The Potion

Gwendal glared across the table at Annisina. Childhood friend or not, he could quite cheerfully strangle the woman in front of him. He set down the teacup which he held halfway between the saucer and his lips and wiped his mouth on a napkin.

“You’ve poisoned me.” Gwendal stated, balling up the napkin and throwing it down the table. Annisina shook her head.

“No, no! It isn’t a poison. It’s more like a potion. You’ll come to no harm, I’m sure of it.” She leaned across the table and winked. “In fact, you might even enjoy it.” Gwendal scowled. He had been abused by Annisina throughout his life. She had set him on fire, blown him up, physically exhausted him more times than he could count and now she had poisoned him. She could claim it wasn’t a poison – just as she claimed she hadn’t tortured and tormented him on a near-daily basis since childhood, but Gwendal knew the truth.

“What symptoms can I expect this time?” he asked, resigned to his fate.

“Ah, well I’m not entirely sure yet.” Annisina giggled lightly. “I was aiming for something in particular, so with any luck…” she trailed off. Both Annisina and Gwendal knew that Annisina rarely had luck – not the good kind certainly – so no doubt what she had intended the potion to do and the actual result would be vastly different.

“What were you aiming for?” Gwendal though he may as well ask, after all if he knew what the potion was supposed to do he might be able to work out some of the possible effects. “Other than trying to poison me, that is,” he couldn’t resist the little dig.

“Ah-hah-hah. I just thought…I adore you Gwendal, but you’re so stuffy!” Annisina exclaimed. “You are! Don’t raise your eyebrow at me like that. All you ever do is work and when you’re not working you’re thinking about work. You need to loosen up a bit. Have a bit of fun. Relax and enjoy yourself. Focus on something else.” Annisina was aware she was babbling but she couldn’t help herself.

“Please Annisina,” Gwendal interrupted. “Get to the point?”

“It’s a potion to relax you. Sort of. It’ll make you feel good about yourself and you’ll want to have fun.” That didn’t actually sound too bad.

“How long will it last?”

“Twenty four hours. You look a little warm, is it kicking in?” Gwendal nodded. He did feel a little over-heated. Hopefully that would pass soon enough.

“Great!” Annisina clapped her hands. “Well, get going. Go and have some crazy fun, kid.” She hauled Gwendal to his feet and shoved him out the door.

“Have fun and remember, if you can’t be good, be careful!” she called out to Gwendal as he made his way along the hall.

He felt a little dizzy, but not in a bad way. It was more like the first stage of intoxication, a sort of fuzzy, warm, slightly muddled feeling. He giggled then stopped, clamping his hands over his mouth. It wouldn’t do if anyone spotted him staggering around the castle, giggling like a schoolgirl. No, the safest thing for the time being was to retreat to his study, and so that was exactly what he did.

“Gwendal. Hey, Gwendal.” Gwendal heard a voice in the distance and smiled. He wondered if it was one of the birds on the tree opposite his study window calling to him. He liked that idea. Maybe he should go and climb the tree to converse with the birds. He pushed open his window.

“Gwendal, are you listening?”

“I’m listening little birdy. I’ll be with you in just a moment.” He raised his leg to climb onto the ledge but was jolted backwards by a sharp tug to his sleeve.

“What’re you doing?” Yuuri stood in front of him, hands on his hips. “If you’re not careful, you’ll fall.”

“Yuuri!” Gwendal beamed, overjoyed to see the young king. “When did you arrive?” Gwendal threw his arms around the boy and pulled him to his chest, hugging him tightly.

“A few minutes ago. Why are you hugging me?” Yuuri asked, his voice full of concern and confusion. “You’re not normally so…”

“Tactile. Get your hands off my fiancé.” Wolfram drew attention to himself and eyed his brother angrily.

“Wolfram!” Gwendal dropped Yuuri like a hot stone and moved to embrace Wolfram. Wolfram neatly sidestepped his brother’s arms.

“Aw.” Gwendal pouted.

“Are you drunk?” Wolfram asked, sniffing the air to try to detect alcohol fumes.

“Nope. Annisina gave me a potion.” Gwendal whispered and winked conspiratorially. Wolfram and Yuuri looked at each other and nodded knowingly.

“Perhaps you’d better stay here while we pop off and see Annisina?” Wolfram suggested.

“Hmm, why don’t you pop off and Yuuri can stay here with me?” Gwendal advanced upon Yuuri and reached out to stroke his hair.

“I thing Yuuri would much rather come with me.” Wolfram said in a dangerous tone.

“No, he’d like to stay here with me.” Gwendal pulled Yuuri to his chest and nuzzled his neck.”

“Actually, Wolfram’s right. I’d feel safer with him.” Yuuri struggled in Gwendal’s arms. Gwendal wasn’t one to give up his prize that easily. He gripped Yuuri a little harder and kissed his cheek.

“Gwendal,” Wolfram growled. “Let him go.”

“Fine.” Gwendal released Yuuri, threw up his hands in surrender and turned his back on the other two. “You may both go now.” Gwendal’s tone sounded petulant. Shrugging his shoulders as if to say he didn’t care whether they stayed or left, he turned his attention once more to the tree. Yuuri and Wolfram glanced at each other then made a bolt for the door.

Conrad raised his eyebrow sceptically. Yuuri and Wolfram had cornered him in the garden and told him what had occurred.

“Really? An aphrodisiac?” he could hardly believe what he heard. “I know that Annisina has some crazy ideas but this is a little much, even for her.”

“She claims she didn’t know that it would act as an aphrodisiac, it was only when I told her about Gwendal pawing at me that she realised.” Yuuri blushed at the memory while Wolfram frowned.

“She is working on a cure right now, but it’s probably a good idea if we keep Gwendal away from people.” Wolfram flicked his glance meaningfully in Yuuri’s direction.

“I agree.” Conrad nodded.

“We sort of hoped you might be the one to tell him.” Yuuri said nervously. Conrad grimaced. The idea of facing Gwendal in his current state – assuming that Yuuri and Wolfram’s reports weren’t exaggerated – didn’t particularly appeal to him, but he had promised Yuuri long ago that he would do anything that the king ordered.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Conrad stood to leave. “But first, I’m going to pay a visit to Annisina.”

Conrad stood in the hall outside Annisina’s lab. He was shocked. Shocked, disturbed, worried and dreading facing Gwendal. Annisina had not only confirmed Wolfram and Yuri’s tale, but had added to it.

“I’ve run some tests on the potion. It would appear that I am unable to manufacture an antidote at this time.” Conrad had made the appropriate sympathetic noises, at which point Annisina shook her head.

“It gets worse. I seem to have miscalculated my ingredients and their combined affects. If consumed in a large enough dose, the potion could prove fatal.” Conrad asked Annisina how much Gwendal had consumed.

“A lot.” Annisina wrung her hands anxiously. “I’ll keep working on a cure, but right now it doesn’t look good.”

A few hours had passed since Gwendal’s consumption of the potion. Conrad put off going to see his brother. How did one break news like that? It wasn’t easy to just stroll into someone’s study and tell them they were going to die. Conrad sighed. He made his way from outside the lab to Gwendal’s study with heavy steps. There was nothing to be gained from putting off the inevitable and as he pushed the study door open, he braced himself for what was to come.

“Gwendal, I…” he might have though himself mentally prepared to give his brother bad news, however he was in no way ready for the sight which greeted him.

“Gwendal. What on earth are you doing?”

“Conrad. How delightful to see you. Would you care for some tea?” Gwendal indicated to the pot of tea which sat on his desk.

“No thank you, but I would like to know what that’s all about.” Gwendal pointed to the corner of the room where a guard sat, alternately giving Conrad pleading looks and glaring daggers at Gwendal. The cause of these looks was no doubt down to the fact that the guard was trussed and gagged.

“Him? Oh, he struggled too much so I had to restrain him.” Gwendal winked at the guard.” But don’t worry, I haven’t done anything to him. Yet. Would you like to join in?”

“Um, no thanks. I actually came to talk to you about a rather serious matter, so perhaps you could let the guard go free and then we can have a chat?” Conrad gestured at the helpless man. “And please, put some clothes on.”

Once Gwendal had reluctantly untied the guard and donned his trousers and shirt, he sat on the desk and listened to Conrad’s explanation.

“You’re saying I might die?” Gwendal fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, looking wholly unconcerned at the news.

“Yes. I’m sorry.” Conrad placed his hand on Gwendal’s knee in an effort to offer some comfort. Gwendal looked at the hand on his leg then covered it with his own.

“Ah, well I’ve faced death before. If that is what fate has in store for me, so be it. I’ve lived a happy life and I have no regrets.” Gwendal paused and squeezed Conrad’s hand. “Except for one but I don’t think it’s something you’d be able to help me with.” he sighed dramatically.

“What is it? Maybe there is something I could do.”

“I just wish,” Gwendal paused once more. “I wish I didn’t have to die a virgin.” Gwendal stifled a whimper and looked longingly at Conrad.

“Ah,” Conrad wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Despite his willingness to help, he was not in a position to offer his brother any assistance in this matter. His heart ached. The look on Gwendal’s face was so sad that he considered calling the guard back and ordering him to sleep with Gwendal, until a thought struck him. Unfortunately, that thought struck him at the same time as Gwendal stood, slipped his arm around Conrad’s waist and pulled him close.

“How about it then?” Gwendal pressed his cheek against Conrad’s and purred in his brother’s ear. “Want to help me out with this?” Gwendal snaked out his tongue and flicked it over Conrad’s earlobe. Conrad responded by brutally pushing his way out of Gwendal’s grasp.

“We’re brothers. This is totally inappropriate. And besides,” Conrad backed away from Gwendal and towards the door. “You’re not a virgin.” Conrad felt his back connect with the door, so whirled around and yanked it open. “I’ll go and see if Annisina has come up with anything new.” Conrad fled the study.

Gwendal gazed out of his window. This was his destiny, then? Death at the hands of Annisina and one of her experiments. It had a kind of inevitability about it, he supposed. He always had a sneaking suspicion that she would be the death of him one day. In truth, the thought of dying didn’t really bother Gwendal. As he’d told his brother, he had faced death many times before and there was always a slight chance that Annisina would come up with a cure. No, dying didn’t bother him. Dying alone on the other hand, that was what scared him the most. Dying before he could tell the one he loved of his feelings. Dying before he could be with the one he loved.

“I’ll do it.” Günter slapped his hands down on the table top and looked around at the others.

“Don’t be so hasty to volunteer yourself. Annisina, are you sure there is no other way?” Wolfram looked to the woman for an answer. She shook her head, sadly.

“No. I’m afraid not. We’re rapidly running out of time and this is the only answer I have so far. Maybe if we had longer I could come up with something else, but it’s already been twenty one hours since he drank the potion.” Annisina hung her head.

“Then we have no option but to try it?” Yuuri ventured.

The main household had gathered to discuss the implications of Annisina’s potion and Gwendal’s imminent demise. Annisina had been awake all night conducting experiments and forming potential antidotes. She had poured over notes and text books, desperate to find a way to save her friend, but to no avail. Eventually, Annisina came to the conclusion that no antidote could be found in time, but that there was one possible cure.

“Someone will have to satisfy Gwendal’s sexual urges. Wolfram, Yuuri and Conrad all reported that Gwendal appears to have an overactive libido. The logical conclusion is that if we can satisfy that, the potion will be neutralised and Gwendal will return to normal with no ill effects. All we need is a volunteer.” Günter had put himself forward for the job. Not only was this an excellent opportunity to prove himself willing to do all he could for the sake of the kingdom, it was also a chance for him to help out his closest friend and save his life. The others eventually accepted Günter’s argument and sent him on his way with pats on the back and wishes for good luck. On his way out, Conrad slipped a small bottle of oil into his hand and winked.

“You might find this comes in handy.”

Günter gave the bottle no more than a cursory look and shoved it into his pocket. He reached the door to Gwendal’s study and raised his fist to knock. It was then that he realised that he had never done anything like this before. Aside from a few kisses over the years and private moments with his fantasies, Günter had never actually been intimate with anyone. His courage threatened to leave him and quite possibly would have done if Gwendal had not chosen that moment to open his door.

“I could hear you panting.” Gwendal stated, somewhat breathless himself. “Made me feel quite hot and bothered. Would you like to come in?” Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Günter’s arm and yanked him into the room.

“Care to tell me what’s got you blushing?” Gwendal kept his hand on Günter’s arm, slowly rubbing it up and down.

“I’m blushing because I’m nervous. And because you’re stroking my arm.”

“Whatever are you nervous about?”

“I don’t want you to die so I’ve come here to have sex with you, but I don’t know what to do.” Günter blurted out.

“You’re going to have sex with me to save my life?” Gwendal quirked his eyebrow. “That is a delicious idea, but how does that work?” Gwendal allowed Günter to stumble and stutter his way through an explanation, not really listening to the other man. Instead, he worked on removing Günter’s outer clothing and rendering his upper half naked.

“And Annisina really thinks this might work so I volunteered to do it.” Günter finished, finally noticing that he was partially undressed. There was a short moment between his realisation and Gwendal’s mouth descending upon his lips to kiss him. And what a kiss! Gwendal cupped Günter’s cheeks in his hands and plundered his friend’s mouth. Günter felt weak at the knees. He had never been kissed like that before and wanted it to never end. Gwendal however, had other ideas. He broke off the kiss and walked to his sofa, sat down then pulled Günter onto his lap.

“I appreciate your offer,” he kissed Günter softly on the lips. “I’m not sure I can accept it, though.” Gwendal swallowed hard. Had it been anyone else coming to him with this offer, Gwendal would have happily accepted, given his current increased sexual desire. If only it hadn’t been Günter. Of all the people it might have been, why did it have to be the one person in the kingdom – in the world – for whom he had harboured a secret love for as long as he could remember.

“I don’t want you to die.” Günter felt strangely comfortable sitting there on Gwendal’s lap. It felt entirely natural for him to slip his arms around Gwendal’s shoulder and tilt his head so their foreheads touched. It was almost instinctual when he closed the gap between their lips and initiated a kiss. For a very long time, Gwendal had been the subject of Günter’s every daydream and fantasy. That was why he had jumped at the chance to do this for his friend. His only regret was that this would be a one-off.

“You’re a good friend,” Gwendal said when they pulled apart from their kiss. “But I can’t let you do this. Especially since you just said it would be your first time. You’re too good a friend for me allow you to go through with this just to save me.” Every fibre of Gwendal’s being rebelled against his words, and in his head he screamed that yes! He should be the one to share Günter’s first time.

Günter wriggled on Gwendal’s lap. He desperately wanted to tell Gwendal how he felt, but he didn’t want to put any pressure on the man or for Gwendal to think he had to reciprocate the feelings. Over the years, his adoration and love for Gwendal had grown nearly unbearable. When Yuuri first arrived, it gave Günter another outlet for his emotions. He did indeed love his king, but not in the same way as he loved Gwendal. How could he convince Gwendal that he volunteered for this, not because of loyalty to the king or to the land, but because he wanted to, without revealing the true extent of his feelings?

Günter wriggled and Gwendal bit back a groan. Gwendal very much wanted to take Günter up on his offer, but he knew that if he did once wouldn’t be enough. He would crave more and more of Günter. Even after sharing just a few kisses, he could feel his resolve weakening. He wanted Günter so much and for the first time in his life, he mentally cursed Yuuri for stealing Günter’s heart. It was all so terribly unfair. Yuuri would never return Günter’s affection, damming him – and Gwendal – to a life of loneliness.

“Don’t look so worried. It will be alright.” Günter kissed Gwendal’s neck. “Let me do this for you.” ‘In case I never have the chance again,’ he added in his thoughts.

Gwendal stroke down the soft skin of Günter’s back.

“Annisina might be wrong. I might not die after all, or this might not even save me.” ‘It could be my only chance.’ Gwendal mused. He looked up into Günter’s eyes and sighed.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you. You mean too much to me to ruin our friendship over this.”

“You mean a lot to me too, that’s why I want to do this. Please Gwendal, let me.” Günter winced at his whining, needy tone and tried to cover his embarrassment by once more initiating a kiss. He sucked Gwendal’s bottom lip, trying to convey his passion without betraying his feelings. He felt Gwendal’s fingers tighten on his waist and knew it to be an acceptance of his offer. As the kiss continued, both men softly whimpered and groaned as their hands roamed over the other’s body. Without breaking the kiss, Günter manoeuvred himself so sitting astride Gwendal’s lap rather than across it. Gwendal broke away from Günter’s mouth to kiss down his chin and neck, whilst fiddling with the clasp on Günter’s trousers.

“Maybe we should move somewhere more comfortable? Günter suggested. Gwendal bit down on Günter’s collar bone, and then whispered in his ear.

“Why move when we have everything we need right here?” he tugged at Günter’s trousers. “I could do with a hand here.”

Günter pushed himself off Gwendal with a smirk. Both men stood and undressed, all the time eyeing each other appreciatively. Gwendal’s gaze followed Günter’s hands when he pushed down his trousers, then hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear. He could see Günter’s erection, straining at the fabric, a damp patch forming as evidence of his arousal.

Günter noticed Gwendal watching him intently and decided to give him a bit of a show. He unhooked his thumbs and ran the tips of his fingers over his abdomen instead, lightly caressing his skin. Each stroke made his erection twitch in anticipation. He continued to stroke his stomach with one hand and moved the other down, dragging his thumbnail over his material covered shaft. The sensation made him hiss and throw his head back. He was so absorbed in the feeling that he failed to notice Gwendal moving forward.

Gwendal chuckled to himself when he heard Günter’s gasp of surprise. He knelt in front of Günter, grasped his underwear and yanked them down, exposing the hardened flesh. The gasp was nothing in comparison to the protracted groan Günter gave when Gwendal dipped his head and took the tip of Günter’s erection into his mouth and gently tongued the slit. He had longed to taste Günter like this for so long. He felt drops of pre-come on his tongue as he took as much of Günter into his mouth as possible, bringing his hands around to cup Günter’s buttocks.

It was a dream come true for Günter. Years of fevered fantasising in the comfort of his own chambers hadn’t prepared him for the reality of having Gwendal sucking him like this. It felt better than he ever could have imagined; the soft wetness of Gwendal’s tongue and the heat of his mouth combined, produced amazing sensations in Günter. He could feel his orgasm building and as much as he wanted to give into the pleasure, he didn’t want this to end too soon, so it was with great reluctance that he held Gwendal’s head still and pulled out of his mouth. He looked down at Gwendal, kneeling before him, pre-come and saliva glistening on his lips and thought he had never seen his friend look more attractive. Günter wanted so much more. He wanted Gwendal inside him, possessing him completely. He dropped to his knees in front of Gwendal and kissed the other man. He could taste himself on Gwendal’s lips and it further inflamed his desire.

“Take me, make me yours.” Günter murmured against Gwendal’s lips.

Those were the words Gwendal had dreamed of hearing for so many years. Günter was asking – practically begging – Gwendal to take him. It took all of his self-control not to flip Günter over and fuck him right there. He was determined though not only to make it memorable for himself but for Günter as well.

“I’ll have to prepare you. I need to find some oil.” Gwendal spoke between pressing small kisses to Günter’s lips and cheeks.

Günter recalled the small bottle Conrad had passed him earlier.

“I have some. Wait here.” Günter crawled over to where his clothes had been unceremoniously dumped and rifled through the pockets. He found what he was looking for and thrust it into Gwendal’s grasp. Gwendal gave him a questioning look.

“Conrad said I might find it useful.” Günter explained, a faint blush colouring his cheeks.

“He was right. Come here and lean over the sofa.” Gwendal positioned Günter on his knees in front of the sofa, his arms resting on the seat to prop him up. He then moved around behind Günter and opened the bottle.

“I’ll try my best not to hurt you. If you feel any pain, please tell me.” Günter nodded and bit his lip when he felt and oily finger slip into him.

Gwendal took his time preparing Günter, kissing and licking down his back to distract him from the fingers moving inside him. When Gwendal added a third finger, he felt Günter flinch. He held his hand still and stroked Günter’s hair, murmuring comforting words.

“I’m okay,” Günter whispered and pressed down onto Gwendal’s fingers to encourage him to continue.

Günter was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt to have Gwendal’s fingers inside him. Again, this was something he had tried on his own and again the reality of having someone else – of having the man he loved – do this was far superior. The better it felt, the more his patience waned. He wanted Gwendal inside him.

“Gwendal,” he gasped. “Hurry. I need you.”

Gwendal removed his fingers and judged Günter to be ready. He poured some oil onto his hand and slicked his erection. He positioned himself behind Günter but didn’t move. He felt as though he should say something, somehow mark the moment.

“Thank you for this, Günter. I know how much of a sacrifice this is for you and I want you to know I’ll never forget this.” Günter looked over his shoulder at Gwendal as he listened to the words his friend spoke. Even now, Gwendal appeared to be making it clear that he was only doing this because he had to. Günter’s mind was so absorbed with that thought he barely felt the tip of Gwendal’s penis enter him. When he felt the first twinge of discomfort, he wanted to cry out, to beg Gwendal to stop. He wanted this yes, but he wanted it to happen because of a shared love, not because it was a means to an end. He forced himself to stay quiet. It was no time to be selfish, especially when Gwendal’s life was at stake.

Gradually, Gwendal pressed into Günter feeling muscles contract around and squeeze his erection in a most delicious way. When he was fully sheathed inside his friend, he held still to give both himself and Günter a chance to adjust and calm themselves. He licked and nibbled the back of Günter’s neck, but stopped when he became aware of Günter’s lack of response.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Gwendal slid his hands up from Günter’s hips to his waist and embraced him. He rested his chin on Günter’s shoulder and tried to look at his friend.

“No, everything is fine. Please continue.” Günter dipped his head and turned away allowing his hair to form a curtain around his face so he could hide his emotions from Gwendal.

Gwendal withdrew then slowly pushed back in. He pressed his forehead against Günter’s shoulder and sighed.

“You feel so good. Better than I ever could have dreamed.” Gwendal whispered, continuing to leisurely thrust in and out of Günter.

“Have you?” Günter wondered aloud. “Have you dreamed of this?” he felt Gwendal’s arms tighten around his waist.

“More times than I can count. I’ve wanted this for so long.” There. He’d said it. Gwendal hoped that Günter wouldn’t pull away in disgust at his confession. To his relief and delight, Günter raised his head and twisted around so he could kiss Gwendal hungrily. Gwendal responded in kind and quickened his thrusts. He reached down to take Günter’s erection in his hand and stroked it in time to his thrusts.

“Ah!” Gwendal thrust sharply into Günter, making him gasp. Gwendal took advantage of Günter throwing his head back in pleasure to latch onto his neck, licking, sucking and nipping.

“Gwendal,” Günter panted. “Stop. Please.” Gwendal immediately halted his movements, alarmed.

“What’s wrong?” Was Günter having second thoughts after Gwendal’s confession? Was he in pain? Gwendal pulled out gently and Günter sagged in his arms.

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything feels so right.” Günter pushed himself up onto the sofa and sat back. He motioned for Gwendal to move forward.

“I want to be able to look at you,” Günter smiled.

Gwendal lifted Günter’s legs and hooked them over his hips. Günter immediately wrapped his legs around Gwendal’s body and urged him closer.

Günter waited for Gwendal to make himself comfortable and groaned in delight when Gwendal started to thrust into him again. Their faces were barely an inch apart and their noses bumped every time Gwendal thrust forward.

“You’re beautiful like this.” Gwendal couldn’t help but comment on his friend’s beauty. Günter’s cheeks were pink and his breaths came in short gasps between blood-red and swollen lips. His long hair fell onto his face and Gwendal pushed it aside. He wanted nothing to inhibit his view of Günter’s eyes.

“You’re beautiful all the time,” Günter retorted, lifting his hips to meet Gwendal’s thrusts. His heart thumped in his chest and his stomach flipped when Gwendal grinned at him and once more took hold of his erection.

No more words passed between them as they concentrated on their mutual pleasure. Gwendal moved faster, driving into Günter whilst simultaneously jerking him. He was determined that Günter should come first. He dropped his head and teased Günter’s nipples and chest with his teeth and tongue. The extra attention clearly did the trick as he felt Günter stiffen beneath him then felt his erection pulse and release.

To be brought to orgasm by Gwendal was the realisation of all of Günter’s romantic hopes and dreams. His orgasm was longer and more intense than any he had ever experienced before. This truly was the climax of his life and he couldn’t help but vocalise his feelings. Without thinking, he arched his back, dug his fingernails into Gwendal’s shoulders and professed his love.

“Ah, Gwendal – yes. Yes! Aaah, I love you so much.”

Gwendal almost missed the cried-out confession; he was so intent on watching Günter’s expression. His eyes were tightly shut and Gwendal thought he looked magnificent in his climax. Then he cried out the words Gwendal had longed to hear.

“You love me? You love me!” Gwendal repeated what Günter had said, the reality of the words hitting him and tipping him over into his own release. He shuddered against Günter, emptying himself into his friend and when he was spent, he collapsed against Günter.

“Please, tell me you meant what you said.” Gwendal asked, fearing the answer.

“I did. I’ve wanted to tell you that for so long.”

“I’ve wanted to hear it for so long.” Gwendal turned his head and kissed Günter lightly on the lips. “I love you too.” He pulled out of Günter and moved up to slouch beside him on the sofa. Gwendal pulled Günter into an embrace and stroked his hair.

“If this worked and I don’t die, will you be with me forever?”

Günter thought his heart would burst at Gwendal’s softly spoken and nervous question.

“Yes. Yes, of course.”

“Good,” Gwendal nuzzled Günter’s neck. “Would you like to rest for a while?” Günter nodded against Gwendal and the pair of them stiffly stood, shook out their tired limbs and redressed.

“How long before we know if this worked?” Gwendal asked.

Günter looked at the clock on the bookcase.

“Within the hour.” Both men left Gwendal’s study and made their way through the halls of the castle to his chamber, leaning against each other and holding hands.

A face peeped around the corner as Gwendal and Günter disappeared into a room. Annisina smiled smugly to herself.

“Hah. I knew it would work. As if I don’t know exactly what my potions do.”

“So there was never any chance of him dying?” Wolfram scowled at the woman.

“From an aphrodisiac? Definitely not!” she laughed. ‘At least, I don’t think so,’ she added in her head.

The end.