Seona Braid had woken early that morning. The past week had been the busiest time of year for her village. They were all focused on gathering their various harvests and herds, binding the skins of their farmed animals together in stacks, and generally preparing for the Winters Pageant.
The Winters Pageant was the biggest and most anticipated celebration in all of the countryside. It was held inside the walls of the King Farrow's main city, Fairport, the proudest and most affluent city in all the lands. The first and final feasts (for the celebration stretched over the course of a week) took place in the Royal Courtyard, at the heart of Fairport, and directly outside the King's main castle.
Winters Pageant was a chance for all the villages under the banner of King Farrow to join together, and for some it meant a week long journey to reach Fairport. Seona lived in the woods just outside the proud city, so the trek was manageable enough to allow everyone in her village to join in the festivities.
Despite the main feasts, activities were held every night, and the shops and taverns stayed upon for the entire course of the festival. During the day the streets of Fairport morphed into a gigantic trading square, allowing the peasants and villagers to barter the goods they had hauled from their remote villages.
It was because of this, that Seona had been busy all week. There had been the final cutting of crops to attend to, the rounding up of the oxen and the sheep they had intended to trade, and the organising of the various stacks of wools, hides and cured meats.
The work was hard, and Seona's village had only a few hundred people in it, so slacking off was simply out of the question. Still, when she found herself opening her eyes on what would be the first day of the Winters Pageant, with just the promise of the Winters Feast that night in front of her, she could not contain her excitement.
When the mead flows and the villagers celebrate, having walked many miles to get to the location of the party, the tone of the celebrations takes a decidedly adult turn. In fact, it was forbidden in Seona's village, and many others like hers, to attend either the feasts, or even to be in Fairpoint after dark, unless you were older than eighteen.
For as long as she could remember, she had helped to organise the goods for trade, only to watch her brothers and her father carry them off to town on their own. At night she would lie awake and hear the music of the festival, in the morning the men would be back with tales of wonders and drunken debauchery.
But Seona was now eighteen. Her father had said certainly, she was most obliged to attend, she was clearly at an age where she could handle herself. Despite the long and tiresome work of the week past, when Seona woke that morning, she was the first in her village up and awake.
She decided to make the best of her day. She strolled down to a river bed, just outside of her village, where she would often bathe. The morning had only just arrived, and the forest air was crisp and strong. A thin mist of dew hung on the trees and the shrubs, and Seona shivered as it brushed her bare feet.
When she arrived at the stream, she wasted no time in disrobing and beginning to bathe. Her youthful body glistened in the morning sun, the cool water streaming off her tiny breasts, her round full bottom, tickling and cleaning her. She whipped her long black hair back into the air, laughing to herself as it whipped her back. Her skin was a deep tan, the years of work in the fields had seen to that.
She cleaned herself quickly, but the invigorating feeling of the cold water around her shivering body was delightful, so she lazily bathed in the stream for longer. She was closing her eyes, letting the sun turn the backs of her eyelids red, when she felt the peculiar sensation of being watched.
She eased one eye open, and saw a man on horseback staring at her, completely nude, bathing in the stream. At once she jumped up, still standing in the water, clasping her hands and arms over her naked form. The man laughed to himself.
Seona was furious. She opened her mouth to verbally attack him, already planning in her mind the various expletives she would level at him, when she noticed something that snapped her mouth shut. The man, although he seemed young and fairly dirty for someone of his stature, wore the emblem of King Farrow on his chest and arms. His leather armour seemed to hang off him, like it wasn't properly tightened, but the fact that he was wearing it at all alerted Seona to the fact that he was a member of the Violet Guard.
The Violet Guard were protectors of the various settlements, outposts and villages in the King's lands. Seona's village didn't have any specifically assigned to them, as they were so close to Fairport, but they often visited the villagers, to make sure order was being upheld, and that everybody was safe.
The man's brown face and high pointed ears instantly told Seona that he was not from around her. The bronzed skin didn't brown that much in the protection of the forest, he must be from faraway north, in the desert-lands. He was in town for Winters Pageant, he was a formidably powerful authority, and he was grinning from one corner of his face to the other at the naked Seona.
Seona's about face in regards to this man's true position had not gone unnoticed. The young man on the horse had seen her shock and anger turn quickly into humility and respect. The power of the Violet Guard insignia was a strong one.
'Sorry my dear' he called to her. 'I didn't mean to interrupt you while you bathed'
His words were kind enough, but there seemed to Seona to be a sinister undertone to his actions. He stepped down off his horse and tethered it to a nearby tree. He walked slowly towards Seona, as if half expecting her to turn and bolt. But Seona knew better than to upset a man with this much power and responsibility, especially so close to something as important as Winters Pageant.
He stopped at the water's edge, and studied the naked girl still covering herself in the middle of the trickling water. Then he raised his right hand, and tapped the insignia on his left shoulder.
'Do you know who I am?' he asked Seona.
Seona nodded, shivering and noticing the cold on her naked body much more distinctly.
'Good' said the Guard 'Now why don't you put your arms by your side'
Seona's face grew hot. Already she had been forced to expose too much of her young body to this strange man, and now he wanted her permission to stand even closer and ogle her straight out. A huge part of her mind was screaming at her not to give in to him.
But what could she do. Her clothes were by the river bed, she would have no time to dress if she tried to escape, and she couldn't run naked into the forest. More to the point, disobedience towards a Violet Guard could easily get her flogged. This close to Winters Pageant and she could even find herself part of the night's entertainment, publicly whipped to entertain the drunken crowds. If he caught her, or saw her again at the festival, running away would greatly cost her.
Seona lowered the arm covering her little breasts to her side. Then lowering her gaze, she moved the arm covering her pussy and her tuft of pubic hair as well. The man's eyes grew wide, drinking in the sight of the young girl completely naked.
'Turn around' ordered the man, filled with wonderment at the kind of authority he now had over this young villager
Seona turned around in the stream. Although she could not see him, she could feel his greedy eyes focused directly on her round bottom. She had never been in a position like this before, never gotten anywhere past a few pecks on the lips with the local boys. The power of this man was amazing.
'Come to me' he said.
Seona was scared. What exactly did he intend to do to her? She had heard stories of Violet Guards having their way with women, forcing them to fellate them, or taking them cruelly up their arses. She walked towards him, but she was conscious of the fact that if he tried to have sex with her, or touch her like that, she would run for the hills, consequences or no. She stopped about a metre away from him, but he motioned her in closer. Examining his face she saw that he really was quite attractive, with a pleasant smile and loving eyes. He had dirty blonde hair, and a tan face, but remarkably appeared to be little older than twenty.
'You're a bad little girl, aren't you?' he asked her.
Seona was shocked. She had simply not expected to hear those words.
'No… no, I'm not' she said, barely audible and confused.
'Yes you are' the man coaxed her 'Aren't you?'
'No' said Seona a second time. The man suddenly reached behind her and slapped her hard on her bottom, with his open palm. The shock of the sudden surprise, and the heavy riding gloves the Guard was wearing was enough to cause Seona to cry out.
'You're a naughty girl, bathing here alone and naked, and you're a naughty girl letting me look at you. Aren't you?' the man barked at her. But the cruelty of his earlier demands was gone. Seona suspected his earlier demeanour was a front, to gauge her reaction. Since she had no intention of bringing down the wrath of King Farrow by disobeying one of his Guards, he had realised that she would be much easier to control.
And truth be told, he was enjoying himself. The allure of his uniform, and the hidden promises of what it could mean for her and her family should she cry out or run away had certainly affected the young girl. No, now was not the time to be cruel or vicious. He could take his time with this one.
'Yes' said Seona, realising what he wanted to say 'Yes, I'm a naughty girl'
