Chapter 35

The approach to River’s Crossing had changed since Sid had last visited. it. The road had been widened to support more traffic. Many of the trees had been removed giving the guards at the gate a better view of all who approached. The area next to the gate where traders were to wait until admitted had turned into a small town with fixed buildings.

The gate itself had been expanded and strengthened. Now it was a structure that could probably resist anything except an assault by a huge army. Rather than being at the water’s edge, it extended out a good three dozen paces from the river bank giving enough room for a small party of mounted men to organize before riding out the gates.

Sid stopped his horse to take in the sights. Looking at all of the changes, Sid said, “Wow. When Barson said that River’s Crossing had grown, I didn’t realize what he meant.”

Fred looked around at the crowd of people camped out in the fields across from the gate. There were at least a hundred campsites with groups as large as ten people at some of them. He commented, “There sure are a lot of people here.”

“I guess it has become a major trading place,” Sid said looking at all of the wagons parked along the road. He could see that they were loaded with supplies and trade goods.

“The troops are backing up behind us,” Gregor said gesturing over his shoulder.

Sid nudged his horse and rode up to the gates. The gates were already open and the man stationed above the gates said, “Hello, King Sid. We’ve got space for your men all prepared. Danny will lead them to where they can set up their tents.”

“Thanks,” Sid said. He was about to turn back when Albert stepped out of the gate. Looking at Albert, he said, “I thought I left you back at the citadel.”

“You did, but your group is moving so slow that I beat you here,” Albert said. He noticed that Sid kept looking over at the crowd in the field across from the gate. He said, “The news that you were coming preceded you. Most of the folks across the road are locals wanting to sell you some of the goods they’ve grown. At least, that is what they tell me. I’d say that the chance to see their king brought most of them.”

“I wondered. Is it always this packed around here?” Sid asked.

“No. You are going to have to get used to this now that you are king. The locals will come out just to see you,” Albert said gesturing to the crowd to people that had formed. They kept their distance, but the number of people was rather impressive.

“I guess I can live with that.”

“You won’t have much choice in the matter,” Albert said with a smile.

“So what are you doing here?” Sid asked.

“I’m thinking this location would be the right place for your castle,” Albert said. Seeing the look on Sid’s face, he said, “Over in that direction is a nice little hill. We cleared it a long time ago for the troops to camp. It was nice and defensible. I am thinking of building the castle there. There are already the beginnings of a hospital here and we would expand on that. We could turn the land between this gate and the hill into a park so that this area isn’t ruined.”

“Why here?” Sid asked. He was rather fond of River’s Crossing and didn’t want to see it destroyed.

“It is the closest thing to a holding you have left,” Albert said. On seeing the expression on Sid’s face, he explained, “You’ve been giving out holdings all over the place. You have to have a holding for yourself to provide for your personal income. This place is one of the few areas that does not have a Lord.”

“I already have a holding,” Sid said.

“The Jones Citadel is too far from the center of the area that you control to serve your needs. Your castle needs to be on your holding,” Albert explained.

“Who makes these rules?” Sid asked.

“Tradition,” Albert answered with a laugh.

“I guess being king means that I’m ruled by tradition,” Sid said.

“That’s a fact,” Albert said. He looked across the bridge and said, “There’s another fact of which you should be aware.”

“What?”

“There are three women over there that are very anxious to see you again,” Albert said with a grin.

“Oh,” Sid said. He looked in the direction that Albert had indicated and wondered how he would manage being in the presence of four Damsels from Cassandra at one time.

Not wanting to be around when Sid greeted the Damsels, Fred said, “I wonder if there are any fish left in the river.”

Derek frowned at the idea of not having a chance to fish. He said, “I don’t care. I’ll sit there with a pole in the water regardless. As far as I’m concerned, it is just an excuse to be lazy.”

Gregor laughed and said, “Don’t get too comfortable. We’ll be riding out tomorrow.”

“So soon?” Derek asked.

“I want to get home,” Gregor answered. Once they got away from the foot soldiers, they’d make much better time. From River’s Crossing it was just six weeks ride before they made it to Rider country.

The three Damsels waiting for Sid were standing outside of the recreation building. It was the closest building to the gate. Sid looked over at them and then at Alice. She didn’t look that happy to see what she viewed as competition. He said, “You should be happy to see them. Now that we are together, we can ride to the Jones Citadel and leave here.”

“I suppose,” Alice said. Her brow wrinkled while she thought about his comment.

Sid pulled his horse off to the side and dismounted. Alice quickly joined him and accepted his help in getting off the horse. He held out an arm for her to take while they walked to where the three Damsels were waiting. She took the arm feeling like it gave her a small measure of ownership through the right of possession.

The three Damsels did not bother to wait for Sid to approach them. They ran half of the distance before slowing down enough to make the meeting appear more like a social encounter. Laura Author stepped forward and welcomed Sid with a kiss. As a shiver ran through her body, she said, “It is good to see you return, my King.”

“It is good to see you, Laura Author of Cassandra,” Sid replied wondering if he could take another kiss like that without busting his pants. Gesturing to Alice, he said, “Laura, this is Alice of Cassandra. Alice, this is Laura Author of Cassandra.”

On learning the name of the other woman, Alice was impressed. Laura Author was a well known writer in Cassandra. She said, “I know of Laura Author. I have read her book. She writes books of a historical nature.”

Although her books were set back in the times before the Great War devastated their world, Laura thought calling them books of a historical nature was being very generous. She laughed and said, “I fear that my stories are of a more erotic nature than historic.”

“Ah, that explains why I climaxed several times while reading them,” Alice said with normal Cassandra female candor about anything sexual.

Sid groaned at the thought of the expectations that a writer of erotic fiction would have concerning the performance of a man in bed. Seeing the expression on his face, Laura asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I was just thinking that you would expect to have hour long orgasms when we reach Crossroads,” Sid answered. The odor of four excited women filled the air.

Mary stepped forward and welcomed Sid with a kiss. She took a little more time to make sure that her hands had an adequate chance to explore the hard muscles of his back. Her legs were weak by the time she broke off the kiss and said, “It is good to see you Sid.”

“Thank you, Mary. It is always a pleasure to see you again,” Sid said. He wished that he knew a way to rearrange his hardening cock without it being obvious what he was doing.

Before Sid had a chance to introduce Mary to Alice, Mary said, “Hello, Alice. I’m Mary of Cassandra.”

Nodding her head to acknowledge the other woman, Alice thought about the significance that Mary did not have an occupation as a second name. It meant that she had not begun her career. She said, “I take it you are a student at the university, too.”

“Yes. I’m studying Literature in the hopes of becoming a teacher,” Mary said. In order for a woman who was not yet successful in her career to be eligible to become a Damsel, she had to be an honors student. Mary had the highest standing among her class and held the office of Class President. Looking at the other woman, she asked, “What are you studying?”

“Civil Engineering,” Alice answered.

“That is a difficult career,” Mary said.

“Perhaps, but not as personally rewarding as teaching,” Alice said.

Mandy Cook stepped forward nudging Mary out of the way. Like the others, she welcomed Sid with a very passionate kiss. The hard member that pressed against her almost brought her to an orgasm on the spot. Breathless, she said, “It is good to see that you’ve conquered your enemies and returned to us unharmed, King Sid.”

“Thank you, Mandy,” Sid said trying to remain upright after the scorching hot kiss he had just received. He said, “You are looking great.”

“Thank you,” Mandy said barely hearing a word. Her eyes were locked on the substantial bulge in Sid’s pants. She wasn’t the only one staring at it.

“Mandy Cook of Cassandra, this is Alice. Alice, this is Mandy Cook of Cassandra,” Sid said making the introduction in the futile hope of distracting the attention of the ladies from his crotch.