The Lady in the White Tower
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: I own neither towers nor castles. Rating: K Time: In an AU future, or perhaps an AU past.
"We should stop here." Lady Kate said. "If you'll feed Lotus, Pegasus and your horse, I'll set up our tent for the night."
Now that they were out of earshot of other humans, Lotus had no qualms about talking.
"What did Alyssa pack for me? I get so very tired of eating raw food as if I were some sort of an animal. What did she send?"
Castle opened a saddle bag and removed a package wrapped in heavy paper with the name Lotus on it. Lotus inhaled deeply.
"Oh, that lovely redheaded lady. She's made me a large meat pie, some sausages and barbequed shoulder of venison. Um, did she not put some plates and silverware in for me?" She asked.
"You need plates and silverware?"
Lotus sniffed. "Do you think I'm some kind of barbarian? I'd also like a napkin and a mug, if you please."
"You have hands?"
Lotus glared at Castle.
"Of course, I have hands, but we just don't let many humans know that. Where you have but one joint at your wrist, we have two. When walking on four feet, as we do, we walk on what would be to you, the back of our hands. See? We have pads there just as on our back feet." Lotus showed Castle the pads. "Then, our fingers and thumbs are folded up against our lower arms where none can see them without looking very closely." Lotus showed her fangs. "And who wants to get close to a tigery?"
Castle searched through the bag and found the required items. Lotus sat down to enjoy her meal.
When Castle turned around, he saw that Lady Kate had erected a tent, and now had a fire burning under a large pot. However, when he looked again, it seemed that there was no fire under the pot, but rather the fire was burning from the bottom of the pot itself. The pot contained a hearty beef stew which they ate with what appeared to be fresh baked bread, although Castle could so no sign of any baking oven. At the end of the dinner, they shared a cold white wine.
Once inside the tent, Castle found it was quite warm inside and the floor was quite springy, not hard as a tent pitched on the mountain's rocks should be.
"I fear I've made a mistake, Rick."
"What is it?"
"The tent is rather warmer than necessary. I fear that if I wear my sleeping gown, I'll get too warm. Would you mind at all if I sleep in the nude?" Before he could reply, her white gown slipped from her shoulders and she stood there, nude.
He stood there, stunned by her beauty, although he had seen her body many times before.
She laughed. "It appears you intend to sleep in your clothing and chain mail hauberk?"
Castle said nothing for a second, then began to undress as rapidly as he could, which was very rapidly, indeed. Then he joined her on a section of the floor of the tent that was as soft as a feather bed.
This part might be slightly more than your usual K.
"You're beautiful, and so much more." He said, reaching for her breasts and stroking them.
She grasped his erection and began to stoke it as well. "You are handsome and so much more." She said, "but I want you now."
She lay on her back and spread her legs as wide as she could. He gently mounted her and began kissing her, moving from her mouth to her breasts and then down to her shaven pussy. She grabbed his head and pushed him against her. He brought her to a climax in minutes, then he slid up her body, kissing her and letting her taste herself on his lips and tongue. Then he entered her properly and brought her to a climax twice more before erupting inside of her.
It's safe now.
"That was amazing." He said, after getting his breath back.
"More than amazing." She replied, running a finger over his chest. "What did you mean when you said I was beautiful and so much more?"
He thought for a moment. "You're wise, kind, gentle, capable of great violence, but wish to avoid violence if possible. You're remarkable."
"And so are you, Richard."
He laughed. "There's nothing remarkable about a former Imperial cavalry officer."
"You met Lotus and didn't flinch. You saw some of my little tricks in the tower and didn't run screaming from my presence. Do you have any idea how many men have done just that?"
Castle shrugged. "I can't explain it, but somehow I knew I was in no danger from you."
"But you put yourself into danger. You were shot with a poisoned dart and fought a trained killer. Worse you saw a weak woman kill another trained killer and help you dispatch another. You may be the only man in the Empire who wouldn't have left me and found a safer woman."
Castle just laughed. "We need to go to sleep, love. We need to be up and on our way early tomorrow."
When they awoke the next morning, they went outside to find Lotus asleep between two of the horses, Pegasus and the pack horse.
"Time to get up, Lotus." Kate called.
The tigery growled. "I had to sleep outside. Is there any reason I couldn't have slept in the nice worm tent with you?" The two humans blushed which gave Lotus her answer. "And your horse snores, Baron Castle." She snarked.
"Eat your breakfast, Lotus." Kate said. "We need to be on our way."
It was nearly noon when they came upon a wooden barricade across the path with a sign on it that said "Pay or Die." Below the lettering was a crude skull and crossbones.
Lotus strode to the barrier. "Who put this damned thing up? Can't you buffoons see that it's me and Lady Kate? Pay or die, indeed."
Two tigery heads popped up over a stand of rocks above them.
"Is that you, Lotus?" Asked one.
"No, it's the great goddess Banthazar, come to teach you some wisdom. Of course, it's me, Falnan. Are you blind?"
"Does the male human know about us?"
"You mean does he know we can talk after we've been here having a conversation, you dunderbrain? Of course, he knows about us! Now get this thing out of our way!"
The two tigerys came down and removed the barrier and led the two humans and their horses to a cleverly concealed cave opening.
They hadn't gone very far when Lotus said they would have to dismount and proceed on foot. Lotus told the two other tigeries to remove Rick and Kate's baggage from their horses and carry it.
Castle could see no reason why they couldn't ride as the cave was quite wide for a good hundred yards. Then he saw why they had dismounted. The cave stopped suddenly and they were looking almost straight down at a valley far below.
"How do we get down?" He asked, wondering if Kate had some magic for this.
"We use that." Lotus said, pointing up.
"That" was what looked like a boat, but then Castle saw that it was suspended from ropes. Looking further, he saw that there were massive pylons built into the side of the valley with ropes between them. He understood.
"We get in the boat and it gets attached to the ropes and we ride down to the valley floor."
"Very good." Lotus said.
"We can go down using gravity, but how do we get back up?"
'There are treadmills down in the valley and here. People with strong backs and weak minds will walk on the treadmills and bring us back up." She slapped on of the tigeries on the back. The tigery gave her a well known hand gesture.
"The cable car is hooked up and checked." Said yet a third tigery who climbed out of the car. "Ready when you are."
The three got in with their baggage, followed by the third tigery. As it happened, he was the brakeman to insure they didn't go too fast to the valley floor.
Castle tried to look unconcerned, but he had never been so high off the ground before. Lady Kate took his hand, which made him feel better.
Once on the valley floor, they were met by a delegation of tigeries.
"We're off to the main hall. Queen Aisa wants to see you both." Said one and off they went.
The main hall was large, perhaps as big as the courtyard in his regiment's former barracks, and held several hundred tigeries. The sides were open, but it appeared to Castle that they could be closed off with heavy cloth curtains. The roof was made of slats, now vertical, letting in the sunshine. It appeared they could be closed as well in case of rain.
At the end of the hall was a bench and on the bench was an elderly tigery. He assumed this was Queen Aisa. Her black stripes had faded to gray and her white stripes were also grey. Sitting just below her was an equally elderly tigery, whom Castle thought was male. He ignored them and played with two tigery cubs.
"Come closer, my dear, my eyes are not as sharp as they once were." Queen Aisa said.
Kate approached her and curtsied. "It's good to see you again, Queen Aisa."
"And you as well." The Queen replied. "My, you are even more beautiful that when last we met. And who us this male with you? Bring him here."
Kate took his hand and drew him forward.
"This is Baron Richard Castle, late of the Empire's army, commander of a regiment of cavalry and…"Kate blushed slightly…"my friend."
Queen Aisa chuckled. "More then just a friend, I'd say."
"He's my lover." She said, a bit too loudly.
"Are you to be wed?" Asked a voice. "We've never had a human wedding here before. It would be fascinating."
Kate blushed even redder. "Baron Castle has not discussed this with me."
"I would marry Kate in a second, if she would have me." Rick said.
"And I will have you if you will just ask." She shot back.
"Will you marry me, Lady Katherine Beckett?"
"I will, Baron Richard Castle, however, I must disappoint those here. I would be married at my home, before my family, as is our custom."
"You should be married as is your custom." Said the queen. "However, we may be able to find a few things to give you to remind you of us when that day comes. But, now, sit and tell me of the world beyond our little valley."
Two chairs designed for humans were brought forth and Kate began to tell Queen Aisa of the world beyond. Castle was quite surprised at how much she knew, about the Empire's finances, its politics, its foreign trade, the salacious gossip of the Imperial Court, the ever-shifting alliances among the courtiers, and then she spoke with great knowledge of the Norren lands, the eastern horse barbarians, and even the dwellers in the Great Sand Sea to the south of the Empire. She also spoke about the lands they had traversed in crossing the new continent. She did ask Castle to describe the military of the Empire, but he suspected she knew as much as he did.
The sun began to sink behind the mountains, torches were lit and then food and drink were brought forth. And still Kate talked to the queen. But, at last she was done.
"Queen Aisa, may I ask a question?" Castle said.
"But of course, Baron Castle. I shall answer you to the best of my ability."
"You re an intelligent people, but to the rest of the world you allow yourselves to be seen as mere animals. Why?"
TBC