The ambush came at dusk.
Maeve had been riding just half a length behind Juliana when the trees exploded with movement. Arrows cut through the air. Men in dark leather poured onto the road. The rest of the escort barely had time to draw their swords.
Maeve moved on instinct.
She spurred her horse forward, grabbed Juliana's reins, and yanked the princess's mount off the path.
Steel flashed.
Someone screamed. Maeve cut down two attackers before her horse took an arrow in the neck and collapsed.
She hit the ground hard, rolled, and came up with her sword already swinging.
By the time the fighting ended, the road was quiet in a way that felt wrong.
Maeve stood over the last body, breathing hard, blood running down her arm from a shallow cut. When she turned, only one other person was still standing.
Juliana.
The princess was pale, her long light-brown hair tangled, a thin line of blood on her cheek.
Her riding dress was torn at the sleeve. She was staring at the bodies with wide eyes.
"Maeve…" she whispered.
"I'm here." Maeve crossed the distance quickly and took Juliana's face in her hands, checking for injuries. "Are you hurt?"
"No. Just… everyone else."
Maeve looked around once. None of the other escorts were moving. She swallowed the anger and grief and forced her voice to stay steady.
"We can't stay here. More may come."
They left the road and pushed into the trees. Maeve kept Juliana close, one hand on the hilt of her sword.
Every sound made Juliana flinch. Maeve stayed alert, but something else was already starting to bother her.
The curse.
It usually stayed quiet if she kept her thoughts disciplined. Tonight it was waking up hard.
Heat pooled low in her stomach. Her cock, hidden beneath the tight bindings she always wore under her armor, began to swell despite her efforts to ignore it.
The blood, the danger, the closeness of Juliana, it was all feeding the curse.
She gritted her teeth and kept walking.
After nearly an hour, Juliana stumbled. Maeve caught her around the waist before she could fall. The princess's body was soft against her. Full breasts pressed briefly against Maeve's chest.
The scent of her hair hit Maeve like a blow. The curse surged in response. Her cock stiffened further, straining painfully against the bindings.
Maeve let go faster than she meant to.
"Sorry," she muttered.
Juliana looked up at her, cheeks flushed from cold and fear. "It's alright. You've always caught me."
The words were simple. They still hit Maeve harder than they should have.
She had loved her for years. Loved her in the quiet, desperate way of someone who knew she could never speak it aloud.
Juliana was a princess. Maeve was a knight with a body that would disgust her if she ever saw it.
They found a small clearing with enough cover to rest. Maeve built a low fire and sat with her back against a tree, sword within reach. Juliana sat close, knees drawn up.
"You could have run," Juliana said quietly. "You could have left me."
....
"No. I couldn't."
Juliana was silent for a moment. Then she said, "I'm glad it was you. If it had to be anyone… I'm glad it was you."
Maeve's hands curled into fists. The curse throbbed in time with her heartbeat. Her cock was fully hard now, trapped and aching. She shifted, trying to ease the pressure without drawing attention.
Juliana noticed the movement. "Are you hurt?"
"No." Maeve's voice came out rougher than she wanted. "Just… the adrenaline."
Juliana studied her face in the firelight. There was something soft and searching in her expression.
For a moment it looked like she might say more. Instead she only nodded and moved a little closer to the fire.
Maeve stared into the flames and tried to breathe through the heat building in her body.
The curse was getting stronger. She could feel it pushing at her control, whispering that Juliana was right there, soft and warm.
She closed her eyes and forced the thoughts down.
They would walk again at first light. She would get Juliana to safety. She would keep her hands to herself and her secret hidden.
She had done it for years.
She could do it one more night.
Even if the curse was starting to make that promise feel thin.
...
They walked until the sun was high.
Maeve kept them moving at a steady pace, stopping only when Juliana needed water or a moment to rest. The forest gradually thinned.
By early afternoon they found a narrow stream and followed it.
Maeve's body was still tight with leftover tension from the night before.
The curse had not faded. If anything, it had settled deeper, a constant low heat that made every glance at Juliana feel dangerous.
Juliana had been quiet most of the morning. When she finally spoke, her voice was careful.
"You were restless last night."
Maeve kept her eyes on the path.
"Just watching for danger."
....
"It didn't sound like that."
Maeve didn't answer. She adjusted the strap of her sword and kept walking. The bindings under her clothes felt tighter than usual. Her cock had been half-hard since dawn, and the constant pressure was starting to wear on her focus.
Near midday they reached a small rocky overhang that offered shade.
Maeve checked the area, then nodded for Juliana to sit.
She stayed standing, one hand resting on a tree, trying to keep distance.
Juliana watched her for a long moment.
"Maeve. Look at me."
Maeve turned.
Juliana's expression was serious.
"Something is wrong. You've been different since the attack. Tense. Like you're in pain."
"I'm fine."
"You're not." Juliana stood and stepped closer.
"You've protected me for years. You don't get to shut me out now."
Maeve's control slipped for half a second.
The curse pushed hard at the same time. Heat flooded her lower stomach.
Her cock swelled fully, straining against the bindings hard enough to hurt. She turned away sharply.
"Don't."
Juliana grabbed her wrist. "Talk to me."
Maeve tried to pull free.
The movement made her lose balance for a moment.
Juliana steadied her, hands on her arms, and in the shift Maeve's body pressed too close. Juliana went still.
Her eyes dropped.
The thick outline was impossible to miss. Even through the layers of clothing and the tight bindings Maeve used, the shape of her cock stood out clearly against her hip and thigh. Long. Heavy. Unmistakable.
Juliana's breath caught.
Maeve stepped back so fast she nearly stumbled.
Shame and panic hit at the same time.
"I can explain," she said, voice rough. "It's not— I didn't mean for you to—"
Juliana didn't look disgusted. She looked stunned, then something softer and more complicated.
"How long?" she asked quietly.
Maeve closed her eyes.
....
"Since I was born. The curse marked me early. I've hidden it from everyone. Including you."
Silence stretched between them.
Juliana's voice was unsteady when she spoke again. "All these years… you thought I would turn away from you."
"Yes."
"You idiot."
Maeve's eyes opened in surprise. Juliana's face was flushed, but her gaze was steady.
"I've been in love with you since we were sixteen," Juliana said. "I touched myself thinking about you. I hated every man my father suggested because none of them were you.
And you were hiding this because you thought I would be disgusted?"
Maeve stared at her, unable to form words.
The curse surged violently at the confession. Her cock throbbed so hard it made her dizzy. Juliana's eyes flicked down again, then back up.
This time there was heat in her expression.
"Show me," Juliana said.
Maeve's breath left her. "Juliana—"
"I'm not asking out of fear. I'm asking because I want to see all of you."
For a long moment Maeve didn't move.
Then her hands went to her belt.
She unfastened her armor piece by piece, then the inner bindings she had worn for years.
When the last layer came free, her cock sprang upward, thick and heavily veined, the length comparable to her own forearm, curving slightly toward her stomach.
Juliana's lips parted.
She stepped closer without hesitation.
One hand rose, then stopped just short of touching.
"Can I?"
Maeve gave a single nod.
Juliana's fingers wrapped around the shaft. Her hand looked small against it.
She stroked slowly once, feeling the heat and the weight. Maeve's hips jerked. A low sound tore from her throat.
"You're burning up," Juliana whispered.
"The curse," Maeve managed. "It's worse when I want someone. When I want you."
Juliana's eyes lifted to hers.
Then she sank to her knees.
Maeve watched, heart hammering, as Juliana leaned in and pressed her lips to the underside of the shaft.
She kissed along the length, then opened her mouth and took the head inside.
The wet heat made Maeve's knees weaken.
Juliana sucked carefully at first, tongue moving, then took more, working her mouth deeper with clear intent.
Maeve's hand settled in Juliana's hair, not forcing, just holding.
The sight of the princess on her knees, lips stretched around her cock, was almost enough to undo her.
Juliana pulled back just long enough to say, "I want this. I've wanted you."
Then she took Maeve into her mouth again, deeper this time, and Maeve let her head fall back against the rock, breathing hard, the curse and years of suppressed longing finally given somewhere to go.