His breath came in gasps and his heart felt like it would beat right out of his chest. He might normally have been embarrassed by his lack of proper clothing, but the fear that seeped out of every pore prevented him from thinking about the skimpy loincloth he was clad in. The night air felt alive as he ran through the trees. Faster, faster, faster... if he could stay ahead of them for another day, he might reach the river, and beyond that, the border to his own country.
Prince Gabriel had been at the castle for only a day before escaping. Seeing his chance in the wee hours of his first morning, he had struck a guard from behind and carefully gone over the wall. For almost a week, he had spent every waking hour running. Patrols of soldiers had almost discovered him twice, but he had avoided their notice by the tiniest of margins. And now, he was getting close to the end of everything. His pilfered food supply had run out the day before, and he was getting lightheaded and clumsy as he made his way through the woods.
The dark, earthy smell of the forest was all around him as he stopped to catch his breath. The memories of the last week played in his mind, much as he tried to push them down...
His father had suddenly and inexplicably insisted that he serve at the Queen's court, and that an escorting party would escort him in a few days. Angry at leaving his noble diversions and the ladies-in-waiting at his home palace, Gabriel had left early, on his own, in a fit of temper. As he approached the castle gates, magnificently attired and mounted, the escorting party met him on the road. He was surprised that they were soldiers and not servants, but paid them little mind, since the two countries were allies and the soldiers were only peasants, really. The Captain of the Queen's Guard met him at the castle gate, as befitting so distinguished a visitor, he felt. The Captain seemed perturbed, but Gabriel wrote it off to either his early appearance or some situation for which he was needed. Surely a post of great importance awaited him here. He had allowed a stablehand to take his magnificent stallion to the Queen's stables, and followed the Captain into the castle. On the way to receive his welcome from the Queen, he began seeing queer things as he strode through the grand hallways and galleries.
At first, he had been sure that the long ride, an overdue meal, and his lack of access to his nubile chambermaid were playing tricks on him. In side corridors, lit by candlelight, it seemed like there were naked servants carrying out various tasks. Just glimpses, and then gone again as he followed the Captain's quick steps: A nude young woman on her knees, scrubbing the floor. A naked man with an erect cock carrying a bowl of food. The fleeting impressions got stranger. Bare skin being slapped. Unabashed sex in public areas. Naked servants restrained. Servants...or slaves? Gabriel didn't know.
By the time he arrived at the foot of the Queen's throne, he was quite unnerved, but determined to accept with grace the customs of a different royal court. After all, they could treat their peasants in any way they cared to... it was the right of nobility. .
There he stood, finely attired, groomed, and bejeweled as befitting a young prince. His confidence returned as he realized that the queen was not the old crone he imagined, but a black-haired beauty easily young enough to arouse him. Still, there was a coldness about her that he had never encountered before...
"So, Prince Gabriel, you arrive early. A proud, impetuous young prince.... we did not have the opportunity to give you the proper welcome, so we'll have to improvise one," she said, and nodded to four large pages that had appeared at his elbow. "Show him his accommodations and introduce him to his routine."
Before he could speak to her, the pages picked him up right off his feet and left the room. He was too shocked to speak until they arrived at some kind of preparation room and began to strip him. Gabriel yelled, cursed like a commoner, and demanded to speak to the queen at once. Paying him no mind, they proceeded to take his clothes and bind his ankles together. With practiced grace, the pages picked him up and hung him on the wall by his tied ankles. Once he was inverted, his wrists were tied to rings set into the floor, rendering him totally helpless. A soft leather gag quieted his rage and desperation.
He struggled, but to no avail. The pages quickly left with his clothes, and he was alone with his thoughts and fears. Prince Gabriel's heart was pounding- he had never known such helplessness. Unable to speak or to move, he watched as other slaves walked by on errands, and some crawled on all fours to do the bidding of their masters. Slowly, he came to realize that these slaves were not commoners or prisoners, but nobility like himself. Shock followed the realization, and he desperately tried to think of a way to take back control of his situation. If he cooperated for a little whiles, and then ran....
After leaving him to hang in that undignified position for hours, the pages returned and untied him. Walking with a false humility, he looked at everything he could, trying to figure out an escape. The page led him to a room filled with slaves, and great tubs of steaming water. Gabriel was led to one of the tubs and made to kneel in it, with hands behind his head. They left him in the care of an attendant, who proceeded to wash him thoroughly. Being naked and wet and warm and touched by this stranger began to have its effect on him...humiliating as it was, he could feel himself becoming erect. With his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes and willed the attendant to wash his twitching cock again... but to no avail. The man would give him no relief. He stepped out of the tub and looked for clothes to put on, but there were none. Since he wasn't under direct supervision or restraint, he wandered the halls, eyes down, as though he was on an errand. Eventually, he came to the garden wall, and the freedom beyond it. Slowly, he ascended the stone steps to the battlement, and silently approached the guard from behind....
The rest of the week was now a blur. He had to keep running. Staggering to his feet, he picked up the path again and started to walk, then jog, then run, through the foliage. The light-headedness began to sink in, and his steps became clumsy. More and more energy needed to be focused on just putting one foot in front of the other...
Gabriel burst out of the thick woods and into a clearing. Too late, he saw the horsemen moving out of the treeline, circling him. Too exhausted to make even a token attempt at escape, he sank to his knees as the soldiers closed in around him. They dismounted and approached him quickly. Gabriel struggled feebly, but the Queen's men tied him and he was thrown over a rider's lap for the journey back to captivity.
As it grew dark, the soldiers made camp under a large tree. He assumed that they would tie him up and forget about him for the evening, but the coarse brutes seemed to have other plans. Once again, he was stripped naked. They brought out a saddle from one of the horses, and tied him to it by the firelight, so that he was secured in the hands-and-knees position. Gabriel was sure that this was in order to humiliate him further, imprisoning him in this fashion. Concern crossed his face when a soldier in the corner of his vision appeared to be taking off his pants. Then others....