Ticklish&InLove
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The Dragon King endured quite a bit of teasing from the other riders who constantly reassured him that his safety was insured thanks to the princess bravely riding ahead and clearing the path of rogues and highwaymen. He endured it with patience, figuring it was payback he had earned well enough. He maintained a good natured grin by thinking how he’d make the princess pay that night.
But he did not expect the various things they passed along the trail.
“What are those?”, he asked Sir Henry, pointing to series after series of sections of wall, tall poles, ridiculously askew ladders and hanging metal balls with spikes. In other places, he smelled the dying embers of fire, fresh blood and split wood.
“The Knights erect these courses for additional challenges along the road, my king.”
“Surely that does not include the princess?”, the Dragon King couldn’t help but ask in a worried voice.
“But of course it does. She was brought up with it by her father since a child.”, Sir Henry explained, then added in a confidential whisper, “I of course was opposed to the whole idea. But after her mother’s suspicious death, he didn’t trust the household with her life and felt it was necessary so she could stay by his side. If there is any sense of a lady in her, it is because of the Fairy Queen.”
“Does she get hurt often?”, the Dragon King asked, eyeing a bloodied mace.
“All the time. But she fights on through it.”
“And what are the hanging spiked balls and fire for?”
“Why, to simulate a dragon’s claws and breath, my king.” The old knight looked at the Dragon King as if her were dense.
Falling quiet, the Dragon King fell into reflective repose, thinking upon how he’d nearly killed the woman he had come to love.
Passing more and more evidence of the knights’ training, his heart began to pound in his chest and he had to concentrate to not allow it to turn him into his dragon form. It was agonizing wondering if any of the blood was hers.
Then as they entered a wide open clearing, he watched her ride her horse at top speed, standing on its back and jumping as it jumped to grab a hold of a handle dangling from a pillar and swing herself, throwing her sword at a target set even higher while knights on either side pushed metal balls with spikes directly at her. Nearly missing being crushed, she let go of the handle and swung to the sword, trusting the strength of her thrust to have made it sturdy enough to bare her weight. She pulled herself up to stand on it just as another knight blew into a cone from below, issuing fire that barely missed her by an inch, jumping on top of the pillar and bending down to pull her sword out of it just in time to whirl around and meet another knight who swung from another handle, sword first. He had obviously just made it through a similar course. The two of them battled it out on top of the narrow space, the other knights cheering both of them on. Blood dripped from both their armor as they grappled for advantage.
The Dragon King felt a protective fury well up even greater inside his chest as he dismounted his horse and began walking towards them. But Tine Dearg stepped in front of him, “Don’t interrupt them. Trust me, sire, if you want to win her, don’t stop her. She is their leader and would have to challenge you to a duel should you attempt to exert authority over her or her knights before you wed.”
Leannán Dóiteáin had joined them and laughed, “Besides, if you startled her, you might just lose your head over her in an entirely different way.”
The Dragon King couldn’t laugh when the other courtiers chuckled at Leannán Dóiteáin’s joke. Instead, he just asked, “How am I going to do this?”
The princess’ page walked up beside him and he heard the Fairy Queen’s, Clíona of Carrigcleena’s, voice answer in his mind, “You will do it by learning to trust her. She is a warrior. Love her as such. Trust her to know her art well.”
The Dragon King breathed deeply, struggling to calm himself.
In that moment a group of raiders ran out from the woods. The princess and knight suddenly appeared to change from fighting to embracing each other in a dance, spinning until the knight threw the princess at the handle that hang down from the course he had completed. She grasped it and threw her sword at the leader who immediately fell. But not stopping, she flung herself into the arms of two knights waiting below, grabbing up a sword another handed to her and ran with them towards the group.
The Dragon King instinctively moved towards them, but found himself suddenly pushed by the crowd of courtiers against a tree, followed by an iron cage falling on top of all them. Cursing, he turned to Sir Henry, furious, and demanding an explanation. The old courtier sighed, explaining, “Don’t worry. We are not imprisoned. It is for our protection. The area inside this circle is spellbound by the Fairy Queen, so no fire, weaponry or poison can harm those inside. It’s made of iron to keep malevolent fae at bay. The knights will release us when they have defeated the idiots.”
Helpless, the Dragon King fumed, turning to glare at where the page had been and found Clíona of Carrigcleena standing beside him. He spat his words at her in fury, “And are you trustful of this situation, my Queen?”
She met his gaze calmly, “I do not like it any more than I enjoyed watching your attempts to kill her when you first met. However, I trust her as much now as I did then to survive.”
He glared out of the thin inch wide window, wanting to rip apart all the raiders who drew blood from his love, his keen eyesight allowing him to see details the others were spared, muttering under his breath, “There will be some changes after we wed.”
Chuckling, she shook her head, “You will gain advantage by charming her towards your way of thinking. But you will lose her entirely if you attempt to force her.”, she gazed at the princess jumping over a body and leaping deeper into the fray, “Admit it. She’s magnificent, isn’t she?”
He tried to get past his protective instinct and to see what the Fairy Queen saw. Yes, the princess was magnificent. But in his opinion, she would be even more magnificent locked up in his castle where he could surround her with safety and keep her in ecstasy. He wanted to be the only reason she had need to scream and then for only the most pleasurable or playful reasons.
He caught the Fairy Queen eyeing him, “Why not join her?”, she offered.
He looked at her like she was mad, “In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a fae proof cage.”
She pointed to the inch wide window, “It’s not solid. I can change you into a dragonfly and you could fly out if you don’t touch the metal. My ring of protection will not prevent anyone of good intentions from entering or leaving either.”
He eyed her for a second, and nodded.
The Fairy Queen leaned over to him and whispered, “Show her and her people why there are advantages to marrying a dragon.”, then kissed him on his brow.
Instantly, he shrunk down to the gasps of all around and flew out of the cage, out of the circle, changing into his dragon form without stopping his approach.
Seeing the princess in pursuit of a fleeing coward, he whipped his tail around, tripping the man, while using his claws to kill the raiders who had pursued her.
Disposing of the man, she turned, her face hidden behind her visor, and only paused for a second before running up the length of his tail and leaping off his head towards the other side of the ongoing battle, coming to the aid of her knights the raiders had caught into a net of rope. Four of the raiders were about to pour tar on them when she landed, leg out first against the side of one of the people carrying the tar, sending it spilling all over the four who had held it. Spinning, she cut her knights from the net and ran with them back into the fray. The Dragon King smiled down at the tar covered raiders and blew fire on top of their bodies, echoing their screams with his roar. The sound was deafening, bringing the battle to a standstill. The rest of the raiders gave themselves up, while the knights tied them and prepared them for her dungeon.
The princess removed her helmet and began giving orders, seeing to the wounded and checking the surrounding area for any remaining raiders, finding three more which she quickly dispatched with the blunt side of her sword, knocking them out. Calling out for her knights to bind and drag them to the others, she ordered the rest of her unhurt knights to do the same, “No more death today if you can help it, my friends!”, she yelled while slapping her men on the back.
Then turning towards the Dragon King she offered him a sexy grin, “Trust you to heat things up, my king.”, and raised a solitary finger beckoning him down closer. When he obliged, she whispered, “If I were evil, I’d kiss you now in front of everyone. But I assume you’d rather I turn you back in the forest?”
Nodding, he followed her into the forest while her knights lifted the protective cage from around the courtiers. Tine Dearg immediately ran after them with the Dragon King’s garments in hand.
Once she saw him arrive, she kissed the Dragon King and walked by Tine Dearg, giving him the same friendly shoulder punch she gave her knights as she began to make her way back to them.
Sharing an incredulous look with the king, Tine Dearg tossed the king’s clothes at him and turned, catching the princess’ wrist, turning her forcefully to face him, “Let’s get something straight, princess. I am not one of your knights. Don’t let my human form or attire fool you. I am a dragon. And as a dragon, I don’t bow to human royalty.”, he pulled her closer demonstrating his supernatural strength only to find himself marveling at her meeting his gaze fearlessly, “As a dragon, I exert my control over humans.”, his eyes began to sparkle playfully, “As a dragon, I take pleasure in devastating them.”, he let go of her wrist and turned her around, whispering into her ear, “You may be a warrior among your people, but to me you will always be the blushing, giggling princess I can force into surrendering at will.”, he smirked and grabbing hold of her waist, let his tail grow out long and thin so that it fit perfectly under her armor, under the chainmail and tickled her with ease.
Princess Clíona giggled madly while instinctively clawing at her armor. She knew she couldn’t reach his tickling tail through it, but her body defied her logic, reacting instinctively to protect her sensitive tummy. Grinning, Tine Dearg held on to her easily despite her attempts to throw him off, easily evading her increasingly desperate moves while sneaking his tail on up into an armpit, sending her to her knees, shrieking with laughter muffled only by one of his hands covering her mouth. He leaned down to meet her tearing eyes as he tilted her face to look up at his. Smirking at her look of desperation he whispered, “I have no intention of ever again being locked up, helpless in a cage while puny humans threaten you, princess. Now, I can lift my hand and see to it the whole court knows of your weakness, or you can promise me you will not ever treat me with less dignity than you afford your knights.”, he began moving his tail more wickedly, moving it at supernatural speed between her armpits, stomach and sides, obviously savoring her increasing desperation. Then leaning down closer, he whispered into her ear, “I will ride by your side from this day forward. You will accept me as your personal protector, and you will not seek to protect me from threats through cages or through ignorance.”, he moved his tail into her bellybutton and sent her into a spasm of silent laughter, releasing her from his arms so that she writhed on the forest floor, red faced with tears falling freely from her eyes, then not letting up for one second, kneeled beside her body smiling lovingly, “You will include me with any excursions with your knights. That includes training and evening escapades. But I will not take orders. Do we have an understanding?”
Princess Clíona’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked up into what had become three faces looking down at her, their eyes all equally loving and filled with mischief.
Leannán Dóiteáin knelt down on one knee, “I think we need to make it perfectly clear to the princes that her armor does not protect her from all types of frontal attacks.”, he grinned, his own tail growing long and thin and creeping down under her armor along her leg and under her foot, making her thrash even harder. She opened her mouth to squeal but Leannán Dóiteáin covered it in time, tilting his head to the side and sending her a teasing look from the corner of his eyes, “We’re just here to give you some perspective, princess.”, a devious grin spreading across his face as he teased the arch of her foot and under her toes at supernatural speed.
The Dragon King looked on at the three of them. Grateful beyond words for his dragons finding a playful way to address the fear he had felt only moments before.
Smiling sweetly, he leaned down and looked into the princess’ eyes, asking with an expression of sincere concern, “You really can’t bear another second of this can you, my love?”
When the princess nodded vigorously, he kissed her cheeks, then stood, sending her a devious grin, as he gave orders to his dragons, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear it. Keep her devastated a bit longer, gentlemen. Just so she understands the importance of the points you made. Then, bring her to me.”
When he saw the princess’ eyes grow huge he winked at her, “I intend to be your king. That means while I won’t stop you from pursuing your desires, you will learn that I can very persuasive.”, then letting out a low growl, he added, “Cage me again while you run out to encounter danger, and I will do this in front of your entire court.”
He turned, marching out of the forest as much in fury as in love. Clíona of Carrigcleena was waiting. She walked up to him, turning to survey the last of the cleanup being undertaken, her voice calm, “It’s cruel to exhaust her so thoroughly after she has just been fighting.”
“I know. I want her exhausted so that she will sleep and heal.”
She smiled, “You didn’t like being caged, did you?”
He nodded silently.
She shot him a challenging look, “Then don’t cage her.”, and began to walk away.
Sputtering with frustration, he called after her, “And what would you rather I do?”
She looked back, “I’m her page. Normally, Brian would be tending to her wounds about now, helping her to have the strength her men need to witness to keep believing in her. Have you even checked her for wounds?”, then continued walking.
Startled and ashamed, the King ran back into the forest, “Stop. Stop now.”, ignoring his dragons’ disappointed looks.
Helping her up, he asked, “Were you hurt today?”
Leannán Dóiteáin and Tine Dearg exchanged sheepish looks before turning concerned eyes down on the princess. Laughing, she shook her head, “Nothing so extraordinary that time won’t heal.”, then turning to Tine Dearg looked him in the eye, “If you want to ride with me, that’s fine, brother. But know this. My knights are my brothers, my fathers, my most trusted kin. If I treat you like one, it is the highest respect I can give.”
Then, without warning, she grabbed their tails, pulling them out with a force and jumped up from her back onto her feet, turning to grin at them, “You three are quite the challenge, but I live for a challenge and haven’t met one I couldn’t beat yet.”, she winked, running off towards her knights who greeted her with roaring applause.
She shouted to the men, punching their arms in the same way as she had Tine Dearg, while slapping others on the back and clasping fists with others. Then, pulling her sword from the raider she’d slain, she ran at full speed across the field, jumped on her horse and ran it back down in front of the crowd of courtiers and knights alike, shouting, “Now is the time of fae! Let us dance in gratitude to the land we live upon!”, jumping to stand on the back of her horse and throwing her sword at a giant barrel the courtiers had brought. Immediately, meade began to pour out. She jumped off her horse onto the top of the barrel, taking an offered mug and held it underneath the spout, shouting, “The first toast goes to the Fairy Queen, Clíona of Carrigcleena!”, the crowd roared “To Clíona of Carrigcleena!” in response, and the Fairy Queen walked to the princess, taking the mug, smiling at the people.
The princess did the same for her knights, for the members of her court, and then turned, holding a mug out to the three dragons, “And the last and most important toast of the fight goes to the Dragon King and our people’s new friends!”, beckoning them to come forward.
As the three did, she burst into a battle song which the now thoroughly drunk courtiers and knights immediately took up, gathering around in a circle dance as the Dragon King was lifted up to the barrel. She gave him a full deep kiss in front of the crowd, then handed him a mug of meade, jumping off the barrel at the same time. He found himself and his dragons surrounded and expected to lead the next song. Which is just what the princess had hoped for.
She walked confidently, laughing and slapping the men on the back until she was out of sight. Once behind a tree, she whistled for her horse, mounting it, and riding back to the castle to tend to her wounds.
Back in the circle, the dragons’ eyes searched the crowd for her, even as they mimicked the crowd’s expressions of merriment. The Fairy Queen walked up, maintaining the same elated expression, throwing her arms around their shoulders, pretending to be tipsy, but whispering into their minds, “What exactly did she say when you asked if she was wounded?”
Leannán Dóiteáin replied mind to mind, “She said, ‘Nothing so extraordinary that time won’t heal.’”
The Fairy Queen cursed, “That’s what her father used to say when he was wounded and didn’t want to worry the ones he loved.”
Tine Dearg cursed in turn, “I knew it!”
The Dragon King didn’t wait for more conversation, letting his wings grow, but keeping a festive smile on his face and holding up a mug in cheerful salute to the crowd as he rose. The other dragons and the Fairy Queen followed, copying his example, clinking mugs high overhead before drinking them quickly in whole gulps. The crowd cheered, growing wilder as the four took off to the skies.
Once out of earshot, the Dragon King spoke aloud, “She has to learn that she does not have to play that kind of role with us.”
“Good luck,”, the Fairy Queen replied, “I’ve known her for her whole life and have to pretend to be her page before she will confess to me she has a wound. She hides it from her people so they perceive her as strong. She’s always hidden it from me because she loves me. If she is hiding it from you three, it is because she loves you.”
The four caught sight of the princess just as she was climbing through her window.
Sighing, the Dragon King shook his head and flew faster to catch up with her, the others right on his tail. But once inside her room, she was nowhere to be seen.
Tine Dearg turned to them, “Check her father’s room. That’s where she keeps her armor.”
The four walked swiftly through the castle and entered just in time to see the princess sewing up her shoulder, having already sewn up small spots on her waist, neck and other shoulder. She spat out a coin she had obviously been biting down on and bit the yarn with her teeth, then looked up startled with suddenly seeing four people where only seconds ago there had been none.
Covering her breasts, with her arm, she raised her brows, “Uh, with all due respect, I’d like a little privacy here.”, then smiling, she apologized, “Sorry. Just not a great time to talk as you can see. Don’t mean to be inhospitable. Please feel free to wait downstairs in the library. One of the staff will cook you up something, and if not, I’ll do it once I finish up here. But if you don’t mind, can you please send for my page? I haven’t seen him since the little skirmish started.”
The Fairy Queen winced.
The Dragon King fumed, “We will do no such thing! You will let…”
But was interrupted as The Fairy Queen held him back, “Of course. But let’s not bother your page. The Dragon King can help you wash and sew up the wound on your back with Tine Dearg’s help. Tine Dearg will need to learn how to do it anyway if he is going to ride with you and your knights. Leannán Dóiteáin will come with me and help prepare a meal for all of us to share in your room, as you should let yourself rest.”, she walked up to examine the stitches the princess had already made, “I have some salve that will heal these up in two days. I will tell Sir Henry to tell the court you are enjoying a few days of well-deserved romance. He will know better of course, but will understand the value of the lie to the court. Do not worry, the people believe you to be strong, and they are right. But wise warriors know when to rest.”, she kissed the princess on the forehead and turned, nudging her head at Leannán Dóiteáin to follow her.
The princess smirked, “Nice to know their names now. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, gentlemen.”
Leannán Dóiteáin sent her a devious look, shaking his finger at her, “When you are better, my princess, we will have another forest talk.”, then laughing, at her blushing from his words, followed the Fairy Queen out the room.
Tine Dearg sighed and walked up to her, “I hate seeing you like this.”
The princess laughed, “Well, then you better think twice about riding around with me. If you are going to be my brother in battle, you might see worse.”, she stood, no longer hiding her breasts, making the men gasp. She rolled her eyes, “You’ll need to get over this,”, she gestured to her front, “Or else what will happen if I need help being sewn up in front?”
Tine Dearg shook his head, “I will never get over your beauty, princess. And the point of my riding by your side will be to prevent your needing to be sewn up.”, he pressed her shoulders down gently, urging her to sit back down, tears in his eyes, as he crouched down to meet her gaze, “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have flown you back here without anyone the wiser. And…”, he took a finger, capturing his tears and placed them along the wicked cut across her back. Immediately, the skin began to heal, stopping when it looked like it had received weeks of recovery. He smiled, “I think dragon tears are much less painful than these nasty stiches don’t you?”
The Dragon King leaned down to inspect it, adding his own so that it healed completely. Then after kissing the other wounds, sat down beside her, growling in a peeved low tone, “When we said you were not to keep us ignorant of potential danger towards your wellbeing, that included being informed about any and all physical harm received on your body.”
The princess laughed, “They weren’t biggies. I told you, it was nothing so extraordinary that time won’t heal.”, and stuck her tongue out playfully at him, “If it weren’t for the bedroom picnic the Fairy Queen Clíona of Carrigcleena has taken it upon herself to make, I’d have snuck back to join my men.”, she stood, stretching, wincing when it pulled on a stitch, then shot them both a playful look, wiggling her brows up and down, “But who could turn down a bedroom picnic handmade by a Fairy Queen and a Dragon? Surely that is worth sticking around for?”, she made a noise like a hungry beast and pretended to bite the air, “Food feeds the healing, they say. And I’m ravenous tonight!”, making the dragons laugh in spite of themselves.
Then turning, she reached for a robe, tying it about her waist, and began to exit the room, calling over her shoulder, “Just give me a few moments to bathe and dress in appropriate apparel before you follow me to my room.”
The two dragons eyed each other and shook their heads.
“Not so fast, princess. You are stuck with us tonight.”
True to their expectations, there was a large window with a secure vine outside the washroom. Looking down, they saw that her horse was saddled and waiting below.
Sighing, the Dragon King shot her a look, “You are staying here tonight. Accept it. Try to enjoy it.”, he added, picking her up and depositing her into a bath warmed by both him and Tine Dearg taking turns blowing their fiery breaths under the bucket of water in the fireplace. Then proceeding to wash her body, they secretly wept tears into the water when she wasn’t looking, hoping it would spur on the healing around her stitches.
Taking her out, they carried her wrapped in towels into her bedroom, laying her on the pillows.
The food was a delicious stew made from remnants of the princess’ and knights’ last hunt, leading the discussion into the best hunting grounds and favorite weaponry. The Fairy Queen took her leave, promising to bring back the salve the next day.
Once she was gone, the three dragons turned in unison to the princess, each sitting on the bed beside her, the king shooting her a passionate look, “Let me make something clear. While in human terms we are yet to be betrothed, in dragon terms, you…are…mine.”
He began crawling up the length of her bed, his wings flapping lightly to keep his weight off her body, “That means no more secrets. If you are cut, I’ll heal it. If you are threatened, one of us will protect you, even in the heat of battle. If you cry from pain, we’ll see to it you have reason to cry from laughter. You exist for more than leading your people. You also exist to share happiness, and playful adventures that feed your soul. I also exist to give you reason and opportunity to explore those things. And believe me, princess, when I say, you have barely witnessed anything yet.”, he now shot her a flirtatious smile, caressing her hair and face, “Be brave enough to let me love you.”, he kissed her deeply, “Be courageous enough to let yourself love me back.”
The princess returned his kiss, embracing his shoulders and nuzzling him in turn.
“Roll over”, he instructed, laying down beside her, “We’re going to introduce you to a bit of dragon magick. We snuck some dragon tears into your bath, princess, so you will heal faster. But that much of it, feeding into the amount of cuts you have will result in a few hours of paralysis. It’s your body healing, so don’t be afraid,” he wrapped his arms around her spooning, as the other dragons curled around her other side and at the foot of the bed. He whispered into her ear, “But you can still feel everything, and speak just fine. Which means, it is the perfect time to reemphasize the lesson we imparted to you today as I don’t think you got the grasp of it yet.”
The princess’ eyes grew huge as she felt three sets of dragon claws, wings and three tails reaching under the towels abd blankets to tickle every part of her body, making her giggle and squeal.
The Dragon King chuckled against her neck, his own tail sneaking down towards her chastity belt, moving right through it as if it weren’t there, and began tickling in places she had never been touched before, teasing just inside her hole and around her lips below, driving her crazy with a whole other reason, confident her laughter mixed with the devious laughter of his dragons was enough to keep his teasing whispers heard by her ears alone, “See, bet you didn’t expect this magickal demonstration now princess. I was sooo happy to provide part of your motivation today. But let’s see how well you can stand it without any violent physical diversions these next few days, shall we?”
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The following days found the princess bound to her room under the watchful eyes of the dragons who bathed her at least three times a day, insisting it best for maximum healing.
Whenever Sir Henry came to check upon her, they explained her flushed state as fighting off infection with fever.
In reality, the princess was not only tickled with excruciating precision for three sets of two hours each, but the King insisted on never leaving her side once, explaining he intended to personally oversee her needs as part of their courtship. The castle was of course abuzz with whispers, but having witnessed their princess’ passionate kissing of the Dragon King on the battleground, it was expected that he would soon be her husband.
Princess Clíona felt trapped, but also strangely intoxicated. Forced into the baths and then to lay for hours as the dragons explored every inch of ticklish skin, she found herself filled with a kind of growing need that she had not known before. The Dragon King’s mischievous attentions only made her growing hunger and frustrations worse, causing her to at once crave his touch as much as dread the excruciating pleasures he built up within her which he’d consistently deny her at the last possible moment while whispering seductive professions of love into her ears.
On the third day, he woke her with soft warm kisses, examining her body and proclaimed her skin was thoroughly healed. Sending the other dragons away for the morning, he turned mischievous eyes on the princess and smiled, “I bet you’re hungry aren’t you, Clíona?”
Throwing a pillow at his head she got up, determined to stomp around him to her closet.
Laughing, he grabbed her about the waist, nibbling on her ear and pulling out a gorgeous dress she had not seen before. It was stitched in the same way as the finer fae fabrics were. On the back sported his signil of the blue dragon. On its front featured the arms of the Golden Knight. It was breathtaking.
He whispered next to her ear, “Wear this for me, today, please, Clíona?”
She tried to reason, “I love it and promise to wear it in court tonight, but I can’t possibly ride in this!”
He turned her to face him, looking deep into her eyes, “Ride with me on my horse today.”, then chuckling as he saw the natural revulsion she felt with being a passenger and not holding the reins herself, added in a deeply seductive voice, “These past few days and nights are but a taste of what I soooo long to share with you, my love. Ride with me so our little playful escapades don’t have to end.”, kissing her deeply.
Her body betrayed her by responding immediately to his touch, at once relaxing, awakening and craving all at once. Breathless, she nodded, then opened the door so he might wait for her below.
The Fairy Queen, in the guise of the princess’ page, already had the princess’ horse ready and waiting at the bottom of her tower, petting it as she waited.
“Clíona won’t be needing your services today, page.”, she heard the Dragon King whisper, and turning around saw him offer her a secretive smile, “She’ll be riding with me on my horse today. And I doubt she could climb out of the tower in the dress she’s agreed to wear.”
“Dress?”, she replied, then laughed, “You have really been entertaining her these past few days, haven’t you?”, she turned, leading the princess’ horse to the stables as he walked beside her. Once there, she began combing the horse’s mane as she talked with him, “You are taking full advantage of her inexperience in the ways of love, I see. But don’t mistake her naiveté for surrender. She already loves you as a brother. And you have found ways to make her body awaken. But you can’t think of her as a wild thing to be tamed.”
The Dragon King laughed, “In my thousands of years upon the earth, I have always been the ones lovers sought to tame. This,” he waved a hand encompassing everything around him, “is a new experience for me. Which after the predictability of humankind, is quite refreshing.”
Finishing her work with the horse, the Fairy Queen turned into her normal form, offering him and understanding smile, “You would have liked her father. For that matter, you would have respected her mother. Just remember there are good reasons for why she cannot rely on maids in waiting. They cannot be trusted in this castle or court. I still have not yet worked out the motivation behind it, but there is a very good reason why her father elected to raise her as a son and keep her by his side. There is a very good reason why she keeps the company of knights.”
At that moment, Princess Clíona could be heard calling for her page. The Fairy Queen smiled and excusing herself, turned into the page boy, proceeding to climb up the vine to the princess’ window.
Entering, she couldn’t help but laugh as she saw the princess standing in the stunning gown, a look of clear irritation on her face. Seeing her page she laughed at herself, “Brian, help me tie this. I am not used to wearing these kinds of ridiculous things.”
The two could be heard dying of laughter as the girdle was tied tight about her waist. The page boy collapsed exaggeratedly on the bed while the princess wiped tears from her eyes, “How do the women in court stand this every day? I can hardly breathe. And my breasts are not accustomed to being on display.”, then a look of horror crossed her face as she looked up to meet his gaze, “Brian, do you think the Dragon King will expect me to wear this kind of thing every day if I marry him? If so, I shall gladly hand him the keys to the kingdom, for he is a wise one with love enough to watch for the welfare of my people. But while I would gladly give my life for them, I will not suffer this nearly as easily!”
Laughing even harder, the page looked up at her, “Why not ask the Fairy Queen if she can enchant the dresses so they allow you greater access like your armor?”
She shot him a grateful look, “Brilliant. Brian you just earned yourself an increase in salary.”
The two continued laughing all the way down the stairs, whereupon the princess schooled her expression into the courtly one expected and walked gracefully out to meet the Dragon King.
He smiled down into her eyes, “You are a vision, my love.”, then lifting her up, placed her on the horse, jumping behind her, his arms encircling her as he took hold of the reins.
It was an act of genius in the eyes of Sir Henry, who watched it all from the doorway, whispering to the Fairy Queen who had stepped out of the shadows, “He handles her well. She in front, with his hands on the reins. He looks protective, but respectful. The people will respond well to this.”
The Fairy Queen nodded, smiling, “It would take a dragon to be cunning enough to win her heart.”
“Has he won it?”
She smirked, “He has won parts.”
He gasped, “My Lady! Such words! I cannot believe…”
She interrupted him by whispering into his ear, “Was it so different between us so long ago, Sir Henry? I recall how a certain handsome young knight won the heart of a Fairy Queen and came to learn to accept her warrior ways while still sweeping her off her feet.”
He blushed scarlet, “That was a long time ago.”
She giggled.
He looked everywhere but at her, struggling for dignity, “We had agreed not to speak of it in my old age.”
She sighed, then whispered, “But Sir Henry, I still feel the same, and I’m thousands of years older than you.”
Gasping, he turned just in time to see her wink at him, changing into the princess’ page boy.
Shaking his head to himself, he smiled, “I should have known.”
************************************************************************************************
The princess rode in the Dragon King’s arms through the castle gates, smiling and waving at the people who ran out from their shops to greet her, cheering the couple on.
Leannán Dóiteáin and Tine Dearg rode behind with the princess’ knights on either side of the couple and before them.
The princess leaned back into the Dragon King’s chest, resting her head against his shoulder as she looked up at the sky. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “If you are going to be the wife for a dragon, there are some things you need to learn about us, my clever Clíona.”, then speaking directly into her mind, while sending her a teasing closed lipped smile, he added, “For example, we can speak directly into your mind, and we can hear your thoughts. I have allowed myself to let you get the better of me by giving you your privacy till now, but won’t be so polite as often in the future.”
He chuckled as she gasped, flushing at the thoughts she had harbored for him in his cave.
“Yeah, we all heard that.”, Leannán Dóiteáin’s voice entered her mind.
Shocked, she turned to see him grinning at her and turned crimson wondering what he and Tine Dearg had picked up during time spent in her dungeon.
“Nothing so extraordinary that time won’t give us ample opportunity to take full advantage of, your majesty.”, Tine Dearg’s voice came through teasingly. She turned to see him wink at her impishly.
She turned to face forward, her cheeks burning as she heard the three laugh inside her mind. The Dragon King squeezed her with his arms while kissing her neck, speaking equally teasingly into her mind, “Don’t fret, my love. It can be fun.”, as his tail slid, hidden under his cloak, into the folds of her skirt and between her legs, tickling the inside of her thighs, “Bet you were so put off by having to wear a dress that you didn’t even think to notice I might have had it made with a couple of extra access points, did you?”
The princess straightened immediately, her heart racing, her eyes looking around frantically at her knights who rode so close by, then turning crimson as Tine Dearg and Leannán Dóiteáin wore smirks on their faces, even as they kept their gazes straight ahead.
“Not here!”, she pleaded in her mind frantically.
“That’s very good, my love. I heard you loud and clear.”, he answered back into her mind teasing her even worse with his tail moving from between her thighs down to the back of one of her knees and towards her foot. Using it to deftly remove her shoe and bring it back to a pocket in his cloak, he kissed her scarlet cheek as he ran the tip of his tail excruciatingly back down her leg and wrapped it around her ankle, securing it in place, then added, “Now if I’ve read your mind correctly as you came down the stairs, you were worried that a simple ride through the forest would be boring without any challenges to face. Well that just made me feel bad, princess. I don’t want to be the one to deprive you of anything. So since you wore the dress for me, and that precludes your gallivanting around on those challenge courses of yours, I’m going to make it up to you. You have only one thing you have to do to win.”, the tip of his tail began to draw tiny circles around the bottom of her foot, making her eyes widen with horror, “Don’t laugh.”
Leannán Dóiteáin’s and Tine Dearg’s chuckles could be heard in her head.
“Oh! She will never make it through this without dying!”, Leannán Dóiteáin responded, “This is going to be good.”
Tine Dearg added, “I know I said I’d be your protector, but I’m afraid you’re on your own here, princess. Yet, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the look on your face in this moment.”
Princess Clíona didn’t dare kick for fear of falling off the horse, but she couldn’t help squirming in her seat which made other parts of her come to life as her chastity belt rubbed against the saddle.
The Dragon King placed both reins in one hand and moved his other arm to encircle her waist, his claws teasing against the fabric, adding to her torment, “That’s the idea, princess.”
Princess Clíona’s lips trembled beneath his fingers, desperately struggling to keep her bottom lip bit and in place while her eyes began to glaze over in tears as she swallowed the giggles that kept pushing to come out. Her foot felt every barely there teasing trail along her arch and up around her ankle and toes. Her waist and stomach shook incessantly from his claws pushing against the fabric, which due to being fairy made, stretched instead of breaking, allowing him full access to torment her ribs, bellybutton and squeeze her hips. Worse, no sooner did she instinctively think how she couldn’t stand a particular spot or motion than he would tease her by speaking into her mind with an, “Oh reeeeaaaally…”, and proceed to focus on that spot until she needed both of her hands to keep her mouth covered.
The Dragon King loved seeing her brought into such a helpless state, chuckling inside as he watched the hand holding onto the knob on the bridle go frantically back and forth between holding on to helping her other hand to cover her lips. His supernatural senses also let him hear that she was already giggling like mad although no human ear could hear it. He dipped his head down and nibbled on her ear, knowing it sent a pleasurable thrill through her body that was entirely new to her. It was fun to be the one to first arouse such sensations and thoughts in a young, inexperienced woman. It was even more fun to do so with one known as such a fearsome warrior. She had nearly killed him on their first encounter, and he was determined to make up for it by killing her in all ways seductively playful and intoxicating for years to come. But she would have to trust him completely first. He spoke into her mind, “I can hear you giggling already, my love. And even if I didn’t hear its beautiful sound, I would still be feeling your little body wiggling madly against mine. Which I find entirely delightful, by the way.”
“Oh ye gods! Did he just say that?”, her immediate inner thoughts came through like a squeal into the minds of the three dragons who had to bite their own lips to keep from chuckling out loud.
As if realizing this, she lifted both hands to her face, hiding it, then immediately put one back on the horse’s bridle. The Dragon King kissed her cheek, speaking into her mind again, “You are about to lose it, my beautiful Clíona. I think you’ll need both hands if you are going to make it to the picnic grounds without sharing your laughter with the world, my lovely. Trust me. I won’t let you fall. I’ll never let you fall without being there to catch you.”
Stubbornly holding on for her last bit of independence, she struggled to hold onto the bridle, but he simply began moving the tip of his tail faster and teased her foot even more ruthlessly, forcing her to let out the first tiny squeak loud enough for the knights to hear. Thankfully, he covered up for it by being more apparent with his amorousness, causing the knights to immediately look away smiling, happy to see their princess in love.
“See? That wouldn’t have happened if you just trusted me. Now trust me or I’ll make it much worse and longer next time.”, he spoke into her mind, demanding yet seductive.
Leannán Dóiteáin shot her a mischievous look from the corner of his eye and looked straight forward again as he spoke out loud, “This ride is far too quiet for my taste. Say, have you heard the joke about the toad and the pauper?”
Tine Dearg picked up on his mischief immediately and also looking forward, answered, “No I haven’t. Do tell.”
The minute Leannán Dóiteáin told the joke and the knights laughed loud and clear with the dragons, the Dragon King moved his tail across her foot in a flurry, his claws digging in mercilessly into her ribs, sending the princess into a full laughing fit.
A grin spread wide across Tine Dearg’s face as he spoke up, “That was wonderful! But have you heard the one about…”
And so it went, the knights jumping in to swap jokes of their own with the dragons, each sequential burst of laughter from the group giving the Dragon King the perfect opportunity to force the princes to rely entirely on him for her safety as she was brought to tears.
The whole group was practically in hysterics by the time they reached the picnic area so no one thought twice about it when they turned to see the princess red cheeked and wiping tears from her eyes. The Dragon King jumped off his horse and lifted her down into his arms, pulling her close as he snuck her shoe from under his cloak towards under her skirt.
Putting it on, she shot him an exasperated look, “I could just kill you!”
He winked down at her, his large blue eyes flashing, “You tried that, remember? It didn’t work.”
Placing his arm behind her waist, he led her to the clearing where the other knights scoured the area to secure it.
She looked after them, “I should be out there with them.”
He pulled her onto the grass beside him as the other dragons sat down beside her, turning her chin gently but firmly to meet his gaze, “You should be here, with us. And if there is any danger today, we,” he gestured to Leannán Dóiteáin and Tine Dearg who smiled back, “will be the ones taking care of it.”
Tine Dearg smirked, looking at the knights in the distance, “I think you should let the king know how your knights first trained you to fight so well, princess.”
Princess Clíona gasped, but quickly thought upon how lovely the grass was as she turned to him, offering a threatening smile, “There are things only knights need know, my dearest Tine Dearg.”
She felt a prickling in her head from all three pairs of dragon eyes, but kept thinking about the greenness of the grass, the beauty of the wildflowers, the blue of the sky…
“Oh, why don’t you just write a poem while you’re at it!”, Leannán Dóiteáin sneered at her, making the group laugh.
“Very good, my love. You’re learning. You’ll need to if you are going to accompany me to any dragon courts.”, The Dragon King kissed her cheek, then whispered, “After all, you wouldn’t want any of them to pick up on your recalling exactly how much you enjoyed my unique attentions in your bedchamber before we were married would you? Now tell me exactly how did your knights train you?”
The princess trembled with pleasurable remembering, followed by quick embarrassment and immediately the mental image of her as a young girl first learning to wield a wooden sword with pillowed goose down on the end while evading the threat of tickling fingers from various directions splashed across her mind.
Realizing what she’d done, she glared at him, “You tricked me!”
Leannán Dóiteáin laughed out loud.
Tine Dearg nodded sagely, a smile across his lips, “Apparently it was quite effective, you must admit, as the Golden Knight caught quite a few of us.”
The Dragon King chuckled, “So all these knights know your little secret, eh, my love?”
She shot him a look, “They know well enough not to speak of it.”
Tine Dearg laughed again, “I’ve spent the last three days hanging out with them. Figured it best to become better acquainted since I’ll be joining them with the princess on their escapades. I can promise you they more than enjoy the hand to hand combat when their formal duties involve providing ample distraction. The best part is, the newest member gets to be the distractor. I’m looking forward to it, although I’m warned others have gotten pretty bloodied in the past.”, he winked at her out of the corner of his eye.
A possessive look crossed the Dragon King’s face, “Perhaps I should take over your hand to hand combat training myself, princess.”
Clíona shook her head, “You three are turning my world upside down.”, then looking up with a smirk, her eyes dancing, asked, “Does that mean either of you want to take over the wrestling instruction the Fairy Queen provides me as well?”
For once seeing the dragons blush instead of her, she laughed and stood up to walk towards the forest.
Leannán Dóiteáin was rolling on his back, “You two should see your faces!”, he cried, pointing at the Dragon King and Tine Dearg. Then sitting up, he tilted his head, “Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Fairy Queen and her namesake rolling around wrestling on the grass…I wonder what they wear?”
Princess Clíona laughed as she heard the other two dragons growl at him and his laughter grow in turn.
She hadn’t yet reached the rest of the party who had set out the food before all three of them were beside her and at her back, their eyes watching over her greedily.
(Continued in Chapter 6 at http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=80391 )
But he did not expect the various things they passed along the trail.
“What are those?”, he asked Sir Henry, pointing to series after series of sections of wall, tall poles, ridiculously askew ladders and hanging metal balls with spikes. In other places, he smelled the dying embers of fire, fresh blood and split wood.
“The Knights erect these courses for additional challenges along the road, my king.”
“Surely that does not include the princess?”, the Dragon King couldn’t help but ask in a worried voice.
“But of course it does. She was brought up with it by her father since a child.”, Sir Henry explained, then added in a confidential whisper, “I of course was opposed to the whole idea. But after her mother’s suspicious death, he didn’t trust the household with her life and felt it was necessary so she could stay by his side. If there is any sense of a lady in her, it is because of the Fairy Queen.”
“Does she get hurt often?”, the Dragon King asked, eyeing a bloodied mace.
“All the time. But she fights on through it.”
“And what are the hanging spiked balls and fire for?”
“Why, to simulate a dragon’s claws and breath, my king.” The old knight looked at the Dragon King as if her were dense.
Falling quiet, the Dragon King fell into reflective repose, thinking upon how he’d nearly killed the woman he had come to love.
Passing more and more evidence of the knights’ training, his heart began to pound in his chest and he had to concentrate to not allow it to turn him into his dragon form. It was agonizing wondering if any of the blood was hers.
Then as they entered a wide open clearing, he watched her ride her horse at top speed, standing on its back and jumping as it jumped to grab a hold of a handle dangling from a pillar and swing herself, throwing her sword at a target set even higher while knights on either side pushed metal balls with spikes directly at her. Nearly missing being crushed, she let go of the handle and swung to the sword, trusting the strength of her thrust to have made it sturdy enough to bare her weight. She pulled herself up to stand on it just as another knight blew into a cone from below, issuing fire that barely missed her by an inch, jumping on top of the pillar and bending down to pull her sword out of it just in time to whirl around and meet another knight who swung from another handle, sword first. He had obviously just made it through a similar course. The two of them battled it out on top of the narrow space, the other knights cheering both of them on. Blood dripped from both their armor as they grappled for advantage.
The Dragon King felt a protective fury well up even greater inside his chest as he dismounted his horse and began walking towards them. But Tine Dearg stepped in front of him, “Don’t interrupt them. Trust me, sire, if you want to win her, don’t stop her. She is their leader and would have to challenge you to a duel should you attempt to exert authority over her or her knights before you wed.”
Leannán Dóiteáin had joined them and laughed, “Besides, if you startled her, you might just lose your head over her in an entirely different way.”
The Dragon King couldn’t laugh when the other courtiers chuckled at Leannán Dóiteáin’s joke. Instead, he just asked, “How am I going to do this?”
The princess’ page walked up beside him and he heard the Fairy Queen’s, Clíona of Carrigcleena’s, voice answer in his mind, “You will do it by learning to trust her. She is a warrior. Love her as such. Trust her to know her art well.”
The Dragon King breathed deeply, struggling to calm himself.
In that moment a group of raiders ran out from the woods. The princess and knight suddenly appeared to change from fighting to embracing each other in a dance, spinning until the knight threw the princess at the handle that hang down from the course he had completed. She grasped it and threw her sword at the leader who immediately fell. But not stopping, she flung herself into the arms of two knights waiting below, grabbing up a sword another handed to her and ran with them towards the group.
The Dragon King instinctively moved towards them, but found himself suddenly pushed by the crowd of courtiers against a tree, followed by an iron cage falling on top of all them. Cursing, he turned to Sir Henry, furious, and demanding an explanation. The old courtier sighed, explaining, “Don’t worry. We are not imprisoned. It is for our protection. The area inside this circle is spellbound by the Fairy Queen, so no fire, weaponry or poison can harm those inside. It’s made of iron to keep malevolent fae at bay. The knights will release us when they have defeated the idiots.”
Helpless, the Dragon King fumed, turning to glare at where the page had been and found Clíona of Carrigcleena standing beside him. He spat his words at her in fury, “And are you trustful of this situation, my Queen?”
She met his gaze calmly, “I do not like it any more than I enjoyed watching your attempts to kill her when you first met. However, I trust her as much now as I did then to survive.”
He glared out of the thin inch wide window, wanting to rip apart all the raiders who drew blood from his love, his keen eyesight allowing him to see details the others were spared, muttering under his breath, “There will be some changes after we wed.”
Chuckling, she shook her head, “You will gain advantage by charming her towards your way of thinking. But you will lose her entirely if you attempt to force her.”, she gazed at the princess jumping over a body and leaping deeper into the fray, “Admit it. She’s magnificent, isn’t she?”
He tried to get past his protective instinct and to see what the Fairy Queen saw. Yes, the princess was magnificent. But in his opinion, she would be even more magnificent locked up in his castle where he could surround her with safety and keep her in ecstasy. He wanted to be the only reason she had need to scream and then for only the most pleasurable or playful reasons.
He caught the Fairy Queen eyeing him, “Why not join her?”, she offered.
He looked at her like she was mad, “In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a fae proof cage.”
She pointed to the inch wide window, “It’s not solid. I can change you into a dragonfly and you could fly out if you don’t touch the metal. My ring of protection will not prevent anyone of good intentions from entering or leaving either.”
He eyed her for a second, and nodded.
The Fairy Queen leaned over to him and whispered, “Show her and her people why there are advantages to marrying a dragon.”, then kissed him on his brow.
Instantly, he shrunk down to the gasps of all around and flew out of the cage, out of the circle, changing into his dragon form without stopping his approach.
Seeing the princess in pursuit of a fleeing coward, he whipped his tail around, tripping the man, while using his claws to kill the raiders who had pursued her.
Disposing of the man, she turned, her face hidden behind her visor, and only paused for a second before running up the length of his tail and leaping off his head towards the other side of the ongoing battle, coming to the aid of her knights the raiders had caught into a net of rope. Four of the raiders were about to pour tar on them when she landed, leg out first against the side of one of the people carrying the tar, sending it spilling all over the four who had held it. Spinning, she cut her knights from the net and ran with them back into the fray. The Dragon King smiled down at the tar covered raiders and blew fire on top of their bodies, echoing their screams with his roar. The sound was deafening, bringing the battle to a standstill. The rest of the raiders gave themselves up, while the knights tied them and prepared them for her dungeon.
The princess removed her helmet and began giving orders, seeing to the wounded and checking the surrounding area for any remaining raiders, finding three more which she quickly dispatched with the blunt side of her sword, knocking them out. Calling out for her knights to bind and drag them to the others, she ordered the rest of her unhurt knights to do the same, “No more death today if you can help it, my friends!”, she yelled while slapping her men on the back.
Then turning towards the Dragon King she offered him a sexy grin, “Trust you to heat things up, my king.”, and raised a solitary finger beckoning him down closer. When he obliged, she whispered, “If I were evil, I’d kiss you now in front of everyone. But I assume you’d rather I turn you back in the forest?”
Nodding, he followed her into the forest while her knights lifted the protective cage from around the courtiers. Tine Dearg immediately ran after them with the Dragon King’s garments in hand.
Once she saw him arrive, she kissed the Dragon King and walked by Tine Dearg, giving him the same friendly shoulder punch she gave her knights as she began to make her way back to them.
Sharing an incredulous look with the king, Tine Dearg tossed the king’s clothes at him and turned, catching the princess’ wrist, turning her forcefully to face him, “Let’s get something straight, princess. I am not one of your knights. Don’t let my human form or attire fool you. I am a dragon. And as a dragon, I don’t bow to human royalty.”, he pulled her closer demonstrating his supernatural strength only to find himself marveling at her meeting his gaze fearlessly, “As a dragon, I exert my control over humans.”, his eyes began to sparkle playfully, “As a dragon, I take pleasure in devastating them.”, he let go of her wrist and turned her around, whispering into her ear, “You may be a warrior among your people, but to me you will always be the blushing, giggling princess I can force into surrendering at will.”, he smirked and grabbing hold of her waist, let his tail grow out long and thin so that it fit perfectly under her armor, under the chainmail and tickled her with ease.
Princess Clíona giggled madly while instinctively clawing at her armor. She knew she couldn’t reach his tickling tail through it, but her body defied her logic, reacting instinctively to protect her sensitive tummy. Grinning, Tine Dearg held on to her easily despite her attempts to throw him off, easily evading her increasingly desperate moves while sneaking his tail on up into an armpit, sending her to her knees, shrieking with laughter muffled only by one of his hands covering her mouth. He leaned down to meet her tearing eyes as he tilted her face to look up at his. Smirking at her look of desperation he whispered, “I have no intention of ever again being locked up, helpless in a cage while puny humans threaten you, princess. Now, I can lift my hand and see to it the whole court knows of your weakness, or you can promise me you will not ever treat me with less dignity than you afford your knights.”, he began moving his tail more wickedly, moving it at supernatural speed between her armpits, stomach and sides, obviously savoring her increasing desperation. Then leaning down closer, he whispered into her ear, “I will ride by your side from this day forward. You will accept me as your personal protector, and you will not seek to protect me from threats through cages or through ignorance.”, he moved his tail into her bellybutton and sent her into a spasm of silent laughter, releasing her from his arms so that she writhed on the forest floor, red faced with tears falling freely from her eyes, then not letting up for one second, kneeled beside her body smiling lovingly, “You will include me with any excursions with your knights. That includes training and evening escapades. But I will not take orders. Do we have an understanding?”
Princess Clíona’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked up into what had become three faces looking down at her, their eyes all equally loving and filled with mischief.
Leannán Dóiteáin knelt down on one knee, “I think we need to make it perfectly clear to the princes that her armor does not protect her from all types of frontal attacks.”, he grinned, his own tail growing long and thin and creeping down under her armor along her leg and under her foot, making her thrash even harder. She opened her mouth to squeal but Leannán Dóiteáin covered it in time, tilting his head to the side and sending her a teasing look from the corner of his eyes, “We’re just here to give you some perspective, princess.”, a devious grin spreading across his face as he teased the arch of her foot and under her toes at supernatural speed.
The Dragon King looked on at the three of them. Grateful beyond words for his dragons finding a playful way to address the fear he had felt only moments before.
Smiling sweetly, he leaned down and looked into the princess’ eyes, asking with an expression of sincere concern, “You really can’t bear another second of this can you, my love?”
When the princess nodded vigorously, he kissed her cheeks, then stood, sending her a devious grin, as he gave orders to his dragons, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear it. Keep her devastated a bit longer, gentlemen. Just so she understands the importance of the points you made. Then, bring her to me.”
When he saw the princess’ eyes grow huge he winked at her, “I intend to be your king. That means while I won’t stop you from pursuing your desires, you will learn that I can very persuasive.”, then letting out a low growl, he added, “Cage me again while you run out to encounter danger, and I will do this in front of your entire court.”
He turned, marching out of the forest as much in fury as in love. Clíona of Carrigcleena was waiting. She walked up to him, turning to survey the last of the cleanup being undertaken, her voice calm, “It’s cruel to exhaust her so thoroughly after she has just been fighting.”
“I know. I want her exhausted so that she will sleep and heal.”
She smiled, “You didn’t like being caged, did you?”
He nodded silently.
She shot him a challenging look, “Then don’t cage her.”, and began to walk away.
Sputtering with frustration, he called after her, “And what would you rather I do?”
She looked back, “I’m her page. Normally, Brian would be tending to her wounds about now, helping her to have the strength her men need to witness to keep believing in her. Have you even checked her for wounds?”, then continued walking.
Startled and ashamed, the King ran back into the forest, “Stop. Stop now.”, ignoring his dragons’ disappointed looks.
Helping her up, he asked, “Were you hurt today?”
Leannán Dóiteáin and Tine Dearg exchanged sheepish looks before turning concerned eyes down on the princess. Laughing, she shook her head, “Nothing so extraordinary that time won’t heal.”, then turning to Tine Dearg looked him in the eye, “If you want to ride with me, that’s fine, brother. But know this. My knights are my brothers, my fathers, my most trusted kin. If I treat you like one, it is the highest respect I can give.”
Then, without warning, she grabbed their tails, pulling them out with a force and jumped up from her back onto her feet, turning to grin at them, “You three are quite the challenge, but I live for a challenge and haven’t met one I couldn’t beat yet.”, she winked, running off towards her knights who greeted her with roaring applause.
She shouted to the men, punching their arms in the same way as she had Tine Dearg, while slapping others on the back and clasping fists with others. Then, pulling her sword from the raider she’d slain, she ran at full speed across the field, jumped on her horse and ran it back down in front of the crowd of courtiers and knights alike, shouting, “Now is the time of fae! Let us dance in gratitude to the land we live upon!”, jumping to stand on the back of her horse and throwing her sword at a giant barrel the courtiers had brought. Immediately, meade began to pour out. She jumped off her horse onto the top of the barrel, taking an offered mug and held it underneath the spout, shouting, “The first toast goes to the Fairy Queen, Clíona of Carrigcleena!”, the crowd roared “To Clíona of Carrigcleena!” in response, and the Fairy Queen walked to the princess, taking the mug, smiling at the people.
The princess did the same for her knights, for the members of her court, and then turned, holding a mug out to the three dragons, “And the last and most important toast of the fight goes to the Dragon King and our people’s new friends!”, beckoning them to come forward.
As the three did, she burst into a battle song which the now thoroughly drunk courtiers and knights immediately took up, gathering around in a circle dance as the Dragon King was lifted up to the barrel. She gave him a full deep kiss in front of the crowd, then handed him a mug of meade, jumping off the barrel at the same time. He found himself and his dragons surrounded and expected to lead the next song. Which is just what the princess had hoped for.
She walked confidently, laughing and slapping the men on the back until she was out of sight. Once behind a tree, she whistled for her horse, mounting it, and riding back to the castle to tend to her wounds.
Back in the circle, the dragons’ eyes searched the crowd for her, even as they mimicked the crowd’s expressions of merriment. The Fairy Queen walked up, maintaining the same elated expression, throwing her arms around their shoulders, pretending to be tipsy, but whispering into their minds, “What exactly did she say when you asked if she was wounded?”
Leannán Dóiteáin replied mind to mind, “She said, ‘Nothing so extraordinary that time won’t heal.’”
The Fairy Queen cursed, “That’s what her father used to say when he was wounded and didn’t want to worry the ones he loved.”
Tine Dearg cursed in turn, “I knew it!”
The Dragon King didn’t wait for more conversation, letting his wings grow, but keeping a festive smile on his face and holding up a mug in cheerful salute to the crowd as he rose. The other dragons and the Fairy Queen followed, copying his example, clinking mugs high overhead before drinking them quickly in whole gulps. The crowd cheered, growing wilder as the four took off to the skies.
Once out of earshot, the Dragon King spoke aloud, “She has to learn that she does not have to play that kind of role with us.”
“Good luck,”, the Fairy Queen replied, “I’ve known her for her whole life and have to pretend to be her page before she will confess to me she has a wound. She hides it from her people so they perceive her as strong. She’s always hidden it from me because she loves me. If she is hiding it from you three, it is because she loves you.”
The four caught sight of the princess just as she was climbing through her window.
Sighing, the Dragon King shook his head and flew faster to catch up with her, the others right on his tail. But once inside her room, she was nowhere to be seen.
Tine Dearg turned to them, “Check her father’s room. That’s where she keeps her armor.”
The four walked swiftly through the castle and entered just in time to see the princess sewing up her shoulder, having already sewn up small spots on her waist, neck and other shoulder. She spat out a coin she had obviously been biting down on and bit the yarn with her teeth, then looked up startled with suddenly seeing four people where only seconds ago there had been none.
Covering her breasts, with her arm, she raised her brows, “Uh, with all due respect, I’d like a little privacy here.”, then smiling, she apologized, “Sorry. Just not a great time to talk as you can see. Don’t mean to be inhospitable. Please feel free to wait downstairs in the library. One of the staff will cook you up something, and if not, I’ll do it once I finish up here. But if you don’t mind, can you please send for my page? I haven’t seen him since the little skirmish started.”
The Fairy Queen winced.
The Dragon King fumed, “We will do no such thing! You will let…”
But was interrupted as The Fairy Queen held him back, “Of course. But let’s not bother your page. The Dragon King can help you wash and sew up the wound on your back with Tine Dearg’s help. Tine Dearg will need to learn how to do it anyway if he is going to ride with you and your knights. Leannán Dóiteáin will come with me and help prepare a meal for all of us to share in your room, as you should let yourself rest.”, she walked up to examine the stitches the princess had already made, “I have some salve that will heal these up in two days. I will tell Sir Henry to tell the court you are enjoying a few days of well-deserved romance. He will know better of course, but will understand the value of the lie to the court. Do not worry, the people believe you to be strong, and they are right. But wise warriors know when to rest.”, she kissed the princess on the forehead and turned, nudging her head at Leannán Dóiteáin to follow her.
The princess smirked, “Nice to know their names now. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, gentlemen.”
Leannán Dóiteáin sent her a devious look, shaking his finger at her, “When you are better, my princess, we will have another forest talk.”, then laughing, at her blushing from his words, followed the Fairy Queen out the room.
Tine Dearg sighed and walked up to her, “I hate seeing you like this.”
The princess laughed, “Well, then you better think twice about riding around with me. If you are going to be my brother in battle, you might see worse.”, she stood, no longer hiding her breasts, making the men gasp. She rolled her eyes, “You’ll need to get over this,”, she gestured to her front, “Or else what will happen if I need help being sewn up in front?”
Tine Dearg shook his head, “I will never get over your beauty, princess. And the point of my riding by your side will be to prevent your needing to be sewn up.”, he pressed her shoulders down gently, urging her to sit back down, tears in his eyes, as he crouched down to meet her gaze, “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have flown you back here without anyone the wiser. And…”, he took a finger, capturing his tears and placed them along the wicked cut across her back. Immediately, the skin began to heal, stopping when it looked like it had received weeks of recovery. He smiled, “I think dragon tears are much less painful than these nasty stiches don’t you?”
The Dragon King leaned down to inspect it, adding his own so that it healed completely. Then after kissing the other wounds, sat down beside her, growling in a peeved low tone, “When we said you were not to keep us ignorant of potential danger towards your wellbeing, that included being informed about any and all physical harm received on your body.”
The princess laughed, “They weren’t biggies. I told you, it was nothing so extraordinary that time won’t heal.”, and stuck her tongue out playfully at him, “If it weren’t for the bedroom picnic the Fairy Queen Clíona of Carrigcleena has taken it upon herself to make, I’d have snuck back to join my men.”, she stood, stretching, wincing when it pulled on a stitch, then shot them both a playful look, wiggling her brows up and down, “But who could turn down a bedroom picnic handmade by a Fairy Queen and a Dragon? Surely that is worth sticking around for?”, she made a noise like a hungry beast and pretended to bite the air, “Food feeds the healing, they say. And I’m ravenous tonight!”, making the dragons laugh in spite of themselves.
Then turning, she reached for a robe, tying it about her waist, and began to exit the room, calling over her shoulder, “Just give me a few moments to bathe and dress in appropriate apparel before you follow me to my room.”
The two dragons eyed each other and shook their heads.
“Not so fast, princess. You are stuck with us tonight.”
True to their expectations, there was a large window with a secure vine outside the washroom. Looking down, they saw that her horse was saddled and waiting below.
Sighing, the Dragon King shot her a look, “You are staying here tonight. Accept it. Try to enjoy it.”, he added, picking her up and depositing her into a bath warmed by both him and Tine Dearg taking turns blowing their fiery breaths under the bucket of water in the fireplace. Then proceeding to wash her body, they secretly wept tears into the water when she wasn’t looking, hoping it would spur on the healing around her stitches.
Taking her out, they carried her wrapped in towels into her bedroom, laying her on the pillows.
The food was a delicious stew made from remnants of the princess’ and knights’ last hunt, leading the discussion into the best hunting grounds and favorite weaponry. The Fairy Queen took her leave, promising to bring back the salve the next day.
Once she was gone, the three dragons turned in unison to the princess, each sitting on the bed beside her, the king shooting her a passionate look, “Let me make something clear. While in human terms we are yet to be betrothed, in dragon terms, you…are…mine.”
He began crawling up the length of her bed, his wings flapping lightly to keep his weight off her body, “That means no more secrets. If you are cut, I’ll heal it. If you are threatened, one of us will protect you, even in the heat of battle. If you cry from pain, we’ll see to it you have reason to cry from laughter. You exist for more than leading your people. You also exist to share happiness, and playful adventures that feed your soul. I also exist to give you reason and opportunity to explore those things. And believe me, princess, when I say, you have barely witnessed anything yet.”, he now shot her a flirtatious smile, caressing her hair and face, “Be brave enough to let me love you.”, he kissed her deeply, “Be courageous enough to let yourself love me back.”
The princess returned his kiss, embracing his shoulders and nuzzling him in turn.
“Roll over”, he instructed, laying down beside her, “We’re going to introduce you to a bit of dragon magick. We snuck some dragon tears into your bath, princess, so you will heal faster. But that much of it, feeding into the amount of cuts you have will result in a few hours of paralysis. It’s your body healing, so don’t be afraid,” he wrapped his arms around her spooning, as the other dragons curled around her other side and at the foot of the bed. He whispered into her ear, “But you can still feel everything, and speak just fine. Which means, it is the perfect time to reemphasize the lesson we imparted to you today as I don’t think you got the grasp of it yet.”
The princess’ eyes grew huge as she felt three sets of dragon claws, wings and three tails reaching under the towels abd blankets to tickle every part of her body, making her giggle and squeal.
The Dragon King chuckled against her neck, his own tail sneaking down towards her chastity belt, moving right through it as if it weren’t there, and began tickling in places she had never been touched before, teasing just inside her hole and around her lips below, driving her crazy with a whole other reason, confident her laughter mixed with the devious laughter of his dragons was enough to keep his teasing whispers heard by her ears alone, “See, bet you didn’t expect this magickal demonstration now princess. I was sooo happy to provide part of your motivation today. But let’s see how well you can stand it without any violent physical diversions these next few days, shall we?”
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The following days found the princess bound to her room under the watchful eyes of the dragons who bathed her at least three times a day, insisting it best for maximum healing.
Whenever Sir Henry came to check upon her, they explained her flushed state as fighting off infection with fever.
In reality, the princess was not only tickled with excruciating precision for three sets of two hours each, but the King insisted on never leaving her side once, explaining he intended to personally oversee her needs as part of their courtship. The castle was of course abuzz with whispers, but having witnessed their princess’ passionate kissing of the Dragon King on the battleground, it was expected that he would soon be her husband.
Princess Clíona felt trapped, but also strangely intoxicated. Forced into the baths and then to lay for hours as the dragons explored every inch of ticklish skin, she found herself filled with a kind of growing need that she had not known before. The Dragon King’s mischievous attentions only made her growing hunger and frustrations worse, causing her to at once crave his touch as much as dread the excruciating pleasures he built up within her which he’d consistently deny her at the last possible moment while whispering seductive professions of love into her ears.
On the third day, he woke her with soft warm kisses, examining her body and proclaimed her skin was thoroughly healed. Sending the other dragons away for the morning, he turned mischievous eyes on the princess and smiled, “I bet you’re hungry aren’t you, Clíona?”
Throwing a pillow at his head she got up, determined to stomp around him to her closet.
Laughing, he grabbed her about the waist, nibbling on her ear and pulling out a gorgeous dress she had not seen before. It was stitched in the same way as the finer fae fabrics were. On the back sported his signil of the blue dragon. On its front featured the arms of the Golden Knight. It was breathtaking.
He whispered next to her ear, “Wear this for me, today, please, Clíona?”
She tried to reason, “I love it and promise to wear it in court tonight, but I can’t possibly ride in this!”
He turned her to face him, looking deep into her eyes, “Ride with me on my horse today.”, then chuckling as he saw the natural revulsion she felt with being a passenger and not holding the reins herself, added in a deeply seductive voice, “These past few days and nights are but a taste of what I soooo long to share with you, my love. Ride with me so our little playful escapades don’t have to end.”, kissing her deeply.
Her body betrayed her by responding immediately to his touch, at once relaxing, awakening and craving all at once. Breathless, she nodded, then opened the door so he might wait for her below.
The Fairy Queen, in the guise of the princess’ page, already had the princess’ horse ready and waiting at the bottom of her tower, petting it as she waited.
“Clíona won’t be needing your services today, page.”, she heard the Dragon King whisper, and turning around saw him offer her a secretive smile, “She’ll be riding with me on my horse today. And I doubt she could climb out of the tower in the dress she’s agreed to wear.”
“Dress?”, she replied, then laughed, “You have really been entertaining her these past few days, haven’t you?”, she turned, leading the princess’ horse to the stables as he walked beside her. Once there, she began combing the horse’s mane as she talked with him, “You are taking full advantage of her inexperience in the ways of love, I see. But don’t mistake her naiveté for surrender. She already loves you as a brother. And you have found ways to make her body awaken. But you can’t think of her as a wild thing to be tamed.”
The Dragon King laughed, “In my thousands of years upon the earth, I have always been the ones lovers sought to tame. This,” he waved a hand encompassing everything around him, “is a new experience for me. Which after the predictability of humankind, is quite refreshing.”
Finishing her work with the horse, the Fairy Queen turned into her normal form, offering him and understanding smile, “You would have liked her father. For that matter, you would have respected her mother. Just remember there are good reasons for why she cannot rely on maids in waiting. They cannot be trusted in this castle or court. I still have not yet worked out the motivation behind it, but there is a very good reason why her father elected to raise her as a son and keep her by his side. There is a very good reason why she keeps the company of knights.”
At that moment, Princess Clíona could be heard calling for her page. The Fairy Queen smiled and excusing herself, turned into the page boy, proceeding to climb up the vine to the princess’ window.
Entering, she couldn’t help but laugh as she saw the princess standing in the stunning gown, a look of clear irritation on her face. Seeing her page she laughed at herself, “Brian, help me tie this. I am not used to wearing these kinds of ridiculous things.”
The two could be heard dying of laughter as the girdle was tied tight about her waist. The page boy collapsed exaggeratedly on the bed while the princess wiped tears from her eyes, “How do the women in court stand this every day? I can hardly breathe. And my breasts are not accustomed to being on display.”, then a look of horror crossed her face as she looked up to meet his gaze, “Brian, do you think the Dragon King will expect me to wear this kind of thing every day if I marry him? If so, I shall gladly hand him the keys to the kingdom, for he is a wise one with love enough to watch for the welfare of my people. But while I would gladly give my life for them, I will not suffer this nearly as easily!”
Laughing even harder, the page looked up at her, “Why not ask the Fairy Queen if she can enchant the dresses so they allow you greater access like your armor?”
She shot him a grateful look, “Brilliant. Brian you just earned yourself an increase in salary.”
The two continued laughing all the way down the stairs, whereupon the princess schooled her expression into the courtly one expected and walked gracefully out to meet the Dragon King.
He smiled down into her eyes, “You are a vision, my love.”, then lifting her up, placed her on the horse, jumping behind her, his arms encircling her as he took hold of the reins.
It was an act of genius in the eyes of Sir Henry, who watched it all from the doorway, whispering to the Fairy Queen who had stepped out of the shadows, “He handles her well. She in front, with his hands on the reins. He looks protective, but respectful. The people will respond well to this.”
The Fairy Queen nodded, smiling, “It would take a dragon to be cunning enough to win her heart.”
“Has he won it?”
She smirked, “He has won parts.”
He gasped, “My Lady! Such words! I cannot believe…”
She interrupted him by whispering into his ear, “Was it so different between us so long ago, Sir Henry? I recall how a certain handsome young knight won the heart of a Fairy Queen and came to learn to accept her warrior ways while still sweeping her off her feet.”
He blushed scarlet, “That was a long time ago.”
She giggled.
He looked everywhere but at her, struggling for dignity, “We had agreed not to speak of it in my old age.”
She sighed, then whispered, “But Sir Henry, I still feel the same, and I’m thousands of years older than you.”
Gasping, he turned just in time to see her wink at him, changing into the princess’ page boy.
Shaking his head to himself, he smiled, “I should have known.”
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The princess rode in the Dragon King’s arms through the castle gates, smiling and waving at the people who ran out from their shops to greet her, cheering the couple on.
Leannán Dóiteáin and Tine Dearg rode behind with the princess’ knights on either side of the couple and before them.
The princess leaned back into the Dragon King’s chest, resting her head against his shoulder as she looked up at the sky. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “If you are going to be the wife for a dragon, there are some things you need to learn about us, my clever Clíona.”, then speaking directly into her mind, while sending her a teasing closed lipped smile, he added, “For example, we can speak directly into your mind, and we can hear your thoughts. I have allowed myself to let you get the better of me by giving you your privacy till now, but won’t be so polite as often in the future.”
He chuckled as she gasped, flushing at the thoughts she had harbored for him in his cave.
“Yeah, we all heard that.”, Leannán Dóiteáin’s voice entered her mind.
Shocked, she turned to see him grinning at her and turned crimson wondering what he and Tine Dearg had picked up during time spent in her dungeon.
“Nothing so extraordinary that time won’t give us ample opportunity to take full advantage of, your majesty.”, Tine Dearg’s voice came through teasingly. She turned to see him wink at her impishly.
She turned to face forward, her cheeks burning as she heard the three laugh inside her mind. The Dragon King squeezed her with his arms while kissing her neck, speaking equally teasingly into her mind, “Don’t fret, my love. It can be fun.”, as his tail slid, hidden under his cloak, into the folds of her skirt and between her legs, tickling the inside of her thighs, “Bet you were so put off by having to wear a dress that you didn’t even think to notice I might have had it made with a couple of extra access points, did you?”
The princess straightened immediately, her heart racing, her eyes looking around frantically at her knights who rode so close by, then turning crimson as Tine Dearg and Leannán Dóiteáin wore smirks on their faces, even as they kept their gazes straight ahead.
“Not here!”, she pleaded in her mind frantically.
“That’s very good, my love. I heard you loud and clear.”, he answered back into her mind teasing her even worse with his tail moving from between her thighs down to the back of one of her knees and towards her foot. Using it to deftly remove her shoe and bring it back to a pocket in his cloak, he kissed her scarlet cheek as he ran the tip of his tail excruciatingly back down her leg and wrapped it around her ankle, securing it in place, then added, “Now if I’ve read your mind correctly as you came down the stairs, you were worried that a simple ride through the forest would be boring without any challenges to face. Well that just made me feel bad, princess. I don’t want to be the one to deprive you of anything. So since you wore the dress for me, and that precludes your gallivanting around on those challenge courses of yours, I’m going to make it up to you. You have only one thing you have to do to win.”, the tip of his tail began to draw tiny circles around the bottom of her foot, making her eyes widen with horror, “Don’t laugh.”
Leannán Dóiteáin’s and Tine Dearg’s chuckles could be heard in her head.
“Oh! She will never make it through this without dying!”, Leannán Dóiteáin responded, “This is going to be good.”
Tine Dearg added, “I know I said I’d be your protector, but I’m afraid you’re on your own here, princess. Yet, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the look on your face in this moment.”
Princess Clíona didn’t dare kick for fear of falling off the horse, but she couldn’t help squirming in her seat which made other parts of her come to life as her chastity belt rubbed against the saddle.
The Dragon King placed both reins in one hand and moved his other arm to encircle her waist, his claws teasing against the fabric, adding to her torment, “That’s the idea, princess.”
Princess Clíona’s lips trembled beneath his fingers, desperately struggling to keep her bottom lip bit and in place while her eyes began to glaze over in tears as she swallowed the giggles that kept pushing to come out. Her foot felt every barely there teasing trail along her arch and up around her ankle and toes. Her waist and stomach shook incessantly from his claws pushing against the fabric, which due to being fairy made, stretched instead of breaking, allowing him full access to torment her ribs, bellybutton and squeeze her hips. Worse, no sooner did she instinctively think how she couldn’t stand a particular spot or motion than he would tease her by speaking into her mind with an, “Oh reeeeaaaally…”, and proceed to focus on that spot until she needed both of her hands to keep her mouth covered.
The Dragon King loved seeing her brought into such a helpless state, chuckling inside as he watched the hand holding onto the knob on the bridle go frantically back and forth between holding on to helping her other hand to cover her lips. His supernatural senses also let him hear that she was already giggling like mad although no human ear could hear it. He dipped his head down and nibbled on her ear, knowing it sent a pleasurable thrill through her body that was entirely new to her. It was fun to be the one to first arouse such sensations and thoughts in a young, inexperienced woman. It was even more fun to do so with one known as such a fearsome warrior. She had nearly killed him on their first encounter, and he was determined to make up for it by killing her in all ways seductively playful and intoxicating for years to come. But she would have to trust him completely first. He spoke into her mind, “I can hear you giggling already, my love. And even if I didn’t hear its beautiful sound, I would still be feeling your little body wiggling madly against mine. Which I find entirely delightful, by the way.”
“Oh ye gods! Did he just say that?”, her immediate inner thoughts came through like a squeal into the minds of the three dragons who had to bite their own lips to keep from chuckling out loud.
As if realizing this, she lifted both hands to her face, hiding it, then immediately put one back on the horse’s bridle. The Dragon King kissed her cheek, speaking into her mind again, “You are about to lose it, my beautiful Clíona. I think you’ll need both hands if you are going to make it to the picnic grounds without sharing your laughter with the world, my lovely. Trust me. I won’t let you fall. I’ll never let you fall without being there to catch you.”
Stubbornly holding on for her last bit of independence, she struggled to hold onto the bridle, but he simply began moving the tip of his tail faster and teased her foot even more ruthlessly, forcing her to let out the first tiny squeak loud enough for the knights to hear. Thankfully, he covered up for it by being more apparent with his amorousness, causing the knights to immediately look away smiling, happy to see their princess in love.
“See? That wouldn’t have happened if you just trusted me. Now trust me or I’ll make it much worse and longer next time.”, he spoke into her mind, demanding yet seductive.
Leannán Dóiteáin shot her a mischievous look from the corner of his eye and looked straight forward again as he spoke out loud, “This ride is far too quiet for my taste. Say, have you heard the joke about the toad and the pauper?”
Tine Dearg picked up on his mischief immediately and also looking forward, answered, “No I haven’t. Do tell.”
The minute Leannán Dóiteáin told the joke and the knights laughed loud and clear with the dragons, the Dragon King moved his tail across her foot in a flurry, his claws digging in mercilessly into her ribs, sending the princess into a full laughing fit.
A grin spread wide across Tine Dearg’s face as he spoke up, “That was wonderful! But have you heard the one about…”
And so it went, the knights jumping in to swap jokes of their own with the dragons, each sequential burst of laughter from the group giving the Dragon King the perfect opportunity to force the princes to rely entirely on him for her safety as she was brought to tears.
The whole group was practically in hysterics by the time they reached the picnic area so no one thought twice about it when they turned to see the princess red cheeked and wiping tears from her eyes. The Dragon King jumped off his horse and lifted her down into his arms, pulling her close as he snuck her shoe from under his cloak towards under her skirt.
Putting it on, she shot him an exasperated look, “I could just kill you!”
He winked down at her, his large blue eyes flashing, “You tried that, remember? It didn’t work.”
Placing his arm behind her waist, he led her to the clearing where the other knights scoured the area to secure it.
She looked after them, “I should be out there with them.”
He pulled her onto the grass beside him as the other dragons sat down beside her, turning her chin gently but firmly to meet his gaze, “You should be here, with us. And if there is any danger today, we,” he gestured to Leannán Dóiteáin and Tine Dearg who smiled back, “will be the ones taking care of it.”
Tine Dearg smirked, looking at the knights in the distance, “I think you should let the king know how your knights first trained you to fight so well, princess.”
Princess Clíona gasped, but quickly thought upon how lovely the grass was as she turned to him, offering a threatening smile, “There are things only knights need know, my dearest Tine Dearg.”
She felt a prickling in her head from all three pairs of dragon eyes, but kept thinking about the greenness of the grass, the beauty of the wildflowers, the blue of the sky…
“Oh, why don’t you just write a poem while you’re at it!”, Leannán Dóiteáin sneered at her, making the group laugh.
“Very good, my love. You’re learning. You’ll need to if you are going to accompany me to any dragon courts.”, The Dragon King kissed her cheek, then whispered, “After all, you wouldn’t want any of them to pick up on your recalling exactly how much you enjoyed my unique attentions in your bedchamber before we were married would you? Now tell me exactly how did your knights train you?”
The princess trembled with pleasurable remembering, followed by quick embarrassment and immediately the mental image of her as a young girl first learning to wield a wooden sword with pillowed goose down on the end while evading the threat of tickling fingers from various directions splashed across her mind.
Realizing what she’d done, she glared at him, “You tricked me!”
Leannán Dóiteáin laughed out loud.
Tine Dearg nodded sagely, a smile across his lips, “Apparently it was quite effective, you must admit, as the Golden Knight caught quite a few of us.”
The Dragon King chuckled, “So all these knights know your little secret, eh, my love?”
She shot him a look, “They know well enough not to speak of it.”
Tine Dearg laughed again, “I’ve spent the last three days hanging out with them. Figured it best to become better acquainted since I’ll be joining them with the princess on their escapades. I can promise you they more than enjoy the hand to hand combat when their formal duties involve providing ample distraction. The best part is, the newest member gets to be the distractor. I’m looking forward to it, although I’m warned others have gotten pretty bloodied in the past.”, he winked at her out of the corner of his eye.
A possessive look crossed the Dragon King’s face, “Perhaps I should take over your hand to hand combat training myself, princess.”
Clíona shook her head, “You three are turning my world upside down.”, then looking up with a smirk, her eyes dancing, asked, “Does that mean either of you want to take over the wrestling instruction the Fairy Queen provides me as well?”
For once seeing the dragons blush instead of her, she laughed and stood up to walk towards the forest.
Leannán Dóiteáin was rolling on his back, “You two should see your faces!”, he cried, pointing at the Dragon King and Tine Dearg. Then sitting up, he tilted his head, “Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Fairy Queen and her namesake rolling around wrestling on the grass…I wonder what they wear?”
Princess Clíona laughed as she heard the other two dragons growl at him and his laughter grow in turn.
She hadn’t yet reached the rest of the party who had set out the food before all three of them were beside her and at her back, their eyes watching over her greedily.
(Continued in Chapter 6 at http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=80391 )
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