Knight Time in the Realm - Part 1

FEEDBACK NOTE: DiAnn passed away in her sleep on August 23, 2000.
Xanthe has set up a Book of
Condolences at: http://www.xanthe.org/Guest/Diann.htm Please take a
moment and sign the book
if you enjoyed this story.


Rating: NC17 - SLASH/ language/ mild violence

Category: AU / Fantasy / BDSM / m/m Slash

Warning: Mulder-Skinner Slash/ Sk/Sc/M

If you don't like this kind of thing, or you are underage, go
somewhere else . . . Please! I
don't want to hear from you and I don't want to hear from your Mama.

Spoiler: Through Season 6.

Summary: Alternate Universe - Kings and palaces and handsome
soldiers for hire.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own Mulder, Scully, Skinner,
Krycek or anyone else from
the X-Files. I am borrowing them without permission and am obviously
not receiving money for
this stuff. We all know who they really belong to, CC, Fox and lots
of other people but again,
not me.

Thanks to Diane and Nicole for correcting my mistakes and giving me
great ideas.




Chapter 1 Knight Time in the Realm By DiAnn

Sir Walter Skinner lay back against the sun warmed wood of the old
rail fence as he enjoyed
his noonday meal of brown bread and cheese. It was a truly glorious
day. The sky was the most
vivid shade of blue and the air fresh with the promise of spring. It
was a welcome respite for
a man who had spent most of his years on the fields of battle. The
smell and taste of death
his whole world for months on end.

His great black war horse stood nearby, nibbling on the tender
grass. It was a magnificent and
proud animal. A noble beast for a noble warrior. Both of whom would
benefit greatly from a
quieter life.

He had traveled far but his journey was almost completed. He was
less than an hour's ride from
the castle but he had felt the need to stop and refresh himself. To
think, and to once again
assure himself that he was making the right decision. A decision
that would change his life
forever.

It had surprised and saddened the men who served under his command
when he had accepted the
King's offer of a position at the palace. They had assumed that he
would, one day, die in
battle as was befitting a soldier and leader of his stature. But Sir
Walter was tired. He was
approaching his thirty-fifth year and had no home or loved ones.
There had to be more to be
had than the loneliness of a soldier's life. Let the younger men
fight the battles.

Sir Walter had found himself uneasy and restless, of mind and body,
lately. He was not a man
who believed in superstition or premonition, but if he were, he
would say he was being called
to his destiny. Driven toward what he did not know. But there was a
burning ache and need
inside him. He had to find something that would fill that void. He
only hoped he would
recognize it when it appeared, and that it would of a soothing and
peaceful nature.

Sir Walter finished off the last of his meal and stretched his
muscular arms above his head.
It was time to finish his journey . .. and find his destiny.

Just as he prepared to rise from his resting place, he heard the
thunder of approaching
hooves. He had no time to move before the shadow of a giant horse
sailed over him, missing his
extended legs by a mere hair's breath.

The out of control animal screamed with fear as it plunged headlong
toward the resting war
horse. Sir Walter saw the rider pull hard on the reins and turn the
horse at the last minute.
The abrupt action sending both the rider and his animal crashing
down onto the hard ground.

The magnificent horse scrambled to its feet, with a high pitched cry
of personal outrage, it
thundered off into the forest. There was little doubt it would find
its bed long before its
hapless rider, who now lay in a lifeless heap on the ground.

Sir Walter ran to the downed rider. Skinner turned the thin figure
over and gasped. It was a
boy, and a very beautiful boy at that. Sir Walter reached down and
gently pushed aside the
dark hair from the boy's face. He lowered his head and heard gentle
breath coming from those
luscious lips. Thank goodness. It would be a shame to watch such a
one as this die.

The boy was dressed in peasant rags but was much cleaner than would
be expected of a common
serf. Very strange. Sir Walter ran a finger down one high cheekbone
and over the particularly
tempting bottom lip. Here was a beauty, to be sure.

Wide hazel eyes popped open, stared in shock at the giant man
leaning over him, and then the
eyes changed color and began to shoot sparks of angry green fire in
Skinner's direction.

"Unhand me, you big oaf." The boy struggled to sit up but grabbed
his head in pain only to
fall back to the ground, groaning miserably.

"Better lay still, boy. You've taken a bump on the head. Did you
steal that horse?"

"Steal . . . Of course I didn't steal the horse. I . . . I was . . .
never mind, it's none of
your business anyway."

The boy fought his way to a sitting position, moaning and holding
his head.

"What did you do with to horse?"

"It would be more a question of what <you> did to your horse. Were
you even trying to watch
where you were going with that poor beast?"

The boy stood on trembling legs and looked around for the missing
animal. "You were in my way!
Where is he anyway?"

"Long gone. Probably back with his rightful owner by now."

"Shit!" The boy stomped his foot on the ground. "I was late as it
was."

"And reckless, if you ask me." Sir Walter was finding himself
becoming angry with this
impudent youth. "So you think that your arrival somewhere, to no
doubt tumble some pretty milk
maid, was worth the possible loss of your master's horse, boy?"

"It wasn't . . . Oh, why am I even talking to you. And I'm not a
boy, I'll be twenty come the
harvest time."

The knight eyed him skeptically, "Yeah right, kid."

The boy glared at him, then looked around in frustration, realizing
that he was truly stranded
without a means of getting home. Skinner laid his hand on the boy's
shoulder. "Is you village
nearby? Were you to ask nicely, I might be persuaded to take you to
your home."

"No! I mean . . . I'll take your horse! I'll send someone back for
you!"

"I think not!"

"Well, I think <so>." The boy made to mount Skinner's horse only to
be pulled back to the
ground by a rough callused hand.

"You know, brat, you show little enough remorse for what you did
today but now you intend to
steal my horse as well. I think you are in need of a good lesson,
and I am just the man who
can give it to you."

Skinner hauled the more slender man with him as he sat himself down
on a nearby stump pulling
the boy face down across his lap. He quickly pulled down the ill
fitting leggings, baring the
young man's backside. The sound of a strong hand striking naked
flesh echoed off the
surrounding trees.

"Ouch! Let me up, you big buffoon. Or I'll .. . I'll . . . "

The large hand landed again on the exposed butt. "You'll what, Brat?
Tell your master? I would
think he'll give you more of the same or worse once he finds out
about the loss of his fine
horse."

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Stop! I command you to stop! Ohh-h-h-h!"

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Oh you command me, do you? I think your pretty face has garnered
you too many favors in the
past. It would appear that this sore backside is long over due."

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Ouch! Oh! Please, I beg you stop!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Skinner laughed, "That's more like it! Now that I've had a good look
at this exceptional ass
of yours, I think perhaps you weren't hurrying to please a plump
maid but to pleasure your
master. If that be true, then this will no doubt be your only
penance for your foolhardy
actions today. No man would bother to smack this when there are so
many more interesting
things to be done with it."

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Please...please sir, let me up. Ouch! Ah-h-h-h! I'm sorry!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Now there's the right word, My Fine Boy." Smack! "Up you go."

The boy clamored to his feet, rubbing frantically at his abused
backside, tears streaming down
his beautiful face.

Skinner just stood and stared. He felt something in his chest swell,
his mind in turmoil. The
knight <could not> take his eyes off this common peasant boy. A boy
who had almost killed him,
threatened to steal his own war horse and challenged his authority
with every word out of that
pretty mouth. But, a peasant boy so damned beautiful it almost hurt
to look at him. A demon's
spawn to be sure, beguiling and bedeviling.

Skinner, by sheer will alone, forced himself to move. He mounted his
great beast of a horse
and reached an arm down to the boy, "Come on. I'll take you with me
to the palace, unless
you've changed your mind about telling me where you live. Do you
have a name?"

"I . . . I . . . the palace will be fine . .. well, near there
anyway. And you don't need to
know my name."

"Well then I guess <Peasant Boy> will have to do." Skinner threw
back his head and laughed.
"You're a real handful aren't you, my little peasant boy?"

"Some do say that."

The boy allowed himself to be lifted up and seated in front of the
hard body of his self
appointed savior. He was surprised how safe and secure he felt with
the man's arms wrapped
tightly around him. They started off for the Royal Palace, riding in
silence for some time,
each lost in their own thoughts . . . and despair. Sir Walter was
very taken with the young
man in his arms. He was a wild thing and would be no end of trouble.
But there was something
about the youth that made Skinner's blood run hot. And that hadn't
happened for a very long
time. Much too long.

"Why were you riding that poor beast so hard, Brat?"

The young man shivered at the warm breath that caressed his ear. He
had never been so effected
by the nearness of a man before. The sensation was almost identical
to that tingly feeling he
often got when being pursued by a beautiful woman. Very strange
indeed, to feel that way for a
man.

"Just as I told you. I was late. My father told me to be home in
time for the evening meal and
I stayed too long at the caves."

"Caves?"

Mulder pointed behind him. "Over there. It's where the blood suckers
live. They're capable of
turning themselves into winged bats. They eat the flesh of humans
and nothing more. It is said
that they come out only at night but I have reason to believe that
.. . "

The boy realized that the horse had stopped in the middle of the
road. He turned his head to
look at the man who sat behind him. "Is something wrong?"

"You're daft! That's why you aren't out working the cattle or
tilling the soil like any other
peasant boy. Or at the very least warming some rich land owner's
bed. You're crazy! I should
have known that anyone as pretty as you would not be allowed to just
run amuck as you were
doing. And to think I planned to ask the King for you. I knew it was
too good to be true."

"As . . . ask the King! You can't . . . And I'm not crazy! There are
more things under the
heavens than small minded men like you could ever imagine. Let me
down!"

"Just sit still. We're approaching the castle gates. I'm sure
someone will take care of you
there."

"I said, let me down! I can't . . . can't go into the castle with
you!"

"Ah, been banned have you? I'm not surprised. All right Boy, I'll
not turn you over to the
castle guards but I suggest you not steal any more horses. I won't
protect you next time."

"There won't be a next time. I plan to never lay eyes on you again."

* * *

The Realm of Meridiem Royal Palace

The King sat patiently at the front of the great dining hall. Many
of his loyal court were
seated around him. All heads turned as the trumpets heralded the
entrance of an imposing man
to the hall. Upon reaching the King, the handsome warrior knight
bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, Sir Walter Skinner at your service."

"Thank you, Sir Walter. I am most pleased to have you in my palace.
Your services are sorely
needed here. Come Sir Walter, join me at table. I have much to
discuss with you."

As Sir Walter seated himself to the left of the King, a great number
of pages and serving
girls sprang into action, pouring wine and arranging huge platters
and bowls of rich, tasty
foods.

The King called forth one of his royal guard, "Has my son returned
to the palace, Sir
Reginald?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. He was . . . uh . . . discovered sneaking in by
way of the southern moat
door again, Sire. He is being dressed and will join you shortly."

Skinner turned to the obviously irritated king, "Your son, your
Majesty? I was unaware that
you had an heir."

"Yes, my only living child. Born to us rather late in life. He is
why I have asked you to
leave your commission and join me here at the palace, Sir Walter. He
is the future king and
needs to learn the ways of discipline and leadership. He is quite
brilliant but headstrong
with strange ideas that he has picked up from reading too many
books. I should never have
allowed the monks to tutor him but it is too late for those regrets
now. I need you to make a
king of my wild and rebellious son, Sir Walter."

Sir Walter opened his mouth to explain that he had very little
knowledge of children, when a
disturbance at the entrance caught his attention.

"Stop pushing me! I've suffered your scrubbing and am wearing this
uncomfortable clothing, the
least you can do is allow me to enter the dining hall without the
blasting of that infernal
trumpet. My father is, I assure you, well aware of who I am without
a formal announcement."

Sir Walter's breath caught in his throat. It was the pretty peasant
boy. Only this time he was
dressed in satin and lace and was lacking the extra layer of dirt he
had picked up from his
fall in the forest. The knight had been unprepared for this. As a
peasant, the boy was
beautiful. As a prince he was spectacular. Sir Walter felt his shaft
grow hard with desire and
was grateful that his lap was well hidden from prying eyes.

The king glared at his offspring, "Fox, you are late again."

"Please, Father, must you use that hated name. I prefer to be called
Mulder. It is, after all,
our name and no one else is using it."

"The House of Mulder has ruled Meridiem for five hundred years and
not once, in all that time,
has there been a King Mulder. Fox is an honored ancestral name and
you should be proud to . ..
"

Mulder lost track of his father's words as he looked at the smirking
man seated to the king's
left. Oh shit! What was he doing here? Very few of those visiting
the palace were actually
allowed to see the king, let along take his meal in the royal dining
hall. Just Mulder's luck.
His butt was still sore and here sat the man responsible, drinking
wine and conversing with
his father.

"Are you even listing to me, Fox?" The king blustered. "Never mind,
get up here and take your
place next to me. I have someone I want you to meet."

Mulder took his seat to his father's right without looking at Sir
Walter.

"Fox, this is Sir Walter Skinner. He will be your new military
instructor and royal counsel."

Mulder choked on his first sip of wine. A page rushed forward to
pound his young prince on his
back.

"I don't need a military instructor! Especially not him!"

Sir Walter slipped into the conversation, "Prince Fox and I met
earlier this afternoon in the
forest, Your Highness. He was thrown from his horse and required the
use of my good right
hand."

Mulder choked once more, again calling forth the ever-diligent page
to assist his prince in
regaining his breath.

King William slammed his fist down on the table, "Fox, did you ditch
your royal guards again?
You aren't to be outside the palace gates alone! And what is this
about a riding accident?
Were you hurt?"

"I believe he walked away with nothing more than a sore backside,
Your Highness." Skinner
smirked at the red faced young man sputtering into his wine goblet.

As the prince choked for the third time, the page took the drink
from his hand and sent it
back to the kitchen. The Page wondered if the wine had been
possessed by evil spirits. He
would have to ask Prince Fox his opinion of the matter later.

"That makes me more certain than ever that I have made the right
decision in putting you in
the capable hands of Sir Walter."

"But I . . . "

"From this day forth, you are to obey Sir Walter in all matters. He
is to be your constant
companion. His word is now your law, my son. I command you as your
sovereign King and as your
Father. Is that understood, Fox?"

Mulder glared at his father, "And if I refuse?"

Skinner cleared his throat loudly and waited for wide hazel eyes to
settle on him before
speaking. "Finish your dinner, Fox. This discussion is at an end."

Mulder gaped at the incredibly arrogant man. "I will decide when
this discussion will end! I
don't have to do what you say! This is ridiculous!"

Skinner turned his attention to the king, "Your Highness, may I take
Fox to his chambers for a
private word?"

"By all means, Sir Walter. The boy is determined to shorten my years
with his brash
disobedience."

Mulder flushed scarlet as all eyes watched the big handsome warrior
knight easily pull him
from the great hall.

* * * Prince Fox's Private Chambers

Skinner shoved the young man through the door and dismissed the
surprised servant who waited
for the return of his royal charge.

"Tomorrow you will move to my rooms on the third floor." Sir Walter
growled.

"I most certainly will not! I am King William's heir and I will stay
in my own quarters. These
have been my rooms since I was born!"

"Your life is about to change in more ways than one, Prince Fox. I
have been given several
large rooms in an area of the castle that is more secluded. You will
stay there with me. I do
not wish to distress your mother with the sounds of your crying."

"My cry . . . crying?"

"Yes, your crying. You are a very spoiled and willful young man. I
plan to change that.
Starting now you are under my strict command. You will do what I
say, when I say it, and
without debate or question. The first thing you must learn is
discipline. Take off your
clothes."

"I will not!"

"You will or I will drag you back down to the great hall and strip
you there. From the way
several of those old lechers were looking at you, that would be a
welcome diversion for that
entourage. Now do you obey me or do you entertain below stairs."

Mulder looked into determined brown eyes and saw that the man would
not back down. He meant
every word, he said and the prince was more than sure that Sir
Walter had the total backing of
the King. He began to slowly disrobe as his face again flushed to a
bright crimson.

When the young prince stood naked, Sir Walter walked around him
slowly. Big warm hands
exploring the soft smooth skin as his eyes devoured his stunning
good looks.

"You're really quite beautiful. I was prepared to offer a pretty sum
to buy you from your
master. And here you are, just given into my hands. I am indeed a
fortunate fellow, am I not?"

"Wha . . . what are you going to do to me?"

"I'm going to teach you, my little peasant boy. Teach you
discipline, teach you to defend your
kingdom, teach you to enjoy that beautiful body you have." He ran a
hand down the long
muscular back and smiled as Mulder trembled slightly. Such a
passionate youth.

"We'll start with discipline. You've already had a taste of my
methods. You will become very
familiar with them in the months ahead."

He felt another shudder run through the boy.

"Every day before the evening meal you will remove your clothing,
bathe, and offer your
beautiful, bare backside up to me for a painful whipping. I will
choose where and how you will
be positioned, the method of your punishment, and how many strokes
you receive. You will also
be punished at other times during your training day. Those will be
when I decide and if front
of whomever I choose. When I say the words present yourself' you
will immediately bare your
bottom and wait for further orders."

He grabbed Mulder's chin and turned his head until their eyes met.
"We will begin now. Bend
over that sturdy table so that I may well and truly blister your
backside this time."

Mulder swallowed hard but lowered himself across the table. Skinner
looked around and spotted
a long scrap of boot leather that was used for sharpening the
prince's shaving blades. He had
several implements of discipline in his room but this leather strap
would do for now. He was
sure his young Fox Prince would become well acquainted with all of
his other tools before too
long.

"Twelve lashes of the leather on your bare, unprotected buttocks,
Prince Fox. Your first
lesson, always guard your flank."

Crack!

Mulder hissed through his clenched teeth as the first stoke landed
in a blaze of red hot pain
across his naked ass. Crack! Before he could draw in another breath,
the leather struck again
adding another burning stripe across his once cool skin.

Crack!

"Ah-h-h-h!"

"That's good, my little peasant boy. I want to hear you cry. I know
you are learning your
lesson that way."

Crack!

"Oh! Oh, please!"

The lovely white bottom was already painted in shades of bright red
and was wiggling
frantically on the hard wooden table.

Crack!

A sob escaped as tears began to flow down the prince's boyishly
handsome face.

Crack!

"That's right, brat. Cry for me." Crack! "When we are finished
here," Crack! "I am going to
allow you to dress," Crack! " and then you are going to go back down
to finish your dinner."
Crack! "You will lay this strap beside your eating platter," Crack!
"so that all may know why
those tears are running down your pretty cheeks." Crack!

When the last stroke landed on the blistered skin of his bottom,
Mulder jumped up and grabbed
his wounded flesh hopping from foot to foot in agony. An amused Sir
Walter watched for a few
moments and then grabbed the distraught young man by the arm.

"As lovely as it is, we don't have time for you to dance for me
right now. Get back in your
clothing. No just the pants and shirt, you don't need all that other
royal paraphernalia. No,
don't wipe your face. I want everyone below to see what happens to
bad little Fox Princes."

He handed Mulder the leather strap, "You will carry this into the
dining hall in plain sight
and lay it on the table between your father and yourself. You will
then apologize to him for
your disrespect. You will tell him that you are to be spanked again
before bed and invite him
to witness this punishment, if he so chooses. Do you have anything
to say about this, Fox?"

A pale, distressed Mulder solemnly shook his head and allowed
himself to be led back to the
dining table.

Mulder felt every eye on him as he entered the great hall and very
gingerly took the seat next
to his father. A few gasps could be heard as he laid the long strip
of heavy leather on the
table. Sir Walter made him repeat his whispered apology to his
father, this time in a louder
voice so all the straining ears could hear, and then commanded him
to eat his dinner. All of
his dinner, and say no more.

The prince now stood naked and waiting in a corner of Sir Walter's
room. His father, it
seemed, did indeed want to see his only son spanked before bed. He
knew he would be putting on
quite a show, his bottom was still throbbing from the strapping he'd
received just a short
time before.

Mulder heard the door open behind him but he didn't dare look
around. Sir Skinner seemed to be
an endless source of creative humiliation for the young prince.
Mulder planned to get through
this night and then find a way to be rid of his military trainer
once and for all. He had
three good friends who might be able to help drive him away.

The king glanced at his unusually quiet son standing patiently in
the corner, awaiting his
punishment. It was nothing short of miraculous.

"Sir Walter, this is my Chief Advisor, Sir Spender. He was very
interested in your methods of
controlling disobedient young men, and so I invited him to watch you
handle Fox."

Mulder tensed. He hated Sir Spender. The man was always looking at
him as if he would very
much like to get him alone in his chamber. He also used snuff, a
filthy habit as far as the
prince was concerned. He smelled foul and Mulder abhorred and
distrusted him. And now he was
here to see him punished.

Skinner didn't much like the looks of Sir Spender either but if the
king wanted to have Fox
punished in front of the entire court, he could so command. It was
out of Sir Walter's hands.

Sir Walter took a seat on a sturdy wooden bench and picked up a
small, round, wooden paddle.

"What is that, Sir Walter?" Spender asked a bit too eagerly.

"It's called a paddle. I picked it up while fighting in the
Crusades. Its purpose was to
cruelly strike the feet of deserting Turkish soldiers but I have
found it to be highly
effective, and much less damaging, when used on young men's bare
backsides. I have several.
One has small holes worked into the wood. I have been told, by an
unwilling recipient, that it
is much more painful than the others."

"How interesting. Please, proceed." Sir Skinner smiled evilly.

"Your Highness?" Skinner asked, ignoring the permission give by the
chief counselor.

"Yes by all means, Sir Walter, you have my full trust to punish my
son without doing permanent
damage."

"You need not worry about that, Your Majesty. I would never damage
something so beautiful."
Skinner turned to the trembling man standing in the corner who he
knew had been listening
carefully to everything that had been said. "Fox, come here and
receive your punishment."

Mulder turned and walked shakily over to where Sir Walter sat on the
bench. He kept his head
bowed. He did not want to see the expressions on the other men's
faces. Especially Sir
Spender. He could feel the old man's eyes burning over his nude body.

"Lay over my knee, Fox."

Mulder head snapped up, "But . . . Sir, that's the way the small
children in the village are
punished."

"Yes, if you act like a child you will be treated like one. You were
disrespectful, rude and
belligerent. Now you will know how it feels to have your nose
pressed against the floor and
your bare butt high in the air where I can paddle it soundly. Come
on, son. I'm sure your
father would like to seek his bed some time this night."

Mulder had been right about his ability to be punished quietly. This
was the third time today
and it was just too much. The paddle cracked down on tender inflamed
skin and Fox found
himself in tears almost from the start. He didn't know if the paddle
really hurt that badly or
if he was just that sore. He was certain that he would find out at
some point. He doubted this
would be his last encounter with the dreaded piece of wood.

Fox Prince kicked and cried his way through twenty hard, unrelenting
smacks. Sir Spender, who
had made sure he was standing in a good position to see both the
prince's bare bottom and
distressed face, adjusted his robes to hide his raging erection.

The boy's gorgeous, bare butt had almost immediately turned a
blazing shade of red. And as the
chastisement progressed, the young scoundrel was driven to feverish
heights of desperate
squirming and frantic kicking as he begged and pleaded to Sir Walter
for mercy. The boy
pledged impossible degrees of obedience and compliance. Anything to
save his hapless bottom
from even one of the twenty promised smacks of that cruel paddle.

But Sir Walter seemed steadfast in his determination, as he slowly
and methodically covered
every available inch of that bouncing, red bottom and then went over
the same area again and
then again. Paying little or no attention to its unfortunate owner's
frenzied and heartfelt
vows to change his ways.

Then the Prince was sent dancing and sobbing to a corner to proudly
display his burning,
throbbing butt for all to see. Spender wondered how long the
miserable boy would have to stand
there, hands on his head - bottom twitching uncontrollably, and how
many of his personal
servants and well placed members of the court would be allowed in to
see the Prince in this
shameful predicament. It seemed that the honorable Sir Walter felt
that embarrassment was an
important part of the punishment.

It was all so lovely.

Sir Spender wanted Prince Fox. He wanted him suffering over his own
knee. Of course when that
happened, it would be down in the great hall where everyone could
enjoy the show. And, he also
wanted the pretty prince withering and screaming under him as he
claimed the pretty boy for
his own. Maybe that would happen in the great hall, as well.

He would have him. Just as he would have the throne for himself one
day soon. Very soon.

End Part 1


Chapter 2 Knight Time in the Realm By DiAnn

The Royal Palace Sir Walter's Private Chambers

Sir Walter awoke at his usual early hour, with the first hint of
dawn just beginning to turn
the world from black to soft shades of grey. He also awoke to the
unusual but very pleasurable
feeling of a warm body nestled in his arms. He looked down to see a
dark head sleeping soundly
on his chest.

Smiling, he slowly shifted his body until the boy was lying on his
back, giving the knight a
better view of Prince Fox of Meridiem. As the slumbering prince
settled into this new
position, head now resting on Skinner's extended arm, he moaned
softly as his weight came to
rest on his sore bottom. Sir Walter reached up to smooth tousled
hair away from the beautiful
face. He hoped there would be no need of additional punishment today.

The prince moaned again and squirmed on the bed before opening wide
hazel eyes to stare into
Sir Walter's face. The look of confusion cleared almost instantly,
as last nights events came
back and Mulder blushed furiously, a whimper escaping his lips
before he could stop it.

"Ss-s-s-sh, Fox, I know you're sore. If you behave all day, I'll go
easy on you for tonight's
bedtime spanking."

"Promise, sir?"

"Turn over, I want to make sure there isn't any bruising this
morning."

"I . . . I'm fine . . . really."

"Are you going to argue with me already, brat? That doesn't bode
well for your backside, now
does it?"

Mulder immediately flipped onto his stomach and suffered the big
man's hands smoothing over
his still tender flesh.

The pink skin felt warm to the touch as Skinner's hand caressed the
firm buttocks of his young
charge. "It would do well to give your backside a rest today but
that will be completely up to
you, Prince Fox."

"Yes, sir. I'll try to please you, sir." At least until I can find a
way to get you far away
from Meridiem, that is.

"Fine. Now turn around and give me a kiss, then we'll go break our
fast before we start your
training."

"A kiss, sir?" Mulder looked at his military instructor as if he had
asked him to turn over
and grow two heads.

"Yes a kiss, my little peasant boy. You do know how to kiss, don't
you? I would think with a
mouth like that you would have gotten more than your fair share of
opportunities to practice."

"Only on women, sir."

"I see. Well, there's little difference in skill needed and I want
to kiss you and so, kiss
you I will." His mouth came down on Mulder's lush lips causing the
prince to freeze under him.
He forced his way inside the warm, wet mouth for a through
examination. The boy tasted sweet,
and hot and wonderful. Sir Walter just couldn't get enough of his
Fox Prince. Finally, after
several long blissful minutes, he felt the young man relax in his
arms and respond to his
kiss.

When he finally pulled his mouth away, Fox lay dazed in his arms,
eyes closed, lips swollen
and slightly parted. "Beautiful." Sir Walter breathed. "I think
we'll work some more on that
this evening. I expect you to repay any mercy or generosity I may
show you with one of those
sweet kisses, peasant boy. It's little enough reward for putting up
with your wild ways."

Mulder blushed scarlet as he rose to dress in simple leggings and
tunic. He obediently
followed Sir Walter below stairs for a breakfast of brown bread,
cold meat, apples and strong
tea.

The morning was spent in fencing practice. Mulder was good with a
sword but not as good as Sir
Walter. The young prince was sure that he had never seen anyone as
good as the knight was
proving himself to be.

"Stop dropping your sword, boy! How can you defend your kingdom if
your weapon is constantly
falling from your hand?"

Mulder glared and bent to retrieve the sword yet again. This time he
felt the sharp pain of
the flat side of Sir Walter's own sword smacked across his butt.

"Ouch!" Mulder quickly stood as he grabbed for the newly injured
area. He blushed as he heard
several of the realm's knights laughing. "Why did you do that?"

"Just a reminder, brat. Now hold on to that thing and pretend that I
am a real danger to you."

"You <are> a real danger to me!"

"You have no idea, peasant boy." The other knights, who were
supposed to be honing their own
skills with a broadsword, laughed again. They quickly went back to
their practice as their
prince scowled at them.

The morning passed slowly for Mulder as he worked on his battle
skills with his unwelcome and
demanding new instructor. By the time they stopped to take the
midday meal, Mulder was sure
his right arm would fall from his body. It felt heavy, useless and
numb from shoulder to
fingertips.

He looked over at the knight, "What are we going to do this
afternoon?"

Skinner smiled. "I think you've had enough military training for
your first day. Why don't you
spend the rest of the day in the library with your beloved books.
I'll use the time to
acquaint myself with the rest of the manor."

Sir Walter's heart nearly stopped when a dazzling smile appeared on
Fox's face. He didn't
think he had ever seen anything so beautiful in all of his thirty-
five years. He felt his
heart melt just a little more.

* * * 

Palace Library 

Two Hours Later

Sir Walter walked into the library looking for his Fox Prince.

He had spent the morning acquainting himself with the palace knights
and servants. There was
much knowledge to be gained about a kingdom from the people who
served it. That was certainly
true about Merediem. Sir Walter had learned all he needed to know
about the selfish King
William and Queen Christeena. He had also been told story after
story about the peculiar but
much loved Prince Fox.

Skinner stopped in his tracks as he entered the warm, inviting room.
A fire glowed in the
large fireplace against one wall, situated in front of this were two
well-padded, and well-
used leather covered chairs. A large table, with wooden benches,
took up most of another wall,
covered with maps. And then there were the books. One whole shelf
with what must have been a
dozen or more of the priceless leather bound volumes. It was
obvious, from this show of
opulence, that Meridiem was a wealthy kingdom.

It was also obvious that this library was the domain of the
brilliant Prince Fox.

The King was cold and aloof to his only son and the Queen, according
to the palace gossip,
rarely, if ever, asked to see Fox at all. Sir Walter would presume,
from seeing this room,
that they tried to make up for their parental distance by supplying
their sorely neglected
prodigy with what he most loved, books.

After his initial shock, Sir Walter became aware that something was
missing from the room.
Fox. He was nowhere to be seen. Sir Walter left the library to
search the prince's private
chambers. There, he encountered a page industriously polishing Fox's
little used armor.

"You're Chandler, if I'm not mistaken?" The boy nodded, his eyes
wide. "Have you seen Prince
Fox this afternoon, Chandler?"

"Not for some time, Sir Knight. He got a message from The Three. It
appeared to be rather
urgent and His Highness left almost immediately."

"Left! Left for where? Where has he gone, boy?"

The page began to cower and back away from the furious warrior
knight in front of him. Sir
Walter immediately lowered his voice and tried to calm the
frightened youth. "I'm sorry, son.
I'm just concerned about the prince's penchant for leaving the
castle without his guards. It's
most unwise."

"Yes, sir. I believe the king has warned him several times of the
danger of that very thing."

"I'm certain he has been warned a number of times. You said he got a
message from The Three.
What is that and where might I find it?"

"The Three isn't an <it>, sir. They're a who. Three hermits who live
in the Undergrounds, far
below the earth, in the rocks. They are foretellers of the future
and harbingers of peril. Few
have ever seem them but they are friends to Prince Fox. Some say His
Highness has special
powers and is a familiar of elves, and fairies and such. There are
those who say the prince is
a White Mage, sir."

"Idle gossip and old wive's tales, boy. You'd best not listen to
such rubbish, it will do
little but rot your mind."

"Prince Fox <is> special, sir. You'll have occasion to see for
yourself before much longer, I
would think. Come, I'll show you a map that points the way to the
Undergrounds where dwell The
Three."

* * * 

Enorus Mountains Northern Most Edge of the Realm

Sir Walter felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up end as he
rode further into the
rough, rocky foothills of the Enorus Mountain Range. Steep drop-offs
and sheer towering cliffs
greeted him at every turn. The balmy spring weather of the day
before had turned off hot and
muggy, sweat running in rivers off both horse and rider. That misery
only outdone by the
biting insects of every variety, that nipped at any exposed skin on
the already irritated
knight. When he caught up with his Fox Prince he was going to make
sure the boy's backside
paid dearly for this miserable trip.

He tried to remember what the young Page had told him about finding
the Undergrounds. As he
understood it, they were a series of caves hidden by thick
underbrush and, if the boy was to
believed, magic.

Magic indeed! The only magic to be found this day would be if the
Foxling Prince was left with
any skin on that beautiful butt of his. Sir Walter was so engrossed
in his visions of the
pretty boy crying over his knee, that he was taken by complete
surprise when his horse stopped
so abruptly that he was thrown over the beast's huge head. But
instead of landing on hard
rocky ground, as would be expected, he found himself tumbling head
over heels down a long and
narrow tunnel.

He landed with a bone jarring thump on a stone floor. He shook his
head in an attempt to clear
the ringing in his ears. As his vision cleared he was surprised to
find himself surrounded by
his Fox Prince and three very peculiar looking men.

"You!" Sir Walter glared at the handsome young prince from his place
on the hard ground.

"Wh . . . what are you doing here, sir?"

"What do you think I'm doing here, brat? I'm looking for you, of
course. Have I not made it
clear that you are not to leave the safety of the castle without
myself or your royal guard in
attendance?"

Mulder gave him his most innocent, wide-eyed look. "I don't remember
that you ever mentioned
that specifically, sir."

"Wh . . . wh . . . Wh . . ."

"I do believe that your handsome friend is quite speechless, Prince
Fox." Frohike offered.

Skinner glared at the dumpy little man, dressed in an odd assortment
of rags, including a
strange fur vest and fingerless gloves. Gloves of all things! With
the weather so hot that Sir
Walter felt sure he was about to melt into the rock beneath his
feet. But, strangest of all,
inside that gnarled, weathered face burned bright, sparkling eyes.
This intelligent little man
would bear close watching.

Skinner looked at the other two men. One tall with long golden hair
and hardly any chin at
all. His clothing simple and ill kept. He was staring at Skinner
with a look of undisguised
amusement on his expressive face.

The other man almost appeared normal. Clean and neat leggings and
tunic, neatly clipped beard
but projecting an unusual look of both innocence and intelligence on
his gentle face.

An odd lot to be sure. Skinner heaved himself painfully to his feet
to face the four men.

"Fox, why did you leave the palace? What are you doing here?"

"My friends needed to speak with me." He pointed at the odd trio of
men. "This is Frohike,
Langley and Beyers.
Meridiem."

"And just how would three he know what was happening in the outside
world?"

Just as he finished his ill chosen thought, a loud commotion in a
far corner of the cavern
drew Beyers away from the others. A runner arrived, breathless and
bearing a scroll which he
handed to the blond man. They exchanged a few whispered words and
the runner departed by some
unseen passage.

Skinner looked around him. Scrolls and bits of parchment covered
every available space. Piled
high on rough wooden tables, covering the long benches and even
stacked nooks and crannies dug
from the cave walls. He had never seen so much recorded information
in one room.

"We have our sources." Frohike snarled with obvious distrust for the
big, curious knight.

"We keep our ear to the ground, Warrior Dude." The blond said.
Langley was it? Skinner eyed
him suspiciously.

Beyers stepped between Sir Walter and his other companions, "We have
discovered a plot to
overthrow King William and enslave both Prince Fox and the serfs of
Meridiem. Everyone else,
all royalty and aristocrats, are to be killed."

"That makes no sense. Why would they dare to leave the prince alive?
He could eventually
garner support and regain his rightful place on the throne." Skinner
said with finality. He
wanted to end this ridiculous conversation and get back to the
palace with his errant prince.

"Duh." Langley rolled his eyes at the dull witted knight. "Have you
bothered to look at our
prince? Sir Spender wants a pretty, royal bed-warmer and plans to
keep Prince Fo chained to
his side in the palace. No one would ever see him again, let alone
rally behind him to regain
the crown."

"I'm afraid he's right, Sir Knight." Beyers interjected. "Sir
Spender has been obsessed with
Prince Fox for a very long time. He's been biding his time, waiting
for his allies to arrive
to aid him in the overthrow of King William. The king has made
several errors lately in
regards to whom he should trust. He has opened the door for Spender
to act."

"And who would these so called allies be?"

Frohike sighed heavily, "We don't know their names. We know that
they are powerful men but
they have been careful in their preparations to assist Sir Spender
to carry out his heinous
plans. No one has heard a whisper of their true identity."

Skinner eyed the three men thoughtfully for several long minutes.
"All right, I'll choose to
take you seriously for now. I'll see what I can find out when we get
back to the castle. I
assume Prince Fox knows how to get in touch with you should I gather
evidence to support this
outlandish theory."

The three men nodded solemnly. As they left the cool confines of the
cave, the hot sultry air
hit the knight like a blast of fire. It was proving to be an
unusually warm spring.

"I thank you men for your concern. This conversation has been most
.. . Uh, enlightening. I
shall get back to you promptly with what I discover at the palace. A
realm knight is often
privy to information that is withheld from a prince."

"We would be most appreciative, Sir Knight." Beyers spoke for The
Three.

"As for you, my royal pain in the ass, " Sir Walter turned to Fox.
"Let's get started back to
the castle. I have some plans for your afternoon. Go get the horses."

Sir Walter watched carefully as Mulder turned, anxious to see if he
would obey his command
without his customary grumbling and grousing. When he looked back,
the three hermits were
scrutinizing him with concerned and suspicious faces.

"What is your interest in our prince?" Frohike demanded.

"I was retained, by the king, to instruct him in military strategy
and weapon skills."

"We wouldn't like to see him hurt. Not even a little!" The squat
little man growled up at the
tall knight.

Sir Walter rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation. "Do you
think I want to hurt him? I
would take no pleasure in it. He's headstrong and reckless and has
no regard for the dangers
inherent with his position as heir to the throne." He pointed to
where Mulder had disappeared
into the sparse foliage. "That, Gentlemen, is the only hope for the
future of Meridiem. He
shouldn't even be outside the castle walls without protection. He's
run wild for so long, that
nobody even takes notice when he's missing anymore. His parents are
self-serving and not
overly concerned with him. The Royal Guard has long ago given up
even trying to keep track of
him. He has no direction and no one who seems to care about him.
Well, I care. From now on,
that boy will heed his own safety or he will have more to fear from
me than from all the
killers and kidnapers in this kingdom or any other."

The Three exchanged meaningful looks. At least the looks seemed to
have meaning for them.
Skinner had no idea what was coming next.

"Do you love him?" Frohike asked point blank.

Sir Walter looked startled, then pensive. "I'm most certainly
fascinated by him. He has gotten
under my skin, in just one sunrise, as no other has done in all my
days. I fear . . . that one
day, one day very soon, I shall find myself loving the exasperating
little demon-child very
much." Sir Walter dropped his head to rest on his chest. "And may
God have mercy on me when
that comes to pass."

The three strange men looked at each other once more. Frohike
quietly nodded his head and
Beyers bowed deeply to the knight. "Welcome to the Realm of
Meridiem, Sir Walter. We've been
foretold of your arrival."

"Foretold . . . in what way?"

"By The Prophesy, of course. The dauntless Warrior shall come, the
circle to complete'."

Skinner wanted to ask them more about this so-called prophesy, when
Fox came crashing back
through the brush leading the two large horses.

"Ah," Skinner chuckled. "I see you managed to steal the same horse
today. I'm surprised that
intelligent creature let you on his back again." He chuckled once
more as he received what was
meant to be a menacing glare from his wayward prince. Fox would have
been most disappointed to
learn that his expression made him look more adorable than dangerous.

They took their leave of The Three and started down the mountain
trail toward the Royal Palace
of Meridiem. They spoke not at all for the first five miles, both
deep in thought. The prince
considering how best to protect his beloved realm. Sir Walter
considering how best to protect
it's future king.

They came to a fork in the road and Mulder habitually took the road
on the left, going several
yards before he realized that Sir Walter was no longer by his side.
He looked behind him to
see the man waiting patiently for his return.

"Sir?"

"We're taking this road." Skinner pointed in the northern most
direction.

"But, Sir Knight, this other is the quickest route to the castle.
That road will add two hours
to our trip. No one ever goes that way, there are no villages, no
granges, nothing at all
except endless stands of trees."

"It sounds perfect for my purposes this afternoon. I want to see all
of Meridiem, and I've
decided to start here."

Mulder watched as the big knight reined his horse in the other
direction. Sir Walter's strong,
well muscled thighs easily guiding the huge, powerful war horse. The
prince couldn't take his
eyes off those bunching muscles, the proud straight back, or the
noble but relaxed bearing.
This man inspired others to obey his command by his demeanor alone.
The prince hesitated for
only a moment before following his awe-inspiring instructor.

They had gone less than five miles before Sir Walter stopped his
horse once more. Mulder
watched closely as he dismounted and sat down on a large tree stump
by the side of the road.

"Why are we stopping so soon? We've traveled less than an hour, at
this rate we'll get back to
the palace well after last meal is served."

"Get down, boy, I wish to speak with you before we continue our
journey."

When the young prince stood before him, Sir Walter pulled his
hunting knife from the leather
sheath on his belt. "Go cut a tree branch. As big around as my
smallest finger and as long as
three of your foot lengths."

"Why?"

"How many times do we have to go over the <no argument> rule? Now go
do what I told you to do,
and make it fast."

Mulder saw the anger start to boil in Sir Walter's expressive brown
eyes and put an end to his
questions. It was just not prudent to goad the knight. He certainly
was a touchy fellow.

"Here." He thrust the freshly cut branch at Sir Walter. The knight
calmly took it and the
knife, he began stripping it of leaves as Fox watched him curiously.
When it was cleaned, he
swished it through the air a few times, seemingly satisfied with the
loud whistle this action
caused.

"Present yourself, peasant boy."

Mulder's chin hit the ground. He opened his mouth to say something,
closed it again, a blush
coloring his cheeks.

"But . . ."

Sir Walter swished the switch a couple more times and knew the exact
moment when the prince
understood just what he planned to do with the thin supple branch.

"That's right, my beautiful little prince. Six lashes with this fine
switch you've chosen for
leaving the palace without an escort. One lash for arguing when you
were ordered to cut the
switch, and one lash for not getting into position immediately.
Would you like to continue to
add to the tally? It's a long ride back to the castle. Very
uncomfortable sitting that long on
a heavily welted bottom."

Mulder glanced around at the silent forest, then with a look of
resignation, lowered his
leggings to his knees.

"Take them off. Leave on nothing save the tunic."

"But . . ."

"More argument, peasant boy?"

"No, sir." The full bottom lip came out in a pout that Sir Walter
found both delightful and
ineffective. That little ploy had, no doubt, worked wonders on a
long line of royal nannies
but it had no effect on the battle hardened knight. Well, in truth,
it did have some effect on
a certain part of the knight's anatomy but it was well covered by
his long tunic.

However, Sir Walter would have been outright lying to say he was not
affected by the tears
already sparkling from under heavy dark lashes. "Only eight lashes,
Little Prince. It will be
over quickly. Bend over that stump and keep your backside well up. A
willow switch delivers a
good sting, so you'll have to be mindful not to move out of position
until I'm finished with
you."

Mulder could feel the air waft around his naked butt as Sir Walter
pushed his tunic well up on
his back. His bottom was now completely bare and on full display. He
felt a sob rising up in
his throat as he imagined how he must appear.

"What are the first six lashes for, my little peasant boy?"

"Leaving the castle without my guards."

"And?"

"Without telling you where I was going."

The switch cut the air and exploded low on his tender backside like
a lick of blistering fire.
His body jerked and the prince bit down hard on his lip to stop the
scream that rose from the
very depths of his soul. Nothing had ever hurt him like this.

The second strike was worse. It cut deeply into his butt, right
below the last throbbing
brand, again spanning both cheeks. Seeming to sink into the flesh
for a moment before
springing away, a throbbing welt left at its passing.

The third lash, again right below the one before it, brought a
strangled sob, his body
quivering. Mulder bit down hard on his lip to stifle any more
unseemly outbursts. Kings did
not cry. He was determined that Sir Walter would never again bring
him to tears. Last night
had been too humiliating for words.

Prince Fox tasted blood after the fourth and fifth blows. He let up
on his lip. He didn't
think it would be appreciated if he bloodied himself. That would
seem to be Sir Walter's job.

The next and last strike burned like a brazier across his backside.
He could not stop the gasp
that escaped his injured lip or the way his body jerked with each
blow. The embarrassing tears
streamed heavily down his face.

"What is the next stoke for, Prince Fox?"

"Ar . . . arguing with you, sir."

It burned across the very top of his legs, finally earning an
unwilling yelp from the
suffering prince.

"And the last?"

"Not . . . not getting . . . into position .. . quickly."

The last was the worst. It bit into the delicate skin where buttock
met thigh. It took Fox's
breath away. He was powerless to stop the sobs that rose to his
throat or the frantic wiggling
of his bottom.

Sir Walter let him calm himself for a moment before pulling him to
his feet and enveloping him
in a fierce hug. The prince immediately began to struggle for release.

"Calm down, peasant boy. Just as you are not too old for a spanking,
you're not to old for a
hug."

Mulder relaxed into the comforting arms of the older man. When the
tears finally subsided, Sir
Walter reluctantly released his hold on his Fox Prince. That was
when he noticed the bloody
lip. He sighed as he pulled a clean cloth from his pocket and dabbed
gently at the injury.

"You have done more damage to yourself than I did with that switch!"

"I hardly think so. I'm sure my backside is a bloody mess."

Skinner grabbed his arms and shook him gently until hazel eyes met
his own. "There is no
blood, Fox. I will never whip you that harshly. Never! You have my
promise on that."

Mulder felt fresh tears fill the back of his eyes, so he nodded in
understanding and quickly
turned away, reaching for his leggings and boots.

"No boy, you're not to dress just yet. Put your clothing on your
horse and then tie your
mount's reins to my saddle. You'll be spending the afternoon riding
with me."

"No! I . . . I mean . . . surely you can't be serious!"

"I'm most serious, peasant boy." Skinner mounted gracefully and
reached down an arm. "Up you
go. I wish to talk to you on the way home and this is the most
convenient way to do so."

Mulder sighed dramatically and secured his horse to Sir Walter's. He
then allowed himself to
be lifted into the saddle and settled between the knight's widely
spread thighs. He felt the
back of his tunic lifted so his bare, welted bottom made direct
contact with the hard leather
of the saddle. His injuries spanned less than a hand width on his
backside but the affected
area was exactly where his weight rested as he sat. He was most
certain this was exactly as
planned.

Sir Walter waited until his wincing, squirming charge had settled
somewhat, then urged his
steed forward.

"Comfortable, my little peasant boy?"

"You know I'm most uncomfortable and I wish you wouldn't call me
little. I'm not you know,
little that is. Can't I dress properly and ride my own horse?"

"No. And I'll call you whatever I choose."

"But what if we meet other travelers?"

"I've seen little traffic on this road. Besides your tunic is long
enough to cover you quite
well."

"Humph! I think this expanse of bare leg would give me away."

"And a very handsome expanse of leg it is. Tell me, Prince Fox, have
you every bedded another
man?"

Mulder blushed scarlet. "I . . . I . . . No!"

"Really? It's a common enough practice, especially among aristocrats
at court. And you, my
beautiful little prince, are most comely of face. Surely you've had
your share of offers."

Sir Walter moved the hand he held around the Prince's waist and
began to explore beneath the
tunic. He rubbed gently across the naked flesh he found there. He
heard Fox gasp and then a
shudder ran through the slender body under his hand. Skinner reached
lower and felt the
princes's shaft harden in his grasp. So, the knight's caress was not
at all repulsive to the
reticent little virgin prince.

"Must . . . we discuss this?" Another hard shudder from that
beautiful body.

"Yes, we must." Sir Walter placed a warm kiss on the prince's
exposed throat and moved his
hand up to rub hard, little nipples. "I've heard that even your
father finds comfort with a
male consort on occasion."

"Yes, he and Sir Reginald are quite close." Mulder squirmed
nervously, then winced.

"Yet you have never accepted an offer from a man? Are you not
curious?" Sir Walter's hand
moved down again to squeeze the boy's now fully erect cock.

"I . . . that is . . . yes I've thought about it but I've never been
tempted by any man of my
acquaintance."

"Are you tempted by me?" Hot lips traced a burning trail behind the
Prince's ear and down his
long elegant throat. Then claimed his lips for the first of many
devastating kisses.

"Answer me. Do I tempt you, little peasant turned prince?"

"Pl . . . please . . . I . . .I just . ..yes!"

Sir Walter moved his lips close to Prince Fox's ear. "I will make
you an offer, my beautiful
peasant boy," he whispered seductively, sending chills down Mulder's
spine. "You are now
required to ask me for a spanking every night before bed. When
you're ready, ask me to make
love to you instead. The choice will be yours."

Mulder nodded his head as he swallowed hard, unable to do or say more.

"Now, what about women?"

The prince squirmed against the hard leather beneath him, groaning
loudly. The movement and
the sound sent small lightening bolts straight to the knight's
groin. He had to stifle his own
groan as the prince tried desperately to find a comfortable position
for his sore bottom. "I
.. . I like women."

"And you've had many women, have you?"

"The women at the castle are more than willing but I have other
interests besides wenching and
drinking. Too many royal heirs jeopardize their kingdoms with such
foolish pursuits."

"I see. Tell me, Prince Fox, why have I not seen your mother at
court. I was told that Queen
Christeena is in attendance at the palace."

Mulder sighed sadly, "My mother keeps to her own chambers with her
ladies-in-waiting. She. . .
she hasn't come out for . . . for years."

"That is most unusual behavior. Is she in her sick bed?"

"No. She . . . she just . . . when I was younger my sister was
stolen from the royal palace.
She has never recovered. I . . . I was with Samantha at the time and
yet I can remember
nothing of her disappearance. I . .. my mother has never forgiven
me, nor for that matter, has
my father." Fox turned his head so he could look directly into the
knight's face. "It is right
that they should blame me. I <was> at fault. You should have been
informed of my guilt and
subsequent dishonor before you agreed to train me. That was unfair
of my father, to trick you
thus."

Mulder turned back to face the road ahead, his body tense. He had
begun to admire this knight
and now the man would turn from him as all the others had done.

"You arranged to have your sister taken?"

The prince gasped in shock. "Of course not! I loved her above all
others."

"And you were bigger and stronger than those who took her?"

"I . . . I very much doubt that. I was very young."

"So how was it your fault?"

"It was my responsibility to protect her."

"And where were your royal guards at the time?"

"They were killed outside her chamber door."

"And your parents? Where were they?"

"Visiting my mother's sister in another realm."

"So, the king and queen were away from the palace, the royal guards
could not stop these evil
curs yet you think you should have done so. A mere boy? You expect
quite a lot of yourself,
peasant boy."

"Much should be expected of me. I'm the prince."

"So you are." The knight said thoughtfully. "So, tell me why you are
not yet married and
producing little princes of your own? Even though I fully doubt your
claim of nineteen
summers, my guess would be more like sixteen or seventeen, you're
still clearly old enough for
marriage. It's common practice for members of royalty to take a
bride before their fifteen
year."

Mulder blushed again. "I assure you, I didn't lie to you about my
age but you aren't the first
to doubt my claim. And I'm betrothed to Lady Diana of Fowland. She
enjoys her life at court
and has many times delayed the journey here for the ceremony."

"She doesn't sound particularly clever. Most women would rush to
give her hand to such a
handsome prince. Is she comely, this Lady Diana."

"Yes, she is beautiful enough. Uh . . . do you think you could
remove your hand from under my
tunic now?"

"No. I like my hand just where it is and from the feel of it, so do
you. Now relax, I wish to
learn more about you and your life here in Meridiem. And, I will
explore your beautiful body
while I do so. You don't love this Lady Diana, do you?"

The prince was quiet for several minutes. Sir Walter had come to the
conclusion that he was
not going to get an answer to this particular question, when the
prince suddenly spoke.

"I love Dana."

Sir Walter knew that he had just been handed a great confidence. So
the prince had decided
that he could be trusted. The knight sensed that this was indeed a
great honor from this
suspicious young man. He leaned forward to nibble on the delectable
neck again.

"And pray tell me, who is this Dana that has stolen your heart?"

Mulder unthinkingly moved his head to allow the knight better access
to his throat, gasping as
the hot kisses burned his tender skin.

"Dana of the Dark Woods. She is the most beautiful woman who has
ever drawn breath. Her skin
is as white and smooth as the richest cream, her hair burns like the
most glorious sunrise and
her eyes are as blue as the sky on a clear summer's day."

Skinner smiled. "She sounds most lovely."

"Oh she is beautiful. But there is much more to Dana." He glanced
over his shoulder, studying
the big man from under long dark lashes, then he once again fastened
his eyes on the road
ahead. "Dana is very bright and quick witted. We can talk about a
thousand different topics
and never grow bored with each other. She is kind, and generous,
too. She has great powers of
healing and knows all there is to know about herbs and recuperative
potions."

"That knowledge is most valued. Why is she not in residence at the
palace?"

"Uh . . . the king and queen do not hold her in great esteem. They
have forbidden me to see
her."

"Why is that?"

"Dana is a sorceress." He mumbled.

"What!"

"It's true. I swear it on my father's life. Dana of the Dark Woods
is a beautiful witch with
extraordinary magical powers. Some of those who live at the palace
fear her. She's hundreds of
years old and knows just about everything there is to know. But the
best part is, she loves
me."

"She has cast a spell on you!"

"No!" Mulder turned in the saddle, wincing as his sore bottom
shifted on the hard leather.
"There is no spell. You can't possibly understand unless you come
with me to meet Dana. She is
the most magnificent of women. I think . . . I think you would like
her." He lowered his eyes
and looked up at Skinner expectantly.

Another show of faith. Sir Walter felt his heart swell once more. He
was beginning to think
this prince was also a wizard and had cast a spell over his military
instructor's heart and
mind.

"I would very much like to meet your sorceress, peasant boy."

"Thank you, sir." The prince sounded both delighted and relieved.

Sir Walter leaned forward and kissed the back of his neck again.
"You will find, my little
prince, that you can trust me . . . in all things."

Mulder nodded, distracted by the knight's wondering hand under his
tunic and hot mouth on his
skin.

When the castle came into view, the prince was given one final deep
kiss and then allowed to
dress and mount his own horse. He felt dazed by the afternoon's
events. He had bared his soul
to the knight. Now it was to be seen if his trust had been well
placed or if he would be
betrayed by his father's hired spy.

* * * 


The Royal Palace Great Dining Hall

Mulder released a sigh of relief. It appeared that Sir Walter was
not going to discuss the
prince's visit to The Three or his avowed love for the sorceress
Dana of the Dark Wood. He
began to look at the stalwart knight with a deeper respect.

"You're unusually quiet tonight, Prince Fox." Mulder's head snapped
up to look at Sir Spender.
The kings chief counsel was smirking at him from his seat to the
king's left.

"I . . . I just . . ."

Sir Walter spoke up from the chair to Mulder's left. "He has trained
strenuously and well
today. He's a little fatigued this evening. I'm most confident that
Fox will adjust to the
routine quickly. He is a strong and brilliant student."

"That is excellent news, Fox." The king scowled at this son. "I
expect to receive a similar
report from Sir Walter each evening."

"Yes, Sir."

"Tell me," Spender's voice slithered up Sir Walter's spine. "Will
the boy receive another
whipping this evening?"

The room became deathly quiet as those assembled around the long
tables waited to hear a reply
to the question. Skinner felt his anger rise as quickly as the color
in Prince Fox's gorgeous
face. "That is between the prince and me."

"But I should like to watch again."

"I'm sorry, Sir Spender. That will no longer be possible."

"Sire . . ." Spender turned to the king for support.

King William looked over at the determined knight. "Sir Spender, the
decision rests with Sir
Walter. His decisions, regarding Fox, are final. I hired him to take
my son in hand and I must
allow him to do so."

Spender turned purple with rage. "And that, a waste of good silver,
if you ask me. I could
have taught the boy all he needed to know. We didn't need this
foreigner at the palace."

"Hardly a foreigner, Sir Spender." The king looked at his chief
council curiously. "Surly you
have heard of Sir Walter. He is an honored and much heralded knight
in service to this crown.
He is, by no means, an outsider to this palace. We are most
fortunate to have his services as
mentor to the future king."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Skinner stood and bowed to King William
before Spender could
continue the conversation. "Now, if you will excuse us, I think
Prince Fox needs to rest. He
has another trying day ahead of him tomorrow."

* * *

Sir Walter's Private Chambers

Skinner walked into his chambers to find a freshly scrubbed and
naked prince awaiting his
return. He walked up to the blushing man and place one finger gently
under his chin, raising
wide hazel eyes to meet his own.

"What will it be tonight, my beautiful peasant boy?"

"I . . . I . . . a spanking please, sir."

Sir Walter sighed in disappointment. "As you wish, Prince Fox. Come
lie across my knees as you
did last night."

"Why . . ." The Prince drew in a ragged breath and then tried again.
"Why didn't you allow
them to watch tonight?"

"Last night's invitation was a courtesy to your father. I was most
disappointed that he
allowed Sir Spender to accompany him. It showed a lack of concern
for the sensitivities of his
son. I will not make that mistake again. Sir Spender is a deviate
and dangerous man, Fox, I
want you to watch yourself around him."

"I have long experience of that, Sir Knight."

"No doubt you do. Now get your pretty little butt over here for a
good tanning and then it is
off to bed with you. And there will be no side trips tomorrow. Do
you understand me, young
man?"

"Yes, sir. I understand. But, when can we go see Dana?"

"Before the next new moon, if you follow my orders to the letter,
and continue to show such
excellent capabilities on the practice field. I was very proud of
you today."

Mulder blushed, unused to such praise. "Thank you, sir."

Skinner's breath caught, as he was the recipient of another of
Prince Fox's devastating
smiles. He was really going to have to watch this one or he would
find himself the one obeying
every command.

"Enough of that, you young scamp. Get yourself bottoms up over my
knee. I find myself most
weary from a long grueling day of managing you and your unruly ways."

The smile vanished from the young prince's face. "Uh, couldn't I
bend across the back of that
chair or perhaps . . . "

"Are you arguing with me again, peasant boy? Will you never learn?"

"I'm sorry, sir." He lowered himself over the waiting lap of his
instructor. "It's just that
.. . "

"I know, Fox. You find this position childish and embarrassing. That
is my intention. Now, not
another word and get yourself into position before you make this
little bedtime spanking into
something more painful."

Skinner studied the bottom presented to him. The eight vivid welts
from today's switching,
were still quite visible on the pretty white bottom. But the area
was small and there was
still plenty of smooth white flesh to punish above and below.

He raised his right hand high above his shoulder and brought it down
with a resounding crack.

"Ouch!" Mulder squirmed as he yelped.

Skinner hesitated, his hand once again risen above his shoulder. "I
use a willow switch on
you, without you making a sound, but a simple smack from my hand and
you're yelling down the
palace walls?"

"I . . . don't like this . . . being over your lap . . . and it
hurts!"

Skinner shook his head. "You are beyond my comprehension, peasant
boy." He continued to
expertly smack the backside at his disposal. He carefully avoided
the switch welted area, for
reasons he did not want to examine too closely at the moment. Not
that the prince seemed to
notice the knight's generosity.

The Fox Prince yelped and wiggled his way through the bedtime
spanking with an abandon that
surprised Sir Walter. He wasn't sure if the boy was too exhausted to
control his emotions, he
was trying to sway the intensity of the chastisement with an
exaggerated show of pain or if he
now trusted his instructor enough to be honest about what he was
feeling. The knight sincerely
hoped it was the latter.

When the middle and top portions of the bottom and the tender upper
thighs were red, blistered
and throbbing, Skinner stopped his onslaught. He allowed the sobbing
prince to pull himself
together and then shifted his body to gently dump the boy on the
floor at his feet.

"Have you learned anything today, my little peasant boy?"

"Ye . . . yes, sir. If I have need to leave the palace, I should
inform you. Then, I should
wait for either you, or my royal guard, to accompany me."

"One more thing, I will decide if the reason for your trip is valid,
Fox. You need a tighter
rein on you for a while. However, you should know, that I consider a
visit to your friends to
be legitimate and necessary."

Fox looked up at him through tear soaked lashes, "And to see Dana?"

"I will hold opinion on that until I meet this paragon of womanhood.
If she is all that you
say she is, then yes, I see no reason to keep you from her company.
But I must warn you, if I
find her to be a threat to you, in any way, I <will> keep you apart."

"Yes, sir. I'm sure you will find her well worthy of my praise."

"I'm sure I will, scamp. Now come, let me hold you and comfort you
until you fall asleep.
Perhaps tomorrow you will accept my love instead of my strong right
arm."

Sir Walter sighed at the quick look of apprehension that flashed
across the prince's gorgeous
face. Oh well, there was plenty of time for that. At least, tomorrow
morning he would again
awake with the beautiful prince in his arms. Sir Walter was quickly
becoming addicted to that
very pleasurable little luxury.

The End - Part 2

Chapter 3 Knight Time in the Realm By DiAnn

The Royal Palace Sir Walter's Private Chambers

A resounding metallic crash echoed throughout the bedchamber. Sir
Walter came awake instantly,
every muscle in his body tensed and ready for battle, his heart
pounding wildly in his chest.

He looked to his left, only to find the bed empty. His panic
increased. In the three weeks he
had been with Fox, the boy had never risen this early. In fact, he
often had to be coaxed and
conjoled out of bed and would say not a civil word until he had
consumed a goodly portion of
strong morning tea.

Sir Walter sat up in his bed, fully alert, ready to fight. He was
hoping against hope that the
kidnappers hadn't enough time to escape with the prince, that he
could still stop them. He was
surprised and greatly relieved to see the prince alone in the room,
bent at the waist, his
comely backside sticking out of a huge wardrobe set against one wall.

The knight tried to get his breathing back under control as his body
slowly accepted that
there was no danger and calmed itself.

It had been three days. Three glorious, peaceful days since the
prince had done anything to
test the patience of his Instructor.

Of course, before that there had been the little incident with the
roving band of gypsies. Fox
had been certain they were capable of changing themselves into large
hawks and swooping down
to steal human babies. Sir Walter had logically pointed out, that
the rag tag band could
hardly put food in their own mouths, let alone take on the care of a
bunch of stolen babies.
And besides, the cook's helper and the miller's daughter hadn't
really seen anything fly
overhead when their children went missing.

And then there was the wild dog pack that Fox swore was really the
gentle Petit Brothers along
with their cousin Joseph, turned to Werewolves. The prince said it
was not their fault, and
wouldn't allow anyone to lift a sword against them. If they didn't
address that little problem
soon, there wasn't going to be a chicken left in the kingdom.

And then the prince had accused the head cook of being possessed by
demons just because he
started adding dandeline greens to every dish. Often times cooks
became creative with their
craft, it was hardly a sign of the devil. In Sir Walter's opinion,
Fox just had a personal
aversion to green food.

But still, there had been these past three days. Three days in which
the prince had worked
hard at his training, charmed and entertained Sir Walter during
meals, and then docilely
offered that sweet, bared bottom up each night for chastisement. Not
the activity that Skinner
would have preferred he request, but still done with a modeim of
respect for authority.

"What in the name of all that's holy are you doing now?" Skinner
barked.

"Omph!" Mulder started at the roar coming from the bed, raising his
head too quickly only to
make painful contact with the top edge of the wardrobe door. "Must
you bellow like that so
early in the morning?"

Mulder pulled what appeared to be some sort of woven metal vest up
to his face and examined it
closely. Apparently, it did not meet with his satisfaction. Heaving
an exasperated sigh, he
noisily discarded it into a corner that was quickly filling with
other discarded bits of armor
and weaponry. He turned to continue his digging in the depths of the
old cabinet.

"I repeat, what - are - you - doing?"

"Looking for something."

Skinner ran his hand over his face in frustration, wondering and not
for the first, time what
powerful gods he had angered that he should be given this
infuriating boy.

"Fox! Stop!"

Mulder turned around to face his military instructor, impatience
clear on his handsome face.

"Thank you. Now tell me what you are looking for and why you need
whatever it is . . . and
tell me now."

"I am looking for The Beast Tamer." The prince stated testily before
turning back to his task.

"Well that certainly clears everything up! What the hell is a beast
tamer?"

Sir Walter was quickly losing all sense of reality. In fact, he
would not be at all surprised
to find that he was still asleep and in the grip of a horrible
nightmare.

From the heave of the shoulders and the irritated sigh that
accompanied that action, it was
clear that the Prince was quickly losing his patience as well. He
turned once more to face the
other man.

"Look, sir, a runner arrived a few minutes ago, with news that the
village of Bregan North is
under attack by a dragon. <I> am the Dragon Slayer. But I can't go
take care of this little
matter until I find my sword, The Beast Tamer. And . . . " he hissed
through gritted teeth, "I
can't do that until you stop asking me all these infernal questions.
Now can I?"

"You . . . you're th . . . the Dragon Slayer? Oh no you aren't! I
forbid it! And besides
dragons don't exist."

"Tell it to the dragon." Mulder snapped, his head deep in the
confines of the wardrobe again.
Suddenly he let out a whoop that made Skinner flinch.

"Found it! Right where my grandfather told me it would be. Well,
sort of. He never was one for
keeping things in proper order. Hell of a warrior though."

"Your grandfather? Your grandfather is still living!"

Mulder's face clearly showed his disbelief at such an idiotic
question. "No, of course not."

"But you said he told you where the sword was hidden."

"Yes, he did. But it wasn't intentionally hidden. He . . . Oh, never
mind."

Skinner gasped as Mulder held up the largest, most ornate sword the
knight had ever laid eyes
on. It was at least six feet in length and made of the heaviest
gold. The ornate handle was
encrusted with jewels; rubies, emeralds and sapphires each fought to
outshine, and out sparkle
the others. It was a truly magnificent weapon, a work of art.

Sir Walter was amazed that Prince Fox could even lift the thing, let
alone slay a . . . a. . .
oh hell, a dragon with it. Skinner shook his head, trying to wake
himself before this dream
got totally out of hand. As if it weren't already threatening the
knight's sanity.

"If you want to hear the whole story, then get a move on and get
dressed. You can accompany me
on my mission. The Dragon Slayer usually works alone, but I doubt
the dragon will care if I
bring a companion who was too nosey and too bossy to keep himself at
the castle and wait for
my return."

The prince hurried from the room leaving a dazed Sir Walter Skinner
still sitting in his bed.

When the knight arrived below stairs, he found the prince pacing in
the main hall. "It
certainly took you long enough. Did they have to delay every battle
until you were finished
with your morning absolutions?"

"Just a minute, young man . . . "

"Save it, sir. I'm sure I'll pay for all of this later but right now
I just don't have time to
worry about it. I have a dragon to slay."

"There is so such thing as a dragon!"

Their horses were waiting in the courtyard, held steady by two
sleepy eyed stable boys. As
they rode away from the castle, the prince shoved a hunk of warm
bread and some cheese into
the other man's hand.

"We won't have time to stop, so I grabbed some breakfast for you."

Sir Walter accepted the offering with surprise and gratitude. He
couldn't remember the last
time someone had thought of his comfort. He glanced at the beautiful
prince and felt his chest
constrict once more. This boy could be very dangerous to the heart
of an old warrior, unused
to the simplest of kindnesses.

"They rode at a brisk but prudent pace, as the sun slowly rose and
bathed the land in the soft
pinks and greys of early morning. This was Sir Walter's favorite
time of day. He turned to
Fox, who had been unusually quiet, and easily snatched him out of
his saddle and situated him
in front of him on his own lap. The prince yelped once and then
seemed to accept that his
companion wanted to talk to him and the odd way the man had of
securing his attention.

"All right, brat, up to this point, I've followed you on faith
alone. Now, I want to know
where we are going and, what you plan to do when we get there."

"I told you, sir. We are going to one of the villages under my
protection, to slay a dragon
that is threatening my people. It is my duty and my honor to do so."

"But how could you . . . "

"Let me explain. Every second generation, dragons appear to
terrorize our realm. It is the
duty of the Dragon Slayer. That would be me. To go forth and well ..
. slay the pesky beasts.
It has been so, in the House of Mulder, for hundreds, perhaps
thousands of years."

"And your grandfather was . . ."

"Yes, grandfather was the Dragon Slayer before me. He and I were
very close. Now, he comes to
me, on the first night of each full moon, and we talk. He's done so
since his death. I was so
young when it started, it doesn't seem at all strange to me now."

"But he really is . . . "

"Dead. Yes."

"So he's a . . . "

"Really, sir, you're being quite dense today. Not at all like you.
My grandfather is a ghost
that haunts the castle. One of many, I might add. Our family has a
long and bloody history. It
breeds unrest among the dead."

Skinner found himself nodding his head. When he realized what he was
doing, he quickly stopped
and cleared his throat. He brought his arm tighter around the
prince's slim waist, pulling his
warm back up tighter against his own chest. If he was going to be
driven slowly mad by this
boy, the least he could expect was the fleeting pleasure of that
gorgeous body held against
his own.

"What . . . um-m . . . what does your . . . uh, grandfather talk to
you about?"

"Oh the usual. The state of the realm. What my father has been up
to. Who won the last joust
among the knights. Who's playing touch and tickle in the pantry. And
of course, he told me
where to look for the Beast Tamer. He had moved it since the last
time I had to kill something
with it."

"He moved . . . " Sir Walter shook his head, "Uh . . . let's not
talk about your dead
relatives for a moment, Fox. I'm beginning to feel a touch light
headed. How will you kill
this . . . uh . . . dragon . .. or whatever it is?"

Mulder spoke slowly as if addressing a particularly slow but much
loved child. "I'll - use -my
- sword." He carefully pointed to the huge weapon that rode easily
on the other horse and
glinted in the early morning sun.

Skinner laid his head down on Mulder's back, right between his
shoulder blades. All those
battles. All the honor and recognition he had received for his
fighting prowess and command
abilities. And now . . . now he couldn't even hold a lucid
conversation with a boy of less
than twenty summers.

Once they arrived at the village, they received instructions to
travel west to the Cave of
Tragedy. As they drew near to this ominously named location, Skinner
became more and more
apprehensive about the sanity, not to mention the safety, of his
young charge.

Upon reaching their destination, the knight put out one hand to stop
Prince Fox from
dismounting the horse. Concern clear on his face.

The young prince looked back over his shoulder. "It'll be all right,
Sir Knight. Trust me."
And gave his teacher one of his coveted smiles.

Sir Walter nodded and allowed the prince to dismount.

Skinner stood aside, his own measly looking sword at the ready. If
the dragon chose to kill
the Fox Prince, he would have to come through Sir Walter first.

Mulder stood on a small mound, mighty sword held out in front of him
and glinting in the
morning sun. He fearlessly faced the dark, forbidding entrance of
the cavern. When the prince
spoke, Sir Walter was amazed to hear that usual soft monotone take
on a quality of command and
self-confidence that he had never heard from his prince before today.

"I am Prince Fox the Truth Seeker, Son of King William the Deceiver,
Grandson of King Aaron
the Peace Maker. Come forth, Dragon, you are not welcome in
Meridiem. Come forth and meet your
death."

A ground shaking roar issued forth from the depths of the cave.

"Come forth, cowardly dragon. Fight the Dragon Slayer of Meridiem or
bring shame upon your
kind."

This time the roar was louder and closer. Sir Walter searched the
dark entrance for any sign
of movement from within. He wished the prince would lay off the
baiting just a little.
Whatever was in that cave did not sound at all happy at the moment.
In fact he thought the
animal to be quite peeved without any further harassment.

"Come forth, vile dragon, or should I summon a small boy from the
village. Someone to more
closely match your own skill and cunning."

This time a large billowing cloud of smoke emerged from the cavern
opening. Sir Walter felt
his eyes begin to water and his throat close. The stench was
horrendous and the ground shook
continuously now. He glanced at the prince. He didn't seem at all
effected by the dragon's
tricks. He just stood quietly, his giant sword at the ready, his
head held high, his feet
spread wide for balance.

For the first time, Sir Walter saw the splendid king the boy would
one day become.

As the smoke cleared, one large red eye could be seen peeking around
the edge of the cave.
Then a streak of fire sprang forth directly toward the young prince.
Sir Walter started to
dash forth to save his Fox but the giant sword came up with
lightening speed and repelled the
flame, sending it back to it's source.

The dragon let out an outraged roar. "Now look what you did. You
singed my scales!"

"You should have thought of that before you sent your fiery breath
my way." Prince Fox shouted
back.

Skinner felt his head start to spin again. The dragon was talking!
This was impossible! There
was no such thing as dragons and if there were such a thing . . . It
would <not> be able to
speak!" Skinner felt his knees give way as he sank to the ground.

"What's wrong with your friend?" The dragon asked conversationally.

"Don't worry about him. I am Prince Fox the Truth Seeker and you are
trespassing on my land.
Stand and fight."

"Well, you don't have to get so testy about it. It's a beautiful
day, much too warm for a
fight. Can't we just settle our differences with a toss of a coin or
perhaps a friendly game
of dice?"

Prince Fox rolled his eyes heavenward, "I swear, every year, your
kind gets more cowardly, not
to mention mouthy. It is almost an insult to me that I must come all
this way to confront
you."

"Well, it isn't our fault. It's in-breeding. We don't have a whole
lot of choice when it comes
to mating, you know. We pretty much have to take what we can get."

Prince Fox raised The Beast Tamer, "Stand and fight, dragon."

The dragon pulled its head back inside the cave, leaving only one
eye to watch the blood
thirsty prince. "How about . . . I just, you know, like . . . leave
your land? That would
work, right? I mean you don't like dragons and I'm not especially
fond of aristocrats but hey.
. . we can just go our separate ways. Live and let live, so to
speak. What do you say?"

"Let him go, Alainn."

Sir Walter, Prince Fox and the dragon all turned to stare at the
lovely woman who now stood
behind them, shimmering like fire in the warm morning sun.

"Oh Dana, you made me do that last time." Fox whined as he lowered
his broadsword.

"You know it's the right thing to do, My Love. He doesn't want to
fight and you hardly have
the heart of a killer beating in that chest. You would just admonish
yourself later and use
his death as an excuse to wallow in more guilt. Let him go."

"Oh, all right. Be gone, dragon. And tell your friends that if they
aren't willing to engage
in honorable battle to stay well away from The Realm of Meridiem and
Price Fox, Heir to the
Throne and Dragon Slayer."

Skinner watched, breathless with amazement, as the relieved dragon
slowly withdrew from the
cramped confines of the cave. The knight would never have guessed
that such a gigantic
creature would ever have fit itself into such a small space.

They all watched until the dragon had disappeared into the forest,
happy to be leaving
Meridiem and it's noxious prince.

Prince Fox turned and with a delighted smile, scooped up the small
slender woman and crushed
her to his body. "Oh Dana, I've missed you so much."

"And I have missed you, Alainn. And you have a new friend?"

"This," Fox said proudly, pointing to the stunned knight, "is Sir
Walter Skinner. My military
instructor, self proclaimed prince protector and skeptic of dragons.
This, Sir Walter, is my
Dana."

Dana eyed the big knight warmly. "So, you have finally come."

"I beg your pardon, Lady Dana?"

"Just Dana, Sir Knight. And all will be revealed to you in time. Now
come, I have prepared a
meal for you and my beloved Alainn."

The prince replaced his sword on his horse, mounted and held an arm
down, pulling Dana up and
into the saddle before him.

Sir Walter felt an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach when he
looked at the two people
beside him. They were so beautiful together. He felt abandoned and
lost. How could he have
ever thought that the handsome prince was for him?

Dana smiled at Skinner, "You will find, my handsome knight, that all
is not as it would seem.
And much is more than you have ever dreamed. Fear not, my Alainn is
a man with a deep capacity
for love. He will not disappoint you, nor will I."

Sir Walter sat speechless, as he watched Fox urge his mount forward.
Dana was not only
beautiful she was enchantingly mysterious. He had no idea what her
cryptic words meant, but he
wanted to know. He very much wanted to understand.

By the time they had reached Dana's home in the Deep Woods, Sir
Walter had throughly convinced
himself that there had been no dragon. And certainly not one who
could talk and was cowardly
to boot. It had been a hallucination . . . an illusion brought on by
the strain of training
such a troublesome boy. Or perhaps the knight had simply partaken of
some food that did not
agree with his digestion. Either of those explanations was reasonable.

Sir Walter had seen such tricks of the mind during battle. Men who
swore they saw things that
were not there. There had been no dragon and that was that.

* * *

Dark Woods Dana's Cottage

Dana's home was beautiful. Set on the side of a crystal blue lake.
Surrounded by flowers and
lush greenery. It was quiet, almost magical. Skinner felt a peace
that had seldom been his to
enjoy.

The two men were served a meal of fresh vegetables, fruits, breads
and delectable sweets. The
wine was strong, flavorful and plentiful. There was no meat served
at Dana's table but Sir
Walter did not miss it in the least. He was so relaxed and
comfortable with his charming
companions, his heart filled with joy and he found himself just
letting their soft, melodeous
voices wash over him as he relaxed completely for the first time in
years.

He awoke with a start to realize that he was alone in the
comfortable cottage. The fire
crackled warmly, he could smell the heavy, almost intoxicating scent
of flowers, and he could
hear the gentle call of night crickets and other insects. He rose
from his pallet and walked
outside. The air was warm and moist, a heavy mist hanging close to
the ground, giving the
whole scene a surreal quality. Sir Walter felt as if he were walking
in a dream.

He reached the edge of the lake and caught his breath as he saw Fox
and Dana. Naked and
beautiful, standing hip deep in clear water, kissing with a passion
that few would ever
experience.

The kiss was tender and soft but none the less passion filled and
erotic to watch. A kiss that
told of a commitment of heart made long ago and enduring for all
time. Again, Sir Walter felt
an emptiness well up inside of him, threatening to consume what
little happiness he had found
since coming to Meridiem.

As he watched, Dana disengaged her mouth, and turned to him. She
crooked one finger his way.
"Come Sliabh, you are not only welcome, you are required."

He stood mesmerized for a moment and then began to quickly shed his
clothing. The water was
cool and soothing as he walked deeper into the lake. His mind and
heart consumed with the two
beauties who waited for him.

When he reached them, Dana turned to him and gently touched her lips
to his. He tensed and
looked toward the prince. But Fox was smiling at him most tenderly,
as if he had seen the
loneliness that had become a part of the warrior's tired soul, and
desired to banish it.
Walter relaxed and kissed the beautiful woman in his arms. Her mouth
was sweet, more
intoxicating than the wine he had consumed at dinner. The Fox Prince
was right, this was a
sorceress, and a very good one at that. If this was what it was like
to be bewitched, he would
take all he could get.

Dana ran her hands over the broad shoulders and tight buttocks of
the knight. He flinched as
she lowered her head and kissed each of his battle scars. "Be proud
of these, Sir Walter, they
were hard won and noble of cause."

She turned her head to kiss the prince, briefly halting the movement
of his full pouty lips on
her neck. She kissed him deeply, savoring the sweet, addictive taste
that was unique to her
beautiful Fox. When she finally released the prince's mouth, she
moved her lips back to tease
and tantalize the beguiled knight.

"Do you know why I call you Sliabh, Sir Knight?"

"No, My Lady Dana. I don't know what it means."

"It's a Gaelic word, it means mountain. You are like that mountain,
Sir Knight. Strong,
dependable, a source of shelter for my handsome prince. You complete
our circle."

Skinner head snapped up at her words.

"So I see you know of the prophecy?"

"I have heard a little, My Lady. Please tell me."

"A King of Truth and Honor, A Woman of power and heat, The dauntless
Warrior shall come, The
Circle to complete."

"Wh . . . what does it mean, Dana?"

Dana kissed him tenderly, "All will be revealed, Sliabh, but first
we must reaffirm our
circle."

So saying she drew him to her. He circled her body with his arms and
found that he also held
the prince within his long grasp. His hands raked over the smooth
muscular back and his breath
caught as his passion ignited. These were the two most beautiful
people he had ever met. He
wanted them. He wanted both of them.

As they all kissed and stroked, it soon became hard to know where
one person ended and another
began. Sir Walter didn't remember leaving the water but he found
himself standing on the soft
grass of the bank, kissing his beloved Fox Prince.

As Skinner's mouth moved down his throat, then lower to capture a
delectable nipple between
his teeth, he heard Fox groan deep in his throat. He looked up to
see the prince with his head
thrown back, his eyes closed, that beautiful pouty, mouth slightly
open. It was the most
beautiful sight the knight had ever seen.

Without warning, the Fox Prince began to rise from the ground until
his full, swollen shaft
was in front of Sir Walter's lips. Skinner placed his hands on the
prince's ripe bottom,
puling him closer, then took the offered treat into his eager mouth
and sighed at the sweet,
sweet taste of his prince. It was even better than he imagined it
would be. He sucked hard and
was rewarded with another groan from above him.

He heard Dana whisper in his ear, softly, seductively, barely there.
"He belongs to you, Sir
Knight, just as you belong to him and as you both belong to me. Take
him. Taste him. Make him
your own. The wait is over, the time is now."

Skinner's mind seemed to explode inside his skull, he sucked hard
and swallowed greedily as
his beautiful prince came into his mouth. It was glorious. More
wonderful than any sexual
experience he had ever had. The prince belonged to him. Had always
belonged to him.

He felt the sated prince floating to the ground to cover the body of
his beloved Dana. Fox
moaned loudly, as he was sheathed in the white hot heat of his love.
He immediately began to
grow hard. That was one thing about sex with Dana, she didn't mind
using a little magic when
the need arose. He immersed himself in her hot, welcoming body.

Sir Walter looked down on the erotic spectacle taking place at his
feet.

"Come, Sir Knight, claim your prince with your own body. He is yours
for the taking. It is
ordained that it should be so." Dana whispered between kisses.

Skinner fell to his knees and slowly prepared his Fox to receive his
seed. When the prince was
gasping and moaning, Sir Walter hesitated. He would take nothing
from his prince that was not
freely offered. He bent forward and whispered in the younger man's
ear.

"Do you wish me to take you, Prince Fox? Do you want the love I so
willingly give to you?"

Mulder was in a mindless state of ecstasy. His beloved Dana was
beneath him, her lovely body a
burning heat and Sir Walter, a man he had come to love and respect,
was doing incredible
things from above. He heard the knight ask him something. He
couldn't concentrate long enough
to garner the meaning of his words. He decided to just let his own
words come forth and hope
they were the right ones.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Apparently he had hit the mark. He felt his big handsome knight
enter him slowly and gently,
causing an intense fire, one that he had never known, to spring
forth deep inside him. He had
thought there was no better feeling than the having of Dana. He had
been wrong. Oh so wrong.
Dana and Sir Walter together, this was an experience that he could
die happily, knowing,
without a doubt, that he had experienced heaven on earth.

They came. They came together, screaming and crying out each other's
names. They collapsed
into each other's arms, breathless, light headed and joyous.

Dana pulled herself up slightly and looked down at her two well
loved companions. Fox lay
sprawled bonelessly, one hand on Sir Walter's thigh, the other
around Dana's slim waist. Sir
Walter had wrapped himself loving around the prince, one arm
reaching across Fox's flat
stomach, searching for Dana. She smiled at them, her heart filled
with love.

"The circle is complete." She whispered. "All is ready."

When they had rested enough to rouse themselves, they sought the
cozy warmth of the cottage.
Fox stumbled in the door first, still naked, and threw himself face
down on the soft,
comfortable bed.

Sir Walter and Dana, who had taken the time to dress, came in to
admire the view that the
pretty prince presented.

"Get up, Alainn, you can't go to sleep. Sir Walter hasn't given you
your bedtime spanking
yet."

"Dana!" Fox gasped, "How did you know about that?" He raised his
head to glare at the knight.

"Oh Alainn, I know everything. When will you ever accept that. And
besides, I fully agree with
Sir Walter. You were in desperate need of a strong man in your life,
in more ways than one.
And I know for a fact, that he would have to tan that cute little
butt of yours every night
for years to make up for all the tricks you've pulled."

"Dan-n-n-n-a!" The prince buried his head in the soft down pillows.

"What is the penalty for refusing to comply with a punishment, Sir
Walter?"

"One additional stroke for each time he refuses."

"That's what I thought. So we are up to what now, Sliabh?"

"Two additional strokes, Dana."

"I would suggest that you get your royal butt over Walter's knees
right now, Fox." Dana
produced a wide leather strap out of thin air. "Your extra two
strokes are going to be
delivered with this. I know you don't want to add any more to that
count."

Mulder dragged himself off the bed and made his way, with leaden
feet over to his teacher. He
kept his eyes carefully averted as he lowered himself face down over
the big man's lap. The
blood rushed to his head but it made little difference, his face was
already flaming.

"While you are busy warming that naughty bottom, Sir Walter, I think
I'll make us a nice pot
of tea."

Sir Walter raised his palm and brought it down hard on the now
familiar, but still
tantalizing, bottom spread before him.

The sound of a hard hand striking soft bare flesh reverberated
throughout the room. Punctuated
only the oohs, ahhs, and gasps that accompanied each painful blow as
Fox made his discomfort
known to the other two.

Sir Walter worked his way down one side, from the top of the bare
butt to the middle of the
tender thighs, and then up the other side. Going over previously
punished skin again and again
until it sizzled under his punishing hand. Skinner didn't see any
benefit in giving a spanking
that wasn't memorable.

Dana finished her tea making task, setting the pot aside to seep, as
she took a seat and
watched her much loved young prince cry and wiggle as his gorgeous
backside turned from white,
to pink, to a glowing red.

"Well," Dana commented, "it would appear I need not worry quite so
much about Alainn being
wild and careless with his own safety from now on."

"No." Smack! Smack! Smack! "I think he's slowly learning," Smack!
Smack! Smack! "Just what is
expected of him." Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! "At
least he'd better."

"Ouch! I took you with me . . . Oh-h-h-h! . .. this morning, didn't
I?"

Smack! Smack! Smack! "Because I accidentally woke up!" Smack! Smack!

"No! Ouch! Please! I was going to wake you .. . Oh, that hurts!"

Skinner concentrated on evening out the color on the right thigh and
then spotted another area
that needed some work on the left buttock. Smack! Smack! Smack!
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Smack!

"Oh! Please, Sir. Please stop! Ouch!Oh!Oh-h-h-h!"

Smack! Smack! Smack! Sir Walter surveyed his work. A perfect shade
of crimson from top to
thighs. "All right, brat, get up and go lean over the foot rail of
the bed. You still have two
lashes coming with the strap."

Mulder started to protest but thought better of it. Two strokes were
going to be difficult
enough to take, he didn't need to add more. He walked to the cross
rail at the end of the bed
and leaned over, his head resting on the soft mattress. His bright
red bottom high in the air,
the blazing focal point of the small room.

Dana poured a cup of tea for herself and for the knight. "Why don't
you rest a moment, Sir
Walter. That has to be tiring work."

They heard a diversive snort from the vicinity of the bed but both
chose to ignore it.

"Does he get that every night, sir?"

"Just about and often times more than once a day. He tends to
disobey orders, show disrespect
for authority, take off on his own without a word to anyone, and
drop his sword at the most
inopportune of times. The first week I was sure he was going to
spend more time upended than
on his feet. It's better now, he's learning."

Skinner sipped at his strong, sweet tea. "Dana, why do you call him
Alainn?"

"It is another word from my homeland. It means beautiful."

Skinner glanced at the young man displaying himself so prettily.
"Yes, he is."

"Oh my yes," Dana agreed. "He is most certainly alainn."

"Tell me about yourself, Dana."

She looked up at him with wide curious eyes. Trying to judge if he
were ready to hear the
story of her and the men she loved. "It is a long story. I think
Alainn has fallen asleep over
there. It was the dragon thing that exhausted him. He really hates
to kill another living
thing but he would never admit that to anyone but me. He considers
it a weakness, I consider
it his greatest strength. Why don't I handle the rest of his
punishment, then we can put him
to bed."

Sir Walter nodded. He was amazed to see the strap lift itself from
the table and float over to
the unlucky young man. Fox opened his wide eyes just in time to be
met with the dreadful sight
of the strap floating ominously above his condemned bare bottom.

"Dana, wait! No!"

The strap hovered a few moments, poised above the clenching red
cheeks and then came down with
a resounding smack. The Prince shouted out his misery as a vivid
scarlet mark appeared across
his already sore bottom cheeks. The strap rose again to its former
position, hovering above
the squirming backside waiting so uneasily in the lash's direct path
of descent. The strap
came down with another loud crack on defenseless bare skin. Fox
yelped and kicked wildly from
his perch on the bed rail.

"Ouch! Oh! No more, please. Dana! Sir! I . .. I . . ."

"All done." Sir Walter soothed him. "You can get up now, peasant
boy. Come over here and kneel
down in front of us."

When Mulder had complied, his tear stained face bowed toward the
floor, his hands at hia
sides, even though Sir Walter knew the boy wanted desperately to rub
some of the sting out of
his sore bottom.

"I am surprised and relieved that Dana agrees with the way I am
handling your training, my
prince. You were disrespectful this morning. I realize that you were
in a hurry but I am still
your superior and should be treated as such. And you baited that
dragon far beyond what was
necessary. In the future, you will be much more cognizant of the
danger you court. Is that
clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Now kiss Dana and I goodnight and get some rest."

Mulder kissed both Dana and Sir Walter, d
there were to be no hard feelings. He was asleep the moment his head
hit the pillow.

"So, Dana, tell me about yourself and your relationship with the
prince."

Dana smiled, "I was born on the Emerald Isle, several hundred years
ago. Don't give me that
look, Sir Walter. You also have much to learn. Consider this <your>
first lesson."

He smiled at her sheepishly and nodded for her to continue.

"I always knew about my powers, of course. My mother was a
sorceress, as was her mother before
her. We never practiced the evil arts but used the gift we had been
given for good. Fox has
been my lover in many other of his lifetimes, as have you, Sliabh.
We are destined to be
together. Each time one of you dies, it tears my heart from my chest
but I know that I must
continue on and wait for you to return to me. You always do. You
always will."

"You're saying I have known you before?"

"Oh my, yes. Many times. And neither of you changes very much, which
I consider to be a very
good thing. Fox is always the beautiful magician hero, trying
desperately to right all the
wrongs in the world before he must once again leave it. And you, his
guardian. The protector
of the Truth Seeker. The three of us, we work together to save the
innocent. We defend the
weak and vanquish evil. It is what we do. It is what we are."

"Oh poor Dana. How can you stand to watch him leave you time and
time again? The pain must be
unbearable."

"Yes, but it is my destiny. I don't die. I can't. I stay here and
insure that each time you
and Fox are reborn, we find each other and do what must be done. And
often we are together for
many years. I have watched you both grow old many times. And before
you think to ask me, you
are both beautiful to me, whether you are nineteen or ninety."

"Do others ever come between us? What about this Lady Diana of
Fowland? Will she try to claim
our prince?"

"Yes, we see her often. She has tried to possess him before. There
are others who

destroy us, to separate us. They have rarely been successful. I am
not overly concerned with
the Lady Diana. She is a cunning advosary but this time I found Fox
early. He's most devoted
to me. And he's avoided all other men, as if he realized that he
should wait for you. When the
time comes, I will come to the palace and take my place beside you
and King Fox."

"Why not now? Why not come now?"

"I am Fox's mate, as are you. We need never worry, for in the end,
he will accept no others.
And for the moment, it is best if my loyalty to him, and the extent
of my powers, are kept
secret from our enemies. When the time is right, I will take my
rightful place beside him."

Sir Walter looked at her with admiration, sympathy and just a hint
of remaining skepticism.

She threw back her head and laughed. The sound was like the tinkling
of bells and he felt
something awaken inside him. Something good and right.

"Oh Walter, it is always the same with you. Always the doubter."

She smiled at him affectionately but still with a touch of disbelief
in his dark brown eyes.

"Let me tell you how it always goes. You see Fox and want him
immediately. You'll go to any
lengths, give up anything you have, to keep yourself by his side.
You protect him, love him
unconditionally, lie for him when necessary, and punish him without
remorse when his passion
gets the better of his common sense. Which is often. And he is just
as drawn to you. As you
both are to me. We are the circle, Walter, surviving through all
time. The Truth Seeker, The
Protector, and the Sorceress. We slay the monsters of the world and
save humanity. And as
reward for our heroism . . . we have each other."

The End - Part 3

Chapter 4 Knight Time in the Realm By DiAnn

Royal Palace Realm of Meridiem

Sir Walter awoke from a deep, dreamless sleep to find his prince
lying beside him, his head
propped on one elbow, just watching as the knight slept.

It would have startled the battle weary warrior, if the moonlight
had not been flooding the
room. It clearly illuminated the bright hazel eyes and full lower
lip of the handsome face in
front of him.

"You know, peasant boy, you could get killed waking an old soldier
from his sleep like that."

The prince gave him one of those killer smiles. "I don't worry too
overly much about getting
killed."

Skinner snorted. "How well I know. I'm just surprised that you would
admit it to me so boldly.
Haven't I taught you anything in the last few months?"

Mulder chuckled. "Oh I think your lessons have been well learned, if
ungratefully received."

"Well, you're certainly being honest this morning. Or is it morning
yet? And why did you
change sides of the bed. You always sleep to my left."

He reached for the prince and was horrified to see his hand go
straight through the younger
man. He let out a scream that would have done a fair damsel proud
and clambered up against the
headboard. A nightmare! He was having another of his nightmares.

The Mulder apparition gave him another of those coveted smiles and
rose to sit cross legged,
facing the knight. The only problem was he was sitting on thin air a
few inches above the bed.

"You need to calm yourself, Sir Walter." The smile stayed firmly in
place on the beautiful
face as a long elegant hand reached out toward the other man.

Sir Walter had finally gotten his wits about him and was moving very
slowly toward the place
where he kept his sword by the bed. Unfortunately, that place would
appear to be right beneath
where this princely spirit sat.

"Who . . . who are you?"

"Very good, Sir Knight. It takes most people a lot longer to get a
grip on themselves and
converse so calmly with a ghost."

Skinner's eyes narrowed, and then brightened with acknowledgment.
"Humph! A ghost is it? Fox,
I'm growing weary of your little jokes. Dana must be helping you
with this mischief. Be
warned, you should not wake an old warrior from his sleep for such
trickery."

"Does my grandson really irritate you so much, Sir Knight? Before I
died I found him to be
very bright and most entertaining."

"Di . . . died?"

"Oh, you aren't going to start that it was something I ate' nonsense
again, are you? That
really is quite boring. You need to admit it, Sir Walter, you are
sitting in your bed speaking
with a real ghost. And one that has something important to tell you
once you get over these
vapors of yours."

Sir Walter glared at the ghost. "I <do not> have vapors!"

"Good. Then you can stop cowering against the head of that bed and
listen to what I have to
tell you."

Skinner realized that he was indeed cowering' and straightened his
back as he moved a little
further down on the bed, still keeping a good distance between
himself and his unwelcome
visitor. He stopped abruptly when he heard the . . . ah, ghost start
laughing. He stared at
the specter with injured dignity.

"And just what is so funny?"

"You have flower seeds all over your bed."

This was sore subject with Sir Walter. One of the few that could
make him forget that he was
talking with a man who had been dead for almost fifteen summers.

"Yes, all over the bed! All over the floor! All over everything!
I've even found shells in my
own boots, for heaven's sake. I have told that boy more times than I
can count and it does
absolutely no good. If I have to . . ."

"Enough, Sir Knight. You have my humble apologies. I'm afraid I was
the one who got him
started eating those roasted seeds. It seemed a harmless enough
little habit to pass on to my
boy."

"Well you wouldn't think so if you had to walk around on crunching
shells all day. I can't
believe that you would . . ."

"Is my bottom in danger now, Sir Walter?" The ghost laughed at him.

It was enough to snap the knight out of it and remind him that he
was talking to King Aaron,
The Peace Maker. Twenty-second sovereign king of the House of
Mulder, Realm of Meridiem, and
long dead and in his grave.

"Did you come to take me to task for my discipline of Prince Fox?"

"Hardly! I must tell you while I have the chance, I am most pleased
with your handling of my
precious boy. He's such a wild and impetuous one. Takes after me,
I'm afraid. If I'd had
someone like you, I might have lived to be a lot older than thirty-
eight summers. I was just
coming into my own as a king when I was killed."

"Ki . . . killed?"

"Yes killed. Sir Walter, we really must move on here. Prince Fox is
in danger but I made
certain to come to you in plenty of time. We have since squandered
most of the time away. Are
you ready to put aside your ridiculous fears and help me? While I
may be dead, I am still
Fox's grandfather and I love him dearly. I can't save him in this
state, so I must depend on
you. Are you up to protecting your charge, Sir Knight?"

"Oh course I am! What is wrong with the prince?" Skinner looked
around as if noticing for the
first time that something was missing from the room. "And where the
hell has be gotten off to
now?"

* * * 

Royal Library

All was quiet in the Royal Palace. It was very late and everyone
else had found their beds
long ago. Everyone that is, except the Crown Prince of Meridiem. He
found himself unable to
sleep, which was not unusual in the least, he was often plagued by
nightmares and restless
nights.

This was, however, the first time he had suffered the malady since
Sir Walter had come to the
castle. For some reason, having the solid, reliable presence of the
knight sleeping so close
to him had made the prince feel safe for the first time since his
sister had been stolen from
him so many years ago. But tonight, the knight had been softly
snoring as Mulder tossed and
turned. Finally resigning himself to the obvious, the prince had
left their bed to come down
to the library.

Mulder was studying some forbidden scrolls that he had received from
a friend at the nearby
monastery. They told amazing stories which could not be explained by
the church. These were
valid accounts, given by trustworthy people, and yet they had not
been believed. The church
had proclaimed them all to be heresy, and buried the chronicles
forever. The injustice of that
rankled the future king. Each scroll had been marked through, by the
monks, with a black X in
heavy ink, but with a little diligence, Mulder could read every word.

He was interrupted as a secret door, by the fireplace, opened
slowly. The prince quickly drew
his sword, and prepared to face whatever danger emerged from the
secret passageways under the
castle.

He was astounded, when he recognized one of The Three's runners.
Mulder sighed with relief.
The runner seemed as surprised to see the prince as the prince had
been when the door creaked
open.

"My Lord, you startled me. I thought I would find you in your
chambers."

"I was unable to sleep tonight. How did you find your way here? Only
those of the House of
Mulder or it's Royal Council know about those secret passages."

"It was . . .Uh . . . The Three! They know all, My Lord, surely you
must be aware of their
remarkable skill for divining knowledge?"

"Yes, I suppose. But they've never encroached on the secrets of the
royal family before."

"It was of special urgency this evening, My Lord." He handed Mulder
a small piece of parchment
and hurriedly disappeared back the way he had come.

The Prince's face lit with pure joy as he read the message. A
meeting had been arranged at the
Bridge of Lost Souls. Someone claimed to have information about the
fate of his missing
sister! Someone who did not want to come to the Palace. Mulder raced
from the library to his
own chambers, nearly abandoned now, as he spent his nights in Sir
Walter's quarters.

The Prince quickly dressed in black tunic and leggings and left the
castle under cover of
night by his favorite moat gage. The royal guards saw nothing of the
escape of their cunning
and troublesome prince.

* * * 

Bridge of Lost Souls 

One Hour Later

Mulder shivered in the cold, spring drizzle that had begun to fall.
Or perhaps, the shiver was
just in anticipation of Sir Walter's reaction when he found out
about this little excursion.

It couldn't be helped. Mulder had gotten various other tidbits of
rumor regarding his lost
sister over the years, none had proven to be a legitimate clue to
her whereabouts. In fact,
they had often done nothing more than get him into trouble. That
didn't matter, he still had
to inquire into each scrap of news he received about Samantha.

He was so deep in this own morose thoughts, that the Prince didn't
notice the trolls until it
was too late. Three of them were approaching him, with great
stealth, from the north side of
the bridge. He turned to flea, only to see two more coming from the
other end.

He quickly drew his sword and prepared to fight. The trolls were
truly grotesque creatures.
Shorter than Prince Fox's own six foot length but their squat, hairy
bodies were corded with
thick, bulging muscle. Powerful arms and legs extending from their
black tunics. Legend of
these Trolls in Black, and the atrocities they perpetrated, were the
fodder for many a small
child's nightmare throughout the realm.

As the ominous trolls drew closer, the prince made a decision.
Without a backward glance, he
threw himself over the side of the bridge and into the cold waters
below. The last thing he
heard was the angry cries of the black clad creatures on the bridge
above, who had been
cheated of their chance to capture the handsome, human prince.

Mulder landed in the icy river with a breath-taking splash. He
fought his way above water and
turned to swim upstream, away from the danger lurking on the bridge.
The current was swift and
the prince had made little headway before he felt a huge hairy hand
land on the back of his
neck. It was followed by a solid blow to his head. There was an
explosion of pain and then
nothing more.

* * * 

Realm of Meridiem Royal Palace

Sir Walter was on a tear and half of the palace population was in
hiding, while the remainder
quailed in their boots. He couldn't remember the last time he had
been this angry.

The Prince was gone! And no one, not the worthless royal guard, not
the blind servants and not
the self-indulgent royal family had seen him leave or be taken.

And he couldn't raise the damned ghost again either! Some help he'd
turned out to be,
vanishing into thin air like that. Sir Walter was now convinced that
the apparition he had
seen this morning was indeed the prince's dead grandfather. After
all, anyone who would dare
awaken a realm's knight from a sound sleep, proceed to endlessly
babble on for the rest of the
night, only to be impossible to find when he was actually needed .
.. had to be a Mulder.

The enraged Knight had searched the castle, from dungeon to turret,
three times over. There
was not one clue as to what had been Fox's fate. The boy had just
better hope he had been
pulled from the grounds, kicking and screaming, by a group of at
least twenty armed assassins.
Because if he had snuck out again and gotten himself into trouble,
he wouldn't be able to sit
down for a fortnight.

Sir Walter stood, like the towering menace he was at the moment, and
stared out of the high
tower. He had a wide view of the royal lands surrounding the palace
but, of course, there was
no sign of the missing prince.

"Want me to take you to him?"

Skinner whirled to face the intruder, sword held high and ready to
strike. He was confronted
by a young man with sparkling green eyes, black hair and a sensuous
mouth that was smirking at
the knight as if he held all the secrets Sir Walter would ever need
to know.

"Who the hell are you and who holds your loyalty?"

"I'm Alex and I hold my own loyalty."

Sir Walter raised his sword higher, "Then prepare to die. I have no
patience today for spies
and traitors."

"I like to think I am neither spy nor traitor. I'm merely a man who
knows how to seek out his
own best opportunities. I work for whomever has the most coin to pay."

"I've known men like you before. Mercenaries, loyal only to
themselves. They are more
dangerous than any knight sworn to darkness and evil."

The young man's eyes narrowed with hatred, "You're right about that.
I am dangerous but I'm
also the only one who knows where to find your pretty Prince. You do
want the little, royal
do-gooder back don't you? I know I would if I were in your shoes."
Alex leered suggestively at
Skinner.

Sir Walter eyed the man suspiciously. He didn't trust him. Didn't
want to have to trust him
but what choice did he have? He needed to find Fox before the prince
was ki .. . before it was
too late.

"What is your price to help me find Prince Fox?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about a night in the royal bed chamber or
perhaps I should say, a night
<in> the delectable future king?"

Skinner raised his sword with death in his eye. "You dare to . .."

Alex laughed again. "Relax, Sir Knight, I'll not encroach on your
well-marked territory for
now." Alex bowed deeply. "There will be no charge for this one."
Alex had never let the
mocking smile leave his handsome face. It only served to make the
Knight more angrier and Alex
well knew it. "The men I work for at the moment don't want to see
the Prince harmed, for their
own reasons. And besides, I think you and I will have reason to do
business together again
sometime."

Skinner growled ominously and felt his anger rise another notch as
the flippant Alex laughed
at him.

* * * 

Abandoned Mine Shaft Enorus Mountains

Prince Fox was cold and hungry. He sat in a dark corner, his hands
tied tightly behind his
back. His tunic had been torn from his body and it was freezing in
the old mine shaft. The
trolls didn't seem to want anything from him. They had asked for no
information nor demanded
any ransom. They seemed content to just sit and look at him as they
gnawed on the raw meat
from some unidentifiable animal carcass. Mulder had to fight back
his nausea as he watched.

"You had best release me."

The dark clad trolls said not a word in response, just stared at him
with dark shadowed eyes.

"My Knight Protector will be here soon . . . he will . . ."

"Be quiet, little human! We've been told all about your valiant
knight and your sorceress
lover. Our Masters commanded that we take you. They are rich and
powerful men. They will allow
no harm to come to us from your puny friends."

The troll leader rose and moved toward Mulder. He reached down with
one big, hairy hand and
ran it along the Prince's jawline. Mulder tried to jerk his head
away, but the hand followed.
He closed his eyes as a callused, greasy thumb moved across his full
lower lip.

"Humans are a worthless lot, my pretty prince, but you do have some
redeeming qualities. You'd
best keep quiet or you might find yourself getting more of our
attention than you want. It's
been a long time since I had a pretty like you in my bed."

The troll leader used his thick, hot tongue to lick a wet path from
Mulder's chin, along his
jawline, up to his temple. He laughed loudly as the prince shuddered
with revulsion. The
repulsive tongue licked the prince's left eye twice and then moved
down for a sweeping caress
of those luscious full lips.

"You're a real beauty, boy. Now stay still so I can taste you
properly."

Mulder tried to pull away but he was secured too tightly. The rough,
dripping tongue began
lapping at this cheeks, lips and eyes. The putrid breath causing the
prince to gag as thick
saliva covered his face and neck.

As the aroused troll reached down to squeeze the prince between his
bound legs, a loud
commotion sounded from the front of the mine shaft.

All of the Trolls looked fearfully in that direction. They were not
expecting their Masters
for some time. They quickly grabbed their clubs and crudely made
axes, making their way
quickly in the direction of the ruckus.

The eight trolls burst forth from the cavern and stopped in shock at
the sight of only two men
challenging them. Sir Walter and Alex, stood silently, swords held
out before them, ready for
battle.

The leader, a particularly ugly little fellow raised his battle axe,
an confused look on his
face. "What is the meaning of this? Cry . . . "

His words were cut short by Alex's sword buried deep in the little
monster's stomach. Blood
dribbled from it's mouth as it dropped face down in the dirt. The
surprised expression still
on the homely face.

The other trolls were snapped out of their stupor by the death of
their leader. They attacked
with blood curdling cries of anger, but their crude weapons were no
match for the warrior
knight and his lethal companion.

Spattered in blood, Sir Walter crept warily forth into the abandoned
shaft to find his prince.
The lit torches added a burning tar smell to the nauseating odor
left by the Trolls
themselves. Sir Walter found the prince still sitting in the corner,
struggling mightily to
release himself from the ropes that bound him.

Sir Walter untied Fox, and without giving him a moment to argue
dragged him from the dark
confines of the mining shaft and into the bright morning sunlight.

The Knight stopped dead in his tracks. "They're gone!"

Mulder, still blinded by the sudden change from darkness to bright
light, ran into the back of
the Knight. "What? Who's gone?"

"The troll bodies and . . . " Skinner looked around carefully. "This
man, his name was Alex
and he helped me to find you. He's gone, too."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me in the least. Every time I find
evidence of whatever treachery
is going on, it vanishes before I can show it to anyone. And, you
should stay away from Alex,
he's about as trustworthy as the rats in the castle cellars."

"Let's get back to the castle. I want to see if I can find this
Alex." The knight mounted his
great war horse and held a hand down to Mulder. "Come on, up you go."

"Are we going to have another of your talks?" Mulder moaned.

"Oh, yes."

With a heavy sigh, Mulder took the hand that was offered to him and
allowed himself to be
pulled up and settled between Sir Walter's massive, leather-clad
thighs.

"I don't think this horse should be carrying the weight of two men
all the time, Sir Knight."

Sir Walter snorted. "Forget it, boy. This is a war horse. He's used
to carrying me in full
amour. Your weight is nothing to him. Besides I've seen you, down at
the stables, sneaking
apples to him when you think I'm not looking. Do you think to avoid
much deserved punishments
by gaining the alliance of my horse?"

"Would it work?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. I give him apples because," he turned to give
the knight a meaningful
glare. "I like <him>."

Skinner pulled the boy back against him tightly, reaching down to
give the prince's cock a
loving squeeze, enjoying the surprised yelp he received for his
efforts. "Oh, I think you like
me too, peasant boy."

They rode in silence for some time. Sir Walter kept his arm held
tightly around Mulder's
waist, pulling him almost onto his lap, the boy's back held tightly
against his chest.
Occasionally, he would bend down and kiss that enticing little mole
on the side of Fox's face.
As the trip wore on, he felt the prince become more and more
agitated. He was squirming and
wiggling in the saddle as if his bottom had been well striped before
they started.

Finally the prince could take it no more. "Are you going to punish
me for going to the
bridge?"

"Yes." Now the knight was nuzzling his neck with that hot mouth of
his. It was making Mulder
crazy.

"Then do it! Let's just stop here and get it over with!"

"No, we're going to take care of it tonight during your regular
punishment session before
bed."

The knight had insidiously worked his hand up under the prince's
tunic and was plucking at his
tender right nipple. Fox took in a ragged breath.

"It's going to be bad isn't it?"

Now the lips had moved to the back of the Prince's neck and the hand
was lightly pinching the
left nipple.

"Yes. I'm very unhappy with your decision to leave the palace
without telling me. You
endangered your own life, as well as the future of your kingdom."

"Future of the kingdom? No, I didn't! If I were to die . . ."

"If you were to die, the House of Mulder would fall and your people
would be plunged into a
hundred years of darkness and misery."

Mulder really wished the knight would stop kissing him and caressing
him under his tunic, it
made it hard to think. "My Father would . . . would never allow that
to happen."

"We'll talk about your father tonight, after I punish you for
endangering your life and your
kingdom.?"

"Ye . . .yes, sir. But I would rather not wait. I would like to get
it over with now."

Sir Walter's hands continued their sweet exploration of the prince's
hard muscle under smooth
skin. He talked between gentle nips, quick licks and feathery
kisses. The prince was sure he
was going to die of frustrated pleasure at any moment and not have
to worry about being
punished at all.

"You <will> wait to be punished, my little peasant boy. First you
will sit in the great dining
hall and eat your dinner. All of it, even the green parts." He
waited for the prince to stop
scrunching up his face and pull his attention back to his teacher.

"Then you will retire to our chamber, bathe and wait in the corner,
nose pressed tightly
against the rock walls. You will arch your back to insure your bare
bottom is well presented
to me when I choose to enter the chamber. While you wait you will
consider what would happen
to Meridiem if you should be killed by your own foolishness. Then
you are to think about how
much your bottom is going to hurt when I am finished with you."

Mulder swallowed hard as the big hands of his teacher moved down
into his leggings again. He
was being stroked and teased unmercifully.

"Then, when I command it, you will go to the wardrobe and retrieve
my paddle. The one with all
the holes in it, that blisters you so quickly when it is applied to
your naked backside. You
will kneel before me and tell me what conclusions you have reached
regarding your own
recklessness and the importance of protecting Meridiem and her loyal
subjects. You will then
offer the paddle up to me, and ask me to spank you on your bare
bottom until you are crying
like an infant."

The prince realized that his tunic had been pushed up at some point
and two strong hands were
plucking incessantly at this exposed nipples, making them ache with
longing. The prince moaned
miserably.

"When I finally allow you to rise from my lap, I will sit back and
enjoy your frantic
contortions as you dance from foot to foot and rub desperately at
your beautiful, burning
bottom. Your pretty cock always bobs and bounces so delightfully for
me when you do that. You
make quite the lovely site, peasant boy. Your lovely, tear-stained
face as flushed as your
glowing red butt. I do so enjoy those little spontaneous displays
you make of yourself after
you've been bottom up over my knee and gotten a good, sound tanning
just like some common
little stable boy. That must be so humiliating for a crown prince to
endure."

Mulder moaned again. Not sure if it was from the disconcerting words
whispered in his ear in
such a falsely seductive voice, or if it was the hand that was
pumping him hard now, while the
other pinched and then soothed his sensitive nipples. Hot lips on
his neck and his face. He
didn't know where that searing mouth would land next.

"But endure it you will, prince, and when you have calmed
yourself,you will thank me for your
much needed spanking and humbly ask me to take you to my bed, to
make you scream my name as I
pound myself into your hot, sorely aching bottom."

Mulder felt himself tense as he approached his climax. He was
powerless against it. The choice
had been taken from him. He came hard, screaming Sir Walter's name.
He came all over his
teacher's hand and his own clothing. The prince's head fell back
with a thump onto the Sir
Walter's broad shoulder and he felt those lips again, kissing his
temple and the side of his
face.

When Mulder finally got his breathing under control, he realized
that the horse had stopped
and they stood motionless in the middle of the road. He looked up
into laughing brown eyes.
"Or maybe I'll just give you a whack or two on the butt and get on
to the bed part."

An hour later, Fox was squirming from the uncomfortable, sticky
dried mess in his leggings. He
could not believe he had come in his pants like some untried youth.

When they reached the bluff overlooking the palace, Prince Fox let
out a disconsolate groan
making the knight hug him more tightly to his body, alert for danger.

"What? What is it, Fox? What do you see?"

"Lady Diana has arrived."

Skinner looked more closely at the castle and could see a lavish
carriage and six heavily
loaded luggage wagons in the courtyard.

Mulder sighed heavily. "Well at least she packed lightly. She can't
be planning to stay too
long."

"Packed lightly? There are six wagons down there. How many servants
does she usually bring
with her?"

"Probably dozens but they haven't arrived yet. Those are her
personal baggage carriers."

Skinner stared in amazement. "I wouldn't have believed this if I
wasn't seeing it with my own
eyes."

"Well, you haven't seen anything yet. Hang on to your balls around
the lovely Lady Diana, Sir
Knight. She will find you a more than delectable tidbit."

Suddenly the prince's eyes darkened as he looked over his shoulder
at the knight. "You must
promise me that you won't spank me in front of her. If you're going
to do that, tell me now,
so I can draw my sword and end my own life right here."

Skinner chuckled at his melodramatic young charge. "You need not
worry, peasant boy, I don't
want that woman anywhere near you."

"Then that makes two of us."

* * * 

Realm of Meridiem Great Hall

Mulder had persuaded the knight to sneak in through the mote gate. A
first, and hopefully
last, unpleasant experience for Sir Walter.

When the two miscreants had made it to their chamber, they quickly
bathed and dressed
appropriately to greet the prim Lady Diana. By the time they finally
made it below stairs, it
was close to time for the last meal to be served.

A silk and satin clad prince moved gracefully down the stairs, his
arm extended in a welcoming
manner to the woman waiting impatiently in the main hall. She did
not return his smile.

"My Lady Diana, this is an unexpected surprise." Mulder kissed the
hand she permitted him to
take in his own.

"Oh Fox," the dark haired woman whined. "You still look all of
seventeen. Are you never going
to appear to have reached an acceptable maturity? It is most
unbecoming. All of my friends
shall think I robbed some poor woman's cradle. Perhaps you should
attempt to grow some facial
hair or some such thing. It's really quite scandalous and most
inconsiderate of you. I'm quite
sure you only do it to irk me."

Sir Walter eyed the woman from just behind his prince. <She>
certainly looked like she'd
reached an age of maturity, and then some. The knight wondered if
her years outnumbered the
prince's as far as it would first appear they did.

"And who is this?" The woman simpered as her hungry, predator eyes
settled on the handsome
knight.

"My Lady Diana, may I introduce my military instructor and chief
council, Sir Walter Skinner."

"Oh-h-h-h, a knight. How wonderful." She moved so close to Sir
Walter that he could feel the
outline of her small, hard breasts pressed against his chest. He
tried to take a step back but
she followed him as he did so.

Sir Walter looked around uncomfortably. At the moment his one great
desire was to flee from
this woman, as fast and as far as he could. No, make that one of two
great desires. The other
was to wipe that smirk off of the prince's pretty, seventeen-year-
old looking face.

Fox took Lady Diana's arm and literally pulled her off the knight.
"I believe dinner is
served, my lady. I am most eager to hear about your most recent
adventures at court."

Sir Walter sighed with relief, and decided he would let the devilish
little prince live after
all. At least for another day or two. Until, that was, the prince
winked mischievously at the
distressed knight, on his way to the dining hall. On second thought,
the prince was a good as
gone. Sir Walter would find some way to explain it to Dana.

Sir Walter was sure this was the longest meal he had ever lived
through. The viper, Lady
Diana, had been seated to the prince's left in the seat usually
occupied by the knight. That
put Sir Walter on the other side of Diana, one seat away from Fox.
While the prince happily
occupied himself with picking bits of green out of his food, Lady
Diana put all her efforts
into drawing the handsome knight into lurid and suggestive
conversation.

He had nearly choked to death at one point, as her hand had crept
down to squeeze his crotch
through his leggings. The page had hurried forward and snatched the
goblet away from Sir
Walter's grasping hand, with heartfelt assurances that he would find
the one responsible for
cursing the king's wine with this choking spell. That left Sir
Walter without even a strong
drink to dull the pain of Diana's attentions.

The evening finally ended with the Lady Diana retiring to her
chambers. She made it more than
clear to Sir Walter that he would be most welcome to accompany her
there. He had pretended to
misunderstand.

When the errant prince appeared to intend on tarrying in the main
hall, undoubtedly not
willing to miss any of the fun, Sir Walter grabbed Fox around his
slim waist and, half
carried, half dragged him back to their own chambers. All of this
much to the astonishment of
everyone in the great hall.

The minute the door closed behind them, the prince erupted into
uncontrolled laugher. He ended
up rolling around on the floor, tears streaming from his hazel eyes.

"You know, your bedtime spanking could be a thing of artistry
tonight."

"Did you . . ." The prince sputtered with glee. "Did you see her
face!" He continued to hold
his stomach as laughter filled the bed chamber.

Sir Walter scooped the laughing young prince up off the floor and
deposited him face down
across his lap. Even this could not stop the young man's fit of
laughter.

The knight hooked his big fingers in the back of the prince's
leggings and prepared to pull
them down when he too got a mental image of the Lady Diana.
Standing, hands on hips, in the
middle of the great hall, scowling like she had just partaken of a
sour grape, as her fianc‚
was pulled bodily away by her reluctant conquest for the evening.

Sir Walter suddenly found himself laughing as mightily as his
wayward prince.

"Oh Sliabh, has the ever persistent and perverse Diana been after
you again? She always tends
to make quite the fool of herself around any handsome man,
especially you. "

"Dana!" Fox cried, as he scrambled up from the surprised knight's
lap and flung himself into
her arms. She sat demurely in the center of their bed, her tiny feet
tucked comfortably under
her. She immediately wrapped her strong arms around the prince and
gently kissed the top of
his head.

"I've missed you too, Alainn." She smiled down at him.

Sir Walter very carefully locked the door, checking to make sure it
was securely sealed before
making his way over to the bed and crawling in beside the other two.

"That woman is truly frightening. I though you said she wanted
<him>." He pointed disdainfully
at the traitorous prince, now looking entirely innocent as he
contentedly cuddled with Dana.

"Oh she does. But she feels she already has him." Dana stopped to
kiss the top of Fox's dark
head. "Little does she know, right Aliann?"

Fox nodded sadly. "You know I want only you, Dana, but I might have
little choice. My mother
is most insistent that I wed that woman."

She patted his shoulder and kissed his hair once more. "You need not
worry about it, my love,
you will never wed the Lady Diana. However, we do need to find a way
to get her to go back
home. This is not a good time for her to be here. Sir Spender will
try to use the hussy to his
own advantage. But we shall worry about that tomorrow. As for
tonight . . ."

Dana rolled over until her petite body was covering the prince and
she was looking down into
wide hazel eyes.

"What is this I hear about you running off in the middle of the
night, on a fool's errand,
based on little more than a cryptic message and a wild urge?"

"Uh . . . it wasn't <exactly> like that, Dana."

She turned her red head toward Skinner. "Well, Sliabh?"

Sir Walter just shrugged. "Better come clean, peasant boy, sounds
like she already knows all
about it anyway."

"How do you do that, Dana?" Fox whined. "Where do you get your
information? You seem to know
what I've done before I even do it."

She bent down and touched the end of her small nose to the end of
the prince's rather larger
one. "It that were the case, my darling Alainn, I would stop you
more often."

She turned her attention to Sir Walter. "Has he made his choice for
tonight?"

"Humph!" The prince interjected. "Some choice. If I choose to be
loved instead of spanked, he
just holds that days punishment over to the next night. I'm better
off just to choose both the
spanking and his bed and be done with it."

Skinner sighed heavily. "I never lead you to believe, when I made
that offer, that it would
mean no more bedtime spankings. You're more than due for a whipping
for that fiasco today and
you know it."

Dana crawled off Mulder and made her way into Sir Walter's lap. The
troubled knight could feel
Fox also rise and wrap his arm around Skinner's broad shoulders.

"Tell me, Sliabh, what's troubling you tonight?"

"I'm just a little tired, Dana. Between Fox's daring dos at all
hours of the day and night,
ghosts, trolls and rat boys, not to mention fighting off that she-
devil downstairs, I'm just
.. . "

"That's okay!" The prince offered magnanimously. "You don't need to
punish me, I won't do that
again. I promise. Why don't you just lay back and let Dana and I
make you feel better?"

He received a glare from both his companions.

"What?" He asked with wide, hazel eyes full of innocence.

Dana poked a sharp finger into the prince's chest. "I'm going to
make Walter feel better while
you get the punishment that you deserve. You promise, my eye! Do you
really think either one
of us believes that you'll behave yourself without a good strong,
and very painful, lesson on
the subject? We may love you but we're hardly that naive."

"But how . . . who . . ." Mulder yelped as he felt himself levitated
off the bed and into the
center of the room. "Yipes!"

Walter smiled as the handsome prince lay in mid air, arms at his
sides, facing the ceiling
with his clothes effortlessly sliding from his gorgeous body.

"Now there's a sight that might revive my energy." Skinner smiled.

Dana plumped a pillow behind Sir Walter and kissed his gently on the
lips. "Well that's good
news." She kissed the knight again. "You're not alone in this,
Sliabh, you never have been. I
know he wears on you, body and soul, he always does. But he's well
worth it. You have to know
that."

"I do. I'm sorry I lost heart for a moment, Dana. Do you want me to
take over his punishment.
I had planned to do it anyway."

"No, my darling, you just watch while I roast his butt. It should be
quite a lesson for him
and quite a show for us. He needs to know that I expect him to be
cautious too." She sighed
dreamily as she looked at the beautiful naked prince suspended in
mid air at the foot of the
bed.

"I'm afraid I spoiled him outrageously while I waited for you to
join us. He's just so darned
cute and I so enjoyed the quiet time we were allowed to have
together. There have been some
lifetimes when I could not even take him to my bed for fear he would
lose focus on the job at
hand. Those are the worst times, wanting the two of you so badly but
being forced to keep my
hands to myself for duty and honor."

Mulder let out another yelp as his beautiful naked body started
slowly turning. His eyes were
huge in his face as the front of his body slowly came around to face
the occupants of the bed.

"D-d-d-da-na?" The prince looked ready to cry already.

"Don't be overly frightened, Alainn. You're just going to get a
little butt roasting for that
ridiculous thing with the trolls this morning. It will be over soon
and you can come to bed
with us."

Mulder's body continued to move around until he was facing the
floor, his pretty man parts
dangling enticingly. One of Sir Walter's paddles, this one about one
and half feet lengths and
made of good solid oak, appeared by magic above Fox.

Dana allowed him to revolve around until his eyes were facing the
menacing piece of wood. She
stopped him momentarily so he could get a good look at his fate for
the next few minutes.

"Dana, no! Please don't do this. That's gonna' hurt so much. Please
let me down now. I'll get
across Sir Walter's knees, I'll do anything just don't spank me like
this."

"Oh Fox, for goodness sakes, it's only a little magic and it's not
like you don't deserve a
good paddling. Stop being such a baby."

The prince continued to beg as he slowly rotated until his bare
bottom was presented up to the
suspended paddle. The hard piece of wood came down with a resounding
crack and then rose to
regain its position, waiting for the next revolution to bring its
target back into position.

"Ouch! Oh, Dana, please!" Fox's handsome face, as it came around to
them was a portrait in
pain and embarrassment.

They had to wait until he had moved almost all the way around, on
his imaginary spit, before
they could see the bright red streak, extending across both white
cheeks, that had been left
by the stroke of the wicked paddle.

Within seconds his bottom was again in position and the paddle came
down with another
blistering crack. Fox yelped loudly and wiggled his butt slightly
but could do little else as
he continued to slowly turn.

Sir Walter put his hands behind his head, leaned back and watched.
It was really quite
ingenious. The hapless prince had no control over presenting his
unfortunate bottom back up
for additional punishment. Then he was forced to display his tear
stained face, followed by a
perfect view of his burning, red bottom, to his chastisers.

It had to be miserable turning slowly, knowing that your bare butt
was going to meet with a
wooden paddle and there was absolutely nothing you could do about
it. The wait between smacks
had to be pure agony.

This time the paddle moved down slightly and punished the tops of
the prince's as yet
untouched thighs.

"Ah-h-h-h! That hurts! Sir Walter, please can't you make it stop?"

But Sir Walter had his own interests. Dana had gone from smothering
his face and chest with
feather light kisses and had moved lower, much lower. It was the
closest to heaven that the
knight could ever remember being.

So, as the spitted prince continually presented his sizzling, red
bottom and thighs up for yet
another hard smack, Sir Walter and Dana made slow sweet love on the
bed in front of him.

The sounds in the room were an odd mixture of pleasure, pain and the
unmistakable smack of
hard wood on delicate, bare skin. Fox cried his misery to the four
walls because no one else
was paying the least bit of attention to him or so he thought.

Sir Walter or Dana were careful to check on their bad-boy charge
constantly. After all, they
had to be sure his bottom was getting red and sore enough, the
pretty face staying flushed and
tear stained and that beautiful cock was dangling just right below
his, oh so gorgeous body.
It was, after all, their responsibility to take make sure Fox didn't
forget this paddling any
time soon and they were not ones to shirk their responsibilities.

The miserable, well-spanked prince was eventually levitated back to
the bed, where he was
magically positioned on his elbows and knees, head down and red
bottom high and inviting. Dana
lightly smacked the sore bottom, now fully exposed and on display
for it's disciplinarians'
further use. She motioned to Sir Walter to take his place behind the
unhappy prince.

"Behind every good king is a faithful knight, Sir Walter. So here
you go, attend your future
king for all he's worth."

Sir Walter carefully oiled and prepared the prince and then, held
the slim hips firm, as he
impaled himself to the root in Fox's tight heat. Fox moaned first in
pain and then in pure
pleasure as he withered and trembled under the big knight.

Prince Fox was being pounded relentlessly from behind, which would
have been enjoyable if Sir
Walter's big balls weren't slapping fresh fire into his already sore
backside, while his own
swollen cock begged for release. A release that was being withheld
by his two tormentors on
threat of another spanking.

His beautiful, traitorous Dana had bound his already engorged shaft
and balls tightly with a
leather queue and was now lying beneath him, sucking his aching cock
her hot, narrow throat.
He was so hard he could feel the blood throb in his swollen shaft in
time with the pounding in
his head. And they showed no sigh of bestowing him with their mercy.
He was sure he was going
to die long before they allowed him to come.

Dana finally stopped her ardent sucking and released him from her
eager mouth. He had time to
take one good, deep breath before she suddenly, in one quick, smooth
motion, swallowed him
from head to root once more. He screamed and tried to pull back from
the breathtaking
intensity, only to find himself more deeply impaled on Sir Walter's
thick, ramming cock. The
shock of being more widely stretched and fully filled sent him
plunging back down into Dana's
fiery mouth.

It was at that moment of pure carnal pleasure and agony, that the
Prince Fox, life-long bane
of the royal guard, decided that he would never - ever - no matter
what -leave the castle
without permission again. It just wasn't worth the price he had to
pay.

Especially if Dana was anywhere around.

* * * 

Royal Palace Courtyard

Sir Walter stepped back in shock, and landed heavily on his butt on
the dusty ground. "Omph!"

Mulder rushed over to help his teacher up. "Sir Walter, are you all
right?"

Skinner pushed the younger man's helping hands away and struggled to
his feet, trying
desperately to put the tattered remnants of his dignity back
together. "And just what exactly
was that, boy?"

Mulder grinned as he held up what was either a very long knife or a
very short sword, that he
had concealed in his boot. "You told me that if I continued to drop
my sword, I would have to
come up with a plan to save my ass. So," he brandished the small
sword at Skinner, " a
concealed extra weapon. What do you think?"

Skinner glared at his loose fingered but ingenious student. "Don't
you think it would be
better to just hang on to the weapon in your hand?"

"I suppose, but think of the element of surprise in a fight. I mean,
once I drop my sword, how
many knights will be expecting me to whip this other one off my leg?"

"Peasant boy, I think I can say without a doubt, that there is not a
knight in this realm or
any other, who feels the need to have a spare sword on his person.
But I still think it would
be . . . "

"Your Majesty." Mulder turned his attention to the young servant who
had just approached the
two men.

"What is it, Roland?"

"The Queen Christeena has requested your presence in her chambers."

"She has!" Skinner felt his heart break at the look of shock and
then pure joy that came over
the young prince's face. Mulder snatched up his sword from its
resting place on the ground and
rushed into the castle. Skinner stood watching, hoping the queen
would not disappoint her
sensitive son.

"Why, Sir Walter, what a pleasant surprise to find you here."

Skinner froze at the sound of that voice. He turned slowly, trying
to hide the horror that
wanted so badly to show itself on his face.

"Good day to you, Lady Diana."

"Well, it is now that I've found you. The king said I might choose
one of his knights to
accompany me on an outing this afternoon. I choose you, Sir Walter."

"I'm . . . uh, sorry . . . I'm not one of the royal guard, My Lady.
I have a full afternoon of
training scheduled with Prince Fox. I'm sure any of the other
knights would be most anxious to
accompany you."

Diana narrowed her eyes at him. "And I'm sure the king would be most
displeased to hear that
you refused my request. Besides Fox will be busy with his mother for
quite some time. She
heard about some of his recent amusements and feels they are most
unseemly. I wouldn't be
surprised if he isn't feeling the backside of her hairbrush right
now."

"The queen spanks Prince Fox?"

"She might now. I told her about your methods and she seemed quite
intrigued."

"It seems you've been very busy imparting knowledge to the queen
this morning. And tell me,
how did you know about my methods' with the prince?"

"Sir Spender mentioned something about it at first meal. But enough
about Fox. Are you ready
to accompany me, Sir Walter, or do I need to approach the king with
my disappointment in the
chivalry of his knights."

Sir Walter bowed to the woman. "I would be most pleased to accompany
you, Lady Diana. With
your vast knowledge of this castle and it's inhabitants, perhaps I
may learn something of
worth myself today."

* * *

Royal Palace 

Queen Christeena's Chambers

Fox knocked softly on the door leading to his mother's chambers.
He'd bathed and dressed
quickly, anxious to see the aloof woman whom he loved so dearly. His
mother sat in her throne
chair, which had been moved from the great hall years before. She
was surround by her six
ladies in waiting. She looked distressed and dabbed lightly at her
eyes with a lace
handkerchief.

"You wished to see me, mother?" He could not contain the smile that
spread across his face. It
was so seldom that his mother wished an audience with him. He moved
to kiss her cheek but she
discretely turned away, fluttering her lavender scented kerchief in
his face.

The queen motioned her son to take a seat across from her. "Fox, I
have learned that you are
again keeping company with the peasants in the village."

Mulder felt his breath catch in his chest. "They're good people,
Mother. It's important for a
prince to know what is happening with the subjects of the realm."

"It's unseemly, Fox. And I am most displeased. If Lady Diana hadn't
taken the time to inform
me . . ."

"Lady Diana! What do my activities have to do with her?"

"She's your fianc‚, Fox. Of course she's interested in keeping up
appearances. She's really
very fond of you and wants only what is best for you. As do I. She
also informed me of Sir
Walter's manner of controlling your behavior and I have decided to
borrow from him. You are
going to be spanked, Fox."

"You're going to . . . to . . ." Mulder rose from his chair. "I
can't believe you would even
consider such a thing, Mother. A woman of your gentle nature."

"Oh I don't intend to do it myself, Fox." A door opened quietly
behind him. The prince turned
and was distressed to see Sir Spender' enter the room.

"Lady Diana and Sir Spender have convinced me that if you wish to
befriend peasants then you
should be treated as one. She turned to one of her ladies.
"Cassandra, bring me my hairbrush
please."

Sir Spender walked to a chair beside the prince, sat and motioned
gleefully at his lap. "If
you would lay yourself across my knees, Prince Fox, we will get this
over with without unduly
upsetting your mother and her lovely ladies."

"No, I won't allow . . ."

"Oh but you will, my pretty prince." The old man hissed, "Or we will
do this in the great
hall, so everyone might enjoy your performance. I'm sure I could get
your mother to agree to
that extra humiliation. She might even be willing to join us there.
Now come, you are
embarrassing these fine ladies."

Fox looked at his mother and her six ladies-in-waiting. They looked
more anxious than
embarrassed. "Fox, do hurry." His mother fanned herself with her
kerchief. "I am most
disappointed that a prince of this realm would try to shirk his
obligation in this manner."

Mulder rose and stood beside the hated Sir Spender. The old man
raised a gnarled hand and
pulled Fox face down across his waiting lap. The prince had barely
been situated before he
felt the man's paper dry hands in the waistband of his leggings.

"No-o-o-o!"

Sir Spender's only response was a raspy chuckle as the bottom was
bared for all to see. The
long tunic was tucked carefully into the prince's belt, well out of
the way. Mulder's face
flushed an even brighter red as he felt the eyes of his mother's
ladies on his naked bottom.
He heard several of them whispering and giggling above him.

The prince felt that dry, bloodless hand again, this time rubbing
over his naked flesh.

Feeling every curve and dip of his exposed backside. The touch was
wispy and feather light, it
felt like the whisper soft caress of the bat wings of the vampires
in the cave.

Then the hard, bony hand descended with remarkable force on his
defenseless bottom.

The prince felt his body jerk from the painful blow but bit down
hard on his bottom lip to
stifle any sound. The hand came down again on the same spot, turning
the small patch of skin
white hot with pain. The hand continued to pound that one spot on
the prince's lower right
cheek until six mighty slaps had been applied.

Mulder felt sweat break out on his forehead, as the old man moved
his area of attention to the
other cheek. Again delivering six hard smacks to the same blistered
area. This continued until
every inch of Fox's bottom and thighs had received the deadly six
stroke treatment. The prince
had remained silent but could not stop the bouncing of his bottom as
it became hotter and
hotter.

Sir Spender felt himself grow hard as the beautiful, bare bottomed
prince withered on his lap.
If the queen weren't here, he would take the troublesome boy right
now, hard and fast, just as
he deserved to be taken. The old man smiled to himself as the prince
bucked zealously under
his punishing hand, giving Sir Spender just a glimpse of the tight
little hole he wanted to
badly to possess. Soon. Very soon and this arrogant little blue-
blood would be his.

The relentless older man began delivering random smacks all over the
previously spanked skin
until he received the first loud yelp from his hapless victim. The
bottom laid so
defenselessly over his lap was now well blistered and sizzling with
intense heat.

The paper dry hand rubbed slowly over the fiery bottom cheeks, as
the prince squirmed on his
lap. "I think this bottom is properly prepared for the brush now,
Queen Christeena."

One of the ladies handed the man the oval shaped wooden brush,
embedded with sharp wild boar
bristles on one side, very efficient for the combing of a lady's
long hair. But Sir Spender
wasn't concerned with the normal use for the brush. He flipped it
over, rubbing the smooth
hard back over the prince's already well punished but still
beautiful bottom.

Fox felt the brush leave his body and closed his eyes. Nothing could
prepare him for the
devastating blow as the hairbrush connected with his already sore
cheeks. He couldn't stop the
gasp that left his lips as his bottom ignited like well cured
kindling. His body jerked so
hard it actually left the man's bony knees for a moment, only to
come back down in perfect
position for another horrible smack.

After only six smacks of that dreadful hairbrush, Fox broke down
wailing and begging the hated
man to please stop punishing him. He no longer cared that seven
women were watching his
disgrace. His whole world now revolved around his bare, defenseless
bottom and the pain that
was being stoked there to ever higher degrees of pure fire.

By the time the old man finally laid down the brush, the young
prince could do little more
than lie across his lap and sob miserably. Sir Spender gave him a
few minutes, allowing the
appreciative ladies a good view of a very pretty, well spanked, bare
bottom. But also enjoying
the feel of the distraught prince's nearly naked, shuddering body
lying across his legs.

He patted the still burning flesh and was gratified to receive yet
another yelp. He made sure
the back of the tunic was still securely rolled up and fastened in
the prince's belt. He then
helped the suffering young man to rise to his feet. Fox's tunic fell
down to cover him in
front but his red, scalded bottom was still well exhibited behind him.

"I think an afternoon in the corner with that well spanked, red
bottom on full display will do
you a world of good, young prince. Now off with you before I decide
you need a dose of my
leather belt as well."

It was difficult to walk with his leggings still around the top of
his boots and Mulder was
certain that the wicked ladies were enjoying the performance his
bare, spanked bottom was
giving them as he hobbled to his appointed corner.

* * * 

Royal Palace 

Sir Walter's Chambers

Sir Walter returned late in the day from his outing with the Lady
Diana. It had been a
nightmare. The woman was far more lecherous than any man at court
and Sir Walter had to use
all of his evasive strategy skills just to keep her at arms length.

He entered the chamber to find his young prince lying face down on
the bed, fully dressed,
crying into his pillow. Sir Walter took a couple of deep breaths. It
would not due to show how
angry he was, at least not until he'd heard the full story.

He sat on the edge of the bed and began to rub soothing circles on
the prince's back. "What
happened, Fox?"

Much to the knight's surprise, Fox turned and threw himself, still
sobbing, into his teacher's
arms. They sat like that for several long moments until the prince
had quieted a little.
Skinner then pulled back and lifted the prince's chin so that their
eyes met.

"What happened today, Fox?"

Mulder gulped for air a couple of times, fresh tears in his hazel
eyes. "She . . . she was
upset that I spend time with the peasants in the village. She . . .
she . . ."

"Slow down and tell me. It's all right now. I'm here with you."

"She allowed Sir Spender to spank me with her hairbrush in front of
all of her ladies-in-
waiting. And . . . and . . . then I had to spend all afternoon
standing half naked in the
corner. And those awful women kept touching me . . . and I don't
know if my mother condoned it
or if they did it without her consent. I don't know if I want to
know. And, she wouldn't even
talk to me before I was dismissed!"

Skinner held the young man tightly in his arms and allowed him to
sob out his abandonment and
betrayal. The prince finally fell asleep in his arms. He carefully
laid him on the bed and
undressed him.

The knight was furious as he inspected the still red and mottled
backside of his young charge.
Not only has the lecherous old man dared to spank the prince but
Skinner was certain that he
had enjoyed it immensely. It was enough to set Sir Walter's blood
boiling. No one spanked Fox
but himself!

As the restless prince occasionally sobbed in his sleep, Sir Walter
made plans. He had learned
a lot from the easily charmed Lady Diana. Not all they would need to
know but enough to
convince the knight that Meridiem and her crown prince were indeed
in danger.

Fox shifted on the bed again and called for Dana. The sorceress had
left early in the morning
to travel to her home. Sir Walter stood up suddenly and pounded his
fist against his massive
thigh. No! He could no longer allow himself his self-indulgent
denial of all things
supernatural. It was too dangerous. The sorceress Dana had not left
as a normal woman would
go, she had just . . . vanished. Right before Sir Walter's amazed
eyes. She had promised to
return this evening.

The knight could no longer deny that there was magic in this
kingdom. Both for good and for
evil. Sir Walter would use that magic to their own advantage, no
matter how much it irked him
to do so.

The knight wanted to believe the world was a place of order and
reason. Perhaps that was still
true. It was not, however, true in the Realm of Meridiem.

The End 1/4