She offers sanctuary and reassurance

Marcus sat quietly on a little stool in Theodora's chambers waiting there as his mother explained everything that had happened to them to his aunt, the two women standing near the fire by the hearth, so focused on each other now they almost seemed to have forgotten him. He wasn't quite listening to either of them really, focused instead on the fact that he was now in an older woman's bedroom! Even if she was family, it still felt...kind of embarrassing, bringing a hot blush to his cheeks as soon as his mother had urged him across the threshold. Though Aunt Theodora's room didn't look much like the chamber of a noblewoman.

His wide eyes flickered over the sparse, wooden walls, bare and unadorned. Even the furniture was rough and simple, a wooden desk and chair off to one side, a rack with even more weapons just beside the door, including a huge double-handed axe he had no idea how anyone could lift, plus a wardrobe carved crudely out of oak. The only sign of luxury was a large bed waiting against the far wall, just as big as the one his parents shared. Though, aunt Theodora wasn't married, right? His cheeks burned hotter as he remembered her words just now, how she'd spoken of...'having' most of her guards, even several of them at once! Inexperienced as he might be when it came to romance, the young prince still knew what that meant! And now, he couldn't help but imagine his beautiful aunt, naked on these sheets with her muscled legs spread wide as two or more of her men worked hard to please her at her stern commands. He squirmed at that naughty fantasy, a tingling little stiffness between his legs. Surely Theodora hadn't...really done that anything like that, had she? It...wasn't decent! Even for an unmarried woman.

To distract himself from his own lewd thoughts, Marcus glanced back at the two women still standing by the hearth, trying to listen to their conversation again. His mother was still talking about how they'd had to flee from Uncle Gaius, while Theodora listened with a worried frown. Though, just overhearing that much the young prince, quickly realized the queen was telling her sister a lot more than she'd ever bothered to explain to him! Like how she'd apparently had a long-standing disagreement with Gaius for many years, and that she actually thought she was part of the reason why he'd rebelled in the first place. That was how badly they got on! The young prince hadn't known any of that! Sure, Gaius had suddenly stopped visiting them a few years ago, but he'd always assumed his uncle must have just been too busy to travel to them.

Even worse, his mother mentioned then that the reason Gaius must have revolted now, when the castle was mostly undefended, was to kill him in particular! Getting rid of the heir to avoid muddying the succession, as if that was just a natural thing to do. Of course, Marcus knew that was that sometimes happened amongst royalty, he'd read enough history after all to know it had even occurred in the past of his own family, but...no, it couldn't be true! Even if uncle Gaius wanted to seize the throne, there was no way he'd kill his own nephew, right? As much as he tried to convince himself of that, his heart still pounded anxiously. And worse, his father was still back there! What if Gaius wanted to hurt the king as well! He couldn't do anything though...he'd been too weak to even think of trying to save his father like a good son should have done. Instead, he was hiding with his mother in this strange new place.

By the time the queen finally paused with an exhausted sigh, the young prince was shivering on his seat, pale and anxious as his stomach twisted itself into knots. Theodora looked rather concerned as well, her blue eyes wide as she stared across at her younger sister. There was silence for a few long moments, the two women's faces caught in the flickering firelight as they gazed at each other. Both silver-haired, blue-eyed and beautiful, the similarities in their sculpted features making it obvious enough they were siblings, and yet they were different in so many other ways. Despite his fears, Marcus couldn't help but admire the pair of them, his own hesitant gaze drifting from his mother's ample curves to his aunt's muscular legs.

"Well, hate to say I told you so, but..." Theodora said at last, shrugging her toned shoulders in a way that made her short-sleeved tunic ride up and expose even more of her rippling muscles. "I told you so."

"Enough." The queen snapped, her voice strained.

"Yeah, that was unfair of me." Theodora sighed. She reached out a hand towards her younger sister, looking for a moment as if she was about to take the queen by the shoulder, before instead she let that arm drop to her side, her jaw clenching tight. "Sorry, Anna." She continued instead, scowling at the floor. "That miserable fuck Gaius. I ought to cross the border with a band of my best riders and put his head on a spike for this."

"Sister, don't!" The queen shook her head quickly. "I mean...you can't. He has his household guard, and probably most of the kingdom's army on side by now. Way too many for even you to fight..."

"Don't say that so quick, you haven't seen me fight in over twenty years, Anna." Theodora's lips curled into a savage smile that reminded Marcus of a snarling wolf. "But...you're right." She shook her head and sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I'd bet my axe against his sword any day of the week one on one, but men from that fucking kingdom never fight with proper honor"

"Anyway, I...was hoping you'd let us shelter here at least until the danger has passed." The queen continued, her hands dancing nervously over each other in front of her stomach. "Both of us..." Her gaze flickered at last to Marcus, who quickly sat up straight. "My son and me. I know...we didn't part on the best of terms, but, sister...I need you now, Marcus needs you."

"Of course I'll help, no question about it!" Theodora slapped her knee, her voice suddenly booming with shocking confidence through the room. "I'd never cast my own sister out into the cold, or my adorable nephew either." She turned to the young prince and winked at him, making his cheeks burn. "The two of you can stay here as long as you need, under my protection." She puffed out her chest, sounding so confident it even made Marcus actually feel a bit better just hearing her say that.

"Um...thanks, ma'am, I mean Theodora." He stammered, managing to remember she wanted him to call her that. Quickly slipping from his chair, he neatly bowed to her, trying to ignore how it made the thin shift he was wearing under his cloak slide rather daringly high up his bare thighs.

"Damn, I can see why you taught him to do that Anna, he looks so fucking cute all bent over." Theodora chuckled, her gaze moving slowly over the young prince's body in a way that made him feel even more exposed. "Come over here, sweetie, need to talk to you a second." She beckoned him with a crooked finger, and before he could even think Marcus found himself stumbling across the room to where she stood. His mother's gaze followed him across the room, and even if she wasn't frowning or anything, he still felt a bit like she was disappointed somehow. In any case, once he stood in front of his aunt, he was left very aware how both women were rather taller than he was, to the point he only stood at the level of their ample chests, which made it a bit hard to think of much else. "So, how are you feeling, Marcus?" Theodora asked then, leaning over to stare down at him with a look of concern on her gorgeous face. "About all this, I mean. Must have been pretty hard on you, right?" Marcus froze, too surprised at the sudden question to muster an answer. Rather than get mad at him for being silly though, his aunt just waited patiently, gazing down at him until he found his words at last.

"I'm alright...I guess." He stammered. She kept looking at him though, just staring gently into his face until she drew more words from his throat before he could manage to hold them back. "Um...a bit scared. This all happened very fast, and I...don't know anything about what's going on back home. I wish my father was with us as well..." His lip quivered, the tightness in his throat threatening tears. No...he shouldn't cry! His mother would be mad if he cried again...

"Oh, darling, of course you're scared." Theodora murmured. She reached out her hand and the young prince gasped as she patted his head, even her rough, callused fingers shockingly gentle as she rubbed them through his silver locks. "I can see this is such a shock to you, and of course you miss your dad." She continued, her voice soft and soothing, much more so than he'd ever expected a warrior-woman like her could ever sound. Marcus found himself relaxing into her palm, that moment of panic ebbing away as quickly as it had come. "I can't do much about that like Anna said, but anything else you need while you're here...just come talk to me, alright?"

"Yes, auntie." Marcus nodded meekly, already lost in her sparkling blue eyes. She was very beautiful, and really nice too, nothing like how scary he'd imagined she might be. Despite how awful this all was, he was glad he'd finally met her.

"Marcus and I have had a long and stressful journey." The queen cut in suddenly, a waspish tone to her voice. Her hand gripped firmly at the young prince's shoulder and before he could even squeak she'd pulled him away from her sister and back into her. "He's exhausted. We could use a room to sleep." Her fingers were almost painful as they dug into his skin, and she was holding him so tight against her front he could feel her huge breasts against the back of his head, warm and soft even through the fabric of her tunic. "Right now."

"Are you sure?" Theodora asked, her eyebrow darting up. "You've only just got here. I was thinking we could have a proper, rowdy Free Marches feast with my lads and girls to welcome the pair of you to Marwell."

"No, that's very kind of you to offer, sister." The queen shook her head, only a faint note of distaste in her voice at that idea. "But Marcus needs his rest."

"Alright, alright, another time then." Theodora shrugged. She straightened, rolling back her muscular shoulders. "Come with me, both of you. Got a few spare rooms further down, you can use two of them."

"Two rooms?" The queen asked, actually sounding surprised.

"Yeah, two." Theodora's gaze flickered between Marcus and his mother, her lips curling slightly. "Marcus is a grown man, isn't he? Pretty sure he can figure out how to get under some sheets by himself." The young prince blushed at that, and her lingering scrutiny. He'd shared a room with his mother in the inn...but back in the castle before that, he'd always been fine by himself of course! Well, mostly anyway...

"Of course he can." His mother answered before he could."I just...never mind." She tossed her head, her long, silver hair flicking out behind her. "We'll take the two rooms. Thanks once again for your sanctuary, sister."

"No worries, this way then." Still looking a bit thoughtful, Theodora turned on her heel and stepped towards the door.

"Come, Marcus!" The queen said, pushing him forward with her before she'd even given him a chance to move at all. The young prince quickly darted after his aunt, following the taller woman out into the corridor, with his mother close behind.

Some minutes later, he was laying naked under the covers of a small, but comfortable bed, in his own little room just down the corridor from his aunt's. His mother might have insisted several times that he was tired, but the young prince still felt wide awake as he stared up at the wooden ceiling above him with wide, nervous eyes. Theodora had wished him good night a little earlier after showing him the room, ushering his mother out with her to her own bed. The lingering look the queen had given him, it wasn't hard to tell she was thinking about staying or perhaps coming back to see him before he slept, but...so far she hadn't visited yet. Marcus wasn't sure if he was relieved at that or not. He loved his mother, of course he did, and she was only trying to look out for him like she always had, but...she could be a bit overwhelming at times, and right now he had so much else to worry about too.

He'd never slept outside the castle before yesterday and laying naked and pressed against his mother in that tiny tavern bed hadn't given him much time to think about it then. Now, he felt a tingling nervousness at the prospect of trying to get some rest in a strange new place, not helped by the lingering worries over his father and home. He didn't know any of the maids or servants here, he still didn't have anything to wear apart from that little shift lying neatly folded on the dresser where he'd left it earlier, and...for all he knew his uncle was trying to hunt him down to take his crown! What if Gaius decided to risk attacking the Free Marches anyway!

Well, both his mother and aunt had reassured him that wasn't going to happen. They'd said this castle was safe...and he trusted them. Even if he'd only just met Theodora today, he still found that was true. He pictured the tall, muscular older woman, remembering her soothing voice, how nice her hand had felt rubbing through his hair. His cheeks flushed at the thought, his belly fluttering with a strange, tingling excitement.

Perhaps because they looked quite similar, he found himself thinking about his mother too. Mostly about her....last night, in fact. Seeing the queen wearing just her own silky undergarments, so different to her usual flowing gowns, it was hard not to think about that! The way the thin fabric had practically shown off so much of her smooth, pale skin, how high the garment had been cut up her long, smooth legs. Then...afterwards, how she'd had him share a bed with her, his face resting against the soft pillow of her huge boobs as she hugged him against her. Of course she'd just been trying to make him feel better...but he was a boy, and remembering how soft her skin had felt against his own he felt a hot stiffness between his legs, his dick twitching with unwanted excitement. No, she was his mother! He couldn't think like that! No matter how gorgeous she was. And it was the same with aunt Theodora! He absolutely couldn't imagine her sweeping him off his feet in her strong, muscular arms and tossing him on her bed, nothing like that at all!

With a soft sigh, the young prince rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow, trying to push those naughty thoughts far away. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the moment he'd drift off to sleep, hoping that he wouldn't have any dreams about his aunt or mother, no matter how excited a certain part of him might be at that idea.