The city was a magnificent sight, and neither the twins nor I had ever seen anything like it. When it was originally founded, it had spread out along the plains at the base of the foothills, but as it grew ever larger the estates and businesses of the city's wealthier residents had worked their way up the slopes.
This had left a core of massive stone buildings towering out of the city's heart, nestled against the slopes of the hills and surrounded by diminutive wooden structures on all sides. The smaller buildings stretched out in all directions, a sea of thatch and tile roofs, with occasional watch towers rearing out from within them.
Without hesitation we plunged into Halbourne's outer suburbs, trekking our way towards its heart. Once we passed through the slums and reached the paved roads of the inner city, our pace picked up and we soon found ourselves wandering through the monolithic stone structures of the old city. About their bases a bustling street market had formed, where all manner of wares were being peddled by eager merchants.
I knew at this point, as we milled about the fringes of the market, that I had to find the estate of the Retzners, the family that my parents had adopted me from, but I had little idea of how I might go about it. Lucia however took the initiative;
"We could just ask someone you know, the merchants here would know the city inside out." She said in a matter of fact manner.
"I suppose you're right..." I said, somewhat sheepish at not having thought of this myself. I started towards the markets but Lucia caught my arm.
"No, no, let me Eric, I can be very persuasive." She arched one eyebrow at me and I watched as she loosened the neck of her dress, revealing her creamy cleavage before plunging into the thick of the marketplace. Jared and I watched cautiously from the market's edge as she approached a young merchant, leaning across his stall to admire the fruits at the back. She caught his eye and they spoke briefly, then with a flick of her hair and a generous smile, Lucia returned to us.
She positively glowed when she told us;
"Well boys, we simply take the main market street north until it reaches the slopes of the hills. Then the Retzner residence will be on our left with a statue of a water maiden in a pond out front."
Though Lucia made it sound like a Sunday stroll, we soon discovered that it was anything but. First we walked right past the major market street, and didn't even realize it until we noticed the stalls beginning to thin. Lucia chatted shortly to another merchant and we reversed direction and were back on track. The going was easy from there, until we reached the base of the foothills. The slopes of the hills were more formidable than we had expected, and we frequently stopped to rest before hefting our packs to our backs and pressing onwards again.
By the time we spotted the statue of the water maiden, with her urn held high above her head and her breasts alluringly bare, we were sweaty and exhausted, our footsteps heavy. Further more, the sun was nearly set, and if we were unable stay at the Retzner estate, then we would have to make our way back into the depths of the city in darkness, a thought that worried me more than I cared to admit to the twins.
Sweaty and disheveled we approached the house, a massive two story structure of stone with wooden trim and supports. Vines laced the walls from the ground to the shingle roof, and narrow windows peeked from amongst them. Surrounding the house were immaculate lawns and hedges in perfect geometric arrangements around the ponds, lakes and gazebos that were dotted throughout them.
With this magnificence surrounding us, I was finding it hard to see how the three of us, poor, homeless and dirty, reeking of sweat and coated with grime; Jared and I unshaven for many days now, could possibly be invited inside. I was almost certain in fact, that we would be turned away by some minor servant.
My heart already sinking in my chest, I reached out to the floral brass knocker on the doors and tapped it twice. We waited patiently for what seemed like forever, until I finally stepped forward and reached for the knocker again.
"No wait Eric." Jared said. "Give it a bit longer, it’s really rude to knock twice and it’s a big house... maybe they're on their way." Lucia snorted in a most un-lady-like manner, drawing smiles from both Jared and I, and I felt the tension dissipate.
"Or they're peering out the window at us hoping we'll leave witho..." Lucia trailed off as the door silently swung open.
Inside stood a girl that was so petite that I hardly noticed her at first. She was at least a head shorter than Lucia, and her body was slight beneath her traditional maid's uniform. Strange thoughts occur to one when under stress, and upon seeing her, my first occurrence was to think how finely balanced the huge oak door must be, for a girl of such slight and delicate stature to open it with so little effort. Once I had shaken this useless conclusion from my head, I was struck by how pretty she was.
The maid's dress was hardly revealing with its black, full length sleeves and skirt under a white apron, but it hugged her torso firmly, showing the fine curves and trim muscle beneath. Her dark brown hair was tied back with a neat white ribbon and draped down to her hips, exposing the smooth pale skin of her neck. Her eyes were wide and so dark as to appear black, surrounded by dense black lashes. Her tiny round button nose was nestled above a small mouth with soft, plush lips.
She could not have been older than fourteen, and the only thing breaking her angelic appearance was the icy expression she wore. Despite the fact that I was least three years her senior, a massive difference at that age, she looked me up and down critically, and then did the same to Lucia and Jared, before addressing me;
"Can I help you?" She asked curtly, arching one thin eyebrow. Somewhat taken aback I stammered;
"Er.. I uh.."
"Yes?" She prompted impatiently.
"Well, uh... I'd like to talk to the Lord of the house if I may." A vague request which revealed my ignorance and I cursed myself inside as soon as I'd said it.
"Lord?" She parroted quizzically.
"Or Lady, be that the case." I hurriedly added.
"Is she expecting you?" She eyed me up and down again before answering her own query: "No I expect not. Your name please sir."
"Eric Leyland."
"Wait here please."
"Thank you." I said meekly to her back as the door clicked shut in my face.
"Well that could have gone better..." Lucia commented.
"Could have gone worse," Jared said. "After all, we're still standing here, and presumably she's taken Eric's name to the Lady of the house."
"Presumably? I wouldn't put it past that icy little cow to wander about for a while then shoo us away." Lucia replied. I interjected here;
"Well if she does there's nothing we can do about it tonight. We'll just have to sleep on it."
"Well, I don't know about that," Jared put in, "we could just slip around the side and there's bound to-" Jared was cut off by the maid loudly clearing her throat behind us. The door had swung open so silently that we hadn't even noticed her presence. We hurriedly turned back to her to hear what she had to say. But instead she looked over her shoulder to where a slim figure stood in the shadows. The figure nodded once, and the petite maid turned back to face us, her lips pursed tightly.
"Come in, the Lady Retzner will see you now." She said pertly, and stepped aside, drawing the door open with her. As we stepped onto the polished hardwood floors, the Lady Retzner came forth from the shadows.
She was everything I had hoped of a noble woman. She was suitably tall, a fraction more than myself, and though she was slim, her figure was full and generous beneath the gown she wore, a thin, single piece of silky fabric in an oriental style of greens and blues, with a slender rope pulling it in tight at her waist. The garment left one arm and shoulder bare and the other covered. She approached us, her wavy black hair swinging about her shoulders and her dark eyes sparkling behind thick lashes as she watched us intently. Her face held fine features, high cheek bones and a thin nose, lush dark red lips and sleek eyes, with skin so pale it was almost white, contrasting starkly against her raven black hair. As she swept towards us I caught a faint trace of her scent, like the slight smell of roses nearby.
"Eric." She cooed smoothly, and her quiet voice was like silk sheets sliding together. She reached out and took my hand in both of hers. Her skin was cool and her slender fingers stroked my wrist. I was speechless; goose bumps rose up my arm and spread across my body in a wave. "Eric, how you've grown." Her other hand stroked the stubble of my cheek and then rested on my shoulder. "I don't suppose you remember me do you?" I stood silently gazing into her eyes, dumbfounded. This enchanting noble woman, remembered me, from over sixteen years ago. "Well, I was only the age you are now when you came to this house." Through my daze I quickly did the math in my head. She must about thirty four then, though her skin showed no sign that she was above twenty five. The benefits of a sheltered life style I supposed.
"The three of you look so... tired. Would you and your friends like to stay the night Eric? ... Eric?" She prompted when I just stared for a few moments more.
"Oh, yes, thank you very much Lady Retzner." Still with my hand in hers I turned to the twins. "This is Jared and Lucia." They both nodded and mumbled their greetings while Lady Retzner smiled faintly at them.
"It's my pleasure to meet you both. I hope you'll accept my invitation to stay the night." The twins nodded eagerly and Lady Retzner released my hand, swiveling around to lead us into the house. "Just leave your packs here; I'll have the maids take them up to your rooms." Jared and Lucia exchanged a glance before we lowered our packs to the floor and followed the noble woman.
Only now did I take in the opulent interior of the house. We stood in an ante chamber surrounding the door, with dark hard wood floor boards stretching out in every direction. The walls were bare stone with wooden supports visible at the arches on either side of us. Before us a wide staircase adorned with green carpet and finely carved banisters lead upwards to the second floor, and above us was open to the rafters of the roof high above. Beyond the two arches were lavishly furnished lounge areas with fireplaces and leather chairs arranged around bear skin rugs. It was through one of these lounges that Lady Retzner led us.
I watched her as she walked barefoot before us, the gown clinging to her svelte form, her hair brushing about her pale shoulders. She looked back and spoke to the maid.
"Molly, could you prepare a pair of baths for our guests," Then to us, still dutifully following on her heels: "You all look exhausted. Once the baths are ready, you can just relax and get washed up for a while, I'll arrange for some clean clothes and a meal once you're done."
"Thank you Milady," Lucia said. "But one bath will be enough, we want to stick together." Lady Retzner raised one eyebrow and barely stifled a smile.
"Of course. Only one bath then Molly, make it the largest one." Molly nodded sharply and turned on her heel, disappearing into the depths of the house. We followed Lady Retzner through her cavernous home, and finally emerged on the other side through a set of glass doors and into a dense tropical garden.
"Let's take a seat while we wait for your bath shall we?" She motioned to an ornate little gazebo lit by candle in the dwindling light. We trudged past her on the narrow path to slump down into one of the benches inside. Lady Retzner lowered herself into the bench opposite us and crossed her legs. I watched her long, muscular thighs shift and slide together beneath the silk, but quickly averted my eyes when she spoke.
"It looks like you've come a long way Eric, Jared, Lucia. Was it a rough journey? How long have you been on the road?" Jared and Lucia glanced to me to answer. It was I after all that had decided the direction of our journey.
"It hasn't been *too* bad. Exhausting certainly, but not too many troubles. This is our fifth day."
"Fifth?" She tapped her pouting lower lip and turned her eyes skyward. "If my memory serves me, which it does, you've come from Tymler, correct?"
"Yes."
"Five days is a long time to be on the road from Tymler. Did you take the scenic route?" She asked casually. I became suddenly cautious. She had deduced a lot my offhand answer, I didn't want to reveal too much too quickly. We were after all, on the run from the law, and ought to act like it at least, even if we didn't feel that way.
"We stopped at a farmhouse for a few days, and worked for food and board." I replied. I felt a twinge of guilt at this. It wasn't exactly a lie; it just omitted all the important details. Still, Lady Retzner had shown us great hospitality, and I didn't want to take that for granted. Especially considering that she was my only link to my birth parents at that time. I decided to try and change the subject. "You have an incredible home. Far larger than any I've seen before. Do you live here alone?"
"I do now, yes. My parents passed away some years ago, and I never married, so now it's just me and the servants. I have two maids, but most of their time is wasted just lounging around. I don't make a lot of work for them, but I can't bear to let them go either. Then there's Gary, he's kind of an odd job man. Fixes things about the house, cooks and keeps the gardens and so on. It's nice to have a man around the house you know." She looked the three of us over lazily as we sat shoulder to shoulder on the bench, Lucia sandwiched between Jared and I. "Of course, now I have *two* nice young men... I do have one family member though, a half sister, but she lives far away, in the south."
We made some more idle and inane conversation, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I sat and watched Lady Retzner's dark red lips move, and watched how the night breeze pinned her gown to her lovely body and sent her hair shimmering. We talked of trivialities, how was the weather for our journey, what did we think of the city and such, until the maid Molly signaled Lady Retzner from the doors.
"Ah, your bath is ready. Please, follow me." She rose and we obediently followed her back into the house. The baths were on the ground floor at the very back of the house, tiled pits sunk into the floor with little staircases leading into each. Each bath was separated by a dense lattice partition from floor to ceiling. She led us to the largest, which was filled to the brim with steaming water with herbs floating on the surface. Flowers of soap sat in a dish by the edge, and fluffy white towels were piled in the corner.
"When you're finished, just pull the cord on the wall and I'll see that some clean clothes are brought to you. Don't rush though, take as long as you like. Afterwards we'll have dinner, which should be nice. I haven't guests here in while, and I do like to get dressed up for such occasions. Anyway, I'll leave you to it." And with that she swept out, leaving us alone.
Without a moment's hesitation we stripped off our filthy clothes and slipped into the water. It deliciously hot, almost too much to bear, and we let out a chorus of groans as it carried our aches and pains away. The water was about waist height, but there was more than enough room to sink down and stretch out beneath it. I grabbed a flower of soap and lathered myself from head to toe, even covering my lank hair and washing the grit and grease away. Jared and Lucia set about cleaning themselves as I admired the room's construction.
In the side of the bath a wide outlet pipe was visible, surrounded by sculpted stone lilies. So the water must be heated elsewhere and pumped in, and... I looked down between my feet to where a massive stone plug lay embedded in the bath's floor. That probably led to a basement or an irrigation system so the water wouldn't go to waste. I tried to peer through the lattices around our bath to see if the others were the same, but since ours was brightly lit by lanterns and the rest lay in darkness I couldn't see a thing.
When I turned my attention back to our own bath, I realized that the twins couldn't care less about the bath itself. Jared had Lucia pressed firmly against the side of the bath, squashing their bodies together. They kissed passionately, their tongues dancing together and their hands working vigorously beneath the water. I watched them intently, toying with my already rigid member beneath the surface.
Lucia wrapped her arms around Jared's shoulders and he bucked forward against her, lifting her up out of the water and sending a wave sloshing over the edge. Her lips opened to release a gasp as he entered her, and her arms tightened about his neck. He began a steady rhythm, smoothly sliding between her slender thighs, which she wrapped tightly around his hips.
Lucia watched me closely over Jared's shoulder as he drove himself smoothly into her, over and over. I stroked myself slowly and steadily as Lucia edged closer to her peak. She quivered and squirmed against Jared's unrelenting rhythm, letting out ever louder moans and squeals until she bit down on her lower lip to silence herself. The soft pink flesh of her lip bulged around her teeth and I slowed my stroking to hold off the climax.
I could hear Jared's ragged breath, but his pace never slowed, and Lucia suddenly arched her back and neck, driving her hips against him and drawing her shoulders away from his. She shook intensely and I could see her breasts shuddering in the air, sending steam and water flying.
As she relaxed back against Jared's body, he gave a short grunt and his rhythm faltered. As he spurted his seed within her, Lucia stroked his neck and kissed his ear, whispering softly in it. He sank back into the water and their bodies separated, lazily drifting apart in the water. Lucia leant back against the bath's edge, the water lapping around her freckled shoulders. She beckoned to me with one out stretched finger and I moved silently towards her, my gaze locked on her bright blue eyes.
She was still breathing heavily, her pale skin flushed from the bath's heat and her exertions. Her wet hair was plastered to her head and shoulders, and steam formed beads of liquid on her skin, the heaviest of which tumbled down the fine curve of her neck to the water.
As I neared her she rose up, rivulets of liquid streaming down her breasts and stomach, and reached out for me. I gripped her waist as her arms looped about my neck, drawing me in. We kissed heatedly and our bodies came together, her nipples hard against my chest and my swollen member pressing hotly into her hip. Our tongues slipped over one another heatedly until she broke the kiss, panting for breath, and squirmed out of my grip.
She turned her back to me and bent far over, one arm resting on the bath's edge and her head resting on her arm in turn. Her behind lay submerged just beneath the water, her legs spread wide invitingly. After her encounter with Jared, I was able to enter Lucia fully in a single stroke. She mewled softly as I sank in, her flesh clenching against my entry, intensifying the sensation.
Before me her back rose out of the water like a gentle ramp, and I stroked one hand up it firmly, feeling the tensed muscles beneath her flushed skin. She murmured contently, her eyes closed, a blissful expression on her face. Her wet, golden hair was plastered to her shoulders and I swept it aside, revealing the lightly freckled curve of her neck. I grasped her in the hollow of her shoulder and with my other hand steadied myself on her waist and began to rock my hips in broad, languid undulations.
In the midst of one long and eager stroke, Lucia mumbled through her dazed state to me;
"Mmm, that is so nice Eric..." Her free hand drifted through the water to settle between her legs, and I felt a firm pressure in sympathy with my strokes.
I could have stayed there for eternity and never complained. The wonderful feeling of Lucia's heat and tightness around my member as I worked leisurely inside her, the steam rising from the water and our straining bodies, her angelic form lain out before me, her tiny moans, gasps and sighs with each motion of my hips, Jared just meters away, gripping his own excited member and watching closely as I coupled with his twin sister, all this combined to create a moment of serene contentment.
As my father always told me though, all good things must come to an end. And so this did, eventually. Lucia's noises melded into one extended groan and her movements fell out of time with my own. Her hand fluttered frantically between her legs and her mouth opened wide, her lips trembling in the air. She twitched, just once, and on my inward stroke her womanhood tightened around me, compressing my member. I drove onwards against the resistance, the sensations along my shaft growing more intense with every inch I advanced. As my hips met the soft, round flesh of her buttocks, the feelings overwhelmed me and I reached my climax, releasing myself inside her hot, wet passage.
My peak rushed up my shaft and exploded at the tip and all the tension I had built up streamed out through my member in tremendous pulses, my member pumping out my seed in long, powerful beats.
When the throbbing weakened and finally stopped, I sank back into the water and Lucia rolled over until she floated on her back, just her face and the peaks of her breasts breaking the surface, basking in the after glow of her climax.
We lingered in the bath for the longest time, until the water was threatening to drop past lukewarm and into cold. Eventually Jared reached up out of the water and lightly tugged the rope to signal the maid. We languished in the water waiting for the Molly to arrive, wondering what the evening to come would hold.
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