Crusader Kings (4)

When I finally arrived at destination for the rendezvous I was supposed to have with Ria, I had a bit of a surprise.

Let's just say that Merlin may have rubbed off some of his cheeky behavior onto the blonde to a degree, and that it was this main bit that urged the girl to set up the most ambitious surprise one could drop onto my lap. When my army arrived at destination, I discovered that Ria had arrived a day earlier and had patiently waited for me. I thought she would have taken longer due to how distant her capital was to our meeting point, but I was told that her mobilization had been quicker than mine, giving her the chance to leave for the port-town earlier than I did. As I tried to pry some info on her rumored chances, I found out that no one in her army could tell me much beyond the king wanted to speak just with me. I was confused as she would have made a better move by just meeting me personally, in public. Still, nothing unusual in checking how she was doing with all those rumors surrounding a potential growth spurt.

I was quite sure that Excalibur was meant to stop her growth or something, or maybe it was Avalon- I wasn't completely sure of it. Still, she did something so that she could grow up some more for the sake of… height? I wasn't sure what I was going to find in her tent, but I was definitely caught off-guard when I was finally entering the tent and giving a quick look at what had changed with Ria. And I found out that it was more than just height. Way more than just that. I wasn't exactly aware of the full extent of her growth, so I was rightfully stumped when I realized how tall and 'older' her frame was.

That isn't to say that I was shocked into silence, but I had good reasons on why my mouth suddenly hung low when I saw her. Her armor was slightly bulkier, but not with the purpose of protecting her better. Rather to make her new curves fit better within her 'masculine' body. Had I been unaware of her true gender, I would have been confused by the frame of the armor itself, but since I knew the truth it made sense. To a degree. And I could tell she was expecting me to make a review of it from the expression lingering on her face. She looked happy to see me, but also anxious to hear what I had to say about her new appearance.

It was just the two of us in that tent, no guards around, so… I merely walked up to her. Her cheeks burned red at the sudden closeness, and it sure felt somewhat cuter now that she was close to my height. I delivered a peck on her cheek, quite close to her lips. A thunderous shiver shook her a bit, her posture from guarded was stiffly tense. And I offered a smile.

"Hi Ria."

Her lips curved in a pretty smile, an awkward greeting leaving her lips as if she tripped on herself due to the intense affection and unease she had for this encounter. "J-Joseph. I… I missed you."

Differently than before, she actually grew at ease as I slowly pulled her in a hug. "Missed you too, dear."

Another shiver, and yet I could tell this one mellowed her some more at my interaction.

"How is Mya and… little Gabriel?"

"She is recovering just fine," I hummed with a happy tone. "And little Gabriel is already a menace matching Mordred's little reign of terror."

A nod came at that response, yet I saw an unusual light glowing from her eyes as she slowly pulled away from the hug. Quietly she left my proximity to check something on a chest nearby, and went on to retrieve what looked to be a sword. I frowned through this whole interaction, and allowed a single questioning look to flash back to her when she returned with the blade and offered it to me.

"This is for Mordred."

That was a bit of a surprise, but I could see how time and goodwill had coaxed Ria to be a bit more lenient on the little blonde. I couldn't blame her for being so slow and so 'stiff' with those steps, and, in fact, saw those more as good victories for a simpler relationship between her and Mordred. I wasn't asking her to forgive Morgan for that horrible deed, I wanted her to see Mordred as a fellow victim in all of this because the child didn't get a choice on how she was born. And I wanted her to see the girl as her daughter. That was her kid, someone that she had a chance to be part of her life and guide her in a way she would have wanted to be guided in her own childhood. I knew I couldn't rush it, but I really wanted them to reconcile about it.

"What is its name?"

"Clarent," She replied and I nodded in recognition. "I understand isn't much but-"

"It's perfect."

The fellow king paused, then gave me a confused look. "Is it?"

"Obviously. Did I tell you already that Mordred wants to be a knight?"

A nod. "She does. I suppose she will love it."

"And probably will send you a 'thank you' letter too because of it."

Her lips twitched, but her emotions were too mixed for me to know if it was a pleased smile flashing briefly or a tiny grimace at how awkward it is to go through that process.

"Now, what about your wife and future child?"

"T-They are well," Ria stuttered a bit, caught off-guard by the new topic. "Guinevere misses you and Mya too."

I offered a smile. "I hope she isn't doing anything concerning as a queen."

"I believe she has been my queen and more in these last few weeks," The blonde argued, her face burning red at her own innuendo.

Still, I offered a surprised look and gave a congratulating pat on her back due to that. I could tell that the brunette was a keeper alright just by how she was taking it all and working through to make sure her own happiness was shared with her king. And those few others she was willing to share herself and the king with from the looks of it.

"I guess this has to do also with your little 'growth spurt'."

"I… I guess so. I decided to dare my luck and..." She looked down to her armor, her eyes flashing an indescribable succession of emotions which left me mixed between amused and concerned. "I-I suppose it was a draw for me."

I chuckled. "That's one way to say it. At least now you don't have to lament being shorter than me."

Her cheeks puffed at that, showing that, despite her more adult self, Ria was still Ria.

"I-I wasn't that short."

A headpat was needed and she yielded before it. "You kind of were, but it's expected for someone that had been going around with a small body. But now? You get some benefits like height and still getting treated like this by me."

She hummed, here face softly landing on my chest. "What… about the rest?"

That was a very big question. Not because I didn't have a clear answer about it, but rather if I wanted to phrase it one way or another. I knew that it was a matter of balance at this point since we both knew some true to it. She knew I had looked, she wanted for me to look, and yet she wanted to hear me being truthful about it. And I knew that being too blunt would have been plain crass on my part.

Hence why I tip-toed the fine line between the blunt and the innuendo.

"You grew up nicely. And I can tell you are just a bit shy about it."

A slow nod onto my chest ensued. "I… Guinevere said she likes me this way. She thinks my body now match my personality and… soul."

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, causing her to go tense but only because she wanted her body to firmly press onto mine.

"She didn't lie. You look better this way, not just by beauty. But also because you look like a proper adult like this, one that shouldn't be questioned due to experience, wisdom and care."

A hum worked its way out of her throat, vibrating through her closed lips as she enjoyed the pleasant embrace some more. We stood like that for a while, with Ria preening under the warmth I was providing her as we both really missed each other a lot. After we were done talking about private stuff, I saw fit to debrief Ria about the situation in Europe since her understanding of it was quite limited and some of those details were based on the pope's own narration of the matter. Felix hadn't lied about the situation back in Rome, but some of the details had been purposely expanded to favor a more villainous view of the Eastern Roman Empire and Odoacer. The latter was a jerk, but he wasn't actively murdering his own citizens, yet there had been news of flights from Italia into Gallia to seek asylum from proscription lists published by the 'King' of Italy.

The ensuing few hours were spent sharing details on each other's armies, the understanding of my experience in mainland Europe, what to expect and worry about during battles, and general points to follow with the other kings. Ria was completely engrossed by this whole matter, and we were sitting by the small bed she had in the tent while talking, nothing crazy unfolding within the interaction. After all, we both knew that it wouldn't be proper to do anything right now and it would also led to some unpleasant risks we both weren't willing to take. There was so much to discuss that we both ended up staying at the tent even as the sky grew darker. Ultimately she offered and I accepted to sleep in her tent, expecting this to be somewhat of a 'tame' interaction since she didn't seem to have grown her confidence that much.

The trip would prove me I was wrong on one or two occasions. Maybe more.

I want to say that the ensuing night was particularly tame as the early hours had been, but that would be a lie.

A big lie at that.

When Ria mentioned that she had much to show and tell later that night, I didn't expect her to be as bold as she was right now.

I mean, I didn't exactly expect her to walk up to my bed, nude and quite proud of it as she showed off her new sizes, and asked me if she could warm up my bed. And by that, she meant her lying over me, with her pussy rubbing against my mouth while her mouth worked my shaft. It wasn't that I didn't see her being able to pull this sort of foreplay, but rather her having the boldness to be the one asking for it. It was the way she went with it, so confident and yet so nervous, that made the entire exchange so delicious for both.

Looking back at her early approach at sex when I took her first time, I could tell that she learned through some 'secret Sex Ed classes' by Guinevere. The young woman had received the foursome so positively that it felt just right from her to pep-talk her own 'husband' to be into this kind of interactions. And with how long it's been, her new body and how hormonal some women would get during pregnancies, I guess Guinevere had the time of her life with her inexperienced and definitely sexy-cute king.

I was quite having a blast myself, and I could see Ria was utterly intrigued by the overall situation from the way she licked so eagerly at my cock. At least, in an effort to my own enthusiasm. I just wanted to test out how much she 'learned' with the brunette. And she did learn a lot from what I could see. The way she was so clean and so devoted with each action made the entire exchange quite intense and soon she was gulping a big load down her throat while I earnestly lapped at her sweet orgasm as I got her to come slightly earlier than I did. It was a small achievement in a sea of those that had yet to be unlocked through that young night. I grasped at her breasts, noticing how she was easier to tease with that groping, how the same extended with her rear, how her pussy was squirting for attention, how she loved her own juices as I brought some with a finger right to her lips. Her tongue wrapping lovingly at the digits as my length hardened again at the sight.

I expected things to keep tame for a while, but I guess I underestimated Ria's libido to that extent as she was soon asking to go further by lining herself in a way her pussy was directly rubbing against my length. And when I say 'rubbing' I mean she was drilling back and forth her slit across my length in a highly-paced and intense 'humping'. It wasn't sex, but it was way hotter than a normal teasing. And it became so clear what she wanted when her dirty-talking came up. She wanted to be taken, claimed, 'defiled', and even bred to a last bit left me a bit panicking, and I spoke up about it. What she meant with 'bred'? I could see it as mere dirty-talk, but one thing was playing about the terms and another thing was 'going for it'. After all, there is a point why she got no creampie last time we did it.

"I-I'm using some runes. I will not be impregnated… for now."

The promise meant a lot as she could just decide to turn the rune off whenever she wished and get herself pregnant while I was distracted. I would be more wary had it been any other girls but… I wanted to trust the blonde she wasn't planning to betray me like this. And, hopefully, this proved to be right as I pulled her down on the mattress, hovering over her as I prepared to fuck her for good.

"Joseph," She interrupted just as my cock entered her. "T-Tonight. I'm- I'm your queen. And you are-"

"Your king?"

A happy smile adorned her face. "Yes."

My hands held hers and… I fucked her as roughly as possible. It felt like a primal seal had snapped and I pounded her tight hole into a fitting sheath for my sword. Her wanton moans further confirmed her desire and need, with her arousal thrice as intense than before to match mine. We fucked for what felt centuries, but we came to stop just so we could enjoy a few hours of rest. It was just a night… that preceded the rest of the trip. Ria wasn't up to just accept a single session. She wanted more of me as much as I wanted more of her. And the fact our stamina was nothing short of divine gave our libido plenty of excuses to go hard on each other all the times.

If it wasn't night, then some foreplay was allowed in the private. Ria was soon tending at my cock as much as I was worshiping her sweet pussy. The time spent moving from Britain to Gallia and then down to the border with Italia was sure intense. No one noticed, no one knew, it was a secret between us and our wives. And Ria admitted to have added quite the details to her letters. Guinevere had wanted to know how lewd things would have gotten. And from the way she put it, the brunette was quite frustrated on not being there and worship us both. It was amusing, but it sure promised for more fun time the next time Mya and I visited them.

It was a plan for the future, but for now we had a war to deal with.

After a particularly intense trip, our combined armies quickly moved southward and reunited with the rest of the rallied forces for the planned liberation campaign.

Everyone was a bit surprised with Artoria's presence for this operation and while there were some doubts of her capacity in combat, the pope seemed keen to give her trust in showing them 'he was worthy of standing before other Kings'. I knew she did, Ria knew she did, but one thing was knowing and other was proving through a war. And what better chance than doing so against someone like Odoacer. With the military dispatched and ready to shred into his forces, some precautions were taken to break into the Alps.

It wasn't Winter yet, but what in modern times is known Piedmont was renowned to be one of the coldest regions in the Peninsula. Hannibal had gone through it to invade Italy, suffering heavily because of the weather. I had never visited it myself since my grandparents came from the 'deep Italian south' and would never venture that deep into Northern Italy. The place was just 'unpleasant' for someone that has been accustomed to the southern climate, and there had been enough regional issues with the 'North v. South' debate for a whole century in the modern times that it just felt odd to be there and commit to that full offensive.

Still, that didn't prevent me to play it safe and have some form of equipment ready for the occasion. Heavy clothes were nothing new in this era, but produced en-masse and given to all soldiers meant that none was going to suffer the weather as horribly as they would have without the proper clothes. I knew this wasn't Russia and the climate was more tame here, but, at the same time, these people weren't hardened by the cold as some had been with the First French Empire and Nazi Germany when they fought against the Bear. And attrition here was quite deadly due to that.

A declaration of war was sent just as we crossed the border. While some may see this affair as disingenuous and unfair on Odoacer, I remarked that the man was not worthy of fairness and that I would prefer to be slightly unfair on a monster rather than explain to some widows why their man got killed by easily-avoidable ambushes. The Alps were the first obstacle, and one that Odoacer was unable to exploit to weaken our armies as we crossed those just in time to engage in first contact right by Hasta (modern-day Asti) a small garrison.

Once shattered and their defensive positions taken, it was agreed to wait and allow their first response group to clash in those favorable positions. The Second Battle of Hasta was definitely more vicious than the first one, and held a greater importance on the next step of the war. The Tribe of the Erulii assembled by Odoacer attempted to repel us from the region, but the presence of heavy artillery and flying balloons dropping bombs upon our enemies easily shredded into their lines before a serious skirmish could have happened.

With the door open in less than a week in the campaign, the next objective was divided in five points. The Suebi and the Gallians would force a spearhead through Etruria (Modern-day Tuscany) and take care of about half the defensive army trying to push us out, while Clovis and I aimed for Mediolanum (modern-day Milan) and Brixia (m-d Brescia) to secure the fertile lands that Italy owned in the area. Ria had actually a tough task in the form of invading modern-day Switzerland. It was a test of 'faith' and one I knew would take a while to accomplish.

She got the subjugation accomplished just a day after we were all done securing the rest of the objectives. Everyone was expecting more, which saw the pope praising her some more due to it. But I had known from the very moment the task was handed to her that Ria had it in her bag. Why? Wales wasn't exactly just hills and so wasn't Ireland. It wasn't the first time she handled that sort of terrain during war and her experience proven beneficial in also winning over the local nobles' favor to listen to 'good sense' rather than 'empty threats' from Odoacer.

With the North captured, what was left to do was 'rain' upon the central regions and capture Rome. I had thought about Odoacer trying to relocate in the south and follow the same strategy used by the last emperors of Western Rome to just shift the capital elsewhere, but that idea was thrown out of the way when we arrived at Interamna (modern-day Terni), the crossroad which would allow us to assault Rome with a pincer assault once captured, and found out through the forward scouts that Odoacer was in charge of a massive army sitting right by the border between Umbria and Latium.

It wasn't just tribes that had unified under him in Italy, but also Vandals that had been recruited for the occasion. Compared to our formidable fifty-thousands troops which we had amassed for the occasion, Odoacer had twice that number and… many troubles keeping them compact from what early reports established. Vallia didn't even hesitate to deliver messages to the navy together with Rechiar to assault any Vandal-owned convoy. Due to the large commitment before us, it was clear we were now at war and that the Suebian Prince would have his chance to get his little plan of conquering part of North-West Africa for himself. I

would have preferred for this conflict to not come down to this, but I knew words wouldn't matter now that Odoacer had thrown his best at us. This would have been the battle to shred the 'usurper' and for the country to be fully liberated with his passing. While we were outnumbered, that didn't mean we didn't have the most advantages. More balloons were employed, we had a considerable amount of artillery at our disposal compared to previous skirmishes due to how extensive the land was on our side.

It definitely help that between us and the approaching force was the principal tributary of the Tiberius River (Modern-day Tevere), the Nar (Modern-day Nera). It wasn't a big river, but it was enough of a natural obstacle to slow down any passage made through it. The plan of attack was simple. At first there would have been provocative attacks to annoy the troops, then, as Odoacer was warmed up and pissed just enough to throw his numbers at us, we would set up our armies in a defensive position while artillery and archers rained hell upon them. Finally, use the combined cavalry to shred into what was left and either capture or kill the main commander.

The first step was easier to accomplish than expected. Odoacer was nervous, he knew that we were so close to break into his lines and he had little chance to outsmart our current disposition. So, when we started to throw careful shots at his own troops and ignore the vandals, he got quite furious with the overall situation. He ordered a full assault, expecting for the melee to see him the victor somehow, and yet his eagerness was burned away as easily as it came to him. Gore between blood and other bodily pieces unfolded, a massacre but nothing that really was new to any of us. To Odoacer which had only heard reports from traumatized scouts or surviving soldiers? He looked quite white and green before this butchering.

Once the balloons were over his head, more bombs rained upon the ranged-troops which had expected to be the safest in that nightmare. With the ranks breaking and a bloody river being opened for our forces to rush through, the heavy cavalry rushed through, spears at ready to impale as many foes as possible. And it was a true bloodbath. So many screams, so much horror- this kind of war wasn't the one Odoacer or any other barbarian that had tried to exploit the Roman legacy had ever experienced. And it was there that a shocked Odoacer met his end as a spear stabbed into his skull and trailed his body around for all to see. Their king was dead, their commanders were dying, their friends and brothers decimated by the explosive retribution. This, as the Church would then report once Rome was fully reconquered, was divine retribution for their sins.

The Battle of Interamna was the final piece for the campaign. It wasn't the closure of the war was a small force was dispatched to then take care of the small resistance group in Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, while Rechiar was allowed to personally take care of the Vandals by using Sicily itself as a springboard to rush into the coast once owned by Carthage. The worst of the war was over, and Rome was once again under the Papal control. Or… so we all thought considering that was pretty much the plan for this whole campaign. After the pope was allowed to return to his palace, we were all convened to speak to his court and the news he bestowed were nothing short of earth-shaking.

"I greet and praise you five, children of the Faith and believer of the One True God- bringers of order and peace, protectors of the innocent and the weak, savior of the Christendom and all those that seeks hope in these trying times," He spoke with incredible formality, and while at first our attention was aimed at his Holiness, we all noticed the five servants approaching with five crowns on pillows. Each was the circular gold one, not the pompous hat-like ones. And I had a feeling I knew where this was going just like some of the others. "Here are the symbols of your new honor. Of your rightful reward for the faithful duty you upheld as Christian Kings, Crusaders of a bright new Era and… founders of a new Roman organization. No more a mere empire broken and tainted, but one divided between the wisest and most honorable members of this religion. Here I summon you all as Roman Kings, and as Caesars of this new age."

In layman's terms? The Pope was literally yeeting his temporary powers to allow us to create a new federation. There aren't enough words to describe the sheer indignation of some of Felix' former allies, to the point some even planned to remove him as a 'betrayer of the faith'. Sadly, these threats were empty since we were there and we had the biggest armies around. Any attempt to turn the papacy into a tool of power to create kingdoms at the local nobility's whims was now removed from reach and a new Rome was born from these dust.

During the last few weeks of staying in the city, it was decided to establish a local administration augmented by troops we garrisoned through several important section of the cities. Representatives would be dispatched to Rome to be our voice in Italia and debate on local matters. It would be risky to move all our courts there, so that felt as the smartest decision. Still, with Rome 'reformed', there was just a small issue that needed to be addressed. And that was the Byzantine Empire and how they were going to treat this new development which appeared quite close to their borders.

Things just weren't getting that easier but… at least peace and order was back in half of Europe...