Harem House Chapter 44 (Patreon)

A line formed at the entrance to the ladies’ privy, where several people waited for their turn in one of the half-dozen stalls. Selene waited in line with the others while Arthur went to the lord’s privy on the other side of the rectangular building. She didn’t have to go, and she wouldn’t mind sneaking into a stall with Arthur, but he had business to take care of, so she stuck with Kat. It was the least she could do after Kat helped her last night. 

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Selene asked. 

“I’m good,” Kat said, nodding. “Sorry, again.” 

“You really had us worried,” Kelly said, offering a soft smile to soften the blow of her words.

“I’m not sure what else I can do but apologize,” Kat said, her defenses rising. 

Selene soothed her by putting her hand on her back. Katelyn did the same by taking Kat’s hand. 

“Hackles down, Pussy Kat,” Katelyn said. “We’re on your side.”

“Sorry,” Kat said again. “I’ll try not to worry anybody like that again.” 

Kelly smiled, but Selene wondered how well Kat could deliver on that promise. She loved her sister, but she’d always had a temper. Kat hid it better when they were younger, but it’d come out more at college. It was no surprise that it was causing drama in the harem, but Kat needed to get a handle on it before it caused a problem that an apology couldn’t cover.

Rani’s wealth came as a shock to Selene, too, but she didn’t resent her for it the way Kat did. Kat took it personally, while Selene understood why she’d chosen to keep it hidden. She imagined the burdens money brought hadn’t made Rani’s life as easy as Kat thought. Selene couldn’t know what that life was like, but she met the unknown with curiosity. 

Growing up rich must have been amazing. Selene imagined not having to deal with Jake or minimum-wage manual labor. Rani could pursue whatever she wanted without worrying about her bills. That must be nice, but Selene didn’t hate Rani for it. Envy, maybe. Not that Selene knew what she wanted to do with her life.

If she had all the money in the world, she might pursue a life on the stage. She might even return to dancing, act on stage, get a job at the Ren Faire, and figure out a way to help Arthur beyond her sexual efforts. With unlimited money, she could take whatever classes she wanted, as many times as she needed to get the complicated material through her simple skull. She could study sex therapy to help Arthur with his trauma and help the harem work through their issues without breaking ceramics. 

The idea sprang up like a flower in a garden and made her smile as she spotted Arthur making his way to them. He was in and out of the men’s privy in the time it took them to move several steps ahead. No line blocked his progress. Of all the benefits of being a man, that one infuriated her the most.

“Did I miss anything?” Arthur asked. He stood beside the girls in line and hugged Kat with one arm and Rani with the other. 

The women in line ahead of them were older, caring only about the people ahead of them. The women in line behind them were their age, eyes on their phones as they waited for the line to move. Neither group spared a glance toward Arthur’s arrival.

“Nope! What’s next on the agenda?” Rani asked. 

“Katelyn and I have our knife-throwing contest,” Kelly answered. “We need to do our tournament for tonight.” 

The girls exchanged smiles and sultry looks at Arthur, as if they hadn’t shared his bed on the regular since the harem started. Selene wasn’t sure a competition between them was the best way to decide it, but they wanted to play the games, so she didn’t ask Arthur to intervene. If he ignored the tournament and picked one of them to satisfy him tonight, she’d abide by whatever decision he made. She only hoped he’d let her watch as his dutiful slave. Everyone agreed to it, after all, and she wasn’t one to oppose consenting fun. 

“You and Selene still need to find her collar so we can put ours on,” Kelly continued. “The rest of you need to get your tattoos.” She gestured to the lovely henna tattoo on her shoulder depicting the Lady of the Lake’s hand gripping Excalibur with her sleeves billowing into waves. The words “Sisterhood of Excalibur” encircled the blade from crossguard to crossguard. “Arthur’s Wifey” was on the blade, stacked and small, but legible if anyone examined the tattoo. 

Selene looked at her stomach. The bare spot between her belly button and the silk-wrapped waistband of her disguised chastity belt was the perfect canvas. Her body warmed as she imagined a binding mark - a signature of Arthur’s ownership of her.  

“I can get mine next,” Kat said. “Sitting for twenty minutes sounds nice after all that smashing.”

Mindy giggled. “It’s a pity you were smashing plates and not smashing Arthur.” 

The girls laughed. 

“Oh, I imagine we’ll do plenty of that tonight after I win the tournament,” Kat said, her voice assured. 

Rani checked the time on her phone. “I want to see the belly dancer show, which starts in half an hour.” 

“Oh, I wanted to see them too,” Mindy said. “And the mermaids.” 

“Can I go with them, Sir?” Selene asked, looking at Arthur. 

She’d looked forward to the fire dancing show and the belly dancing since she saw them on the schedule. Selene might not take dance lessons or perform ballet anymore, but she was still a dancer. They ran their shows multiple times throughout the day, though. So, if they couldn’t see the first show, they’d see another. Still, she asked Arthur’s permission. Her 24/7 slavery was back on. She’d been careful, easing Arthur into his role as Master as gently as she could. Now, she was ready for him to take a stronger hold on her leash, once he let her wear one. 

“Yeah, you can go with them,” Arthur said. “Rani can take charge of you.” 

“Oh, a dangerous proposition,” Rani said, wagging her eyebrows at Selene. 

“Why don’t the two of you run off shopping?” Kelly asked, gesturing to Selene and Arthur. “We’ll get Kat cleaned up and ready, and meet you at the belly dancing show?” 

Arthur looked at Selene. “Do you need to use the privy?” 

“No, Sir.” Selene shook her head. “I can go shopping.” 

Arthur nodded, checking on Kat once more. “And you’re okay?” 

“I’m good, Sir,” Kat said, adding more sarcasm to the Sir than necessary, which was typical for her. She was in much better spirits after their time at the Rage Shack. Destroying the plates, crates, and vases must have been cathartic as heck.

“Sorry again,” Kat said. 

Arthur kissed Kat’s forehead. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, and that you two made up.” He squeezed Rani and Kat. 

“Too bad we don’t have a Rage Shack at home,” Rani said. “I think you’ve blown up at everyone in the harem now.” 

“That’s what she has Arthur for, right?” Mindy asked, hugging Rani’s other arm. “Any time she gets mad, he can fuck it out of her, hard, fast, and brutal.” 

That earned the group glances from the people ahead and behind them in line. 

“You pervert,” Rani said, bumping Mindy with her hip. 

Arthur swallowed, releasing Rani and Kat to take Selene’s hand. “And on that note, we should go.” 

The girls laughed, making the women around them blush and look away as they refused to make eye contact with Arthur. His tall, broad, muscular frame was on full display in his barbarian loincloth and bracers. He looked the type to ruin a mattress with an angry fuck. Selene didn’t need to stretch her imagination to picture it, and her body responded with a flush of heat in her belly and warmth between her legs. 

Her chastity belt meant she wouldn’t be able to scratch that itch, so she took Arthur’s hand and squeezed it. He led her away from the others, and they waved goodbye as the girls blew them kisses from the line. Selene returned one, and Arthur did as well before they turned and rejoined the lane wrapping around the fairgrounds. 

The search for her new collar resumed. So far, the hunt had encouraged Selene, but they were still hunting. She’d yet to spot a collar that was perfect for their needs, though she left the decision in Arthur’s large, steady hands. 

Selene needed something elegant yet comfortable, and something she’d wear 24/7. The chances of finding that here were slim, but she’d accept a temporary measure if it meant having a collar sooner.

Midmorning sunlight had warmed the air, much to her relief. Her chainmail bikini, silk wrappings, and hip scarves offered little in the way of warmth. The dusty lane beneath them was firm. Dry leaves, grass, and lake water washed in on the breeze to battle with food smells, dust, and the crowd of people walking through the Faire. 

Selene walked beside Arthur, half a step behind in deference to him being her master for the day. She held his hand and admired his muscles as they walked. His loincloth and bracers hid very little of his flesh, and she hoped they looked like a barbarian master and his Elven slave as they walked together. Her fake elf-ears hid her upper-ear piercings, but her lower piercings remained. 

Otherwise, she wore her chainmail bikini, with her chastity belt beneath it wrapped in strips of white silk that formed a slave skirt, or a slave mini-skirt. Its narrow strips of fabric in the front and back would have been lewd without the bikini bottoms beneath them. Her hip scarves covered more, but her outfit was the most risque of the harem, teasing plenty of flesh above her hips, and leaving most of her legs bare. The chainmail bracelets and anklets were kinky too, though covert. They might just be innocent decorations, even though each held a larger ring they’d use for more fun activities, if Arthur wished. 

She’d jumped into the slave costume idea and taken it as far as she could. Then again, that was her brand. She dove into what she enjoyed with her whole self. 

Guilt wriggled in her mind over their argument last night. She’d gone too far and lost control, but Arthur had laid down the law and set her straight. She was still processing, but things were back to normal now, and healthier. Arthur was still her master, and she was his slave. The boundaries between that and real life seemed firmer now. There were times when they’d have to be Arthur and Selene. This weekend, though, she was his. 

Still, guilt told her it was her fault. She swept Arthur away with her enthusiastic consent for everything, regardless of what they’d agreed upon in their initial conversation and checklist. She wanted to go over it again to see what might’ve changed. 

It didn’t surprise her that her enthusiasm overtook him, though his self-control to pull her back and put an end to the rush forward surprised her. He was only human, after all. Even Master made mistakes. She had to be more careful when urging him to give in to her cravings. He’d deny himself, but so far the only sign she had that he’d deny her was the chastity belt strapped over her aching, needy groin. Even that, though, was play. She deserved the torture of not being able to relieve the frustration inside herself.

Selene needed boundaries, and as much as she wanted a 24/7 collar to replace the one she’d lost, something removable wasn’t the worst idea. She needed to be Selene sometimes, though they’d agreed to try for 24/7 slavery this weekend, and 24/7 normalcy after fall break. She wasn’t sure she could last a week without it, though. A total absence of BDSM? It sounded like torture.

A week without seeing his smile when she took the Nadu pose? How could she go a week without him pushing her against the wall or tying her to a table? She’d miss the flex of his muscles when he seized her wrist, the squeeze of his fingers around her throat, his deep groan in her ear, and his thick cock fucking her senseless. She understood it was a punishment, but even she had her breaking point. Could she use her safeword to end their vanilla arrangement and dive back into BDSM? Or to end this torturous chastity?

It didn’t work that way, but she hoped he didn’t stick to an entire week of no master/slave. 

She loved Arthur for more than his role as her master. She’d prove that to him however he needed her to, but she craved his hand around her throat, and his manhandling her. If he grabbed her by the braid and shoved her to the ground? She’d get so wet she’d do whatever he wanted, even if a crowd gathered. Or especially if a crowd gathered to watch. 

Arousal ignited inside her at the imagined scenario, and she squeezed Arthur’s hand as they walked. He looked at her, and she smiled at him, resting her head on his upper arm. She closed her eyes, letting him guide her as they walked. 

“If I told you to blow me behind that tent, would you do it?” Arthur asked out of mild curiosity. 

Selene’s eyes snapped open. Had he read her mind? 

“Of course, Sir,” Selene said, not even looking where he’d pointed, but staring into his eyes to judge his sincerity. 

“Even if it risked violating the rule about not getting into trouble? It could get us kicked out of the Faire.” 

Selene shrugged. “I trust you, Sir. If you told me to do that, you’d be confident we wouldn’t get caught. You can’t control everything, obviously, but you’d do your best to make sure we didn’t get in trouble, and you’d protect me if we did. I’m safe when I’m with you, even if I want you to do unsafe things to me.” 

Arthur nearly choked on air and turned it into a cough that made Selene smile as he blushed. He didn’t drag her behind the tents, rip off her chastity belt, and fuck her until she couldn’t remember her name. Yet, she ached for him to do just that. Nothing proved his desire for her more than his taking her where he shouldn’t. She had to settle for touching him, since she couldn’t touch herself, letting her palm rest against his abs. 

“So, do you want to?” Selene asked. She’d turn his hypothetical into a reality with the mere suggestion that he needed relief. 

“Not right now,” Arthur said. 

Selene drew in a deep breath and blew it out as if to cool the heat of lust. It faded, but each time he stoked her desire without granting her a release, more remained. Still, she couldn’t force him to use her body to pleasure himself; she had to wait until he was ready for release. Then he’d use her, or one of the others, as he wished. 

“As you wish, Sir,” Selene said. She rested her head on his upper arm, kept her hand in his, and crossed her body with her other arm to hook her fingers above his elbow.

They walked for a few more paces before Selene spotted a shop that looked promising. She recognized it and pointed it out to Arthur. 

An open wooden structure beneath a storybook cottage facade housed the shop, as if the owner lived above the two-walled store. Posts kept the rest of the roof aloft, serving as extra places to hang the wares. Its wooden platform floor and open sides invited everyone in, with counters, mannequins, and wares lining the walls and creating rows to shop. 

A carved, painted wooden sign above the open wall read: “Impractical Armor & Jewelry Co.” 

The merchant specialized in chainmail fashion. A slim but busty woman behind the counter wore a chainmail bra that offered more coverage than Selene’s bikini top, but was red, matching her cloth skirts. The bra still showed every inch of cleavage, but the cups covered more of her by default. She was raven-haired and pretty, totally Master’s type. Not that he noticed her; it was the jewelry on the tables that caught his attention. 

Colored chainmail necklaces and decorations adorned mannequins and displays on the counters and tables. The shopkeeper showed off her bracelets, necklace, and wares on her body, while the shop showed she could make chainmail into anything. Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, crowns, waist chains, skirts, hip coverings, bikinis, bras, cropped halter tops, and even dresses hung in the shop for customers to peruse. 

The woman behind the counter eyed them as they entered. She was busy helping a man in a satyr costume and a woman in a red-and-black Romani outfit. 

“This is where we bought my chainmail bikini,” Selene said. “They’ve grown over the years.” 

“Nice,” Arthur said, looking around. “See anything you like?” 

Selene chuckled and gestured to everything. “What’s not to like?” Then her eyes fell on a gorgeous chainmail collar, and she stepped toward it, abandoning Arthur’s hand. 

“Well, this looks promising,” Arthur said as he caught up with her. 

The wall shelves held rows of headless bust mannequins wearing necklaces. Most were ornate, with arcs of chains between points on tighter collars. Some had jester-like points fanning out from the neck. Others were simple chokers, but one in particular caught Selene’s eye. 

It wrapped around the neck of its mannequin. A single band of tight, linked silver rings connected to a small steel ring in the center with a second ring hanging from the first like a pendant. 

“You like that one?” Arthur asked. 

“Do you?” Selene asked.

Arthur nodded. “It’s marvelous.” 

Selene retook his hand. “It’s gorgeous, elegant, and wearable as jewelry, so it’d work even when we’re not at the Faire.” 

“The downside is, you’d need to remove it for sleeping,” Arthur said. 

“If you wish. I have a black rubber choker I can use for sleeping,” Selene said. “And you said you wanted to order something specific for me, right? So this one, as constant as it would be, won’t be my permanent collar forever. It’ll be my dress collar.” 

“Is that okay?” Arthur asked. “You refused to remove the last one, remember?” 

Selene remembered, ashamed, but able to recognize her mistake. She had convinced herself that removing the collar was the same as ending their relationship. Arthur had made it clear that removing it wasn’t breaking up with him. They’d moved beyond friends-with-benefits/friends-with-bondage. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. Whether they were playing master-and-slave made no difference in that.

Arthur rephrased his question. “Is it okay with you that you’ll have to wear a different collar for sleeping?” 

“It’s not my place to answer that,” Selene said, smiling at him. She was playing the role of his slave, after all. “But yes. Especially with the tattoo to act as a semi-permanent mark.” 

Arthur stroked his chin. “Do you prefer this to the leather ones we saw?” 

“It’s much prettier, Master.” 

The collars here were more traditional jewelry than the etched leather collars they’d seen in the other shop. It still wasn’t a perfect, constant collar, but it’d work well for their purposes. Engraving wasn’t an option, but if it was a temporary collar and her permanent collar was yet to come, that was okay. Or, they could engrave a pendant coin and hang it from the dangling O-ring. 

“Can I try this on?” Selene asked, interrupting the couple at the counter as they held earrings up to the woman’s ears.

The attendant nodded, monitoring them as Arthur lifted the piece from the mannequin and gestured for Selene to turn around. She spun on the ball of her foot and lifted her braid with both hands, assuming the display position. 

Arthur unclasped the choker and laid it on her neck. The hex clasp had a threaded setscrew that locked the mechanism if tightened. The fit against her neck wasn’t tight, but Arthur made it tight enough to rest at the base of her neck without deforming after he closed it. 

Selene closed her eyes in bliss at the familiar sensation of a gentle grip around her throat. She hummed her approval as her body warmed at the thoughts running through her mind.

“What do you think of the look?” Arthur asked. 

Selene opened her eyes and turned, lowering her hands and letting her hair fall as she checked her reflection. The ring in its center, and its pendant ring, made her imagine Arthur clipping a leash to her and walking her through the fair, like a proper Elven slave. She loved the idea and loved how it looked in the mirror. It was nicer than the chainmail she wore, but if she polished her top and bottoms, it might look close enough. 

“How does it feel?” Arthur asked, testing the fit with his fingers. 

Selene hummed her approval at his tug against her throat and hooked her finger through the pendant ring, pulling it and imagining Arthur leading her by her collar. 

“I love it,” Selene said, looking up at Arthur. “Is this one okay? We can still get a permanent one later, but what do you think?” 

Arthur stepped back, evaluating her appearance for himself with both eyes. “I like it.” He nodded and looked toward the counter. 

The other couple was still shopping at the counter, taking the attendant’s attention. 

“See anything you’d like to go with it?” Arthur asked. 

“Is there anything here you want to see me wear?” Selene asked. “I can trade these bikini bottoms for that chainmail loincloth if you want, or the bikini bra for the halter top there.” 

The top she pointed to was a sheer chainmail halter top in the shape of a diamond. It covered the mannequin’s breasts and ended in a triangle well above its belly button. It would have been sexy, but the bikini top showed more skin, so Arthur’s disinterest didn’t surprise her. 

Next year, she’d have enough money to buy it, and then she’d wear that and a chainmail loincloth to the Faire instead of the bikini she wore. She needed more outfits and lingerie. 

Arthur mulled his choices over as he browsed the wares in the store. Selene continued admiring the choker in the mirror. The more she examined it, the more enthralled she became. She liked it, and it suited her well. Her graceful neck had felt so barren, even though it’d only been a night and half a morning since she had lost her first collar. 

She noticed Arthur watching her in the reflection and beamed at him. He smiled at her. 

The other couple in the shop left with their purchase, and the attendant approached Selene with a smile. “Did you find something you like?” 

“I did,” Selene said, showing her the choker. “Do you take credit cards?” 

“You don’t need to worry,” Arthur said, stepping beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s a gift.”

“Are you sure?” Selene asked. 

“I’m sure. That’s the one you want, right?” Arthur asked. 

“Yes, mi’lord.” 

The woman looked between them and smiled. “Well, if you’re set, I can ring you up at the register, my lord. We accept MasterCard, Lady Visa, and others.” 

Arthur nodded. “Can she try on this waist chain?” Arthur asked, gesturing to a thin silver chain on a mannequin. 

“Of course!” The attendant moved to the mannequin and removed the chain faster than Selene thought possible. “May I?” she asked Selene. 

Selene glanced at Arthur’s reflection in the mirror, asking his permission instead of her own. His surprise faded into a nod, and she nodded at the attendant. “Of course.” She lifted her arms, letting the woman wrap the chain around her narrow waist well above her hips. 

Arthur wetted his lips as the woman tightened the chain, letting the pendant fall onto the small of her back. 

The decoration was alluring and suggestive, drawing the eye to the bare skin between her chainmail bikini top and her silk-covered hips. She swayed her hips, letting the chain settle as low as it would, which wasn’t very low given the taper of her body. 

“You’re gorgeous,” the woman said. “You like chainmail, huh?” 

Selene smiled. “There’s nothing like being weighed down in chains.” 

The woman returned her smile and glanced at Arthur. The look in her eyes told Selene what the woman saw when she looked at Arthur. “Do you like how it looks?”  

“She looks perfect,” Arthur said, nodding his approval as he eyed Selene’s torso. “We’ll take that, too.” 

“Huzzah!” the attendant said. “I can process you over here,” she gestured to the register. “Unless there’s anything else? Perhaps a tiara or a ring?” 

Arthur surveyed the shop again, and Selene waited for him to decide whether there was anything else he wanted her to wear. 

“I think that’s it, unless there’s anything else you want?” Arthur asked. 

“No, this is already too generous,” Selene said. 

“Then we’re set,” Arthur said, gesturing for Selene to walk ahead of him as the attendant returned to the register. Arthur plucked the tag from the collar behind her braid and her waist chain and gave both to the shopkeeper. 

She rang them up on a mounted tablet and turned the screen toward Arthur for his payment. Selene’s eyes bugged at the price, and she grasped Arthur’s bracer. “Ma—My lord, you don’t have to–” 

“Silence, Amkae,” Master whispered in her ear. He kept his voice low and quiet, that tone of command present and unyielding. “Don’t speak again until I give you permission.” 

Selene’s stomach fluttered at the command, and her knees wobbled. She kept her grip on his forearm bracer for balance, and he didn’t even seem to notice. He pressed his phone against the tablet and paid the balance. Selene knew he had the money; she wasn’t worried, but she still considered it extravagant. The chains were actual silver, not the stainless steel of her bikini, and the price reflected the difference in materials. Kat would have told her not to accept it, but Kat could fuck off. If Master wanted to spoil his slave, it wasn’t his slave’s place to protest her treatment. 

Selene swallowed her butterflies, letting them dance in her belly as the attendant smiled at them and thanked Arthur for his business. 

“I hope to see you again!” the attendant said as Arthur led Selene from the shop. 

Arthur waved his farewell, and Selene joined him, blushing as the shopkeeper winked at her. She kept Arthur close, walking with him as he turned toward the primary thoroughfare. She was lost, having not paid enough attention to where they were walking, but Arthur had a natural sense of direction and oriented himself accordingly.

~~~

Kat closed her eyes and let Kelly do her work. The lighting in the bathrooms was terrible, so after using them, washing up, and cleaning off her makeup, she let Kelly apply her fresh coat in a well-lit area. The fuzzy brush against her cheek tickled, but she schooled her expression to keep from twitching. Kelly had already threatened to spank her, and Kat had no desire to cause another scene. 

They sat at a table in an outdoor tavern listening to a group of men on stage singing bawdy songs full of euphemisms set to jaunty tunes. The current song told the tale of a widow who out-fucked the devil himself. A tin whistle, a bodhran, a concertina, and a lyre accompanied the vocals, and Mindy giggled at the end of every innuendo-laden line. 

Kelly, Kat, and Katelyn sat on one bench of the table, with Kat twisted to face Kelly, her legs closed and ankles crossed under the table. Rani and Mindy sat on the bench across from them after grabbing their drinks and food from the tavern. Most expenditures at the Faire had been on snacks. Every smell became a temptation, and everyone left their willpower at home. 

Kelly ignored her coffee in favor of Kat’s makeup, while Rani and Mindy drank theirs. Katelyn had ordered an apple juice, and Kat was drinking water. Foodwise, Katelyn had ordered fries, prompting everyone else to order the same. Kat’s potato wedges had come with chives and sour cream, and she dove into them after working up an appetite in the Rage Shack.

Kelly had started applying her makeup the second she finished chewing, making her wait to finish them. Torture. So much for Kelly’s insistence that she wasn’t a sadistic mistress. 

“You’re fantastic at this,” Rani said, somewhere to Kat’s right.

“Thanks! I’ve studied,” Kelly said, mirroring Rani’s earlier reaction to someone complimenting her photography. 

“You took classes in cosmetology?” Rani asked, surprised. 

“No, more independent studies. I’ve spent more hours watching tutorials and practicing hair and makeup techniques than I have working out,” Kelly said. 

“Really?” Mindy asked, surprised. 

“Probably,” Kelly said, and Kat could hear the smile in her voice. 

“Hey, Mindy-ah,” Kat said to grab Mindy’s attention. It felt awkward calling her that, but Mindy had told her it was okay twice now. Each time, it amused Mindy, which either meant there was a joke Kat didn’t understand in how she said it, or saying it made Mindy genuinely happy. “I have a deeply personal question for you. Well, all of you, since we’re sitting here, and Selene isn’t here to give me grief.” 

“Oh, that’s a promising way to start a conversation,” Rani said, laughing with half a French fry still in her mouth from the sound of it. “Piques my curiosity right away.” 

Mindy giggled. “What’s up, Unnie?” 

“How did you know you were bi?” 

If Kat opened her eyes, she expected she’d see everyone around her freeze. Kelly’s brush stroke stopped against her eyelid and withdrew. 

Mindy hummed. “Hmm,” she said. “My first hint was when I imagined going down on my friend, Veronica. It turned me on so much that I had to rub one out right then and there.” 

“Did you ever go down on her?” Rani asked. 

“No,” Mindy said, shaking her head. “Realizing I wasn’t straight, and being willing to admit it to myself and try to do something about it, were separate issues. My first experience with a woman was Rani.” 

“Aw!” Rani said, and there was silence. 

Kat opened her eyes to see Rani and Mindy making out across the table. Something flared inside her, but she wasn’t sure what. Voyeurism? Maybe. She enjoyed being watched under the right circumstances. Watching wasn’t as fun, but it still held its thrill for her. She knew that about herself. It was nowhere near the heat she had when watching Arthur fuck someone, though. 

And the idea of kissing Rani or Mindy herself did nothing to excite her. She looked at Katelyn, letting her eyes fall to Katelyn’s lips. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss her. Soft, she imagined, which would be weird. Katelyn was pretty. Kat didn’t think it was weird to admit that. Everyone in the harem was pretty. Kat was the oddball out in the looks department. 

“Here, let me finish. I’m almost done,” Kelly said, moving Kat by her chin to turn her face toward Kelly’s. 

Kat swallowed as she stared at the green-eyed woman. Kelly’s hand against her jaw was soft, but her grip was firm, and her hands weren’t as smooth as Kat expected. 

“I bet Kat hears that every time she fucks Arthur,” Katelyn said, drawing gasps from Kelly and Kat, who laughed. 

Katelyn giggled and sipped her juice, doing her best to put on her cutest, most innocent face. 

“That’s another one for the jar. That’s what, three this morning?” Kelly said. “So, fifteen? I thought you’d be more careful after Arthur took care of you on the bus, not less.” 

“This morning wasn’t that bad,” Katelyn said. “If they’re all like that, is it still a punishment?” 

“It can be,” Kat said, closing her eyes so Kelly could continue her work. “The sensation can be pleasant, though, to sit and get that instant reminder of the intimate moment between you and Arthur.” 

Katelyn and Mindy giggled. 

“Why do you ask, Unnie?” Mindy asked. “About being bi?” 

“I’m just curious,” Kat said quickly. “This whole situation has been weird, and Rani keeps bugging me about being straight. I just wish there were a way to prove my sexuality.” 

“Well, you told me once that you were forty percent bi at best, right?” Mindy asked. 

“I was kidding around, but yeah, I don’t know,” Kat said. “Selene and I had just started having threesomes with Arthur. Selene wanted you to join in, too, and I don’t know. I was in a weird place trying to figure everything out and process everything. It’s not like I’ve never wondered what it might be like to kiss a girl, or be with one, but the idea doesn’t excite me, you know? It doesn’t gross me out as much as it used to, though.”

“That’s exposure therapy,” Katelyn said, chuckling.  

“Sexuality can grow and change over time,” Kelly said, applying the last of the makeup to Kat’s face. “Trust me on that one.” 

“Yeah, you started at the opposite end of the spectrum, right?” Katelyn asked. 

“Yeah, I came out as a lesbian in high school, and didn’t realize I was bi until college,” Kelly said. 

“How did you realize you were bi?” Kat asked. 

“Well, it started with Lori,” Kelly said. 

“Arthur’s Lori?” Kat asked. 

“Well, she’s not his anything anymore, but yes,” Kelly said with more venom in her voice than Kat expected. “She encouraged me to broaden my horizons and accept the part of me that liked guys. My queer friends had convinced me that bisexuality was just indecisiveness or cowardice. But it’s not,” Kelly said, making herself extra clear with her adamant tone. “It’s perfectly acceptable to have broad tastes. It’s like enjoying Korean food and Italian food. Love doesn’t have to be one or the other.”

“Right,” Rani said. “And who doesn’t love eating Korean?” 

Mindy giggled. “You’re so bad.” 

“Fuck yeah, I am,” Rani said, shooting a finger gun at Mindy. 

“Okay, done,” Kelly said, patting Kat’s thigh. 

Kat blinked her eyes open. “How does it look?” 

“Gorgeous as always, Kat,” Rani said, winking at her. 

“It looks great! She really accented your eyes,” Katelyn said after examining her face. 

Kelly opened a small compact mirror and showed Kat her work. Kat looked at her reflection. The neutral tones around her eyes gave her face a natural beauty, so unlike her usual makeup that she thought Kelly had replaced her face with a prettier version. “I look pretty with this makeup!”

“You are pretty,” Kelly said, putting her makeup into her oversized purse. “You just needed better makeup and warmer makeup colors. I used rose gold to make your eyes pop. It should make your blue-gray eyes more silver.” 

Kat studied her reflection, focusing on her eyes. She saw the subtle application Kelly gave her. Her face looked so different from when she did her makeup. “No, I mean like, really pretty, even though it looks like I’m hardly wearing any makeup.” 

Kelly squeezed her thigh just above her knee with one hand. “Kat, you are pretty. The makeup only accentuates what’s already there.” 

“Kat has self-image issues,” Katelyn said, as if explaining. “She thinks she’s the ugly one in the harem.” 

Kat glared at her.

“Well, she’s not,” Rani said, shrugging. “I probably have the ugliest face.” 

“You do not,” Mindy protested. She cupped Rani’s cheek under her veil, on the half that didn’t have a chain running from her nose to her ear. 

“Is ugliest face a competition we want to play? Each of us is hot in different ways,” Kelly said as she finished putting her things away. 

“Says the prettiest,” Kat said, rolling her eyes. “You’re Arthur-level hot.” 

“We’re all hot,” Mindy said. “Right?” She asked Rani, who nodded. 

“Oh, I wasn’t saying that I was ugly,” Rani said. “I’m hot as fuck and devastatingly pretty, but out of the six of us, my face ranks last. The rest of me makes up for it, though. I have the best ass in the harem.”

Mindy giggled, covering her blushing face with her hands. 

“Biggest doesn’t mean best,” Kat argued. 

“Them’s fighting words, bitch,” Rani said, though she was teasing. 

“Cool it, you two,” Kelly said. “I’ll call Arthur here if I have to.” 

“Relax, we’re just teasin’ each other, right, Brat?” Rani asked. 

“Yeah,” Kat agreed, nodding. “Sorry, Kelly.” 

Kelly nodded her acceptance. 

“As I said, we’re hot as fuck,” Rani said. “Brat included.” 

Kat shook her head. Rani called everybody hot because Rani had no standards, but Kat didn’t have that problem. Arthur and Kelly were objectively gorgeous. They had the pretty bubble around them, which was fine, she supposed. Arthur had more life experience without it. Kelly sometimes made Kat wonder if she’d ever been outside the bubble. 

“Seriously, you can ask anybody. We’re all hot,” Rani said, adamant in her opinion. 

“Hey, you!” Mindy said, calling to a random passerby. 

The young man stopped and pointed at himself, as if asking the question. His Jaskier costume from The Witcher was spot on, though he didn’t have an instrument. 

“Do you think we’re hot?” Rani asked, gesturing to the group of them at the table. 

“Uh,” the young man glanced at each of them. His eyes lingered on Rani as if trying to decide if this was a trick question. “Objectively?” 

“Sure, why not?” Rani answered. 

“Then yeah, totally.” The young man said, nodding. “You’re, uh, you’re lovely. Can I buy you a drink?” 

“You want to buy each of us a drink?” Rani asked, confused. 

“Uh, I mean,” he glanced between them, realizing that they outnumbered him and outclassed him in looks. Choosing between them? Impossible. Buying one girl a drink to get to know her better? Standard, but would insult four of them, and buying five girls a drink was too expensive. 

“If you had to pick one of us, who would you pick?” Rani asked, eyeing the young man with amusement. She was playing with her food. Kat found it too cruel not to say something. 

“Leave the poor man alone,” Kat said. “Thank you, but no, we’re spoken for; she’s just making a point.” 

“Oh.” The young man sounded disappointed. “Right, well, happy to help, I guess.” He walked off before they could say anything else. 

“That was mean,” Kelly said to Rani. 

“I’m a cruel bitch,” Rani said, nodding. “He can jerk off about it later. Now come on, let’s slap that tattoo on whoever’s next, and start the tournament.” 

Kat scoffed at Rani’s attitude, but agreed it was time to get moving. She grabbed her fries and ate the leftovers as they walked. The girls stayed together as a group. Kelly took the lead. Kat and Katelyn walked behind her, and Rani and Mindy took up the rear. 

“Hey, Rani?” Kat asked, looking to her left to spot the young woman who quickened her pace to walk beside her. 

“Yeah?” Rani asked. 

“I’m sorry, again, for freaking out at you. You’ve been nothing but encouraging today. It was just my own insecurities and the surprise. Nothing against you personally,” Kat said. 

Rani slung her arm over Kat’s shoulders, hugging her. “Don’t even worry about it, Brat. I shouldn’t have kept it hidden, and I’m glad it’s in the open now.” 

“I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Mindy said from behind them. “Like, my parents are okay with money, but nowhere near what Arthur’s parents make. Kelly’s mom is somewhere between my parents and his.” Mindy turned her attention to Katelyn. “How much money do your parents make? Are they super fancy rich, too?” 

“No,” Katelyn said. “They’re comfortable, though. Their house is smaller than the one we’re moving into.” 

“Well, that’s easy to do,” Kelly said. “The Clarke House is huge.” 

“You mean the Harem House,” Rani said. “We’re the ones living there, after all.” 

“Can’t wait,” Mindy said, giggling. “Arthur can help me with my homework, Kelly can watch football with me—” 

“And we can fuck each other’s brains out whenever we’re in the mood,” Rani said, making Mindy giggle and blush. 

Kat chuckled. “So long as I can get a quiet room to read, I’ll be happy.” 

“I’m sure we can convince Arthur to soundproof the dungeon for you,” Katelyn said, sliding her arm behind Kat’s waist as they walked. “Knowing you, you’ll need it.” 

The girls laughed, and Kat felt lighter than she had before. It was riskier subject matter than she’d prefer in public, but no one was walking with them or paying attention to their conversation. The surrounding crowd stopped at the booths, and at worst, overheard snippets. Rani’s language could do with curbing, but there was no helping her unfiltered habits. And Kat didn’t want to. As coarse as Rani could be, she preferred the honesty. 

“Are you hiding anything else?” Kat asked Rani, eyeing her. “You’re not foreign royalty or anything, are you?” 

“Not that I know of,” Rani said. “I’m pretty sure Pa Pa would have mentioned it by now.” 

“Pa Pa, huh?” Kat asked. She laughed at the name. 

“What?” Rani asked, laughing with her. “That’s what I call my dad. What do you call yours?” 

“Francis,” Kat answered.

Rani looked at her quizzically. “Your dad’s name is Francis?” 

“Yeah, he goes by Frank, but I call him Francis,” Kat said, shrugging. “He hates it.” 

“So why do it?” Rani asked, confused. “Because you’re a brat?” 

“Because he’s a deadbeat, and I don’t care what he likes,” Kat said. 

“Hey!” Mindy said, her cheeriness turned up to eleven as she pointed toward a booth. “Look! It’s the tattoo shop!” 

Kat didn’t know whether that was a deliberate attempt to derail a sensitive subject, but she was thankful for Mindy. Discussing her dad would only have put her in a bad mood. She was already lighter with food in her stomach and friends hugging her as they walked. 

“I know where I’m getting mine!” Rani said, smacking her hip. 

Kat chuckled. “Will it even show up on you?” 

“Oh, because I’m brown?” Rani asked. 

An uncomfortable silence followed until Rani giggled. “Baghwan, y’all need to lighten the fuck up. Yeah, it’ll show just fine. She’ll just use a darker stain on me than she does on Ghosty McWifey over there.” 

“I’m not that pale!” Kelly protested, but there was no heat in it. Her words were more of a plea that made everyone laugh. 

Kat laughed with them, smiling as they reached the tent. She might not lust after these women, but she loved them in her way. It was an odd mix of personalities, backgrounds, ethnicities, and even income brackets. Still, they fit together, and it made Kat’s heart lighter to realize how much they accepted her, even with her many flaws. 

She had to catch herself the next time she felt herself boiling over. The cycle of blowing up, cooling off, and apologizing had to end. Maybe Kelly could teach her methods of venting her anger and frustrations so they didn’t sneak up on her. She didn’t know whether boxing would help her manage her anger. Something had to be better than nothing. Though perhaps angry fucking with Arthur could help relieve the stress instead? That sounded more enjoyable than boxing or going to the gym. 

Kat listened to the girls around her as they chattered about where they’d put their tattoos. They had every right to kick her out of the harem for the way she acted. Yet, they stuck around, encouraged her, worked with her, and showed patience that she never showed them. That might have been Arthur’s influence, but words couldn’t describe how much she appreciated belonging to a group that cared enough to forgive her for her personality. 

“Welcome back!” Ana said when she spotted Kelly. “These must be the other members of your sisterhood? Who’s next?” 

Kat raised her hand. “I’m next.” She tapped her left collarbone at the top of her breast, where the cropped one-strap top exposed the flesh from her shoulder to her cleavage. “Time to take my mark as a member of this sisterhood.”

~~~

“Are you thirsty?” Arthur asked as he and Selene walked through the Faire. 

Selene nodded. She assumed they were retracing their steps to the others, but the branching paths of the Faire confused her, not to mention the ridiculous number of distractions. Shows, entertainment, shops, costumes, and more beckoned for her attention with every step. It was almost as bad as TikTok. 

Selene would have cried out, suggested she and Master stop and watch the surrounding shows, or shop in a store, but he’d forbidden her from speaking. She’d almost called him “master” in public again, and the punishment for that was not speaking without permission. 

She had to wonder what the punishment for breaking that command might be, and whether it would offer her relief from the damn chastity belt locked onto her. Putting the new collar through its paces with her master sounded much more appealing than burning with unsatisfied lust every time she looked at him. Perhaps if she were a good girl and made him cum, he’d let her remove the chastity belt and have an orgasm of her own. 

“Would you like something to drink?” Arthur asked again. 

Selene nodded. 

“How about from there?” He asked, gesturing to a three-line-wide stall that read, “Naughty Alewives.” A red sign with gold lettering nailed to the post proclaimed the attraction as “Rated R.” 

Selene shrugged. 

“This is peaceful, but it makes it hard to have a conversation,” Arthur said, stroking his chin. “I wonder if it’d work with Kat. She’d hate this as a punishment, and wouldn’t last five minutes.”

Selene nodded, agreeing with him. As great as it would be to use this on Kat, she’d never be able to keep her mouth shut for this long. Kat was quiet when new to a group, but not once she was comfortable. And if the point was to be quiet, Kat’s bratty nature wouldn’t let her remain silent. It reminded Selene of when they’d play the silent game as kids, and Selene always won. At least until she realized what Kat already knew, it was just a method Selene’s mother used to get her to shut up as a kid. 

“That’s okay, it’d just give me an excuse to use a gag or muzzle on her,” Arthur shrugged.   

Selene smiled. If she spoke, would he gag her with something here at the Faire? They could cover it with an opaque face veil. Perhaps Master had considered that? What was he thinking anyway? 

Arthur brought his lips closer to her ear and whispered. “Do you want a drink before or after I drag you to the bus and ruin your makeup?”

Selene licked her lips and lifted her eyes to his, begging him without speech. She nearly came from picturing Arthur dragging her to the bus, tearing off her costume, tying her to the pole, and fucking her until she forgot where they were. 

She pouted, begging him. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get you something to drink first. Then we can catch up with the others.” Arthur started walking, but Selene remained rooted to her spot, pouting extra hard. She might not be as bratty as Kat, and she was a masochist, but even she had her limits for cruelty. 

Arthur laughed. “Come on.” He tugged, and she relented, following him. “Good girl.” 

Now that was just unfair. Cruel and unusual punishment was against the Constitution, wasn’t it? He couldn’t get her worked up, deny her, and then stoke the fire further by calling her a good girl. It wasn’t allowed. It broke the master/slave code! 

Alas, annoyance did nothing to burn away the lust inside her. She realized she’d been walking beside him with her pout locked onto her face, which almost made her laugh. She sympathized with Kat. It was fun to be a brat. Maybe it would be fun to push Arthur over the edge until he gave her what she wanted. 

She joined the line beside Arthur and saw where they were. She’d been here before and knew the game. The customer purchased their beverage, then held onto the manacles above the shop window. A wench working the bar then poured the drink into their mouths and said suggestive and frequently kinky things while doing it. The embarrassing words were for comedic purposes, but were still hot. Plenty of people had their phones out to record their friends’ embarrassment. 

Arthur chuckled at the man taking his turn a few people ahead of them in line. 

A few heads shifted as music filled the lane behind them, and a scampering parade of Unseelie Fae approached. The procession of goblins and ghouls danced through the street, with people stopping to watch, applaud, or take their pictures. One of them, the Unseelie Queen, held up a hand and stopped the party at the end of the line. She pointed at Arthur.

Selene looked up at him. He seemed amused, even as the queen stepped closer. 

“Thou art handsome, and…” She let her eyes wander to his feet, then climb his body like a ladder, one rung at a time, until she met his eyes. “Pleasing to my eyes. Wouldst thou consider being one of my champions today?” 

Arthur looked behind him, and Selene smacked her forehead so hard it made a clapping sound. She loved this man, and he was smart. His GPA suggested he should be able to deduce that the queen was speaking to him, but no. He had to do it on purpose, she decided. He had to put active effort into deluding himself that women didn’t find him fuckable and sexy on a primal level, even when he had his clothes on. Shirtless and bare with all of his muscles on display? If she left him alone for five minutes, he’d have someone flirting with him. Unfortunately, his “aw-shucks” attitude meant he wouldn’t realize they wanted his dick, or at least his number. His brain just wasn’t as strong as his muscular legs, his chiseled arms, and-

“Uh, what would that involve?” Arthur asked. 

The queen sighed as if tired of explaining this to foolish mortals. “Thou wouldst fight for me at the chess match today, to champion my cause against the queen of these lands. No harm shall come to thee, of course, but thou wouldst be my special champion, at my side in victory.” 

She stuck her hip out as if seducing him, but played it respectfully. Her costume was much more regal than Selene’s and more modest. Still, she was stunning, and although in her late twenties, that wasn’t a deal breaker. Arthur had been with women older than her before. Selene was estimating and working with approximations, but it didn’t matter. The fairy queen might not make a move on him, but Selene wondered how she’d look on her knees, sucking Master’s cock. How would she look following Arthur behind the jousting stables, lifting her skirts, and taking him to the hilt?

Selene shook her head. She needed to stop daydreaming, but she couldn’t help it. Without relief from her chastity, her mind kept going back to the pleasure her master denied her. 

Arthur looked at Selene, as if asking her permission to answer the queen. She stared back at him, then nodded toward the queen, who awaited his answer. She remembered watching the chess match when they had come to the Ren Faire in other years. There was audience participation, but professionals handled the hard fighting or coached the amateurs. Arthur wouldn’t be in any danger, and he always loved performing; it wouldn’t even be his first bout with stage combat.  

“Canst thou fight? Art thou any good with thy sword?” The queen asked, making a few observers laugh at her innuendo as more eyes turned Arthur’s way. 

Selene wanted to speak, but bit her lip instead. She couldn’t risk a punishment that would make her chastity last longer. She needed release and blushed at the thought of what it would be like when Arthur used his sword to devastating effect. 

“Oh, thy lady thinks so.” The unseelie queen raised an eyebrow and lowered her eyes, then raised them to Arthur’s again. Then she snapped her gaze to Selene. “What sayest thou? May I borrow thy lover to be my champion?” 

Selene nodded and prodded Arthur with her elbow. 

“Oh, uh, the chess match, huh? Yeah, I can do that,” Arthur said, nodding. “Sure. Should I get there early, or…” 

“Yes,” the queen answered. “Meet us at the royal pavilion fifteen minutes before the match, and we shall walk to the chess field together. I look forward to it.” She winked at Arthur, and her companions began moving again, walking away. 

“What did I just volunteer for?” Arthur asked as the Unseelie walked away. 

Selene pointed to her lips. 

“Yes, you may speak,” Arthur said, his voice hushed. Most everyone had turned their attention elsewhere by then, but he remained careful. 

“You just volunteered to take part in a show, Arthur,” Selene said. “That’s so fun! I can’t wait to tell the others. They’ll love this.” 

“Heh, yeah, I guess we should catch up with them after this,” Arthur said while checking his phone. The line shuffled forward, but there were still two people ahead of them.  

Arthur’s phone buzzed, and he checked it, frowned, and put it away. 

“Was that one of the others?” Selene asked. “Is something wrong again?” 

“No, everything’s fine,” Arthur said. “Just a notification from someone else. I guess my Insta pics from earlier got some attention.” 

There was something off in his tone. It wasn’t Lynn, was it? No, they weren’t friends on Instagram. He’d blocked her years ago, right? Somebody else? Someone from campus? A family member? 

“May I look?” Selene asked. 

“Sure,” Arthur handed her his phone. Hers was in her purse, but since he had his out, he just unlocked it and handed it to her like it was no big deal. 

She opened Instagram and moved to the post. She frowned too. 

Lori: Wow, looks like someone’s enjoying all the attention now that he’s single! Good for you! I hope you have fun at the Ren Faire! 

Selene blinked, and then a second notification appeared on the screen—a text message from Lori. 

Lori: I know you left me on read. I’ll take the hint if that’s what you want, but I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I’ve been busy with classes, but I haven’t heard from anyone in weeks. I’m worried about you. Can we talk soon? When you’re ready.

“Uh, Arthur, you got a text while I was checking the comment,” Selene said. She returned his phone to him. 

He looked at it, and his frown deepened. “Lori texted me a few days ago, just saying ‘hey,’ but I never responded.” 

“You don’t need to explain. You’re allowed to talk to Lori if you want to,” Selene said. 

“I didn’t want to,” Arthur said. “There was too much going on. Now that the drama’s behind us, I want to leave it there.” 

“You want to ignore her?” Selene asked. “You always said you ended on okay terms, amicable, remember?” 

Arthur put his phone in its holster. 

“You want me to reach out to her?” Selene asked. “I’ve been meaning to catch up with her.” 

Arthur seemed to consider her question. She didn’t have to contact Lori if he didn’t want her to. If he so much as hinted that it made him uncomfortable, Lori would be dead to her forever. Even before they started dating, if he’d asked her as a friend to choose him over Lori, she’d have chosen him. 

“I don’t have to, though, if you’d prefer I not talk to her,” Selene said.

“Let’s wait until after Fall Break,” Arthur said. “We’ve got enough to think about, and we’re not here for the drama. We’re on vacation.” 

Selene chuckled. “Yes, Sir.” 

She hugged his side while they waited for their turn in line, trying not to wonder what she’d do if Lori messaged her. Selene admired his face as he surveyed the world around them. This moment, even surrounded by a small crowd, was so intimate that it made her yearn for him. It had only been a few hours, but the constant arousal and denial meant she was quick to lust. Master wanted her to learn self-control, but it was difficult enough when she was free. That the decision was out of her hands made her want it more.

“You prefer sweeter drinks, like cider, right?” Arthur asked, verifying. 

“Yes, my lord,” Selene said. He might not allow her to call him “Master,” but no one batted an eye at “my lord” at the Faire. 

“Okay, Wench,” Arthur chuckled. 

He ordered her a cider at the counter, and she stepped forward, holding onto the shackles that dangled above her when the woman cracked the can. She lifted onto her toes to drink, and the woman behind the counter smiled. 

“Have you been here before?” The young woman asked. She had cleavage for days, and Selene imagined biting her neckline and pulling it down to show Arthur her breasts. 

“I have, he hasn’t,” Selene said, pointing to Arthur with her thumb as he stood behind her. 

“Oh, and will the virgin lord have a drink today?” 

Selene giggled. “Oh, he’s not a virgin. He’s an absolute beast in the sack.”

“Selene!” Arthur hissed. 

The alewife laughed. “A beast, you say?” She gave Arthur a wink. “Maybe this will give you the strength to tame him. Chin up, my lady.” 

Selene lifted her chin and parted her lips as the woman rested the edge of the can against her bottom lip and tilted it. 

“That’s it, good girl, keep your eyes on me. Swallow, swallow, such a good girl, you’re doing so well! I see your lord has given you plenty of practice taking things into your throat.” 

Selene struggled to keep from laughing. The woman’s words were sultry and over-the-top lustful. But her playful teasing was tame for Selene. They had more sex than typical couples or polycules, but Selene didn’t care. They were young, hot, and that’s what college was for, plus she enjoyed it so much, she’d rather fuck than do anything else—even this. 

Still, the sweet alcoholic liquid was delicious against her tongue. The gentle carbonation tickled her, but after a few swallows, the wench lowered the can and handed her the leftovers. 

“Good girl,” the wench said, eyeing Selene’s collar and then looking toward Arthur. “See that she gets a proper reward.” 

Arthur blushed, and the wench behind the counter laughed as she gestured for them to step aside. 

Selene giggled, taking the can and returning to Arthur’s side. He hugged her with one arm and guided her back onto the walkway, though he was walking more stiffly than usual. 

“Can I relieve that for you, my lord?” Selene asked, putting as much hope and mischief into her question as possible. 

“I wish we had time,” Arthur said. “But we need to meet the others at the belly dancing show,” Arthur said. “You wanted to see that, right?” 

“I’m at your command, my lord,” Selene said. “If that command is to do a standing split so you can satisfy yourself with my body, I’ll do it.” 

Arthur swallowed. He squeezed her hand in his so hard it hurt, but Selene enjoyed the sensation. It was just what she needed. 

“Behave, wench,” Arthur warned her. 

“If you insist, my lord.” Selene pouted again. She hoped to convince him to use her in that way. If she were lucky, he’d want to use more than her mouth and take the damn belt off her. She didn’t even care if she came from it, but she needed something other than the empty ache inside of her. His long, dextrous fingers, talented tongue, or his thick, bludgeoning cock would make her cum in an instant with how sensitive and desperate her body was for release. 

For most of her college career, her orgasms had been self-inflicted, but frequent. With Dave, they were a mixture, but much less frequent from her partner. In the harem, she often paid more attention to getting her partners off than getting off herself. With Arthur? She didn’t need to worry. He fucked her stupid, and orgasms tore out of her as effortlessly as he tore her clothes. She hadn’t lied to the poor alewife. 

Unfortunately, Selene had to wait, which was torture. Not knowing the deadline intensified her torture. She was in this belt until Arthur decided otherwise. Selene had no way of knowing if that was for a few minutes more or a few days. He wasn’t teaching her self-control by allowing her to choose between controlling herself or pleasure; he was removing the burden from her hands. She wondered how long this torment, punishment, and lesson would last. How sensitive would she be, and how quickly would she cum when he finally fucked her? 

She quivered inside and flexed, imagining that blissful moment when he’d take off his loincloth and drive her into the dirt on her back. 

“Hey, there they are!” 

A familiar voice made Arthur and Selene turn their heads to see Brad and Jen approaching. 

“Hey!” Arthur said, waving to them. 

“What have you lot been up to?” Brad asked as they stepped off to the side. 

“Uh, the girls are getting tattoos from the henna booth. We had a brief drama with Kat, but we went to the Rage Shack, which was fun.” Arthur listed off the Ren Faire adventures so far since Brad and Jen had split off. “Oh, and Selene and I found her collar. Now, we’re going to meet the others to see the belly dancing.” 

“Oh, let me see!” Jen said, turning her attention to Selene and examining the silver chain around the base of her neck. “It’s so pretty! And it matches your costume!” 

Selene beamed and hugged Arthur’s arm. “My lord has good taste.”   

“Mind if we join you?” Brad said. “I wouldn’t mind seeing the belly dancer show.” 

“I bet you wouldn’t,” Jen said, laughing. 

Arthur laughed with them, and Selene smiled as they started moving toward the theater where the dancers performed. The Faire had multiple stages throughout its grounds, running performances throughout the day. Different troupes varied from members of the local cast to traveling performers of Instagram fame. 

The schedule marked The Dancers of Adventure’s Belly Dance Show as rated R, meaning they intended it for adults, though Selene didn’t think they’d see any nudity. It was more likely that their jokes would be innuendos, euphemisms, and suggestive, like their movements. Though in Selene’s experience with the style, the dance was only vulgar by Victorian standards. She’d done numbers with more suggestive body rolls and thrusting hip movements in her time as a dancer.

~~~

Mindy held Rani’s hand as they walked from the tattoo artist to the Velvet Adder’s stage. The tavern was rowdy, and it was one of the few indoor taverns at the fair. The building was dark-stained wood, with a stage built onto its side. It looked like something out of a Disney movie or fairy tale, and Mindy loved it. The buildings here were super cute, and it made her believe that the people around her might burst into song at the drop of a hat. 

The wooden benches before the stage were backless planks laid across cut logs at regular intervals. They formed two columns of seating across a small lawn from the walking path that passed the tavern. The small gap offered them privacy, but not much. 

The seats were empty when they arrived, so Rani grabbed a seat toward the front. Mindy sat beside her. She adjusted the strip of cloth covering her backside so it was tight against her when she sat and provided her enough coverage that she wasn’t flashing her cheeks at the others. The side of her legs and her narrow hips were another story. The long strip of black cloth in the front of her costume fell between her thighs, covering her crotch, but leaving her legs bare. 

Kelly, in her much more modest pirate costume, sat on Mindy’s left side, and Katelyn sat on Kelly’s left. Kat was still at the tattoo artist, getting her tattoo. Mindy wondered if she should get hers next. If she got it on her leg, her parents wouldn’t see it, right? Or she could put it on her breast, which her corset presented as ample, pillowing flesh, but a sweater would prevent her parents from seeing it. 

Strangers began filing into the seats as the show drew nearer. Musicians on the side of the stage prepared their instruments. There wasn’t much tuning involved. Three men held drums of varying sizes and origins. One was huge, attached at the man’s waist, and was the biggest marching drum Mindy had ever seen. Beside him, his companion held an hourglass-shaped drum between his knees. The third held a sizable circle drum in his left hand and beat it with a wooden tool in his right. 

Another man had a violin. He made the strings squawk for laughter as he pretended to tune them. The fifth band member had a guitar that they slung over their shoulder and plucked the strings. Each wore colorful Faire garb, with patterns on their trousers, ornate vests, and puffy sleeves. 

Mindy kept her head on a swivel as she watched for Arthur and Selene among the faces entering the seats. She was the first to spot them as they arrived with Brad and Jen in tow. She waved at them, and Arthur waved back, bringing the others with him as he strolled to the front. 

The first thing she noticed was the silver chain choker around Selene’s neck. The steel ring in the center acted as the connector to a second, dangling ring. Mindy knew they’d use it later. Her new collar was the perfect blend of respectable jewelry and kink, fitting Selene. 

Selene sat beside Rani, with Arthur on her other side. Brad sat beside Arthur, leaving Jen at the far end of the bench, beside her boyfriend. It struck Mindy as odd to be so far from the group of girls, but she realized it was normal among monogamous couples. Being in the harem, Mindy loved each of her partners in different ways and to varying degrees. She was closest to Rani but was just as attracted to Kelly and Selene. Arthur still had the lead in her heart. She didn’t know Katelyn well, but the taller, skinny woman was cute. 

The dancers filed onto the stage to the applause of a small but appreciative crowd. The five women spread across the stage, putting the musicians behind them. Their costumes were gorgeous. Each wore a two-piece outfit with a bejeweled top that showed off their cleavage. The crop tops left a gap for their stomachs, showing their torsos and belly buttons. Four wore skirts decorated with colorful, bejeweled scarves that swooped low on their hips. The center dancer wore puffy black pants that distinguished her from the others. 

What surprised Mindy was that only one of them looked Indian or Arabic. The one in trousers had gorgeous black hair and dark brown eyes adorned with opal eyeshadow. Her darker skin made her ethnicity ambiguous to Mindy.

“Isn’t belly dancing an Indian thing?” Mindy asked, whispering to Rani as the dancers bowed and curtsied to the crowd.

“What?” Rani asked, surprised. “No? At least, it’s not like it’s solely an Indian thing. A lot of countries have it.”

“It started in Egypt,” Selene said, joining the conversation from overhearing the whispers. “And spread through Europe from there, but didn’t become popular until the late 19th century.” 

Mindy and Rani both looked at Selene in surprise. Neither of them had ever heard her give a history lesson.

Selene didn’t notice their looks. She said what she had to say and returned her attention to the stage. The dancers introduced their characters and gave a brief lesson on the art's history, which confirmed everything Selene said. 

Mindy supposed it made sense. Selene might not care about history, but she cared about dance. It made her wonder if Selene could learn the steps, or already knew them. She could teach Rani, Mindy, and the others, and they could surprise Arthur at the next harem meeting. Belly dancing in a Princess Leia slave bikini would be pretty fucking hot.

Compared to that daydream, the costumes on stage were tame, though the colorful, sweeping skirts were gorgeous as they spun and danced to the drum beats. The violinist played an Eastern tune on the strings, fiddling his bow to the rapid beat while the dancers jingled with every twitch of their hips. The drums made her want to get up and dance. The pulse of the music thundered through the seats, making everyone tap their feet or cheer the dancers on as they performed. 

The jokes between songs were lewd. The men in the audience took their share of abuse, but laughed it off. 

The group started with a group dance, then performed a solo dance. What surprised Mindy the most was that the dancers didn’t all have the same body shape. One was Selene’s size. The rest varied, with two of them being thick enough for their stomachs to jiggle when they danced. The crowd didn’t care; they clapped, laughed, and gave raucous cheers regardless of whose turn it was to take the solo dance. 

For her part, Mindy enjoyed the show, but it wasn’t until the last number, when they asked for volunteers, that she became interested.

“Who among you would like to learn how to belly dance today?” One dancer asked, raising her hand to show them what to do. 

Rani’s hand left Mindy’s and shot into the air, as did Selene’s. Mindy raised hers in solidarity, and Kelly and Katelyn followed suit. 

“Oh, we have a plethora of beauties to choose from,” the dancer said, stroking her chin as she surveyed the audience. 

She pointed at a young woman a few rows behind them, and Mindy straightened her spine, lifting her hand higher. 

She chose someone on the left, then on the right, seeming to overlook the front row until she stepped back and pointed at Arthur. 

Arthur pointed at himself, raising an eyebrow in question. He hadn’t raised his hand, but the woman on stage nodded and gestured for him to join her on the stage.

Arthur looked at Selene, who nodded her encouragement. They all did, and Mindy couldn’t help the giggles that escaped her as Arthur stood up and brushed off his loincloth. He stepped toward the stage and pressed his palm to it, then jumped up, swinging his legs over and landing on his feet before standing. He must have learned to do it during his years of theater. It looked like a gymnast’s move and drew a wolf whistle from somewhere in the crowd. 

“Glad to see you’re covered under your loincloth, or that might have given everyone a show!” The dancer laughed. Arthur’s loincloth had bounced in the effort, flashing the leather briefs. 

One of the female volunteers on stage bit her lip and stared at Arthur as he took his place next to her, making Mindy giggle even more. Poor girl. She didn’t have a chance with the boss unless one of the girls brought her to the hotel tonight. Poor Arthur never noticed when someone flirted with him. Mindy had dropped every hint she’d ever seen on TV, and in the end, she still had to ask him out for him to realize she wanted to bone. 

“Okay, the first step is to stand like this.” The dancer struck the pose, sticking her leg forward and bending her knee as she lifted her hands. 

The volunteers on stage took the pose to varying success, but Arthur struck it perfectly. Seeing someone so masculine strike such a feminine pose made Mindy giggle. Rani held her hand, laughing with her as his girlfriends smiled up at him. 

“Looking good, my lord!” Selene called from her bench, which forced a smile to break Arthur’s concentrating expression. 

Katelyn whooped, and Kelly whistled. 

“Yeah, man!” Brad called. “Shake that thing!” 

Arthur laughed as the instructor made him do just that, thrusting her hip to the side in a short, repeated motion that made Arthur’s loincloth bounce. They performed that move several times, then switched to the other side, added a spin, and put it together with music. Not every dancer had Arthur’s sense of timing, his ability to swing his hips, his level of fitness, or his costume’s lewd scarcity, but they tried their best. 

The crowd ate it up, screaming their approval and applauding the volunteers. The girls beside him blushed, but Arthur couldn’t stop laughing and smiling as he danced. 

“I wonder if he’ll work this into his stripping routine,” Mindy whispered to Rani. 

Rani chuckled. “I wonder if we’ll turn at least one of those women into his concubine tonight.” She gestured toward the other volunteers on the stage. Each of them kept their eyes on Arthur’s ass every time they turned in line. 

Mindy giggled. “We should just go up and say: Hey, wanna fuck our boyfriend?” 

“Why not?” Rani asked. “I’m sure by the end of the Faire we’d have plenty of takers. Look at him. What a fucking specimen. I want to tackle him, drag him behind those trees, and fuck him senseless when this is over.” 

“You’ll have to wait your turn,” Mindy said, teasing her. “I want to drag him back to the bus.” 

“I wouldn’t mind fucking him right on the stage,” Selene said, biting her bottom lip and gripping the bench as she watched him dance. “Fuck, I hate this belt. Are any of you good with lock picks? Do you have a bobby pin I can use?” 

Rani chuckled. Mindy wasn’t any good at picking locks, and she’d never help Selene escape a punishment Arthur gave her, but she was glad it wasn’t her in the belt. She was far too much of a pervert to be horny for long without relief. That was especially true now that she had Arthur and the harem to slake her lust.  

The song ended, and the applause boomed with catcalls, wolf whistles, and cheers as the volunteers took their bows. The women on either side of Arthur seemed embarrassed, but Arthur looked ecstatic. He lowered his face to the ground in his bow, and the professional dancers behind him made a show of checking out his backside, to even more laughter and applause. 

The head dancer released the volunteers, thanking them each with a handshake as they descended the steps. Arthur rejoined Selene, and Brad slapped him on the back, leaning in to whisper a joke that Mindy didn’t overhear. 

Arthur laughed and shook his head, taking the good-natured ribbing in stride. Mindy hadn’t stopped smiling since the dance began, and her face hurt from the cheer. The Faire had a magic that lifted her spirits. The morning drama and the worry she’d had when Kat ran off were gone and forgotten. 

“It’s a pity Kat missed this,” Mindy said. 

“Oh, she’ll see it,” Rani said, pointing to Katelyn, who had her phone out. 

Katelyn had recorded Arthur on stage and showed the video to Kelly. Kelly cuddled against Katelyn and laughed at the video, even though they’d watched it live a moment ago. 

The dancers, having had a restful break while they coached the volunteers through the last number, gave their finale with vigor. The dance was enthralling and intense. Mindy wondered how they moved that way, not only because of the complexity, but because of the simultaneous movement of each partner. They each moved, twirled, and danced together in perfect synchronization, mystifying Mindy as she watched. Every step, arm movement, twist, thrust, and twirl synced with the others so that no skirt interfered with another, and every metal dangle and coin jingled together, joining the percussion. 

Mindy joined the applause, standing as the dancers took their final bow. She adjusted her skirts after she stood, but joined the clapping before cupping her hands around her mouth and whooping with the others. A dancer gave her a wink, and the five of them danced away through the stage door. The musicians followed them after, taking their own bows. 

The applause faded after a minute, and Mindy giggled as Arthur chuckled at the compliments the old woman sitting behind him gave him for his dancing. 

“I can’t wait to show this to Kat,” Katelyn said. “She’s going to be so pissed she missed it.” 

“Maybe she’ll need another visit to the Rage Shack,” Kelly said, chuckling. “We should head to the tattoo artist before we head to the knife-throwing.” 

“Okay by me,” Katelyn said, putting her phone away. “But why?” 

“Well, if we’re together, Arthur can put our collars on us,” Kelly said. 

“We have time to run to the bus,” Selene said. “But Arthur has an appointment in about an hour.” 

“What appointment?” Kelly asked, looking at Arthur. 

“I volunteered to join the chess match,” Arthur said. “I’m fighting for the Unseelie Queen.” 

“You’re just volunteering all over the place, aren’t you?” Kelly asked. 

“She asked him!” Selene said, telling them the story as they filed out of the theater and onto the lane. 

One of the volunteers, a young woman in a green dress, hung back by the tavern’s gate as they approached. Arthur was busy talking with Brad while Selene caught the rest of them up on what had happened. She watched Arthur, but her expression was nervous and uncertain. Mindy couldn’t help but pity her. She knew what it was like to pine after Arthur while he walked by, oblivious.

The group walked toward the tattoo artist, with Jen, Brad, and Arthur behind Kelly, leading the way. Selene was behind Arthur, talking with Katelyn on her left. Rani and Mindy walked on her right. Mindy, farthest to the right, walked with them, listening to Selene until she spotted a poster that stole her attention. 

She hadn’t expected to see an anime poster at the Ren Faire, but the open-sided canvas tent held shelf upon shelf of posters and figurines. Mindy stopped to examine the poster, smiling at the memory of reading the harem romance manga. She hadn’t seen its anime adaptation, but it was on her ‘to watch’ list. She’d found the series ending disappointing in the manga, since the protagonist ended up with only one woman. Not every relationship was like hers. 

Mindy noticed the poster next to it from a different series, and before she knew it, she was checking the price tags on a row of them. She stopped at another romance series poster and turned it over to see the price tag.  

“You like shonen manga?” 

Mindy turned to see a young man a few years older than her, standing beside her. He was her height but broad and muscular, dressed in a blue Viking tunic, black pants beneath the tunic, a leather belt, and cuffed leather boots.

“Me?” Mindy asked, looking to her other side, where she expected to see Rani, except Rani and the others hadn’t yet realized she’d stopped. They were several stalls farther down the lane, and moving farther away with every step. 

“Who else would I be talking to?” The young man laughed. “My name’s Mike.” He offered her a handshake. “And you are?” 

“Mindy,” Mindy answered, shaking his hand. 

“Have you seen that anime?” Mike asked, pointing to the poster she held. 

“Oh, no, but I’ve read the manga. It was adorable!” Mindy said. 

“Yeah, I haven’t read the manga, but I heard the anime is a pretty good adaptation,” he said. “The story is cute, too. Are you here alone?” 

Mindy giggled. She wasn’t here alone. He’d stumbled upon her in the only thirty seconds at least one other person hadn’t been beside her. The question struck her as an incredibly creepy thing for a man to ask a woman. He probably didn’t mean for the question to come across that way. It was just his way of asking if she had a boyfriend. 

“I came with my friends and boyfriend,” Mindy said. She pointed in their direction, but the man didn’t look. His eyes jumped from her breasts to her face as she looked at him. 

“Oh, cool, I came with friends too,” he said, ignoring her mention of a boyfriend. Had he not heard her? No, he must have, but he wasn’t paying attention. She could’ve told him she arrived on a broomstick, and he’d nod and comment on traffic. In a way, she found his attraction to her flattering; in another, she dressed this way for Arthur, Rani, Kelly, and Selene, not for Mike. 

“Cool, well, I should catch up with my boyfriend,” Mindy said. “But it was nice to meet you!” 

“You don’t have to run off right now, do you? Can I buy you a drink or something?” Mike asked. 

“Oh, I don’t drink,” Mindy said, shaking her head. “And, as I said, I have a boyfriend! Thank you, though!” 

“Do you eat? We could get lunch later.” Mike suggested. “Your boyfriend doesn’t have to know.” 

“My boyfriend might get jealous. So, no thank you!” Mindy said, trying to be as polite as she could, but her cheerful nature continued to undercut her rejection. That, or the man had as much social perception as Sanjay. Either way, she made her way inside the tent and headed toward the counter. People milled around them, perusing the artwork, many of whom were at the belly dancing show. She recognized a volunteer who’d danced with Arthur, the one who had hovered by the gate. 

Mike followed Mindy, walking behind her and watching the shift of her skirt with every stride. 

She stopped when she noticed a Sailor Moon figurine. The dancer’s pose reminded Mindy so much of Selene that she had to get it for her. She didn’t know when Selene’s birthday was. Or it would make a lovely Christmas gift. Oof, buying Christmas gifts for everyone in the harem was going to add up fast. Maybe she could offer them oral instead? That’d work for everyone but Kat. 

“You like Sailor Moon?” 

“Ah!” Mindy jumped at Mike’s sudden voice so close to her ear that it startled her. 

Mike laughed. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to startle you.”

Mindy said something in Korean that was both insulting and unkind, but she smiled. “My girlfriend likes Sailor Moon, I think. She reminds me of the–” 

“I thought you said you had a boyfriend before?” Mike asked. “Which is it? Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?” 

“Both! I’m not lying,” Mindy said, defensive at the accusatory tone. Her recent experience of being called out for her lies raised her hackles. Not that it mattered if she lied to Mike. He wasn’t anyone to her. 

“You don’t have to make up a partner. You can just be honest with me, but if you give me a chance, you and I might have a lot in common,” Mike said, reaching for her hand. 

Mindy yanked her hand away and stepped back to find herself pressing against Arthur’s body as he draped his arm over her in a possessive manner. Her tense shoulders relaxed, and she let out a long breath. 

Arthur stood beside her now, facing Mike with a glare before he turned his attention to Mindy. “There you are! You scared the hell out of me! We turned the corner and poof, you were gone.”

Mindy gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I got distracted and wanted to check out the booth.” 

“Well, next time, tell somebody. Poor Rani is out there ready to call security,” Arthur said. He turned toward Mike. “Hi, I’m Arthur, her boyfriend.” 

The possessive way he said it made Mindy tingle. He was her boyfriend, after all. The possessive nature of the words didn’t come from a selfish or crude motivation either. They were protective, forming a shield around Mindy and diverting Mike’s attention to the caveman who towered before him.

Mike had to tilt his neck to meet Arthur’s gaze. “I’m Mike. I was just talking to Mandy—” 

“My name’s Mindy,” Mindy corrected him automatically. 

“No, I know, I was just—” Mike gave a frustrated grunt. He’d been trying to see if Arthur knew her name. If he were her boyfriend, or if they were lying. 

Why did that matter? If she’d been lying to get away from him, shouldn’t that be even more of a hint that she wasn’t interested?

“Whatever. This doesn’t concern you, Conan the Wannabe,” Mike said, crossing his arms and flattening his fingers beneath his biceps to make them look more impressive.    

“Mindy, I’m your boyfriend, aren’t I?” Arthur asked, not bothering to adjust his stance. 

“Yes, Boss,” Mindy said, smiling up at him. 

“Which is it?” Mike asked, biting onto the words like a shark. “Is he your boyfriend or your boss? It’s fucked up if you’re dating your boss. He’s an asshole if he’s taking advantage of you like that.” 

“I’m not her boss. That’s just what she calls me,” Arthur said. “It’s a pet name.” 

“Yeah? And what’s your petname for her?” 

“That’s not important,” Arthur said. 

Mindy blushed, shifting how she stood so that Arthur half-hid her. 

Mike eyed them, as if he were trying to judge the validity of their statements. As if his judgment in that mattered. 

“Let’s go,” Arthur said, guiding Mindy away. 

“Wait!” Mindy said, stopping Arthur. “I wanted to buy these first.” She said, holding up the poster and pointing to the figurine. 

“Okay,” Arthur said, releasing her toward the register, but keeping himself between her and Mike. 

“Wait, you’re that guy from the belly dancing competition,” Mike said, still staring at Arthur. A few other shoppers turned to see. “You’re not her boyfriend. I saw you with that guy in the front row. You’re gay as fuck.”  

Arthur sighed. “What is it you’re hoping to accomplish here?” He asked Mike. He’d clearly grown tired of trying to convince Mike of the truth and realized what Mindy did. Arguing with him wouldn’t convince him of anything he didn’t want to believe. Mike disbelieved anything that stood in the way of his romantic progress toward Mindy. 

“I’m just trying to convince Mindy to give me her number,” Mike said. “I think we have a spark.” 

“Mindy, did you feel a spark with Mike here? Do you want to get to know him better?” Arthur asked. 

“No,” Mindy said. She remained cheerful as ever as she checked out at the register. 

“You heard the lady,” Arthur said, pointing behind Mike toward the tent’s open side exit. “Now leave her alone, or I’ll have to get security involved.” 

“Oh, tough guy, huh?” Mike asked, laughing at him. “Gonna run and fetch security and tell them what? That you’re going around pretending to be straight? Pretending to be Mindy’s boyfriend when you don’t even know her?” 

“I’ll arm wrestle you for her,” Arthur said, eyeing the other man’s biceps and flexing his own. Mike was muscular and short, but anyone looking between them would bet Arthur was stronger. He had the bigger arms.  

“Why not just regular wrestling?” Mike sneered. 

“Because you’re a wrestler. I can tell from your build,” Arthur said. 

“Afraid you’d lose?” Mike asked. 

“Not really,” Arthur shrugged. “The offer was a distraction. I just wanted to give Mindy enough time to rejoin the group.” He pointed with his thumb to indicate the main path, where Mindy stood holding a brown paper bag, surrounded by Rani, Kelly, Selene, Katelyn, Kat, Jen, and Brad.

Mike’s jaw fell open when he saw the girls. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as Rani cupped Mindy’s face and laid a kiss on her that became so passionate even Selene looked away. 

“Okay, well, tootles.” Arthur wiggled his fingers and left Mike behind him in the tent. 

Mindy beamed at him, hugging him as he approached. Kat and Selene took her place as soon as she released him, and she smiled to see Kat’s tattoo. “I’m getting mine next,” Mindy said. “No one will think I’m lying about having a boyfriend if I have ‘Arthur’s Whore’ on a sword right above my nipple.” 

The girls laughed. 

“Could she write it in Korean?” Kelly asked, though it was more of a suggestion. 

“Fuck that,” Mindy said. “I’m getting it in English, so people who stare at my chest will read it.” 

Selene giggled. “May I get ‘Arthur’s Slut’ written in English on my tattoo, my lord?”

Arthur rubbed his forehead with his fingers and started walking again, herding them toward the tattoo artist’s tent. “I’ll consider it. I like the idea of using Tengwar for yours, though.” 

“Can I run these to the bus first?” Mindy asked, holding up the paper bag. 

“Sure, I’ll go with you,” Arthur said. 

“May I come?” Selene asked. 

“Sure,” Arthur said. 

“I’ll go too. I need to apologize to Manasa,” Kat said. 

“I’ll get my tattoo then,” Rani said, hugging Mindy with her arm over her shoulders. “But stay with our king and don’t wander off again. That scared the shit out of me. No one else is getting lost today, okay?” 

“Okay,” Mindy said, smiling. “I’m sorry.”

“Can we get our collars on first?” Kelly asked. “Then Katelyn and I can do the knife-throwing. Rani can get her tattoo, and the rest of you can go to the bus. Just be back in time for Arthur’s debut as the Unseelie Queen’s champion.”  

The girls chuckled at that, but agreed. 

The group stopped at the tattoo tent, where Ana looked happy to see them again. 

“Ready for the next one?” She asked. 

Rani raised her hand. “I’m next. Better get out your darkest stain.” 

Ana smiled. “Okay, and where would you like it?” 

Rani smacked her hip. 

“Would you like to lie on the table?” Ana asked, gesturing to it. “Lie on your side, with the hip you want the tattoo on facing up.” 

Rani laid on the table, lounging on her side, though it made her costume far more suggestive. She kept her long panel of fabric between her knees and kept herself modest with all her bits covered, but she showed a lot of skin. She looked the part of a concubine on an uncomfortable settee. 

“I expect you’ll draw in the customers,” Mindy said, giggling. “Do you need Arthur to stay here and bodyguard you?”

“Tempting,” Rani said. “But I’m fine.” 

“We can hang back,” Kelly offered. 

“We can hang out, too,” Jen said, volunteering herself and Brad. “I was thinking of getting a Nightwing symbol tattoo.” 

“I can do that if you show me a picture,” Ana agreed. 

“Oh, and tell Manasa to give you the purse I set aside with her. It has my necklaces in it for the rest of my outfit,” Rani said, shooing them away. 

“The rest of us have our collars,” Kelly said, reaching into her purse and pulling out her three-strand pearl choker. She offered it to Arthur, pulled her hair up, and turned around, presenting her neck. 

Ana got to work on Rani’s tattoo as Arthur clasped the choker around Kelly’s neck. The pearls complemented her pirate garb, and she smiled as she kissed Arthur’s cheek. “Thank you, Hubby.” She winked at him and made Katelyn jump when she swatted her on the ass to go next. 

Katelyn stepped forward, pulling her pink collar with its bow and silver bell from her purse. She offered her collar to Arthur and turned around. With her hair in a bun, she had nothing to move out of the way. Her push fastener clicked into place. She stilled the bell as she turned and kissed Arthur’s cheek. “Thanks, Big D.”

“Big D?” Arthur asked, confused as the surrounding women laughed. 

Katelyn blushed. “I was just trying something out. And fuck you!” She said, teasing Kat, who’d started the laughter. “He has a Big D, and plenty of BDE, so the nickname fits.”  

Ana coughed, reminding them they weren’t alone, even if there weren’t very many people around them. 

The laughter faded, and Arthur shrugged. Mindy didn’t consider the nickname that silly, but it was more ridiculous than Boss, Master, Sir, my King, or Hubby. Still, silly and cute fit Katelyn. From what Mindy had seen so far, the woman was playful, cutesy, and immature, even though she was a college junior. 

Kat cleared her throat and thrust the pink rubber choker into Arthur’s hand, and Arthur fastened it. He had only a minor difficulty when his thumb slipped on the lobster claw clasp, but he closed it on the second try. He tested the fit before Kat stepped away, and she kissed him on the lips. “Thank you, Sir.” 

Mindy went last, except for Rani, offering her plain black rubber choker to Arthur. He took it and fastened it around her neck. She thanked him with a long, passionate kiss with her arms around his neck. 

“Thanks, Boss.”

~~~

Rani watched as Arthur and the others left. Mindy waved farewell, following Arthur, Selene, and Kat to the bus. Kelly, Katelyn, Brad, and Jen milled around the tattoo stall, examining the sketches. Ana, the tattoo artist, prepped her gear to paint the henna tattoo they’d chosen onto Rani’s hip. 

“So, you and the others are each dating the guy in your polycule?” Ana asked, making conversation. 

Rani grinned. “And each other, except for Kat. The blonde in the hot as fuck jungle costume.” 

“Polyamory always sounds so complicated,” Ana said. “I give you credit. I’d be a jealous mess.” 

“It’d be different if we’d started monogamous,” Rani said. “But my first date with anyone in the group was a threesome with Arthur and Mindy, the girl in the witch outfit.” 

Jen chuckled at Brad’s sudden shift in posture.

Ana had seen them arrive with the other group. 

“Arthur and I started monogamous, but we wanted to keep things casual and open,” Kelly said, joining the conversation. “Which left room for the polycule.”

Rani gave her an expression that challenged her assertion. 

“Okay, I wanted to keep things casual,” Kelly said. 

“Did you want to keep your options open so you could date other guys?” Brad asked. 

Kelly blushed. “No, the opposite. I have a habit of letting the butterflies carry me away. When it came to Arthur, I was very serious about him, so I was being extra careful not to scare him off after Lori left him. So I suggested we be responsible and wait until after graduation to start anything serious and time-consuming.” 

“Were you ready to close the book on dating other women, too?” Rani asked, curious. Kelly must’ve been serious about him if she was willing to swear off women.

Kelly shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll admit, I’m more attracted to women, but I know how I feel about Arthur.”

“I’m sure the lesbians would have welcomed you back,” Rani said, joking. 

Kelly laughed.  

“It makes sense to me,” Jen said. “If you’re serious about someone, it’s okay to take things slow.” 

“Oh yeah? What about you two?” Rani asked, looking at Brad and Jen. “Are you two taking things slow?” She eyed Jen. “And are you bi or pan?” 

Jen chuckled. “I’m bi-ish. Haven’t had many chances to experiment.” 

Ana sighed. “I need a boyfriend. You’re out there having sexual adventures, and this is the closest I’ve come to someone’s private parts in years.” She tapped Rani’s thigh. 

The girls laughed, making Ana blush. “I’m sorry; that was unprofessional.” She shook her head. “I won’t make any more jokes like that.” 

Rani laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, you can’t make me uncomfortable with sex jokes.” 

“She has no shame whatsoever,” Katelyn explained. “It’s admirable.” 

Rani shrugged and hooked her finger at Ana. “You said this is the closest you’ve been in years? Would you like to come closer?” 

“Down, girl,” Kelly said, waving her finger at Rani. “Remember the rules.” 

“I’m only teasing you. I’m sorry,” Rani said. “We’re a closed polycule, but we’re open to threesomes, so if you wanted to fuck me, Arthur would be part of the arrangement too.” 

“It’d be more like an eightsome this weekend,” Kelly said. “Is that even a word?” 

“The word you’re looking for is orgy,” Rani said. “Anything with five or more lovers is an orgy.” 

Poor Ana was blushing so hard she might’ve cooked an egg on her face, but the mood in the tent was light and flirty, not shameful. The others were laughing and having a good time. Rani intended to keep it that way. She might be bold, but she didn’t want to harass or push Ana into an uncomfortable position. The others still had to get their tattoos after all. 

“I’ll, uh, let you know,” Ana said, laughing it off. “Now hold still. This won’t hurt at all.”

Rani chuckled. She knew it wouldn’t hurt. “The last time I saw anyone get henna was at my sister’s wedding. It took hours.” 

“Oh, this won’t take that long,” Ana assured her. 

Rani knew that. The bridal henna her sister had done was much more intricate, running from her fingertips to her elbows. The pattern was gorgeous. 

“So this is where everyone ran off to?” Maria’s voice entered the tent before she did. Mark held her hand beside her. 

“You’re getting a tattoo?” Mark asked Rani, lying on her side on the table with Ana painting goop onto her hip. 

“No, she’s just terrible at cunnilingus,” Rani said, making the group laugh again.  

“We’re getting matching tattoos,” Kelly said, showing off the one on her shoulder. 

Maria examined it. “Wow! I want one.” 

“Oh, uh,” Kelly stammered. 

“These are polycule-specific,” Rani said, pointing at her hip where Ana was painting. “You, Mark, Brad, and Jen, should make up your own polycule tattoo.” 

“Oh, but we’re not a—” Brad looked at the others. “Wait, are we?” 

“Well, Jen and Maria aren’t dating, so, no?” Mark asked, looking at Maria. 

“No, we’re not,” Maria said, sighing. 

“And we’re not dating,” Mark said, gesturing to himself and Brad. “But I’m down if you wanna fool around.” 

Brad laughed, shaking his head. 

“We can still get friendship tattoos,” Jen said. “Like friendship bracelets, but in henna.” 

Maria shrugged. “Let’s see what they’ve got.” 

Maria and Jen browsed the tattoos on display, printed on paper hanging from the tent’s walls. Brad and Mark nodded toward each other, then stepped away, creating more room in the tent. Kelly and Katelyn stood there awkwardly. 

Katelyn had been quiet throughout the back-and-forth. She laughed at Rani’s jokes, but her boredom became plain as time passed. 

“You two can go do your knife thing. No need to hang around and babysit,” Rani said. “Just come back when you’re done. I’ll still be here.” 

“Are you sure?” Kelly asked. “We don’t mind waiting for you.” 

“Bitch, I know I didn’t stutter,” Rani said, winking at Katelyn when she said it. Five spankings for every curse word tracked by everyone around her? Rani’s ass would break poor Arthur’s hand by the end of the first day. It was dreadful enough having to hold her tongue around her family. Out here, so far from every constraint Pa Pa, Ma Ma, or her grandparents cast over her, she said whatever the fuck came to mind. 

“We could come back,” Katelyn agreed. 

“Where are you two off to?” Maria asked. 

“Katelyn and I are going to do knife-throwing for our contest in the tournament,” Kelly said. “You want to come?” 

“Sure!” Maria said. “Jen and I have to do our tournament thing, too.” 

“Okay,” Kelly nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay on your own?” She asked Rani. 

“I’m sure! Go on, have fun, throw knives, try not to kill anybody,” Rani said. 

“Okay,” Kelly said, taking Katelyn’s hand. “Come on, I’m going to own you at this game.” 

Katelyn blushed, but followed Kelly, who waved farewell to Rani. Rani would have returned the gesture, but she wasn’t moving for fear of messing up Ana’s brush strokes. She let the woman work as Brad and Mark followed the girls out of the tent. 

“So, ever had a threesome?” Rani asked, looking toward Ana.

~~~

Katelyn walked beside Kelly with her hand in Kelly’s, natural and comfortable as ever. Kelly had studied the maps, so she knew where they were going. Most people were shopping in tents or makeshift buildings, or standing in line for food, drinks, or treats. 

“There are far more people in costume here than I expected,” Katelyn said, admiring a guy in steel armor walking past them.

“It’s gotten more popular to wear costumes over the years,” Mark said from behind her. “The ratio seemed reversed when I was a kid.” 

“You’ve been coming to them for a while, then?” Katelyn asked. 

“Oh yeah,” Mark said, nodding. “My parents are also nerds, so that helps.” 

Katelyn chuckled. She didn’t know Arthur’s friends very well yet, but they seemed nice. Awkward, but well-meaning. Theater kids had a specific reputation when she was in high school, but she hadn’t known very many of them. In California, theater kids were synonymous with the cool kids. In Tennessee, they rested at the bottom of the pile of social cliques. Katelyn had always hovered in the middle, friends with cool people, like Kelly. 

Katelyn adjusted her skirt, lowering it since it rode up every couple of steps. She shortened her stride, forcing herself to walk faster to keep up with Kelly. “Hey, Kelly? Mind walking slower? We’re not racing anybody, are we?” 

“Right, sorry.” Kelly slowed her stride to a more comfortable pace. 

Katelyn relaxed. “Thanks.” She kissed Kelly’s cheek. 

Kelly kept walking, but at a more reasonable pace. They were ‘behind schedule’ for whatever Kelly had mapped out for them, but Kelly’s soft warmth and kindness overruled her rigidity. Katelyn drew out that softness. Kelly was the one with the plan, and Katelyn followed. That had always been their nature. In exchange, Katelyn kept Kelly from over-committing herself or taking everything too seriously. She balanced her roommate’s passion with lighthearted endearments, and it worked. 

“I can’t wait to go to the cabin for a weekend,” Kelly said, sighing. “Sitting out at the lake and relaxing will be nice.” 

Katelyn giggled. “Last time you spent the weekend trying to fish, remember? Ranger Kelly wanted to catch and cook our dinner, which turned the entire weekend into an adventure.” 

“Yeah, well, you spent the weekend on the phone texting, which won’t be a problem this year.” Kelly didn’t mention who she’d been texting, but Katelyn remembered it well enough. She’d spent the weekend blowing up Sean’s phone, sexting him. 

Now she wondered if he’d been with someone else that weekend, and was annoyed that she’d kept texting. 

Kelly squeezed her hand, then wrapped her arm around her. “Sorry, I won’t bring him up again.” 

Katelyn smiled, giving Kelly another kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.” 

The kiss was nothing to Katelyn. She was affectionate with her friends. She found the world lacking in platonic affection and aimed to fix that by providing as much as she could without making anyone uncomfortable. 

With Sean, that platonic affection blossomed into romantic affection–sitting in his lap instead of nearby chairs, clinging to him whenever she could, and blowing up his phone. She and Arthur hadn’t reached that level of connection yet. She was trying not to make the same mistake. Not that Arthur would, or even could, cheat. 

“So, is everyone in the polycule bi except for Kat and Arthur?” Maria asked. 

“Eh, I don’t really think about it,” Katelyn said. “I’m an affectionate person, even with Kat. Romance is just a step beyond that, and sex is the step after that. I love who I love, and fuck who I fuck.” 

“That counts as two,” Kelly said, making Katelyn sigh. 

“Can we go back to money?” Katelyn asked. “At least until the soreness fades?” 

“I’ll ask Arthur, but he’ll want to keep the arrangement as is,” Kelly said, laughing. 

“So if, for example, Jen came on to you, would you fuck her?” Maria asked. 

“No,” Katelyn answered with no need to consider it. “No offense,” she said to Jen. “You’re beautiful, but you’re not one of my people, if that makes sense.” 

Jen shrugged. “No offense taken.” 

“She’d cuddle her, though, or hold her hand if they were going somewhere together,” Kelly said. “Katelyn’s just an affectionate person, which can confuse people sometimes. I thought she was coming on to me when we first met.” 

“Did you two ever mess around before the harem came into the picture?” Maria asked, eyeing Katelyn and Kelly, who were still holding hands. 

Katelyn shook her head. “No, I guess nothing happened between us until last weekend, at the hotel. I thought I wasn’t Kelly’s type.” 

“And what’s my type?” Kelly asked, laughing but turning it into a grin. 

“Well, you prefer Asian chicks, like Mindy, girls with big boobs, like Maria, or muscle girls, like Thalia. I’m the opposite of all of those.” Katelyn said. “Am I wrong?” 

Kelly’s face was a mask of surprise. 

Katelyn giggled. “It’s fine. It would have been awkward living with you if you were into me that way, with my dating Sean.” 

“People can have multiple preferences for physical attraction. They can even hold clashing preferences,” Jen said, nodding. “I like guys who look like Superman, like Brad, for example.” She patted his chest. “But I also like femme goth guys.” 

“You do?” Brad asked, surprised. 

Jen shrugged. “They’re hot. Don’t blame me. But you’re my type, too, with guys.” 

For Katelyn, she’d never considered her sexuality before she dumped Sean. Guys had always been hot in her eyes, or handsome, and she’d never considered dating a woman. She didn’t believe there was anything wrong with it, nor had she grown up in a restrictive or traditional household. If anything, her parents were too permissive, but she’d never lusted after women as she had men. Their effect on her wasn’t the same. 

That hadn’t stopped Katelyn from trying when the opportunity arose. She’d dipped her fingers in last weekend, trying new things, and that had gone well. Pleasure was pleasure, after all, and kissing the others was nice. 

She wasn’t sure if that made her bisexual. Then again, she didn’t have lustful feelings for any of the scantily clad women at the Faire other than the ones she came with. She knew, trusted, and loved Kelly and Kat. She could see herself in a romantic relationship with either of them, and even a sexual relationship, equal to her relationship with Arthur. Who, admittedly, at least so far, had primarily been sexual rather than romantic. 

Sex-first romances hadn’t been her typical experience. It’d taken her two whole dates before she and Sean had fucked, and even then, it was just hand stuff in the back of his car. 

Not that Arthur wasn’t romantic. He was, but she’d had more sexual experiences with him than romantic ones, which had so far set the tone of their relationship. Even in those moments of intense rapture, Arthur made her feel loved, cared for, and romanticized. It was a hell of a trick considering what they’d done that morning. 

Katelyn pondered such thoughts as they walked, but the conversation faded from their lips as the crowd around them grew younger. The lane forked, and they took the path marked for its fun games, rides, and various attractions. Some were carnival-style games like the milk-jug toss or the hammer strike. Others were rides, like a carousel or a swinging griffon ride. Each attraction had a medieval facade, made of wood, and painted to fit the theme. 

Amusements near the fork started very childish and juvenile, growing in age and height requirements as they walked the lane. Ambient noise shifted when they entered the path, from the low murmuring of grown voices to the higher-pitched sounds of children at play. Parents accompanying them waved from the fences of the various rides, encouraging their children. 

“Oh, no. Youths!” Jen said, laughing. 

“Not a big fan of kids?” Katelyn asked. 

“They’re fine,” Jen shrugged. “But they’re terrible conversationalists.” 

Brad chuckled. 

“Do you like kids?” Maria asked Katelyn. 

“Well, I’m in elementary ed, so, yeah,” Katelyn said, chuckling. “Plus, I’ve always wanted a big family.” 

“Well, you’ll certainly have that,” Maria said, glancing at Kelly. 

Katelyn resisted the impulse to ask Maria if she wanted kids. That was between her and Mark. She and Arthur should have that conversation soon, though she didn’t know what motherhood might look like in a poly relationship. 

If she and Arthur had kids, they’d have a lot of aunts, for sure, but it’d unbalance things if one of them got pregnant and the others didn’t. Besides, what if someone in the harem didn’t want children? Was it now a group decision rather than something she and her boyfriend could decide themselves? She’d always thought it’d be fun if she and Kelly were pregnant at the same time. Maybe Arthur could make that happen. 

“And here we are,” Kelly said, gesturing to the wooden range ahead of them. The path they were on emptied onto an open, circular lawn. An archway at the top of the cul-de-sac marked the entrance to the Faire’s corn maze. To the left, the knife-throwing range had targets hung on a wooden wall, with a partitioned railing, like a shooting range.  

“Ready?” Kelly asked, nodding toward the line. 

“Ready,” Katelyn said. “That bed is mine.”

~~~

Kat reached the bus with the others. Arthur and Selene led the way, with Kat and Mindy walking behind them. Arthur and Selene had fresh ink on the backs of their hands. She hadn’t been in a rush to get here, but the others hurried until their heart rates increased. 

Kat knocked on the passenger window, and Manasa lowered the book she was reading with caution. She slid out of her seat and closed the door behind her. 

“You need access to the bus?” Manasa asked, looking to see who was there. 

“Yes, please, Manasa,” Arthur said, giving her a smile that annoyed Kat. It wasn’t Manasa’s fault. Arthur gave the same charming smile to every waiter, waitress, or stranger. Still, it irked her every time someone else made him smile. “And I believe Kat had something she wanted to say to you.” 

Kat glared at Arthur. She didn’t need his prompting. “I’m sorry for snapping at you the way I did, for storming off, and for referring to you as ‘the help.’ That was inappropriate, even if I’d consider myself part of that category compared to Rani.” 

“Rani doesn’t see you, or anyone, as lesser just because–” Mindy protested, but Kat cut her off with a wave of her hand. 

“I’m sorry, Manasa,” Kat said. “Truly.” 

Manasa looked cautious, but she nodded her acceptance and offered Kat a handshake. Kat shook it. “It’s alright. Honestly, it’s standard fare with the families I work for. When Miss Shah told me I’d be driving her and her college friends, I expected to be ferrying around a bunch of entitled rich college kids. Thankfully, you’re nothing like what I expected.” 

Kat nodded. “Yeah, well, still. I shouldn’t have blown up at you. It wasn’t your fault. It’s my own issues.” 

Manasa nodded, not prying, which Kat appreciated. 

“Okay, now we need to get on the bus. Does anyone have to use the bathroom while we’re here?” Arthur asked. 

Selene raised her hand. 

“Okay, you go ahead,” Arthur said. “Mindy, put your stuff wherever you need to stash it. Manasa, can I grab a trunk from the storage carriage?” 

Kat’s eyes lit up and turned to Arthur. “Am I getting punished?” 

Manasa looked alarmed, looking between Arthur and Kat. She opened the door for them, and Selene and Mindy slid into the bus. 

“Do you deserve to be punished?” Arthur asked. 

“I shouldn’t have exploded at Rani, Manasa, or at Mindy,” Kat said, avoiding the question. “But I’ve apologized to everyone, and they forgave me.” As if that would stop Arthur if he wanted to throw her over his knee and paddle her behind. 

“You did, and they did,” Arthur said. “Then you stormed off on your own, and we couldn’t find you.” 

“Well, you can’t punish me for that, or you’d have to punish Mindy,” Kat said, pointing toward the bus where Mindy was. 

“Not a bad idea,” Arthur said, crossing his arms. “But to answer your question, no. I wasn’t planning on punishing you for your outburst. I had other things in mind. But since you’re out here, I could use your help to carry the trunk into the bus.” 

Kat sighed, but nodded. “Yes, my lord.” 

Manasa looked between the two of them. 

“It’s okay,” Kat said. “This is how we flirt. He won’t do anything I don’t want him to. Hell, he doesn’t even have the balls to do half the things I want him to.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow at that challenge, but didn’t answer it.  

Manasa nodded and opened the luggage compartment with the keys on her belt. She and Arthur hauled the trunk out of the space, then Kat and Arthur carried it into the bus. Arthur did most of the heavy lifting and maneuvering. 

Selene and Mindy waited inside, kissing with Selene’s hands on the stripper pole at the back. More than kissing, really. Selene raised her arms above her head. She gripped the pole behind her with her elbows flared as she and Mindy made out in a passionate kiss that only ended when Arthur cleared his throat. 

Mindy stepped back, away from Selene. “Sorry, Boss,” Mindy said, licking her lips. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s just that Selene liked the figurine I got her, and she kissed me, and we got carried away. She’s really wound up.” 

Arthur grinned. “You’re not in trouble,” he said. “But I believe Selene needed to use the restroom?” 

Selene nodded. 

“Take the key from your bag,” Arthur said. “Take off the chastity belt.” 

“Oh, Master, thank you, I—” 

“You’ll be putting it on after you’re done in the bathroom, and I’m trusting you not to masturbate while you’re in there,” Arthur said. 

Selene’s disappointed expression was impossible to miss. 

“What would you do if she does?” Mindy asked. 

“I’d remove her collar, and we’d end the master/slave game right now, instead of at the end of fall break.” 

Selene’s hand shot to her collar, as if to protect it. “I won’t, Master. I promise I’ll be good.” 

“Good,” Arthur agreed. He opened the traveler’s trunk and pulled out a small plastic bottle. “And reapply the lube on your plug.” 

“Yes, Master.” Selene dug into her purse and withdrew his keys. She handed them to him as he handed her the bottle of lube. 

Arthur picked out the chastity belt key and unlocked her. She removed her chainmail bikini bottoms first, then the chastity belt, leaving her bottomless. That meant her costume consisted only of the chainmail bikini top, collar, and her pointed elf ears.

Arthur sat on a large open section of the back bench while Selene dipped into the bathroom. 

He gestured for Mindy to stand to his left, and she moved into position with a smile. She took off her hat since it kept hitting the ceiling and sat with it in her lap, leaving her cleavage exposed and obscuring her hips. She spread her legs, holding the hat between them, letting the insides of her thighs peek out from under its wide brim. 

Kat looked at Arthur, waiting. 

He turned his eyes toward her and closed his legs. He patted his lap. “Sit, Brat.”

Kat strode toward him, hesitating. “I don’t want to mess up my tattoo, so can I keep my top on? I’m afraid I’ll brush it and mess it up if I take it off.” 

“Oh, so you don’t want me to take a knife and cut you out of your clothes before holding you down and pumping my pent-up aggression into you?” Arthur asked.  

“I do!” Mindy said, raising her hand. 

Kat glared at Mindy. He wasn’t asking her. Arthur wasn’t asking Kat either, though. He was teasing her. “You aren’t tired from the Rage Shack?” She asked. “Do you even have enough energy for an erection?” 

Arthur met her glare with a dimpled grin and crooked his finger, beckoning her to him. “You remember your safewords?” 

“Red light to stop, yellow light to slow down, green light to go,” Kat said with her tone so heavy with sarcasm it was a wonder it reached Arthur’s ears. 

“Green light?” Arthur asked. 

“Green light,” Kat answered, as if it were a code phrase. “Let’s see how much energy you have left, Sir.” 

Kat’s green light was one hell of an encouragement. It meant that Arthur was free to do as he pleased, so long as he respected the prearranged limits she had set, until she uttered her safeword. She could give him as much attitude as she wanted, and he could treat her as roughly as she needed. 

Arthur shot from his seat so fast it startled both Kat and Mindy. The sudden closing of the distance made Kat stumble backward, but Arthur was there with his hand on the back of her head. She clutched his wrist with both hands, but he grabbed her hair at the roots and pulled her with him. 

She walked after him, turning around and walking backward until Arthur reached his destination. He kept her on her feet and turned her so that Mindy was staring at her ass in her tattered mini skirt. 

“Hold her wrists,” Arthur said, offering them to Mindy. 

Mindy released her hat and grabbed Kat’s wrists. Kat could have broken Mindy’s grip if she had wanted to, but she let Mindy hold her hands and arms in place behind her back, crossed behind her waist. 

Selene left the bathroom as Arthur dug through the traveler’s trunk. She swallowed, stepping to the far side of the stripper pole. 

Arthur rose from the trunk with a length of red rope. He unfurled it in his hands and turned Kat to face him. The limited space on the bus meant there was only so much standing room. Arthur tied her wrists, leaving her hands in a prayer position in front of her, her palms flat against each other. 

Then he led her by the leftover rope as if it were a leash, toward Selene. 

“What are you doing?” Kat asked, confused. 

“Did you know that in the medieval era, they’d lock brats like you in stockades, wooden pillories for public humiliation? We can’t do that, so our limited audience will have to do,” Arthur said, smiling. “Go on, move to the other side of the pole.”

Selene moved out of the way, and Kat moved to the other side. Arthur tied the rope to the pole with a clove hitch, letting her grab the pole or brace against it with her palms. She could slide her hands up or down, and stuck her ass toward the back wall of the bus. Arthur walked her hips and legs back, bending her over as if she were in a stockade. 

Mindy and Selene stared at her with grins on their faces. 

“Master, may I masturbate while I watch you fuck the brattiness out of her?” Mindy asked. 

“Better than that, Whore,” Arthur said. “Slut?” 

“Yes, Master?” Selene asked, dropping to Nadu. 

“Your job is to make my whore cum before I finish inside Brat,” Arthur said. “Use whatever you want from the trunk, or whatever means you have. If I finish first, you’ll earn another day of chastity.” 

Kat’s core flared with heat. Arthur was going to fuck her. Good. It was about goddamn time. Sure, she’d had some fun this morning when they first woke up, but that was pre-coffee and tame. It didn’t count. She shivered, licking her lips, and looked at the floor below her at the base of the pole. 

Behind her, Arthur reached under her skirt and pulled her thong off, making her step out of it. He shoved it into her mouth, gagging her with it, which was probably a good idea. Her noises drew attention, and the last thing they needed was someone reporting a disturbance or Manasa running in. Kat breathed through her nose, keeping her eyes on the floor as soon as Arthur released her head. 

Mindy licked her lips as she sat on the bench. She twisted and lifted her leg, planting her foot on the seat beside her. Selene kept her back to Arthur and Kat as she kissed the inside of Mindy’s thigh. Mindy moved the strip of a skirt and pulled her panties aside. She rubbed herself, getting herself in the mood before Selene lowered her lips and kissed her fingers, then moved them aside. 

Mindy tilted her head back, relaxing as Selene ate her pussy. 

The sight forced Kat’s eyes to the floor out of reflex. 

Arthur spanked Kat’s ass, then slid his hand between her legs from behind. He pushed her skirt up to her back, leaving her exposed. 

What was the spank for? She’d taken her thong without complaint. She ached for his length to slide inside of her, so she hadn’t protested her treatment that much. Why was he unhappy? Or was it just a love tap? 

“Keep your eyes on Mindy,” Arthur said. “If your eyes leave her before she cums, I’ll pull out of you and make you wait until tonight for release.”  

Kat twisted, trying to look behind her to check his expression. Was he serious? Her quick, heavy breaths made her realize she had to obey. If she wanted a good, hard, angry fucking, then she needed to give Arthur what he wanted. 

She raised her eyes toward Mindy, who was groping herself with one hand and resting the other on Selene’s head. Selene buried her face in Mindy’s crotch, her lips and tongue teasing, playing, and fucking Mindy with every ounce of experience she’d learned from her foray into sex with women. 

Kat realized it wasn’t the first time Selene had eaten Mindy out. That, or Selene spent so much time studying sex that she made everything look effortless. 

Kat moaned as Arthur’s finger slid inside her from behind. He fucked her with his middle finger for a few strokes, then withdrew it and wiped it on her ass cheek. Arthur did it again, and a third time. He added a second finger, and Kat’s legs vibrated with eagerness. She wanted to mouth off, to tell him to just fuck her already, but if she dropped the thong from her mouth, he might stop. Well, he’d still get his release from Mindy or Selene, but she’d be stuck high and dry. 

Fucking sadist prick. 

Kat sucked in a deep breath as Arthur withdrew. She arched her back, trying to make it easier for him to access, but she needn’t have worried. He notched himself against her entrance, with his left hand on her bare hip. His grip tightened, and he pushed inside her, filling her in one world-shattering thrust that made her gush with relief. 

She moaned into her gag, blinking her eyes in a slow, lazy blink that expressed her pleasure in ways her voice couldn’t, even if her mouth wasn’t full. Arthur had a way of turning her language skills into nothing more than savage grunts, screams, and moans. 

Arthur put his hand on her other hip. “Brace yourself, Brat. You want me to unleash everything I’ve repressed? You’re getting what you wanted. Pretend we’re doing this at the Rage Shack.” 

Kat had thought of him shoving her to the floor more than once as they smashed the pottery and plates. She kept her eyes on Mindy, as ordered, watching as the college freshman whore twisted in ecstasy and held Selene’s head in place against her crotch. 

Their fucking was different, with Selene doing the work at a breakneck pace, as if she worried that failure to obey Arthur’s orders meant losing her collar. Arthur wouldn’t do that, even if he threatened it, would he? No, probably not, but Kat had trouble caring. 

Arthur flung rational thought from her mind faster than any drug. His hips moved in rapid motions with enough strength that he would have smashed her face against the pole if it weren’t for her arms holding it away. Still, she drove closer to it after several thrusts, and Arthur pressed her shoulder against it after a few more. It was uncomfortable, but she didn’t need to tell him that. 

He pulled her back from it, pulling out of her and then moving her by her hips. He untied her from the pole and pushed her still-tied-together hands toward the floor. She put her hands out, catching herself, and flattening her palms against the floor. She raised her backside, spreading her legs as she moved to her knees. 

Arthur knelt behind her, entered her again, and held her head by her hair. He lifted her gaze to a low view of Mindy as she writhed and came under Selene’s efforts.

“Hot, isn’t it? Watching someone you care for cum?” Arthur asked, his voice a low whisper. 

Kat moaned, unable to speak, but not needing to give him words. He rode her from behind, rough as she wanted, driving her orgasm out of her as she pushed against him. Her ass cheeks slammed into his hips with every thrust, making her blush as she felt the dull, aching pulse of pleasure heat between them. If they’d turned sideways, they might have rocked the bus.

Selene had finished her task and rested her head on Mindy’s thigh as Mindy panted and stroked Selene’s hair. They watched Kat and Arthur now. Selene was still bottomless, looking at Kat with envy in her eyes as she got the fucking Selene so desperately wanted. Selene whined, and Kat locked eyes with her. The envy in Selene’s eyes was thick enough to choke on.  

Kat braced herself, shaking with effort as Arthur fucked her so hard it hurt. The pain bled into her pleasure, and the pleasure bled into her pain.

Arthur grunted, a deep, manly grunt that told her how much passion he was pouring into his efforts. The rage, the untapped fury he bottled up inside, came pouring out into her body. 

She came, screaming into her gag until her body shook with the effort. Electricity scorched through her as she came, lighting every nerve. Kat pulled against the rope around her wrists, but it held fast, forcing her pleasure to rebound on itself. She sucked in breaths through her nose, even as her world went woozy, doing her best not to pass out from her orgasm.

She’d asked Arthur to unleash himself, to lose control. He might not have given her that, but for the tiniest moment, she’d glimpsed his soul. She’d given him a release like no other. Kat slumped as her arms gave out.  

Arthur caught her forehead so it didn’t hit the pole, and she opened her eyes, not having realized she’d released the tension in her muscles. She’d almost nodded off as she went limp. Arthur had her out of the ropes in a blink. She looked up at him as he picked her up and moved her, as if she weighed nothing at all. He sat with her curled in his lap. He brushed her hair past her ear and kissed her nose. 

She blushed, then opened her mouth as he removed the thong he’d shoved past her teeth. He tossed the stringy, wet mess onto the floor, and Selene picked it up. 

“Don’t worry, Master. I’ll clean it up so Manasa doesn’t have to,” Selene said, moving past them. 

Kat was confused, but looked to see that Arthur had cum too. They’d made a mess where they’d been. Selene mopped it up with cleaning materials from the bathroom. 

“Thank you, Slave,” Arthur said, still holding Kat. “How are you doing, Mindy?”

“Mmm?” Mindy asked, looking over at them. “I’m great, Boss.” She gave him a thumbs-up. 

“Slut did a good job?” Arthur asked, chuckling. 

“She made me cum in record time,” Mindy confirmed. “Of course, you and Rani have been teasing me all morning. Between her and watching you fuck the shit out of Kat—super hot, by the way—my orgasm was a sure thing.” 

“Hm, you should’ve cum sooner then,” Arthur said, grinning. “Slave will just have to practice.” 

“Yes, Master,” Selene said, bowing her head. 

“Did you enjoy eating Whore’s cunt?” Arthur asked, making Kat wince at the word. 

Selene licked her lips. “Yes, Master.” 

“You should thank her for letting you then,” Arthur said. “Always thank whichever harem member I tell you to serve when they’re done with you.” 

Selene shivered. “Yes, Master.” She rose, walked toward Mindy, and knelt in front of her. “Thank you for letting me eat your cunt, Whore.” 

Mindy patted her on the head and giggled. “You’re welcome, Slut.” 

“And how are you doing, Brat?” Arthur asked, locking eyes with her. He appeared more awake than ever, while Kat felt energized yet relaxed, as if she were floating. 

Kat chuckled. “Thanks for that.” She met Arthur’s gaze. “The fucking, I mean. That was exactly what I needed. No more energy for anger today, I promise.” 

Arthur chuckled and kissed Kat. The kiss was slow and gentle. Kat slid her hand to Arthur’s cheek, cupping his face as they kissed. He kept his arms around her, holding her. 

“Can we just go to the hotel?” Kat asked. 

Arthur laughed. “No,” he said. “You should leave the thong off, but we should get dressed. I have to go fight someone for the unseelie queen.” 

“Rani’s gonna be so jealous if you call someone else Queen,” Mindy said. “Just FYI.” 

Arthur chuckled. “Can you stand?” He asked Kat. 

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Kat said. 

“Good,” Arthur said, patting her hip. 

Kat hugged him, pressing her lips to his cheek and giving him a firm kiss. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear as though the phrase were a secret. It wasn’t, but her heart drove her to share her soul with him, even with Mindy and Selene sitting nearby. 

“I love you too,” Arthur whispered back. “Thank you for helping me vent.” 

Kat smiled. “Anytime.” She winked at him and stood on shaky legs until she found her footing. “Well, maybe not anytime. Sometimes I’m glad you’ve got five other people to give me a break. Oo, that’s gonna be sore tomorrow.” She moved into the bathroom without a word, cleaning herself off and fixing her outfit before emerging. 

Arthur, Selene, and Mindy were ready to go in their costumes when she joined them. 

Arthur passed her a water bottle when she returned. Selene and Mindy drank theirs. 

“Why do you always give us water as part of aftercare?” Kat asked. 

“Hydration is important,” Arthur said. 

“You lose more fluids than we do, fucking that way,” Kat said, chuckling. 

“I’m not sure that’s true,” Mindy said, adjusting her clothes and fixing her skirt. “But the proper response is ‘thank you, Sir,’ or you’re asking for a spanking.” She wagged her finger at Kat. “Don’t sass the boss.” 

Kat laughed, shaking her head as they made their way back to the Faire. “Thank you, Sir.”

~~~

“Well, hello there,” the attendant working the knife-throwing range said as Kelly and Katelyn made it to the counter. “Have you ever thrown with us before?” He was a young, handsome man who spoke with a soft, lilting British accent. His ‘Well, hello there’ was a dead ringer for Obi-Wan, which made his roguish costume even more hilarious in Katelyn’s opinion. 

He wore black pants, boots, and a loose shirt, displaying his masculine frame and a surprising amount of chest hair. His beard was close to his face, well-kept, but full and as black as his tousled hair. Handsome, swarthy, and pirate-ish in his style, which was perhaps why he was paying so much attention to Kelly and none to Katelyn. Not that anyone needed a reason to pay more attention to Kelly. Katelyn never felt more invisible than when she was with her roommate.

Kelly shook her head. “No, I don’t think either of us has done this before.” 

“Ah, so you’re new to privateering, my lady? Well, the first thing to know about throwing knives is that they are, in point of fact, knives.” He grinned as he mimed cutting his finger on the blade and yanking his hand away. 

Kelly smiled, and Katelyn giggled. The man made his presentation amusing. 

“So if you grab them by the blade, you need to be careful. Understood?” The attendant asked. 

Kelly and Katelyn nodded. 

“We provide gloves. Please put them on before handling the knives. You get five throws per ticket, so five knives. Your best bet is to hold it by the handle and throw it straight with no spin. But if you want to be fancy, you can hold it by the blade and throw it end over end.” The instructor mimed each style by moving his arm and showing how to throw. 

Kelly and Katelyn watched him. His arm made the same motion, but he added a spin and flicked his wrist at the end. Throwing it from the handle looked much smoother. Katelyn had one hurt arm, so she threw by the handle. It was simpler than throwing it with a spin. 

The man helping them laid out the knives, five for Kelly and five for Katelyn. They didn’t look sharp, nor did they have handles like Katelyn thought they would. They were flat pieces of metal, one piece of black iron, except for the gray edge on the knife's blade. The handles were more rectangular, but ended in a full radius. Katelyn picked one up. 

“Wow, they’re heavier than I thought they’d be,” Katelyn said, testing the weight in her hand. 

“Aye, miss.” The attendant offered a blade to Kelly, and she gripped the handle after she put on her gloves. 

Kelly lifted the blade from his hand, and the man smiled. He stepped aside, then hopped over the railing to stand behind them, gesturing for them to throw. “You may throw when ready!” 

Katelyn looked at Kelly, who gestured for her to throw first. 

Katelyn nodded, adjusted her footing, and did her best to mimic the man's arm movement. She brought her hand with the knife in it near her shoulder, then stepped forward and extended her arm, releasing the blade near the end of the movement. It made her think of throwing a ball, but without the full-body wind-up of a professional baseball player. 

The knife flew but fell short of the target, landing on the board below it. 

“Good throw!” The man behind her cried his encouragement. 

She needed more strength in the throw, but the knife had stuck. 

Kelly took her throw next, holding the blade and sending the knife spinning. It struck the target but hit it with the handle rather than the blade, causing it to bounce off and fall to the dirt. Katelyn gulped. If it had stuck, it would’ve been close to the bullseye.

“Good throw!” The man said. “Try flicking your wrist a touch quicker, to give it more spin, my lady. You need to adjust for the distance, but your arm is strong!” 

Katelyn rolled her eyes. Yeah, Kelly’s muscles were stronger than her bony arms, big surprise. She threw her second dart, this time putting more oomph into it. It stuck in the outer ring of red. Katelyn clapped her hands and danced, making her shimmering fairy wings flap as she bounced. “Ha!” 

Kelly grinned. “Okay, let’s see if I can beat that.” 

Kelly threw her knife, putting more flick into her wrist. The blade spun end over end and hit the target near the bullseye. This time, it stuck at an angle. 

“Woo!” Kelly said, raising her fist in triumph. 

Maria laughed from the sidelines where she, Mark, Brad, and Jen watched the proceedings. “Look at you!” 

Katelyn frowned and took the next blade. She took a deep breath, then released a sharp exhale and threw her third knife toward the target. She’d gotten the movement down in the first two. Now, she needed to work on her aim. The knife sank into the target on the other side of the bullseye from her first hit, closer to it, but not near it. 

Kelly applauded her, then picked up her knife and threw it, flicking her wrist as before. This time, the knife spun and struck the target, but sideways. The spin’s timing was off from what she’d wanted. A millisecond’s difference, and the blade might have stuck in by its side. Instead, the handle struck the board and leveraged the blade out of the target. It dropped to the ground. 

Kelly hissed through her inhale in disappointment. 

“Ah, that’s alright, my lady. ‘Tis a tricky thing to throw a knife. Would you like me to help you?” The man asked, offering his hand. 

“Help me how?” Kelly asked. “I have to throw them myself.” 

“Of course, my lady. I only meant to put my hand over yours and demonstrate the movements from behind you,” the man said. 

Katelyn knew what he was talking about. She almost protested on Kelly's behalf, but Kelly had the matter well in hand. 

“Is that something you offer your male customers as well?” Kelly asked, arching an eyebrow. 

The man’s chuckle and raising of his hands in surrender was answer enough. 

“No, thank you. That won’t be necessary.” Kelly said, staying polite and professional. The chastising tone of a teacher lurked behind her words. She looked at Katelyn. “I believe it’s your throw, darling?” 

Katelyn blushed. Until last weekend, her relationship with Kelly had been affectionate, but platonic, much like her relationship with Kat and her other female friends. She was touchy-feely, as Kennedy from the volleyball team put it, with an emphasis on the touch. She’d experimented with the harem since, and it had changed the dynamic of their friendships, but that was always behind closed doors. 

Kelly's acknowledgment of her as something more than a friend, her darling, made Katelyn’s heart dance. She might’ve done it to get the attendant to stop flirting, but Katelyn didn’t think so. Kelly wouldn’t play with people’s emotions or offer an endearment without merit. 

Katelyn swallowed, trying to breathe and calm herself as she picked up the next knife. 

“You can do it!” Kelly said, encouraging her. 

“Shhh,” Katelyn shushed her, blushing and trying not to get flustered. “I’m trying to concentrate!” 

“Sorry!” Kelly whispered, raising her hands in mock surrender. 

Katelyn took another deep breath, huffed out her exhale, and threw the knife as she had before. One smooth motion and release, and the knife sailed through the air to strike the target just beneath the bullseye. So far, she had three on the target and one on the board below it. Kelly had one in the bullseye and two on the ground. 

Kelly threw her fourth knife, this time adopting Katelyn’s style and holding the blade by the handle. She didn’t flick her wrist, but let the knife sail straight. It struck left of the bullseye, nailing the ring beside it. 

“Good throws!” The attendant said, applauding them.

Kelly smiled at Katelyn. “Okay, now I need you to miss so I can win this thing, please.” 

Katelyn chuckled. “Sorry, my lady, but I want that prize as much as you do.”

Katelyn picked up her last blade, readied her throw, and let the blade fly. She aimed, trying to get the blade to land higher than the one she had in the middle. It worked, but she overcorrected, and the blade stuck above the bullseye by a rung.

Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen applauded, making Katelyn shimmy in victory. She laughed and put her hand over her heart. Dipping her head to them in thanks without bending over, because her rose fairy dress wasn’t long. 

Kelly took her last throw, determination across her furrowed brow. She threw her final knife, and it struck to the right of the bullseye, two rings over from the target’s center. Their onlookers applauded, and Katelyn hugged her. 

“I hope you didn’t let me win,” Katelyn said. 

“I didn’t,” Kelly assured her. “I was too confident for my own good and thought I’d show you up by throwing the fancy way, and it cost me.” 

Katelyn chuckled. “Want to go again? Best two out of three?” 

“No, you won fair and square. I can admit when I’m beat.” She squeezed Katelyn, then pulled back from the hug to offer a handshake. 

Confusion swelled in Katelyn, but then she understood. Sports were something they had in common. She shook Kelly’s hand. 

“Good game,” Kelly said. 

“Good game,” Katelyn agreed.

They hugged again, then left their spot to join the others as the next people in line approached. Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen welcomed them, consoling Kelly for her loss and congratulating Katelyn for her win. 

Maria passed Mark a five-dollar bill. 

“Did you bet against me?” Katelyn asked. 

“No offense,” Maria said. “But I had Kelly pegged to sweep the whole thing.” 

“Aw,” Kelly said. “Sorry to let you down.” 

“It’s okay,” Maria said. “It means I have a better chance of winning and convincing Arthur to share his bed with me tonight.” 

Kelly looked at Mark, who smiled and nodded his approval. 

Katelyn didn’t get it, but she supposed it didn’t differ from the way the harem shared. If that was what Mark and Maria were into, but reversed, then it wasn’t bad. It was sweet to see how confident they were in their love for one another. It still seemed weird to her, though. Then again, it wasn’t as if Maria was a threat to steal Arthur from Katelyn or the harem. She had a guy she loved; she just wanted Arthur for his body, right? 

“Come on, we have to meet the others,” Kelly said, checking her phone. The wait in line had been longer than they’d expected. 

The others agreed, and they started walking toward the Royal Pavilion. They followed Kelly again, who took a different route than the one they’d come in on, following a narrow path that led to another shopping lane. There was a lot of walking at the Ren Faire, but it wasn’t that much different from a day on campus. Katelyn followed the group as Kelly led them, but she found herself beside Maria and looked over at her. 

“So what’s up with you wanting Arthur so badly?” Katelyn asked, keeping her voice low, so no one overheard them as they walked. “Is it like Selene and Kat? Have you been in love with him for years or something?” 

Maria laughed. “Love? No, but, well,” She looked around, then leaned in and whispered. “He’s been a masturbation fantasy of ours for years.” 

Katelyn raised her eyebrows in surprise. She shouldn’t let it surprise her. It made a certain amount of sense. He was hot and gorgeous, and although he was their friend, he was off-limits for the majority of the time they’d known him. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I could never date Arthur long term. He’s too…” Maria hesitated, as if not wanting to badmouth Arthur in front of Katelyn or Kelly. 

“He’s too…” Katelyn prompted her. She’d only ever heard good things about Arthur from the people who knew him. Her secondhand knowledge of the man was glowing. Her first-hand experiences with him only confirmed how great he was and how talented a lover he could be. So what did Maria have against him?

“He’s too oblivious and preachy,” Maria said. “Working with him can frustrate the hell out of me sometimes, because he’s very opinionated on musicals and theater, and he can dig in his heels. Same as that bitch Yvonne. It’s why they locked horns so often.” 

Katelyn considered that. She’d seen Arthur in a more casual light, not a professional one. Selene had worked with him in theater, and Mindy worked in his office, but Mindy didn’t have any concerns over his professional behavior. Then again, she called him boss because he acted like one in the office. Not in a bad way, but it could make him difficult to work with if someone else had the same habits.

“But he’s hot as fuck, and seeing him change in the green room was a sexual awakening,” Maria said. “I saw why Selene simped over him so much. And why Lori became a guard dog every time another woman came close enough to sniff his cologne. So, yeah, I’ve had an O or two over the years imagining him. So has Mark.” 

Katelyn’s eyes shot open, and her shocked expression turned toward Mark. 

Mark waved. “I’m bi,” he explained. “And I enjoy watching Maria with other guys, so, yeah. Arthur was among the first fantasies we shared. Not leaving each other for him, but having him join us for a threesome.” 

“We were working up the courage to reach out to him,” Maria explained. 

“But he wasn’t in the right headspace after he and Lori broke up,” Mark said. “We were worried about him. He kept saying it was amicable, but we could tell he was a mess, as much as he tried to hide it by throwing himself into work.” 

“So, we waited, but then he and Selene started dating,” Maria said. 

“And we knew Selene was into him, because, well, we have eyes,” Mark said, making Brad, Jen, and Kelly laugh as they strolled through the lane. 

“So we figured we missed our shot,” Maria said. “Then we met the rest of you. The whole poly thing seemed so complicated.” 

“But then, Selene invited Maria and Jen to the guy’s night last night, and well, it was all we talked about after we left,” Mark said. 

“What little talking we did,” Maria agreed. 

Mark chuckled and patted Maria on the back. “Well, we traded off talking and listening, depending on whose mouth was free.” 

They laughed, and Katelyn laughed with them even as she blushed. The freedom to discuss sex out from behind closed doors was new, but she loved these conversations. It was a matter of picking times when no one could overhear the entire discussion, and choosing your words to be less explicit, even while discussing explicit subjects. 

“Sorry if I’ve been coming on too strong,” Maria said. “I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes, I promise. Especially yours and Kelly’s, since you’re two of his actual girlfriends. Mark and I consider Arthur one of our closest friends. Selene, too. We’re not looking to cause trouble for anyone. I’m just excited about the possibility of making that fantasy come true.” 

“We were close last night, but then things spiraled out of control,” Mark said.

“Well, maybe you’ll get your chance tonight,” Katelyn said. “But I wouldn’t count on it. I plan to win this thing.” 

“Oh,” Maria said, grinning. “Didn’t he give it to you this morning? Let someone else have a turn.” 

Katelyn giggled. “I’m a selfish fairy princess, what can I say?” She tapped her wings. “I’m not here to grant wishes, kick butt, and fuck my boyfriend.”

“That’s another one for the jar,” Kelly said.  

The others laughed, taking the good-natured ribbing as intended. Katelyn grinned as they walked together. Throwing knives had been fun, bantering with Maria had been fun, but she still had to beat the others before she got her prize tonight. She might be down one shoulder, but she had a competitive spirit with no other outlet. She’d win; she only hoped the others wouldn’t take it personally. 

~~~

The Royal Pavilion contained a handful of people when Arthur, Selene, Kat, and Mindy arrived. Parents supervised their children, corralling them by the stage. The empty seats and empty stage gave Arthur a sense of trespassing. The crowds roaming around them provided a backdrop of noise and a moving physical barrier that fenced them in. Everyone moved at different paces. Most were slow and content; others were glacial as they took in the sights, and a few raced between the glaciers to reach their planned destinations. 

Arthur and the others had moved through the parking lot, the gates, and the lane at a moderate pace, arriving at the pavilion a minute after they were due. Still, the unseelie queen and her entourage hadn’t arrived. 

“So, a chess match, and then lunch?” Mindy asked as they stopped in the aisle, toward the back of the open-air theater. They were out of earshot of the other groupings unless someone snuck up on them.  

Arthur nodded. “That sounds like a plan to me.” 

“Are the others meeting us here or at the chess field?” Kat asked. 

Arthur shrugged. “I’m not sure. Technically, you can go ahead onto the chess field. I can stay here by myself.” 

Mindy hugged his side, and Kat took his other hand. Selene smiled and bowed her head, standing behind Arthur. 

“Someone needs to make sure this queen knows you’re not available,” Kat said. 

“She commented on Selene and me being a couple,” Arthur said. “She knows I’ve got a girlfriend.” 

Selene shrugged. “She still flirted with you.” 

“She’s just flirting as part of the script,” Arthur said, squeezing Kat and Mindy in his arms. “It’s not real. It’s all part of the act.” 

“You’re notoriously shit at knowing when women are into you, Boss,” Mindy reminded him. “So let us be the judges of that.” 

“Yeah,” Kat said. “Your opinions on women flirting with you are shit.”  

“Excuse me?” Arthur asked, looking over at Kat. “Say that again?” 

“Uh, your awareness of whether women are flirting with you is shit. You miss everyone’s signals, and you flirt without meaning to, like with Manasa earlier, remember?” Kat asked. 

“No, I don’t,” Arthur said, surprised. “When did I flirt with Manasa?” He replayed their interactions this morning in his head, unable to produce a single instance of flirting. 

“You smiled at her,” Kat said. “You gave her the smile you give people when you’re flirting.” 

Arthur blinked. “Smiling at someone isn’t the same as flirting with someone! Was that your problem with Darla, too?” 

“No, that bitch was thirsty,” Kat said, crossing her arms. “And the fact that you remembered her name proves you were flirting.”

“Darla?” Mindy asked, confused. 

“The waitress at Frenchy’s,” Arthur explained. “We ate there last week with Beth. She was just doing her job as a waitress, and Kat kept saying she was flirting with me.” 

“She was,” Kat insisted. “If you had invited her to join us, she would have.” 

“Ooo,” Selene said, unable to help herself. “That’d be hot. Seduce a waitress and take her home with us.” 

“Stop it,” Arthur said, turning to see Selene. “We’re in public.” 

Selene bowed her head, obeying. 

Arthur sighed. “Sometimes I’d swear you ladies want more punishment instead of less.” 

“I mean, yeah,” Mindy said. “It’s not our fault that you make it so hot.”

Arthur blushed, squeezing Mindy to silence her, which made her giggle. 

A tin whistle playing a tune Arthur didn’t know announced the approach of the unseelie fae. The queen’s troop of performers danced around her as usual. She stood at the forefront, proud and regal. Behind her, a train of unseelie fae and volunteers walked. The spindle-limbed man with the Jack-o’-Lantern head walked beside her. She gestured to Arthur as they walked, and one of her assistants, an older man in black garb and a red gnome cap with twigs in his beard, approached. 

Arthur stepped forward at the older man’s prompting, leaving Mindy and Kat’s embrace. They waved to him, and Selene joined them as Arthur approached the unseelie queen. 

“Welcome, champion.” The queen offered her hand in a dainty fashion for him to kiss her ring. 

“Ye should kneel before her highness,” a redcap grumbled beside him. 

Arthur took one knee, bowing as if in prayer. 

She lowered her hand to his lips and nodded. 

Arthur took her hand and kissed her ring. “At your service, my lady.” 

“And your name, good sir?” Jack, the man with the Jack-o’-lantern on his head, asked. 

“Arthur,” he answered. 

“Ah, how appropriate,” Queen Nicneven said. “Thou shalt be my special champion today. During the chess match, there may come a time when thou shalt duel in a simple match, with special weapons. Thine goal is not to hurt thy opponent, but to make contact, do you understand?” 

Arthur had trained in stage combat. Excitement roused him as he nodded. “Of course, your majesty,” he said, playing along. Last time he’d seen a match, it’d been from a distance, but he recalled that only the trained performers received steel weapons. His would be foam.  

“You’ll need to sign this magic mirror,” a hag in full body paint, bone jewelry, fake nails, and a gown of rags offered him an iPad. 

The disclaimer was standard, agreeing to take part and not sue them. Foam weapons had a low risk of injury, but it wasn’t zero. Still, Arthur was in good shape, and he didn’t worry. He signed it and passed it back to her. 

“Good,” the queen said, leaning closer. “Here, a token of my favor.” 

She withdrew her hand and replaced it with her other, bearing a thin black chiffon handkerchief. 

Arthur took it, tied it onto his belt, and bowed his head once more. “Thank you.” 

“Rise, Sir Arthur, let us away.” The queen gestured, and the redcap who’d led him to her took him to the end of the line.

The mortals she’d acquired varied in every respect. A six-year-old girl in a sparkling black fairy princess costume with a toy sword and shield in her hands walked behind the queen. A nine-year-old boy in a Peter Pan costume walked behind her. Two unenthusiastic teenagers in civilian clothes walked behind them, both glaring at the parents who were not far away, taking pictures with their phones. An older man, somewhere in his forties, dressed in full Scottish garb with a kilt around his legs and a claymore on his back, followed. A college-age girl he’d seen in the crowds walked behind the Scot in a witchy green dress. Her black hair fell behind her like a curtain, matching her black accessories. 

Arthur fell into line behind her and smiled hello, then remembered what Kat had said, and cut off his smile. He wasn’t trying to flirt with anyone. 

The young woman looked confused. She flashed him a small smile and then looked away from him as quickly as she could. 

Anxiety clawed at Arthur’s brain, and he fought to calm it. The woman ahead of him looked nervous. She hadn’t been before he joined the group. He hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable, but now he was responsible for her unease. He wasn’t a creep or the type of man any woman needed to be nervous about. He sighed as he walked. This was why he smiled at people. If he looked angry or neutral toward people, they acted strangely around him. If he smiled, they smiled back. That was just how the world worked. 

A robust older woman, who’d been spending time with her family below the stage of the pavilion, joined the end of the line after Arthur. Her audience with the unseelie queen went as quickly as his had, and she signed the iPad, too. She wore an intricate red-wine-and-gold Elizabethan gown and bustled into the line. Her kids and grandkids walked nearby, following the train with the other relatives. Mindy, Kat, and Selene followed as well, staying close. 

“This is fun! Have you ever done this before?” The older woman behind him asked. 

“No, I haven’t,” Arthur said as the parade began making its way through the lane. “It’s fun, though.” 

“Have you been to the Faire before?” 

“Oh yeah, my friends and I have come here before. This is the first time I’m getting involved,” Arthur said. 

“I like your costume. It reminds me of that artist. What’s his name? The one who does pulp covers? It’s Spanish, or Italian, or something,” the older woman said, grasping at her memory. 

“I’m, uh, not sure,” Arthur admitted. Rani might know who she was referring to. He’d have to ask her. “It was supposed to be a Tarzan costume, but I repurposed it and added the bracers.” 

“Oh, well, I’m sure I’ll think of it.” The older woman chuckled. “The bracers are nice, very manly.” 

“Thanks,” Arthur said. “I like your garb, too. It’s really intricate!” He said, noticing the embroidery on the silk panels of her gown. 

“Aw, aren’t you sweet?” The older woman smiled. “I made it myself.” 

“You made it yourself?” Arthur asked, impressed. “You’re very talented! I’ve always enjoyed costuming, but I don’t have much time for it with work, school, and the other elements of theater.” 

“Aw, thank you!” she said. “Are you involved in theater?” 

“Kind of, I’m in the Theater Club at my college, but I’m a business major, so I do it for fun.” 

“I’m Angela, by the way,” she said. 

Arthur grinned and offered her a handshake. She shook it. 

“Thank you for not crushing my hand, Mr. Barbarian.” 

Arthur laughed. “Sorry, my name’s Arthur.” 

“As in King Arthur?” Angela asked. 

“The one and only,” Arthur said. 

Angela chuckled. 

The chess field fell ahead of them, beyond a low wooden marker. Its grass was low and kept, with the leaves from the nearby trees raked away. The chessboard was a low, raised platform over a mowed section of the grass, with a higher raised platform acting as the stage. Wooden benches surrounded the board on three sides.

The audience grew as they approached, as if racing them to the field. Queen Elizabeth and her party approached from the other side of the field, reaching the stage at the same time as the unseelie fairies. Elizabeth sat on the throne prepared for her. Nicneven took a throne across the stage from hers, with her fairies dancing around it. 

Arthur glanced at the crowd as he saw Kelly and the others waving Kat, Mindy, and Selene toward the seats they saved for them. They lined the front row across the chessboard from the stage. The group came together, with Jen, Brad, Mark, Maria, Kelly, Katelyn, Kat, Selene, and Mindy sitting in that order. Rani was missing, but her tattoo should have been done by now. 

Arthur searched the crowd for her but didn’t spot her bright red and gold costume anywhere among the bland or colorful costumes. He noticed the girls in the front row giggling. Kat gestured between him and Angela to Kelly.  

Kat was trying to glare at him, but was holding in laughter. Selene, beside her, was holding her stomach, laughing. Mindy had her hat over her face, hiding her expression. Her shoulders shook with laughter, though, and that did interesting things to her corseted breasts.

Arthur checked his costume, making sure everything was in place. The momentary panic faded quickly. He realized what they were laughing about as the herald stepped forward and the crowd settled to listen. 

They must have thought he was flirting with the grandmother. He wasn’t, but there was no convincing Kat. He’d have to discuss it with her later. It had taken him years to develop a friendly and outgoing nature, and it took effort to maintain it with strangers. Resentment at being maligned because of it unsettled him. There was nothing wrong with smiling, chatting, or being friendly to people who offered him no ill will. 

“Oh, look! There’s my grandson and granddaughter; they’re about your age,” Angela said, elbowing his arm and waving. “My grandson’s single, you know.” 

A pair of hands waved back. Arthur followed Angela’s pointing finger, but spotting Caleb, Yvonne, and Logan in the crowd distracted him. Caleb and Logan wolf-whistled at him, waving. Yvonne looked embarrassed and looked away. She waved at Maria instead, who ignored her. Arthur only had time for a quick wave before the herald began his announcements.  

“Good people! We have gathered here to witness the triumph of our good Queen Elizabeth over the ghoulish forces of evil this day!” 

Cheers and applause rose from the crowd, along with a spattering of good-natured laughter. Arthur lost himself in the flow of the performance and the audience once more.

“And who dost thou put forward as thy champions?” The herald asked. 

The queens took turns naming their pieces. Dave, as Lord Christopher Hatton, became Queen Elizabeth’s king piece. Her other nobles filled out the queen, bishops, knights, and rooks. Volunteers from the crowd filled out the ranks of her pawns, and it occurred to him why there were eight volunteers among the unseelie’s group. Queen Elizabeth was on the ‘white’ side of the board, while Queen Nicneven’s pieces took the ‘black’ side. 

Arthur took his position as the pawn before the king, Jack. The witchy woman in green stood to his right before their queen, the hag with a crooked knife tucked into her belt. Each square was several feet across, giving them plenty of space. Arthur stood in the middle of his square, greeting his neighbors with a smile. 

The young woman in green gave him a nervous smile and looked away, keeping her eyes forward. 

Arthur looked across from them as well. The pawn protecting the enemy queen was much shorter. Mike glared at him as if he’d pissed on his shoes and called it rain. Well, that would be interesting. Across from Arthur, a tiny ten-year-old girl in a Merida costume stood, laughing and clapping at everything around her. Behind them, Arthur locked eyes with Lord Hatton, aka Dave, Selene’s ex-boyfriend. 

Surprise crossed Dave’s face, then joy as he smiled at Arthur and gave him a nod. He didn’t break character, but acknowledged him all the same. Dave’s eyes searched the crowd behind Arthur, and he must have spotted Yvonne because he gave another nod. 

Arthur looked toward his girls once more and saw them smiling at him. Rani had joined them, sitting at the opposite end of the bench from Jen, with her camera in her lap. She waved at him, and he waved back. Dave followed his wave and froze. 

Selene sat between Kat and Mindy, holding Mindy’s hand, and blew a kiss to Arthur with her other hand, oblivious that Dave was watching her. Dave followed the kiss through the air, and his eyes landed on Arthur, who returned the kiss. 

Recognition settled over Dave, and resignation followed it, as if Arthur had just given him confirmation of something. Guilt flared in Arthur, turning his ears red, but he had no reason for guilt. He and Selene hadn’t cheated, nor had he stolen her away from Dave. They broke up before he and Lori did, and Arthur and Selene had been just friends until they got together months later. He hoped Dave knew that, and didn’t think something more sinister had happened. 

Unfortunately, he had no way to communicate with Dave across the chessboard. Nor did he know if Dave could break character enough to talk to him. Probably not. They’d have to wait until the Faire ended. 

The queens exchanged taunts to the crowd’s amusement, and then the game began. 

“Queen’s knight to C3!” Queen Elizabeth called to her court’s applause. 

Each queen maneuvered several of her pieces before a conflict arose. Queen Nicneven’s bishop took one of Queen Elizabeth’s knights. 

“Clear the board!” The herald called. 

Arthur and the others turned aside as the pair of professionals drew their weapons. They stood behind the line - off the board. Arthur helped Angela take her step down. It was a small step, but the older woman had to be close to seventy and looked frail. 

The unseelie bishop was a redcap in blue garb beneath her tall, conical red hat. She fought with a pair of scimitars. The knight she challenged fought with a sword and shield. Each bowed to their respective queen, then turned to fight each other. The knight bowed, but the redcap took advantage and played the heel, swiping with her swords as the knight jumped back. 

The crowd booed the dishonorable action, and the fight was afoot. 

In a realistic fight, Arthur knew the sword and shield would decimate someone dual-wielding scimitars. Between the reach of the longsword and the defense of the shield, the scimitars had no hope of winning a combat. Yet the Ren Faire wasn’t a place of strict historical realism. This combat wasn’t a HEMA match or an SCA demonstration. It was two actors following their choreography and fighting with stylized blows that entertained the crowd despite their fatal openings. 

Arthur took the brief reprieve to find Dave among the enemy ranks and saw him watching Selene. Selene paid attention to the fight along with the others. She gasped as the knight cut the redcap’s cap from her head, leaving her with a cone that ended with its tip cut off, showing her hair. Yelling, she snatched the fabric from the ground and covered her head with it. 

She yielded, and the combat ended. 

“Sir Lionel is the winner!” the herald cried to applause.

Sir Lionel rose from his kneeling position before his queen and returned to his spot on the board. 

The disgraced redcap bowed to Queen Nicneven. 

“Disgusting,” Nicneven spat. “Be gone from my sight.” 

The redcap bowed and moved away, trading places with the other pieces.  

The players moved to their stations once more. Arthur helped the redcap step off the board, then helped people onto the chessboard, starting with Angela. Before he knew it, he was stuck in the position for the rest of his teammates, who thanked him and used his hand as a railing. 

Arthur joined them, taking his position as Queen Nicneven called him. “King’s pawn to E-five!” He stepped forward, moving two squares forward from his starting position, and waited. 

“King’s pawn to E-three!” Queen Elizabeth shouted. 

The girl in the Merida costume jumped forward one square. 

“Queen’s pawn to E-six!” Nicneven shouted. 

“Queen’s pawn to E-four!” Queen Elizabeth shouted. 

Mike set his jaw tight as he stepped forward, taking the square and staring daggers at Arthur. They stood diagonally to one another, and Arthur realized that if he was Nicneven’s volunteer champion, then Mike had to be Elizabeth’s. 

Murder burned in the young man’s eyes. Arthur was glad to know it was only a fake fight. Maybe it’d help Mike let off steam, but there was no chance of either of them getting hurt. 

“King’s pawn to E-four!” Nicneven cried. 

“Clear the board!” the herald shouted. 

His teammates fled, leaving Arthur alone on the board with Mike. 

“Finally,” Mike said, keeping his voice low so no one else heard him. “I’m going to fuck you up.” 

“Choose your weapons!” The herald pointed to opposite sides of the board. 

Arthur looked behind him to see a rack of foam weapons laid out. Each looked genuine, though they were for LARP. He was playing a barbarian, so he picked up the most enormous sword he could find: a greatsword. The big two-handed sword was weighted and unwieldy, but lighter than its steel counterpart would be. 

Mike gestured at one of his teammates’ steel swords as he walked to the edge of the board, asking for it. They directed him to the foam weapons. He argued, but they said something low and guided him toward the foam. He took two battleaxes and swung them to test their weight. 

“Don’t worry,” Jack said, leaning close to Arthur. “Your opponent is being told to take the fall, but it’s okay either way. Don’t do anything too fancy, or you might hurt yourself. No head strikes, and no crotch shots.” 

“Understood,” Arthur said, nodding. 

Jack patted his shoulder. “Play it up and be the heel. You want the audience to hate you. We’re the villains, right?” 

Arthur smiled. “Sure thing.” Others might not have understood or resented the audience’s hatred, but Arthur loved theater, and he never got the villain role. This chance was an opportunity he wouldn’t waste. 

Villainy didn’t come naturally to Arthur, but playing it on stage? That’d be fun. Between the harem and getting to take part in the show, this might be the most fun he’d ever had at the Faire. He turned to see Mike and Dave whispering. He must’ve been getting the same speech that Jack had given Arthur. Dave pushed him toward the board, and Mike shook his shoulders and glared at Arthur.  

Arthur stepped forward, nearing the center of the ring, but stopped when the herald on stage signaled him to stop. 

“Turn and face your queens!” 

Arthur and Mike turned to face Elizabeth and Nicneven. 

“Do not disappoint thy queen, Sir Arthur, or I shall have to punish thee, privately,” Nicneven said, grinning. The crowd ate it up, whooping and hollering. Arthur didn’t have to turn to recognize his girls being the loudest. It was a family-friendly show, but the innuendo flew over the younger heads, as they turned to see why their parents were laughing. 

“Go forth to victory, Sir Michael!” Queen Elizabeth shouted. “Do not let the barbarian win.” 

“Bow to your queens!” the herald cried. 

Michael bowed, stiff and formal, as if entering a karate match. 

Arthur knelt and bowed with his forehead pressed against his blade. Then he rose and faced Michael. 

Michael faced him. 

“The first fighter to land a blow upon their opponent wins the match! Bow to each other!” 

Arthur bowed. 

Mike remained standing until Arthur’s eyes were on the grass, then he swung his axes in an overhead strike aimed for the back of Arthur’s head. 

The crowd’s gasp and Mike’s lack of movement made Arthur realize what was happening. He thought Mike might try something stupid, so he rolled sideways and leapt to his feet. He sprang from the ground and swung his sword in an arc that made Mike step back.

The crowd’s cheer at the theatrics fueled Arthur, pumping his heart for him as he joined battle with Mike. 

Arthur’s weapon had much greater reach, and despite having two weapons, Mike couldn’t get near him without Arthur thrusting the tip at his chest and ending the match. Mike wasn’t ready for that to happen, nor was Arthur, but for different reasons. 

Arthur’s athleticism had the crowd cheering him on, despite his supposed villain status. He frowned, blocking a blow from Mike and knocking it aside. Improvisation was an option. He should spout lines to turn the crowd against him and make Mike the hero, despite his opening move. The trouble was thinking of something to say while fighting. He didn’t have a microphone, so whatever he said, he’d have to shout. 

“My queen needs those souls! Yours will do!” Arthur said. 

Mike wasn’t doing much thinking or playacting. He was fighting like a madman, swinging his axes and charging forward. Arthur had to keep on his back foot, using his sword to block more than swing, and moving backward in circles until he could figure out an opening. Switching the enormous sword from defense to offense wasn’t a quick process, though, despite its lighter nature. 

“Stand and fight, knave!” One of Elizabeth’s nobles jeered. “Methinks his gigantic sword is just for show!” 

“Mayhaps he’s compensating!” Another noble jeered. 

Laughter started through the crowd at the cheap shot. Mike seemed to think that should annoy Arthur more than it did. He surged forward, his right arm back to swing his axe, and his left arm mid-swing overhead. 

Arthur saw his opening and took it. Half expecting it not to work, he spun to the side, turning his left side toward Mike while putting himself on Mike’s left. His hands on the sword swung from Arthur’s left to his right, using his greatsword like a baseball bat. He struck Mike in the chest with a loud -THUD- and stepped aside, withdrawing the blade in the movement and holding it before him again. 

If it’d been a real sword, he might’ve cleaved Mike through the ribs. Then again, if they were real axes, they would have broken his sword. 

“Sir Arth–!” The herald’s proclamation cut off as Mike screamed, threw his axes to the ground, and charged Arthur.

Arthur turned his blade and thrust, striking Mike in the torso again and stopping his rush forward, or slowing it. Instead of impaling him, the foam sword bent and slid aside. Mike knocked the rest of it away. Arthur still had it in his hand, but couldn’t swing it around in time to protect himself. He didn’t have enough space to dodge either, so he dropped his sword and braced himself. 

Mike dropped his shoulder, but workers from the Faire grabbed him under the arms and dragged him back to Queen Elizabeth’s side. He struggled, flailing and kicking, punching one of the knights before he realized what was happening. He glared at Arthur as they removed him from the field, turning him over to security. 

Arthur stood dumbfounded as confusion rippled through the crowd. Everyone debated whether this was part of the show. Jack, Hatton, and the other chess piece players rushing the field had shattered that illusion. 

“You alright?” Jack asked beside Arthur.

Arthur nodded, and Jack gripped Arthur’s bracer and lifted his hand, pronouncing him the victor.

Most of the crowd cheered, though many of the children remembered he was the villain and booed at him. Maybe that was why the professors never cast him as the antagonist. He wasn’t any good at playing the heel. 

“Come on,” Jack said, leading him to the side and clearing the board. 

“And that’s why some Faires don’t do this.” A redcap beside Arthur grumbled. “Asshole. Not you, but the other guy. It’s jerks like that who ruin it for everybody.” 

Arthur nodded. 

“Are you okay?” The hag who’d taken his signature asked him. “Do you need the medical tent?” 

“No, I’m fine,” Arthur said, shaking his head. 

“You have one more fight, but it’ll be an easy one, and you’re going to throw it. Are you sure you’re up for it?” Jack asked. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Arthur said, nodding. 

Jack gave the stage the thumbs-up signal, and the herald on stage relaxed. 

Arthur looked over at the harem, giving them a thumbs-up to let them know he was okay. They looked relieved, except for Selene. Selene had a hateful glare on her face that he’d only ever seen leveled at Lynn. This time, she leveled it at Dave. 

Arthur looked between them, but if Dave noticed Selene glaring at him, he didn’t show it. Arthur had thought they were on okay terms. Why was she glaring at Dave? He looked, if anything, worried and just as upset at Mike as everyone else. 

“Sir Arthur is the victor! Pawn takes pawn!” the herald cried. “To your places!” 

The pieces resumed their places, and Arthur took the position that Mike had been in before their fight. Putting him on the diagonal from Merida. The curly redhead had to be seven or eight, or even younger, and she eyed him in fear and awe as he towered above her on the battlefield. 

“Are you ready?” Queen Elizabeth asked. 

“Of course,” Queen Nicneven waved her hand. “Do your worst.” 

“King’s pawn to E-four!” Queen Elizabeth cried. 

“Clear the board!” The herald’s decree sent everyone scattering again. 

He’d had a brief reprieve, but the call to combat came again. This time, he had to lose. That wasn’t a big deal. It’d be a cute pantomime of combat between him and the kid, then he’d get to watch from the bench. 

“Choose your weapons!” The herald pointed to opposite sides of the board again. Arthur kept his greatsword. Merida picked a sword and shield from the rack of foam weapons without requesting steel. She seemed nervous, but Dave encouraged her and sent her onto the field of battle. 

“Make sure she has fun, and remember to take the fall, right? Make it a show.” Jack whispered in Arthur’s ear. 

“Oh, yeah, of course. I’m not gonna hurt a kid or anything. I’ll play it up, but I’m good to lose,” Arthur assured him.

“Turn and face your queens!” 

“This should be an easy match for thee, Sir Arthur,” Queen Nicneven gestured to the field. “Though if our enemy continues in this fashion, thy next opponent shall only reach thy knee.”

The crowd laughed at the short joke at Mike’s expense. Merida was much shorter than he was. Arthur did his best to look intimidating to the crowd. He straightened his spine and raised his sword above his head. 

Merida’s fearful expression made him lower his sword and stop playing it up for the crowd as much, letting her have the spotlight. 

“Don’t be afraid, Lady Merida, for every Goliath meets his David one day. Be brave! And strike true!” Queen Elizabeth encouraged his opponent. “You have the shield of courage and a magic sword! He is no match for you!” 

Merida stared at the sword in her hands. 

“Bow to your queens!” 

Arthur bowed as he had before, and Merida mimicked him. 

“You fight until the first blow! The first fighter to land a blow upon their opponent wins the match! Bow to each other!”

Arthur and Merida bowed to each other, drawing a chorus of ‘aw’ from the crowd. 

The tiny girl faced him with a brave, determined expression, as if trying to scare him away by looking mean and angry. She bared her teeth and raised her shield, smacking her sword against it. 

“Ha!” Arthur bellowed, playing up the villainy. “This will be easy!” 

“Fight!” the herald called. 

Arthur took the first swing, leveling his sword and swinging in an arc that cleared his opponent’s head by a foot. 

She ducked under it and ran forward. Arthur took a step back as she swiped at his calves and made a show of trying to fend her off with quick blocks against her speedy swings. Determined, she continued attacking, leaving her round shield almost forgotten. 

The crowd cheered her on. Even Arthur’s girlfriends cheered for her, telling her she could take him down. Arthur feinted his blows, swinging and moving to keep her on her toes. She chose the direct route, never letting up for an instant and always closing the distance. 

Arthur swung toward her shield, knowing she’d block him. He kept his attack light, and she knocked his sword aside with her shield arm. He exaggerated the deflection, throwing his arms wide and leaving himself wide open. 

Merida rushed forward, thrusting her blade into his stomach with a cry of triumphant victory. Arthur clutched his stomach where she’d struck, and fell sideways, landing on the platform as if she’d felled him and rolling to his back. 

Several more smacks with her sword followed on his chest and abs, making sure he was dead, before she put her foot on his stomach and roared in triumph. 

“Lady Merida is our victor!” the herald announced. “All hail, Lady Merida!” 

Dave came over, held her hand aloft, led her away from Arthur, and presented her to the crowd. The crowd roared and applauded her victory, as they should. 

Arthur rolled over and picked himself up after she stopped posing over his ‘dead’ body. He feigned injury until he made it to the sidelines, then looked for the nearest bench. 

“Am I free to sit wherever, or do I need to stand here?” Arthur asked the defeated redcap. 

“Oh, stick with us until the match is over,” the redcap said. “If that’s okay.” 

“Yeah, no problem,” Arthur said, nodding. He put his sword back on the rack and stood beside the redcap, watching the chess match continue. 

He glanced over at the bench to see his girlfriends on their phones. They elbowed each other and gushed over whatever they were looking at. Arthur looked around, then checked his phone as discreetly as possible. He was dead, so there wasn’t anything for him to do other than shout encouragement the next time the board cleared for combat. The professionals were getting involved. The stage combat with steel-on-steel was much more exciting than foam-on-foam. It held the crowd’s attention.

He checked the chats to see that Rani had uploaded a series of pictures from his fights; the most recent batch was his fight with the little girl. 

Wifey: OMG, look at how adorable! 

Pet: So cute!

Master: lol. Her mean face was adorable. She almost made me break character. 

Wifey: You were so good with her! 

Pet: You’re going to make a great dad one day. 

Wifey: 100%

Master: lol. 

Queenie: My ovaries nearly exploded watching that. The cutest thing ever. 

Whore: I didn’t know you were good with kids! 

Brat: Of course, he’s great with kids. He’s good at everything else. Why not that too?

Slut: Can we post these on socials? 

Master: I wouldn’t. Some parents don’t want their kids' photos on social media. You’d have to ask permission from whoever her parents are. 

Queenie: He’s right. We can post the photos of his fight with Mr. Asshole, though. 

Master: His name was Mike. 

Queenie: Mike Asshole? Weird name.

Whore: He was just sore that I wasn’t interested, and the Boss sent him packing. 

Queenie: So he’s a sore asshole. Should’ve used more lube. 

Slut: Oh, come on, any asshole would be sore after Master thrust his sword into them. 

Arthur laughed out loud, which drew attention from the people beside him. The girls on the bench became a pile of silent giggles, but no one minded a bunch of college kids on their phones.  

The redcap stood on his left, and the grandmother he’d talked to stood on his right. They watched with the others as the unseelie hag and a sorceress from Queen Elizabeth’s side fought with knives. 

He turned his phone off and shrank. “Sorry,” he said. “I was just looking at the photos of the fight my girlfriend sent me.” 

“Oh?” Angela asked. “Can I see?” 

“Oh, sure, one sec,” Arthur pulled his phone out again, and pulled up the photos he’d downloaded. He showed her the pics of him fighting Merida, which she cooed over as he scrolled through them. 

“Ugh, I miss when my grandchildren were that age. They’re so adorable. Now they’re old enough to have children themselves,” Angela said, shaking her head. “The young man you fought wasn’t very sporting, though. He was quite rude to you.” 

“Yeah, he was a jerk,” Arthur agreed. 

The photo show ended with the most recent photo before the fight, the group shot of everyone that Manasa took. 

“Oh, are those your friends?” Angela asked. “The ones you came to the Faire with?” 

“Yeah,” Arthur said, putting his phone away. 

“Such daring costumes,” Angela said, chuckling. “Makes me miss my youth.” 

“You’ve got a great costume,” Arthur countered. “It’s much more intricate than mine.” 

Angela laughed. “Warmer too, I’d bet. But not as hot.” 

Arthur chuckled, and they returned their attention to the match as the sorceress struck the hag. She died as a smoke bomb within her pile of rags fell to the ground, enveloping her in smoke as she crumpled. 

“Checkmate!” Queen Elizabeth cried in triumph. “Good triumphs over evil, as it should!” 

The audience applauded, then fell silent as Queen Nicneven rose from her throne. Her grim yet regal facade commanded silence without a word. Arthur had to give the actress credit; she nailed the perilous beauty of a fairy queen. 

“The day is not over yet, mortal queen,” Nicneven said as she motioned for her minions to gather themselves. “We have gathered many of your lords and ladies to our cause, and may yet claim the souls we need.” 

“What treachery is this? Is your defeat not decided by this match?” Queen Elizabeth asked. 

“Surely not,” Queen Nicneven said. “This is but one game of many. The day is but halfway done!” 

“Our bargain was to determine the tithe by games and combat!” Queen Elizabeth protested, gesturing to the chessboard. 

Nicneven laughed. “Games, yes. Plural. Oh, queen of foolish mortals. We shall see thee again at the joust!” 

The audience applauded, though some had already dispersed. The show at the chess field was over, and the story would resume at the end of the Faire. Meanwhile, the players departed to roam the lanes and entertain the Faire folk. 

Arthur wondered if he could ever do this for a job. Being in character for an entire day must be exhilarating and exhausting, but he’d gotten a taste of it and wanted more. He’d have to see when they held auditions. It was too far to make it every weekend, but by next year, he’d only have his grad classes left, and he could make it work. 

The nobles on stage dispersed, and the audience left their seats. A few people lingered. Most of them were related to the volunteers. Angela joined her family, the Scotsman hugged his wife, children rejoined their parents, and the young woman in the green dress stood off to the side. Meanwhile, the harem waited for Arthur to join them at the benches. 

“Thank you, Arthur.” Queen Nicneven said as she approached. “You served me well.” 

“Any time, Your Highness,” Arthur said, bowing. 

The unseelie queen smiled as if he’d made a joke. “We shall see,” she said, and took Jack’s hand. Together, they led the unseelie folk out of the chess field, leaving the volunteers behind. 

“You were, um, pretty great,” the girl in the green dress said.

Arthur realized she was behind him and talking to him. He chuckled. “Thanks, I do a lot of theater, so I have some stage combat experience.” 

Brad’s hand smacked him on the back before snaking his arm over Arthur’s shoulders and hugging him with one arm. “You were terrific, man!” He patted Arthur’s chest and released him, laughing. 

“You looked like you could actually fight out there,” Jen said. She stood behind him and Brad. “And you fighting Merida was adorable.” 

Arthur laughed. “Yeah.” He looked past them to see the harem still waiting for him at the bench, looking at Rani’s camera. Meanwhile, Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen had made their way over to him. 

“You fighting that other guy was hot, even if he was a sore loser,” Mark said. 

“I’ll say,” Maria fanned herself. “Woo. You put on quite a show.” 

Arthur laughed. “Thanks. It was a lot of fun. Makes me miss the stage, you know?” 

“Yeah,” Mark said. “Maybe we should’ve done Spamalot next semester.” 

“Ugh, don’t even,” Maria said, holding up her hand. “The last thing anyone needs to tell Yvonne is that she was right.” 

The group laughed, and Arthur realized that the young woman in the green dress was still there. She looked at him as if she wanted to say something. He didn’t know her name, so he couldn’t introduce her, but he could ask her name. 

“What’s–” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t, well, I’ll, uh, leave you to your friends,” the young woman said, cutting him off even if she didn’t mean to do it. She blushed with embarrassment and stumbled over her words. “It, um, that is, I, well, goodbye.” She turned aside and walked away as fast as she could without running before Arthur could even say goodbye. 

“Who was that?” Brad asked, confused. 

“One of the other volunteers,” Arthur said. “I think I frightened her.” 

“Scared of you?” Jen asked, concerned. “Did you say something to her?” 

“No, other than hello, or the basic small talk.” Arthur scratched his neck. “I was trying to be less friendly when I met her. Kat said something about me flirting with everybody, so I tried to reel in the smiling. I don’t want people to think I’m flirting with them if I’m not.” 

“It’s okay to be friendly,” Maria said. “You’re a six-four muscular guy in a barbarian costume. Your smile helps people realize you’re not a threat.” 

“What about me?” Brad asked. “Am I scary?” 

“Nah, you give off permanent himbo vibes. Big golden retriever energy,” Maria waved her hand over Brad’s torso, gesturing to all of him. “You’re about as intimidating as a, well, yeah, as a golden retriever.” 

Jen chuckled. “It’s a good thing, Brad, I promise.” She patted Brad’s arm and held onto it. 

“Alright, let’s join the others,” Arthur said. “I want to grab lunch. A turkey leg sounds good, and then we’ll see what’s next on Kelly’s schedule.” 

The group laughed, following Arthur toward the harem. He reunited with his girlfriends, each of whom gave him a big hug and a kiss hello. A hero’s welcome, or as close as they could get in public. 

“You were so cute out there,” Kelly said, holding onto his arm and putting her hand in his. “Come on, let’s get some food in your belly, Mister.” She patted his stomach.

Arthur laughed. Katelyn took his other hand, and he kissed her on the cheek. “Oh, who won your tournament match?” 

“I did,” Katelyn said, grinning. “One step closer to spending the night in your bed, Big D.” 

Arthur chuckled. “That nickname is borderline inappropriate for use in public.” 

Katelyn nodded. “Yeah, but nobody’s gonna cancel us for it. Unlike some names I could use.” 

“Fair,” Arthur said, not arguing the point. 

“Selene’s is still the most inappropriate in public,” Rani said, walking ahead. 

“Oh, how did your tattoo come out?” Arthur asked. 

“Great!” Rani said, turning to the side to show off her hip. Dark black ink stood out against her dark brown skin in the sunlight. The hand, forearm, waves, and sword were the same as the others. ‘Sisterhood of Excalibur’ encircled the blade. The words on the blade were in an Indian alphabet he couldn’t read. 

“What does it say on the blade?” He asked, unable to read it while they were walking, even if it were in English. 

“Arthur’s Concubine,” Rani said, giving him a sultry look over her face veil. “Who’s getting theirs next?” 

“I guess I should,” Katelyn said. “Since everyone else still has their tournament stuff to do.” 

“After lunch,” Arthur said. “First, we feast!” 

“Woo!” Rani, Mindy, Selene, and even Kat joined in the celebratory noises as they walked ahead. 

Arthur hugged Kelly to his side with his left arm and held Katelyn’s hand in his right. Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen walked behind them. 

Ahead of them, Rani, Mindy, Kat, and Selene discussed what they wanted to do and see in the afternoon. Mermaids were a must. 

Behind them, Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen discussed the chances of Brad convincing the Faire that they needed a vigilante for their storyline. Jen supported him, as a girlfriend should. Maria thought it was ridiculous. Mark argued that if he went that route, he should portray Robin Hood rather than someone from a modern IP. 

Arthur’s grin grew as they walked, and he bathed in the moment, letting it wash over him as he committed it to memory. He wanted to look back on this moment and remember how happy he was with his friends. Life was good, and the day promised to get even better.