by Pfantazm

	After the duck, they went to a nearby lake to get Madoc cleaned up. Both were keen to continue to try to get him to open up, to relax enough to accept Thom inside himself. Thom showed Madoc the extra steps he had forced upon himself in taking care of his hidden lockpick. Thom suggested that Madoc wear the pick awhile tomorrow. Madoc's reply was that he would consider it. Thom cleaned himself up and then inspected Madoc's ass. Madoc used his own finger to check for traces of unpleasantness and found none. They splashed each other to keep themselves wet and mounted the bank. They embraced, naked, lying on the grassy bank. They rolled back and forth, kissing and grinding their cocks together. After a few minutes of foreplay, Madoc's training continued. He got on all fours and Thom lay beneath him. He drew Madoc's cock into his mouth and sucked on it. He took it all the way in and tongued the shaft, while his throat worked on the head. All this was just a distraction to try to get Madoc's mind off what Thom's hands would be doing. Thom reached up and eased a wet finger into Madoc's crack. Madoc tried to relax, to concentrate on the hot wetness on his prick, but it was no use. When Thom tried to enter him, Madoc's asshole squeezed shut. Not a problem, thought Thom, we'll just change sides. Thom got up and got on his hands and knees behind Madoc. He reached under and began to massage Madoc's sloppy dick. He leaned down and licked around Madoc's hole. If it worked for Lennox, perhaps it could work here. Madoc was breathing heavily. He couldn't help but feel what Thom was doing to his ass. He could hear his tongue smack, feel his hot breath in that most private of places. Madoc really wanted to feel Thom's tongue inside of him. His anus winked open. This was what Thom had been waiting for. Thom shoved his tongue inside, spreading Madoc's cheeks open with both hands. Madoc was spooked by the sudden assault and tensed up. Thom fought to keep Madoc open, but it was no good. When Thom finally removed his tongue to stick in a finger, Madoc was locked tight. Thom sat back and sighed. Madoc turned around. "I'm sorry." "It's alright. You probably just need time to get used to having something in there. We'll work on it." Madoc lay down, his face in Thom's lap. He took a quick swipe with his tongue at Thom's balls. "I could make it up to you," he said. "Stand up." Madoc got up and allowed Thom to stand. Madoc sat down and opened his mouth. "Fuck me like this," he said. Thom stepped forward. Madoc had to slouch a little to be at the right height for him, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Thom eased into Madoc's mouth until he hit the back of Madoc's throat. Madoc tried not to gag. Thom pulled out again. He judged how far he could move and slowly pumped away into Madoc's face. Madoc licked at Thom's member, trying to get at the head as it went by. Thom felt waves of wonderful pleasure all through his groin. Madoc thought this was nice, but he wanted to do more for his lover. He grabbed Thom's ass and pulled him forward faster. Pulling him back out again was not so successful, but Thom got the message. Thom bucked faster, while still being careful of Madoc. The knight, still wet with Thom's spit, played with himself. Thom leaned forward and laid his hands on Madoc's head for stability. He wasn't moving very far, but he was moving fast. Madoc was almost drooling. He didn't know why he enjoyed being used like an object this way. He was getting close. Thom's knees were getting weak. He wasn't tired, but he felt as though he was going to collapse from the pleasure. He kept humping into Madoc. He was close now. Madoc rolled his eyes upward to look at his lover. He didn't have the best view, but he could see the look of joy on Thom's face. The thief pumped a little harder as he lost control and he unloaded into Madoc's face. He swallowed it all down. For a while afterward, Thom just stood still, eyes closed and breathing heavily, still inside Madoc's mouth. Then he sat down in front of Madoc. The knight continued to fist himself until he too erupted, spilling his seed on the ground and his legs. Thom watched, exhausted, as he finished himself off. "You'll have to wash again now," he joked. "Tomorrow," Madoc replied. "Right now I just want to sleep." "Tomorrow then." Thom grunted and got to his feet. He held out a hand to help the knight stand. Thom pulled him upright and, arms over shoulders, they headed back to camp. They'd slept rolled up in the blanket. Madoc was on top this time, and now he was looking at Thom, who was still asleep. He couldn't help but remember the first time he'd wakened like this, just after his evening of torture among the Marauders. He'd been sore and beaten. By all rights he should have been dead. Instead he was alive, safe and in Thom's arms. He'd awakened to see Thom observing him. The thief had saved him, taking a beating and risking his own life. It had been that morning that Madoc had begun to fall in love with Thom. And he knew that Thom loved him as well. At the time Thom had modestly downplayed his actions, but then Thom had always been able to think two steps ahead in any situation. Madoc would not have been ready to admit his feelings. Thom awoke then to see tears brimming in Madoc's eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" Madoc hugged Thom around the neck and shoulder, and buried his face against Thom's chest. He muttered something Thom couldn't hear. Thom rubbed Madoc's back inside the blanket comfortingly. "Madoc, please, I didn't hear that. What did you say?" The knight raised his head and looked Thom in the eye. Thom looked concerned and more than a little afraid. His voice was unsteady. "You've been so good to me. I've never known anyone who has done as much for me as you have." A tear rolled down his cheek. "I love you so much." Thom relaxed and smiled. "I love you as well, Madoc. Do you have any idea what you've done for me? I've never been close to anyone since I lost my parents. You may not realize how it is for someone like me out there, since you do have friends among the High Guard. It gets cold and lonely out there. "You treated me with respect, with kindness. Think what you like about the other guards, but I've been captured and roughed up before. You allowed me some dignity while I've been your prisoner. You opened your heart to me and made me your friend. In a few days' time you are going to risk your position and your life to redeem me. Just to be with me. I don't ever want to go back to the life I lived before. I couldn't stand it. I didn't know what I was missing until I met you." Thom gazed deeply into Madoc's sad sapphire blue eyes. He felt as though he could see into Madoc's soul. "I cannot believe how much I love you." He kissed away one of the tears on Madoc's face. Madoc snuffled. He put his head back down on Thom's chest and smiled. The thief managed to work one arm free and rested his hand on Madoc's head. They held each other like that until they fell back to sleep. The rest of their trip north to the capital was uneventful. Madoc and Thom spent much of their time in the mornings and evenings enjoying each others' company as much as they could. Thom was not making any progress in trying to get Madoc to relax, but he was good-natured about it. During their third day on the road, soon after the road bent to the west, Thom caught sight of the majestic palace of King Dunstan. He'd seen it before. He's committed burglaries in the city of Aragon, which surrounded the castle. Once, it had been an impressive sight to him. Tall towers topped with pennons, grand arches vaulting skywards, a massive showcase of the intricacies of the mason's craft. Today, it looked the same, but he looked upon the castle with a sense of impending doom. Now Thom could only see it as so much dark stone, reaching up to cover the setting sun. It beckoned to him to come inside and to be swallowed up, to be lost inside the bowels of the building, forgotten by the rest of the world. Thom shuddered. Well, he reasoned, he no longer had to worry about imprisonment. Either he would walk away from his trial a free man, or a dead man. It was too much to have to face alone. Though he was sorry Madoc would face the same fate if they failed, he was glad the knight would stand with him. The palace loomed larger as they entered the city, a black silhouette against a bloodied sky. Thom turned his attention to the city streets. The torchbearers were igniting the lamps in the avenues. Most shops had already closed for the day, but hostlers and taverns were doing a brisk trade. At the entrance to Dragon's Keep, the area near the castle where both the city guards' and High Guards' barracks were, Sir Madoc informed the sentry that Thom was a witness in an upcoming trial in the High Court and needed to be quartered. The sentry summoned a young soldier, who led Thom away. As he left, Thom heard Sir Madoc tell the sentry to expect Melydia Coopersmith. The soldier opened one of the doors in a rather small building and ushered Thom inside. He lit a torch just inside the door and Thom examined the room. It had two straw beds, blankets, a couple of chairs and a table. Behind a screen, Thom found a honeybucket and an empty wash tub. "Where can I get this thing filled?" Thom asked. The soldier looked pained. "I'll do it for you," he replied. "I'll lug in the water after I bring you dinner." "I can help you do it if you've got a spare bucket." "No, sir. You have to stay in your room here. Security reasons." "Security?" Thom asked suspiciously. "Aren't I among the guards here? Doesn't that mean I'm safe?" "Yes, but we still prefer that witnesses stay in their room and keep the door closed. An enemy archer's shaft could find you." Thom supposed it made some sort of sense in general, but since one might say he'd be testifying against himself he doubted there was any danger. He couldn't very well tell the soldier that though. Thom sat in one of the chairs when the soldier left. He heard the lad engage the lock. To keep would-be assassins out, to be sure. Thom hated to be kept under key, even as a valued guest of the court. While the soldier was fetching his dinner, Thom cast about the room to see what he could use. The soldier came back with a tray. Thom was being treated to a stew, with good meat in it, bread and butter, and ale. It had been a long time since he's eaten like this. "I'll begin filling your bath now," the soldier said with resignation. Thom wondered what the soldier had done wrong to earn him this duty. He took off his boots and looked at the breadknife thoughtfully. The soldier came and went several times while Thom ate. When he was finished, he went over to see the soldier's progress. The tub was nearly half full. With his own body mass in it, it would be almost overflowing. "Thank you," Thom said. The soldier rolled his eyes and left, locking the door, and taking the tray, dishes and utensils with him. Thom went over to the doorframe and checked that his thread was in place. Seeing that it was, he undressed for his bath. A cake of soap had been provided for him, and Thom found a washboard behind the tub. Perhaps he'd be able to wash his clothes properly, something he'd not been able to do in the past weeks. Since he'd be appearing before the king himself, perhaps that was the reason the washboard was there at all. Thom realized this was the first time in almost two weeks that he'd been separated from Madoc. He wondered what the knight was up to. Missing him acutely, Thom hoped Madoc would visit him later. He scrubbed himself everywhere, including those parts of him that were remembering Madoc all by themselves, soaked a while, then saw to his black clothes. The color was not the best for appearing to be an innocent bystander in court, but it would have to do. He hung his clothes to dry and lay on the bed, unsure of whether to prepare for court the next day or sleep. The decision was made for him. He drifted off after only a few minutes. It was the crash that awoke him. He lay naked atop his blankets in the guest room. The torch had burned itself out. The room was pitch dark. He found his trousers hung up on the screen and put them on. He felt his way over to the doorway. With his foot, he pressed against the door, pushing as far out as the lock and latch would allow, in order to give him the best possible angle. He found the thread, and slowly pulled it, straight out, on the horizontal. Inside the little hole in the doorframe, where the bolt of the lock was holding the door shut, there was a small wooden chip, whittled from the foot of the bed where it wouldn't show. The chip was tied up in the thread. Thom had tucked the chip into the hole while the soldier had been pouring the last bucket of water for the bath. He was now pulling the chip toward the door, pushing the bolt out of the hole. If the thread didn't snap, he'd be able to get out. Thom heard the bolt click as it slipped past the doorjamb. Thom turned the handle and crept outside. There was no guard in the corridor. The apartments were designed to protect their occupants, not to keep them from escaping. The hallway was lit with windows which were allowing faint early sunlight in. Thom couldn't see what had caused the crash from here. He padded barefoot to the main door of the residence. Two soldiers stood guard outside the door. He could just see the sides of their helmets through the small hatch in the door, left carelessly open. From here he could see what the commotion was. Thom grinned and shook his head. A cart, still wedged up against one of the gates, was sitting in the opening that separated the Dragon's Keep, as the guards' barracks were collectively known, and Dragonkeep, the area of the city next to the castle on that side. A young woman, who still held the reins of the horses in her hand, was heatedly arguing with the sentries. About the crash, maybe? A man, who stood next to the woman, was trying to calm her down. The dark-haired maid turned to her larger companion as though to snap at him, but she sagged before she said a word. The man kissed her, held her, and then helped her off the cart inside the compound. The man sat in the driver's position and, with the sentries' help, got the cart inside and then turned around. Once the cart was clear of the gates, the sentries shut them. Ah, Thom thought. So that's what the argument was about. The woman, of course, was Melydia. Thom heard Madoc register her as a witness, but not her fiance, so the sentries weren't going to let him in longer than it took to get the cart out. She had protested and Rab had assured her it was alright. Melydia was becoming quite a terror on that thing. Thom couldn't imagine how she'd gotten the cart down the narrow streets. How would Rab get it back out again? No matter. As long as he was stuck in here there was nothing he could do to help anyway. Thom walked silently back and wondered how he'd get light in his room. With the door open, he dressed. Sir Madoc arrived just as Thom was pulling on his boots. "These doors are supposed to be locked for your protection," he said. Thom smiled and shrugged. "I hate being locked up anywhere. Are we ready to go?" "Yes, but..." "Then let's go." Thom stepped past him into the corridor. "But how did you...? I mean you couldn't reach... You don't have..." "How badly do you need to know?" Madoc looked upon Thom's grinning face, then back at the door. He inhaled. "Let's go." "I thought not." Sir Madoc escorted Thom to the court. On the way, Thom asked, "I saw Melydia arrive. Where is she?" "She's already here." He stopped at a door and ushered Thom inside before him. There were two soldiers in the small chamber with Melydia. "Good morn, Thom, Sir Madoc!" "You seem excited, Melydia," the thief said. "That I am, Thom. I can hardly wait to get started." "Most people are anxious about testifying before the king," commented the knight. "The king? No, I'm thinking about how that old goat Tybalt is finally going to get what's coming to him." Just then, the trio heard the herald sound. The king was about to hold court.

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