires to the houses and other wooden buildings. The brutes targeted killing the men and kidnapped the women.

As we sprinted to the gates, I looked back to grasp the intensity of the situation we were in. I could see no sign of Dave or Jake. They must have left for the woods after finishing the jug of beer.

I saw two barbarians approaching the barmaid Eva. One guy held her from behind while the other guy in the front of her laid his bare hands on her body and stripped her off of her gown revealing her bright undergarments. She protested and screamed but was easily overpowered by the savages. He continued to molest her by cupping both her breasts and squeezing them. The brute became impatient; he tore off the remainder of her garments. Eva's boobs fell free. Her nipples now pointed in their natural direction. She tried hiding her pussy by closing her legs, she was not successful. She had adequate flesh in her thighs that allowed her to conceal it only partially .

As the barbarian bent down to plant his rough and patchy beard face on Eva's breasts, he was hit hard on the head with a spiked bludgeon. The blood splattered on Eva's breasts. It was Ada on a horseback that came charging at him to rescue Eva.

The other brute was startled and Eva's was released from his clutches. Before he could return to his senses and react, Ada lifted the naked Eva up from the ground, bolted and galloped her way out through the west exit. Eva rested her head with her ample bosom firmly pressed against Ada's back. She put her hands securely around her hips and strongly pressed against Ada's navel. The couple rode off from danger into the horizon.

I was glad to see them gallop to the exit and ride into safety.

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Chapter 2 : The Embers

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"Sylvia! Do you know any hideouts around the village?" My mind was scanning for possible locations as I waited for her answer.

"I.....I think....I" She stumbled.

"Forget it! Let's find a cover for now" I decided quickly.

We ran farther south until we found a spot away from the road that looked like a good place to hide. It was an underside of rock that was shaped like the English alphabet 'C'. We took temporary shelter there.

"Are you hurt? " I asked.

She panted. "No. I am just deeply troubled and shocked by the events that unfolded today" She described the state of mind she was in.

"We will get through this...I promise!" I reminded her that she wasn't alone in this fiasco.

"Are your legs feeling okay? I am impressed you kept up with the endless running" I gave her a compliment.

"No! They are not OK! What do you think? My legs are not built for sprinting nor do I have proper training in marathons" She grieved.

"I want to rest for a bit before we continue any further." She said. I didn't argue with that statement.

"Yes. We shall" I said looking at her.

We kept looking into each other's eyes. The eye contact went on for a while and it made me utter something stupid. It came out without warning.

"I like you. I want to be more than just friends with you" I confessed. It was blunt, way worse than I had imagined in my head.

She blushed and paused for a second before responding.

"I like you too. I've always liked you" She replied in a soft voice.

Although our relationship was obvious, I felt my heart skip a beat. I leaned forward for a kiss. She closed her eyes and readied herself for the first kiss.

Our lips made contact for the first time. I felt the tenderness of her soft lips on mine. I welcomed her lips into my mouth and enjoyed the sensations. It was soft and better than I had imagined in my head. After the brief kiss, we looked at each other and finally felt at ease.

She laid her head down on my shoulder and fell asleep. I didn't want to wake her up. The events that took place today are life altering. She went through a lot and deserved a good nap at the least. She cuddled up to me and rested on my shoulder. I hugged her back without hesitation, It felt like we belonged to each other.

I was unable to sleep. My mind kept wandering to the episode that had just happened. I reflected on the fact how peaceful and serene my life yesterday was, yet the village was completely razed to the ground today. I found it analogous to the first thing that snatched my attention after I woke up - the tree that stood strong yesterday was cut down, it gloriously fell to the ground today. My father had advised me to be prepared for life's uncertainties. I wondered if I was prepared at all.

The sun had started to set. It was a good thing because it increases our chance of escape - it is easier to navigate in the dark without being caught. Sylvia was awakened by a loud noise that came from a nearby place. I looked down at her on my shoulder and urged her that we should be on the move

"We should keep moving. The Silver mines are less than a mile away from here." I pointed to the fact that the mines are close to where we hid.

Sylvia had a clueless look on her face.

"It is much safer near the mines. I suggest we reach the silver mines and spend the night there." I added.

She nodded.

"I want to scout the area before we leave so we can avoid running into dangers. Stay here. Don't move until I come back. We don't want to be caught" I asked her to stay put and I snuck out to scout the vicinity.