Bruno

Switzerland - 1955 . . . 10 years with Rolf/Heidi

Wilhelm's tears fell on cheeks bruised and bloodied. His father held him close as his mother ran her fingers through his muddy hair. "Father please," he begged, pulling himself away to gaze into the eyes of the man he admired and loved. He looked to his mother, hoping she would help him sway his father's decision. When Rolf's hand swept his tears away and followed the action with a sigh, he knew his request was again going to be denied.

"I hate you!" he shouted at his father, pulling himself from the loving embrace and running to his bedroom. Rolf's chest gripped tight as the words his son used bore into his soul, making a little wound that would take many years to heal.

"He's just angry," Heidi said and kissed her husband's forehead.

"I know," Rolf replied, rising from his chair and encircling his wife in his strong arms. "Are we doing this right?" he asked.

"What? Raising a child? I think every parent worries about that. He's only ten Rolf. . .he'll be okay."

"I mean about Laresa. She could stop all of this. Heal him. Aid him in growing stronger."

"Yes," Heidi whispered, "but what type of man would he be?" Rolf released her and walked toward his son's room. "Rolf, let him have a few minutes," Heidi told him and then pulled him back toward their bedroom. "I think we've done the right thing. Laresa is used to improve our lives in gradual stages. If we raise Wilhelm to have whatever he wishes, whenever he wishes, then what kind of person would he be if we ever lose her? This bully. . . Aaron. . .he's just another boy that is growing up. Wilhelm will find a way to coexist with him. He doesn't need the power of Laresa."

Rolf sighed and opened the door to his bedroom. He pulled off the ring and slipped it into the box by their bed. "She's the answer to every man and woman's dream. It worries me how often he asks for her."

"He's a child Rolf, not a man. Come love, let's go for a walk and perhaps Wilhelm will accompany us. Maybe we all need a break from the power of the genie in the ring."

"You are probably right. Sometimes we all forget what it is like to just be normal."

The happily married couple moved back toward their son's room. Heidi knocked softly and then heard the shuffling of her son's feet. He opened the door and stared up at them both. "We're going for a walk; Want to tag along?" she asked.

Wilhelm looked up at his father, then shrugged his shoulders. He touched his muddy hair. "I'm going to wash up."

Heidi nodded her head and closed the door, leaving her son to compose himself. "I guess it is just you and me," she said, a soft smile on her lips.

Rolf frowned, and turned to head back to his bedroom. "Leave it," she whispered, pulling him along with her down the hall. "We're not going to be gone that long and he's never taken her before. She'll be fine."

Rolf sighed, but agreed to his wife's words as well as her gentle tug that led him out of the quaint home that Laresa had created for them. They walked silently at first, but eventually their conversation moved back to the bully that had been tormenting their son.

*****

Wilhelm watched his parents head down the path that would take them into the woods. His fingers were clenched into small fists. He felt the humiliation of the after school bullying rollover him and he spun on his heel. He'd seen his father's hand, absent of the ring and it was rare for his mother to be in possession of it. But her hand too was free of the amber adornment. He counted to twenty once his parents were no longer in his sight and quickly darted to their bedroom.

Without a moment's hesitation he pulled the ring from the drawer by his father's bed and slipped it on his finger. The familiar and comforting haze of smoke became the woman he often referred to as Aunt Laresa. He gazed at her confused expression and bit down on his lower lip. Deep down he knew his parents would be angry with him at summoning the genie, but he felt that he'd done all he could and no one had done anything for him.

"Laresa, I need your help," Wilhelm said, before he gave her any opportunity to question him. He wasn't sure how it all worked, but he knew that Laresa was powerful and she could grant him whatever he wanted. He also knew there were rules, but his parents hadn't told him all of them. The most important though to him was lying. He knew he couldn't lie to her.

"Yes Master Wilhelm, what would you like?" Laresa asked. To say she was shocked to see Wilhelm wearing her ring would be an understatement. She'd had children as Masters and Mistresses before. They were sometimes the most fun beings to be a slave too, other times they were trying, but almost always they never held her for long.

"Oh Laresa, you don't have to call me Master. As soon as we are finished Daddy will still be your Master. I just want to borrow you."

Laresa frowned, not liking the idea, but she was a servant to the ring and whomever possessed it, possessed her. "So your parents do not know you have the ring?"

"No and you will not tell them," he demanded in a scared, but strong voice. He squared his shoulders, puffed out his chest and tried very hard to look fierce.

"Yes, Wilhelm," Laresa said, already feeling the bond of Master and slave grow tight as Wilhelm made his first wish of her. "Wilhelm, I see you are hurt. I also can feel you are very angry with a young boy. I can read your thoughts, do you wish me to heal your suffering?"

Wilhelm bit his lower lip. "You've healed me many times, so once more won't hurt."

"It has never hurt; has it?" Laresa asked, suddenly unsure if she'd ever caused her Masters or Mistresses pain.

"No, it feels all warm and tingly. Like eating warm honey."

Laresa smiled and touched Wilhelm's cheek, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the bruises the young lad had received from the beating the older boy had given him. Wilhelm was indeed correct. She had healed him several times through the years. A skinned up knee. A broken arm from a wrecked bicycle ride. But she'd healed more this past year than she had in the nine before. When she was done she looked down at her Master, noted his now soft face, no longer swollen with the marks of the bully. She smoothed down his hair, now clean and free of caked in mud. "There is there anything else?" she asked, knowing that indeed there were many things running around in Wilhelm's head, but as was her custom, she preferred to have the needs of her Masters or Mistresses spoken aloud, especially from someone so young.

"Yes, Laresa. They won't help me. I have begged and pleaded and all they do is go to the school and meet with the teachers. They said I am to find my own way and I can't use you to help. But I need your help. I have tried very hard to ignore Aaron, but he . . . Laresa," Wilhelm said, puffing out his chest, "I want him dead."

Laresa blinked, already feeling the power of the wish consume her. Her lips shook as she fought the command, knowing deep in her heart, her young charge was making the wish of a child, one he didn't understand or truly comprehend. Tears fell from her eyes as she battled the internal war of self-choice. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest and then screaming as pain ripped through her.

Wilhelm stared in horror as the woman he loved and cared for like a young boy cares for a member of their family, began to thrash on the floor. His eyes grew wide and tears fell. He held his breath unsure of what to do or who to call for help. "Laresa," he whispered when he saw her take a deep breath and then suddenly grow still. He slowly approached her, reached her figure and then sat down next to her. "Laresa," he said, repeating her name, this time reaching out to stroke her silver-hair.

"It is done," she whispered and turned away as the horror of taking a young life filled her. She felt a wave of nausea rush over her and she fought to contain the bile that threatened to expel herself. She'd never fought herself like that before. Always she'd given in, feeling the power of the ring roll over her and make her do what she didn't want to do. This time though, because she knew the heart of a child she had tried desperately to break the bond that tied her to the ring. She'd lost. The young boy Aaron, two years older than Wilhelm, bigger and stronger, now lay dead in his backyard.

"What?" Wilhelm asked, still concerned for his genie friend.

Laresa stared at him. She knew what had happened. Just like any child would, Wilhelm had asked for something, then forgotten because something he truly cared for was in jeopardy. She touched his cheek and wiped the tears that had fallen from his eyes away. "Your wish Wilhelm. It is done."

"My wish?" He screwed up his face and then his jaw fell open. His eyes grew wide and his brows shot up. "You mean?"

Laresa nodded her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes Wilhelm. Aaron is dead."

"You killed him?" Wilhelm shouted his question as he jumped up and stepped back. "I mean, you just did it? Just now?"

"Yes."

"Take me to him. I want to see."

Laresa nodded her head and stood up. Her right hand held Wilhelm's. Soon they were in a clearing of green grass, speckled with wild violets. "Can they see us?" Wilhelm asked, his face full of fascination at the scene before him.

"Not unless you wish it."

"No," Wilhelm whispered, not really understanding that the people crowding around the lifeless figure could not hear him either. "Is that him?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered and then together they moved to the center of the crowd.

Wilhelm stared at the young boy who had been so mean to him. "He looks so different now," he whispered. "He doesn't look so mean."

A woman screamed and soon pushed her way through the crowd. She fell to her knees and picked up Aaron. "Who's that?" Wilhelm asked, suddenly feeling a sickness in his stomach.

"That is his mother."

Wilhelm felt a tightening in his chest and bit back a sob. "She's really sad," he whispered.

"Yes, she is. Her son is dead."

"Why are all these people here." Wilhelm stared at the men, women, and children that were desperately trying to comprehend what had happened. A man appeared, he huddled next to Aaron's mother and Wilhelm knew without asking that the man was Aaron's father.

"They were having a party and these are Aaron's family and friends."

"Oh. . . I never thought he had friends. I mean. . .I figured he had a mom and dad, but he's so mean. . .how could anyone love him."

Laresa said nothing. She felt her Master's sorrow and she wrapped an arm around him. "Bring him back."

Laresa's hand fell away and she looked down at Wilhelm. "What?" she asked, but she knew what he'd meant and already the smoke was beginning to consume her.

"Bring him . . . Laresa, what are you doing?" He shouted, this time he felt the eyes of several people on him.

"You broke a rule," she whispered, just as the smoke consumed her and slipped into the ring.

Wilhelm looked down at his hand, now empty and he felt the eyes of Aaron's family on him. He ran when they began to question what he was doing there and who had brought him. When he reached his home, he ran into his room and quickly climbed into bed. His face fell into the pillow and tears were pulled from his grief stricken body as he realized what he'd done and there was no way to fix it.

******

1156 - Europe

Bruno felt the flat of the sword against his neck. His head remained bowed until he heard the command that he was to rise. He then grinned exposing white teeth that were straight and without any deformities. That smile was one that had served him well throughout his life and he knew it often helped him land many a willing lass into his bed.

When the dubbing of several other men, most having served with Bruno was done, rounds of ale were passed to the newly appointed Knights. Each one grabbed a nearby woman and were soon dancing and frolicking to the sound of several pipers. Eventually Bruno felt his body responding to the woman he was spinning about the room and he pulled her toward the stairs of the Lord's manor. Not everyone had been given a private room in the Lord's home. Just Bruno and two others. The remaining Knights would bunk below with the servants, or in the stables with their horses. Bruno had been one of the few to please Lord Sinclair in such a way that he'd been rewarded with great wealth as well as a warm room.

"Oh you are a fine one," the woman whispered against the newly appointed Knight's neck.

Bruno grinned, nipped her neck and pushed her against the wall. His body pressed into hers and he ground himself against her pelvis. She thrust back and he sucked in when he felt her heated core rub against his aroused sex. "Come Sir Bruno, let me help you with that war horse." The maid giggled and pushed the giant of a man away. Her palm ran across the bulge in his breeches and she smiled, licking her lips in anticipation.

Bruno chuckled, winked and scooped her up into his large, beefy arms. "There's a lot there. You've been warned."

He kicked open the door to his room and heard the shriek of a young girl. He glared at her and laughed when she scurried out, leaving him and the maid alone. "That will teach her," he muttered, then kicked the door closed. It only took a few of Bruno's long strides to reach the bed and when he did he tossed the woman onto the center. She bounced and laughed, her skirt rising up to expose her knees and thighs. Bruno saw the hint of her sex and lifted one brow.

"I knew tonight I'd be warming your bed," she said with a giggle and lifted her dress to her hips.

Bruno laughed, quickly pulling off his boots and tossing them to the side. "You were waiting for me, huh? Though we've just met? I think you were waiting for anyone." He pulled his shirt over his head and then released his breeches. "Do you walk around like that? Does the Lord just come up behind you and take what you so freely offer?" He asked his questions while he crawled between her spread legs.

The maid giggled and laid back on the covers and the pillows. "Perhaps, but right now I am offering it to you," she answered, running her hands down her bodice and tugging on the strings.

"Aye that you are," he agreed and began to work his way up to the sweet honey that beckoned him. A startled " Ow ", brought his attention away from the tender morsel that lay before him and he looked up. "I've not done nothing lass," he said, a look of confusion on his face.

"No, not you. There is something in . . ." she wiggled and then pulled her hand out from behind her back, "here it is. It must have fallen off when you were up here changing earlier." She held out the ring and then pulled it back. "I believe I deserve a reward."

Bruno launched himself up the maid's body, took the ring and threw it behind his back. "I've got just the thing," he said and plunged his swollen sex into her.

The woman squealed in pleasure, wrapped her long legs around his hardened muscled ones and thrust her hips forward. The gold and amber gem nothing more than a pain in her back, now forgotten.

When Bruno disentangled himself from the sexually spent woman, he tossed both feet onto the floor and rose from the come-soaked bed. His long fingers pushed through his unkempt black curls and he made his way to the pot that rested in the corner. His right foot stepped down and then he jumped up, cradling the tender skin. He cursed and quickly looked to the bed, hoping the woman hadn't seen his pain. He stared down and the light of the fire caught the gold ring on the floor. "Now where did you come from?" he asked, picking the jewel up and cradling it in his palm as he finished making his way to the pot to relieve himself.

Once done he went back to the bed, slipped the ring on his hand and crawled back to the body that was snuggled in the warm quilt and covers. He wrapped his arm around the tiny waist and toyed with the curls of the woman's sex. She rolled to her back, opened her legs again, never once waking up to ask him to enter her.

Bruno chuckled to himself as he moved to mount the woman. Obviously she was used to being woken up in the night. He cared not as he aimed his cock and once again felt her body welcoming his. When morning arrived Bruno awoke to an empty bed. He felt no ill effects from drinking the nights, before and he knew that though he was just twenty, he like all Knights had been enjoying the wines and ales long before they became Squires. He rolled onto his back and brought his hand up to wipe away the sleep from his eyes.

Sunlight filtered itself into his room, catching the amber gem on the ring he now wore on his finger. He sat up and toyed with the ring, twisting it to the right and then the left. As he did this he thought of how valuable the stone was as well as who it may have belonged to. He knew he was staying in a guest room, but perhaps Lady Sinclair had dropped the bauble after a night of unruly passion with an important diplomat. Just as he was about to leave the bed he felt the ring's band grow warm. He eyed it cautiously and then watched with a slack jaw as smoke began to rise up from the center of the jewel.

Laresa felt the pull of a new Master and for a brief moment she hoped with all her heart that it was Wilhelm, Rolf, or Heidi. There was so much there she wanted to do. She had imagined herself with the family from generation to generation. It was a rarity for that to occur, but it was something she secretly longed for. As time grew so did her enslavement to the ring and so did her desire for stability outside of its power. Her violet eyes took in her new surroundings and she lifted a brow to the man who was repeatedly crossing himself and praying to the Virgin Mother.

"Master, I am Laresa. You have summoned me from my home. I am here to serve you, what needs do you wish fulfilled?" Her question was one she often repeated, and often she was more than happy to do what was asked of her. Lately though, she'd lived with so many Masters of a newer generation that she found she hated the question or at least the fact she had no choice in if she asked it. A new Master stood before her, but already she knew what era he was from. . .an era where women had little choice.

Bruno saw that the witch was not leaving, but instead looking at him as if he were an evil warlord invading the room which she had in fact come in announced. He then looked to the ring, the smoke no longer seeping from it and swallowed. "What trickery is this?" he whispered, fearful that the witch would take his normally loud and booming voice as one that was threatening.

"It is no trick, Master. If you will but ask something of me, I will provide it and prove to you that I am exactly what I claim to be." Laresa crossed her arms in front of her and waited on her slippers. The clothing she wore was similar to the outfit she normally wore when called from the ring. The small vest, this time a pale yellow, hugged her breasts and the coolness of the room caused her nipples to show their annoyance at being roused from a warm home. Her pants, not really pants at all, billowed about her, the color matching the vest. Her sex was covered by a thicker panel of the same cloth, but it was the gold bracelets on her arms and ankles that seemed to hold her Master's attention.

"You are a slave to this?" Bruno asked, pointing to the ring on his finger.

"Yes, Master. I have been since my youth and I will continue to be so until it is my time to be with my people in the Heavens or it is my time to be free."

"Free? Is that possible?"

"It has been done before. I witnessed it once. I know not the trick though."

"That is good for me then, isn't it. A genie huh? I must confess my ignorance. You appear to be a beautiful witch, perhaps a demon, but a genie. . .what is this?"