Another old story of mine. The early parts seemed popular but no one much liked the ending. I have been meaning to rewrite the ending forever so I have clipped off the original version of the ending and have started rewriting it and hope to post it sometime this week.

Would really appreciate comments and suggestions on where you would like to see the ending go.

Catherine and Alexander Part 1
by: Bruce

Although the children never knew it times had been rough in the castle. Their
father, the Duke of Beaufort, had in recent days made a number of
unfortunate alliances that put not only his fortune but his entire properties and
even his own life in jeopardy. In these days after the king's death the wrong
friends could mean accusations of treachery and the Duke had made all the
wrong friends.

Things looked bleak until he had an offer.....

Although she was one year
older than him, Catherine really did not seem to mind having her brother
around. Many in the castle remarked that they seemed inseparable. Catherine
being the oldest of the Beaufort children and Alexander the oldest son and
heir; both children were given a remarkable amount of freedom. They would,
much to the chagrin of their governess, disappear for hours in the large
cavernous hallways of their families ancient estate. No one knew where they
went but they always seemed to go together.

Many sections of Beaufort castle had been closed off for decades. The
family, like so many others in the country; simply did not have the funds to
maintain such an estate. For Alexander this left a perfect world to play in. The
ancient musty corridors could be transformed in his mind to the Royal Place,
or the tombs of a mad sorcerer, or a dragons lair; the atmosphere was rich
with mystery.

Today the game was minotaur in the labyrinth. Alexander was the mighty
hero sent to slay the evil beast (being played by his sister of course). With the
rapier they had found in an empty room in his hand; Alex went slowly
through the hallway searching for his sisters hiding spot. Her trail seemed to
lead in to a dusty room that the children seldom used and he advanced with
caution. He looked around the stacked furniture carefully when suddenly....

"Boooo!" screamed Catherine, jumping from behind a chair. Startled almost
out of his skin Alexander leaped backwards and tripped over a small foot rest
banging his head against the wall quite hard.

"Ouch! Would you watch out! that really hurt!" "Oh, quit whining, if you had
of watched what you were doing you wouldn't have fell." She replied
helping him to his feet.

"It was a good thing that wall seemed to have a bit of give or I would have
cracked my skull open" he moaned, "you would have had trouble explaining
that to Daddy."

Catherine snorted derisively. "You just hate it when I win." "I do not, I....."

She cut him off with a wave of her hand and pointed at the wall. "Look!
There is something behind here."

Alexander turned around and noticed where he had hit the wall a bit of a crack
had opened. It was a secret door! The children had not found one of these in
a long time. All these old castles seemed to be filled with hidden hallways and
rooms. The last one they had found had yielded this rapier and a full suit of
chain armor. The children fell all over each other trying to be the first one in.

Eyes wide, Catherine pushed her brother out of the way and opened the door
a crack. The smell of dust and some other acrid scent assaulted her nose as
she stepped inside. Within she found what could only be described in her
eyes as the greatest of treasures; books! There were literally dozens of huge
leather-bound texts stacked around on shelves and on top of a table that held
an assortment of other odd items. Overlooking it all was a portrait of a dark
and brooding man.

Catherine immediately moved over to the books as Alexander stepped in
behind her to get a better look at the room. He was amazed at all the stuff in
here. It looked like the room of some eccentric, none of the baubles and
assorted whatzits seemed to bear any relationship to each other. He looked
closer at things, his eyes finally coming to rest on that portrait.

"Ooh! You know who that is?"

"Hmm?" She replied obviously distracted by one of the books. "The portrait.
That is David of Beaufort. You remember, our great grandfather, the one they
have all the stories about..." That seemed to trigger her attention a bit. He
was the one that everyone thought dabbled in the black arts. It was said that
much of the families success and money dated back to his dealings. That
made this find twice as interesting to her.

"Let's close off this room and not tell anyone we found it. If we go back now
no one will know we were ever in here."

Alexander looked back at her. " Are you sure that is such a good idea? Dad
will want to know about something like this. There might be valuables."

"I am not saying we NEVER tell him. I only meant that we might want to
explore it ourselves first. How would they know when we found it if we
don't tell anyone?" She smiled.

"I guess. But we better head back now." He still seemed unconvinced. "Trust
me. I just want to grab a couple of these books and then we can go."

"But..." he started.

"Don't worry, I will bring them back."

Somewhere inside Alexander knew this would be trouble.

Alex never saw his sister all of that night or the next morning. She even had
her self excused from evening meal. He was beginning to get worried, when
his sister got things in her head she could be a dangerously obsessed person.
Her schemes had gotten them into trouble before. He remember the lashing
they got when she convinced him to go into town alone to see that minstrel.

The problem was he could never say no to his sister. He was 12 years old,
one year away from manhood, and he still could not assert himself around
her. She was the leader and he the follower. When he was away from her at
his sword lessons or lessons in governing the manor he felt totally adrift.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he was never away from her for long.

As if that thought had summoned her Catherine open his door and barged in.
"You would not believe what I found in these books!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he replied, halfheartedly, still worrying about their choice not to tell
Dad.

"These are spell books. Our great grandsire was a magician!"

"You must be kidding?!"

"Not in the least. This book is a copy of an ancient Latin manuscript on
magic."

Alexander warded himself against the dark one. "Ahh, we must dispose of
that right away! I cant believe we had Satanism in our family. If anyone
found out about this, it would be a disgrace."

Catherine shook her head. "Who said anything about Satanism? I said this
was magic. I read it last night and it did not say a thing about Satan."

"But witchcraft is always part of Satan..."

"Gods! You believe all that garbage they feed us? Superstitious nonsense. "

"How can you say that?"

"Look all I am saying is that none of these spells invoke Satan. The ones I
tried did not call on any dark powers at all."

He looked dumbfounded. "You tried some?!"

"Yes I did a spells to convey luck, power, and wealth upon myself. They
were some of the minor spells and I wanted to try them." she continued, "I
have not worked any of the major spells yet but was hoping you would help
me with one tomorrow."

"I am not sure this is a good idea." His heart was beating out of his chest in
fear and dread.

"Don't worry. Have I ever led you wrong?"

He didn't answer that.

Catherine awoke Alexander early in the morning. She said they needed to get
an early start as the major spells took some time. Still half asleep she dragged
him into the dark musty room where they found the book and she begin her
preparations.

As he watched she slowly drew two circles on the floor and proceeded to
inscribe them with some Latin phrases and some numbers. She then placed
and lighted some candles in strategic spots around the circles and chanted a
few words. She chanted some more and danced around a bit in a rhythmic
motion. The whole ritual would have fascinated him if he wasn't so nervous
about the whole thing.

"Please move into the left hand circle." She said in a distracted tone.

He complied. "What exactly is this supposed to do anyway?" He asked.

"You'll find out." She moved into the right hand circle and began chanting
and swaying in an almost hypnotic rhythm. Suddenly she stopped and said a
phrase in Latin.

He knew what it meant from his Latin classes: "Bring about the switch!"

The whole world seemed to swim for a moment. It seemed he was floating in
a void for a second and then he looked out and his perspective had changed.
Firstly, he was staring out at his own body, which was smiling broadly. That
was not right. Secondly, he was now in the right hand circle. Finally, and
most disturbingly, he could feel his breasts heaving with fear. His breasts!

"It worked!" His body cried out.

"Catherine? What have you done to us?" His voiced sounded strange to him.
Heck his whole body felt strange to him. He was beginning to panic.

"I never expected that it would actually work!" She turned around and around
in her new body feeling the sensations. "This is great!"

He shouted at her. "You have to put us back! This is wrong, it's weird."

"Take it easy. I will put us back in a bit. I just want to see how this feels for a
sec O.K.?"

"But..."

"Just try to experience something new for once Alexander. Sheesh!"

Suddenly a faint voice came from somewhere down the hall. "Children! Time
for lessons!"

Alexander look terrified. "Hurry you have to put us back!"

"I'm sorry. I can't do it that fast. We will just have to find time later."

"I can't go out there dressed like this!" He said looking down at the tight
bodice of his dress.

"If you were not dressed in something like that you would look suspicious.
Remember you are me now. Don't fear, no one will suspect a thing. My
lessons today are all book learning and you are almost as far as me in that.
You know from our little practice sessions that I am better than you with
sword work so just get a move on before they find us." she replied calmly as
she moved out into the hallway and ran off.

He was barely able to move with fear as he closed the door to their secret
room and went down the hallway. Every step seemed strange to Alexander
although he noticed that he was not walking like a man at all. For some
reason his body just seemed to move in the normal feminine fashion that
Catherine always used. It was very strange. As he reached the end of the hall
the governess was waiting for him.

"Follow me milady. There has been a bit of a change of plans for you. Your
father needs to see you on an urgent matter."

Alexander entered his fathers chambers nervously. Normally he welcomed
any time he could spend with his Dad but this was not a normal day.
Catherine never really liked their father but he was the firstborn son and his
father's pride thus he was probably treated much better than her. Today
would be different however. He walked up and curtsied and knelt before his
father. Curtsied? He did it without thinking. Very strange.

His father cleared his throat and began, "My daughter, as you know, even
though you are thirteen I promised your mother I would not marry you yet."

"Yes father." He replied with head bowed.

"I fully intended to keep true to that promise. I, myself, had hoped that we
could keep you long enough to grow you into some more feminine habits and
to get you to quit running around with your brother. However it does not
look like this will be the case."

He looked up startled. I don't think Catherine is going to be very happy about
this, he thought.

"You may not know this but times have been rough for our family of late.
Some ventures and alliances have not gone well for us."

This news surprised Alexander. He had not heard of any of this before.

"However, an offer has come to my hands which will secure the future for all
of us. The High Lord Marshal, the Duke of Stanley himself, lost his wife
sometime back. He remembered having seen you on a visit here to the castle
about a year back and he was quite taken with you."

Alexander remembered the Duke of Stanley. It had been at faire time and the
Duke had come up to see some of the artistic performances the local area was
famous for. What Alex remembered of the Duke was not favorable. He was a
hard looking man of about 50 who drank heavily and was very abusive. He
remembered that the girl who was with the Duke (she must have been all of
14 or 15?) looked frightened every time he glanced her direction. This was
not good for Catherine; not good at all.

His father continued, "At any rate he has made a proposal of marriage and in
spite of my promise to your mother I feel I cannot turn it down."

As much as the news of Catherine's impending marriage disturbed him Alex
found it to be almost a strange sort of blessing; it gave him something to
worry about instead of thinking about being in this female body. The
afternoon was really not all that hard for him. He spent most of his time with
Catherine's tutor learning languages and he was decently good at that. Any
mistakes he made were just put off by the tutor as being accountable to
today's news. It seems word had spread to everyone in the castle except for
him and Catherine.

He finally saw Catherine again at dinner. He found it very strange to find him
sitting across from himself at dinner. By instinct he almost found himself
sitting at the table for the male children and soon really wished he could. It
was not just wanting his own body either; the male children were always
served first, they were allowed to talk and be jovial, and they also were able
to eat without having to tend to the younger children. Alex was less than
overwhelmed when he found it was his responsibility to feed and change his
6 month old brother. He mustn't neglect his 'womanly duties' his matron
chastised.

Knowing his sister he made sure he cornered her before she left the chamber.
If he let her leave now he would probably find himself spending another day
in this body.

"Catherine, can we go talk?" he whispered.

"Don't call me Catherine yet!" she hissed back. "Come on." She led him out
of the chamber and down one of the mostly deserted hallways.

"Can we change back now?" he asked.

"You sure you don't want to try things as me for a little bit longer? I think it
is fun."

"Of course you do. You don't have to change diapers. You don't have act
ladylike all the time. I have had enough of the girl thing, thanks."

"Oh come on, you haven't even scratched the surface of what life is like.
Isn't this a good learning experience for you?"

"Just give me my body back. You and I have more important things to deal
with anyway."

"What do you mean?" This peaked he interest. "Father told me today that he
plans to marry you. Marry you soon in fact."

She gaped. "To who?"

"The Duke of Stanley." He grimaced." You remember him from the faire?"

"God's yes! That is not good!"

"I am really going to miss you sis. You don't deserve this." She looked back
angrily. " I am not gone yet. I am not going to take this lying down either.
So, Father thinks he can just ship me off does he? He is going to learn that
his little girl is a force to be reckoned with!"

Alex did not like the look in her eye.

"Alex, I need your body for a couple more days." He started but she held up
her hand and stopped him. "Don't worry, you will get it back. You have
access to people and areas I don't. I need to stop this wedding and can only
do it with your help. You will help me won't you? It is only for a little
while..."

He just couldn't say no to her. "All right, but what do you have planned?"

"Just trust me", was all she said as she turned and bounded down the
hallway.

Completely at a loss as to what to do now, Alex went to the library and tried
to lose himself in a book. After a couple hours he knew it was useless having
only reached page 3. The one thought that kept haunting him was that
Catherine might not want to give him his body back. He knew she cared
deeply about him but she had a tendency to only think of herself until
something really disastrous happened. He did not want this situation to come
to that.

He thought to himself, 'what exactly is the situation?' He was in his sister's
body; that part was obvious. This didn't cause him as much problems as he
expected. He thought back to the incident with his father where he curtsied
and acted completely properly. Alex had also been carrying himself the way
his sister did all day. It seemed whenever he tried to think about how he
should act the information came to him. The only time he messed up was
when he was distracted and unfocused in the dining room.

He decided to put this to the test and tried to dredge up some information
from his body that only Catherine would know. He tried to think about what
she was planning when she cast this spell on him but the information did not
come. Right at that moment when he was trying to think however; some
strands of his hair were annoying him by getting in his eye and the
information about how to put his hair back up popped right into his head
Maybe that was the key. He was only getting information that he needed to
take care of himself, the how to's instead of the why's. At least he could take
care of himself and not stick out. That was good. As long as he thought
before he did things he was not going to embarrass himself. He still needed
more information, however. At that point he decided to get up and head for
the one place where he could find out exactly what was happening---the
secret room.

Alex had trouble staying awake through Catherine's chores that next
morning. He had spent the entire night reading some of the other books from
the hidden room. He was unable to put the books down once he found what
they contained; secrets of magic, unknown politics of the early kingdom, and
personal remembrances of the man who had made Alex family what it was.
He even found another copy of the spell Catherine had used to trade places
with him. That book was filled carefully away for future use, if necessary.

Being sleepy also dulled Alex' conscious mind enough that doing sewing,
embroidery, singing and all the other tasks that Catherine needed to do, came
almost perfectly to him. As long as he didn't concentrate too hard the spell
seemed to provide with everything he needed to know. He still felt incredibly
strange and unnatural doing all these feminine tasks but he was able to get through. He wondered how
Catherine fared as him. It must be the same for her, he imagined.

Catherine was having a great time being Alex. Everyone she came near
treated with a respect she had never before experienced. I guess people are
afraid to cross someone who someday will have the power over there life and
death, she thought. Maybe it was just being male. Either way it felt good!
She also loved the opportunity to practice sword play with a proper weapon
master. Once she had become accustomed to her new equilibrium the weapon
master even remarked that she was seeming stronger than normal today. Hah!
Wait till I get to rub that into Alex! She grinned.

It was almost hard for her to remember that she was not just having fun and
games but was trying to accomplish an important task. She was meeting with
all of Alex' teachers so that she could clear today and tomorrow to execute
her plan. If she failed she would be married to the most brutal man she had
ever met. The thought was not one she relished. However, so far, things
were going as planned. The teachers were very accommodating, it was Alex
she was afraid to confront. She wasn't sure how he would take her going off
in his body...

Alex spent the entire afternoon searching for Catherine to try to learn more of
what she had planned. He had hoped she had figured out something that
would keep her from getting married so she could give him his body back
and he was starting to feel that at least the first part of that was true. It was the
second part that was beginning to concern him.

Everyone of his teachers that Alex talked to, had told him that Catherine had
canceled the classes for that afternoon and for the next couple of days. She
had apparently told them all that she was being sent to meet the Duke and
escort him to the castle. Even more disturbing she had made preparations
with the stable hands to have a horse prepared and provisions for 5-6 days.
Worse than all of that, she had already departed!

This could only mean one thing; she had run off in his body and left him to
be married. Alex felt faint. Married....to a man no less! The Duke would
obviously expect children. That meant... No, he must calm down Alex
thought. Maybe he could still stop her. She had only left an hour ago, his
Father's best horseman could still catch her, he figured. He had never ratted
on his sib before but it was the only option.

The Duke of Beaufort paced his study deep in thought. He was finally having
a some good fortune after that little affair which nearly implicated him in the
assassination of key nobles of the realm and cost him his head. Then,
suddenly, his daughter comes to him and says that her brother had fled the
castle for parts unknown and must be stopped. It was not unusual in itself for
his daughter and son to be up to something; they almost always were. Yet
somehow he knew that this was different. The timing bothered him for one
thing. Why would his son try to leave the castle right after the marriage
announcement? It was also unheard of for Alexander and Catherine to work
against each other. It meant something and he had to figure out what.

At the very least it meant he must keep an eye on his children. He saw that
much immediately and put one of his men to the task of discretely following
his daughter. His son could stay locked in the tower for his disobedience in
leaving without orders. There was just one more precaution to take... the
plans for the wedding must be sped up.

The next few days were a nightmare for Alex. He had been there when
Catherine was brought in by Dad's riders. It was obvious to her that Alex had
played a role in her capture and thustly all she did was glare at him and said
nothing. He tried to visit her while she was locked in the tower but she
refused to see him. This also had the spin-off effect that he had to remain in
Catherine's body for a few more days.

The next day he also found out that the wedding had been pushed up and the
Duke of Stanley had been sent for. He was forced to spend all his time being
pricked and poked in order to fit and design the wedding gown. He felt like
his arms would fall off after having to hold them in the air and perfectly still
for what seemed like hours at a time. Worse than being without Catherine and
fitting the gown; he was forced to sit through a talk by his maidservant about
what he would have to do as a wife to please his husband. It felt like he
would explode from fear and embarrassment. Mercifully, it was not his
mother giving the talk or he would have never survived.

Now things had finally come to a head, the Duke of Stanley had arrived and
here he was to meet his future husband. As he walked through the door a
chill went through Alex' spine... he looked just as he remembered him.

"Hello milady" the Duke knelt and kissed his hand gently. "It is such a
pleasure to be in the presence of such a beauty."

Alex did not know how to respond. The smile and the sincerity in the voice
almost made Alex believe him. "Thank you Lord" he muttered weakly.

"I have already met with your Father and I felt it might be appropriate if we
got to know each other before the ceremony. Would you be willing to give
me a tour of the castle? I have been told you know it better than almost
anyone." he smiled.

"Me and my...uh...brother like to explore around."

"So I have been told. I would have liked to meet your brother as well but I
was told about his predicament. Of course I am sure you know all about it."

"What do you mean?" Alex replied inquisitively.

"I just have a feeling you and your brother know more than people might
think"

Alex looked up nervously.

The Duke winked back. "Don't worry I won't tell. You are to be my wife
after all, we need trust between us. Besides, I would love to hear your
observations." He moved closer and whispered into Alex' ear. "I don't trust
your Dad either."

Later that evening Alex felt he should try to make another visit to his sister.
He almost didn't want to; things had went so well he didn't want to spoil
them. The Duke of Stanley had turned out to be not at all as he had expected.
They talked and laughed and before the day was over Alex knew that he was
somehow a changed man. This was not the cruel man he had seen at the fair.
More than that he was someone you could confide in. Alex had discussed
much of his apprehension about the marriage and speculated on what
prompted his father into the rush marriage. The Duke listened to all of it. The
Duke told Alex how he had been changed by losing his first two wives. He
had been a hard man scarred by leading the nation through many military
campaigns and this had led him to be more cruel than was proper. When his
second wife died with child he realized that it wasn't worth this bitterness,
there were more important things in life, like family. He was just happy to
have another chance with her, he said. He also assured Alex that whatever
business his Dad had gotten into the Duke had the power to get him out.

Alex finally convinced his sister to talk to him and relayed all this to her. He
was sure that this would put her mind at ease but it didn't.

"You expect me to believe he has changed this much?" she asked Alex.

"But he has....."

"Look brother, I love you, but you have never been a very good judge of
character."

Alex began to tear up. "Love me, huh? How come you ran off and left me to
deal with your life and your marriage? I would never do that to you!"

"Hey! Calm down, calm down. I would never have left you to that."
Catherine put her arms around Alex to try and calm him.

"Then where were you going?" he asked.

"I was going to ride to Mom. She is the King's sister, if she wanted to put a
stop to this she could. I am sure she does not know about this; she would
never allow it."

"Mom? Really? I thought...."

"Look I understand. I should have told you what I was doing in the first
place. I guess I didn't realize how much stress this has been on you" She
hugged him closer.

"It's OK." he replied, "At least it is all over now. We can switch back can't
we? The marriage is safe now."

"No we can't switch back! First of all, I still don't trust the Duke and I would
like you to watch him a little closer. Secondly, you want to try drawing a
magic circle and doing a ritual here in the tower with guards looking in
periodically? Hope you like being burned as a witch!"

"But..."

"You just have to get me out of here first." "I'll try, but the wedding is in just
two days."

She smiled grimly, "Then I guess you better hurry."

Alex snuck downstairs into the kitchen. After talking to Catherine he needed
to think seriously and that required privacy. At times like that he always went
into his secret hiding place; a small crawlway, long forgotten, that linked the
kitchen and his Dad's study. Not even Catherine knew about it. He made
sure no one was looking and crawled in. He had barely made himself
comfortable when he heard voices coming from the study.

"Now that we have some privacy let's go over those plans." said the voice he
recognized as his Father.

"You realize as soon as I show you these plans you are officially involved in
all of this?"---that was Stanley.

"I was already involved when I agreed to give you my daughter."

Stanley laughed, "She is hardly worth considering. She will amuse me for a
time. I look forward to teaching her some lessons in obedience... after the
wedding of course. Keep her happy until then."

Alex froze with fear. This was bad.

"Thank god the child's Mother isn't here, she would be a problem. I don 't
know why I ever married the shrew."

"Because she was the King's sister of course. Speaking of which; were you
able to use her to get the information we wanted?"

"Yes, between your maps and my maps we should be able to orchestrate the
attacks in such a way as to leave the King helpless."

"Then let us get to it"

The time had come for Alex to act. Catherine was right; he was no judge of
character. He had almost allowed his sister to be married to a traitorous scum
like the Duke of Stanley and he had believed his Father cared about his
family. They were at the brink of disaster and it had to be stopped. That
meant he had to free his sister.

Alex crawled out of the passageway into the kitchen. He open the cupboard
and grabbed a brew that he knew the cook kept to keep himself out of it on
those long long nights. This should take care of the guards, he thought. As
he preceded up the stairs he failed to notice the man watching him from the
shadows.

There was a knock on the door of the study.

"My lord, I have a report on your daughter." came the voice of the guard.

The Duke of Beaufort could not believe he was being interrupted now! "What
in god's name do you want! It had better be important."

"You wanted me to report any suspicious moves by your daughter and I
believe I have seen one."

"What is it?

She trying to sneak food to her brother? What? Be quick!"

"Sir, I believe your daughter was spying on you from a passage next to this
room."

"What?!"

The guard entered and pulled open a panel in the wall. "She was in there a
few moments ago sir"

Stanley sighed. "My god she must have heard everything."

"Where is she now?"

"Sir, I left her to report to you."

"Find her and let me know as soon as possible."

Stanley interrupted, "Let me deal with her" He smiled.

It wasn't hard for Alex to get Catherine out of her cell but it certainly was
embarrassing. The only way that he could get close enough to the guards to
sneak the sleeping medicine into their drinks was to turn on a little "feminine
charm". It felt very disgusting to be pawed at and stared at by two creeps like
these but it had to be done. It really amazed him that even a girl barely out of
childhood could cause them to react so. He barely escaped with Catherine's
virtue intact.

Once they had lost consciousness he opened Catherine's cell and explained to
her everything he had heard and they agreed she needed to leave immediately.

Unfortunately for Alex, this meant yet more time in Catherine's body. It was
strange though, each time his stay was extended seemed to bother him less.
Perhaps he was getting used to being a girl; he hoped not.

Under cover of night Catherine knew she could get a fair distance before they
could ever pick up her trail. She would make it to her Mother this time. What
she didn't point out to Alex was that this meant he would have to take part in
the wedding. Since there was nothing they could do about it there seemed
little point in upsetting him.

"Make sure you let mother know how much danger she is in." Alex warned.

"Don't worry, I will tell her everything. I will be back as soon as I can."

They hugged and Catherine went out the window. As she left Alex
whispered, "I love you." and turned around in tears.

The Duke searched the castle for any sign of the girl. The first place he
looked was the tower, figuring she would run to her brother. Finding the
guards asleep and the prisoner gone did nothing to improve his disposition.
The girl would certainly pay for all of this.

He finally found her in the library. He dismissed the man at the door and
quietly moved up behind her as she read a book.

"So, milady; I think it is time we had a talk."

Alex looked up startled. He hadn't heard the Duke approach. He tried to get
up and move away but the Duke pinned him in the corner.

"I said we need to talk." There was a fierceness in the Duke's voice.

"I am sorry my lord. You just startled me."

The Duke bent down right in front of Alex' face, "You have good reason to
be startled. Where is your brother?"

"I don't know what you mean, sir..."

He grabbed Alex and slammed him against the wall. "I am through playing
games! It is time we were both honest with each other."

Alex felt a fear he had never felt before. The Duke's size and his grip were
overpowering. Even more than that, the Duke by virtue of his rank and his
gender could do whatever he wished to Alex and there would be only minor
repercussions. This was a sense of vulnerability so intense Alex did not
know if he could stand up to it; but he must. Everything depended on it.

"What do you want of me?" Alex stammered.

"I want you to tell me where your brother went and I want you to tell me
what you heard. Yes, I know you heard us."

"I did not know my brother left; but I am glad he did. I do not trust you or
Dad. I have no idea what you think I heard but I am sure it was bad." Alex
tried to muster as much dignity as he could.

Stanley grabbed Alex and pulled him in tightly. "I guess it does not matter
what you heard. You will be my blushing bride in just two days anyway."
He planted a fierce kiss on Alex. "I would kill you, but you still have
uses....little girl."

The kiss made Alex cringe. "We are not married yet so unhand me."

"I take what I want."

Alex could feel the breath on his neck, he could also feel the Duke's arousal
on his stomach. "A good daughter of the church would wait until marriage. I
fear if I did things...prematurely...I would have to confess it and then I
would no longer be worthy to marry you."

"Bitch!" The Duke slammed Alex' head against the wall leaving him seeing
stars. "You would risk the shame and shunning of such a confession?"

"There are many things I would risk to avoid you. I have no choice in the
end; but until that final moment you will not touch me!"

The Duke sneered, "Very well. Enjoy your two days. Then you are MINE!"

Catherine rode as she never had before. She continued all night at the fastest
pace she could maintain. On many occasions she almost rode into a ditch or
got hung up on low branches but too late would be worse than not at all.
Fortunately; her mother was nearby at the castle of her cousin the Earl of
Warwick. She rode in the gate at noon and collapsed from exhaustion.

When she awoke her Mother stood above her with a look of concern on her
face.

"Mom! Thank god! You must come immediately, Alex is in terrible danger!"

"Alex? When did you start referring to yourself in the third person?"

"Oh god! It's a long story Mom."

"It can't be that much of a rush. You just awoke from passing out so take
your time."

"Awoke? How long have I been unconscious?"

"About six hours..."

"No! We have to hurry. Get saddled up and I will explain on the way. Let's
just say that if we don't hurry the Duke of Stanley will be married to your
daughter and Dad will be guilty of treason."

Catherine's Mother looked seriously at her. "Your not kidding are you. I
knew my gracious husband was up to something when he sent me away but I
never expected this. Don't worry Alex, he will get more than he bargained
for."

Alex spent the next two days locked in his room. The Duke of Stanley knew
he could not touch her until the wedding but there was no way he was going
to give her free run of the castle. It was too much time for Alex to think. He
was stuck in an alien body and, as he saw it, doomed to a life that would be
short and miserable.

He had seen the violent side of Stanley and it was terrifying. He knew that at
best he would live to serve him sexually and maybe bear a couple children but
not much beyond that. The Duke only liked little girls and the power that he
had over them. As Alex aged the Duke would lose his temper at some point
and that would be it. It would be worse if the plan with his Father worked.
With Stanley as King not even his Mother's royal birth or the church itself
could or would protect him.

His only hope had been that Catherine would return with his Mother in time
to save him but that hope was fading fast. Here he was dressed in his
wedding gown mere moments away from becoming a bride. It is a nightmare
he could not have imagined just days ago.

The door opened. It was Catherine's chambermaid. "Are you ready milady?"
she asked.

"Can't you give me a bit more time?" Alex sighed.

"I am afraid not, milady. Your Father has sent two guards to escort you to the
hall."

"Very well. Send them in."

"I am so sorry. I wish there was something I could do..."

Alex felt lost, "It's OK, I don't think there is anything anyone could do
now."

The servant brought in the guards which immediately moved to either side of
Alex. He had no choice but to set out down the corridors to the castle's
gathering hall. Each step took away a little of Alex' hope and resolve. By the
time they reached the gathering Alex knew that he would not be able to resist
any longer. The Duke had won.

Alex' Father met him at the back of the room. "It is my task to give you away
my dear."

"Let's get this over with, please."

He took her arm. "Very well."

The local Bishop performed the ceremony. Throughout the entire event Alex
kept looking to see if his mother would come in and stop everything. It never
happened.

"And now before God I recognize you as man and wife."

Stanley swept Alex up in his arms and passionately kissed him to the
applause of the crowd.

Through the din he whispered into Alex ear. "There is no more escape.
Tonight you shall learn what your place really is."

To Be Continued....