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Topic: A Princess and her Knight

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inflateman123
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A Princess and her Knight
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(Original author unkown)

The morning sun shone brightly through the window of the small stone hut. As chickens milled about outside on the grassy hillside, the young man inside stirred sleepily. Karnus raised up in his soft bed and threw back the bed covers. He got slowly to his feet and walked to the small window over the table. Watching the fouls outside he dressed in his thick traveling cloak, and began loading his belongings onto the horse in the small stable beside his house. It was not an unusual day. A week or so ago the king had sent him, by way of messenger, a request to come to the castle today. As he loaded his shiny silver arnmor onto the horse, and slung his sword over his back he wondered just what it was his Majesty wanted.
Karnus was a knight of great renown. Though he was rather young, he was strong, fast, and deadly with a sword. The king had given him many important missions before, and paid him well for them, but he preferred a simple life. His small stone house was plenty for him, he saved some of his earnings for books, as he loved to read and was eager to learn more about anything. He gave the majority of his pay to the church, to be given to the poor and the needy in the nearby village, just miles from his home, nestled in a valley between huge mountains. He could just hear the faint bustle of the people below starting their morning’s work as he climbed into his saddle and set off.
The trip to the King’s castle wouldn’t take long, a couple hours at most, so he made no attempt to hasten his elderly steed. He enjoyed the peace and serenity of the empty fields, the chatter of  animals in the thick woods, and the friendly greetings of fellow travelers as he passed. After a while he stopped at a pond just off the dirt road for his horse to drink and he sat on the bank and skipped flat stones across the serene water. After drinking its fill his horse looked up at its master and stepped just a few steps closer to him. He gently patted the beast’s snout and rubbed its neck. As a large fish jumped near the center of the pond, he got to his feet, and climbed back onto his horse.
Karnus rode for another few hours, just enjoying the trip, but then came to the top of the largest hill yet. As he reached the summit he saw in the valley below him the large, walled-in, city of Kalon, and at its center the huge, white marble castle of King Angor the Mighty. He liked to visit the city once in a while, but it really wasn’t something he wanted to do often. He didn’t like large crowds of people and liked even less the crowded, filthy streets of the kingdom’s capital. As he rode toward the castle gate, people greeted him with waves and cheers, excited to see the knight who had saved them from giants, dragons, invaders, and so much more. He reached the massive wooden gates that kept the peasants out of the castle and saw a familiar face in the guardhouse.
“ Morning Sir!” cried the young guard.
“ Too you as well, my friend!” he answered joyfully, hopping down from his horse and shaking the man‘s hand. “ How are you Elric?” The young man clapped his friend on the back and replied, “ I am well.”
“ Your wife?” Karnus asked.
“ She is happy to be having a child at last, and soon. She has grown large and full. Promise, old friend that when the baby is born you will visit.”
“ Of course, nothing shall keep me from it.”
“ And what of you Karnus? When will you finally marry and have a family of your own?” Karnus thought for a moment. Nothing in the world would make him happier than to have a family of his own but he’d never yet found a woman he wanted to marry. Sure hundreds would happily have wed the famous knight but he sought someone who was real, not just marrying for fame and fortune.
“ Someday friend, someday. But for now his Majesty and his need of me is my priority.” Karnus paused while Elric opened the large wooden doors and Karnus led his horse inside. As he walked to the large stone door that led into the castle a young stable boy greeted him and took his steed off to bed fed and cared for.
Inside the massive keep, he was greeted by the King’s aid.
“ Ah, Lord Karnus, at last, his Majesty is awaiting your arrival.” The man gave a low bow and led Karnus away.
“ Might I inquire why the King has asked me here?”
“ I am afraid I do not know sir, but to summon you, it must be of great importance and urgency.” Karnus had thought the same, but the king had summoned a week before hand, why? After being led through a richly decorated corridor, the aid stopped in front of a huge wooden door, inscribed with gold, silver, and jewels. After bowing to Karnus again, the man knocked on the door and a pair of guards standing on its other side opened it.
Karnus stepped inside and saw the king sitting in his lavish gold throne, surrounded by guards and advisors. He walked toward the throne, every eye in the room fixed on him. Just feet from the king he got down on one knee and bowed his head.
“ Your Majesty.” The old king smiled, through his thick beard. He rose from his throne and approached Karnus, who got to his feet. Joy filled the king’s face as he embraced the young knight.
“ Thank you for coming Karnus.” The king said as he returned to his seat. “ I have urgent matters to discuss with you my young friend. Away!” the king waved his hand as he shouted and his advisors, guards, and servants, bowed out of the room.
“ What is the matter you Highness?” Karnus knew it must be of great importance if the king refused to discuss it in front of his court.
“ My daughter,” he answered sounding downhearted. Karnus was surprised, he’d know for some time that amongst his several sons the king had a daughter. He’d never seen her but he knew that her beauty was legendary in the kingdom, a vision of perfection.
The king got to his feet again and began to pace in front of his throne. Finally after watching him for a few minutes, Karnus asked, “ How may I be of service your Majesty?”
The king looked at him as if surveying him then began, “ She has been taken from me.”
“ By whom?” Karnus asked in schock.
“ A powerful sorceress.” The king replied. “ It was almost year ago. On a day like any other I sat here with my daughter at my side. My advisors were bothering me with the usual problems and issues of the kingdom, but we were roused from our work by screams from the village. One of the guards ran to the window to find that the bright, sunny sky had turned darker than night. He was thrown off his feet as the window opened,” the king said as he pointed to the huge window in the wall. “ A massive black bird flew in the open window. It leapt onto the floor before me and shrieked so loudly that we were all brought to our knees.”
“The monstrosity approached my throne and, as I watched, it transformed into a beautiful woman.  She was dressed in a long black robe, the same color as he hair. She looked around the room at my fallen court, then at me, and finally at my beautiful Ania.” Karnus had never heard even a whisper of these strange events, let alone of the princess’s kidnaping. “ What happened sir?” he asked. “ The witch sat herself on my throne and laughed as we tried to stand, still paralyzed by the bird’s horrible cry. She glared down at me and said, ‘Pitiful Angor, so old and frail, bested by a big bird.’ Then she laughed even more terribly. She approached me and grabbed me by the throat with inhuman strength. As I fought for breath she made her demand; ‘ Surrender your kingdom to me you pathetic worm, or I will take something more dear from you.’ Of course I refused her threat, what king would crumble so easily? But then she threw me to the floor, and conjured chains from nothing to bind me to the floor. As I watched helplessly, she walked to my dear Ania and pulled her magically from the floor to face her. ‘ What a pity, such a beautiful girl.’ Then with another terrible laugh she vanished in a flash of light, taking with her my darling daughter.”
The king looked on the verge of tears as he finished the story. Karnus knew it was his duty to retrieve the lost princess.
“ Do you know where to find this witch, sire?”
“ I have sent every available scout to search for her and they have met with some success. In the frozen north, where winter is eternal, my men have found a ruined castle, perhaps centuries old that they believe is the home of this monster. It is near the small village of Arcturn, a week or mores ride from here. My best mapmakers have created this to help you find the ruins.” The king held up a richly detailed map, which showed by a thick black line, the way to reach the village and from there, the castle. Karnus took the map and rolled it up, tied the string around it and stowed it in his cloak. “ Take this as well Karnus,” the king held out a leather bag full of gold, “ buy whatever you need for the journey in my city before you leave, and let me know when you are ready. I have assembled my best warriors to accompany you on this most important quest.”
“ Yes, your Majesty.” Karnus said as he bowed himself back into the corridor.
So this was why he’d been summoned to the castle, the princess had been kidnapped, but if it had happened so long ago why had the king waited until now to summon him. Perhaps it had simply taken this long for his scouts to find the place they thought the princess had been taken. He walked out of the castle and into the crowded marketplace. He didn’t need anything beyond food, and the castle’s kitchen could handle that, he merely browsed through a few merchant’s wares for a short time, finding nothing of value, but then something caught his eye. He was in what some called a magic shop, others, however, simply called it junk. It was a black tunic, made of some shiny material that glinted in the lamplight. He called over the clerk to inquire about the item.
“ What does this tunic do?” he asked the short, old man.
“ Ah, young sir, this tunic is made from the flesh of the Dreadwing, a powerfully magical creature found only in the darkest of places. It will protect its wearer from various forms of magic cast at them and weaken or prevent most curses or enchantments placed upon them.” Karnus was knowledgable in magic himself and heard of the fiercesome Dreadwing before, he alos knew that their tough hide had magical porperties, so he was inclined to believe the elderly shopkeep. He decided that, especially with what he would soon face, this easily hidden article of clothing, could be very useful, so he purchased it for a rather hefty price.
He left the store, returned to the castle, took a few minutes to put his new purchase on under his cloak, and met the king and his men in the courtyard. The kings had assembled about half a dozen or so men to aid Karnus in his quest. They all sat atop their horses waiting to set out on their perilous quest.
“ Good luck to you Karnus!” the king shouted just as the left the castle gates. As they rode through the city people cheered as they passed. They could still hear the yells and cries as they left the massive city walls behind them. Karnus rode a few yards ahead of the other knights, deep in thought about the journey ahead.
For hours they rode, on and on, through open country, ever northward. Finally, darkness began to fall and it was impossible to see, so they decided to camp for the night near a cluster of boulders in an otherwise open, vast grassland. Karnus unpacked his canvas tent from his horse and began to set it up. He’d just finished when one of the other knights approached him.
“ Sir?”
“ Yes?”
“ We were just wondering if you’d like to join us for a drink?” The young man offered a pewter mug of ale, which he accepted and strode over to the fire to join his companions. The four younger men seemd utterly in awe of the famous knight who was leading their expidition, however, the older man who carried a massive battle axe on his back was a knight Karnus had battled alongside once before and they were well aquainted. The last knight was his friend Elric, who, also by summons of the king, had joined them on this most perilous quest.
Karnus regaled the young knights with the tale of how he’d once battled a giant ten times his size and won single-handedly.  After he’d finished his tale the oldest knight decided to turn in and bid them all goodnight. He’d been so wrapped up in telling his tale that he’d forgotten to even ask the names of his fellows. “ So who are you four young warriors who have joined a quest that may mean your end?”  The dark haired youth nearest him, the one who had invited him over was the first to answer.
“ I am Edward, and this,” he pointed to the man beside him who wore a quiver of silver tipped arrows on his back, “ is my brother Roland.” The man nodded toward Karnus. Next, the thick, tall man across from Karnus spoke. “ My name is Crogan. I come from the mountains we will have to enter soon, the king asked me to come because I am well versed in traversing such hazardous terrain.” Karnus believed him, but thought it more likely that the king had wanted him to come because he was twice the size of anyone else there, his arms as big a most men’s legs, and the huge claymore on his back could easily slice through even the sturdiest of foes. Lastly, the man sitting on Karnus’s other side introduced himself. “ My name is Arcanus, I am a student of the magical arts.” The others made no attempt to hide their sneers as they surveyed the young mage. Karnus, had encountered this attitude from knights before. They tended to look at spell casters as weak, needing to use potions and spells to do what they could do with a sword or axe. On the same token he’d found that mages often looked on warriors as nothing more than oafish brutes carrying big sticks to smash anything in their way.
Karnus lay in his tent that night listening to the sounds of crickets in the grass, the horses grazing in the moonlight, and the soft hooting of a far off owl. He extinguished his lantern and quickly succumbed to sleep. As they traveled ever more northward, Karnus was more and more thankful that Crogan was with them. He knew of numerous edible plants, and along with Roland, was an excellent hunter. They made good progress, managing at least one hundred miles a day, and within a week they could see the mountains in the distance, only a few more days travel away. As they made camp that night,in a deep forest they’d been in for days, Karnus sat by the fire, merely watching it burn. The others bustled about with their own things. Elric, the aged Zyre, and Edward had already fallen asleep in their tents. Suddenly, a sharp crack broke shattered the serene night. Karnus leapt to his feet, his sword flew to his hand, the others around him in an instant, weapons drawn. As they watched anxiously, a terrifying creature emerged from the shadows. Their foe was nothing less than a huge bear, easily weighing a ton, its mouth bigger than their heads. Apparently they had made camp in its territory for there was no mistaking the beasts terrible rage. It hurtled toward them, swinging its massive front paws and biting at them, trying to sink its dagger sized teeth into anything it could.
Arcanus had attempted to cast fire at the beast, but it was too fast for him. Before he could even utter the incantation, it was upon him. A great slash at his robes by the monsters huge paws fell him in one blow. Blood flowed from the mage as Roland let fly a torrent of arrows into the bears side. Next, Crogan and Zyre lunged at the beast, sword and axe both only glancing off its thick hide. Karnus, with Elric and Edward beside him, drew their swords and at once thrust them into three different spots on the monster. Flailing in agony the bear closed its vice-like jaws on Elric’s arm. He yelled in pain as Crogan slammed his claymore onto the bear’s back, and Zyre brought his mighty axe down on its neck, this time with force enough to behead the mighty beast. It fell to the ground with a resounding thud, thick, dark blood pouring from where its head had been. Edward fell to the ground, from fear or exhaustion, Karnus didn’t know. He ran to the aid of Elric, who gripped his arm tightly, hoping against hope to stuanch the flow of blood from him.
“ We have to help him!” Karnus shouted at his companions. Roland ran forward and pulled from his vest a thick bandage. “ It won’t do much, but if it will stop the bleeding, that will be enough for now.” He explained urgently as Crogan knelt beside Arcanus. After a moment or two he returned to his feet, shaking his head. The mage was dead. Watching as Roland bandaged Elric’s arm, Karnus knew they must geet him help fast. Then it hit him, his friend lived nearby. Elric’s home with his wife was only a day’s ride or so from their current location. If they could just get him there as soon as possible he had a good chance of being fine. Zyre knelt beside the bear and was making strange motions with his hands. After watching him for a few minutes Karnus realized that he held a silver dagger in his hand. He was skinning the massive beast and cutting off the edible meat.
“ Never one to waste anything are you Zyre.” Elric said laughingly as Roland tied off the banadge around his wrist.
“ No sense in letting’ this lay and rot,” the old knight said as he finished with the bear’s pelt and folded it into a bag around the hunks of meat, which he then packed on the back of his horse.
Deciding that their was no sense in wasting valuable supplies they decided to take anything of value from Arcanus’s body before burying the wizard. They found as they tried to express some kind sentiment at the burial that what little they knew of him, they didn’t like. They left a larg smooth stone at the head of the grave to mark where they buried him as the entered the grasslands on their way to Elric’s home. They made excellent time as they rode hard all day. It was just before sunset the following day when Elric exclaimed, “ Ah, friends, there lies my humble home!” Riding over the small ridge that blocked their view, the group saw before them a huge stone house, more of a small palace, sitting near a stream that ran nearby, with massive fields of various crops surrounding it. They picked up the pace as they neared the large house.
Roland reached the house first and was met by several servants. The others rode up behind him only moments later, and had just dismounted when a loud cry reached their ears. “ ELRIC!” Quickly locating the source of the sound, Karnus saw a beautiful woman, Elric’s wife, Alera, running to her husband, rather more of a hurried waddle. She couldn’t move very fast due to the massive globe that rested where her stomach belonged. She was pregnant, and very heavily so, with either one very large child or several. Karnus couldn’t take his eyes off her. He’d always held a strange attraction to woman in the motherly way, always found them immensely alluring, and above all unmatchably beautiful.
She hurried to her husband, who despite his injury, embraced her so passionately that even with her huge womb in the way, he managed to lift her off the ground several inches. After he set her back on the grass, she noticed his arm.
“ Elric dear husband, what happened to you?” But before he could explain, Crogan interrupted.
“ We were attacked last night by a monstrous wild bear, your husband will need to rest for some time for that wound to heal. He will stay here, but the rest of us will continue on. It will only be harder to travel in the mountains as winter draws nearer.”
“ But…” Elric began, but under his wife’s glare he quieted quickly.
“ Please, friends, at least stay here tonight. Let us feed you and provide you beds for the night. You helped my husband return to me, let me repay you, and dear Karnus please stay tonight, it has been so long since your last visit.” All of them were at first hesitant to remain for the night but after the promise of an excellent meal and a warm bed, they obliged, and settled in for the night.
Elric’s home was nearly as lavishly decorated as the castle had been. Their feast that night was some of the best food any of them had ever had, and their rooms for the night were each at least twice as large as Karnus’s whole home. All through his time there, he’d thought that Alera seemed to be watching him. Several times at dinner, his eyes met hers as he looked around the huge table. She was beautiful. He flowing white gown barely stretched over her enormous stomach, her breasts engorged with milk for her soon to be born children. He couldn’t take his eyes off the woman, and she seemed to find him no matter where he went. Later that night, when the others had settled into their rooms Karnus roamed the stone hallways, examining the ornate pictures of Elric’s ancestors. He just turned the corner into the corridor where the bedrooms were, when he almost walked into a blonde and white blur.
“ Karnus!”
“ Alera!”
“ Good sir, what could possibly drag you from your bed at this late hour?”
“ Worries of a perilous quest dear lady, and you?” She rubbed her stomach affectionately and replied, “My unborn children do not sleep as well as I would like. Their frolicking within my womb often keeps me awake at night and I have found that short stolls sooth and calm them.” Karnus nodded to show, falsely, that he understood her problem. “ Would you care to accompany me on a short walk, Sir?” He looked at her for a moment before answering, “ It would be my pleasure.”
They walked outside the stone house and into the courtyard. Alera shivered slightly as the wind blew, so Karnus removed his cloak and draped it over her slender shoulders.
“ Thank you,” she answered smiling at his kindness. They walked for several minutes in silence, the breeze the only noise beyond the doleful hooting of an owl.
“ May I ask you a question Karnus?”
“ Of course dear lady.”
“ Why have you, the best known knight in over a century, not yet married and had a family of your own?”
“ I suppose it is because I have yet to find the right woman with which to have such a family, but it is one of my greatest desires.” Again silence engulfed them and they continued to walk, but suddenly Alera gasped and grabbed her huge middle.
“ What is it?” Karnus asked looking worried.
“ My children are moving,” she said rubbing her stomach again. “ Would you like to feel it?” He halted for a moment, but then she took his hand and pressed it against the taught flesh of her distended middle. He could just feel the babies within stirring lightly at his touch.
Karnus walked Alera back to hers and Elric’s bedroom, where at the large, ornate door she turned to him.
“ Thank you for the stroll.”
“ The pleasure was mine my dear,” he said with a slight bow. She looked directly into his eyes, her brilliant blue ones staring into the depths of the deep green. Almost instinctively she wrapped her arms around his neck, his reaching around her middle to her back. Pulling her as closely as her gravid womb would allow, he kissed her, but quickly he remembered that she was the wife of one of his dearest friends. He pulled away, looking ashamed.
“ I am sorry!” he said quickly, heading back toward his room. He got only inches from her before she grabbed his hand, “ I’m not.” She followed him down the corridor to his bedroom, where; once inside she locked the door and faced him. As he watched she pulled the neck of her gown down over her shoulders and let the silky material slide down her body, and land softly on the floor.
Karnus stared in awe at her enormous stomach, which shone brightly in the firelight from the few lit lamps on the wall.
“ I cannot, Elric is my friend.” Karnus said as the naked mother drew closer. She laid a finger aginst his lips to silence him. “ I love Elric with all my heart, and wold never betray him, but a woman in my state has needs of her own and Elric fears my condition, he does not want to hurt me or the babies.” She rubbed her stomach again. “ Please Karnus, I need this…we both door.” With that she grabbed his black tunic and pulled it over his head, undid his leather belt, threw it to the floor, and pushed him back onto the soft quilts. He gently pulled her close, kissing her passionately once more, but this time he didn’t pull away. She lay beside him and he lifted himself over her huge form. He placed a hand on each side of her huge stomach, the babies within stirring at his touch, and began to gently stroke the tight mound. None of the others ever heard the soft moans that issued from the room moments later.
Karnus awoke the next morning as the weak rays of sunlight began to creep through the large window in his room. He opened his eyes and saw that his very pregnant hostess had gone in the night, likely to keep their “stroll” a secret from her husband and his friend. They ate breakfast quickly and around midday, Karnus, Edward, Roland, Crogan, and Zyre mounted their steeds, waved farewells to the couple and their servants and set off northward. The weather grew worse and the temperature fell as the rode, ever northward, for three days. Finally, at nightfall on the third day since they left Elric’s estate, the reached the foot of the mountains they needed to climb. High in the hills they could see the wooden walls and smoke clouds that hid the village of Arcturn. For now they would camp, and climb to the willage the next day, hoping the journey would be easier in daylight. They slept well that night, huddled in their tents against the cold winds that blew down from the peaks of the titanic mountains. Next, morning, before the sun had even risen, still dark outside, they packed up their campsite and began their climb.
It was hard work. The hills were steeper than they looked and as they climbed it became harder and harder to breathe. The horses had to rest more often as the ascended the peaks, and the snow on the ground became deeper. Around sunset, with the snow falling hard they finally reached the enormous gates of Arcturn.
“ Halt!” shouted the guard at the gate, thick furs covering his plate armor, to shield him from weapons and the bitter codl. Karnus showed him the official orders of the king and the guard let them pass. Yelling to his friend in the tower above to open the gate, he bowed them into the city. They led their horses down the icey streets, the fast falling snow making it hard to see more than a few feet ahead. Finally, they reached the inn, the largest buidling in the city, frequented by travelers who had to pass over the mountains as they entered the kingdom from the north. Karnus spoke to the innkeeper and paid for rooms for all of them. As they settled in for the night in the cozy inn, Karnus thought of the night he’d shared with Alera and fell quickly into a peaceful sleep.
Once more they all rose early the next morning to set off further up the mountains. If the king’s scout’s reports were correct they should be able to reach the ruined castle where the sorceress supposedly lived in just a few hours. Karnus hoped they could return to the inn by nightfall. The brilliant sunlight blinded them as it shone off the fresh snow as they rode east, the direction in which Karnus’s map claimed the caslte lay. As the rounded a sheer cliff, which they had a ledge less than a foot in width to walk on, they saw, set in the steepd hills before them, a ruined black palace. The battlements were broken and falling, one of the two towers lay on top of the rest of the castle, and most of the huge windows were completely broken.
“ There,” Karnus said to his four companions, “ is our objective my comrades. Let us continue on, and quickly.”
It took them nearly three hours but they finally found themselves standing before the massive obsidian doors of the ancient castle, one of them held up only by the rubble piled before it.
“ Ready yourselves friends,” Karnus said as he tied his horse to a large wooden beam, drew his sword and watched as the others drew their weapons. They walked cautiously into the large entrance hall, which once must have been awe inspiring. The thick black tiles on the floor were covered in dust and debris, the torn gold threaded carpet leading into the next room looked had a good two inches of dust on it.
“ Keep alert,” Karnus said quietly, “ there could be any manner of foul vreature living in this forsaken place.” They moved quietly and cautiously into the next room; a huge great hall, set with a dozen long oak tables, all set with silver goblets and plates, as if expecting a banquet at any moment.
They continued their silent creeping through the hall and into the corridor beyond. Karnus led them down the ornate passage, which very resembled the hall at Elric’s home, lined with giant portraits of men and women long forgotten to time. At the end of the corridor was a stiarcase that led, seemingly unending into the shadows above. Karnus didn’t voice it, but he was somewhat unnerved by the erie quiet of the old stronghold. He suspected that if this mighty sorceress dwelt here, that she would have filled the place with every horrid monster imaginable to fend off foolish adventurers like himself. The ascended the stiars in a single file line, Karnus in the lead, Edward, Rolan, Crogan, and lastly Zyre climbing upward behind him. After climbing for at least half an hour, Karnus quickly stopped when he swore he saw something move only a few steps above him. He held up a hadn to halt his companions, who all tensed behind him, their weapons at their sides.
Suddenly, something flew from the darkness and hit Karnus with explosive force. He fell down the stairs, past his friends, rolling over again and again, stopping only when he landed at the bottom of the long staircase. He could hear screams of rage and fear from above as he got to his feet. He ran up that stairs as quickly as he could, but as it was it was still at least four or five minutes before Roland backed into view, his bow ready to fire. Karnus ran forward, his sword in his hand, ready to fight, but he stopped in his tracks, nearly dropping his blade at what he saw. Edward and Kyre lay unconscious on the stairs, at the feet of what Karnus could only call a monster. It was female, or at least its top half was, but her legs were covered in what looked like black scales, the same thing covering the large bat-like wings that protruded from her back. He would have thought her beautiful as he looked at her face, but what drew his eyes most powerfully was the huge mass in her stomach.
“ What the…!?” he asked as Roland let a silver arrow fly toward her. It glanced of her tough flesh and she advanced toward the fallen warriors.
“ That monster swallowed Crogan whole!” Roland shouted, nodding to the mass in the monster’s stomach that bounced with each step it took. Karnus watched in horror as she picked up Edward’s unconscious form. Before he had time to take two steps the creature opened its mouth wide and let Edward slide into her waiting belly, which expanded even more as the young warrior joined Crogan in his acidic tomb.
“ BROTHER!” Roland shouted. Abandoning his bow he ran forward, drawing a dagger as he went, but his charge was in vain; the monster caught him about the neck with a long, slender hand. In a swift fluid motion she snapped the archer’s neck and quickly swallowed him as well, leaving only his silver dagger behind.
The gluttinous monster stepped toward Karnus, her belly engorged with his three friends. Karnus lifted his blade and swung at the approaching creature. He could just feel his blade make contact with the monster’s hadn nearest him. She screamed in pain and rage as her severed hadn fell to the floor, but recovered quickly and grabbed Karnus by the throat with her remaining hand. As he gasped for breath he saw Zyre stir behind the mosnter. The elderly knight had lost his axe in the heat of the battle and , once he saw him and realized what had happened, searched desperately for a way to help the his dying leader. He grabbed Roland’s dagger and lunged for the monster, sticking the blade into the back of her scaled leg. She screamed once more, turning on Zyre, who looked at her with horror in his aged eyes. His foe distracted, Karnus sliced his blade across the creatures other arms, leaving a deep cut, which spurted thick, black blood. She lurched forward, grabbing Zyre by one o fhis stout arms, and as Karnus watched, she dropped the flailing man into her throat and swallowed hard. Karnus watched as the bulge that was his old friend slid down her throat and into her belly which expanded even more. The monster rubbed its stomach as his friends fought weakly as they were drowned in acids.
Anger filling his brain, flowing through every fiber of his body, Karnus grabbed his sword as the bloated beast turned to face its last piece of food. He slid between her spread legs that strained to support her new form, and jumped to his feet as she fell forward, over balanced. He raised his blade and brought it down hard into her back, knocking her down several steps. She crashed down, shaking the steps, sending dust raining down on them. He jumped down a few steps, landed next to the female monster and before she could door more than scream in shock, he drove his sword into her chest between her large breasts. Blood poured from the womb as he withdrew his sword. He quickly knelt beside the monsters greatly expanded gut and listened to the expanse, hoping for some sign of life from his friends. He pulled the dagger from the creature’s calf and slit open her belly. Rage and grief exploded in him as his partially digested friends spilled out of the monsters abdomen. He said a whispered prayer for each of them before he stepped over them and continued upward.
He had no idea how long he’d been walking when he finally saw a small glint of light above him. It might have been only minutes, or perhaps years since he’d stood over his dead friends, hoping they’d found peace in death. He walked up slowly, hoping he could sneak up on whatever might be in the room ahead. He reached the top of the stairs and saw that the small shaft of light came from behind a heavy wooden door that hadn’t been closed all the way. He reached the door and listened for a moment. He thought he could hear someone walking around on the stone floor of the brightly lit room. Karnus pushed the door open very slowly, opening it just enough to see inside. The room was small and circular, certainly the top of a high tower. He could see piles of gold, silver, and jewels, treasures of every sort piled around the room. He continued to search as much as he could of the room, seeing nothing more than books piled near an overfull bookshelf.
As he searched he saw something that made him certain that he was in the right place. A large ornate wooden bed sat under a massive stained-glass window. A beautiful young woman with long blonde hair lay on the bed, apparently bound to it somehow, as she thrashed and screamed at someone Karnus could not see. He peered at the window beyond the flailing princess, hoping to see her captor in the reflection of the gray sky outside. Finally, a woman who could only be the sorceress he sought, walked in front of the window, laughing her horrible laugh as the princess fought against her bonds.
“ Foolish girl,” she crooned, “ you won’t be confined to that bed for long. Soon you will serve my purpose and then I will let you go. I will set you free to die in these mountains like all who have opposed me. Do not worry though, you might not survive that long though,” the witch smiled a horrific smile. “ You will very likely die before they arrive. Now, everything is ready. I will begin the ritual.”
“ NO!” Ania shouted as she fought with all her strength. “ Please! Don’t do this! Please!” Tears poured down the princesse’s face.
What this foul woman had planned for the princess, Karnus didn’t know and at the moment didn’t care, he had to stop her, whatever the cost; he must save the princess. Karnus waited for the sorceress to turn her back on the door. As she stepped onto a platform at the end of the bed, her back to him, he slid inside the room, and hid behind a pile of gold and other treasures. From here, he could now see a strange circle with odd symbols in it around the bed the princess was bound to. The witch stood just outside it reading from a book that looked even older than this ancient castle. As he crouched there, she chanted a strange incantation. When she finished she walked over to the stack of books and began to read from another anceint tome. There was no way for her to see him, if he could just reach the princess and free her before the witch saw, they could make it down the tower stiars befoe she could follow.
He edged over to the bed, trying his best to stay hidden, but the sorceress was occupied with a strange concotion she was making. He managed to get just feet from the bed, close enough to see damp spots on the sheets where the princess’s tears had fallen.
“ Princess,” he whispered as quietly as possible. She turned to him, shock and surpise in her eyes. She recognized the famous knight and smiled in grateful relief as he sliced the ropes tied around her wrists and ankles with Roland’s dagger. One rope still tied her left arm to the bed as the witch finished her concocting. Not bothering to look first, she turned and, still chanting, threw the blue powder onto the princess and her savior. The circle began to glow around them, a pillar of blue light rising out of it and engulfing them both. The princess’s screams echoing in his ears, Karnus felt a strange warm sensation flow through him, and a strange sensation in his stomach. He dropped to his knees as his body felt light and tingly. The light dissipated as the the witches spell finished. It was then that she saw the intruder.
“ Foolish knight! Did you really think you could rescue the princess?” She bore down on Karnus and the nearly free princess. “ What’s more you have interfered with my…” but she left the sentene there as a freakish smile covered her face. “ Interesting. I wonder what the effect will be on you?” She strolled casually up to Karnus as he tried to get to his feet, examining him as if he were an interesting plant. He knelt there, feigning weakness, hoping beyond reason that it could be this simple. She reached him, placed a thin hand under his chin and forced him to look up at her gaunt, yet strangely beautiful face.
“ I wonder…” she said placing a hand against his tight abs. She felt the soft fabric of his tunic under his armor, her hadn glowing green, her expression one of curiosity and almost a scholarly seriousness. Finally, she withdrew her hand from under his cuirass and laughed.
“ What will they think of there great knight now. How they will laugh when they see him, swollen with…” but the rest of her words were drowned in her scream. While she was distracted by her gloating, Karnus had driven Roland’s dagger into her stomach. As she staggered backward, he rose before her. He drew his he raised his sword at chest height and with a powerful swing, beheaded the witch. He watched as her body fell before him, her head rolling on the stone floor.
“ Lord Karnus!” the princess shouted after he severed the last rope binding her to the bed. She leapt up and embraced him. “ You have saved me. I had lost all hope, thought I was doomed to remain in this forsaken place forever. Always to be the witches prisoner.”
“ I was only doing my duty, your highness. I must ask though, what was the purpose of the witch’s ritual, what does this spell she’s cast on us do, exactly.”
“ I’m afraid I do not know. She only told me that when the ritual was done, I would be ripe and full of life. I think she intended to keep me here and by magical means feed off my youth and beauty to maintain her life. She told me soon after capturing me that she was thousands of years old and I saw in several of her journals that she had experimented with other young women like myself. She has apparently tried for centuries to perfect the spell she cast at me, which hit you as well. I cannot be sure, but I believe she was trying to find a way to make herself immortal.”
“ It matters not now,” Karnus said as he led the princess to the door, stepping over the witch’s head as he went, “ she is dead, never to harm another soul.”
Karnus led the princess down the tower stairs, past the pile of bodies that were once his friends, through the empty castle and out into the falling snow. There was no way they could get beck to the village tonight. He decided, against his better judegment, that they should camp in the entracne hall of the castle, they would be much warmer there. Karnus gathered some old rotting wood from the piles of rubble nearby and built a large fire to keep them warm. He sat beside the fire watching the princess, who he saw looked rather pale.
“ Are you ok princess?” he asked bluntly. She looked somewhat ill, flushed as if about to be sick.
“ I think it is just being in fresh for the first time in nearly a year,” she said, smiling weakly. “ My stomach is just a little upset.” She smiled at him. “ I think I shall retire for the night.” Getting to her feet she strode over to him. “ Thank you brave knight, for rescuing me.” She kissed him on the cheek and entered the tent he’d prepared for her. Karnus felt strange as he watched the princess settle into her bed, his stomach too felt quesy, a bit off. Could it have been the witch’s spell, or simply the altitude at  which they were, thousands of feet above their natural elevation. He put the thought out of his mind and settled into his own bed, proud of his nearly completed quest, but silently mourning his lost friends.
Karnus awoke early the next morning, before the sun had even risen above the thick gray clouds that covered the mountains. He slid out of the thick woolen blanket he slept in and looked around. The princess lay sleeping in the tent a few feet away. He walked over to the entrance to the tent and listened. He could hear the slow, rhythmic breathing that told him she was still fast asleep. He lay a couple more sticks of old, rotten wood on their small fire and made his way toward the door. The night before he had pushed a huge mass of wood over the opening to the frigid air outside to help protect them. He slid the hunk of oak out of the way enough for him to get around it and made his way outside. Even through his thick cloak, the icy winds lashed against his fact and hands. Thankfully, the horses the group had ridden here still stood tied where they’d been left, though they were now laying in the snow, huddled together for warmth. Karnus’s horse had spread the blanket he’d put on it over the rest of them as best it could. He couldn’t help but smile at the simple kindness animals could manage so much better than humans.  He thought he could just make out the rising smoke of the village several thousand feet below.
Karnus had just turned to go back inside and wake the princess when it hit him. He quickly moved over behind a large rock and vomited. He felt terrible all of a sudden, he hoped, as he had last night that rather than the witch’s spell, his and the princess’s illness were due to altitude. His stomach still churning he made his way back into the ruined castle and to the princess’s tent. He approached the door once more and whispered, “ Princess. Wake up.” Nothing. The princess didn’t stir at all.
“ Princess,” he said louder, “ Wake up.” This time he saw her move a little, and heard her moving about.
“ Lord Karnus?”
“ Yes Princess.”
“ Is it already morning?”
“ Yes your Highness. I am sorry to wake you Princess, but we really must be going. We have to at the very least reach Arcturn before nightfall. Then we can stay at the inn there.” He deeply hoped to get much further than that today, but he still felt rather ill.
The princess moved around in her tent, dressing and packing her things as Karnus rolled up his blanket and stuffed his few things back in his bag. He threw his bag over his shoulder, threw a few handfuls of dirt on the fire, and watched the princess as she left her tent. She looked as if she still felt queasy as well, and he soon confirmed this when, embarrassedly, she ran into a dark corner and he could hear her vomiting. He packed up her tent as she vomited several more times, and had just tied it onto the back of his horse, when she cam outside, pulling her hood over her face, and looking ill.
“ Are you ok?” he asked.
“ I think so,” she said, trying to smile though holding her flat stomach still, “ I greatly hope it is simply the alititude and cold.” Karnus hoped she was right but couldn’t help but think that, she’d been here for nearly a year. The altitdue shouldn’t effect her this much. They pakced their things onto their steeds and began the perilous descent back to the village.
The trip was slow anyway, but the princess’s illnes only made it worse, as they had to stop over hundred feet or so to let her empty he throat. Karnus was immensely relieved that he seemed to be feeling better, though he thought that he felt a bit heavier than before, as if he’d put on weight overnuight. His tunic felt a tad tighter and it felt as if his stomach was pressed against the cold steel of his armor. They traveled back along the same path that Karnus and his fallen friends had used the day before, and since he knew the route already it made the return trip much faster. By midday, he and the princess could see the massive wooden gates of Arcturn.
“ Princess, I think you should put this on,” Karnus said as he handed her a dark scarf. “ just wrap it around the bottom of your face. I think it would be best if as few people as possible know you are here.” The princess couldn’t help but agree, she really didn’t feel good and being bothered by peasants would not help her mood. She wrapped the scarf around her neck and face, so that it covered everything below he eyes. Karnus approached the gates, where the same guard yelled to his friend above to let them pass. Karnus merely ignored his question about his missing friends. The princess bowed her head against the roaring winds and sleet as the made their way, very slowly, to the cozy looking inn.
Karnus approached the innkeeper once inside.
“ Two rooms ple…,” but he was cut off by the princess.
“ One room will be fine,” she told the heavy set old man. He smiled at the bright blue eyes that was all he could see, and handed her the key to their room.
“ Princess…,” Karnus began as they made their way up the steps, the princess in front.
“ It will look far less suspect if we pose as bride and groom, simply passing through the village.” He knew she was right, but his attention was far less on her words, than on the swaying hips and bottom that was most of his field of vision. They entered their cozy room and set their things on the floor just inside the door. The princess walked over beside the bed and pulled down her hood as Karnus lit a fire in the fireplace. She slipped her arms out of the sleeves of her cloak, and let the thick material slide over her slender frame. As Karnus watched this out of the corner of his right eye, he was reminded vividly of Alera, though her beauty was paled by the princess’s radiance.
He didn’t notice it when she faced him, but as she turned wideways, then sat on the edge of the soft bed, he noticed that she seemed to have gained a bit of wieght around her midsection. Likely from moving little if at all the entire time she’d been imprisoned. Karnus, not wanting to eat with everyone downstairs, summoned a servant to bring some food up to their room for himself and his “wife”. The princess had went to the bathroom to wash when the food arrived, and she had looked positively jubilant when she laid eyes on the silver tray piled with an aromatic meal. Nothing on the tray survived their binge. Karnus had found himself very hungry and eaten rather more than he would  have normally, though he attributed this to the cold and having not eaten much in days. The princess, to his surprise, had eaten much more than him. She had attacked the food as ferociously as a starving tiger, and he’d have sworn that the small bulge in her stomach look rather bigger now as she lay on the bed beside him.
He felt very uncomfortable sleeping next to the princess that night. He’d insisted that he sleep in the floor, in front of the door to protect her, but she’d demanded that he sleep with her, to keep her warm as she said. He lay with his back to her, listening to her slow breathing as she slumbered and hoped that they would be back to the castle soon. The wind howled and the snow piled deep as they he fell asleep. Karnus awoke the next morning to the sound of someone moving in the room with them. Fearing an attack he sat up quickly, feeling lightheaded as he did. He looked around and saw only the princess sitting in front of the fire, warming her hands. As he got out of bed he noticed that his thick wool shirt felt even tighter than the day before. He looked down and saw a bulge protruding from his stomach, as if he’d swallowed a small melon. It was just the heavy food they’d had the night before, he assured himself as he got up.
“ Good morning Karnus,” the princess said getting to her feet as he got to his.
“ Good morning princess,” he replied, noticing as he looked at her, that the bulge he’d seen in her stomach before looked rounder now, as if she’d eaten a child’s ball whole. Wondering what was going on, but inwardly very thankful that neither of them was ill this morning, Karnus packed up their few things. As they climbed onto their horses outside, the princess having more difficulty than before, he hoped that they would be able to reach the much warmer grasslands by nightfall. On they rode. All day they rode. The princess refused to stop, saying that she wanted to get home to her beloved city, to her loving father, as soon as possible. Finally, when it became too dark to ride any further, they set up the large tent under the largest cedar tree Karnus had ever seen.  He couldn’t help but stare as the princess dismounted from her horse when they stopped, the bulge in her stomach was impossible to miss now. She seemed oblivious to her burgeoning belly, but Karnus simply gaped as she jumped down and stretched her muscles a bit.
As she prepared her bed in the tent, he noticed he hips seemed to sway more as she walked, and she had developed a distinct waddle. Karnus knew of only one thing that could cause what was happening to her, but it didn’t happen so rapidly and there was no possible way that she could be. He built their fire close to the tent that night and joined her inside as it began to rain. He pulled off his wool shirt as he readied himself for bed, and noticed the princess staring at him.
“ Something wrong?” he asked her. She tore her gaze away from his middle and replied, “ No. Nothing.” She lay down, the blanket rising over her stomach. Karnus looked down at his own stomach and saw that he could no longer see his feet, his stomach now protruded far enough to block them from view.
“ What the…!?” he whispered, rubbing the bulge and discovering that it felt hard to the touch. He covered himself in his thick blanket, resolving to find a healer as soon as possible and find out what was happening to them both.
The following morning was cold, wet, and rainy, so it took the two of them awhile longer than usual to rise from their cozy slumber. Karnus crept out of the canvas tent first, pulling the hood of his cloak up as he went. He awoken with a shock as he’d seen his stomach. It was even bigger than the day before, and had made it difficult for him to sit up in his bed, and even more difficult to get to his feet. He’d lumbered out of the tent awkwardly, thanks to his new girth. He looked down at himself and saw that his protruding middle was visible even through his thick cloak now. He had to find out what this was; and very, very soon. However, his shock at his own appearance vanished almost entirely as the princess emerged from the tent. He hadn’t noticed as he got up and about, but her stomach had grown overnight as well. She was huge. She emerged from the tent rubbing her belly tenderly. Karnus also noticed theat her tight tunic seemed to  be meeting with less and less success at holding in her bosom which had grown seemingly faster than her stomach.
“ I do not feel well this morning, Karnus.” She leaned against the tree they’d put their tent under and held the bas eof her stomach. “ What is making us both gain weight like this? Why do I feel like a mother ready to have her child?” That statement worried Karnus, as that was precisely what he thought the problem was. As she got bigger and bigger he couldn’t help but notice that the princess was beginning to look a lot like Alera had.
They packed up their camp and set out for the nearest town on the map the king had given Karnus. Whatever was wrong, they had to find out soon. There was no possibility of him returning the princess swollen like she was. It took him three tries to get himself up on his horse, which was a dozen less than it took for the princess. Finally, he’d simply lifted her up and helped her onto the horse, surprised at how light she was despite her growing girth. It took most of the day for their horses to plod through the muck and mud. It was past sunset when they found the stone gates of the village of Whiteshire. Karnus spoke to the guards at the gate, who allowed them to pass, and they made their way into the clean, pristine city. Resolving to find a healer the following morning, Karnus and the princess settled into their cozy room at one of the inns. As she settled into bed, Karnus stared at the princess, unable to take his eyes off her growing middle. He threw another log into the fireplace and placed a hand against his own stomach, worried about the strange movements he could feel within. He managed to fall asleep a few minutes later, his eyes locked on the bulge that was the princess’s quilt-covered belly beisde him.
Karnus was roused from a deep sleep the nect morning when something heavy sat on the end of the bed. Only a second later, the weight left the bed, causing him to open his eyes and look around. He was shocked by what he saw. He could see, standing in front of the roaring fire; the princess. He gaped at her as he watched. She was gently rubbing the massive expanse attached to her front. Her stomach was now as big or possibly bigger than Alera’s had been. Karnus was almost certain that she was carrying a child, or several for that matter. Karnus tried to sit up, but found that he could not. Looking under the thick quilts covering him, he saw the smooth black tunic expanded even more as his belly, like the princess’s had grown more over night. The only possible answer to his present condition was impossible. There was no way that he could be what he almost certainly was. The only way to know for sure was to seek out the town’s greatest healer, and hope that he would be told an answer other than the one he feared.


-- Edited by inflateman123 on Monday 21st of February 2011 04:30:09 PM

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They left the inn very quickly that morning, grabbing only a little to eat as they walked, as Karnus feared that someone might notice their “unusual” state if they stayed too long. They wandered the town for several hours, both tiring quickly, thanks to their increased bulk. Eventually, the princess approached a guard near the town temple and discovered that several of the healers, including the Master Healer had been called to help troops squashing a troll attack in the nearby forests. They were told that their best bet was to try a young healer and mage just a few hours ride outside the city. The guard gave them directions to the mage’s home, set in the small hills to the east, and they set out. It was a difficult journey, not to mention a long one. Their growing middles made it very difficult to balance on a horse, as well as make it very uncomfortable to sit on a hard saddle for very long.
“ At last…,” Karnus heard the princess whisper to herself, riding just behind him, when they came around a bend in the dirt rode and saw the small cabin sitting in the shadow of huge trees in the forest beyond it. They rode quickly to toward the little house, dismounting ungainly as they neared the door. Karnus approached the wooden door, checking to make sure his thick cloak and wool shirt hid his condition as much as possible, and knocked loudly. The princess stood behind him, absentmindedly rubbing her gravid middle as they waited. Within minutes the door opened to reveal an old man with white hair and a matching beard that reached his waist.
“ Who are you?” he asked looking at the pair.
“ We come seeking your wisdom, great mage,” Karnus answered hoping to appeal to the old man’s ego. “A strange condition afflicts us, sir, and we ask your help,” the princess said approaching the door. The old man eyed them for a moment, his old gray eyes examing every inch of them he could see, resting finally on the princess’s much more visible middle.
“ Very well, come in then,” he said beckoning them inside.
It was a small cabin, entirely one room, with a bed, table, fireplace and only a few wooden chairs. Karnus couldn’t help but feel as though he was stepping into a cave. Despite the roaring fire it felt rather colder inside the house, as well as the few windows having been covered over so as to not let any light in. The old man walked over near the table and stared at them, “ So who is first then?” He beckoned to the table beside him. Karnus looked at the princess beside him, “ You first my dear,” he said as he nodded toward the table. She looked nervous as she walked over to the old man and stood before him.
“ Lay down on the table young lady and I shall examine you.” She looked once more at Karnus, anxiety etched in her beautiful face. She pulled her thick cloak off herself and lay it in the chair next to the table, only making it easier to see the expanded flesh beneath her tunic. She heaved herself up onto the old wooden table and lay down, her stomach looming over her, like a large melon had been stuck under her clothes.
“ What seems to the matter then?” the old man asked as stood over her.
“ This,” she answered pulling up her tunic to reveal the mound that was her stomach. It was huge, stretched tight, and Karnus could just see something moving within her.
“ Hmmm.” That was all the wizard said as he set about his work. He lay a withered old hand on top of the expanse of skin. Then he placed a hand on each side of her belly and moved it around slightly, making the princess whimper with pleasure. Next, he pulled from inside his green robes a leather pouch, dumped from it a blue powder into his hand, and sprinkled the powder onto her mound so that it formed a circle around her navel. He began to chant strange words as he placed a single, wrinkled finger directly on her navel, causing her to shiver, and the powdery circle began to glow. He removed his finger and looked down into the circle as if looking through a window into her middle. Finally, after peering into who knew what for several minutes, he seemed to come out of a trance. He looked strange, smiling happily, almost greedy.
“ It is as I suspected young miss, you are carrying a child.”
“ But how?” was all the princess could respond with. But then she realized, this must have been the witch’s doing.
“ There is more,” the old man began, “ you are carrying more than one child. Your womb carries three children. They grow large and will likely be born within a few days time.” The princess rubbed her belly lovingly. She had always wanted a family but never cared for the various knights and nobles her father had chosen as her suitors.
“ Are you next?” the old man asked Karnus as the princess pulled her tunic back down and slid carefully off the table. Karnus had been gently rubbing his own midsection as the man spoke, and was pulled from his trance when questioned.
“ No sir,” he answered quickly. “ I am fine, I was merely concerned for my wife.” The lie rose easily to his lips as he felt something stir within him.
“ Are you sure? You look as if something is wrong,” the old man said looking at him very strangely.
“ No I assure you kind sir, I am fine. How much do I owe you for looking at my dear wife?” Karnus paid the old mage and had just opened the door when it began to rain. At first it was only a drizzle but it quickly became a torrential downpour. The mage approached Karnus and said kindly, “ You cannot travel in this, not with your wife in her current state.” The princess looked worried, but Karnus knew the old man was right. There was no way they’d be able to get anywhere in the storm outside.
“You may stay here tonight,” the old man said.
“ We could not possibly impose on you kind mage, you have only one bed and we will not take you out of it.”
“ You are kind young knight, but there is another solution. I have a stable behind my cabin and my horse has recently died so it is empty. The straw will allow your wife to be comfortable in her delicate condition and you will be dry and warm.” There was something about this man that Karnus just didn’t like, but he could find no argument for his offer. Afterall, the princess being as she was and he likely being the same, they couldn’t travel in the rain, and the offer of a dry place to stay was tempting.
“ Very well,” he said looking at the bloated princess, “ we shall take your hospitable offer good sir and thank you.”
They made their way to the small shed behind the old man’s cabin and settled in there. It was easily big enough for their pair of horses and themselves. Karnus had laid out a blanket for them on the soft hay that filled one side of the buidling. There the princess sat, rubbing the huge mound that protruded from her her stomach.
“ Karnus?” she asked as he sat beside her.
“ Yes Princess?”
“ Do you think thay the same thing that has happened to me has happened to you?”
“ Yes I do,” he answered rubbing his own stomach.
“ But how?” she asked looking at him intently.
“ I believe that whatever spell the witch cast was intended to fill you with children. Why? I cannot be sure. But I believe that by my entering into the circle she created for the ritual, the effects of her spell were split between us. You carry three lives within you, and so, magically, do I.” The princess reached out and laid a soft, slender hand against the side of his silky black tunic.
“ I felt them move,” she said smiling at him. He smiled back, though in his mind he was afraid. This was unnatural, but all the same, he’d always wanted a family and now he could have it, without the hassle of finding a proper bride. He fell asleep, the smell of the hay filling his nose, his hands cradling the expanse of life in his middle.
He was awakened a few hours later by one of the horses stirring nearby. He looked around for a few moments and was shocked to find the princess gone. He managed to get to his feet, despite his belly in the way, which seemed even larger now. He waddled outside into the still night air and looked around. He could see a lamp lit in the wizard’s cabin and wondered if perhaps the princess was in there. He waddled slowly around the side of the cabin, trying to peer into the covered windows, with no luck. Finally, he made his way up to the front door and rested for a moment. He could hear someone talking inside the wooden house, so he moved closer to the door to listen.
“ You will taste good, you will, you beautiful girl, and so swollen with extra life.” The voice sounded like the old man’s but without the aged rasp he had. He could also hear someone whimpering as if bound an struggling. Karnus knew somehow, that the princess was the girl the voice spoke of .
He opened the door, as loudly as he could, and was horrified by what he saw. The princess lay on top of the table once more, but this time she was bound by her wrists and ankles by ropes. She was naked. Her huge belly shone brightly in the light of the raging fire. Tears rolled down her face as she jerked around to look at Karnus as he entered.
“ KARNUS!” she yelled as he strode toward her, his face stony. Now he saw the monster that had abducted her. The old man stood before the fireplace, in his green robes, but he wasn’t the old man anymore. His beard was gone and his hair black, the wrinkled, kind face replaced by a white, pale terrifying face. Black eyes looked greedily at the very pregnant princess bound before him. He opened his mouth in a feirce snarl and Karnus could see long white fangs in the monsters mouth. He understood now; the old man was a vampire, that was why the windows were covered, and the chill in the house was the chill of Death itself.

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“ Yes young knight, come to me, let me have your life as well, and that of those that grow inside your unnatural womb.” The monster taunted Karnus, who covered his protruding middle. The monster could sense the beat of a living heart, that was how he knew of Karnus’s condition, but that didn’t matter, somehow he had to save the princess. She struggled against her bindings more, her huge belly and engorged breasts shaking in the weak light as she fought. Karnus stepped closer to the table as the vampire drew closer to him, gliding over the wooden floor, like nothing more than smoke.
“ You cannot beat me knight, even in your normal state you could not match my power. How do you expect to beat me when you are swollen with children?”
“ I do not know monster, but rest assured, I will destroy you, here and now.” Karnus steadied himself as the vampire came around the table and stood before him. As the monster came within a foot of him he drew from his belt Roland’s dagger, the same one he’d used to free the princess before. The monsters moved even closer to Karnus, who gave the appearance of being defenseless. When he was only inches from the vampire, whose breath smelled of blood and ash, he swung the blade toward him.
Apparently the monster had not expected Karnus to be capable of moving so fast. The small silver blade sliced across his eyes, blood that was not his spilled from them. He screamed in agony, he gripped at his face as blood poured from the wound. Karnus turned and sliced the ropes binding the princess’s feet, as the vampire fell to the floor, still screaming. He hurried as fast as his stomach would allow, to the princess’s head, where her hands were tied. He had just sliced the ropes and pulled her from the table when the monster rose, rage emanating from him like heat.
“ GO! RUN!” he told the princess as her naked form rushed to the door.
“ NO!” the vampire shrieked as the princess flung the door closed in his blood-covered face. “ YOU!” he screamed pointing at Karnus, who held the dagger in front of him, ready to fight for his, and his children’s lives. The vampire approached him once more, but this time he halted several feet from his prey.
“ This will stop you!” the vampire shouted pointing a long white finger at Karnus, whose body instantly became rigid and stiff. He could not move.
The monster walked up to Karnus, so close this time, that Karnus cold see the veins in his forhead.
“ Let us see what you hide under here,” the beast said, licking his lips revoltingly. He grabbed the tight black tunic, stretched over Karnus’s distended stomach and ripped the material away. Magical, though the cloth might have been, the vampire tore it with ease. The remains of the black material fell of the knight, leaving his upper body exposed, and that was when he felt it. He felt his middle stretching, his stomach growing even more, it would seem that the magical protection of the tunic had kept him from growing as large as he should have. The vampire watched hungrily as Karnus’s naked belly grew larger and larger, tearing through his woolen pants, stopping only when it was so huge that Karnus would have fallen forwad from its weight, had he been able to move at all. His gravid womb hung between his legs, pushing them further apart and making his back ache. He tried futily to get away as the vampire pressed a spidery hand against the taught, boulder-sized mound.
“ You will taste wonderful,” he said as he rubbed the huge expanse.
“ Get away from me,” Karnus said, anger dripping from his every word. He refused to let this damned monster of the night hurt his children. He had to do something, but he couldn’t move, the vampire’s magic held him firmly in place. Even if he could move he wouldn’t be able to get far, his huge, rounded belly made it impossible for him to move very far, or remotely fast. The monster slid around behind him, and, using only a finger to control him, lifted him into the air, turned him on his back, and lay him on the table. He pulled off his boots, his belt, and lastly his woolen leggings he wore under his armor.  Karnus lay there, paralyzed, his enormous belly shining in the light of the nearby fire just as the princess’s had. Suddenly, light erupted near the door. Karnus looked toward the door as much as his paralyzed body would allow and saw that the front of the cabin seemed to be on fire.
“ NO!” the vampire cried again, and in his distraction his curse broke, Karnus could move again. He rolled off the table, his back and belly aching. Unused to the extra weight he struggled to his feet, as the monster ran to the front of the quickly burning house. Karnus knew he had to escape, but he wanted to destroy this monster once and for all, and he knew how. Karnus had been taught of monsters like this vampire, how they were undead, fed on the living, and that they were nearly impossible to kill, but he knew one way.
He grabbed the chair the princess had lain her cloak in to be examined, turned it over, and snapped one of the legs from it. Turning around he saw the vampire rushing around trying to extinguish the flames. Had it not be so dangerous it would have been comical to watch the monster dash around feebly trying to save its home, but as it had no water, and apparently no means to conjure it magically, nothing it did stopped the raging flames. Karnus knew his chance when the monsters robe caught fire and it danced around trying to put out its clothes. He moved forward as quickly as possible, grabbed the monster by its shoulder, turned it to face him, and he could see only fear in its eyes. He drove the piece of wood deep into the vampires heart, blood spurting out, and the monster fell to its knees.
“ There,” Karnus said simply as he watched the vampire’s body begin to disolve into the dust it ought to be. Now he had a new problem, he had to escape from this inferno before he and his unborn children were consumed by the flames. Frantically, he looked around for some means of escape but the door was engulfed by fire, and all that left were the two small windows.
He ran to the window near the foot of the bed., pulled back the thick cloth covering it, and, using the broken chair, smashed the brittle panes of glass. He used the pillow from the bed to rake away the remaing shards of glass and began pulling himself through the square opening. His shoulders fit through easily enough, but he forgotten something, his huge belly had no hope of fitting through the window. He pushed off the bed, trying to force himself through but all that did was push his expanded womb into the rough wood of the wall. His backside was beginning to get warm as the fire burned nearer to him. He pressed his hands against the wall of the cabin, trying to force his gravid middle through, but to no avail. He was going to burn to death here, absurdly stuck in the side of a woodland cabin. He, Karnus, who had slain giants, demons, and monsters, would die here, massively pregnant, and naked. As he continued to struggle he saw someone run toward him from around the front of the house, at first he thought the vampire had survived somehow, but when he saw her huge belly gleaming in the light of the burning house he realized that it was the princess.
“ Karnus!” she shouted when she saw him sticking out of the window.
“ Princess! I need your help,” he said needlessly flailing his arms in front of him. She took his hands into her smaller, softer ones and began to pull on him. As she pulled from one side and he pushed with his legs from the other, he began to feel his hige stomach being forced through the much smaller opening. The princess pulled and pulled, Karnus pushed as hard as he could with his legs, the fire reaching the bed. The front of the house, burnt to almost nothing fell forward. Just as the flames began to burn his bare feet, the logs beside him fell forward enlarging the hole he was trying to fit through. The princess pulled again, and this time finally, his huge form fell forward out of the burning house.
“ Are you ok?” the princess asked , getting to her feet, as he stood up rubbing his sore stomach.
“ I’m fine,” he said as flames engulfed the whole of the cabin. “ We have to get away from here!” he said as he grabbed her hands and ran as fast as possible toward the woods.
For several hours, after the sun had already risen, they sat watching the cabin burn, their horses and supplies along with it. Karnus quickly realized that their problems were even greater than before. Now, they were both heavily pregnant, mostly naked, and left with no supplies. They camped in the massive roots of an ancient tree that day. The huge roots protected them from the winds that ripped through the forest. Karnus managed to build a fire from some rubbish from the forest and the remains of the cabin. They simply slept curled on the mounds of moss growing around the tree, their fire the only thing keeping htem warm as they slumbered. They woke early the next morning, due mostly to the biting cold. Their fire gad gone out in the night; so there they both sat, naked, cold, and massively pregnant.
“ Karnus we must find some clothes,” Ania told him needlessly as they started off, now with nothing to carry or ride.
“ I know Princess.” They set off, looking ludicrous with their massive, over-bloated stomachs. They had no alternative but to start walking through the thick fog that had settled over the plains. Karnus tried desperately to ignore the nagging pain that had settled in his lower back as they trudged onward. He pressed his hands into the small of his back, arching his back even more, and pushing his huge stomach forward, nearly off balancing him. They had lost the map the king had given Karnus in the fire, but luckily Karnus was fairly certain that there was small village nearby. If they could just reach it and get some clothes and supplies they’d be able to figure their situation out somewhere else. They traveled on for hours, nothing but the immense pains in their backs to keep them company. Karnus couldn’t help but notice that the princess would stop every few feet to lean against a tree or boulder and rub her stomach, trying to sooth the pain within it. Trees and shadows were all they had to keep them sheltered from the eyes of the travelers they had yet to see.
Finally, having walked naked in the stinging wind for most of the day, they came to the end of the large forest they had been skirting around for cover. There ahead of them they saw a small group of houses, a couple shops, and the small stone walls that surrounded the little village. Karnus suddenly realized that it would prove very difficult for either of them, with their considerable bulk, to stealthily find clothes to cover their gravid forms. Ania hid in a small grove of trees and huge boulders, while Karnus tried to scout the small town unseen. As he edged around, still several hundred yards from any of the houses, he could see that many of them appeared completely deserted. In fact, as he drew closer, his heart sank. The whole village was empty and , by the looks of it, had been for some time. He waddled up to a small stone house nearby and peered through the dusty window. If not for the thick layer of dust covering everything, it would have looked as if the owners had left only seconds ago, there was even still food on the table. He moved over to the door and pushed his considerable weight against it. It is rotted state the old wooden door broke open rather easily, leaving only a cloud of dust in its wake.
Karnus stepped into the small square room, the entirety of the whole house, and the smell of rotting food made his stomach roll. He rubbed the expanse gently as he surveyed the room. Then he find it, in the far corner, by the window, and old wardrobe of sorts. He crossed the room toward and pulled the doors open, one of which fell off its aged hinges at his touch. Inside, along with a number of moths, he found a few old robes, very old robes. Kept clean only by their shelter, the aged cloth had numerous holes and tears in the fabric. He pulled an old green robe from the wardrobe, shook it furiously before him to clean it slightly, and pulled it over his naked form. Whoever had lived in this small stone house must have been an enormous man, as the emerald robe not only covered his distended middle, but still reached the ground, hanging off his belly like a curtain. Karnus knew that his next move must be to bring the princess here. He found an old violet robe, more feminine in desgin than the one he wore, and took it with him. He began his slow waddle toward the grove where the princess hid, and could just see her curious face peeking out from behind the massive boulder he’d left her at.
“Princess!” he called to her as he approached. She stepped out from behind the huge stone, his eyes instantly drawn to her huge abdomen, and the two melon sized endowments resting atop it.
“ Here,” he said kindly, handing her the robe tucked under his arm. She took it from him, shook it just as he had his, and slid it over her engorged breasts, stretched it over her swollen stomach, and brushed off the excess dust as she looked over herself. Her robe was rather smaller, it stretched over her enormous belly, but then only reached to her knees, leaving her slim ankles and feet exposed. She rubbed the sides of her cloth covered womb, and smiled.
“ Much better,” she said smiling at the pregnant  man beside her, “ thank you.”
“ You’re welcome, Ania.”
“ How did you get these?” Ania asked.
“ The village…” he started. Karnus told her how the village looked as if it had been quickly deserted. How it appeared as if the villagers had evacuated hastily. The amazingly akward looking pair waddled back to the village, thankfully now covered, though that was a mixed blessing. Though they were now clothed, the old robes made it a much sweatier experience to haul their incubating young around. The princess was cradling her stomach and gasping for breath when they finally reached the center of the viallge, in front of the house their robes had come from. Karnus however, pressed one hand into the small of his back, arching it, and pushing his gravid middle even further forward. He leaned against the old oak that stood at the middle of the small village, bracing himself with one hand as the pressure in his back worsened from the exertion. It felt like a fire burning in his belly, the babies within thrashed violently and his back felt like a knife had been run into it.
They made their way into the house Karnus had been in only moments before, Ania expressing only an, “ Ugh!” as she saw how decrepit the stone house was. She waddled into the center of the filthy room and turned on the spot, surveying her surroundings.
“ I know its not the castle,” Karnus began, “ but we can stay here for a night or two, until we figure out what to do about…this,” he said cradling his enormous mound in his arms.
“ I’ve already decided what to do.”
“ What’s that?” he asked, stunned. She began to rub her stomach affectionately and turned to face him, sincerity etched in her face.
“ I’m not going back to the castle. I want to have my babies.” She stepped toward him and looked into his dark eyes. “ Father would never allow me to have these children. He wants me to marry a prince and have dozens of babies with a man I don’t love.” She stepped so close that their expanded wombs were pressed together. “ Let him believe that the witch killed me, and you too.” She now drew as close as the babies would allow and peered into his eyes. “ I love you Karnus. Let us go into hiding, away from my father. We can raise these babies and have more of our own.” With that she pressed herself against him and kissed him hard. He felt her heavy breasts press against his chest, and something grazed the underside of his huge belly.
He directed her over to the dusty old bed, his lips never parting with hers. She sat down on the bed and watched as he removed his robe, then with his help she pulled the violet robe over her head. They both stared into each others eyes, then hungrily took in one another’s naked forms. Her beautiful slim figure, augmented by her engorged breasts and fertile womb. His muscled physique, contrasted with the swollen middle, so full of life. She lay down on the bed, sending a cloud of ancient dust into the air. Karnus leaned over her, then he settled on the bed between her legs, his stomach just touching her own. She shivered with delight as he spread his legs around her gravid womb and pressed himself into her. Their babies thrashed with excitement as she moaned aloud. The winds howling through the empty homes was the only sound beyond pleasured moans that night.
Karnus was awakened the next morning by the sun’s rays creeping in through the grime covered window and hitting him hard in the face. He looked at the beautiful young woman beside him and gasped. She was huge. Well, to be true, she had been huge before, but it looked as if she’d grown substantially overnight.  He gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand until she stirred.
“ Good morning my love,” he said, smiling as she rubbed her tired eyes.
“ Good morning to you as well,” she tried to raise up and gasped when she looked at herself. Then she began to laugh as she rubbed the pale expanse of flesh that was her belly. She slid out of the bed and clumsily got to her feet, using the bedside table as a prop. Her belly was definitely larger. It arched her back more than before and hung lower between her legs, greatly emphasizing her waddle, Karnus noticed as she paced in the sunlight. Her breasts had grown as well, swelling with milk for her unborn children. They searched the house for over an hour that morning, hoping to find some useful supplies, but they still had nothing but the two robes to cover themselves.
“ Don’t worry,” Karnus explained, “ I have plenty of gold and such at my home. We can journey there, collect supplies and use the gold I have saved over the years to start over somewhere new, just as you wanted.” Ania looked thrilled.
Karnus found himself growing more and more excited as the day wore on and they began their journey toward his home. However, he knew it would take close to a week for them to reach his home. How much bigger would they grow in that time? They were getting more and more massive every day. The trip would be a long and exhausting one, and what if they were found? He could never hope to explain this situation to anyone. They waddled as fast as their gravidity would allow for three days, and despite living only on berries, mushrooms, and fruit they both were growing bigger very quickly. On the fourth day of their journey, when Karnus began to recognize familiar terrain again, they found the most beautiful spot to rest. A large pool in a clearing in the woods, surrounded by large rocks on all sides, with a beautiful waterfall cascading into the clear blue water, filled with fish. Ania smiled exhaustedly at Karnus as she lowered herself onto a large flat rock near the water’s edge, grunting as she did so. He grimaced back as his belly ached  with hunger and fatigue.
Karnus gathered limbs from nearby pine tree to lay down for them to sleep on, under the low hanging limbs of another ancient pine that would shelter them like a tent as they slept. As he busied himself with their shelter for the night, Ania bent down on all fours at the water’s edge and began to drink the refreshingly cool, clear water. She relished the feel of the water flowing down her throat and into her huge belly, which was pressed against the soft sand below her. She drank, and drank, and drank some more, her thirst seemingly unquenchable, until finally she thought she might burst if she drank another drop. She leaned backward on her hands, her legs spread before her as her belly fell between them. She looked ready to burst. Poking her belly curiosly, she could hear the gallons of new liquid sloshing inside her. She got to her feet and was nearly thrown over by the extra weight she’d just gained. Karnus could hear the water sloshing inside her as she waddled over to him. Karnus turned to his lover, and playfully placed his hands on the sides of her belly and shook it, causing the contents to slosh so violently that she almost fell over. Ania looked at him mischievously, before forcing him down onto their “bed”.
Four days later, Karnus opened the old door into his own home, his beautiful lover following close behind. Thankfully, they hadn’t encountered anyone on the way there, granted his house was rather out of the way for most, and that was a good thing too. They were both huge. Huge in the sense that they could only walk for about half an hour or so before being worn out from hauling their bloated wombs around with them. They gathered the gold and supplies quickly, not wanting to remain in such an obvious place for very long. They had hoped that perhaps Karnus had some garments that might cover them better, but that hope was dashed quickly as they found that all he had were clothes made to fit his pre-pregnancy self. They took what they needed and departed, heading northward, where fewer people lived, and they were less apt to be bothered. They set out in the small wagon Karnus had bought years ago to haul supplies while on quests for his lover’s father. His only other horse pulled them slowly along as they ventured toward the thick forests of the north. Karnus steered, sitting awkwardly on the small bench on the front of the wagon, having to almost lay sideways to accommodate his gravid middle. Ania lay on a thick woolen blanket in the back with their things, her stomach looming over her, a great dome of pearly flesh.
For several days they trekked northward, the only change was from the smooth grasslands, to the rolling hills, from empty prairies to thick forests. Karnus couldn’t help but notice that, as they traveled, Ania’s massive stomach seemed to drop downward, she moved slower as if weighed down even more. His own womb, however, seemed to be expanding more than ever, larger and rounder, so full of life. He began to wonder where they would live when they finally reached someone they deemed fitting. There was no chance they’d be able to build a home for themselves in their current conditions and they couldn’t hire someone else to do it and risk being exposed as they were. He decided that he would deal with that issue when they finally found a place to settle down and raise the children inside of them. For now they would continue on, ever northward.
The air grew colder, the wind fiercer, and the trees more massive as they reach what Karnus knew to be called the Forest of Artan, a dark, cold land. He could hardly think of more inhospitable place to live, but this is where Ania had told him she wished to go. He turned to the canvas flap behind him.
“ Ania, darling, we’re here.”
“ Thank goodness,” said her disembodied voice, “ I’m getting so restless in this blasted wagon.” From behind the flap came her blonde hair, then her beautiful eyes, her swelled bosom, then most noticeable of all: the great mass of fertile flesh, her gravid womb. She smiled brightly at him, then kissed his cheek so hard he’d have sworn she bruised him. When he finally stopped in the shade of an ancient tree larger than most towers, she carefully lowered her huge form onto the leaf and twig covered ground. Rubbing her belly affectionately with one and holding her sore back with the other she walked around, taking in her new surroundings.
“ I like it here,” she said with a broad smile.
“ Good,” Karnus replied as he land on the ground, his huge belly almost pulling him over.
“ I hadn’t noticed until now,” Ania said walking toward him her hands held out, “ but you’ve gotten a great deal bigger.” She placed her hands on either side of his belly and rubbed it, sending shivers of pleasure through the knight.
“ I’m ready for these little ones to be born,” Ania said as she resumed the rubbing of the stretched flesh of her own womb. Karnus was afraid of what that might entail, but he had to admit, he agreed with her.
Karnus unloaded their few supplies, under the huge tree and they slept their that night, in the cover  of the wagon. It was a rather uncomfortable sleep, as they could barely squeeze their massively pregnant forms into the small space, but they slept. They could face their homeless issue in the morning. He awoke the next morning to the sound of the wind rushing through the ancient trees. Rubbing his eyes with one hand and the sore underside of his stomach with the other, he was suddenly aware of his missing lover.
“ Ania!” he shouted as he pulled on his robe and lumbered out of the wagon. Looking around frantically he could see a small path left in the twigs and leaves where she or something had wandered into the forest. He followed it for several minutes, already sweating from the exhertion of carrying his young.
“ ANIA!” he shouted with all his might.
“ Karnus, over here,” she shouted back. She was close he could tell from the sound of her voice.
Coming around a pair of old trees so close together that the wind barely sped between them, he saw his very pregnant lover sitting atop a massive stump in a small clearing.
“ Why did you wander off?” he asked worriedly.
“ I was restless just sitting back there. Besides, the walking seems to calm them down.” She rubbed her stomach gently as she spoke. “ I found it.”
“ Found what?” he asked, confused.
“ Where I want to build our new home. Right here. I want this to be the center of it,” she said as she patted the massive stump with her small hand. He looked around the small area. Huge trees surrounded the stump, making it so that unless the sun was directly above it, it would be rather dark all the time. Now that he listened he could hear a stream or river rushing nearby, and it was very serene and peaceful here. Karnus had to admit he liked her choice of location, but the problem wasn’t where, it was how.
“ Ania?” he asked the pregnant blonde.
“ Yes my love?”
“ How exactly do you plan on us building a house out here? We’re certainly in no shape to be buidling anything.” He pointed unnecessarily at his massive middle as he spoke.
“I know that silly. I’ve already got someone to do it for us.”
“ WHAT!?” Karnus exclaimed in alarm.
“ When we stayed at your home for a few days, I sent an order, under a false name of course, for a few servants to meet us here and build our new home, as well as stay on afterward to help us with…well you know.”
“ But Ania, we cannot let anyone see us like this. How can we possibly explain this situation?”
“ Wrong Karnus, we cannot allow anyone to know that you are pregnant. It is perfectly natural for women to carry children, so I will simply be your expecting bride. We will just have to keep everyone from seeing you for a few days.”
“ A few days! Ania we have grown this much in that time, how are we to know that we will not be twice as big in that time, we won’t be able to move. What’s worse, what if these babies should decide to come out in that time?”
“ We’ll just have to figure that out if it happens won’t we?” she said cheerfully. Her lack of concern was almost infuriating, he couldn’t be seen this way and how were a small band of servants to build a home for them in a few days time.
Karnus didn’t wait long to find out. The servant’s Ania had sent for arrived that afternoon, four men and two women, all younger than Ania. Karnus was to hide in a cave while they built, their story being that he was a knight on a quest, due to return in a week’s time. The men assured her that they could easily have a large home finished in that time and they set to work immediately. The women helped Ania, waiting on her all day. Karnus had taken most of their supplies with him as the servants had been ordered to bring a great deal with them, which Ania could easily survive on. Ania watched boredly as the men worked. In only two days they had built the stone bottom to what they said would be a three story home. The days wore on, thankfully Karnus had found a comfortable cave near their new home, and he managed to grow even bigger. Finally, one night, about five days later Ania crept out of their now finished home one night to bring him back.
He gasped and his jaw dropped when he saw her. The servants had fed her well, her stomach was massive, still smaller than his own, but huge beyond reason anyway. They waddled back to their home. As they approached Ania turned to him.
“ Well, what do you think?”
“ It’s amazing,” he said, awestruck. The first floor was stone, each brick crafted perfectly from the boulders nearby. The top two storied had been constructed from the massive trees in the forest, though Ania had made sure the workders didn’t cut down the huge trees surrounding the house.
“ The inside is even better,” she said excitedly, taking him by the hand and leading him inside. The inside was indeed better, Ania had hired the best craftsment Karnus had ever seen, the house was beautiful. The King’s palace was nothing compared to the beauty of his new home. She led him from room to room, showing off every detail. From the cellar where the servants slept, the grand kitchen, cozy living area, to the master bedroom, which was so warm and comfortable that Karnus felt instantly exhausted. He waddled to the bed and lay down, his belly heaving with his every breath. It was astounding, the house was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the woman now approaching him. Ania slid her robe off her swollen form and lay down beside him. The servants never heard a word.
In only two days they had made their new home feel even better than their old ones. Ania had quickly become very comfortable in the new house, but Karnus couldn’t be comfortable anywhere. His enormous womb looked as if he swallowed a boulder, a fairly large one at that  made it impossible for him to sleep, or even stay idle for any length of time. All that seemed to help was for him to walk in the woods, the exercise seemed to sooth the pains in his back and belly. Despite her trying to hide it from him, Karnus had noticed that Ania seemed to be in constant pain, constantly gripping her belly and wincing as if pained. He was terrified that the babies would come soon. His knowledge of the process of childbirth was non-existent at best, and he didn’t even know how he would have his children. His back was aching severely as he waddled into the dim morning light that morning. He felt much heavier this morning, as if his gravid belly was hanging lower than before. His waddle was much more pronounced now as well and he could feel the base of his stomach pressing more against his thighs. He leaned against the frame of the thick wooden door he’d just come through and breathed in the pure, cool air. He pressed his hands into the small of his back and pushed his huge, round stomach outward, arching his back and pushing his robe’s cloth to its limits.
Ania wandered to the great stone basin in the room off their bedroom. Thankfully a servant had filled it with steaming water for her only moments before. She slowly slid her massive form into the water. She gasped as she felt the water submerge her legs, then her thighs, and finally her bloated belly slid beneath the surface of the clear water. She felt light as air as the boiling water covered the expanse of her stomach, it was so soothing. She lay in the tub for nearly two hours. Her peace was interrupted only by the occasional cramp in her huge stomach. They had started a few days ago and by this time, she was rather used to them, but these were worse, more like twinges or tightening in her womb. One, just as she was lifting her massive middle out of the tub, had felt very painful, she’d gasped and grabbed her swollen stomach as it hit. Unknown to her, thanks to her still being mostly under water, she hadn’t noticed the fluid leak from her. Her water had broken. She was having the babies, and she didn’t even know it.
Finally, dripping and naked, she waddled from the tub back into her bedroom. Her stomach shone brightly in the light from the torches on the wall as she stood at the end of the bed drying herself with a towel. She walked to the door of her wardrobe, grabbed the handle, and winced, grabbing her stomach as a terrible pain shot through her womb.
“ What the…?” Ania asked the air, still clutching her belly. She waddled toward the door, got to the top of the stairs and was halted again as a worse pain lanced through her massive middle.
“Uuuunnn…” she moaned as the pain worsened. She made her way down the winding stone staircase, another pain stopping her in the middle of her trek. She wrapped her arms around her belly and cried aloud as the pain tore through her. She managed to make it to the large oak doors before another pain hit, just as she graabed the huge brass handle. She leaned against the door and writhed in pain as he children struggled to be free of their mother’s womb. Covered in sweat, gasping for breath, leaning against the thick wooden threshold, and clutching her abdomen, she pulled the large doors open. Ania stepped onto the stone porch and quickly searched everything in her vision, Karnus was no where. How far could he have gotten? He was quite a bit bigger than her, he couldn’t have waddled far.  She needed him. She needed him now.
“ KAR…” she tried to yell for her lover but another pain cut her off as the pressure at the base of her womb worsened.
Karnus sat on a log at the edge of the stream about two miles south of his new home. He looked back up the steep hill in the direction of his home and lover. It had been easy to waddled down the steep hill, but how would he make it back up. His swollen belly made it hard enough for him to get out of bed, let alone up a mountainous hill. He rubbed the sore mound as the babies frolicked inside him. His back ached and he kept feeling this strange cramping feelings in his stomach, like when he was very hungry, but much more painful. He rocked his huge form back and forth on the log until he managed to build enough momentum to heave himself off his seat and get ungainly to his feet. As he walked to the water’s edge he’d have sworn he heard someone shout. He turned toward his home, thinking for sure that that was where the sound had come from. He walked toward the hill, put one into the soft ground, and had pulled himself up only a few feet when it happened. The pain was severe, it felt as if someone was squeezing his middle, he bent double, grabbing a sapling for support, and gasped for breath as the pain worsened.
“ No! Not now!” Karnus shouted as he felt something trickle down his leg.
Ania leaned on the railing of the stone steps, sweat pouring from her body as she moaned in agony, the pain in her belly, and the pressure at its base almost unbearable. She heaved herself back toward the house, leaning against the wall just inside the door as another pain hit her.
“ Help me!” she shouted to anyone as the pain worsened. She could feel the first baby moving down, ready to be born. She had to get back to her bed, she knew that much. She wrapped her arms around her bare belly and fought her way up the stairs and down the hallway, to the warm, torchlit room. She fell heavily on to the bed, the pains getting even worse, and crawled toward the soft pillows at the head. Stacking them up, she lay down on them, propped into an almost sitting position, she could feel the babies moving down. The pressure at the base of her belly between her legs was terrible. She screamed when another pain struck. The first baby was almost ready, the urge to push against the pain was too great. Another pain lanced through her trembling womb, she pushed agasint the pain, and could feel her first baby being forced out of her.
Karnus was halfway up the hill, nearly an hour after he started, when a sharp scream pierced the serene woodland air. Ania was in trouble, he could tell. Another pain hardened his huge belly and made him cry aloud. He pulled himself around a huge tree and fell back against it as the pain worsened. His huge belly was so heavy, it was all he could to put his hands on his knees and gasp for breath as the mound heaved from the exertion. He tried to crawl further up the incline, but his huge stomach made it impossible for him to actually walk, he couldn’t get close enough to the ground to crawl, all he could do was squat down and waddle as fast as possible. The pains were getting worse as he stumbled up the enormous hill. His stomach convulsed violently as his womb tightened, pushing the babies out of his body. Halfway up the hill, Karnus leaned against a large boulder as sweat poured down his body. He bent double as another pain, far worse than those so far tore through his aching middle, and he screamed in agony.
“ AAAHHH!” he screamed as he lay against the large tree with all his weight. He could feel the babies moving downward, ready to be born. With all his will, he pushed himself upward, toward the house at the top of the hill that he couldn’t yet see.
Ania’s screams of pain filled the quiet woodland air as her first baby’s head found the warm air of her bedroom. She lay propped on her pillows, raised into the air on her hands, pushing against the horrible pains with all her might as the baby slowly moved out of her.
“ Come on…” she told herself encouragingly as she felt the baby sliding out of her. Ania knew very little about childbirth, but she’d learned enough in her time at the castle to know that all babies were connected to their mothers by a cord. She knew that as soon as the baby was born, she had to cut this cord, or it could seriously hurt the baby. Again and again she pushed, and finally with one monumental effort, she felt the baby slide out of her. She grabbed the knife Karnus kept on his bedside table and sliced the cord connected to the baby’s stomach. As she picked up the slimy infant and held her in her arms a broad smile covered Ania’s face. She loved this baby, this life she had carried and brought into the world. But then, just when she thought her work was done, another pain tore through her body, worse by far than any before it. The next baby was wasting no time in joining its sister.
Karnus finally stumbled onto the stone steps that led up to his home. He felt like his stomach had knives rolling inside it as another pain hit. He could barely walk as the pressure between his legs continued to build. He could feel the first baby coming out, and he knew that he must lie down somewhere soon or his baby would drop out of him. He barely made it up the stairs as the pains became worse. Just feet from his bedroom door, he leaned against the wall as the pains flared again. He rushed to the door as the pain subsided and pushed it open. The sight before him stopped him in his tracks. Ania, naked, drenched in sweat and with two newborns beside her, lay on the bed screaming in the same agony he was.
“ Ania!” he yelled as he let his huge form fall onto the bed beside her.
“ Karnus!” she screamed in shock and relief as the pregnant man tore off his robe and grasped her hand.
Karnus could now see the muscles in his gravid belly tightening as his babies worked their way out of his body. Ania, on the other hand, could only grip his hand as tightly as possible and bear down with all she had as her last baby forced its way into the world to join its two sisters. Within half an hour, Ania had forced her third baby free of her womb, Karnus only one, and she now coached her lover as he worked to bring the other two out. He rearedd into the air, presing down as hard as he could. For another hour he labored on, one more baby born. Ania knelt between his stretched legs, her three daughters and his two sons on the bed beside them.
“ Come on Karnus, just a bit more, you can do this my love!” He screamed in pain. She could see the last baby’s head coming out of the opening that had magically appeared for this unnatural birth. He raised himself up so that he was almost squatting on the bed and bore down, his scream ripping through the quiet house. With pain he thought would kill him, his third son slid from his body and onto the soft bed. Karnus fell back onto the bed, exhausted from their labors, Ania lay beside him. They lay their with their children, both nude, soaked in sweat, and exhausted beyond reason. The easy part was done. Now they had only to explain the six new additions to the servants, and to endure the following years of raising these children.

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Buggy Girl
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Ooo...Man, could you do something about the formating of this? All the paragraphs are squished together since there's no spacing between them and trying to read something formatted like that gives me a headache =/

And I feel like I've read/liked this story in the past.

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Sometimes, the world is cruel to shiny things.

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Semper fidelis tyrannosaurus!
inflateman123
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Difficult to do (because of the size), but give me a bit and I'll try....


Done ! You may now view the story here.

-- Edited by inflateman123 on Monday 21st of February 2011 04:06:10 PM

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