A Friend For The Prince: By Topher Penrod
All of the characters represented in this story are fantasy. Any resemblance to a real person is purely coincidental.
This story contains scenes of graphic gay sex between consenting legal aged males. If such material offends you, do not proceed into the story.
The story is set in a time where condoms are not available, so bareback sex is also contained in the story. If bareback sex is offensive to you in any way, do not enter the story. As always, practice safe sex in the real world and regular testing helps too.
Feel free to check out my other ongoing story, A Werewolf On Campus, in the Fantasy section of Nifty. I realize it hasn't been updated in months and I apologize for that. I am currently working on a longer chapter, should be done here in a day or two and I will send it along to Nifty for those of you who enjoy the Werewolf story.
My email address is irishlad1987@yahoo.com, feel free to email me with any criticisms, compliments, concerns, etc.
Remember that Nifty needs our donations to make these stories available, there are a lot of wonderful authors with stories to tell.
Chapter 4 Court With The King
Xanth once again spent the night in bed with Prince Venosh. They had walked all over the town yesterday, stopping at practically every shop in the market, surveying the various goods for sale. The young men were developing quite the relationship, Xanth found that every time he saw the Prince, he got butterflies in his stomach. He was excited for today, he was going to attend court with Prince Venosh. His clothing from Madam Ventriz had arrived and he had spent the better part of yesterday evening trying on various outfits in front of his royal lover.
Madam Ventriz had done an excellent job on his clothing, it all fit perfectly. He especially liked his Apprentice Wizard robes, they weren't like the normal loose fitting robes he saw Master Mandrig wearing, instead, they were a snug fit, displaying his body in all its glory. For the first time in his life, Xanth actually felt incredibly attractive.
He stood in front of a full length mirror in Prince Venoshs room. The black and red robes looked slightly sinister on him, which he didn't mind.
"When we get to court, you will be sitting with my siblings and I. Prince Edmund wants us to be a Coterie so we need to start showing ourselves together in public as much as possible," Venosh said, playfully shoving Xanth out of the way so that he could look himself over in the mirror.
"What is court? I mean, what happens?" Xanth asked.
"My father, the King, sets aside three days a week for court. It is a time when the people of the Kingdom can come before him and list their grievances and get his ruling. Usually its trivial stuff, like boundary lines between two neighboring Lords, or disputes between families. Occasionally more serious issues come up, like murders, rapes, things of that nature. Once, when I was seven years old, a magistrate from an outlying fort came and told us that a force of goblins was assembling just outside of the Kingdom. My Father dispatched the Legionnaires and they were able to put down the goblin army before it became a problem," Venosh explained.
"Ah, so we get to hear people complain all day?" Xanth surmised.
"Precisely, but don't worry, it will be far from boring, my Father always has something up his sleeve. A feast, or a small tournament, something of that nature," Venosh said.
Once they were both satisfied with their appearance, Prince Venosh pushed Xanth up against the door in his room and kissed him passionately. After a few more kisses, they left for the throne room where court was about to start.
It was customary for Royalty to show up last, everyone else was already supposed to be in the throne room, ready to go. When Xanth and Prince Venosh arrived at the door to the throne room, four legionnaires stood guarding it. An announcer looked them over with a judging eye, he immediately recognized Prince Venosh, but there was hesitation when he gazed at Xanth.
Seeing his uncertainty, Xanth revealed his identity to the man, "I am Apprentice Wizard Xanth."
The man raised an eyebrow, but otherwise kept his silence. Two of the Legionnaires opened the doors and they were both announced by the man in a booming voice. Xanth felt slightly self-conscious as they walked into the throne room, all eyes were on them.
Xanth glanced around the room, looking for familiar faces. Prince Edmund and Princess Rosalin were already seated to the right of the throne. Princess Rosalin smiled and waved at him energetically.
"My sister always has a lot of fun at court, she loves showing herself off to all the potential Lordlings. Venosh explained.
"I didn't realize there would be so many people here," Xanth said.
"Well, it looks like this is almost everyone. Just the King and Queen are left, and they wont arrive for a few more minutes. When they are announced, you must stand and give a small bow as they enter the room," Venosh said.
They took their seats next to Edmund and Rosalin.
"You both managed to untangle your bodies long enough to join us today?" Prince Edmund said with a smile. Rosalin giggled.
"Just because I'm getting more sex than you brother," Venosh said jokingly.
"Hey! I'll be married soon, I'll get all the sex I want," Prince Edmund said defensively.
"Don't get all worked up now Edmund, I'm sure there are more than enough whores if your balls ache too much," Venosh teased.
"Ugh! Boys!" Princess Rosalin had turned a deep shade of red. Xanth had yet to see her embarrassed, it was sort of funny.
"Don't worry Sister, I'm sure that sooner rather than later, one of these Lordlings will put forth a marriage proposal," Venosh said.
"Hopefully he will have more manners than the both of you!" She said indignantly..
Prince Edmund leaned close to Venosh and whispered just loudly enough for her to hear, "Apparently our Sister has woken up on the wrong side of the bed today," he started laughing. Rosalin wasn't nearly as impressed with the comment as Xanth and Venosh were.
Suddenly the room got quiet, the King and Queen had walked in without being announced. The King had a serious look on his face as he walked up to the throne.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, court will not be held today, I have received word from our Northern borders, we are being invaded. I need all of the Lords to remain, as well as my Sons and Daughter, everyone else, please come back on the next scheduled day of court," the King was firm, no one questioned him.
It took nearly ten minutes for the throne room to clear. Servants were running back and forth busily attempting to reorganize the room.
Prince Venosh had told Xanth to remain as well, it was customary for the Wizards and their apprentices to remain as well. High Wizard Mandrig was standing just behind the Kings throne.
"This morning I received a disturbing report, and while I haven't been able to confirm it yet, I believe the report to be genuine and true. The report claims that King Drugar has unleashed the entirety of his army upon us, some twenty thousand infantry complimented by archers and cavalry. I have dispatched scouts but it will be days before we have any more information. In the meantime, I want all of you," the King indicated the Lords seated in the throne room, "to begin immediate preparations for war. King Drugar has tried this once before and we were able to drive him back into his lands. This time I will not stop, our Legionnaires will drive him back and then push forward into his lands. I intend to destroy him."
The room suddenly buzzed with hushed voices and a few gasps. Xanth was shocked, a war? How could this be happening? Princes Venosh and Edmund remained composed, but Princess Rosalin had turned white as a sheet.
"Hold it together Sister, we can't afford to look afraid in front of the nobles. If our Father really means to go to war, we must back him with everything we have," Prince Edmund said.
"Prince Venosh, Apprentice Wizard Xanth! Please step forward," the King said.
Xanth was amazed that the King even knew his name.
"Pince Venosh, I know you are still young, but you are a capable commander. You will take four Legions and move to defend the city of Farenbank, we cannot afford to lose it, there is too much strategical value at stake. Xanth will accompany you. I hear from High Wizard Mandrig that he already has a fair bit of talent with magic," the King directed his last statement at Xanth.
"Yes, my King, I have learned a bit with the Princes and Princess," Xanth responded.
"Good, its settled then. Prince Venosh, you and Xanth will leave in three days time. Xanth, I want you to watch out for my Son, guard him with your life. I trust the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Legions will be prepared in three days?" The King asked.
One of the Lords responded, "They will be ready my King."
"Prince Edmund, you will see to the rest of the Legions, I'm placing you in command. I want daily progress reports," the King turned to Princess Rosalin, "You my dear, you will remain here, where you are safe, within the walls of the castle. I have been lead to understand that you can communicate with your brothers through some sort of mind link?" He asked.
"Yes Father," she replied.
"Good, then you will be able to stay in contact with Prince Venosh and Xanth, relay messages back and forth."
"As you wish," She curtsied.
"I know that this will be an immense undertaking, war is not something to enter into lightly. The way I see it, if we do not quash this now and forever, it will constantly be a threat to us. King Drugar will rue the day he decided to attack us. Now, we all have things we need to be doing, lets get them done. We will meet here again tomorrow morning, I expect reports from everyone, as well as length of time needed to be battle ready," the King said.
The throne room exploded into chaos once the King and Queen had left. Lords, servants, and Legionnaires were everywhere. Prince Venosh grabbed Xanth and led him out of the room.
"Rosalin said Prince Edmund wants to speak with us both, we are supposed to meet them in the castle garden, it should be quiet there," they held each others hands as they made their way to the garden.
Xanth was nervous and excited at the same time. He had been given a mission by the King himself. He hoped he would have enough control over magic to be able to protect Prince Venosh.
As they wound their way through the maze of corridors in the castle, Xanth noticed that every single servant stopped and took the time to bow to them both as they passed. It was strange to be treated this way, but he supposed he would eventually get used to it.
As they came around one final corner, Xanth had his breath taken away. Never in his life had he seen such a marvelous garden. He senses were on fire. So many colors jumped out at him all at once, it was spectacular. There were flowers of every color imaginable on one side of the garden. On the other side someone had planted a massive assortment of spices, herbs, vegetables and even a couple different types of fruit trees. Never in his life had he seen something so grand.
"Wow," was all he managed to say.
"You have Rosalin and the Queen to thank for this. They have put in literally hundreds of hours of work to make it this beautiful," Venosh said.
"Its amazing," Xanth said.
They spotted Edmund and Rosalin sitting on a bench amidst a large plot of violently bright purple flowers, chatting quietly. Xanth and Venosh joined them.
"Well, lets have it then, what do you all think?" Prince Edmund asked.
"Father is making the right decision. I remember how bad it was the first time around, we can't stop at just pushing Drugar back into his own kingdom, we need to drive the point home," Venosh said.
"I concur, though I don't like the idea of our Coterie being split up. At least we have learned the mind link, we will be able to talk to each other," Princess Rosalin said.
"That's not going to be enough I'm afraid." Everyone nearly jumped out of their seats as High Wizard Mandrig interrupted their conversation.
"What do you mean, Master?" Prince Edmund asked.
"The mind link will not work over vast distances, I will show you all how to Scry. Scrying is a means of communicating over large distances using water. With the amount of talent I have here before me, I am positive you will all be able to master the ability quickly. We will also need to work with Xanth extensively before he leaves with Prince Venosh," Mandrig turned to Xanth, "You need to be able to access your power instantly and without fail every time," he said.
"Yes Master," Xanth replied.
"For now, continue training with the Coterie, they will be able to unlock your abilities much faster than I, especially Prince Venosh. But I also want you all to set aside three hours this evening, lets say, starting after dinner. Meet me in the Arc-Chamber, I will teach you all how to Scry. Edmund, I will begin preparing the Legions, you are needed here for the moment, concentrate on offensive and defensive spells. Teach Xanth to kill with magic, but don't neglect defense either, it is possible that Drugar has his own wizards, and if that is the case, Xanth will need to know how to defend himself against enemy spells," with that final order, High Wizard Mandrig took his leave.
"I will only be able to give this about two hours, and then I will need to go and see to the Legions," Prince Edmund said.
The Coterie immediately set to work, Xanth paired up with Prince Venosh, Edmund with Rosalin. Edmund and Rosalin would cast spells back and forth, showing Xanth how to do them, and then Xanth and Venosh would repeat the exercise, trading their own spells.
It was slow going at first, Xanth was still having difficulty accessing his power on demand, but as the training progressed, he became better and better. After about two hours, Xanth started having difficulty concentrating, he was literally exhausted.
"It's to be expected, its like working a muscle you haven't before, it wears out fast and you have to rest before you can work it again. I suggest you take a nap before we meet with Wizard Mandrig this evening, you will need the energy I'm sure," Prince Edmund said. "I'm going to go work with the Legions," Edmund said, leaving the garden.
"Damn weeds," was all Rosalin said as she firmly yanked a weed out of the flowerbed. She began hunting through the flowers, pulling weeds out wherever she found them.
Venosh and Xanth were left to themselves.
"Let's go back to my room, Edmund is right, you will need a nap before tonight,"
"A nap sounds wonderful right about now," Xanth admitted.
"Think you have enough energy to play before we nap?" Venosh asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Your impossible, you know that?" Xanth said, moving close and kissing Venosh.
"I take that as a yes?" Venosh said hopefully.
Xanth slapped him on the ass. They immediately set out for Venoshs room.
Venosh was so rock hard by the time they arrived at his door, that he decided to fuck Xanth first. They stripped off each others clothing and jumped into bed. Venosh buried his face into Xanths ass, his tongue aggressively penetrating deep inside Xanth who was gasping and moaning in pleasure.
Unable to stand it any longer, Venosh inserted his thick cock into Xanth's ass, pushing in all the way roughly. Xanth groaned, it felt amazing. Venosh began a fast-paced humping that caused the entire bed to shake and rattle.
Venosh leaned down and kissed Xanth, their tongues meeting in the middle, tasting one another. Xanth reached up and rubbed his hands up and down on Venosh's chest. He knew Venosh liked that, it made the young Prince moan whenever he did it.
"Go slower, I want to enjoy it," Xanth said, grabbing Venosh by the hips and forcing his humping to a slower pace. Venosh reluctantly obeyed and snuggled in close to Xanth. They changed positions so that Venosh was spooning Xanth as they fucked. He gently nibbled on Xanth's ear, then kissed his neck as he thrust deep and slow.
"You are so damn handsome, Xanth, I can't even stand it," Venosh whispered. Xanth turned his head back so that he could kiss Venosh.
" I think I'm falling in love with you, my Prince," Xanth admitted.
Venosh smiled, "I've been in love with you since the first moment I saw you," Venosh said. They kissed again, Xanth was getting really turned on by the slapping sound being made by Venosh fucking him.
"I think I'm going to cum!" Xanth said, panting. He wasn't even touching his cock, the pleasure was building just from Venosh thrusting into him. In a matter of seconds, the pleasure peaked and he had his glorious orgasm, cum flowing freely from his erect cock.
"Here I go," Venosh said. He increased his pace, fucking Xanth hard and fast, he pressed his lips onto the back of Xanth's head and kissed him as he shot his cum into Xanth's ass. Both young men were panting, enjoying the last few seconds of their orgasms.
Venosh pulled his cock out of Xanth and laid on top of him, kissing him fiercely. Xanth pulled the blankets up over the top of their naked bodies. Venosh laid his head down on Xanths broad chest, and soon they were both fast asleep, napping away what was left of the morning.