3 comments/ 13402 views/ 0 favorites Epistle To My Lady Ch. 01 By: SEVERUSMAX Note: this is another letter in a series in which I am collaborating with RedhairedandFriendly. It is a series of love letters that are not included in my novel in progress, but are set in the same background. My side is henceforth called "Epistle To My Lady" and hers is "Epistle To My Captain". 5/1/10 My dear Queen, I write this to you with the taste of you still fresh in my memory. Our recent encounter has met every one of my expectations, and I certainly hope that it has met yours. You have been a blessing from Aphrodite, of that I am now convinced. Our lovemaking has been wild and passionate enough for me. I hope that it was gentle and tender enough for you. The fact that you used that idea of the wine that I suggested for your pussy was quite delightful, both in the variety of flavors and in the knowledge that you did as I asked you. No one could deny that you are a considerate and pleasing lover. Your surprise at the end, with Antigone cleaning your juices from my cock after she licked your cunny, was so enjoyable that I almost released my seed into her throat instead of her sex. I wonder if you knew how close it was, my love. Your pussy during the lovemaking itself was especially tight. I felt sad at the idea that you were almost as deprived as me, in terms of the amorous delights that this war has made too scarce. It would seem that you have not touched any but your slave girls in my absence. That must be a true hardship, to have all of your favorites gone to war, sacrificed by you for the good of the realm. The people have no concept of how unselfish a ruler you truly are, how conscientious in respect to your duties. Mind you, I am somewhat biased in my politics. I am always loyal to you. I understood, however, that you were only preparing her for my entry into her willing channel. The idea that you wanted me to take her and satisfy her crush was a delicious twist there. I just did not realize that you also wanted to clean both of us afterward. That was another shock to me, though I did not mind it. Clearly, you are quite kind to your slaves, or at least to your favorites. I was pleased that you followed my counsel in sending her back to bed for the night, just as you assured me that you would. If I had anything left in me after that evening, I might have yielded to your urging that I use your bottom for my pleasure after all. It would have been difficult to refuse your request at that point, despite my misgivings regarding buggery. By the morning, I was, sadly, my old sober, hesitant self in that respect. I thank you for your understanding of my reluctance to explore that one matter. In most areas, I have no trouble with enjoying a woman's body, particularly yours. However, the reason for my dislike for buggery is linked to my distaste for the seed of a man. You asked me about this, and I have finally relented in telling you in this epistle, when I could never get the courage to explain it to you in person. When I was a young cadet of just 18, I was drunk and frustrated, so I agreed to indulge in a tryst with a comrade who was perhaps one year my senior. This was during a military training exercise, so we were at an isolated camp for the week. He was more than a little rough when entering my mouth, his seed tasted awful, and his ravishing of my sphincter left me sore for the next 3 days. He never forced himself on me, as I was eager for the relief, but I did not enjoy the act at all. When it was my turn to have my way with him, I took my revenge brutally, ensuring that he would not forget what happens to those who are too selfish with a lover. Even a man needs some time to adjust when it comes to buggery. I am not sure, even today, which of us had more problems sitting down the next day. So, that was the incident where I "tasted a man's seed", as you put it, and learned to dislike the use of the anal passage for sexual purposes. Perhaps I will revise my views about the latter in time, though not quite yet. I just feel too much empathy for the recipient as of yet. Back to other matters, I reassured my wife that I had no intentions of divorcing her, as sweet as she is. That was the afternoon before I returned to a certain encampment whose nature I will not divulge here for self-evident reasons. When I returned, I made no mention of you during the officers' mess. I remembered well your urging on that concern. I hope that you miss me as much as I miss you, as selfish as that may sound. I pray to the Gods every day for your happiness and prosperity as Queen and as a lady. Forgive my selfish desire on that issue. On a more altruistic note, I hope that Philomela doesn't keep mooning over Epimenas. She should not neglect you, however, if she should ever stop. She owes you a great debt for your kindness to her. I trust that Eris and Helle are still happy together, as well as with your attentions. You are apparently quite capable in pleasing women as well as men, it would seem, my dear. Your loving Captain, Lord Cadmus Epistle To My Lady Ch. 02 This story is part of the "Epistle To My Lady" series, which is meant as a complementary one to the "Epistle To My Captain" series written by RedhairedandFriendly. Thanks, Red, for working on this one with me. I am having fun with it, as I hope you are as well. 6/2/10 My lady, I thank you very much for your suggestion that I try the glass phallus on your bottom. That could be rather pleasant as an experiment for me. It might well reassure me that your lovely ass would not be harmed by my cock. I also thank you for your empathy regarding what I told you about my past experience with buggery. Instead of making light of it, you seemed grateful and appreciative, not to mention understanding of my concerns for your well-being. I really wish that I could be already in the palace, trying out such ideas with you and drinking some wine together. I wish that I could be indulging in wild orgies with you and Antigone. Unfortunately, of course, recent events have slowed that down. However, I shall be in the capital in a few days, so I have to mail this today, or else I will beat it to you. I very much want this letter to reach you first. I regret that I must give you some bad news. Yes, it is of a military nature. Yes, we can distract ourselves from it with some passionate lovemaking for a night or two. By now, the enemy already knows this, so there is no security risk involved in telling you what you badly need to know. I don't know what exactly has gotten to you from Anexagoras, but he has lost far too many men in taking Pythaeum. It was a hollow victory, despite his attempts to portray it otherwise. He badly underestimated enemy defenses and fortifications there. He should have counted on Lord Themistocles reinforcing the town with an even larger garrison and stronger walls. The arrows alone killed 600 of our brave men. To return to more pleasant topics, I really do wish to consult with you about the idea of impregnating Philomela. I mention her because she is lonely and could use a child for company and distraction. You would still have her as a slave, but she would get to taste a man at last and her child could be freed and legitimized as my heir. It is a thought that has occurred to me during recent letters and after having seen her again at the palace during my last, very delightful visit there. Yes, for the record, I share your wish that we could marry and leave our duties behind. We could live as any old peasant family, with both of us the same chasing the same women and laughing about our conquests while making fantastic love to each other; or whatever it is that provincial couples do in their private lives. I don't really know how exactly they live, since I have never been a peasant. I am noble. You are royal. Our rank and station require us to be somewhat distant in public and be married to other people. I wish that this were not the case, but it is. We do our duty for the nation, but do not think for a moment that I do not long to be your husband, because I do. Admittedly, I might not be the best husband in the world, but I would be your mate and love you passionately as my wife. Perhaps the Gods will be kind and let us have each other in another life, if there is such a thing. We are doing our duty, after all. So, yes, as I watch Eris and Helle, I envy them their deep love for each other. It is as I would love to be with you: a love untainted by politics, ambition, duty, and war. They are not jealous. They are just happy. They put each other first, above any other lovers or friends. They have no ulterior motives and no conflict of interest. They have no danger of being accused of such other motives. Those women have something that I wish for us, though it is not possible. Therefore, my love, I dream of such a life for us, even as I resign myself to a flawed life of loving a woman whom I cannot wed and being married to a woman whom I do not love. That sacrifice is required of us as the cost imposed by our wealth and status. However, I console myself with the knowledge that we do have some time together. That time is something that I will revel in, and hopefully continue, when both of us are old and gray. Surely you know that gray hairs on your head will not repulse me or cost you my love? It is not about your beauty, although that is a bonus. It is about your heart and your nature. In that, I believe, I am a great lover. I am loyal to you and always will be loyal to you. Forgive my tangents and rambling, my lady. I have simply been thinking about many things, and you are chief among them. The stress and the intrigue that have been growing in this country and your court of late have prompted me to drink more than I should, and when I drink, I often become a chatterbox. This you no doubt realize about me by now, I presume. Speaking of that, I have still kept my word about not telling others of the fact of our affair. I could not look into your eyes after such a deliberate betrayal if I had done so. The other men can continue to guess as to what woman I love. They do not need to know about the nights that I have drunk wine from your body, enjoyed an orgy with you and Antigone, and plundered your pussy until you screamed, not for mercy but from release. They do not need to know how intense and incredible my erection is when I am with you. They do not need to know the sheer delight of cumming inside you and the torment of wishing that you could let my seed fill and impregnate you. I think that I will have to try the glass phallus with you, if only to see for myself the evident pleasure that causes you to desire my cock inside your bottom. I am beginning to feel the urge to find out what your ass must be like around my phallus. You will definitely be the first to enjoy my cock there, followed probably at some point by Antigone. You can be sure, however, that I will use the glass one beforehand, however, for my own peace of mind. The thought of taking your pucker is making my manhood stiffen as I write. I may have to stop now and handle it, which is fine, since I have nothing more that comes to my mind to write at this moment. Your idea there might well get you the satisfaction of your lust. Your loving Captain, Lord Cadmus Epistle To My Lady Ch. 03 This story is part of a collaboration between myself and RedHairedandFriendly. It is a part of the Epistle To My Lady series, complementary to the Epistle To My Captain series that she is writing. I have enjoyed writing this with her and look forward to continuing for a while longer. 6/30/10 My Lady, The glass phallus was a great experience for me as well. I take it that Antigone also enjoyed it. I look forward to trying the real thing next week, when I get there. This extra round of inspections has been an unpleasant necessity, due to the recent reverses in the war. Our fortifications, which your late father built, must be as strong as possible, given the greater peril to us. Of what do I speak, you might ask. Well, to begin with, there is no need to worry about punishing Anexagoras for a few months at least, whether through his "oddities" or otherwise. He has fought another ill-advised battle (or so I think, given the weakened state of his army so soon after Pythaeum and our unimpressive victory there). This time, he faced Lord Pelopidas, the most elderly and respected of the Malacanian strategoi. It was a disaster. Not only was it too soon, it was too poorly planned. The results vindicate my view on it, I believe. The Pythonian Forest witnessed the virtual annihilation of his army. Total statistics so far reveal losses of 4,000 killed. 3,000 have been captured. The rest are missing. Among the prisoners is Lord Anexagoras himself. He was taken alive, rather than falling on his sword like a true nobleman. The cavalry, mostly composed of green cadets, is totally scattered. For more bad news, it seems that Lord Hippolytus is not taking the threat from Lord Draco seriously enough. At least, it is not serious enough for him to steal a march on Draco's position in Damoclea. Nor has he made any efforts to encourage the locals to prepare for invasion. The Northern Army is idle, though solely due to the hesitation of its commander. Well, enough bad news on the war front. Time to think of something else. You mentioned that you couldn't stand the idea of keeping Philomela around, due to jealousy. I admit to occasional jealousy myself, due to the idea that some other man will sire a child on you. Your heir will be of his blood, not mine. However, I know that it is necessity. Part of me longs for the simplicity of peasant life. Part of me even longs to be isolated from the world and live with you alone, like we are the aged couple that survived the Flood sent by the Gods. The other part of me craves variety, politics, intrigue, etc. There will always be conflict between those desires for both of us, I think. However, of course, the present situation requires me to choose this life, just as you choose yours. Here is what I suggest. You marry Philomela off to Ganymede, as a kind of dubious present to that mad dog, who is even now complaining about his "audience" with you. The vain old man, being impotent these days, will probably claim the child conveniently and content himself with doing the only thing that impotent men are still good for in bed: licking a woman's sex. That is, assuming that he never regains his potency. He claims that he was just drunk. I don't believe him. Posidonians rarely get drunk. They are too good at drinking for that. Yes, thanks to his orations in the suburbs, I know Ganymede better than I used to know him. Offer him this prize, on the condition that he shut up. You don't need more enemies, particularly rude guests who are upset with themselves because they couldn't enjoy your body due to their own physical ailments. Then, there is Laertes. The old Sophist thinks himself Socrates these days, or at least Pythagoras. I recommend that you have Leonippus use his contacts among his fellow homosexuals to get a spy into the lunatic's bed. That should give us some useful information about the nature of the apparently growing conspiracy against you. I so look forward to making love to you again, especially the idea of taking your anal orifice and then having Antigone's. No doubt, she will want that too, when she sees it (and besides, it will be too soiled right afterward to put anywhere else in her). Then she can lick you clean and you can return the favor. I know that I will need to return to my own house afterward, so that my wife doesn't feel neglected. Besides, she is nice in bed, though not nearly your equal in that regard. She is much more conservative in sexual matters. She doesn't care what I do with others, but for her, the expectations of her class are most relevant. That means not doing anything beyond her duty to service me in the traditional position. That is to be expected of most ladies of such high rank. I suppose that part of your appeal (though certainly not all of it) lies in your willingness to expand to practices not customary for a woman of such high birth. Out of curiosity, now that he is not able to participate in such "oddities", what are they? Also, what exactly did happen with Ganymede? Was he drunk or just impotent? I understand wanting to bed him to learn a few things from him. I'm not jealous of him, only of your future bridegroom. However, it must have been a disappointment, whatever the case. Incidentally, given the conflict between our desires for variety and our common jealousy, perhaps we should get married when we are old. I posed this idea before and I hope that you will consider, once you are free to wed again and an heir has reached his majority. That, of course, assumes that I am alive and Arachne is not. However, if that should happen in our old age, what do you make of it? If I am an old man, I doubt that I will have as much desire, need, or ability to sleep with other women. The same would no doubt be true of you as an old woman. Perhaps, actual monogamy is something best left to old age, when nothing is new and variety is no longer possible. That is the time when only the heart and sentiment count, and the body scarcely matters anymore. If you abdicate, then politics is not an issue and you can marry whom you please. I really do anticipate taking your bottom. I will be sure to lick it first, as I will with Antigone. That will ease the passage as well, though I still plan to use some oils to lubricate the entry, I did with the glass phallus. I regret again that this otherwise highly passionate and erotic letter has to contain such grim news about the war. Be assured that I am thinking of your best interests, both in the bedchamber and in the barracks. You are my Lady and my Queen, and I love you as both. I love you as my woman first, and then as my sovereign, I admit. Your loving and loyal Captain, Lord Cadmus Epistle To My Lady Ch. 04 This story is complementary to the ones called "Epistle To My Captain", written by RedHairedandFriendly. Due to the recent tragic passing of Colleen Thomas, aka "Colly", I dedicate this particular one to her memory. This is part of the "Epistle To My Lady" series that I have been writing, in conjunction with RedHairedandFriendly. I have had a lot of pleasure writing this series, and do not intend to stop until the Muse indicates that I should do so, or that she should stop writing it. I hope that you continue reading and enjoying this series as well. 7/31/10 My dear Lady, Let me commence this letter by saying that I am pleased that you share my wish to become man and wife when we are older. This would make me happier than any other man, knowing that we could perhaps have some life outside of the traps of birth, office, and duty. Of course, this desire is one that we will have keep as our sweet secret, just a matter between us. No one else needs to know of our plans as yet. It will be our hidden happiness, to understand our mutual hope for a private life together. We could grow old as lovers, sharing what the Fates have so far denied us. As for the issue of a child, well, I am also pleased that you appreciate my idea for Philomela to wed Ganymede. I had thought that advising them to use the services of a courtesan to allow them some pleasure would be a good one, but then I thought better of it. No, Ganymede can do his own dirty work in regard to looking for someone to make him a harder man. Clearly, Philomela, for all of her charms, will lack what it takes in that respect. She will just have to find someone else as well to please her, albeit far from the palace. She doesn't need to linger after she has wed him, thus bringing fresh pain and longing to your heart. She can bear the child, give it to Arachne, and live as Ganymede's trophy wife. The Gods know that is all of the use that she will be to him. His money and fame will be all of the use that he is to her. Regarding Anexagoras and the condition of the army, I regret once more having to bear ill tidings. He has chosen not to return to our country and face the consequences of his failure and capture. Instead, he has accepted an offer to spend his days in comfortable exile, providing information to the enemy as to our strengths and weaknesses. The man is nothing more than a traitor now. Rumor has it that he has plenty of companions, too, of both the male and female kind. I personally hope that he suffers a bit from Ganymede's disease. Whatever Ganymede's flaws, at least he was a patriot. He left his country rather than live under a Lysanian puppet. Furthermore, there are reports that Lord Draco is force-marching his army eastward and southward, clearly trying to threaten us from the North. I only pray to Ares and Athena that Lord Hippolytus will do better than Lord Anexagoras. I fear that the war gods will not answer my prayer, but I will hope for a miracle. Perhaps they will be kind. Lord Hippolytus has a bad habit of moving slowly and cautiously, as you know, the polar opposite of Lord Anexagoras and his haste. Let us hope that he is the opposite of his treachery as well. Well, my love, I very much look forward to our next meeting. Our last was incredible, at least for me. I very much hope and believe that you enjoyed it, as did Antigone. I got that impression from the way that you tensed up as you climaxed. It did not seem a false orgasm to me. Of course, being a man, I have no certain way to know that. Given your desire for buggery, however, it made sense that you would enjoy it with so much preparation made for your bottom. I admit that my cock has never felt a woman so tight around my manhood. The only other time I had tried that entrance, it was that awful encounter with a man that I described. I changed my mind about the penetration of your anus (and that of Antigone), but I very much doubt that I will about men. That experience with my comrade basically proved to me that I like only the fairer sex when it comes to the pleasures of Eros. In any case, since I filled your posterior with my seed and followed that up by doing Antigone the same favor, I can definitely say that I have been persuaded that anal pleasures are not to be scorned. I will not, of course, make it or attempt to make it the primary act of sexual intercourse with either of you, or of lovemaking with you when we are alone. However, I will definitely add it to the list of things that I find delightful and am willing to perform with you. So, my love, you have cured me of my fear and loathing of buggery. Once more, you have proven the dutiful servant of Aphrodite. I also loved watching you and Antigone lick my seed from each other's sphincters. It got me extremely hard, as you know. It was a very sensual thing, to witness two women tasting each other. It was little wonder that I was ready for you again once I washed my phallus. I hope that Antigone appreciated her second helping. Given the fact that I needed to recover after that, as I am not Priapus, it had to be my last release at the palace that day. That was not the sort of scene that makes me jealous, as I said before. It is the knowledge that another man will call you wife and you must call him husband that arouses my envy and jealousy. By all of the Gods, I swear that I will never disgrace myself by causing any scenes, but I will never be pleased at that thought. I suspect that you are jealous of my wife in that respect as well. It is also, of course, what I mentioned in my last letter to you: the idea that another man's seed will become a child in your womb, not mine. I understand, you see, your jealousy in that matter too. I am just glad that I do not share the "oddities" of that traitor, Anexagoras. They invite blackmail and humiliation. That is not only true of his servile behavior in bed, but also of his taste for, how did you put it, "creatures of the woods"? Well, enough of that. As for Laertes, I hear that he has a new lover. I naturally have to wonder if the young man he chose was really your selection. Either that, or it was Leonippus's, at your behest. He does have connections in those circles, as you know. Whatever the case, I am impatient to meet you again. That is certain truer of you than of my wife, although I will not neglect her needs, either. I care about her and enjoy bedding her, but she isn't my lover. She never has been. It is just one of the tragic decisions of the Fates, that both of us must wed out of convenience and love each other instead. Then again, the Fates are often cruel that way. Of course, they might just have compassion on others in letting them enjoy a legal claim, since they couldn't have our love. Sexual relations with Arachne is a pleasant duty, while making love to you is an undiluted delight. Regarding what you said once, when I close my eyes, I think of you as well. Coupling with Antigone and Philomela is one thing. They are delicious daylight diversions, and the former is done in your presence, after I have coupled with you. On the other hand, it haunts me at night when I do not lie next to you. Performing my spousal duties with my wife often requires me to pretend that it is you, though primarily when it is very late and I need to become erect quickly to satisfy a very old-fashioned housewife. Nothing is surer to make me stiff than to think of my lady, my Queen, my Elissa. Arachne owes you a far greater debt than she can imagine, my darling lover. I look forward to the day when both of us are truly free to wake up next to each other, cuddle, make love at any time of day, kiss, eat together, and be openly a couple. Such a freedom is well worth the sacrifice of privilege and office. Until then, I will revel in what pleasures we have together, as well as what time we can steal from our public and social responsibilities. I remind myself that the better I do my job, the sooner that day will come. Your Captain, Lord Cadmus Epistle To My Lady Ch. 05 This story is the newest (but certainly not the last) in the Epistle To My Lady series that I have written in collaboration with RedHairedandFriendly. It is complementary to her series, Epistle To My Captain. I appreciate her writing this series of letters with me, and I hope that you will continue to read what we write in it. She has done an excellent job of collaborating with me on this writing project. * 8/30/10 My Lady, I don't think that there is any shame in behaving in a way that any mortal woman must sometimes do, given the time that curses women each month. You may be a Queen, but you are a flesh-and-blood woman as well. I will let you in on a secret. We men have our dark moments of pain and sadness. I am pleased that you trust me enough, both as a lover and as a soldier in your service, to reveal such things to me. Therefore, I can only reciprocate. The truth is that we men simply hide such moments in an effort to appear less affected by our sadder experiences and self-doubts than we are in reality. My love and admiration for you will not disappear because you prove yourself human. I am no fool. I have noticed that before, but chose to allow you to keep your dignity in that regard as long as you wished. As for ivory balls, well, they sound rather appealing. The idea and image of slipping such balls inside your sex and your bottom is a sensual one that stiffens my cock every time that it occurs to me. I would happily use them on you. Perhaps Antigone can participate too, but she will have to wait her turn. I have to confess, my dear Elissa, that the part of your last epistle that most seized my attention and interest was the bit about you wanting me to take charge in bed. I am already somewhat assertive in bed a lot of times, so this makes a great degree of sense, not to mention that is simply appealing. I am particularly glad, not only that you want me to do this, but that you trust me enough to reveal something that you no doubt hesitate to unveil for others out of fear of political repercussions. Be assured that this, even more than most of our liaisons, will remain a secret that I will die before revealing to anyone without your consent. The praise that you gave me in your last letter was also something that I prize very much. To know that you view me in such a way, that you have such a good opinion, as a soldier and as a man, is both flattering and an honor. I will never take that lightly. I will strive to never fail or betray your confidence like Anexagoras did. I am and always will be a loyal soldier and lover. Speaking of Anexagoras, I have heard rumors that his price was something that I had not expected from a gutless traitor like himself: he wants the crown of Etoria for himself. Oh, not by himself, which would be bad enough. He wants the Tetrarchs of Malacanos to force you to wed him and become his consort. Naturally, I was outraged at the notion that you would cooperate with such dishonorable arrangements as becoming a Malacanian puppet at a defector's side. It insults you, this idea that you would go along with that. Even if we lose this war and are forced to make unfavorable peace terms, I don't imagine that you would ever break your vow to only wed a prince of royal blood by giving such a traitor your hand in marriage. On a more positive note, I doubt that any of the Malacanians trust or respect Anexagoras enough to give him what he wants. They are just stringing him along with false hopes and illusions of advancement. On an even more positive note, I have good news from the war at last. It seems that Sophocles has, at least temporarily, stopped the enemy's advance toward the capital under Pelopidas. Sadly, the enemy has not withdrawn, but the old man has died in battle. His successor, Demetrius, is not yet confident enough to engage our southern army under Sophocles. I suspect that he will try, but at least for now, the invasion has halted. We have fought them to a stalemate for the moment. Therefore, my love, I am cautiously optimistic that our misfortunes have turned. Perhaps Ares and Athena answered our prayers. True, the enemy has retaken Pythaeum, but our chances of victory have improved. The fall of that city back into enemy hands was expected after the disaster at the Pythonian Forest. We have at least one competent field commander: Sophocles. Your faith in him seems well-placed, my Queen. (As you can see, I have a few spies of my own.) The chief uncertainty now lies in the armies of Draco and Themistocles. Their forces represent a real menace, and I can only hope that Hippolytus and Sophocles can deal with such threats. May the Gods protect us and aid our commanders and men. Well, my dear, enough of war. I want to speak to you, to reassure you that my passions have not changed in the least. My hope of our retirement as a couple is still a thought and dream that strengthens me and stiffens my resolve to do my duty as a soldier. We have to safeguard both our country and our future as lovers. The day when our aging, wrinkled hands can be bound together with the ritual bindings of the nuptial ceremony is a day that I will envision until it happens at last. I trust the Gods and pray to Aphrodite that it will occur. It is a small favor I ask them, after all. I want only to take a wife who happens to be you, my Queen, my Elissa, once you are free from duty and able to marry out of love instead of politics. I don't want to be your consort. I want to be your husband. I want the woman first, whether she is Queen or not. Since I can only have you when you are a private citizen, then that is how I will take you. I have never resented your vow. It is one that you took out of duty, because you love our country and put it first, as a monarch should. I will wait for that day, the day when you are no longer a sovereign, but simply my lady. In any case, I will happily take command in the bedroom, as I am familiar with being in charge and would love to ease your stress of being head of state. To know that you have such desires is not a surprise, I confess, but it is a pleasure. Some of the most assertive and self-reliant women I have known are also some of the first to kneel before a man in private and service him. They know, as you do, that there are times to take control and times to yield it. Be assured that I will use such power for mutual pleasure, not just mine. Only those whom you wish to know will ever know about it, either. I want you, I miss you, and I will always be loyal to you, my love. Never forget that, my lady. Your Captain, Lord Cadmus P.S. Beware of Ganymede's faction, for he has been building one. Then again, perhaps you have learned this already from your agents. Laertes and he are trying to bring you into disrepute, which seems unworthy conduct for guests. He is especially fond of courting the merchant and tradesman classes. His style of rhetoric, that of a demagogue, has little appeal to the aristocracy. Fight fire with fire, my lady. Have demagogues of your own, people ready to point out that Ganymede led his own country to defeat and now wants company in his misery. Also, spread word of his impotence. That has to undercut him with the rougher sort of men, who tend to judge men more by their sexual prowess, at least at a visceral level. Just some advice from one very familiar with urban commoners, the men of the city streets. Epistle To My Lady Ch. 06 This Epistle is part of the "Epistle To My Lady" series that I have written, which complements the series "Epistle To My Captain" by RedHairedandFriendly. I have enjoyed, do enjoy, and hope to keep enjoying the process of writing these stories with her. I hope that you, the readers, enjoy it as well. 9/30/10: My lady, I sincerely apologize for my paranoid comments regarding the rumors. Yes, I know that you would never marry someone like Anexagoras, a traitor to our country. I simply wanted to let you know what the gossip was, but I suppose that my own hidden fears came out in the way that I noted them. Please forgive my moment of madness and let that be a bygone matter, never again discussed. Speaking of war, however, I have some mixed news. I assume that you prefer the worse part of it first, so I will share it now. We have suffered another humiliating defeat, this time in the North. Draco, the Malacanian military governor of Damoclea, has decimated our forces under Hippolytus. Half of that army is gone. My understanding is that Hippolytus himself is slain. The rest of the army is now disintegrating, without any real senior officers in charge of it. The cavalry is no more. Most of the light infantry has been annihilated. The heavy infantry is mostly intact, if you call leaderless phalanxes spread out over open countryside and seeking the shelter of fortified towns being intact. The only thing that I can say for Hippolytus is that he had the honor to fall in battle, rather than let the enemy take him alive. He had no real grasp of strategy or tactics, as he evidently thought our superiority in phalanxes would be enough to hold off the invader. He didn't understand the disaster happening to him until the enemy had slaughtered his personal bodyguard and had their swords drawn on the commander himself. Rather than yield, he fought to the death like a vanquished, but noble officer. His death, and the deaths of his officers, destroyed the cohesion and discipline of the army, causing a panic. That's the essence of the bad news. There is no army to defend our northern cities and towns, only fortifications and garrisons that can be starved out or even bypassed. There is nothing, essentially, between our capital and Draco's army of 10,000 men. Does this mean imminent defeat, some might ask. Well, in a short answer, no. The reason I say this is the good news. Sophocles has driven back the army of Demetrius yet another time. When the Tetrarch Themistocles arrived with his army to reinforce Demetrius, it looked awful, but the enemy suffered terrible luck from the outset. First Themistocles lost his son Icarus to an arrow during a cavalry charge. This distracted him, causing him to be less than his usually dynamic self in command. The enemy ended up withdrawing in the face of a successful barrage from our archers. It was a solid defensive engagement. The following day, the enemy lost none other than the Tetrarch himself. He was reckless, perhaps due to his grief. This caused him to be stabbed by a javelin that should have missed him. The enemy, confused and lacking clear leadership, now avoids battle until it can regroup. This will buy us time. The invaders' new joint-command of Demetrius and Eumaeus is not up to his level of expertise and genius. So, in a nutshell, we have a rather distinct stalemate in this war. I do have an idea on how to continue it long enough to achieve a favorable peace treaty. I know that it will not appeal to you, involving as it does risk to myself, but the alternative is a siege of our capital that might result in starvation or surrender. If we can rally the remnants of the northern army and combine it with the garrison and the local militia, we can raise a fresh army under my personal command. There is no one else in a position to do this. I am the obvious choice by default, as well as the fact that most of these troops know of me. I have the additional value of proven loyalty to you, my beloved Queen. I know that you would prefer to keep me out of danger, but I urge you to consider this. It will buy us time to attain a negotiated peace on the basis of the situation from before the war. It wouldn't be the dazzling victory that we once envisioned, but it looks more appealing than the fate of the Posidonians. I am confident that we can bluff our way into a parley with Isocrates, who would no doubt be the Tetrarch chosen to make peace with us. The Tetrarchs are old men and don't wish to end their long reign with a protracted war. Well, I have finished my duty as a soldier in the first part of this epistle to you, my lady. Let me speak now as your lover. I love that you wish me to mark you in that way. It demonstrates your trust in me, as well as your love and your desire for me. I had no idea that you felt such a strong need to submit in private to a man whom you have always commanded in public. Let me assure you that I would never try to expand this beyond the bedchamber. I am content to be as obedient to the Queen as I am commanding to the woman. I am both lover and subject, and must balance these roles as carefully as you do. I also love that you enjoyed your bonds and the ivory balls. The idea that you wore them while writing to me the last time was the cause of more than one orgasm in the privacy of my command tent. If I had been a lover of young men, some officer or cadet would have gotten a sore bottom. Instead, I relied on my left hand, while thinking of my lover, my Queen. The vision of your juices flowing into Antigone's mouth from the arousal caused by the balls made my blood heat up in excitement. My officers probably wondered why I looked so happy, since none of them got to see your letter to me (due to my keeping of my promise to you). I so enjoy commanding you in the bedchamber, as well as pleasuring both you and Antigone. Of course, my passion for you far dwarfs any lust for your slave. The way that you revel in assuming a subservient role in bed that you would never accept in public, the way that you ravish Antigone, the way that you welcome my cock in your ass, and the way that you scream with ecstasy as I lick your pussy, all convince me that I will never know a woman who is more ardent in love and lust as you. I hope that I in some way measure up to your ideal of a lover as well. The Fates might well be cruel and separate us before our time, but I will pray every day to the Gods that they allow us at least some years together in our old age. If the Gods are truly just, they will reward us for our sacrifices. If they only knew how much I ache to be with you openly as your husband, the people would be shocked. However, they will not even know we are lovers at all, until the time comes that we can proclaim it to all. We both have duties, and we will both keep them as long as we must. That is what I admire most about you, your devotion to your people above all. It is the mark of a worthy sovereign. If nothing else sustains you during your reign, let it be my loyalty and love to you. I will never betray or harm you, nor will I permit others to do so without making them suffer for it. I will accept that another man will wed you and sire children on you, instead of me. However, I will do so in the knowledge that one day we will take our own vows, and that you will do so then with an entire different meaning than with some foreign king. Until then, I will do nothing to anger the Gods by trying to expedite that day dishonorably, I assure you. The Gods favor only those who have honor and justice in their cause. That is why I hold out hope for us. Know that I think of you often when I enter my wife, and I hope that you will think of me as you give your future husband your favors. I will also continue to make love to you whenever we get the chance, as we discussed, whenever we are away from our duties and our spouses. Your loving Captain, Cadmus Epistle To My Lady Ch. 07 This story is part of the series "Epistle To My Lady", which I have written as a complement to the "Epistle To My Captain" series by RedHairedandFriendly. I hope that she enjoys writing these stories/letters as much I have done. I also hope that the readers enjoy it too. 10/31/10: My dear lady and Queen, I very much desire to get to the more pleasant aspects of this epistle, but I regret that once again duty must get in the way. As much as I will enjoy discussing our private pleasures and our passion for each other, this part can not wait. It is an urgent matter. This seems to be a pattern, thanks to this increasingly perilous conflict. I must inform you that the army of Eumaeus has separated from the joint-command in the southern part of our country and moved northward to threaten us. Meanwhile, Demetrius is deliberately engaging in a stand-off with Sophocles, evidently becoming more confident in his command by now. It's either that, or he's simply desperate to improve his reputation. I don't know exactly what is happening, except that someone apparently ordered a change in strategy. The good news is that Demetrius is probably no match for Sophocles by himself. The bad news is that he is still strong enough to keep him busy in the south. So, while Demetrius shadows Sophocles and evades pitched battles until he can strengthen his army, Eumaeus marches directly on our capital. That's not the worst part by any means. Draco is still moving steadily southward, though apparently in no great hurry. He seems to have adopted a policy of building up apprehension and terror. He takes fortified towns by stealing crops and threatening the residents with starvation, rather than wasting his manpower on direct assaults. It's too bad that such a strategy never occurred to Anexagoras. We'd be imposing terms on the Malacanians by now if he had, I think. In any case, he is slowly but surely tightening the noose on us, I fear. I hate to sound defeatist, my love, so forgive me if my last comment came off that way. We still have a chance, but I'm sad to say that it seems to be the very chance that you dread the most. I must urge you to give me command of a fresh army, even if it is a bit makeshift in character. I won't engage Draco in traditional battles, in case that is your fear. This is not merely because I want to soothe your fears for me, though that is certainly a factor for a man that loves you as much as I do. I have my duty, and my duty requires me to propose the strategy with the best hope of victory. I intend to harass the enemy, draw him off the fortified towns, and keep him busy until my army is sufficiently experienced and cohesive to have a good chance of success. Then I will engage not Draco, who is still too strong to be dealt with directly, but Eumaeus. I am sure that I can whip him, which I expect will force the Tetrarchs' hands. They will compel Draco to stop attacking us by making peace. That's my suggestion, to slow Draco down further by harassment and then attack the much weaker army of Eumaeus. Such a policy will use their weaknesses against each enemy commander. With any luck, we can achieve better terms than the agitators suggest to their audiences. Having thus brought up the unpleasant idea that I mentioned before again, I will report some political news of apparent relevance and at last speak of much happier things like our love. It seems that there is some rumbling of discontent in Posidonis in the wake of Ganymede's recent assassination. A couple of army officers have been executed for attempted mutiny against the tyrant Phaethon, presumably in sympathy with the late Ganymede. As for Laertes, I have heard that some of his followers might have been responsible for Ganymede's demise, due to a falling-out between them. I relate this gossip chiefly as a source of potentially useful information. Now, regarding the last time that we were together, what can I say? I have never seen you as excited or pleased as when Antigone and I took you at the same time. The sight of her inside your bottom while I used your sex drove me to that point rather swiftly, as you might well have noticed. I once more wished that I could make you conceive my child, but alas, I know better than to do more than wish for it. Then when we washed her phallus and traded places, I took even greater delight in entering your most intimate hole. I have to admit that you have completely converted me to adoration of your bottom, my dear. Penetrating it and licking it are just some of the things that I love about it. Making you squirm with pleasure as I take your backside and then having Antigone clean both of us up is another great experience for me. Not even the intense joy of using Antigone's ass can measure up to ravishing my beloved lady's rump. I imagine that we left her a lot of my seed to remove with her tongue this last time, my love. Your arse was the second greatest gift that you have given me, the first being your love itself and your vow to be with me in our old age. Another great passion that I have discovered is your eager submission to me. Let that reassure you that I am still your commanding master in the bedchamber, as surely as I am your most obedient soldier and subject in the tent. I have been very happy in taking you in the council chamber, as soon as we had privacy. The feeling of capturing you like a slave girl in wartime gave me a rush which I believe that you shared, a heat of animal lust and pure love for the passionate lover who awakened my loins. The experience of going from mere garrison commander for my Queen to master of my lover in sheer moments combined with the danger of being caught to thrill me absolutely, my dear Elissa! How is it that you can be such a wonderful lover, when you haven't been well treated by your lovers in the past? I do not know, but I pray that I will always please and conquer your heart. The way that you have let mark you and claim you as mine has been a kind of delight that I could never fathom before I had tasted it. Let me assure you that I have not and never will lose respect for you because of it. If anything, I respect you all the more for your eager submission, because you are a woman who has the courage to seek my strong and firm hand. You need never worry about being replaced in my affections. That is not even slightly possible. No woman can ever be as ardent a lover as you, none ever as willing to trust me with their bodies and their safety, let alone their hearts. You might not have been my first or only lover, but you will most certainly be my last, if I have any power to determine it. I repeat my oath that if we reach that age, I will gladly join you in a life of obscurity and devotion to each other. Because, my love, when my body needs less of the satisfaction of its desires, my heart will still be insatiable for you. Furthermore, I can never forget the days when I first loved you, when I thought that you were not available. The first time that you demonstrated an interest in me made me envy that fortunate prince of Lysania whom I expected would get to taste you. I wished very much that you could be mine, but we were both pledged to others even then. I never imagined that you would be Queen, but it has turned out well for both me and the country. For me, I say, because I have the chance to be your lover, which some traditional male sovereign might well have prevented. For the country, I say, because I truly believe that you have the qualities needed to reign well. Nothing hurt me more than knowing that I didn't dare to encourage your interest at the time. I felt as if I had broken your heart, yet I believed it necessary in those days. I wanted very much to pursue you as you did me, so as to show you that I returned your affections, but it would have never been acceptable to your father or brothers. That was my first sacrifice for you, my love, though I wish it had never been required of me. Never doubt that I did that for love of you, because I didn't wish you to draw your father's wrath. That was the first time that the Gods rewarded me for loving you so much, and I do not doubt that they will reward both of us for loving our country as well. I swore an oath back then that I would always be loyal to you personally, at least as a friend and mentor, when you were but an 18 year old girl promised to another man by her father. I renewed that oath and added one of loyalty to you as my liege when you became Queen, secretly fearing for your life but also happy for your chance to prove your worth. I also reveled in the opportunity to prove my loyalty and love, though I never dreamed that we could be lovers at last. Well, enough of the past, my dear. I just had to tell you how long I wanted you. This love that I feel has been with me for some time now, and will not leave me because of some slave girl or courtesan. I have something of a lecherous reputation, I know, but my heart is a different matter. I am fond of these other ladies, especially Antigone, Philomela, and my wife. However, none of them inspires passion, drives me to write sentimental poetry that I keep hidden from others. Only my Elissa does that, only my lady, my Queen fulfills my heart. Every time that I return to you, I come home, though I will never get the chance to formally take up residence at the palace. It is not the royal palace that is home, after all. It is your bed, your body, and your heart that is home. Where I live with my wife is just my house, not my home, though I feel no lack of affection and respect for her. She is simply not your equal, nor is any woman on Earth. Commanding you makes me feel like a God, for only those may command a Goddess. I am your lover and soldier to the end, no matter what the end will be for us. I pray every day to the Gods that it will be the end that we prefer, however, the end that sees us aging and dying together as husband and wife. Unlike these fools who see only a path to the throne, my reward will be the woman, my prize the lady who first found the soft spot in a soldier's hard heart. Well, on a less sentimental note, I am pleased that Philomela conceived at last, though I still regret that my child was in her womb instead of yours. I feel awful for her, however, that her husband Ganymede was murdered, even if he was a nuisance to us. He evidently loved her more than Epimenas ever did, though she still didn't love him. I got the impression that he had the eunuch's disease, namely the interest in pleasuring a woman with his tongue to the exclusion of everything else. No doubt that it was due to necessity, just as with the eunuchs. I wonder what his admirers back in Posidonis would say if they knew about his fetish. For that matter, I wonder whether he lost any followers here because of a certain whispering campaign about his impotence. Enough about that, of course. I am simply relieved that she is away from court and can torture you no more. I eagerly await my next chance to see you, to claim you once more, to stalk you, as you say. I look forward to capturing your body again. I will dream of our passionate nights together, both with Antigone and without her, for while she adds to our pleasure, there are some times when we are happier alone. Most of all, I long to watch your climax, your release from being bound, ravaged, and taken in all holes. I crave the sight of your arousal, the taste of your body, the feeling of your tongue on my flesh. I want once more to bathe with you and drink wine from your sex again. All of this and more fetishes, including the glass phallus and the ivory balls, make me hard in my tent and force me to resort to the solitary thrill that cannot match our times together. My hands are poor substitutes for my lover and my Queen. Your lover and Captain, Cadmus