A few hours later, we came across the first bit of evidence of humanity in this strange, albeit beautiful stretch of waterlands. A narrow wooden board stretched over logs driven deep into the Glade over the largest body of water we had encountered.

“This is the footbridge. It’s ancient. Be careful.”

I nodded and followed Mosha over the bridge, carefully. I noticed she kept her eyes on her feet so I did the same. About halfway over the bridge, I began seeing platforms join the bridge. Mosha tapped me and I looked up to see a vast amalgamation of wooden structures and rafts that was their village.

Spearmen stood on towers of banded logs, the metal joining appeared to be scavenged and very old. They glared down at us until we passed between them, and we were met by even more guards, and the Chieftain himself. He was a wiry looking man, with a damp, stringy beard hanging down his chest. I couldn’t believe such a sight on the eyes as Mosha was begot by such a gentleman.

“Hold, Mosha. Why have you brought this intruder to our home?”

“He is my husband-to-be, dad. I’ve brought him home for our wedding.”

“Husband! But he’s a knight! You’ve gone too far this time, Mosha.”

“This isn’t another trick! He’s not a knight any longer. He was cast out when they discovered… us.”

The Chieftain wanted to grin out of instinct but had to maintain his suspicious demeanor for his people. I wondered how many other knights they had received in the Glade. How many they even let leave.

“You are my child, Mosha. I know what my dear old pa had to put up with now. We will let you bring your captive in, but he will be watched, intensely, until we convene the Moot tonight.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

The ragged man took a step back after hearing me speak, obviously amused by what he heard.

“My lord? I like the sound of that! It would be nice to hear any of you lot show me the proper respect like this lad does! Take him home, Mosha. Introduce him to Dolo.”

“Alright, dad. See you tonight. Let’s go, John, this way.”

The crowd of men and guards parted and I followed Mosha down the central plank until we reached her abode. It was taller than all the other shacks and considerably sturdier. Mosha knocked on the door that looked like it was carved straight out of a tree.

We waited on the cramped porch for an inordinate amount of time before it opened. An impossibly small old woman with wide open eyes answered the door and beckoned for us to come in once she recognized it was Mosha.

The interior of the place was just as wooden as the outside. Every piece of furniture and every surface was carved meticulously out of whole trees. Axes hung over the hearth so wicked they likely felled the very trees that comprised the house and its contents.

“John, this is Dolo. She takes care of the house and watched after me when I was little.”

“Hello, madam. I’m John.”

“Of the Dark Bay.”

Dolo’s eyes stared through mine, I was sure she plucked that information straight from my soul. Mosha saw the confusion and held my hand.

“How do you know that about me, Dolo?”

“Dolo is a seer. She’s always been able to see into a person’s mind. She’s harmless. Let’s go upstairs.”

Dolo stared after us until the hallway blocked her gaze. I’d never encountered anything magical or supernatural before, only heard the typical superstition of the commoners. The woman was old but definitely not old enough to have been to Darkbay before the kingdom shut out the Glade and peoples of the forest.

Those eyes, so bright and wide, would never leave me for as long as I’d live.

We climbed the narrow stairs to Mosha’s room. Her room was small, for a princess, but it had quite the view. I was drawn to the light shining through her window, finding the view more than fitting for the Chieftain’s daughter. The abstract village of the Glade and its waters were all within view from her headboard. Mosha joined me and gazed down below like she must’ve her whole life.

“Look, down there, across the bridge.”

Leaning against the building across from us were two guards leaning against the wall and lazily scanning the area. One of them glanced up at the window and waved, grinning toothily up at us.

Mosha chuckled and returned the gesture before pulling me away from the window.

“My father’s ‘guard’ on you.”

“Hmmm. I didn’t expect everyone to be so mild about their people’s enemy arriving at their doorstep.”

“You’re not the enemy anymore! And telling them about our lovemaking will keep them amused until tonight at least. Besides, you don’t even have your sword. They know how serious the bond between a knight and his sword is. It’s even funnier to them than our fucking.”

“Why do they think it’s funny? Is it me?”

“Probably, at least a little. But they’re simple men. The common people where you’re from are likely much the same.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right, I do recall some humor of the men in the trenches.”

Mosha gave me a kiss on the cheek and sat me down on the bed. The look in her eyes was one I hadn’t seen before, one of gentleness.

“My father told me about the war. Tell me more about it, after we’re married.”

“Oh, of course. It was my first bit of fighting after becoming a knight, very brutal for a young man. When are we getting married, do you think?”

Mosha grinned and lie back on her bed, patting the spot next to her for me to join her. I glanced at the door like any experienced lad and lay my head next to hers. Forest living had made me unaccustomed to feather beds and their comfort.

“If you survive the Moot, then it should follow shortly after.”

“I either die tonight, or live happily forever after.”

She laughed and kissed me again. Perhaps being home made her feel safe enough to show her sweetness. Strange that we had met on such hostile terms to be betrothed lying in a bed together.

“We’re a simple people, as I said. Besides, there’ll be no need to fret about the details going from one to the other.”

Mosha kissed me again and climbed onto my waist, pressing her forehead against mine.

“Let me show you how simple folk pass the time until then.”

Her lips pressed against my forehead and her hands got to work on my trousers. Her fingers unwound the knot and slipped inside. I gasped as her hand wrapped around my sword, sliding up the hilt to grasp the quickly hardening length. Her lips silenced me with a kiss that belied no tenderness.

She attacked my mouth with zeal, sending her tongue out to hunt for mine. After it was seized, I was happy to join in on the game. I shimmied out of my pants with her help and released my stiff cock to her eager hand. She kissed me hard one last time and broke away to kiss down my bared stomach to my pubic hair.

The trail of kisses extended up the base of my penis all the way to the tip, there the trail ended and her lips plunged down my length. Her tongue laved the way to the root of me, the sensation sending my head back in ecstasy. She maintained the depth for a moment and then came up for air, gasping and pumping me up and down, slicking my rod with her saliva.

She eyed me like a sadistic predator and returned to her work below. Her teeth lightly scoring the front and back of me as she bobbed up and down creating a delightful mix of pain and pleasure I soon grew accustomed to. I watched in awe as she made the entirety of my cock disappear and reappear from her jaws.

Mosha’s lips slipped up my length to the head and sucked intensely. Her tongue swirled wildly along the underside of the head, making me moan and curse to the ceiling. Mosha giggled around my cock and hummed as she sucked on the head, sending vibrations through my rod that pushed me over the edge.

My mind lightened, the feeling in my extremities faded as the orgasm built in my loins. She splayed her tongue all over the head one last time before sucking down to the base of my cock. She came up just as quickly as she enveloped it, creating a trail of spit connecting her lips to the tip of my member as she caught her breath.

She beamed at me adorably, despite the spittle and drool running down her chin. Her hands replaced her mouth, pumping me rapidly, driving me deep into climax. I could feel my seed rush from my loins through my staff. Mosha could feel it start to throb and planted her lips around the tip once again.

Blast after blast of my seed shot into her mouth, not a drop escaping her lips’ tight seal around me. She drank it down greedily, swallowing mouthfuls of cum straight from my spasming cock. I saw the sky turn into a field of stars out that window above her bed as she sucked my throbbing member till there was nothing left to empty into her.

I hadn’t felt that relaxed in so long, I almost fell asleep. Mosha got up and left the room for a moment, to wash up I hoped in my semi conscious state. I lie on the bed, willing my eyes to stay open, fighting against my own tiring eyelids.

Mosha returned and hopped onto the bed, rousing me momentarily.

“My lady, what about yourself? Let me return the favor.”

“My lord, listen to you yawn. Besides, if this is your last evening in the world of the living, I would you like you to remember me serving you. Like your original intention when we first met.”

“I would only bind you in a marriage, now, Mosha.”

“I know, handsome. Get some rest. You have a couple hours.”