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[Introduction]

Romantica2 [#851636]
Text for Romantica Campfire.

Welcome back!

After a long intermission, I am excited to breathe some life back into Romantica again. I cannot leave the story without closure, but certainly not before adding more of a story. So, if you all would do me the honor...I will be grateful to have your superb writing skills partake in this campfire.

It will remain that you can either post prose or poetry. I will give you up to a week to post your entry. If you haven't posted, I will skip your turn to the next member. Please do not take it personal if your turn is skipped, it is just to keep the campfire moving. Also, after thoroughly updating myself to the story, I determined that it reads better in present tense. So, I went through and edited the tenses a bit, but I did not do any revision.

Thank you for being a part of this wonderful story.

Take care and have fun!

Laurencia

My soul yearns for your presence
My body shivers for your touch
Extinguish my fire lover...

The User..

I enter the room, eyes locked on your desireable body as I kneel on the floor behind you

The adoration of a prince is always a woman's highest honor. Slowly I lift my skirt as my hands entangle in your dark hair and our eyes lock in a sultry embrace of flame.

Decorative tapestry drapes and gold framed paintings adorned the walls. The flames of six candles on the marble mantle flickered. Velvet curtains hung limply and dressed the four poster bed. She was a mistress of the night, playing both roles of wanton and a virgin. She drew his face closer. Oh, how he longed for the moment. How he dreamed of the power to possess her nakedness. As their eyes locked, there was no longer the need for conversation. They both knew what they desired.

Nicole

Trailing down from his dark curls, she cups his strong face in her hands. He closes his eyes at her gentle touch. With a soft, sultry sigh, she lowers her glistening lips and kisses his eyelids in turn, then his nose.

His lips part on a sigh, and he softly states...

Yes, woman of my dreams, continue your quest to tease
This willing servant, abased before you on his knees.
Aim truly, sweet lips, if you please...

Stormy Lady

I would be pleased to help you to your feet,
Draw your lips to mine and savor without retreat.
To fight for your heart and never admit defeat.

Or if you please, please slide down here
With me in the dirt of this high ground, dear,
To revel inside of your white gown lair
And entangle my heart in your light brown hair.

Not so quickly my love, this is going to be a night we will both remember,
She takes a slow sip of retsina and trickles some of the sweetness into his mouth,
Lightly licks his lips, her blue eyes taking him to another place,
The tips of her delicate fingers caress his lips, she then stands
Walks out to join Boötes, the Herdsman of the night to clear her mind

He waits in shadows beyond the palace walls. One gaze into her azure eyes by his black orbs and she forgets the recent tryst with the prince. Bootes having once been her secret lover, his eyes invite her to renew their passion.

How he longed to be back in control of her. At the mercy of the shadows of night, he died alone each night without her in his arms. Not yet, he reasoned. It could never be over between them. She grew impatient and crumbled to the covetous temptation. As she emerged from the darkness, he laced the pearl necklace between his fingers and smiled.

Nicole

Drawing near to Bootes' celestial form, she smiles. "The moon shines no brighter than the bauble in your hands, my Lord," she softly states.

His smile is dark, feral, in the light of the silver moon. "A tempting bit of lunar magic to lure you to my chase. Is it your wish to hunt the polar bear with me this night?" Bootes' dark eyes promise starlit passions as he slides the pearls over her neck.

A worthy hunt there would be, the gods decreed,
Full of the magic of love or a witch's broom.
And absent the polar bear as the ex-lovers agreed,
tonight's question hoarsely whispers its need:
Which hunter shall be hunting whom?

Stormy Lady

The moon caresses the sky above,
The trees embraced by stardust.
One body looking to find true love,
The other acting upon pure lust.

But love and lust, like lovers true,
Inspire each other as lovers do:
Lust seduces love to woo
Lust to fall in love with love too.

Passion blazes in her eyes
As she studies his countenance
Tempting winter night's dance
Laced with pleasure and lies....

Deceptive euphoria in their embraces
leads to a lovers erotic trances.
Many wander in search of these feelings
only finding loves revolving wheels.

"It is unrealistic for me to want you my lord, when I will never have you. Please, keep these pearls that hold my love for you."

He gently folds her fingers around the necklace and says to her, "Wear the precious nacres at midnight on the next full moon, and we shall be together for eternity."

My lady, are you all right?" The prince approaches her in the courtyard. "Whom were you talking to?"

"I was thinking out loud my prince." I suppose the wine befuddled me and I needed to get some fresh air to gather my thoughts."

"Come back inside, Beloved. The wind is chilling and I have poured a glass of burgundy for you," the prince whispers. His lips kiss her ear lobe as his arm reaches around her waist after his hand lightly brushes the side of her breast. The touch of his hand burns her skin like fire, even with the thick clothing covering her.

But suddenly, as his hands explore her body as gently as drifting smoke, she veers away from him. She casts her worried eyes toward the terrace. She toys nervously with the pearl necklace. How would she tell her Prince about Dimitri? On the heels of his return from afar, surely he would come for her as promised. Her confusion muddled her thoughts. Two men desired her. Indeed, one a pirate with an all consuming passion, while the other was as gentle as an English rose. She desired to own both of them. Dimitri would educate her and one would make love to her.

Two suitors besieged her, tugging at each arm
One breath of noble heart and intimate understanding
The other breath a smoldering libidinous demanding
With passion so tempting she gasped in alarm

Sensing her distraction, the Prince drew back and, caresses her cheek, and turns her head to face him. "What is it, M'Lady? Why so cool on such a warm evening?"

As if in response, she glances down at her closed fist in which she still clutches the pearl necklace. Somehow the pearls seemed to expose her secret passion, causing her face to flush with shame and guilt as her hand darted instinctively behind her back as if to hide the necklace from her Prince. But while the Prince normally would have thought nothing of a string of pearls, her actions must have aroused his suspicions, for he grabbs her wrist and holds it up between them.

“Open your hand,” he says.

”It’s nothing, M’Lord,” she says, revealing the necklace. “Just a string of pearls such as any lady might possess.”

The Prince examines the pearls as if to divine their secret. Finding none, he brings her clenched hand with the pearls to his lips. Kissing her knuckles, he says, “Put them on, my dear. Lovely as they are, on you they’ll shine lovelier.”

Of course she could not and would not. Not until the next full moon, for one man only, her lover of lovers. She snaps the necklace into her fist and pulls away from the Prince. “It’s very late, Sir, and I’m quite weary. I’ll be turning in now.”
“Very well, my love. ‘Till the morrow.”

One heart's passion not to be denied,
Treacherous deception, laced promises defy,
Moonlight beckons and calls to her soul,
True lover's desire this prince will never know.

A prince will spend many a night alone,
companioned to the shadows of an romantic embrace.
One day he'll be king sitting on his throne
then we'll see his lovely queen's face.

Dimitri’s heart ached for Rebecca, he had no doubt that he wanted her for his queen, but respected her wishes to be left alone. He would patiently wait, but what distracted her so? He would give her the space she desired, but only for a few days. On the night of the full moon, he would arrange a romantic dinner outside in the garden; it will be perfect...then he will ask her hand in marriage. In the meantime, he would find out what was going on with his beloved. Why was Rebecca behaving ambivalent?

Late the next night Dimitri hid behind a low, stone wall in the palace courtyard. Two days hence when the moon was full, he planned to ask Rebecca to marry him at the elaborate engagement banquet he had planned...but first he felt he must find out the reason for her unrest and the distance she was imposing between them. He watches as she glides through the courtyard, like an angel clothed in a gossamer white robe. She passes through the gate to the outside world, a world that could hold deadly dangers or untold pleasures. Prince Dimitri follows at a short distance to observe which of the two had claimed the attention of his Lady.

Her confused mind raced as she walked out beyond the grounds of the estate. Was it excitement or disgust that shrouded her thoughts. She stops and glances up at the bedroom terrace. Yes, up there, when she gazes out over the ocean and thinks of him, she is a Queen. She licks her trembling lips to moisten them and closes her eyes. Dimiri and Bootes. Each man all consuming and each promising her unmistakeable pleasure. She is still a virgin. Ripe for seduction and she is learning each man's fantasy to possess her. One would provide her with riches and a life filled with luxury. The other would school her to hunger and crave for the unmistakeable sexual pleasures only a man could provide a woman.

Nicole

Rebecca walks a little further from the Royal Palace, and leanes back against a rough tree trunk. She gazes upwards, bedazzled by the multitude of stars in the dark sky. Away from the bright lights of the castle, the sky is much clearer. She sighs unconsciously, hugging herself in the darkness.

What a dilemma I have, she thinks. Which man shall possess my heart? Which one will hold my soul?

Lost in her musings, she never hears her captor sneak up behind her. All she feels are strong, resolute arms wrap around her front, pulling her off her feet.

Rebecca hadn't even time to look at her embracer before his lips met hers in a passionate liplock. An eternity later, it dawned on her that she was no longer being kissed. Rebecca was left breathless, her heart racing in her chest. She longed for it to continue and could still taste the passion fresh on her tongue. She opens her eyes to meet her mouth's mesmerizer...

Good Lord, she thought with great surprise, what's this?
Her Lord, the Prince, actually can kiss!
Such lips and tongue would soon make her forget
the hands of Boötes, whose pearls adorned her neck.

Confusion reigns as to her heart's desire
It seemed so sure that just one man could fan the fire
True, only one can win her true heart's love,
That one is destined, sanctioned from above....

The questions pondered on this starlit night,
Who is to save her from this plight?
Tempestuous romance or genuine devotion?
To find the answer not so sure a notion.

She opens her heart, she closes her eyes,
she feels the night air on her thighs.
A barn owl hoots, a dove cries
as her prince asks her to be his bride.

As Rebecca leans against the tree, Dimitri kneels on the ground in front of her, gently takes her hand in his.

“I was going to talk to you at the banquet I planned for you tonight, but I knew I must take advantage of this perfect moment with you.”

Rebecca, your eyes sparkle like the stars
You can heal any man’s scars,
Your heart is fuller than the moon
It makes my heart happily croon,
I may not be your fantasy
But, I am devoted whole-heartedly,
If only you will give me a chance
You will see I could make you dance,
You would make me the happiest man and complete my life,
My dearest Rebecca, will you be my wife?

Before Rebecca can say a word, the pearls around her neck illuminate a brilliance…

Her thoughts run wild
and heart skips a beat.
Life with the prince
could be serenely sweet.
But the herdsman awakens
all her primal desire
with touches that scorch her
in blazing passion's fire.

What to do? No one to say.
Faced with such a choice
to make within one day.
Reason says, "Choose the Prince."
Pounding heart says, "Get thee hence
to waiting arms of secret lover
with touches of fire and
kisses sweeter than any other."

The unbridled passion which she harbors would now be detoured, only to be corraled by marriage to one. She, the untried, beautiful young virgin surrendering to a possibly capricious lover forever. The thought frightened her, turning her fantasy upside down. Her other lover, so revolutionary, handsome, magnetically charming. Dimitri's touch was torturous to dismiss. She closes her eyes in resignation. Her answer was clear as if it were cast in stone.

Nicole

A starlight shimmer dances on the ground behind the kneeling Dimitri. The maiden gasps, her heart thunders, as the shape of her lover emerges from the starlight.

Bootes raises an amused eyebrow at the romantic scene before him, and purses his lips thoughtfully.

"Well, my lady, what will the answer be? Will you tie yourself to this earthly prince, or follow the stars with me?"

Dimitri spins around at the sound of Boote's voice. In an instant, the prince sees everything...the reason for his beloved's hesitation in accepting his proposal, her tentative kisses, her dreamy moods....

Dimitri bolts upright in disillusioned haste.
"I see now what passes for your idea of chaste!"
Glaring once at Bootes and ignoring him thereafter,
The prince runs away before he could be chased with laughter.

"Well," claps the herdsman, "That takes care of that!"
Then he gives her news that shocks her where she sat.
He admits while he fits her with a stunning ring,
"Far away in Gelderland my flock knows me as King."

But, although the King thus trumps the Prince, and although the ring he offers is fit for a Queen, Rebecca withdraws her hand with the ring and turns away from Bootes toward the direction of Dimitri’s strange departure. “No! Please!” she protests even as she admires the ring on her finger. “Despite my indecision, I cannot allow either this bright vision or your revision or Dimitri’s derision to usurp my decision!” She removes the ring and turns to give it back to Bootes.

King Bootes waves the ring away. “Keep it,” he says. “Do not decide now. Do not even envision the glory and riches that await you in Gelderland. Consider only my passion and devotion, and know that if you choose me, I will stop at nothing to make you happy.”

As Bootes spoke, his green eyes seem to melt Rebecca’s soul, and his words make her forget the Prince and even the ring now betwixt her thumb and forefinger. All she can think is Bootes' arms around her till her limbs go limp, causing the ring to fall to the ground in the darkness.

Immediately both Rebecca and Bootes kneel to retrieve the ring among the dried leaves and roots of the tree under which they stand. Blindly they pat the ground around the tree, but all they find are each other. The second Bootes’ hand touches Rebecca’s, Rebecca reachs her arm up to his neck and pulls him down on top of her, and the ring is forgotten.

Shall Rebecca succumb where now lies a king,
Or heed the noble calling, the promise ring?

The touch of fire may win the day,
But what of trust and honesty, what would they say?

Shall her choice be ruled by the fleeting passion?
Will Bootes be there through all life fashions?

Shall the steady prince claim her heart?
Will she call him back, never more to part?

Her mind, stays the course,
her body searches for the fire's touch
She will not give in to her passion
as the prince walks off into barren fields...

“Look into my eyes Rebecca…tell me you don’t love me anymore, and I will leave you alone.”

“I will always love you Boötes, it goes without saying.”

“Then what is it my love, why are you so hesitant?”

"I am not ready to live my life in Gelderland, not now. My life is here."

“I see. So, you love the Prince?” asks Boötes

“I don’t know how I feel, I need time to figure it out.”

“Alright then, if you need time, time it will be.”

“I love you more than anything Rebecca, so much I will give you up. There is just one thing I ask of you, please make love with me one more time, and I will be happy for eternity.”

Rebecca still lying under Boötes can not keep herself from melting into his embrace. His mouth lightly kisses her lips and neck, back to her lips…Rebecca’s eyes want him.

“Make love to me Boötes, God I want you.”

Boötes moans with delight as his hand glides along her thigh, pulling her dress up enough for him to glide his manhood deep into her juices. His mouth devouring her lips, they rock in perfect synch. One thing was for certain, she knew she would never have the perfect lovemaking like with Boötes...ever. Rebecca raises her knees higher to take Boötes in and he rocks her to the point of no return.

“I can not stay any longer, I must leave. Here, take this ring, I can not keep it,” she places it in his hand.

“Keep the pearls Rebecca, for I will always be with you and love you forever."

Rebecca walks away with more than Boötes eternal love…the light of passion is left inside her.

The waxing and waning of the moon soon told Rebecca that she carried within her the indisputable evidence of the love and passion she had shared with Bootes. It would only be a matter of time until that evidence became known to the rest of the world, the Prince included. Along with the sickness that wrenched her stomach each morning, her soul suffered a wound she feared would be irreparable. She must tell the Prince and summon Bootes, before another moon ended it's course. The decision must be made and made quickly. In her heart she knew there could never really be any question of where her affections and passions lay.

I am with child. Bootes child. What I thinking! Surely he is not the most handsome man I have ever seen. But that evening. The Prince. I saw it. The way it moved inside the fabric of his pants. Longer than what I anticipated it would be. Fuller. Harder. The way it pulsed and throbbed. Moving as if it had a mind of its own. Treatening to burst from its hiding place at the slightest touch. I couldn't ignore reaching out just once and to touch. "STOP IT!" she shouts aloud. Rebecca sighs heavily shutting her eyes tighly and dismissing the image that burns in her memory. She raises her trembling fingers to her lower lip. Dimitri will not believe me. He will be crushed. But it was too late for concern for his feelings now. Or was it? An idea flashes in her mind which causes her to faintly smile.

Rebecca's heart grew heavy with remorse and doubt,
So she returned to apologize and maybe work it out.
The Prince enraged cried out, "There is no excuse -
I saw you in the meadow knocking boots with Boötes!

Such reckless abandon is loveless kind of passion,
Eventually incinerating your heart to cinders ashen
And so many piles of useless knocked-up soot.
That behavior is where I must put down my foot.

You cannot claim to truly love and treat others this way.
I am a prince in blood and character.
You are beneath me, and there you will stay."

At such harsh words Rebecca turned away
In tears but fuming that the Prince would treat
Her so contemptuously for one mistake
When she knew he did chambermaids three
At a time and even the butler’s son Jake.

“Beneath you?” she seethed as she spun back around.
“We’ll see, weak Prince. Though you took your best shot
To win me, you failed when in Boötes’ eyes I drowned.
So now, in truth, you’ll never know how hot
I’d be beneath, on top, or going down.”

Betrayal, it seems, is a one way street,
Rebecca's destiny, when will she meet?
Will Bootes believe the child within
Was blessed product of their earthly sin?

Is either man fit for this one?
At day's end when all's undone
The Prince would judge but not confess
Is Bootes made of the same cloth or less?

Rebecca can no longer bare the pressure of her guilt and not knowing what do do. She is not a Lady with intentional bad manners and needed time to sort through all that has happened. So, she returns to the village where her family lives, to give herself time to reflect. Will Rebecca share a relationship with the Prince or Boötes? Or, maybe she will not return to either one, maybe she will stay in the village and have her baby by herself. Only she would decide what her destiny would be.

A depressing sky shrouded the Victorian house and matched her mood. Inside, the walnut staircase and hanging crystal chandeliers which were symbols of great wealth were now veiled in cobwebs. The gala parties and elaborate celebrations in which elegantly attired guests waltzed across polished floors were a thing of the past.

Rebecca ascended the stairs and opened the door to her room. Her eyes came to rest on the hope chest which once belonged to her grandmother. She knew what was inside impeccably clean and white and neatly folded. How, on so many occasions she held it up and admired its lovliness. How she looked in the mirror and placed it close to her. How she would be so happy when she would waltz with on when that special day in her life came to be. She placed her hand over her stomach. A tear crested in her eye.

She opened the lid and tenderly pulled her grandmother's antique wedding gown from the ornate chest. A loud thud was heard on the plank floor and as she bent over to see what had fallen from the folds of the dress she was surprised to discover the crystal ball that her grandmother, the sorceress, had used to divine the future. Though she had never used them, deep inside her heart Rebecca knew she had inherited and possessed supernatural powers. As She picked up the enchanted crystal ball and held it securely cupped in both her hands the swirling clouds within its depths cleared and revealed to her an amazing vision....

Through foreign meadows wandered Bootes, her distant lover,
While nearby the haughty Prince still thought himself above her.
Each of their mouths formed words in the crystal ball,
which Rebecca had to lean close to hear anything at all.

"This very night," said the Prince, "I'll sneak upon the bitch,
throw her down, lift her gown, and scratch my manly itch!"
The herdsman sang, "Gods above, I can't forget her fiery kisses.
What else must I do to prove I want her as my Missus?"

Then the crystal ball's clear image faded slowly out,
leaving the pregnant girl alone with one fewer doubt.

Rebecca went to the door of her room and called the servants. "Abigail! Jarvis! I need you!" They appeared shortly. "Abigail, I'll be leaving today on a journey to the country. Pack my trunks for an extended stay--including my grandmother's wedding gown."

Abigail and Jarvis stood dumbfounded at the apparent news of an impending wedding. "Will the Prince be joining you, M'Lady?" asked Abigail.

"No, he will not," said Rebecca. "In fact, he is not to know I've gone. Instead, you, Jarvis, will rendezvous with him tonight in the garden at eight o'clock. You must stand facing the fountain and wait for him, and do not move away or turn around until he arrives. And one more thing--you must wear this." She selected a long, massive gown from the rack and held it out to Jarvis, who jumped back as if a tiger had taken a swipe at him. Then Rebecca opened a box and removed a hat with a veil. "And this."

"But Madam--" Jarvis stammered, "I don't understand."

Rebecca smiled. "I'm sure the Price will explain."

"Rebecca! I knew you would come to your senses! What would you be without me, future King of Wenceslas! I suppose I can forgive your permissive ways. What! What is this?!"

Jarvis gives the Prince a quirky smile as the veil is lifted, "I'm sorry my Lord, I didn't have time to shave."

"What on earth is going on? asks the bewildered Prince. Is this some joke! I demand to know where Lady Rebecca is at ONCE!"

"I'm not sure where the Princess has gone to my Lord. I was told to come here and that's all."

"This is absured! I want to see her at once! She will not make a fool of me. Solomon! Gather a few of my men to search for Rebecca. I do not want them to return without her. Go at once!

'How dare she employ this vicious trickery in an effort to deceive me,' thought Prince Dimitri with a stunned and confused expression. He spun on his heels pivoting once again to face Jarvis. He grasped him firmly by his shoulders so that his strong fingers buried into the fleshy part of the servants arms.

His nostrils flared as a result of his fierce urgency in his words. "Is this some sort of amusing game she has asked you to perform for me? Why is this? You will answer me now or I will strike you down where you stand and you will feel the biting sting of my leather whip a hundred times against your naked skin!" The Prince shoved Jarvis to the ground and stood over him. He raised is riding crop over his head and his eyes foretold the harbored rage. Jarvis whimpered and covered his face and head to ward and deflect off the impending blows.

"I'm sorry Prince Dimitri," begged Jarvis. She has instructed me not to tell. His hand trembled in fear and he gestured a finger toward him. "Surely in your heart you must know where she has gone."

The Prince's face fell and once violent emotions dulled. He slowly lowered his leather whip to his side. The silence in the air was deafening and his thoughts whirled.

"She carries his child," Jarvis whispered.

"Then By The Gods, Bootes shall die for this and she...she shall spend the rest of her days in the tower. I could have any woman in my kingdom but I chose her, the ungrateful wench. I was even willing to overlook her indescretions but a child, no I will never allow this open shame and disrespect to my royal person to go unpunished."

Prince Dimitri paced back and forth like a distraught, caged animal, his whole body stiff with undisguised rage.

"Guards." He yelled and when several of his soldiers appeared out of the dark night he instructed them. "Go, find that harlot Rebecca and her dog of a lover Bootes the herdsman. Bring them to me at the palace in chains. And may the Gods help you if you should fail me in this. I want them both, by dawn."

Overland and through the fields, enamored Rebecca trekked.
She walked until she near collapsed, her hiking shoes now wrecked.
At last in the distance stood Bootes, her romantic Mecca.
She called out to him, but suddenly she heard a yell, "Rebecca!"

From behind her came a squad of men marching in a column,
and it was led at its head by vicious Sergeant Solomon.
She shrieked and tried to run, but the Prince's men were faster.
Bootes could only watch in anguish at this dream-dashing disaster.

They hauled his love away and his heart felt instantly hollow,
But Bootes called for his own soldiers, determined as ever to follow.

So summoned to ride
Upon their noble steeds
Bootes and his men
Drew hard upon their leads

"Rebecca, my love!
Please wait for me," Bootes cried
It seemed forever and a day
Until they'd reach her side

The Prince would hear of nothing,
No words of mercy mellowed
All his love had turned to rage
"To the tower with her!" he bellowed.

The Prince could forgive Rebecca
For spurning him in love;
But never would he forgive her
For dressing Jarvis up.

With shame Dimitri remembered
The lust she–-he-–had stirred
Within his loins when he approached
Her-–his–-behind from behind.

For this he’d sentenced Jarvis
To wear the dress one year;
But sweet Rebecca’s punishment
Would be much more severe.

She’d be his private prisoner,
Naked in the tower,
To satisfy his manly needs
And whims at any hour.

And if she truly is with child,
The Prince thought with a smirk,
It was no royal princely seed,
But just a seedy jerk.

And Bootes the Peasant would regret
The royal love he stole;
It would beget him only death,
And the death of Rebecca’s soul.

"Boötes!" Rebecca hollers.

Boötes and Dimitri arrive at the same time, blocking Rebecca in the middle, nowhere for her to turn.

"No need to call for your lover Rebecca. You are mine now and I will do with you what I want. Since you took advantage of my good nature, you will have no choice but to succumb to my whim. Guards! Take her to the castle!"

"She is going nowhere Dimitri," Boötes calmly says with his deep voice.

Boötes's guards block Dimitri's guards from taking Rebecca.

"Rebecca, what to you want?" asks Boötes.

"You know I want to be with you, but I cannot leave my family and home," Rebecca sadly says with tears flowing down her face.

"I would do anything for you Rebecca and I cannot be away from you another day. Do you have the nacres I gave you?"

Rebecca takes the pearls off her neck and holds them out to Boötes. Boötes jumps off his horse and as he takes the pearls from her hand, Dimitri hollers to his men to seize him. But, not in time to the magical light that envelops Boötes. The light swirls around him like a tornado and then disappears leaving him mortal.

Dimitri and his guards gasp and turn their faces and shield their faces from the sudden brightness of the light. Dimitri and Bootes face one another.

Bootes twirls the necklace of pearls along his index finger with smug complacency and paces along an imaginary boundary line between them.

"It appears we have reached a stale mate Prince Dimitri," said Bootes with a bit of a light hearted musical tone in his voice.

"Don't flatter yourself, Bootes," Dimitri said with a sneeer.

"Ah. But you seem quite distressed in learning that your dignified royal pride has been blemished by such a once banished commoner such as I. It must trouble your royalty deeply that Rebecca is the object of both our affection and we both covet the prize of her love. And the best part of all, is that by her present condition, I seem to have had the upper hand," Bootes smiled.

Dimitri gritted her teeth. "How dare you gloat in front of me. I cannot accept the fact she gave herself willingly to you to ravish. No, Bootes. You seduced her with the evil trick of a sorcerer. The child she carries was conceived of witchcraft!"

"Do not listen to this fallacy of foolishness from a desperate man," Bootes yelled piviting in circles. "Rebecca has already made her choice but it has fallen on a deaf mans ears. Perhaps the point of my sword will make you finally understand Prince Dimitri!"

Bootes then drew his sword as did Prince Dimitri. Everyone receeded from the area around them as they began a frantic clasing of swords. They both fought valiantly and well and neither seemed to be able to gain an avantage over the other. Rebecca watched and cringed at each sword thrust, not willing that either suffer pain or death.

Then as Bootes seemed to have an atvantage, his sword tip against Dimitri's chest, Dimitri's captain threw a large stone at Boote's foot causing him to fall backwards. Dimitri took his cue, and standing over Bootes, thrust forward his sword to pierce Bootes throat...but before he could stop his hand Rebecca rushed forward placing herself between Dimitri's sword and the motal blow to Bootes.

As she lay bleeding on the ground Dimitri and Bootes rushed to her side.

"Oh Rebecca, Dearest, how can I ever forgive myself?" Dimitri wept.

And as Bootes sat on the ground beside her, weeping he lifted her head into his lap, cradling her and saying over and over "Oh My Poor Love, what a price you have paid to love me."

"No My Love," Rebecca replied in a weakening voice, "No price was too great to have your love."

Then turning to Dimitri she asked, "Promise me Dimitri, that you will not bury me outside the gates of your kingdom, as a witch or a common harlot. I am guilty only of love and indescretion and the child within me is a product of that love.

Bootes tenderly kissed her lips as his tears freely fell upon her lovely face.

"YOu will not die Beloved, I swear it and when the time comes for your death many years from now you will be buried with the honors of a queen in my kingdom we will share.

"I fear I shall nver see your kingdom My Dear Bootes," she sighed as she closed her eyes.

"What do you mean, she won't die?" demanded Dimitri. "Look at her -- she's mortally wounded! Death comes knocking at her door, and see her body rolls out a bloody carpet in welcome."

Bootes leapt to his feet. "Nay, Prince Dimitri, there is a way. In my Kingdom there is an old woman with the healing magic to save Rebecca. It is a long journey with a perilous consequence. If we took horses and no entourage, we could get there in a week. But would you ride with your competitor to save a woman who would choose him over you? How much do you really wish forgiveness after all?"

Dimitri glanced at the pale girl lying at their feet. "I do wish I could forgive myself for this rash act. But she'll not last the night, much less a fortnight. Otherwise, I am big enough a man to undertake any quest, even alongside one such as you."

Kneeling beside the barely-breathing form of Rebecca, Bootes placed the pearls one by one in a circle around her. "Bear witness, then, Prince. I am no sorcerer, but I do know a trick or two."

Bootes closed his eyes and stilled to the point of not even breathing. The pearls began to glow, vanishing into a soft white nimbus surrounding the nearly-dead woman. Her face took on a more peaceful aspect, though.

"It is done. Now she merely sleeps. She has two weeks more to live, and not a minute more. What say you now, Prince? Shall we hie to Gelderland and find Rebecca's cure, or are we to finish what we started with these swords?"

Shall Dimitri take the bait?
Sacrifice pride to conquer hate?
Or succumb to jealousy's lair,
Foretold doom shrouds said kingdom's heirs...

To ride with Bootes to save
The love that both have learned to crave?
Lies a prophecy that leans towards this?
Risk all fortune and honor for just one kiss?

What says Bootes to sway the prince?
Deeply rooted jealousy hence, abyss
To save Rebecca, 'tis the noble deed by far
By sun and moon and wind and star!