Prince Ezra's Quest

It seemed like he had been traveling for weeks, but it had only been a few days since Prince Ezra's Princess Bride, had been kidnapped, he would travel to the ends of the earth the get his beloved Princess back in his arms.  He paused in his quest, feeling tired and thirsty, he reached down and took the skin which held his water, then took a long, quenching drink, patting his white Unicorn on the neck, he knew it was tired too, but he couldn't afford to rest, not even for a moment, not if he was to save Tamara.  He took a cloth from his waist, wiping his brow, it was hot here and the fog was thick, he had already opened the front of his white shirt, a sheen of glistening sweat on his body.  His face was also covered with sweat, the glitter that covered him, from the fairies, kept some of the sweat on him, unable to get rid of it.  He was grateful for the fairies assistance with his quest, but their glitter dust was annoying, it was all over him, even in his hair.

Prince Ezra decided it was time to stop and get some sleep, it would be the first time he stopped, since he set out from the castle, in search of his beloved.  He was exhausted and wanted nothing more right now, then a cool gentle breeze, to take the sweat from his body, which was making the puffy sleeves of his shirt, cling to his arms.  He dismounted his Unicorn smoothly, finding a soft place to lie down and get some sleep, secure in the knowledge that his trusted Unicorn, and the fairies, would guard him against danger. He smoothed his dark blue velvet trousers, sorry for the first time in his life, that they fit so snug.  He was quickly asleep, dreams of holding his beloved Tamara in his arms, kissing her soft, warm lips and reveling in the warmth of her body, wishing to be back at home, in his castle with her.

It would be a deep sleep, the exhaustion of the past few days, taking control and making his body get the rest it needed, the fairies kept a watchful eye on him, alert for any possible danger.  Prince Ezra was their master, they owed everything to him and would give their lives to protect and help him.   As dawn approached, the sky became a vast canvas of colors, the fog in the moors, causing a refraction of the sun, creating colors from pale pink, to a dark red.  Prince Ezra slowly began to wake, feeling very refreshed, but still sweaty.  He knew that wouldn't change until he was out of the moors, the fog hung in among the hills and trees like a heavy cloak.  Prince Ezra sat for a moment, trying to rid himself of the sleep that was in his eyes, also taking a few biscuits out of his pouch, to eat for breakfast.  "Good morning Fairies, did you all have a pleasant night?" He smiled at the pleasant, harp like sound of their voices.

"Yes my Prince, it was a quiet night, I trust you slept well?" The lead fairy asked.

"Yes, indeed I did, thank you for watching over me."  He stood after eating the biscuits, quickly mounting his Unicorn.  Many other Prince's had given their horses or Unicorns names, but he didn't believe in that.  He patted the Unicorns neck, "Ready to go my old friend?"  He smiled as the unicorn nodded in response, it knew Ezra very well by now and was as close a friend as any human ever was. He began traveling, the trees were very thick in this area and he began to see signs that a Dragon resided in the area, but what worried him was that the evidence led him to the conclusion it was a Black Dragon, the deadliest of all Dragons. He would have to be careful now, hoping he could avoid the dreaded creature.  The last thing he wanted was to have to go up against it, granted he had slain Dragon's before, but he had never faced a Black Dragon and he didn't want to have to spend the time it would take to slay it, he needed to find Tamara, before the evil sorcerer could do her harm.  He urged his Unicorn ahead, signaling for some of his fairies to go ahead of him and check to see if there was any sign of the dreaded beast. The fairies returned to inform Prince Ezra that the Dragon was not presently around, but could come out of its lair at any time.  A few moments later Ezra came out of the trees and into a clearing, the area was very rocky, and there was a large cave in the distance, obviously the Dragon's lair.  He would have to hope he could get past it without the Dragon becoming aware of his presence.  He would prefer not to have to fight with it, he had no doubt he could slay it, but it would cost him precious time on his quest and he was worried what the Sorcerer would do to Tamara, he had only taken her to get to him and he was determined not to let the miscreant be victorious.

He moved as quietly as possible past the cave, gently stroking the nervous Unicorns neck, keeping him calm, he was finding himself glad that he had brought his shield with him.  It was a shield that he had fashioned himself, out of the scales of Dragons he had slayed in the past, it worked quite well to protect him from the deadly fire the Dragons shot from their vial mouths.  He heard it before he saw it, they always drew in a deep breath, before shooting their fire, and so he quickly dismounted and slapped the Unicorn on the rump, sending it running away, to safety.  Then he pulled his shield up in front of him and ducked down, just as the flames shot out towards him.

The Dragon had heard the passing of the human, he was in need of a challenge and hoped this human could provide him with one, he knew that being the only Black Dragon it this region, he was the superior species, but he had not come up against Prince Ezra yet. Hadn't encountered Prince Ezra's magical sword that had been created by the most powerful Magician in all the land.  It would be an encounter he would regret, not that he would live to regret it, it was a long battle, lasting over an hour, but in the end the Dragon was defeated and Ezra was victorious, but not unscathed.  He had a severe gash on his left leg and his hand had been burned.

He sat on the rocky ground, feeling energized by the victory, but also very exhausted and his injuries hurt terribly.  He took a cloth from his pouch and gently wrapped it around his leg, cutting off the flow of blood, but he had no way to sew up the wound.  He then poured some of the cold water, in his water skin, over the burn on his hand, the cool liquid felt so good and he finally began to relax.  He knew he couldn't rest for long, God only knew what was happening to his beloved Tamara.

"Prince Ezra, are you all right?" The head fairy asked, concern etched on her tiny face.

"Yes my loyal Fairy, I will be fine, I just need to rest a bit, please find my Unicorn."  Ezra watched the fairies spread out and go in different directions, searching for the lost Unicorn, knowing how frightened it had been.

"Have no fear my Prince, we will find him."  She turned to fly off and join the others in the search.

Ezra knew he would soon lose his best friend anyway, as soon as he wed his Princess Bride, and they lost their virginity together, the Unicorn would no longer respond to him, but he would have a new life then, and Tamara would take the Unicorns place.

At the sorcerer's castle, he was doing his best to terrorize the beautiful Princess without doing too much harm to her, he needed her alive until Prince Ezra arrived, then he could kill them both and be rid of the thorn in his side, that Prince Ezra had been to him for so many years now. The sorcerer had no hold on the young Prince, until he had proposed to the lovely Princess, it was then that he knew the Princess would be the Prince's downfall, with her, he could get the Prince to do what he wanted.  He had spent many hours torturing her, never once had she screamed and he admired her for that, but she did cry, when she was conscious.  He had considered ruining her for the Prince, by letting some of his loyal servants have a go at her, but he knew that he couldn't do that yet, if she was ruined, the Prince would no longer be able to take her as his bride, then she would be of no use to him.

The sorcerer had taken a break from his torture, taking some time to dole out punishment to some villagers who had dared to take his name in vein, they would never speak again, as he had deprived them of their tongues and sent them on their way.  Now it was time to get back to the Princess, he had tried to avoid damaging her face, it was far to beautiful to damage, but he took liberties with the rest of her, whipping her, beating her, using his magic on her.  He made his way down to the dungeon, where she was chained up, as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw her sagging down, her arms pulled tight in the chains, she was one brave and courageous lady, perhaps once Prince Ezra was dead, he would let her go, instead of killing her, it would be such a waste.

The sorcerer lifted her face to him, with his hand under her chin, her eyes were glassy, but they held life and hatred in them, he wanted to break her at first, break her spirit, but now he knew that wouldn't happen, "Well my dear, shall we continue?"

"Why......why are you......doing this to........me?"  She couldn't stop the tear that fell, she wanted her darling Prince to rescue her, but it had been days and there was no sign of him.  She knew it would be a long and dangerous journey for him, but she thought he would have arrived by now.

"Because my dear, I can, you see I want Prince Ezra to see just what I can do, if he does not cooperate with me."  He smiled at her, knowing that his torture was only for fun, it didn't really mean anything, or produce any results except to injure her soft, smooth body.   By the time he finished this round of torture, the lovely creature was unconscious, more welts were on her back, from the whip and he had used his magical powers to squeeze at her heart, making her lose consciousness.  He left her hanging there, knowing that the Prince would have to be arriving soon, unless he had been wrong about how much the Princess meant to him, but he doubted that.  "Sleep well Princess, come morning, I expect your torment will be over, one way or another."  He went up the stairs and to his chamber, where he would sleep and wait for his foe.

In the morning, the lead fairy woke her Prince, it was time for him to get moving, there was no time to waste, and the fairy had a terrible feeling in her heart.  It was a feeling she had before, if they didn't rescue the Princess today, she would not be alive to rescue.  "Please awake my Prince, it is time to go."  She brushed against his face with her wings, leaving more fairy dust there.

"I am awake, just give me a moment, my body aches after that encounter with the Dragon yesterday."  He examined his injuries, the leg was no longer bleeding, but it wouldn't take much to get it started again, he didn't like to do this, because it was a very tiring thing for a fairy, but he needed to be as healthy as possible. "My darlin fairy, I know I don't usually do this, but can you please take care of this wound, I need to be able to travel."

"Certainly my Prince, I would do anything for you."  She fluttered about, moving her wand over his leg, closing her eyes and summoning all her strength.  She then tapped the wand on the wound, healing it instantly.

"Thank you, I see the others found my Unicorn, please take your rest with me on him, while we travel."  He held out his hand and the exhausted fairy landed gently in his palm.  He placed her on the Unicorns neck, and then mounted him, once he was moving again, he took the fairy in his hand, his finger gently stroking her wings, watching her sleep and her face fill with contentment and pleasure.

He hadn't been traveling long, when the dark, gloomy castle, where the evil sorcerer resided, came into view.  The encouragement of seeing his destination in sight, caused him to push the Unicorn into moving faster, he just hoped that his powers, combined with that of the fairies, could defeat the sorcerer.

The door was open when he reached the castle, the bridge over the moat had been down too, he knew that he was expected, so he wasted no time in entering, the sooner this was over, the sooner he could get his bride back to his kingdom and make her his.  He swung around quickly when he heard the sorcerer's voice.

"Ah, Prince Ezra, I have been expecting you, come for your Princess?"  He was prepared to take on the Prince, certain that his powers could defeat him, but he hadn't expected the fairies, with their magic, it would be much harder.

"One day I knew we would have to come face to face, this has been building up for a long time sorcerer, but you did not need to bring the innocent young Princess into this, have you harmed her?"  He was seething, he hoped his powers could defeat him.

"She is alive, but not in the best of shape, I have to say Prince Ezra, you have very good taste in brides, I was unable to break her."  He smiled at the Prince's reaction.

"How could you?  She's an innocent young woman, you are beyond evil and I intend to send you where you belong."  Ezra drew his sword, preparing for battle with the evil sorcerer.  The magician had put a spell on the sword, it now had magical powers and if he could just pierce the sorcerer's flesh with it, it would kill him.  The sorcerer had his own sword, it too was magical and would kill Prince Ezra if it pierced his flesh.  The two battled for some time, both growing tired, the fairies kept sprinkling their dust on Ezra, to give him strength, it was what made the difference in the end.  The sorcerer dropped his arm, just a bit, and Prince Ezra made his move, slicing the sorcerer across the chest.

"NO.............you have won, but one day I will find a way to come back, then you will be sorry."  He then vanished in a flash of light and Ezra was alone, except for the fairies.

"Now I must find my beloved Tamara, but where to start, the tower or the dungeon?"  He was very tired, between the Dragon yesterday and the sorcerer today, he didn't have much left in him.

"My Prince, some of the fairies searched the castle while you fought, the Princess is in the dungeon, but you will not like what you find."  She touched his cheek with her tiny hand, knowing that when he saw the Princess, it would break his heart.

Prince Ezra paused outside the dungeon door, afraid of what he would find beyond, he knew that his precious Tamara must have been tortured severely by the evil sorcerer.  He also knew that she would need him right now, she had probably wondered where he was, or if he was even coming for her.  He opened the door, what he saw shocked him, his heart felt like it was being ripped from his chest, his beautiful Princess was a battered woman, her clothes hung from her in shreds and she had blood on her back and arms.  He ran to her, quickly removing the chains that held her, taking her in his arms as she fell against him.

Tamara was aware of her Prince's presence, she was so relieved to see him, all she wanted now was for him to hold her and take her pain away.   She wanted him to make her his, in name and body.  This experience had shown her that she loved Ezra more than anything, that she needed to be with him for all eternity.  "My Prince, you have saved me, I love you."  Then she lost consciousness.

Ezra picked her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, taking her to one of the many rooms in the castle.  All of the sorcerer's servants had fled after he was killed, so the place was empty.  He removed her torn and blood stained gown, then gently cleaned her wounds with a warm, soft cloth.  Once that was complete, he found a gown for her in one of the other chambers, putting it on her and then got into bed with her, holding her tight as he fell asleep.  They slept in each other's arms, both regaining the strength they would need for the journey home.  The fairies also worked their magic, helping heal some of the Princess's wounds, but they didn't have the strength to heal them all.

In the morning, Prince Ezra woke feeling stronger and very happy to have his Princess back in his arms.  He looked at the vision of beauty in his arms and felt so warm and full of love, he bent and kissed her, feeling her respond in kind, their mouths melded together, the love for each other pouring into the other.  Ezra's hand caressed her cheek as he continued to kiss her, he wanted to do much more, but he knew it had to wait until they were united in matrimony.  That would happen as soon as they were back in his kingdom, back to their home in the castle.  "My darlin Tamara, are you ready to go home?"

"Yes Ezra, I have never wanted anything so much, except you my beloved, and I can not wait to become your wife."  She smiled, there in his arms, feeling his love, made any pain she felt, seem like it was far, far away.

"Then as soon as you are ready, we will go."  He got out of the bed, then left the room, he needed to get his Unicorn ready and make sure the fairies were ready to go, he was afraid that the sorcerer had let his Princess be ruined, and he would soon find out, if so, his Unicorn would have nothing to do with her, he hoped to God it wasn't the case.  He had his pouches of water and food secured to the Unicorn, and had made sure the fairies were ready, then he was about to go and fetch Tamara, but she came out of the castle just then.   He reached out to her, taking her hand and helping her mount the Unicorn.   The fact that she was able to mount him proved that the sorcerer had not ruined her.  "Shall we?"

"By all means Ezra, the sooner we return home, the sooner I can be your wife, and we can join as one, in body and soul, for all eternity."  She smiled down at him, watching him smile back at her, then mount the Unicorn behind her, his strong arms coming around her.  She never wanted to be without that feeling again.

"We will be wed immediately, I promise you that my love."  He nudged the Unicorn and they began the journey home, it was a long journey, but uneventful.  They both had trouble fighting the urge to join now, instead of waiting until they were wed, but they knew it had to be that way.

They arrive back to the kingdom a few days later, all the villagers were waiting for them, cheering as they passed in the street.  They stopped long enough to ask the local holy man, if he could wed them right away, he had asked if he could have until that evening, to make preparations.  They had agreed, all the villagers began decorating the village and castle, it would be the grandest wedding in all the land.  Prince Ezra made Princess Tamara his wife that evening, and then they took each other's virginity, sharing their bodies and souls.  They would have many children, Ezra would become King a few years later and live happily ever after.

The End

Enid