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Introduction:

Marion becomes Queen.

CHAPTER LXVII

After dinner, Alice was extremely nervous for she had never been in bed with a man. Yes, her body had raped Luke the night before, but her brain wasn’t participating. This time, her whole body and soul would be involved. Looking at Alice, Gabriel knew some emotions that she was feeling. Gabriel could remember how nervous she had been her first time. Something that Gabriel had never told anyone was that she had been engaged to be married as well. Her parents had picked a man from a neighboring village to marry her. The man was rough and crude, but had been from a prosperous family. Fortunately for Gabriel, the man had been killed by some of Richard’s troops before the marriage could take place. Gabriel knew that Alice couldn’t be in better hands; for Luke was very gentle and very experienced. He would make sure that Alice’s first time would be one to remember. Marion had been watching as well. Luke had been her first as well and she had been so glad for that; for intercourse was something that she looked forward to unlike many of the women that she knew growing up.

Luke gently picked Alice up. In his strong arms, Alice couldn’t help but smile for she felt safe and loved. He carried her back into bedroom while Gabriel and Marion cleaned up after dinner. They left the chambers to go back to the office for a couple of hours so that Alice would have some privacy. They decided on the office because Marion had some paperwork to finish up anyway.

Back in the bedroom, Luke carefully undressed Alice. He loved her snow-white skin and red hair. Unlike Marion and Gabriel, Alice still had her full bush.

“Should I shave it for you?”

“Only if you want it shave it but that is totally up to you.”

“Well, what do you like?”

“Maybe we can just trim it up a little bit.” Alice nodded.

With that Luke spread a towel out on the bed and invited Alice to lay down on it. He went and got his scissors. It took him a few minutes but he got Alice’s bush trimmed up to where it was neat. When she looked it over, she had to admit that it looked good and it actually felt much nicer.

“If in the future you want to shave it off, I suggest that you get Gabriel or Marion to help you the first time.”

“Ok. Thank you, Luke but I think for now I’ll keep the hair and just trim it.”

Luke then went back and turned on the water. When the temperature was good, he picked Alice up and took her into the shower. She giggled the entire way to the shower. They spent a decent amount of time washing each other off. The feeling of Luke’s strong and rough hands running over Alice’s skin made her relax completely. Softy she started humming to herself as Luke made sure that she was clean. When he was washing down her front, Alice leaned into Luke’s chest and purred; she was now so content. When he finished with her, he turned off the water and got towels to dry off with. He wrapped one around Alice and another around her head to dry her hair off. Alice was really enjoying being pampered like this. After Luke had dried himself off, he went back into the bedroom with Alice following.

Luke sat down on the edge of the bed and Alice sat next to him. She wrapped her delicate hands around Luke’s massive bicep. After all this time with being around Luke; Alice was still amazed by the power in those arms and yet he was the gentlest person that she had ever met. Luke smiled at her as he gently put his arm around her and pulled her close. She laid her head on Luke’s chest and looked up into his bright blue eyes and she started to melt at the loving look that she got. Luke started to move his head down and even though Alice was a novice, she moved her head up. Their lips met and sparks flew between them. Alice wasn’t sure what to do next. Not only was she inexperienced but she had started out with very low expectations for the evening. Going in she had been sure that Luke would back out. Perhaps sensing her unease, Luke pulled away for a minute.

“Just be yourself and trust your body, Alice. Let it tell you want it wants.”

“Ok” She smiled up at him and resumed with their kissing. Luke started to move his hands along Alice’s neck. This caused her to get goosebumps all over. When Luke’s fingers reached her large, bright pink nipples, they were rock hard and Alice’s body was starting to move on its own. She stretched out on the bed and moved up so that she would be completely on the bed. Luke smiled and laid down next to her in a spot that would allow him to suck on her nipples, kiss her long neck, or caress most of her body. Luke started by planting kisses on her neck and Alice hummed with content. Her humming got louder as Luke moved down her body making sure to kiss every square millimeter of her body. When Luke reached her nipples, Alice’s humming became moans of pleasure as her hands found their way into Luke’s hair. Alice held Luke’s head tightly to her A-cup breast while Luke sucked, licked, and nibbled on her tits. He switched from one tit to the other. While he would be working on one with his mouth, he would work the other with his fingers. Alice had never imagined that sex could ever feel this good as she felt like electricity was flowing from her nipples into the rest of her body. She of course knew all about the feeling of electricity for some of the training that Luke had given when he started to introduce some of his electrical devises was for the trainee to get shocked on purpose. Luke had made sure the shock was painful but nowhere near lethal. This way, people would develop a healthy respect for electricity and it always worked.

Now Alice was feeling something that she had never felt before and she had no desire to end it. She could feel her body temperature rising and the amount of moisture between her legs skyrocket.

“Oh Luke, don’t forget about the rest of my body…. pleasee”

He chuckled at this as he began to work his way down Alice’s toned body. Slowly he worked his way down and the lower he got; the shallower Alice’s breathing became and the more her head thrashed around for she was getting even more excited. As he got to her pussy, Alice’s mood changed. She no longer wanted him to explore, she wanted him to stay where he was. She kept him in his current position by digging her fingers into his scalp and holding tight. Luke smiled as he took a deep breath and breathed in her scent. To say it was intoxicating was an understatement for Luke could see himself easily getting addicted to it. She was actually more addicting than Marion, and Luke was completely addicted to Marion’s scent. Alice smelled fresh and clean with a mild undertow of sexy musk.

If Alice thought that she was warm before Luke started on her pussy, she was now flaming hot. The feeling of Luke’s hot breath, plus his tongue, and his neatly trimmed mustache and beard sent her over the edge before he could really even get started on licking her inner lips. As she finished with her first Luke originated orgasm Luke just smiled and told her that they were still in the appetizer phase. Her head flopped back on the bed as she moaned. She didn’t know if she could even survive the rest of the night but if she did die then she would definitely be happy. Her next orgasm slammed into her the moment Luke ran his tongue up her slit. He had started at her anus and dragged it across her skin. She felt his tongue dip into her vagina and come back out. When his tongue first went across her clit; her eyes light up with stars and then he shifted just a bit and Alice exploded. She squirted all over Luke’s face. Alice of course was embarrassed but Luke was smiling.

“You should be proud of yourself for not many women can do that.”

Alice was sure that her checks were as red as her hair. When Luke went to move his tongue back down to her pussy, she stopped him for she had to rest. Moved be a sudden idea, Alice pushed Luke onto his back where she proceeded to do the same things to Luke that he had done to her. She really enjoyed her sudden power over Luke for she had him quivering by the time she had got down to his cock. Now she had never sucked a cock, but by listening to various other woman, Alice had a theoretical knowledge on how to do it. As she started, she heard Luke whisper:

“Be gentle please. God be gentle.” And the rest of it was babble.

Alice started by tracing his member with her tongue. When she got to his balls, she sucked each one of them into her mouth and massaged them with her tongue before allowing them to pop back out of her mouth. When she checked on Luke’s cock, she found that is far harder and larger than it had been when she had started. She then slowly ran her tongue up the underside and watched as Luke’s cock twitched and his hips thrust upwards. Since she didn’t’ want him to cum yet, she went back to light teasing until he settled down a bit. Then it was back to working on his cock. This time she started with the head as she swirled her tongue around it. She accidentally got some pre-cum on her tongue and quickly decided that she liked the taste even through it was salty and had a slight metallic taste. She then opened her mouth and took Luke as deep into her mouth as she could. She was able to get almost all of his cock into his mouth before she gagged. As she pulled her head up, she used her mouth to pull a slight vacuum on Luke as her tongue swirled around his cock. Since she could watch his eyes while she did this; she had seen his eyes roll back into his head. She smiled as she repeated the process slowly. Doing this, she kept him almost ready to cum but not quite there. She kept this up for almost five minutes all the while Luke’s cock grew larger and harder.

When Alice thought that Luke couldn’t handle any more, she rolled off of him and spread her legs wide. She was ready to get laid. When Luke opened his eyes, Alice noticed that they had glazed over and instead of his usual warm look; he had lust in his eyes. This scared and excited Alice at the same time.

“Come on Luke, I’m ready. Now give it to me!!” As soon as Luke could focus a bit, he moved down to Alice’s feet and kissed his way up. This time he didn’t stop at her pussy or her breast. When Luke reached Alice’s lips, she could feel the tip of his cock rubbing on her puffy lips. Alice shifted her hips slightly and the tip of Luke’s cock slipped into her. Alice then wrapped her legs over Luke’s ass and dug her fingers into his back, drawing blood, as she pulled him into her. Deeper and deeper he moved, forcing Alice’s tight pussy to give it room. Alice kept pulling on Luke until he bottomed out inside her. She then shifted her hips some more and she felt Luke’s tip push on her cervix. This caused her some bad pain and she stopped. Luke thankfully had seen her pain and pulled back enough to where it didn’t hurt anymore.

Slowly he pulled his cock out until, just the tip was still inside her. He then reversed course and drove deep inside her again. If Alice thought that the orgasms that she had before were mind blowing then she had another thing coming. Slowly both of them built toward their orgasms. Alice discovered her Kegel muscles by accident and Luke’s reaction encouraged her to continue. She would flex her muscles in the opposite direction that Luke was moving and this drove both of them wild with lust. Finally, Alice had enough; she wanted Luke’s cum planted deep inside her so she pulled on Luke harder. He quickly got the message and he started pounding her. The biggest difference between Marion and Alice was that Alice was a quiet love maker while Marion was quite loud. It only took Luke a minute of pounding Alice’s tight body for him to explode. Thermonuclear blast went off in his eyes and even the light from a candle bothered him. What happened to Alice was worse for Luke cumming had set her off. This orgasm dwarfed all the other ones that she had ever had. Her grip on Luke was so tight that he thought that she might crack a rib, not that he cared at the moment. He shot nine loads of cum deep into Alice, but she didn’t feel all of them for she blacked out, about half way through.

Once Luke finished, he rolled off of her and pulled her close to him. He then managed to pull the cover over their bodies before he passed out. Watching all the action from the shadows across the room were Marion and Gabriel. They each had one of their hands on the other’s pussy as they watched and had already given each other a couple of pleasurable orgasms watching Luke and Alice. When Luke and Alice finished Gabriel leaned over and whispered in Marion’s ear.

“I think we have another for our bed for I doubt that Alice could ever be satisfied with another man ever again.”

Marion nodded her agreement as she pulled Gabriel out of the room. They had set up Luke’s sleeping gear in one of the outer rooms. They snuggled up in each other’s arms and passed out for they didn’t want to make too much noise.

CHAPTER LXIII

The next morning Luke woke up to a sight that he hoped he would still remember on his death bed. In fact, as soon as he had time, he was determined to sketch it so that he couldn’t forget. Alice was lying next to him with her fire red hair spread around her head like a halo of fire in the morning sun while the cover stopped just below her breast, leaving them bathed in sunlight. He quietly slipped out of bed and went bathroom. When he got back, he just couldn’t bear the thought of this gorgeous creature waking up by herself, so he crawled back into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. He lay there just thinking how lucky he was. After all he had a loving wife and a pregnant lover. He had a beautiful daughter that was healthy. He commanded the most powerful army in the world and his wife was rapidly becoming the most powerful noble in England. Now he had just spent a night with someone who was possibly the only woman on Earth that was more beautiful than his wife. Yes, he was a very lucky man and he knew it.

Peeking through one of the doors was Marion and Gabriel. They watched as Luke got up and then crawled back into bed with Alice, which for her part, was still sleeping soundly.

“I’m wondering if you just created a monster, darling.”

“I know my husband and there is no way that he would leave me. Actually, I’m glad that he got back in bed with her. She shouldn’t wake up alone. Come on Gabriel let’s get out of here before we get caught spying.” They left to get a jump on the day’s work.

It was almost an hour later before Alice woke up. At first, she was confused but when she seen Luke looking up at her smiling, everything came back to her. She was so glad that her first time was someone who was so loving and caring as Luke.

“Oh Luke, how can I ever thank you for last night? That was the most wonderful experience that I have ever had. I mean I never dreamed that it could be so good.”

“Usually it’s not that good, but when two people are perfectly in sync with each other than magic happens. Sometimes even Marion and I have disappointing sex. Usually something is bothering one of us. When that happens you just soldier on and try to understand the other person as best you can. It’s when it repeatedly happens, that’s when you have a problem. As for thanking me, just live your life so that you are happy.”

“Right now, I don’t know what will make me happy but I am so glad that we did that.”

Alice and Luke laid they in bed for a little while and quietly talked while Luke traced Alice’s curves very lightly with his fingertips. Mostly they talked about Alice’s feelings. After all, her fiancé had just been killed and now she had slept with the man who had got her out of sexual servitude. Finally, Alice got up. She was sticky and had to get a shower. Since Luke needed one too, they shared a shower. As they got up, Alice noticed that Luke’s cock was hard again.

“Oh my. Is that from me?”

Luke looked down at his cock and smiled.

“Now why would you think that me seeing one of the most beautiful women in the world naked would case little Luke to stand at attention.”

“You think I’m beautiful? Even with my scar, partially missing ear, and small breast?”

“Honey, you give Marion a run for her money, and if I wasn’t married to her, I would have a very hard time deciding on which one of you are more beautiful. As far as your scar goes; it just shows that you are a very courageous woman who isn’t afraid to fight. With your small breast you won’t have to worry about them becoming shapeless bags when you get older.”

Alice smiled at Luke and she was sure that her checks were bright red. Moving by instinct, she went over and holding Luke’s cock, took him back to the shower where she turned the water on. Once the water was warm, they got in where Alice wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck. He moved his hands down to her legs to give her more support and in doing so pulled Alice’s cunt right to his cock. He then hooked his elbows under Alice’s knees and this opened her pussy up fully to Luke. Alice’s eyes were instantly covered in lust as she reached down and guided Luke’s cock into her pussy. Luke moved so that he could pin Alice against the wall. Doing this allowed him to pound her senseless and that is exactly what he did. Within minutes, Alice was reduced to a ragdoll as Luke’s pounding and the steam from the water had completely overwhelmed her senses. She was now in a state of near constant orgasms as Luke continued to work her. Alice’s jaw hung slack, her eyes were completely glazed over when they weren’t rolled back into her head, and her breast were jiggling in sync with Luke’s pounding as he got closer to his orgasm. Finally, mercifully, Luke exploded deep inside Alice although he doubted that she realized it. Gently he sat her down on a built-in bench and proceeded to clean her and himself up. Once done, he dried Alice off and laid her out in bed and covered her up. He then started getting ready for the day because he was sure that he had paperwork to do. When he left the room, Alice was still sleeping soundly.

An hour later, Alice found Luke in his office. She had come to tell him that she was headed back to her hospital. Marion called out from her office:

“Are you going to be staying with us tonight?”

“No, I don’t think so. After all I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

“Alice, look here. I talked it over with Gabriel and we would be honored if you moved in with us.”

“I can’t do that. Not this soon after Markus.”

“Ok well the invitation will remain standing if in the future you get lonely.”

“Thank you, Marion.”

A couple of hours later Marion got a message from Alice.

“Will be releasing King Hardrada in a couple of hours.”

Marion had already decided on what she wanted from the king. She didn’t want money, she wanted all of his British lands.

When Marion told the king what his ransom was, he exploded. He was not going to part with any of his land.

“Fine then” Marion said “GUARDS, take this man and put him in a cell.” Looking back at Hardrada “When you finally come to your senses and turn over the land that I want, you and the remainder your army will be released. Until then you will remain in a prison cell. Also remember that the longer you wait the higher the price for your freedom for I will be charging you for housing and feeding the rest of your men.”

Marion and Gabriel watched as the furious king was hauled away.

“How long do you think before he comes to his senses?” asked Gabriel

“Couple of days.”

CHAPTER LXIV

Just as Marion had predicted, the king of Norway signed over all of his British lands to Marion after a few days and paid her outrageous price for housing and feeding his army. She had intentionally overcharged to force the king to do what she wanted him to do. After he had signed, he and the remainder of his army was given enough ships to get back to Norway. The rest Marion kept for she could use then to fairy troops and material up to her new lands. He had enough of dealing with Marion of York for she was a very dangerous shark and he for one was very slow to realize that.

Negotiating with the king of Scotland was a different matter altogether. He refused to give Marion anything. For the most part he refused to even look at her. But that was ok; for Marion had a better idea. She ordered her army to continue into Scotland and conquer it. Doing that would take some serious time for she knew all about the highlanders but given the history that Luke had told her, she figured that it was better to conquer Scotland now while she had the chance. After she had decided on the course of action, she stopped even trying to negotiate with the Scottish king. She figured that once Scotland had been conquered, then she would exile the king to somewhere in Europe. Furthermore, this was the course of action that Luke supported.

It was now early November and none of the English nobles had challenged William of Normandy so Marion and Luke started finalizing their plans. They would draw down the northern army to be able to send extra troops south. This army Luke would command in person because the battle that they would fight would have massive repercussions on the future. All told he would be able to take almost ten thousand soldiers south and since William hadn’t really moved from his coastal fort, Luke figured that his army could be there in about two weeks or less, depending on the roads. Marion would stay in York for Luke was unwilling to let his wife take the risk of coming with the army. Gabriel had to stay behind anyway because she was starting to have a hard time moving around due to her pregnancy. She didn’t mind though for she was looking forward toward being a mother. Alice however would be going. Since the surprise Scottish attack, she was short of medics and doctors She knew that in a couple of years this wouldn’t have been a problem but for the time being, she just didn’t have enough personal to send with Luke. She figured that by her going along that at least Luke would have at least one competent doctor. To help Luke’s army move faster, he was taking Pollyanna and all of her engineers with him. He knew that many of the existing bridges wouldn’t be able to support the weight of his artillery so they would have to build their own bridges across many of the rivers and streams they came to.

The night before the army left however, Luke asked Gabriel to sleep somewhere else for the night. He wanted to be able to make love to his wife without interruptions. Gabriel was about to refuse but then she seen the look in Luke’s eyes. It seemed like he was almost pleading with her and he looked very sad. Part of the reason was that he knew that he would be gone for a while and part of it was that he had a voice in his head telling him that he wouldn’t survive this campaign and this terrified Luke. Marion knew that something was off the second that she heard that Luke had asked Gabriel to sleep somewhere else that night but she didn’t argue. During their shower, Marion really noticed something was off for Luke was moving much slower and more deliberate than he usually did. He made sure to rub every millimeter of Marion’s body and this caused her to melt into his arms. When she tried to mount him, in the shower, he stopped her and whispered in her ear:

“What’s your hurry?”

After they got out of the shower, Marion’s curiosity finally got the better of her.

“Luke, honey. What’s wrong? You never refuse me mounting you in the shower.” She seen Luke take a deep breath and squeeze his eyes shut. Finally, he spoke:

“I’m absolutely terrified Marion. We are about to permanently alter the future and what if it turns out to be the wrong call. Furthermore, I got this voice in my head that keeps telling me that I won’t make it through this campaign.” When he finished, he started crying. Marion was at his side in a second and she knew just how to get him to calm down. She pulled his head down until one of her nipples was in his mouth. At first, he wouldn’t suckle at all, but after a while basic instincts took over. Slowly he began to suck at his wife’s nipple as she cradled his head and he quietly cried. It really scared her to see her husband in such a state. Slowly Luke’s hands began to roam Marion’s body and his trademark featherlight touch was starting to get Marion aroused. She also noticed a change in the way that Luke was sucking her nipples for he was now working them so that she would get increasing pleasure. As Luke was caressing her body, Marion’s hands were roaming Luke’s as best they could. She knew that Luke would be ok when he started kissing the rest of her body. As he kissed her, she continued to rub his shoulders. Somehow, she knew that tonight was not a night for animalistic fucking; tonight, it was slow and long love making. Gently she pushed Luke onto his back and she began to kiss on him. She felt one of his hands find its way into her hair where it stayed. Marion kept kissing Luke’s body until he began to moan softly. This is what she was waiting for and she swung a leg over Luke’s body and slowly sunk down on his cock. They didn’t stay that way very long for Luke flipped them over so that he could easily kiss Marion while he thrust up into her. The pace that Luke was setting was almost maddening for Marion because she felt like she was stuck and wasn’t getting any closer to cumming, but one look into Luke’s eyes killed any protest that Marion was going to make. His eyes didn’t convey any of the lust that they usually did while they were making love. Instead, what Marion seen was pure love. However, something else was buried in there and this scared Marion for she seen some of the sheer terror that Luke was feeling.

Eventually they ended up one their sides with Marion facing away from Luke and his cock buried deep into her cunt. He was lightly flicking her clit and this drove her quickly toward her climax. Also, in this position she found that she could completely relax. Suddenly her climax hit and she wasn’t ready for it. Her body seized up as it took over and she stayed tense for almost a minute before she started to shake violently and she had to admit that she had never shaken harder. As she was finishing, she felt Luke swell up and felt his hot cum flood her pussy. When he finished, he didn’t even bother pulling out as he wrapped his arms around Marion and they both went to sleep.

The next morning, Luke was up earlier than usual and by the time that Marion woke up, Luke was dressed for he had a couple of hours of work to do before the army could get underway. Before he left, he gave Marion a love filled kiss. On his way out, he seen Gabriel sleeping on the coach so he went over and gave her a kiss on her forehead and whispered to her:

“Take care of her while I’m gone and when I don’t come back, please watch over her and never let her forget me.”

With that he shed a tear, turned on his heel, and was out the door. He wanted to have the army on the train by eight am, so he had just a couple of hours to get ready. Fortunately, his troops were all well trained and they had been put on alert a few days before so they were all in their barracks and sober so it didn’t take that long to get them ready.

At about 7:30 they started loading and Luke wasn’t surprised to see Marion and Gabriel there and in uniform. What he was surprised by was that Marion had Mackenzie in her arms. At least they were able to get one last kiss in and Luke held Marion tight in his arms and buried his nose in her hair for he knew that he wouldn’t be returning. He took Mackenzie and gave her a kiss as well before he bounced her up and down in his arms. Finally, it was time to go and he gave Mackenzie back to Marion. After one last kiss, he boarded the train.

When Marion and Gabriel got back to the castle, they went to find Alice. She was scheduled to leave on a later train so she was still relaxing in her chambers. Marion had to talk to her urgently. When Marion came into the room, it took Alice all of two seconds to figure out that something was seriously wrong.

“What’s wrong, Marion?”

“Can I ask a personal favor of you?”

“Yes of course.”

“Can you keep an extra eye on my Luke please?” Marion went on to explain what Luke was concerned with and when she finished Alice was stunned. She would have never in a million years thought that Luke would be terrified of a voice inside his own head. But then the more she thought about it the more it made sense; after all you couldn’t just ignore a voice in your head like you could with other people. She gave Marion a warm smile.

“And what all can I do to help keep the voices out of his head?”

“Anything that you want, just don’t hurt him please.”

“Now Marion, you know damn well that I could never hurt Luke; plus, it goes against the Hippocratic oath.”

“Thank you, Alice. Thank you so much. I can’t even begin to tell you just how much this means to me.” Marion gave Alice a hug and left with Gabriel and Mackenzie.

CHAPTER LXV

Luke spent a couple of days in Sheffield while the rest of the army arrived. The first thing he did when he arrived though was that he sent Pollyanna’s engineers ahead with a strong dragoon escort to prepare the way for his artillery. Mostly this involved doing work at river crossings. At many of the crossings they would have to build bridges that were strong enough to support the weight of the cannons for the big ones weighed a couple of tons. Luke had designed them so that when smokeless powder became available, he wouldn’t have to redesign them. The plan for crossing the Thames was to build a large number of boats and create a pontoon bridge with them. This way supplies could keep up.

Within a week of Luke arriving in Sheffield, he was looking at the Norman’s fort. The march south had been extremely rapid and uneventful for no noble was willing to challenge Luke’s army. As uneventful a trip as the army had; Luke’s personal trip was far more eventful. Alice’s medical unit was one of the last ones to arrive in Sheffield for she had to finish some important things in York before she could depart. That evening she went into Luke’s tent. Luke always stayed in a tent while he was in the field. His theory was that his soldiers slept in tents so he should too. His army stayed in tents because Luke had forbidden the army from sharing civilian homes unless it was a dire emergency.

She found his laying on his cot and looking at an old picture. It was the picture of Luke and his older sister just after he had graduated from Marine basic training. He was in his dress blues while she was wearing one of her formal gowns. He was so into just staring at the picture that he didn’t even hear Alice enter. It wasn’t until she cleared her throat that Luke noticed that she was there.

“Oh, sorry Alice. I didn’t hear you come in. What can I do for you this evening?” As she always was, she was struck by that line. It was never “what do you want?” or even “hello”. It was always “what can I do for you?” It was just another reminder for Alice that Luke was the kindest person that she had ever met. She decided right there that if Luke wanted her, she would be his lover. After all Marion had Gabriel; why shouldn’t Luke have someone else too.

“The voices bothering you again?” Alice asked trying to sound as innocent as possible for she knew of Luke’s sometimes hair trigger temper.

“Marion talked to you, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did. Luke, she is concerned for you and so am I.”

“Why are you concerned for me?” It was evident from his tone that while he wasn’t angry, he could become very angry very quickly. Alice decided then and there to lay all her cards on the table and confess to Luke her true feelings for him.

“Why? Because I love you, Luke. You saved me from being raped. You taught me medicine. You enabled my late fiancé and I to actually have a chance with each other. You have already saved the lives of countless people. Finally, you are the kindest, most loyal person that I have ever met. So, tell me, why would I not love you.”

“Well let’s see. I’m married and I’m broken. I have almost constant nightmares when I sleep. In fact, most nights I don’t sleep but for maybe an hour or two and I’ve been having nightmares for many years now. I hear voices in my head telling me that I be dead by the end of this campaign and yet here I am getting ready to wage this campaign anyway. If that’s not broken and hopeless then I don’t know what is.”

“Luke you’re not broken. Only a very strong person could have survived what all you have been through. You not only survived but you have thrived. As far as being on this campaign see my previous comment on loyalty and as far as you being married; well Marion has a lover so why shouldn’t you. After all she was the one who fixed us up the other night. She was the one who begged me to do what I could to watch over you during this campaign. So, please Luke can you just give us a chance.”

“I don’t…” that was as far as he got before Alice’s lips locked onto his. When she broke the kiss, she locked onto his eyes with hers. He had tried to look away but Alice put her hands on his face and gently pulled his eyes back to hers.

“Please Luke” With their eyes locked she could almost see the epic battle going on inside Luke’s mind. On one hand he was loyal. He was absolutely loyal to his wife. On the other hand, Alice was exceptionally beautiful and smart and she reminded him of someone who had been extremely dear to him that he had lost a few years before.

It seemed like hours before Alice seen a change in Luke’s eyes, but finally a look of calm took over. He moved over in his cot and invited Alice to lay down with him. Since he was so large the only way that Alice could realistically lay with Luke was to lay on Luke.

“Before you say anything, I want to show you something. Something that even Marion has never seen and I don’t want her to see it either for she already has enough to worry about.”

Luke then pulled out another picture. This one was of him when he was in his mid to late twenties and he was with a stunning redhead. When Alice seen the picture, she gasped for the redhead in the picture could have been her twin sister.

“Who is she, Luke?”

“Who was she, Alice? Her name was Rebecca, Becky, and she was my fiancé but she was killed two days before we were to get married. She was driving home late one night when a deer jumped out in front of her car. She tried to avoid it and in doing so lost control of her car and hit a tree. The autopsy showed that she died almost instantly so at least she didn’t suffer. It also revealed that she was eight weeks pregnant with twin girls. That was when I moved to Alaska for, I wanted to get as far away from where she died as I could. I never did step foot back in Louisiana again. She was my entire life and after her my life has just wasn’t been worth living until, I met Marion. Then I met you and everything went upside-down. You two even have very similar interest for she was a surgical resident at the local hospital and was within a month of finishing.”

“Oh Luke, I didn’t know!!” She gripped him as tight as she could and by the time, she finished crying Luke had fallen asleep. She continued to lay there and now paying attention she noticed Luke’s body tense up several times. When this happened, she would hold him tighter and he would relax. Eventually she was able to fall asleep, but now she was having nightmares of her own. Only hers were what might happen if that voice in Luke’s head turned out to be right. Would Marion be able to hold things together. As Alice thought about it, the more she was convinced that Marion wouldn’t be able to. Alice had a huge amount more interaction with the general populace than anyone else in Marion’s group except for Luke, so she knew that a major reason the people were willing to follow her was because of Luke. For it was Luke that had the people’s complete trust. The one’s that didn’t trust him, feared him so much that they wouldn’t do anything that might risk his wrath. Alice of course knew why; after all this was the 11th century and everyone understood brute force. This was what most people seen in Luke. His power was blindingly so obvious that most everyone overlooked his true power, his intelligence, his willingness to listen to the people around him, and his kindness. Alice knew that Marion didn’t understand this dynamic and she probably never would, after all she had been born into a very privileged life and she was blind to the general population as a whole. Put any single person or small group in front of her and she treated them with upmost respect. But she was at best partly blind to the lower classes. At least to her credit, Marion tried.

The next morning Luke was up early as usual. He gently slid out from under Alice and covered her back up for she was still sleeping soundly. He started his morning the same way he always did. He checked the night sentries. Granted he was in friendly territory but that was no excuse for letting one’s guard down. With sunrise the army got ready to leave. A message had come in overnight from Pollyanna telling him that things were clear all the way to the Thames. When Alice caught up with Luke later that morning, he invited her to keep her things with his and she gladly accepted.

The army moved like the wind on their way south. By the time they reached the Thames, Pollyanna had the pontoon bridge done so Luke’s army didn’t even have to pause. They moved so fast that they caught the Norman army completely by surprise. The only thing that saved the Normans from being annihilated during the first contact was a storm had blown up and limited the visibility thus allowed them to escape back to their fort. Not that being in their fort would do them any good. Luke ordered his artillery to ring the fort at a distance of five hundred meters with his infantry to dig in in front of them at a distance of three hundred meters from the walls. At this range they could pick off anyone who came outside the walls and depending on the wind, his motors could drop rounds on the fort. It took about a day to get into position at the end of which, he sent his surrender demands to William of Normandy. If they laid down their arms then they would be allowed to return to Normandy. If they didn’t then they would all have English graves for the rest of eternity. It didn’t surprise Luke any when his demands were refused with what was his experience was typical French snootiness, not that he cared.

The bombardment started at sunrise the next morning. Luke made sure that his gunners fired slow enough so that they didn’t fire through all their shells in one day. Their first target was the walls. If they could be destroyed then his troops could pick off William’s troops at will. Within an hour, the walls had been blown to bits, but now they had another problem. William had built his fort on a hilltop and Luke’s soldiers couldn’t see into the fort so Luke ordered a number of towers to be built around the hill. These towers were made of crossed logs that had both ends notched to fit into notches of the logs above and below them. From these towers, his best shots would be able to pick off William’s men no matter where they were at. It had taken the rest of the day to build the towers, but Luke had another trick up his sleeve. That night he ordered illumination rounds fired continuously over the Norman heads. This way, his sharpshooters could pick out their targets and the Normans wouldn’t be able to get any sleep. Luke’s sharpshooter teams only were allowed to work for four hours before they were relieved so that they could get some rest.

The next morning, the Normans presented Luke an offer for them to surrender but Luke flat out rejected it. The price was now their unconditional surrender which of course the Duke of Normandy was not going to do. After the messenger left with Luke’s response, Alice asked him:

“Luke, why did you condemn all those men over there to death? That seems extremely cruel and that’s definitely not like you.”

“Because I don’t want Marion to have to look over her shoulder constantly wondering if she will be invaded again from Normandy. This will buy her the time that she will need to shore up her support.”

“You talk like you won’t be there to help her. You’re not leaving, are you?”

“I hope not for I am happier here than I ever was before, but reality doesn’t care about people.” Luke said with a sad smile. Alice knew that he was still being bothered by the voices and worse still was that he now not only believed them but had accepted what they were telling him to be the truth and was conducting himself accordingly. All through the day, Luke’s artillery and sharpshooters killed many Normans. That evening, Luke summoned one of his crack cavalry units and ordered them to advance on the fort and scout it for it was too windy for him to have the balloon deployed. As the cavalry advanced, Luke ordered a cease fire so that he wouldn’t have to worry about friendly fire. He also had gone up to the top of one of the towers so that he could get a better view. He watched as the cavalry went into the fort and watched as they looked around. They signaled that everyone in the fort was dead and that it was safe to enter.

Alice was one of the first ones not in the cavalry to enter the fort and she stunned by what she found for almost none of the Normans were still alive. What shocked her worse was Luke’s reaction to the carnage that he had caused. He just ordered the bodies thrown into a nearby gully and buried. After he had helped his troops dispose of the bodies he went and had dinner.

CHAPTER LXVI

Earl John of Sheffield had been waiting for this moment since the summer. He hated that his serfs had been liberated and it really pissed him off that some of the minor nobles in the area were now making more money than he was. He just couldn’t bring himself to pay the lower classes to do work that they should have been doing anyway for they were not good for anything else. At least in his opinion. It really pissed him off when Marion’s labor board had fined him for shorting his employee’s paychecks. He knew that he would have to wait for the perfect opportunity to revolt or Marion’s army would crush him. As he waited, he wasn’t idle. He put our feelers to the other nobles in the area to see if any of them would be interested in joining him. He found four other fairly minor nobles that were interested in joining him in his revolt. As his diplomatic efforts were under way, he had sent men to infiltrate Marion’s army and learn about her style of warfare. As his diplomatic efforts were coming to fruition, he was able to find a black-market supplier for small arms for his army.

One of the minor nobles that joined him was named Hildyard and John didn’t think that much of him. He was arrogant and constantly thought of himself more than he was. As far as John was concerned though, Hildyard would make good cannon fodder. Hildyard’s wife on the other was against rebelling for she had been making really good money for herself under Marion’s rule and knew that Marion’s troops would crush any rebellion. She actually was mad enough, with Hildyard, that she kicked him out of her life for she wanted nothing to do with this rebellion and wanted to protect her family at all cost. She had seen the cost of rebelling against Marion and she wanted no part of it.

John watched as Marion’s army crushed the Viking invasion and he hoped that Godwinson’s army would tangle with Marion’s, but that didn’t happen. Just after the Viking invasion had been beaten off, his spies returned and began to train the rest of the noble’s combined army in absolute secrecy. John watched as his army was brought up to the standards that Marion’s army had been trained to, and John was finding that he couldn’t wait to bring Marion’s army to battle and crush it. He would then make her his personal whore. As his army was training, John looked for the ideal land to do battle on. He knew he would do much better to stay on the defensive so he looked for land that was easy to defend and would allow him an escape route in the event that his plans were upset. He found the perfect place in a spot that was surrounded on three sides by impenetrable swamps. Carefully he began to fortify the area and to protect his men against the expected artillery barrage; he had bunkers built and earthen walls put up around the area.

Finally, he was ready and now he just had to find the perfect opportunity. It came much sooner then he thought. Five days after King Godwinson got to York, the Normans invaded and he took off, back South. By mid-October word came that the King’s army had been defeated in battle. John had been waiting for this for he was sure that Marion would send her army south and when she did, he would revolt. He was sure that this would force Marion to further divide her forces for he knew about the troops that she had in Scotland. Sure enough, she did exactly what he had been expecting and he watched as Marion’s army moved through the area.

A week after Marion’s army left Sheffield, no word had come and now John knew that it was safe for him to revolt. He sent coded messages to the rest of his co-conspirators and they mobilized their armies. In all they had almost ten thousand men, all armed with firearms. The lack of artillery bothered John some but he was banking on cutting Luke’s supply lines and hopefully he would shoot through his supply of ammunition making his artillery useless. It would take a few days for the nobles to gain control of the entire area, so they had spread out some. Their first target was the rail depot and supply dump that was there. Since Luke hadn’t been expecting a revolt in the area, he had left only a token force behind to guard it. John’s forces quickly overwhelmed the guards but not before the commander had set demolition charges in the power stores. As the guards were being marched out, the powder went up with a massive explosion. The explosion had been caused be a booby-trapped door and caused the death of John’s oldest son and a number of his men. John was so upset with this that he ordered the female guards brutally raped before they were drawn and quartered. The male guards were to be castrated before they too were drawn and quartered. Although the guards suffered, they all understood that John’s war effort would be crippled for he had been relying on capturing those powder supplies intact. It took almost an entire day to slowly kill the guards and the last to die was the commander. This way, he would have to watch his troops suffer because of what he did. Once all the guards were dead, John ordered that every building was to be torched and the army was to move to the appointed gathering point. Once all the noble’s armies had gathered, they would march on York and forever put an end to all this bull about men and women being equal and the lower classes having equal rights with the nobles.

What John didn’t know was that Luke was already on his way north. He wouldn’t find out until he got a message from one of the other nobles. It had been sent in a hurry for the noble didn’t even have time to write it down. The message simple;

“Marion’s army is back.”

John knew that he wouldn’t have enough time to gather the rest of the men, so he headed toward his swamp fortress. At least two of the other nobles had been able to meet up with him. All told they had just over seven thousand troops and John was sure that Luke had suffered casualties in battling the Normans. The way John and the rest of his commanders figured; the armies would be about equal.

Almost as soon as John was settling into his new fortress, he got word that Hildyard’s forces had also been eliminated. Here it seemed like Luke had launched a night attack and that had caught Hildyard’s army by complete surprise. John had tried to warm that idiot about underestimating Luke, for he had managed to send some time talking with Luke during Luke’s summer campaign in the area and had come away from that meeting with a huge amount of grudging respect for Luke’s command talents. Now Hildyard paid the ultimate price for his stupidity. John spent the time before Luke arrived, strengthening his defenses and had a number of scouts posted to inform him when Luke’s forces made it into the area. One of the other things that John had done was to make a hidden path out of the back of the marsh, so that his forces could escape if anything went wrong. He placed hidden fortifications where the path came into the fortress in case Luke tried to come up that path and had even placed a number of booby traps along it to slow Luke’s forces down. Now all that there was to do was wait. They had plenty of food, water, and ammunition in the bunkers and had enough bunkers for all the men to hide in.

CHAPTER LXVII

The very next morning, Luke’s army was on the road again. This time they were headed to Scotland to settle some unfinished business. Everyone in the army was now stunned at just how cold Luke had become. Before he would always be the one who would warm the mood of the room with their presence. Now the mood turned subarctic everywhere he went. Of course, everyone still had the upmost respect for him, they just wondered what had happened to him.

Once the army was back north of the Thames, Alice cornered him:

“Ok Luke you can stop with the little voices now! The campaign is over and you survived just like everyone else in the army.”

“Really, the campaign is over now? Since when and who said anything about the voices bothering me?!?! And while we are on the subject of the campaign, when the fuck did you become a god-damn fucking general? Because I don’t ever remember saying that the campaign was over yet.”

This was the first time that Luke had ever terrified Alice. Normally his face was always an even color no matter how angry he got, but now he was redder than her hair. For a second, she was petrified but then she fled with tears in her eyes. The look in Luke’s eyes basically said that he didn’t feel anything about making Alice cry. Luke then received a message that some of the nobles in the Sheffield area was rebelling and that his supply depot had been destroyed to keep it out of the rebel’s hands. The army had been gone for almost a week and a half with no news about if they had won or not. In fact, Luke had sent a single highly coded message to Marion telling her of their victory and that he was taking the army up to Scotland. He had also asked her not to say anything to anyone for he wanted to see if any of the nobles would rebel. He was determined that should he die; that Marion would be able to rule and not have rebellious nobles to worry about.

Up to this point the army was making about their usual distance of just short of twenty-two kilometers a day. As soon as Luke got the message, he ordered the pace be picked up for he wanted almost forty kilometers a day. With this everyone knew that something bad was going on but Luke was close lipped about it. The army raced north arriving back in the Sheffield area in a matter of days. They found the whole area in an uproar for it seemed like a number of the remaining nobles in the area had been waiting on the army to be away so that they could rebel. They hated that their serfs had been freed and many of them had taken massive hits to their incomes as a result. To make matters worse, every one of them had firearms for their personal armies.

Luke had moved his army so fast that he had managed to catch one of the rebellious nobles by complete surprise and annihilated that noble’s army within only fifteen minutes. The noble had been captured alive and Luke ordered that he and his entire family be impaled and left at the side of one of the major roads in the area. To really drive his point home, the noble was forced to watch as absolutely everyone in his family was stripped naked and impaled on objects from his own castle. Once they had been impaled, he was impaled as well. Luke was tired of nobles rebelling every time he had his back turned and he was determined to put a permanent end to their rebelling. Luke didn’t even take time to loot the noble’s possessions before he went after the next target. This one had some warning but it wasn’t enough for him to get completely ready.

Luke now pulled yet another trick out of his hat and made a night attack. This caught the noble off guard and most of his army routed without even putting a hand on their guns. The rest of the army was killed where they stood. The noble this time was killed in combat. When Luke investigated, he found that the noble’s wife had kicked him out because he wanted to rebel while she loved being under Marion’s rule. This saved her and her families lives and Luke made sure that her property was not touched. He even invited her to dinner that evening but she respectfully declined. Now Luke’s army had knocked off two rebel nobles and had only suffered forty casualties, while killing or capturing almost three thousand. All prisoners were required to dig the mass graves for the dead and then they were sent to a prison camp that Luke had set up where they could be delt with later. He made sure to leave enough guards to keep the prisoners under control and a cavalry unit to scout for any enemy units trying to free the prisoners.

The third noble out of the five that rebelled was now fully alerted that Luke was in the area. This one wasn’t an idiot and had set himself up in an area that he could easily defend. Luke knew that he was going to have a problem with this one for he had met this bastard before and remembered him. Not only was this noble the smartest out of the five but he had the largest army and he was in as easily defensible position. In addition, Luke learned that the other two remaining nobles had joined him and swelled his ranks. Luke, with a small cavalry escort, rode around the enemy position and he noticed that there was a small, tight path into the rear of the enemy position. The problem that Luke had with it was that it was almost too obvious. In the end, Luke decided not to attack along the path, like some of his subordinates wanted to. Luke was going to pull out another trick and make his own path. He had his artillery start firing at dawn, the day after they had arrived in front of the noble’s defenses. They were to fire as fast as they could for four hours and then stop. While the artillery was firing, Luke would take one of his brigades around and hack their way through the swamp that was guarding the enemy’s flank.

The brigade that he would be using, left camp well before daylight so that he could be in position to start hacking when the barrage started. This, Luke’s troops easily accomplished. On the way through the marsh, Luke seen that one of his soldiers was having an especially rough time. Her problem was that she wasn’t tall enough and she couldn’t keep her ammunition box out of the water without a huge amount of effort. Another problem she had was that the water was cold and she was completely soaked. Luke came up behind her and picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. She was one of the new recruits so she didn’t know that Luke often helped his troops like this.

“Hello private. What’s your name lass?”

“M-Madeline, sir.”

“Please while you’re up there, Luke will do just fine. I do have one favor to ask of you though. Can you help keep an eye out ahead of us for the enemy please?”

“Yes sir... uh Luke” Luke smiled at her hesitation.

“So why did you join the army, Madeline?”

“To get out of an arranged marriage to an awful man. That and I wanted to serve Marion for she had done so much good for my village.”

“How long have you been with us?”

“I joined right after you beat those Vikings.”

“So, this is going to be your first real battle?”

“Yes.”

“So, are you going to enroll in reading and writing classes or can you read and write already?”

“I don’t know. I mean I’m just a girl Luke.”

“So what? Marion reads. Her head body guard, Gabriel, reads. The chief engineer, Pollyanna, reads. The head doctor, Alice, reads; so why do you think that you can’t?”

“Well, I… I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like a very lady like thing to do.”

“Neither is joining the army and yet you did that. Tell you what, after this battle, stop by my tent and you can talk with Alice for a bit so you can learn about all the benefits of reading. Can you at least do that, please?”

Madeline was stunned for nowhere in all the legends that she had heard about Luke did they talk about his encouraging women to read and write. She found that she really liked Luke the person. She found the general to be very fair and likeable as well but he could be a bit heavy handed when it came to disciple. In her opinion anyway. As they traveled on, Madeline tried to ask Luke about his background.

“You don’t want to know, trust me. Plus, to give the story any justice at all it would take much more time than we have available. It won’t be long before the artillery stops.”

All through this Luke had been thinking and he realized what a monstrous ass that he had made of himself over the last couple of weeks and all because of a damn little voice in his head that had always been wrong before. Something else that gave him comfort was when Madeline said that she joined because she wanted to serve Marion. Maybe things would work out for the better after all.

When the artillery went quiet, Luke had his army right on the edge of the enemy camp. He could see that they had been devastated by the artillery fire and he could see that his theory of avoiding the path had been correct for he could see the hidden fortifications blocking it. The remaining enemy soldiers were starting to file out of their bunkers and were manning the field fortifications. He turned to Madeline:

“Just stay near me private and trust your training and you will be fine. Trust me.”

“Yes sir.”

Luke looked up and down his line to make sure that everyone was in position. The enemy was finishing up getting into position to repel the expected frontal attack. Luke stood up and waved his arm, signaling his troops to begin the attack. They went in with no yelling at all. They just moved silently and quickly. The enemy didn’t even spot them until Luke’s troops were almost on them. Most of the enemy troops appeared to still be in a bit of shock either from the bombardment or from Luke’s troops showing up behind them and all this was just fine with Luke. Just meant that he would have fewer causalities. By this time, he had stopped carrying his sword unless it was ceremonial. For battle he carried his Sig which he was able to make ammunition for and a standard army rifle as well. Luke’s troops swept over the enemy with ease for they had completely surprised the enemy forces. After they had swept the area, Luke went to stand on the enemy parapet where he waited for the main part of his army. With him he had Marion’s flag and he thrust the butt of the pole into the ground next to him.

“General, sir. Can I ask you a question?” Luke looked over and seen that it was Madeline. He then smiled warmly.

“Go ahead, Madeline.”

“That flag, where did Marion get the idea from? I’m just curious.”

“This was known as the flag of St. George where I came from and Marion liked it.” Luke made sure to skip over that part about this being the English flag in his universe.

“Oh, just curious. Sorry for asking.”

“Never be sorry for asking questions for that is how you learn Madeline. Now you should probably get back to your duty.”

“Yes sir. Thank you, sir.”

When the commander of the rest of the army got up to Luke; Luke just had to ask:

“What took ya so long? I was beginning to wonder if you all had fallen asleep or something and I about to go and try to find me a pint.”

Around him, the troops were relieved for their commanding general was back.

It took the rest of the day to bury all the enemy dead, not that Luke was bothered for he was no longer in a hurry. All the steel was collected, so that it could be sold to Luke’s steel mill; the money would be divided between the troops.

CHAPTER LXVIII

When Alice found Luke, she wasn’t sure who it was for she had grown use to Luke being angry and now he was back to his old self.

“Luke!” she exclaimed “What happened to you?”

“I just had to be reminded what I was fighting for, that’s all. Well, that and a reminder that many other people live lives that are far worse than mine. Oh, before I forget to tell you, you might have a visitor this evening at our tent. Met me a young soldier who doesn’t believe that she can read because of her being a well, her.”

“If she stops by, I’ll fix that!” Alice said with a smile. “What’s the lass’s name?”

“Madeline” With that Luke put his arm around Alice’s shoulder and held her close. Alice was so relieved for Luke really had returned and he wasn’t acting one bit.

That evening, Madeline did stop by. She had been fighting with herself all afternoon as to whether she should or not and she still wasn’t all that sure. She wasn’t even sure of how she had got there for one minute it she was in her tent and it seemed like the next, she was asking for permission to enter the commanding general’s tent. She found Luke working on paperwork while Alice was doing some weird stretching. Luke had taught Alice yoga and she found that she loved it. Luke loved it for the spectacular view. Neither of them still had uniforms on for they were both in comfortable clothes. Luke looked up when she came in:

“Well, hi Madeline. Welcome. Can I get you anything?”

“Ah no. Thank you” Madeline was extremely nervous.

“Relax Madeline. I’m not nearly as rigid as I seem when in uniform. Time for introductions” Luke said jumping up from his seat “Madeline this is Alice. Alice this is Madeline. She’s the one I telling you about”

“So, you’re the one who doesn’t believe that women can read. Come in and take a seat for we have a lot to talk about.”

For the next couple of hours, the ladies talked while Luke worked on paperwork. Once in a while Luke would chime in with his two-sense worth without even looking up from his paperwork. Finally, Luke was able to finish all of his paperwork. It was nice to be finally caught up on everything for once. He could hear that the ladies were still talking, but he had to interrupt.

“Excuse me ladies but I’m going to bed. Madeline, you might want to think about going to bed to for we will be leaving in the morning.”

“Seriously Luke?” whined Alice.

“Seriously Luke?” Luke said in a mocking voice “Yes, seriously. I want to get the army back home before the weather gets worse and you need to get back to your hospital. Well Madeline what do you think now?”

“I can’t wait to learn how to read!!” Luke and Alice smiled at her response.

“Madeline, make sure that you stop by the hospital once in a while and I’ll help you with anything that you need.”

“Oh, thank you Alice.”

With that Madeline started to pack up so that she could get back to her tent. Once she had left Luke turned to Alice:

“Well, what do you think?”

“Time will tell. Time will tell. Now how bout we get to bed.”

“Ah my thoughts exactly.” Luke said with a mischievous grin.

Without warning, Luke swept Alice off her feet, threw her over his shoulder, and carried the giggling lass back to their cot. They hadn’t been tangled up since that time while in York but Alice could tell that with the old Luke back and that she was going to get laid tonight and she was thrilled. He swung her around so that his hands were holding her up by grabbing her tight ass. Alice spread her legs and wrapped them around Luke’s waist while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Looking into his eyes, Alice could see just how happy Luke was for his eyes were once again sky blue and they had regained their twinkle. She hadn’t seen them this blue in quite some time for lately they had been stormy gray. Their lips met and Alice could have sworn that she had been hit with lightening, the feeling was so strong. Looking at Luke, she could see that he felt the same way. Suddenly the previously cool tent felt like it had been thrown in a fire and neither Luke or Alice could get their clothes off fast enough. Luke actually tripped on his pant leg and fell over, but he didn’t care and he started laughing. Since he was on his back, Alice pounced for neither of them needed any foreplay tonight. Alice’s previously fast movements almost stopped as she slowly impaled herself. It wasn’t that she needed time to stretch her pussy out, she just loved the feeling of Luke slowly sliding up inside of her. After a minute or so, their pubic hairs finally messed together. The color contrast between Luke’s dark brown hair and Alice’s flaming red bush was striking. They had both kept each other trimmed up neat for it was pain in the ass to shave down there in the field and Luke never shaved down there anyway. As Alice finished settling, Luke gently pulled her head down so that they could kiss. As she did, she had ride up on Luke’s cock and she could feel the veins on his cock and his heartbeat. After they shared a kiss, she moved back down until their hair mashed together again. Over and over, they repeated this and since they shared the workload, neither of them got tired very quick.

Remembering something that Marion liked, Luke told Alice to spin around. Now she was in a reverse cowgirl position and Alice immediately found that she liked this position for she could feel Luke’s cock rubbing on the front of her cunt and when Luke’s meaty fingers found her clit, she exploded. Her body seized up and after thirty seconds, she started to shake so violently that she lost all control. Below her Luke felt like he was taking a shower for Alice was spraying like crazy. He just smiled to himself and thought, ‘Yep, I’m back baby’. He held her up so that she wouldn’t fall and injure herself. In the dim light Luke could see the film of sweat that now covered Alice’s body and looking into her face, Luke could also see that she was ready to go to sleep. He gently laid her down next to him without even pulling out of her. As soon as she found a comfortable spot, on Luke’s arm, she was out like a light and lightly snoring. Luke grabbed a pillow and blanket off his cot. Then he wrapped his arms around her and drifted off into a very restful sleep.

When Luke woke up the next morning, he was amazed at how good he felt for he hadn’t slept that well in a very long time. Looking at Alice, he had to stifle a laugh for her hair was a mess and she hadn’t moved since passing out the night before. Gently Luke untangled himself from her and got up. Alice didn’t wake up until Luke started cooking breakfast and she was sore so Luke helped her stand up and then had to catch her when she tried to fall down.

“Get dressed Alice for breakfast is almost ready, and it’s a really nice day out.” Chirped Luke. This earned him a cringe from Alice.

“Why do you have to be so cheerful this early in the morning?” she groaned. Just to get her going he gave her a good swat to her ass leaving a red mark and getting her to yip.

After everyone had ate, the army started getting underway. They would have to march back to York for the rebellious nobles had wrecked the train station and it would be at least a week before it could be repaired. Luke did leave a strong detachment in Sheffield to help with reconstruction and to keep everyone in line. The trip back to York only took a couple of days because all the roads had now been greatly improved. Getting back to York, the city was in an uproar over the army’s return and their victories over the Norman invaders and the rebellion. It seemed like every person in and around York was there to greet the army. This time Luke would march at the head of the army and with the crispness of a marine, they entered York. At the city limits though he got one hell of a surprise when he found Marion waiting on him. This time he rushed up to her and swept her off her feet earning them a standing ovation from the troops and the civilians watching. He spun around with her a couple of times and they were both laughing and then their eyes met. Marion could see that something major had happened to Luke for it seemed like the light was back on in his eyes. She had not seen that much light since before they had first taken York and it warmed her heart so much to see that it had returned. She could feel Luke relax as he buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath. He then ran his hand along her jawline and their lips interlocked, getting them even more cheers.

“I love you, Marion” he whispered in her ear as he held her tight.

“I love you too Luke”

Luke then changed his grip and put Marion up on his shoulders. Together they led the army into York. This wasn’t what she had in mind but it worked.

“Hey Marion, where’s Gabriel at?”

“She’s not feeling too good right now.”

“What?!?! Why?!?!”

“Her and her kid aren’t getting along right now.”

“Ah”

As they led the army through the city, the crowds were going wild; Marion of course waved to the crowds in a way that reminded Luke of the way homecoming queens waved to crowds in his old universe. He had to admit that Marion had seemed to make serious in roads with the population and that took a load off his mind. They walked back to the castle with Marion waving to the crowd the entire way. By the time they got back, Luke was smiling widely and he was in a very good mood. The army was getting as many cheers as Marion was and this pointed to a good future.

CHAPTER LXIX

The rest of November was quiet for Marion and the gang. Gabriel managed to quickly recover from her kid beating the crap out of her, although she did admit that she couldn’t wait to give birth so that she wouldn’t have to go pee even couple of hours and only get dribbles each time. Over her objections, Marion put her on restricted duty so that she wouldn’t be under as heavy of strain. Gabriel might have been able to fight Marion, but Luke, Alice, and Pollyanna weighed in on Marion’s side and Gabriel knew when she was beat. She would be on desk duty until after she had given birth. At least she was a capable administrator in her own rite so she would still be a valuable team member.

Speaking of Alice, after sleeping with Luke every night for the last couple of weeks, she found that she just couldn’t sleep alone any more. On the second night after they got back, she showed up at Marion’s door after everyone had gone to bed. She had been so nervous that she almost didn’t come, but she had slept so bad the night before that she felt like she didn’t have any choice. As she always did at this time of night, Marion answered the door nude. She figured that if someone woke her up, then the least she could do was to make them a bit uncomfortable.

“Hi Alice, What’s up?”

“Is that invitation to move in with you and Luke still open?”

“Of course, it is, dearie. Found that you just couldn’t sleep alone after sleeping with Luke?”

“Ya” Alice was still really nervous and she hoped that Marion would let her stay.

“Well come on in. There’s no need to stand out there all night.”

“Marion, I really can’t thank you enough for allowing me to stay with you.”

Marion gave her a very warm smile.

“Alice, honey, I see the looks that Luke gives you and I know what they mean for he gives me the same looks. The look of love and desire. Looks that are shared by spouses that are completely in love with each other. By the way he doesn’t give Gabriel those looks. Plus, since I have Gabriel as a lover, it’s only fair that Luke has himself a lover as well.”

“Thank you for understanding Marion. I really can’t thank you enough.”

“That’s alright, just don’t break Luke and please let him save some energy for me.”

“I would never dream of breaking him. As for him saving energy well I think the general will just have to get into better shape.”

“You know Alice, I figured from the first day I seen you with Luke; the Luke was especially fond of you and I’m guessing that it was because you reminded him of someone.”

Alice once again was nervous for Marion had hit it right on the head.

“I think that should be a conversation that you should have with Luke for you completely correct but I swore that I wouldn’t reveal what the connection is.”

“No, I don’t think I will for Luke is entitled to his secrets. If and when he wants to tell me, he will. Just please don’t try to steal him from me.”

This actually triggered Alice’s usually mellow temper.

“Marion, listen to me,” growled Alice “I would never dream of stealing Luke from you and you know that. After all you are one of my best friends and you are kind enough to share him with me.”

The ladies nodded to each other showing that they now understood each other and with that, Alice moved in with Luke, Marion, Gabriel, and Mackenzie. Luke was having one of his insomnia attacks so he was down in his workshop. Marion explained to Alice what that meant and that they might as well go to bed. Alice was a bit uncomfortable about getting into bed with two other naked women but figured that since they were both her friends that she could trust them. To her surprise, she found that sleeping with other women wasn’t as bad as she thought although she doubted that she would ever be comfortable with the idea of her making love with another woman.

December started off with a bang and kept going from there. Marion had two announces one public, one private. The private announcement was that she was pregnant again. The public one was that she was interested in being ruler of England and since no other noble on the island was strong enough or foolish enough to stand in her way, none of them argued. The church though was a different story for they refused to seat someone who had willingly taken church property, had a homosexual lover, and was a woman. As usual, Marion didn’t give a damn what the church thought. She gave them two options, confirm her as rightful Queen of England on Christmas day 1066 or she would take England by force and kick the church out. Speaking of taking by force, Marion’s army was making rapid gains in Scotland. When Luke had got back from the South, he sent a brigade North with orders to crush all resistance with extreme prejudice. This is what they did too. The brigade that Luke sent and the one that was still there swept through Scotland like the wind. Just as in England if a noble resisted then they were removed and their possessions seized and their land was sold off to the commoners. Everyone knew though that tackling the highlanders would take much more time, but they had made a really good start. Marion was also able to open a land corridor to her lands in the far north and this enabled Luke to start laying train tracks to link these lands with the area around York.

The church officials in Canterbury decided to make themselves a third option to Marion’s ultimatum. They sent their best witch hunters up to York with orders to investigate Marion and the rest of her inner circle of signs of witchcraft, heresy, or homosexuality or any other sins. Of course, in their minds, she and her inner circle were already guilty so the investigation was only a formality before they had her executed. They arrived in mid-December and found that York was now a highly advanced city. The team wondered through the city for two days, just looking at the sights and what they saw, scared them shitless. There were female police officers on the streets. Paved streets. Every house had running water. Every street it seemed had a book seller on it. Jews and pagans were practicing their faith openly. The people were worse, for they didn’t seem to give a fart about these high church officials and what they were doing. It wasn’t until the officials tried to close down a public bath house that people got pissed, and they got pissed with the church officials. The public bath houses were mixed genders and mixed ages and had hot, cool, and cold-water pools. In addition to bathing, swimming lessons were offered for anyone wanting to learn how to swim and most citizens did take at least some lessons. The locals had quickly become addicted to stopping by the bath house after a long day working and getting the grim off before they went home. While there, they could catch up on the local gossip or check out the opposite sex. The rules for this were very simple: look but don’t touch without an invitation from the person being touched. Sometimes the people would even get a massage as well. When the church tried to close it down for public debauchery, they were literally thrown out and were actually rescued by a passing female officer. She was the one that took the officials to see Marion.

When they finally got into her office, they found a very attractive brunette sitting at Marion’s desk.

“Marion of York we presume.”

“Nope, Colonel Gabriel at your service.” She said without looking up “Just have a seat and I’ll be right with you.” She finished up the paperwork that she had been doing. “Now what can I do for you gentlemen.”

“We are here to investigate claims of Marion of York being a witch and a homosexual. We are also looking for signs of heresy.”

Gabriel leaned back in her chair and burst out laughing. She was laughing so hard that she nearly peed herself.

“I can assure you that Marion of York isn’t a witch for she is actually far more dangerous than that. As to her being a lesbian, I will tell you that she loves her husband more than anything. I’m the lesbian for I am Marion’s lover. Actually, I’m more bisexual; it’s just that I prefer women over men but I do appreciate a good cock once in a while. As far as me being pregnant well I always wanted a kid and Luke, Marion’s husband, was kind enough to help with me with that dream.”

“Then you are under arrest on orders from the Pope.” Again, Gabriel burst out laughing. “Do you find something funny about you being under arrest?”

“Yes, I do. I think it’s funny that you actually think that you could get away with it” Gabriel managed to get out between laughs. At this point, Marion walked through a side door.

“What’s so funny Gabriel?” Marion came over and put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder.

“These church goons are here put me under arrest for being a lesbian and investigate you for being a witch.”

“Oh ya. Well in that case you had better get up then.” Gabriel got up and Marion pulled her to her lips. As they were kissing, their hands started working at undoing each other’s shirts as they moaning into each other’s mouths.

“Oh God Marion. You taste sooo good!” Gabriel managed to get out. This was too much for one of the churchmen and he got up to try and grab Gabriel and Marion. As soon as he put a hand on Marion, she turned, gabbed his hand and using her other hand, smashed his nose in. The blood started flowing out of his nose as he howled in pain. The remaining churchmen drew their swords and pointed them at the ladies, but the ladies were back to making out instead. As they approached Marion and Gabriel, the churchmen heard very heavy footsteps approaching.

“Uh-oh, now you done it.” Marion managed to get out before going back to tongue wrestling with Gabriel. Luke stepped out from the same doorway that Marion had come out of.

“What the hell is going on in here?!?!”

“We are here in the name of his holiness the Pope to arrest these two women for witchcraft and homosexuality, and to investigate the rest of her inner circle for other sins.”

“These two angels? Marion, why didn’t you tell me you had hired a comedy crew? I would have made snacks and sold tickets.”

“Sorry Luke. Must…have…ohhh ya…. slipped my…. mind.”

“They are under arrest and if you try to interfere then you will be too.”

“Now listen you fuck heads. You have two options and only two. First you can put your weapons on the ground, get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness from the goddess of intelligent beauty and her lover or you can all die. Your choice.”

“Or the third option.” The leading churchman said. With that the group started for Marion and Gabriel. In a flash, Luke struck; he pulled out his Sig and shot all the churchmen in the knees. With that, Luke walked over to a cooler, pulled out a beer, and pulled up a seat to watch. Before he sat down, he dropped his pants so that he could beat off while watching the ladies making out. During this whole thing, they had kept making out and had even managed to get their shirts off. Gabriel had her hand in Marion’s pants while Marion was sucking on one of Gabriel’s sensitive nipples. Before long both of them had their pants off and Marion gently laid Gabriel out on the desk. Luke was sitting there, drinking a beer and jacking off to his wife and her lover making love. The extra icing on the cake was the suffering of the churchmen and how they had taken to reciting verses to keep distracted and hopefully call down divine intervention. Before Marion buried her face in Gabriel’s sweet pussy, she looked at Luke.

“I hope that you’re not thinking of wasting all that juice when there is a pussy right here” she grabbed her pussy “that needs that stuff in it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it sweetheart.” In reality he was planning on cumming all over the churchmen but he figured that shooting it into his wife was a far better idea. He got up and lined up with Marion’s hot love hole. In one thrust he was buried deep inside of her and then he started pounding her relentlessly. Luke could tell from Gabriel’s breathing and moaning that she was very close and Marion wasn’t far behind her. He started driving extra deep into Marion so that he could get there as the ladies did. This pushed Marion over the edge and she took Gabriel along with her. The orgasm that Marion had was explosive and she sprayed all over Luke. This triggered him and he dumped an extra-large load deep inside his wife. Although Marion was weak-kneed, she had an idea that she just had to do. She put her hand over her pussy to keep Luke’s spunk from dropping on the floor as she waddled to where she feet were straddling the lead churchman’s head, forcing him to look up. When she was sure that she was in the right position, she moved her hand and cum fell from her vagina and landed in the churchman’s open mouth. Marion then managed to squeeze a bit more and this landed in one of his eyes. She then bent over and forced the churchman to close his mouth and swallow.

“GUARDS!” she called out and two guards came rushing in. “Take these bastards out of here, tie them to their horses, and send them on their way. If they resist beat them but don’t kill them for, I want them to suffer. If you fuckers hurry, you might make it back to London before infection sets in, but I doubt it.” She then turned to Luke “Time to mobilize the army General for we march on London in two days.”

“Yes ma’am” Luke said was he snapped to attention with his dick still standing proud.

“This time I will be going with you. Gabriel you will remain here with one brigade. With you in that condition, there is no way I am risking you on a trip to London, especially at this time of year.” Looking at Luke “Well am I going to have to mobilize the army myself?”

With that, Luke pulled his pants up, saluted, grabbed the rest of his beer, and sped out to start the mobilization. After all to Luke it was a moral sin to waste good beer. The guards were coming in to take the wounded churchmen out.

“Don’t bother dropping them off with the doc either.”

“Yes ma’am” the guards said in unison.

Within two days the army was in Sheffield. Seems like everyone in the army expected this to happen so their commanders had held them close to the barracks until things calmed down. Luke was actually able to get the first units on the train on that first evening. From Sheffield, the army marched swiftly to London. Once there the city opened its gates to Marion and her army and within a day, they had secured London and the surrounding area. While her army secured the area, Marion was forcing the church and the nobles that were in London to recognize her as the rightful queen of England. Just before Christmas, Gabriel arrived in London, along with Alice, Pollyanna, Matt, and Mackenzie. They had come down at Luke’s invitation for he thought it would be nice to see the ultimate reward for their struggles. Luke wanted them to watch Marion be crowned Queen Marion I, Queen of England and hopefully soon, queen of Great Britain. Marion wasn’t happy with Gabriel being in London but she didn’t protest too much.

On Christmas morning 1066, Marion was in her formal gown while Alice and Pollyanna were in their dress uniforms. Escorting them were Luke and Matt also in full dress uniforms. Gabriel was the only one in regular clothes because her dress uniform wouldn’t fit at the moment. Also, there was an honor guard detachment and Marion’s personal body guards. The whole group marched into Westminster abbey. The honor guards secured the building while Marion’s guards stayed glued her and her inner circle. They all stood by while Marion went through the service and at the end of it was the words that Luke had been waiting to hear spoken by the archbishop of Canterbury:

“I NOW PRONOUCE YOU QUEEN MARION THE FIRST, QUEEN OF ENGLAND. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!!”

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