Cuddle and Talk

You and Eliza both lie in bed together facing each other. Eliza had covered herself with the sheets even though she had already given herself to you. As for you, the sheets only cover your lower body. You play with her long black hair while unconsciously rubs your arm.

"So tell me, how did you find out about my trials?" She asks.

"I said it before. You made me wait a day so I and my men went off for some sightseeing."

She raises her eyebrows, "And used that time to gather information. I doubt any of my people would speak so carelessly to foreign soldiers. I don't even think your soldiers could speak our tongue despite how Almain is the main tongue used in the Confederation."

You chuckle briefly, "It may comes a surprise to you, my Lady but my men know your native tongue. Well some of them do."

"It still does answer how your soldiers could just simply walk up to some of my people and get information on me."

"That is because they didn't wear their armor. We went out wearing regular clothes courtesy of Sir Piero who complied with our request for said clothes."

"So you had your men dress inconspicuously? Someone sure played it smart."

"It helped that I dressed no differently than them. Made it less obvious I was royalty." You pause for a moment, "I met one of your former suitors. A rather likable man named Miguel de Tarnossa or the Moorslayer if you never bother to know his name."

Eliza playfully slaps your arm, "Of course I bothered to know his name. I may not have been interested in marrying any of them but I wasn't as that condescending towards them as to not bother knowing their name."

"Well anyway, Miguel told me about our trials. There were five of them, am I correct?" Eliza nods her head. "Chastity, Humility, Cleverness, Strength and Courage." She enumerates. "I have a feeling you would have failed the first trial. You are... not a inexperienced with being with a woman."

"No, I am not but give me credit. I could have passed or I could not."

Eliza giggles and it pleases you to see her do so. "Well you passed the Humility, Cleverness and Courage trials. Did Miguel ever tell you just what exactly I made them do?"

You shake your head, "He and his men only mentioned they were humiliating." Eliza giggles again, "You dressed like a commoner. For a King, that is a big deal. However my Trial of Humility had my suitors in rags and I had them sent out to beg. Could you see yourself do that?"

Coming from a monastery that often relied on the generosity of the town's folk, you could. "I've felt hunger before. Begging maybe a crushing blow to pride and maybe even self-respect but neither pride nor self-respect will fill your stomach. None of them can sustain you."

"How wise. Who taught you this?"

"My granduncle. He is a monk. He taught me some things. Now tell me how I passed your Trials of Cleverness and Courage?" Your hand travels beneath the sheets covering Eliza and you caress her breasts.

"You say your men asked around." Your men did ask around but looking up her background wasn't part of the plan. It was a fortunate and welcomed addition to your true goal of giving your men some relaxation and of observing the parts. But then again, you did tell them to talk to the people. "I told them to go around and talk to the locals."

"And from them, your men told you of my past. For you to have figured out why I am the way I am is proof of cleverness. You working up the courage to prove what you deduced to be true and bargain with me is proof of courage. Don't lie, you knew it would be a risk. You knew your could be wrong. I would have killed you, you know." Once again, you don't doubt her words of killing you.

"All that's left I guess is the trial of strength." You say while your pull on her hardened nipples. Eliza moans from the feeling. She comments, "I made my suitors duel each other. To first blood only of course. It would be down right impractical of me to demand a duel to the ****."

"I'm sure Miguel would have succeeded in that."

"He did." She nods. "But he and the remaining suitors couldn't and wouldn't go through with the final Trial."

"So what would have me do for a Trial of Strength?" You ask. She answers you with a deep kiss, "None required. We both got what we wanted, didn't we?"

You hold her hand and kiss the backside of it, "We did."

Eliza throws the sheets off her and leaves the bed naked. With her back turned to you, only now do you see the scars the line her back and especially on her butt. "Eliza, you-"

"My father wasn't kind remember. Whenever I said or did anything I didn't approve, he would just tear the back of my dresses and strike me. My butt took most of it."

You get off the bed and move close to her and comfortingly hold her shoulders, "Is this why you didn't want me touching your butt last night?" Eliza solemnly nods. "I'm truly thankful you didn't." Eliza holds you close, her body pressing against yours and her head resting on you. "Even though the wounds have healed, there was always that pain that remained." She says with rising anger. "But... but... but... but he can't hurt me anymore!" She looks at you. "He can't hurt me anymore!" She calms down, "He can't hurt me anymore. Touch me down there. Touch my ass. I want to get over it and move on completely."

She sees the doubt in your eyes, "It's okay, truly." With that, you comply. Your hand go down from her shoulder and cup her butt cheeks. Her response was sigh of peace and she rests her head on you again.

It's strange, you think. Here you are holding a girl so close and intimately but you're not growing hard. You sure as hell aren't uninterested in her. You smile as you realize just how concerned you are for Eliza. "Hey, let's bathe together, put on our clothes and get something to eat."

She tilts her head slightly and a warm smile form on her lips, "I'd like that." She leads you by your hand to her bathroom."