S1 Chapter 3; White Knight

2020 AC/DC. En Route to the Kingdom by the Sea.

The day that came was breezy and the sky was smudged with grey clouds against a blue sky. Dawn and her child Rosie came in an unannounced appearance at the Castle By the Sea, where the Old King ruled, Old King being a title passed from one king to the next. They were taken to his great hall where he and his court sat as they spent their days. They were there now as Princesses Dawn and Rosie entered. Dawn was dressed for battle in black leather arm and shin guards, Rosie in her pleated skirt and white tights. Never was there more of a contrast between innocent and not.

The Kingdom by the Sea was an old old house that was established long ago when the first explorers from the Great Island came to mingle with the free folk of the Seven Lands. Thousands of years went by and the Kingdom by the Sea became the oldest, most respected kingdom out of the Seven lands. The King himself was now old, his grandfather took part in the Holy Wood Rebellion of '79 and ties with Holy Wood were dormant, but strong. Star was a Pisces Born, she was drawn to the sea and water and it was the first place the Shaman took her to when she woke up in the deserts. Dawn was no stranger to this place and knew that to get what she wanted she had to be calm here, aggression was met with negative effects.

She came to the foot of the throne and dropped to one knee in customary greeting, she knew that acting brash would get her nowhere here. When she stood he smiled kindly, his pale blue eyes sparkled with mischief, it made Dawn wary.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Princess of Holy Wood.” He addressed her.

“I have no time to waste words, so I will be forthright. I need your White Knight, his purity can break any curse it is said. Is this true?”

He always did like the blood of Star Dust, wild and strong. Natural born rulers. Their ways were commendable, their attitudes made him smile, so different from one Moorison lady to the next.

“Who is it who needs saving may I ask?”

She didn't want to say it, her mother's shenanigans were widely known and this one would make people laugh. “My mother.”

“Who placed the curse?”

She sighed in angst, “My Mother the Queen set it upon the Wizard in revenge for kidnapping my daughter, and trapped herself in the process.” So many words, so much time wasted already.

There was small laughter through the crowds, she didn't look at the snickering nobles. She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at everyone surrounding her, her eyes darkened like an impending storm. One could almost hear the thunder at her finger tips. If she kept her composure she knew they would help. Snickering beasts they may be, they were human at heart.

“I shall lend the Knight to your service, but first the conditions must be signed and reviewed.”

His steward came forward with quill and contract in hand. Dawn had no time. She kept a level voice and tried her hand at using solid reason and urgency.

She couldn't take the formalities. “I beg pardon King but I cannot stand here and wait for the contract to be recorded. I need the Knight as quickly as possibly. Whatever the cost is know I will pay it!”

“Very well,” the King grinned, it was a shame she wouldn't let him continue but she did say she would pay any price. He nodded to the Knight in question.

The Knight had been standing to the side and behind the throne. He came forward, a seven foot tall faceless man who never spoke or removed his armor. Some said he was an enchanted suit, others said a cursed man, others said he was a hero from the Great Holy Wood Rebellion. But his soul was said to be pure enough to break any curse. Dawn hoped his purity was enough for him to bring down the wall her mother had created. Anyone who wanted the Knight had to pay but the price was different for everyone and not all were willing to pay. The Princess warrior didn't care about spending riches or items to save her mother. She would do it.

The Knight marched forward under his white colors and Dawn got on her knee to bow. Rosie dipped her head and curtsied, all the while quietly watching. The Old King gazed at her with such deep kindness, he knew a like Leo soul when he saw one. They were rare in these lands, Leo Borns.

“If you are going into Battle, you may wish to keep the child here. We will keep her safe from harm.” The King said.

The mere thought sent Rosie's eyes wide with panic and she suddenly grabbed at her mother's cloak tail.

“Mummy,” she whispered.

Dawn turned to face her. “Now Rosie you have to be brave. No one here will do you any harm or unkindness. They are known for their gentle hearts. I have to go fight and you cannot follow me there.”

A group of ladies in waiting opened their arms to the girl and she had to admit that they didn't seem or feel threatening in the least. The man in her head who was always watching, told her it was safe to go forward. She hated the thought of leaving her mother but knew it was for her own safety. She went with the ladies and Dawn gave her one more parting look before storming out with the Knight in tow. He followed silently as she mounted her stead, he mounted his white stallion and away they flew across the lands, to the Tower of Black. With her mind settle by the White Knight she was free to revert back to the anger she felt at her mother being locked up under a sex curse with the very man Dawn knew she would some day marry.

“It should be me in the castle!” She screamed as she kicked her horse to go faster, the steed was empowered by her furious soul and it gave the creature power as they thundered forward.

*********************************************************************

Inside the Dark Castle of the Wizard, evening.

Star and the Wizard flung away from each other. They panted heavily and were drenched in sweat. Unsatisfied but exhausted from hours of “going at it”, they had to run away from each other to get any rest. A curse meant to punish the Wizard! Star gasped for breath as she left the Wizard laying on the rug before a fire. He closed his eyes lest the sight of her departing behind made him hard again. He laid on his front, gripping the edge of the rug and biting his knuckle.

She went up as far as up went into the lofts of the castle. Its enchanted halls changed constantly, making anyone who did not know its power lost, Star was not lost but she wished she was.A bed soon came to her feet and she flung herself into it, laying down on her back. To anyone else she appeared a corpse, they couldn't eat enough because eating made them aroused, they couldn't sleep because they burned with a raging sexual fever. Every time they coupled they climaxed and body fluids were never exchanged so heavily, but they were left with a never ending feeling of being unsatisfied. Nothing they did, no position, no length of time, no amount of aggressive hair pulling and flesh smacking made them feel spent.

Away from each other they could rest for a time until the need was upon them again. The Wizard did not live completely alone in his castle, he had servants, people of Holy Wood who came to work for him, nearly only wandering men who needed work. Women, unless in need of a nameless lover, steered clear of the Castle. The man servants had Not fallen under the curse, but the sounds of the two nobles frantically making love drove them mad all on its own. They had never seen or experienced such a uncontrollable frenzy between two bodies. They wondered how any living creature could expend so much energy and not die.

One such man among them was driven to more pain than any of them. He had only recently taken up work in the castle, having returned from the Great Island to the South. He was visiting the Queen's ill begotten bastard son and had news that only he could deliver in the deepest secrecy, direct from Prince Malcom of the Younge family. The man was not the tallest figure ever born, and his face was not conventionally handsome. But something in his eyes was smart and wild, brave and full of fire. Those blue eyes that darted through the darkened halls, his arms were strong and relaxed in his process of searching. His feet were silent, his legs muscled from years of creeping in the shadows. He was looking for the woman he had hoped would come, after hearing the Wizard speak out loud about the Princess Dawn he knew how to get Star here.

The Wizard had wondered aloud where Dawn was and why she felt the need to run the underground gangs when she could be with him. The Man had casually mentioned, while continuing to work, that the best way to get the Princess- or even the Queen for that matter- was to go through the girl Rosie. He pointed out that the Princess in waiting was often left alone when her female family members were out entertaining the masses. The Wizard had been enlightened and the Man laughed to himself with the outcome. Of course the Queen would cast a curse and curse herself too. He went to her now, watching the nude nymph as she tried to escape her own curse.

He found her hidden in a smaller guest room. When his eyes fell upon the sleeping beauty he suddenly remembered why he had been following her every track for the last forty years. He was a Dirty Deeds Man, an assassin for hire, and in 1973 before she married the Lizard King, he was sent to kill her. But he couldn't do it and when he came to her bedside he knew why; she was his soul mate. He had failed his mission, and missed out on the payout of his life, because when he made love to her that night she had touched his soul with her own.

Now she was older, she had been but a girl when he first met her, and she had been married, made Queen, gifted the Six Lands with Immortality, had three children, and one grandchild. He was still a Dirty Deeds Man. Now she was thin, near sickly looking, the exhaustion was clear in her face and had he not seen her walking, he would have taken her for a fresh corpse. Dead looking but beautiful still.

He sat on his heels, silently beside the bed. He couldn't touch her, afraid to wake her like he had been that morning after their first night together. She mumbled, she always mumbled in her sleep. His soul screamed at him to pick her up in his arms and kiss her until she cried. He wanted to placate the curse with their desires for each other, but every time he made love to her it only became harder to leave. Still, she began to come to after only minutes of sleep, and he was sorry that his presence awoke her, she could sleep when he was gone.

She seemed to know who he was before they saw each other. “Bon?” Her eyes opened and she reached out to touch his strong face, his dimpled cheeks and manly jaw line. “Bon is that you? Is it really you? Gods its been so long.”

“Five years to be exact....”

“Too long...”

With the curse upon her she reached out to him, cupping his neck in an iron grip and bringing him in to kiss her frantically. He could tell she was too desperate, driven by the curse. Still he didn't push away until she shoved herself away.

“I'm sorry I cursed this castle and myself...I am not myself.” She cried into the silk sheets.

He didn't want to say what he had to. Duty often had to overrule love. It was the way their lives were cast.

“I can't stay long Star, I came here to talk to you very briefly....”

She bit her tongue to keep silent. All she really wanted to do was spend the rest of eternity in this place with the man before her. That wish had been the same for the last forty years.

“The boy is almost ready. Another year or so the group will be complete. He's adapting quite well to life on the Great Island. Full of trouble, just like his mother.”

She laughed. If she weren't so full of life with rosie cheeks, he would've believed she was dying, laying in the bed like an invalid when it was exhaustion that weighed on her. With the Wizard equally as punished by her own curse, he was off sleeping in the castle. Trying to recover from their sexcapades. Even the magician needed a reprieve. Bon kissed her head and when she blinked he slipped away, she blinked again, hoping he would return to her line of sight but as always he left without a word and she let him go without a word. It was easier that way, all the times he couldn't stay, all the words she couldn't say, left unspoken lest their strength crumble around them. Both wanted only each other, but what they wanted mattered for nothing in their positions, it was a painful circle they ran in.

Then, blissfully, she had a dream about their first meeting. She hadn't recalled that night in years, so many other nights were more passionate than then but that single night they shared before her wedding was the most tender they'd ever had.

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Dream land....

1973 CR, an outback train on the Great Southern Island.

Star Dust Blackmoore was on a trip as ambassador. She was reading the letter her father had written, traveling by train she was making way to the capitol called Sydny. She was going to meet her royal friends the Younge family as they opened up a a grand new acting house by the sea. Her father, Lord Alwein Blackmoore, had sent her a letter, dated a week ago, that the King of Holy Wood had made a choice out of the selection of noble girls presented to him for marriage. The King of Lizard blood had chosen Star, she was going to be the Queen of Holy Wood.

She let the letter fly free from her hands and fly out the window.

  “Dearest Star Dust, child of mine. On the very day I write this, the king made his decision and called your name as his future bride. The entire family is so proud of you. Please return to the mainland as soon as this letter reaches you and we will commence with the wedding plans. Your future is like your name, bright and shining.
All of my love, Father.
Lord Alwein Blackmoore of Blackmoore Manor of Holy Wood.”

He always told her, your future is like your name, bright and shinning. She smiled at the corner of her mouth and the letter went away, so she was to be married already. She had only been conscious for fifteen years, she was thirty years old and she was engaged to the most powerful king in the Six kingdoms. She didn't know how she felt, after all it had been her parents who had put her name forward for the lottery, as the only female child of a prominent noble family, it was her duty to wed into royalty. She supposed it would interesting to say the least, her parents often said they didn't love each other when they married but they grew to love each other.

The train stopped and she got off to stretch her legs, her mind numb from the news of her engagement. She went straight to a bar and began drinking, to have fun as a single woman, to dance, to forget her duties............and she missed her train. It left without her and she didn't notice. She leaned against the jukebox, and watched a slinky character out of the corner of her eye. He had been trailing her all night, from the station to the bar. He came up beside her at the bar when she ordered her first drink.

He came up to her, finally. She grinned.

“Hey girl, I've been watching you all night,” he was slurring. "You're so pretty, so sexy," he whispered.

She was astounded and thought to herself, "Did this man honestly think he could seduce her like that?"

 "Why don't we dance?”

She laughed. “Dance, I say we will. But don't call me sexy.”

He laughed and followed her. They danced well, she was surprised, and not just because he kept pace with her. There was something about his rugged face that she was drawn to, she felt a sinking pit in her stomach as they competed on the dance floor, as the songs went faster their moves became more intense. Finally they stopped, in each others arms and their eyes met under a dusty light from above. They were not in a rusty, beaten old tavern. They were alone with each other. She pushed away from him and stumbled on her ankle, drunk. She went to the bar, ordered another rum shot and drank it in one fell swoop of her hand. The man came up to her, panting for breath and calming down. He did the same.

“My name is Bon,” he said after a drink. He held out his hand. "Bon Scotte."

She shook it. “That is how you meet someone.” Her laugh was low. “Especially when you meet a Blackmoore.”

“Oh?” He said in surprise, a smile bright on his face. “You are a Blackmoore? There's only one daughter of Blackmoore.”

She gave him a drunken bow. “In the flesh.”

His eyes swept her when she faced him again. “Not entirely.” His voice was not as pitched as it had been a moment before. It was low, kissed by a hint of seduction.

He leaned in to her, his eyes looking at her lips. She reacted the same way but even though she was drunk, she knew she shouldn't touch this man. She turned her face and he kissed her ear, the tip of his tongue licking her ear lobe for a moment. She gasped and grabbed her satchel and almost ran out of the tavern. He grinned at her departing flowy shawl.

When she left the tavern she walked straight to the train station, the warm wind blowing with the promise of a desert storm, humid and wet. She tried lighting the joint on her lips but the wind refused her lighter And her matches. She growled and stormed up to the open vestibule where the ticket lady was turning down the lamps and shutting the gates.

“No no no no no No No No NO!” Star screeched as she dropped her things and rushed up to the window. “You can't close I need to get on the next train!”

“Train don't make stop here at night.”

“What do you mean it doesn't stop at night?!”

“Just what I said lady.” The woman didn't miss a beat. “Train come in morning or you catch the next one in the next town in three hours.”

“Where is the next stop?!”

“Go East through the Back Desert, by car is two hours. You can make the train there.”

“I don't have a car and I need to be somewhere tomorrow at noon. I can't wait here until morning.”

“Oh,” the ticket woman stopped. She was a short elder woman with solid grey hair and tanned skin. She bore a tough glint in her eye.

Star Dust's hand curled into fists and her knuckled cracked. “Oh what?”

“You're fucked,” the woman said. She slammed the window cover shut and Star heard her lock up from the other side.

“Do you know who I am!?” She screamed. “I am Star Dust Blackmoore! I am engaged to the King of Holy Wood dammit!”

There was no give. She growled and went back to her dropped things. There at the entrance to the station was the man named Bon. She frowned at him and straightened her clothes before moving on in a slightly drunken stumble.

“Do you need a ride?” He asked as he watched her go by.

She spun round and pulled a blade on him. Where she grabbed it from he didn't know. A trick in her satchel most likely. She didn't shake or look afraid, she knew how to hurt a man with that little dagger.

“Stay away from me,” she said. “We had fun on the dance floor but that's where it ends.” She stormed off before he could say anything more.

She went to the edge of town leading east and sighed as she began walking along the dirt road to the next town. She was angry with this town of no name and wouldn't stay there over night. Dressed in a white mini dress and simple indoor slippers, she was not prepared for the chilly night air of the desert, during a rain. It began to pour and her thin, chiffon shawl was no match for the storm.

Her shoes were soon turned a dark muddy red from the clay like dirt beneath her feet, her knee high socks dropped and she didn't bother to fix them. The sound of a car came from behind and she jumped into the bushes to avoid being run over as a car came tearing down the road. It stopped up ahead and she fought the brush as she clawed out of the brambles. She cursed and thrashed about and didn't hear the car, a beat up white hatchback, begin to back up. She was still fighting the bush when the car stopped.

The man inside tried not to laugh at the sight of her fighting branches and tearing her lacy dress. Her socks were around her ankles and her shoes were caked in clay. He shook his head and opened the door, stepping out and slamming it behind him. He went to her and took the branches off of her dress, trying to gently unhook the thorns from the lace without tearing the dress. She stayed still when he did, knowing that he only wanted to help and let him help. She shivered when a gust of wind blew, he noticed.

“Do you still not need a ride?” He asked.

She shook her head. “May I trouble you for one?”

He opened the door, “Step right in.”

She sighed and sat in the passenger seat. He shut the door and got in the driver's seat, speeding off quickly. They spoke of little things, she complained of the rain, he said they don't get it often. They came to a bridge where they had to cross to get to the next village, but it was blocked, half wrecked by a flash flood. Star sighed and laid her head on the dash in front of her. This was just her luck, to be blocked by a wrecked bridge in a land that never rains that is now pouring rain.

Bon explained that they wouldn't get anywhere until morning and she realized her escape earlier had been in vain......she was his now. He got in the extended backseat, laid down the seats, and laid a convenient blanket across the cold leather upholstery.

She refused to but her wet clothes persuaded her to cuddle next to him under the blanket. She felt the heat of his body and her wet clothes hindered her comfort in the uncomfortable situation. But she refused to take them off. She felt his discomfort too but this was already an improper situation for an engaged Lady of nobility, what more did she have to lose when there was no one to see?

“Darling,” he said in a sweet tone, with his back to her, awkwardly smashing his front to the car. “This would be better if you got those clothes off to dry.”

“They will dry nicely on my body thank you.”

“ And we will freeze before we warm.”

She groaned in defeat and tore off the lace slip of a dress. She had only her lace panties to keep her somewhat decent. At first he didn't touch her, and she felt the strange sensation of laying against a stiff board, she was colder laying naked under the blankets next to him than in her wet clothes. She had lived a wild, swinging fifteen years of freedom and it had all amounted to a choice that was made for her. If this was her one last tempt at freedom she should have it. Besides, her virginity had been lost to her cousin Richi near ten years ago, she had nothing to lose besides her life and he hadn't strangled her yet.

She turned her front to his back and placed a hand on his warm skin. His body rippled at her cold fingered touch. He turned over then and his eyes saw hers glowing like sunlit honey in the summertime. He took her hand and led her to perversions she had not yet met. In the back of his car they tumbled head over heels over and over again in the dark.

She brought him to his knees and made him bend to her pleasure. He made her scream in desire and give him all she had with her. Nothing but her body. When he had her in his lap, he sat back on his heels and his eyes met the sight of a wire that didn't belong. It was misplaced on purpose, unnoticeable by a quick glance. But he knew it was meant to be removed. It was meant to be used to strangle Her, the very woman he was pleasuring.

There was a gun under the seats, a loose wire above and in the lining of the seats. There were knives hidden nearly everywhere. Handcuffs to bind her, poison to slip her, gases to leave her in. But he didn't touch any of it that night. He brought her to a resounding hot, wet mess in his hands, and he was not much better off. They fell asleep together soundly, smiles on their faces.

In the morning He awoke and dressed first. He had to sit up, careful not to wake her. She looked so at peace, he knew she was engaged. He was married. He knew she was part of the swinging free movement in Holy Wood, a lady of mysterious past and distinguished family name. He knew where she was going, where she came from, which seat on which train she was traveling by. He followed her off the train and to the bar and got her drunk, making all her drinks “on the house”.

He could kill her then, while she slept....Strangle her, shoot her, stab her, then chop her up and tie her up in little bags and spread her over the desert lands. But he wasn't going to, no matter than this job would pay him enough to put him into retirement at his age. He let her sleep until she stirred and seemed to feel his presence. He traced the contours of her body as she lay face buried in her arms on her belly. When she lifted her head she smiled at him and blinked her eyes trying to rid them of sleep. She yawned and sat up, revealing her body to him in the day. He wanted to go to her but didn't, their parting was to be abrupt and cold by his will. It made him angry.

“Good morning,” she said with a happy tone.

“Morning,” he returned with a smile.

She sat up and was beginning to dress. He watched. He had something to say.

“Star,” he stopped.

She looked at him, her dress rumpled and half way on. His tone was off and she wondered why. Did she have to fight now?

“I know this is so sudden.”

She dreaded his words.

“I'm a Dirty Deeds Man. I kill people for a living, and I was sent to kill you.”

She was stunned. He couldn't look her in the eye.

“This whole car is meant to kill you. I could leave you here and break a clay disk that will release poison into the air. Strangle you, stab you, even drown you. Someone paid me a lot of money for your head.”

“Are you going to kill me Bon?” She asked in a steady voice as a single tear rolled down her cheek. 

Her eyes never left his and it made him shiver.

He shook his head. “No. I'm going to drive you to Sydny where you were meant to go and then I will leave you there and we will never see each other again. Now get your things together, we're leaving.”

She didn't say another word, and neither did he, as they got themselves together and he drove on, the bridge cross-able now that the water was down. He took her all the way to the city like he said he would. He stopped and for a split moment they sat there, wanting to say something to the other. Anything. She could feel him wanting to speak, but she she didn't even look at him. They didn't say another word as she got out of the car and walked away, the door shut behind her, trapping her shawl on the seat beside him.

She disappeared into the city faster than he could pull away and it was he who lingered. It didn't take too long before he left, just enough for him to look for her before pulling away. He had a call to make. 

><><><><><><><><><><
Waking world.....
Dark Castle of the Wizard, deepest night......

Star jumped as she came out of sleep. The burning fever of lust was upon her and burned between her legs in want. She was pulled out of sleep, out of her dream than she recalled with heart ache. She hunted the Wizard and the curse continued.....

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Wizard Lands, night.....

Dawn could see the mighty tower not far off in the distance. It was night now and she would wait for the morning to come. Fighting unseen forces was better in the day and she would wait. . . .The knight waited and said nothing. A man crept by in the dark and they didn't hear him as he went off in the direction of Holy Wood. The night became still.

to be continued........