Chapter 10

Athelstan

He awoke with a sudden sensation of a great commotion outside his rooms, his head was beating, and his eyes were heavy. The night before, on his return from his long hunting trip he had stopped in a tavern in the city, yielding perhaps a little too much to wine and distractions.

He turned to his side. The sun was already high in the sky, the light of the rays entering from the wide-open window, illuminating the whole room, while a sea breeze pulled away the white curtains that adorned the open windows. The sound of the harbour, the sailors’ noise, the crates of the merchant ships unloading the goods, and the cry of the seagulls flying high in the sky of Waterfall Bay. Athelstan took a deep breath and stood up, making as little noise as possible. He stretched as his bones crackled and turned to the bed, but his night companion did not seem to be disturbed by his movements.

The girl slept blissfully, covered only by the white sheets, the black hair scattered on the pillow, and the firm breasts that lifted in time with her breath.

Athelstan passed a hand through his red hair, then bent down to pick up the trousers from the ground next to the girl’s dress. The night before, he had thrown them there without any care in the heat of passion and desire. He slipped in them and approached the table in the anteroom of his rooms, walking barefoot while the cold stone of the floor pinched his heels.

He stopped in front of the wooden table above which there were some fruits and a carafe with water. He ate a few grapes while pouring water into the cup, after which he approached the window and went out onto the white marble terrace.

From the balcony of his room, he could see part of the city and the port, where several fishing ships were certainly preparing to sail.

He put a bean in his mouth and chewed. It was the period of the flowering of the trees, and the city was splendid: the waterways served as streets between the buildings, and the surface was covered with pink petals fallen from the flowering plants. When the sun went down, the city was illuminated by lanterns making the streets a magnificent sight to be admired for hours and hours without ever getting tired. The fortress stood on the promontory, dominating every other building from above on that portion of the city that was on the mainland.

All the rest of the city was built on the water line of the bay. His ancestors were so in love with that bay and sea that they decided to build part of the city in the middle of the water, forcing the inhabitants to move between the buildings by small boats. Over the centuries, they had built some roads, covered the water, and created areas where you could walk normally. Those had become the main roads that reached the port, so merchants and foreigners could easily reach the city center and the fortress.

Athelstan had not been to many other cities, he had only been able to see Althea those few times he spent time there, but he was sure he would never find another place as beautiful as Waterfall. His city. His people. His home. Home, from which he was always away.

Lately, he preferred to wake up under the trees with the smell of grass wet by dew, especially away from his father.

He breathed deeply, letting the salty exhalation of the sea fill his chest. He emptied the cup’s contents and passed a hand in his hair.

“My prince?” A delicate voice made him turn.

He rested with his back to the marble and looked towards the bed. The girl pulled herself up, her hair coming down lightly on her chest and back. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and uncovered breasts that were tickled by black locks making her nipples plump pink.

Athelstan took the cup and entered the room, closing the window. He approached the table and poured more water while Lady Victoria stretched out on the bed. He didn’t remember the night they spent together, he just remembered finding her in his quarter, naked and waiting for him, his mind clouded for wine. I can still fix it, he said to himself, laughing.

“The lord, my father, will be very pleased to know that you have returned to the city. I believe that all the lords will be so”, she said in her sleepy voice, “including my naïve husband.” She stood up, covered herself with a sheet, and tied it around her body as she walked barefoot through the room.

She approached the table and took the cup from his hands for a long sip. Athelstan observed the movement of the throat, as she pushed down the water, he felt a trembling at the crotch of his pants. The girl sat on the table quietly.

“It won’t be for long. I don’t like to be around the king” Athelstan said.

The girl looked him right in the eye.

“At least you saved yourself from his bad mood.” Then she reached out her arm to take a grape from the bunch of grapes into the tray. With the movement, the sheet came down, leaving uncovered the right breast. Athelstan laid a finger on the chin, observing it well. “I am convinced that if you stayed longer in the city, he wouldn’t always be in such a bad mood.”

“My father has always been in a bad mood, I am convinced that he already was when he was just born,” Athelstan replied quietly, passing his finger along the uncovered thigh. He felt the skin shiver under his touch.

The girl took another sip and moistened her lips with her tongue.

Athelstan laid his hands on the table, on either side of her body, looking into her brown eyes. He positioned himself between her legs, lowered his head and put his mouth over her neck and then passed his tongue over her skin.

She laid her hand on his head and ran her fingers through his hair. Athelstan began to give light kisses under the girl’s chin while she pushed his head towards her uncovered breasts. Athelstan bent down to kiss her nipple while she threw her head back, panting, then surrounded his waist with her legs pushing him closer.

With one hand, Athelstan caressed her breast, while with the other, he violently moved the sheet from her body. The girl squeezed him with her legs, making him even more impatient.

She took her hands out of his hair and made them run down his back, passing her nails over it, panting. She took them down to the back of his trousers, then brought them to the front. Her fingers crept into the fabric of his trousers, grabbing his already hard erection and gently moving her hand the whole length, making him groan and close his eyes in ecstasy. Athelstan began to feel the excitement rise along with impatience. With a quick snap, he tore off her sheet and lowered his pants. He pushed himself furiously into her. She closed her eyes, savoring the moment and throwing her head back as he filled her and grabbed her delicate neck skin with his teeth.

He grabbed her leg behind the knee and lifted it around his waist as he began to push inside her, establishing a steady rhythm that made them both moan and get closer and closer to the peak of pleasure.