Alissa appraised the gathered nobles, elegant, well-dressed and brimming with confidence.  Each discretely tried to make eye contact.  She ignored them, mingling with a select few.  Most had no chance of winning her hand.  Her father had carefully prepared her; she knew her future lay with her choice of husband.

 

She giggled at Duke Morak's dimwitted joke, brushing her hand through her golden locks as her mother had taught her.  He was no looker, that was for certain, but Alissa knew the Duke's lands were rich with iron, quite a catch.  Her father would be delighted, and as her mother had told her, love could grow in time.

 

The crowd dispersed as the hour grew late.  Disappointed men slipped off into the night one-by-one, peeved to travel so far only for the Lord's daughter to snub them.  Alissa headed for her chambers, excited at the prospect of marrying the powerful Duke. 

 

A rough hand grabbed her arm as she left the room.  "Leaving without talking to me young missy?" the stranger asked.

 

She turned, glaring at the offender.  Alissa had noticed him earlier, a brute of a man she'd assumed to be one of the noble's bodyguards.  He wore a skin-tight black vest that concealed none of his muscular chest and carried a sword strapped to his back that was as long as one of her legs.  The stranger's eyes were dark as pools, his beard untamed.

 

Alissa startled.  How dare he look at me like that?  She pulled her arm free.  "Who do you think you are?  I can have the guards throw you in the dungeon in a heartbeat."

 

The stranger smiled confidently, glancing at the two young men-at-arms standing guard outside the chamber.  "I am Gallis, Lord of the Western Plains, my Lady.  And if you are going to have me thrown to the wolves I suggest those two pups might need a dozen friends."

 

Alissa was not surprised to learn the stranger was a barbarian from the West.  She remembered her father saying they were scarcely more than savages, but the people of the Western Plains were a powerful force he was loath to upset.  Lord Gallis had been one of the many token invitations he had sent out.  Looking up the barbarian's chiseled features, Alissa decided his boast regarding the guards was probably accurate.

 

"Well nice to meet you Lord Gallis.  Now if you'll excuse me, I must retire to bed," Alissa said.

 

Lord Gallis reached out, running his calloused fingertips across Alissa's soft skin.  "I would have thought you would like to spend more time with the man who will soon be sharing that bed."

 

Alissa cringed, outraged at the stranger's touch.  "I shall not be sharing any bed with a stumblebum like you.  I shall be marrying Duke Morak."  She stepped away and out the door, ignoring Lord Gallis' hearty chuckles.

 

 

 

Alissa waited in the keep's gardens for the uncouth barbarian.  Her father had made her court two candidates for her hand.  She so wanted Duke Morak.  That was why she had blurted Lord Gallis' name when her father had pressed her for another name.  A simple choice it would be, she told herself.

 

Lord Gallis had not even bothered to don a shirt, wearing only leather pants and well-crafted boots.  He strode down the grassy hill, his chest glistening with perspiration.  He smiled at the young princess.  "I've been training with some of your father's guards.  A couple of them can hold their own, but the rest are a soft lot."

 

Alissa turned away, trying not to look at the young warrior's impressive figure.  He could snap Duke Morak in half with his bare hands.  Her mind traced around the edges of an image of her slender body writhing underneath the barbarian's body.  She pushed the image aside, her face colouring.  Lustful thoughts would not help the kingdom.

 

Lord Gallis lent down, plucking a vibrant red rose from the garden, deftly trimming the thorns with his knife before handing it to a bewildered Alissa.  "For you, though it cannot compare to your beauty my Lady, for I have seen nothing in this world that can."

 

Alissa was stunned.  She murmured a whispered thank you and averted her eyes.  Barbarians were meant to hit their women over the head with a log.

 

She walked alongside Lord Gallis.  Courting was a normally a boring affair, but Lord Gallis did not pamper her endlessly.  He told her of far away cities he would take her to, interesting people she would meet, how he would expect her to lead.  Her mind swam.  He actually expected her to help him lead?  The life of a Duchess was one of comfort but little power.  Lord Gallis spoke to her as though she'd be an equal.

 

Alissa pushed the dreamy thoughts from her mind, remembering what her father had taught her.  "Lord Gallis, your lands are not full of riches.  What would you bring to our marriage?"

 

Lord Gallis took her small hands in his huge palms, his eyes meeting hers.  "My Lady, I cannot promise you riches.  Though I demand respect, in return I will offer love and honor, never leaving you or forsaking you for another."  Lord Gallis smiled, "My Lady, in the cold of winter I shall keep you warm through the night as you call my name on the wind.  You will never want for love, affection or passion."

 

Alissa blushed.  She had to push this man aside.  He was confusing her with a mix of emotions.  "Passion is not as exciting as power.  I would rather have a cold bed and a wardrobe full of finery.  If you cannot provide this, I am certain Duke Morak can."

 

Lord Gallis features tightened.  "You mean to marry that feeble excuse of a man?  He is old enough to be your father.  Did you bring me here knowing I could not satisfy your hunger for the coin?"

 

"Father insisted I court two men.  Since you had the audacity to touch me last night, I thought it might be amusing to toy with you, though you clearly cannot provide for my needs."

 

Lord Gallis grabbed Alissa's wrist, dragging her over to a nearby bench.  "I'll give you what you need you spoilt little princess."

 

"Unhand me!  What are you doing?"

 

Lord Gallis pulled the struggling girl over his lap.  He lifted the young girl's shifts, rage overcoming his common sense as he exposed her curvy bare cheeks.  "I'll show you how we deal with naughty girls in the West."

 

The young warrior slid his leather belt from his waist, doubling it up in one muscular hand.  Alissa squirmed in terror, trying to escape this brute of a man's intentions.  The first lick of his belt burned Alissa's bottom like nothing she had ever felt before.  The young princess had never been given more than a swat on her naughty bottom, and her bottom had been untouched since she had past her twelve season. 

 

With little fuss, Lord Gallis began to take the strap to the young beauty's bottom.  Alissa cried and kicked from the start, pounding her small fists into the warrior's leg.  Alissa squealed, her crocodile tears turning genuine as the strap left red stripes across her bottom.  She stared back at her tormentor with wet eyes, "Father will have your head for this!"

 

Lord Gallis smiled, whistling the belt against the lower curves of Alissa's bottom.  "Sounds like a deal, since I have your bottom."

 

Alissa cried with anguish, her nose and eyes running freely as her bottom turned a healthy shade.  The young princess would not sit comfortably for some time.  Despite her burning bottom, Alissa still screamed a tirade of abuse.  Lord Gallis was determined to break the young filly, as he had many a young mare in his time.

 

"Are you sorry?" Lord Gallis asked.

 

"No!" Allissa screamed.

 

Holding the struggling girl in a strong grip, Lord Gallis applied the leather with gusto.  Alissa kicked her legs, but there was no escape from the building heat in her bottom.  He just wouldn't stop.  She collapsed limp on his lap, unable, unwilling to resist any more.

 

"I'm sorry.  I'm sorry," Alissa finally sobbed, Lord Gallis' discipline bringing the virgin emotion of remorse.

 

With a final dozen strokes of the strap, the young warrior reduced the once haughty princess to a naughty girl crying freely.  Satisfied the job was complete, he pulled her up into his arms, letting her rest her tear strained face against his bare chest.  Lord Gallis stroked her back as he let her curl into a warm tender embrace.

 

It was like this that the castle watch found them - Alissa practically naked with a bright red bottom resting against the barbarian Lord's bare chest.  Alissa pulled away, confused and scared.  She stood, pointing at Lord Gallis as she pulled down her shifts.  "Arrest this man.  He has, he has violated me."

 

The guards dragged Lord Gallis away, a full half dozen needed to subdue the massive warrior.  Dragged into the depth of the dungeons and thrown into a tiny cell, Lord Gallis was left to curse his foolishness and the inevitability of his own death.