This is basically an erotic love story and of course all characters are over 21. It will start out as a love story and continue to build. I hope you like it and I plan to continue this for many more chapters. Please vote often (fives are most welcome) and of course please leave constructive comments. Thanks to Tigerssman and Notawhit for their help in editing the story.
Unfortunately, in laying much of the background I had to move towards modern norms. Literotica will not publish stories with underage characters and during Medieval times most marriages were accomplished during the woman's teenage years, between 11 and 16. For this story to be published Blanche had to be above 18, even though that would have made her an old maid back then. I hope you understand and forgive the changes.
PS -- If you have fantasies, ideas, etc for new stories please let me know, that includes twists on existing stories and I will see what I can do. Many of my stories have started out that way and this story is one such idea. I had an anonymous reader tell me they would like to see a Medieval love story. This is my attempt ... so I hope you enjoy.
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For the third time that first evening Princess Blanche tried to sneak down to the dungeon to see Louis. Also, for the third time that the evening she had been stopped by the King's guards. When the morning came, she began to recruit people that were loyal to her. One group of people was to help her tend to Louis's torture wounds and smuggle food to him so he could keep up his strength. The other group would help plan an escape for Louis.
She had just finished meeting with both groups when she was summoned by the King. She was hoping that he had come to his senses and would release Louis, allowing them to get married. It was a foolish wish, and she knew it, but still she held out hope. When she arrived in the throne room, she was captured by the guards and taken to a waiting carriage. Throughout the entire incident, her father just stared at her full of malice and disappointment.
Once inside the carriage she asked the guards where they were going and they replied, "England."
Her father hadn't wasted any time getting rid of her. She pleaded with the guards to let her at least talk to her attendants and say goodbye to Louis, but to no avail. On her way to the coast, she wrote a long note to her ladies-in-waiting telling them in cryptic prose to carry on with their plan. When they reached the coast, she had one of the more sympathetic guards deliver the note to her ladies-in-waiting.
Princess Blanche had no doubt that all of her attendants and ladies-in-waiting would carry on with her requests. She worried about Louis, what was happening to him, and how long he could last in the dungeon. The plan to free Louis would take several days to put into action, and she hoped he lasted that long. Meanwhile, she had a long and arduous journey to become the bride of a man she loathed.
Princess Blanche was right to worry about Louis. Each day he received a piece of bread and some water before his torture began. He was stretched, whipped and branded relentlessly. The only positive was that most of the torturers had been friends of his and their heart was not in his torment. Sometimes they went light on him and he appreciated it.
On the third day of his torment, one of Blanche's ladies-in-waiting smuggled him in a turkey leg. The additional food was most welcome because he was already feeling weak from lack of nourishment. Quickly in softly whispered sentences, she let him know that Princess Blanche was already on her way to England.
She also mentioned an escape plan in two days' time and that gave him hope. Louis endured his torment for another three days until one day he found the door to his cell unlocked and no one around. He made his way out of the dungeon only to run into one of Blanche's ladies-in-waiting at the exit. She let him know that outside the gate there was a horse packed with his armor and provisions before she scampered away.
Sir Louis was now free and for the next several days he rode as far away from the castle as he could. Once he felt he was out of the King's reach, he began hiring himself out as a free mercenary. His objective was to save enough money from his mercenary exploits to be able to go to England to retrieve the love of his life.
Unfortunately, his saving enough money took much longer than he anticipated. It was very close to a year before he landed on English soil. Once again, he hired himself out as a mercenary in order to make his way to the King's Castle. It took several months before he arrived at the castle, and he spent another month observing Blanche, her ladies-in-waiting and her husband.
After he felt like he had the lay of the land, he wrote a note in French. He gave it to the one lady-in-waiting that Blanche seemed to confide in. He gave her instructions that only the Princess should see the note. In the note he explained why it had taken him so long to arrive, that he still loved her and wished to see her. He also said that if she felt like it was too dangerous for her or that her love for him had faded, he would understand if she didn't show.
He knew this was an all or nothing bet. When Longshanks died, she would be the Queen of England. What would she want with the lowly mercenary? Still, he held out hope that her love still held true and she would be at the appointed rendezvous. The appointed time came and went without Blanche showing up. He had all but given up hope when he saw a rider approaching in the dimming twilight.
It looked like a woman, but he couldn't be sure until she pushed back the hood of her cloak. In that moment he saw the woman he loved, the woman that he had only thought about for over a year. His heart leapt in his chest, the moment he had been waiting for finally arrived. The love of his life had arrived.
Princess Blanche felt her heart swell in her chest as she spied Louis standing in the doorway of a small house. The horse was too slow, so she jumped off the horse and ran to Louis. They came together like the surf crashing on the shore. Their mouths fused together in a desperate kiss.
