The day was hot and the sun was very bright and high in the sky. The Great River sparkled like sapphire, and the well-tended fields of wheat and barley shone like gold. It was the height of summer and the sweltering heat had sent most people indoors into the cool shade but out here in the countryside and farmlands, beyond the ancient capital, there were at least two people who were revelling in the warmth and sun.

Alya laughed joyously, her head tossed back as her long raven hair streamed behind her as the wind rushed past her, cooling her quite pleasantly in the sweltering heat. Beneath her, her roan stallion, a thorough-bred racing horse, surged and strained as he galloped along the bank of the Great River his flanks slick with sweat from the heat and the exertions of the race, “Catch me if you can!” Alya called back, turning her head with a flashing grin and silver laugh.

“Your horse is fast, but mine is a champion!” Talan replied with a fiercely competitive gleam in his grey eyes his own black stallion chasing after Alya, trying to pull ahead in their impromptu race, “You’ve not won yet!”

The pair raced along the riverbank out of sight of the heavily-travelled Great Western Road and further still from the ancient and vibrant city where they lived. This was one of the rare days when there was not some court function to attend or lessons from their tutors on history and politics, philosophy and law. Today was one of the rare days when they could just have fun and be themselves without any thought of rank or formality.

They came to a slight bend in the river where a copse of trees grew. They slowed as they came beneath the ancient oaks and proud birch trees following the river until they found a small secluded creek that was shielded by trees and far from prying eyes. The horses were tired and both riders were exhilarated by the chase. Alya slipped off of her horse with a grin, “I win!”

Talan shook his head, “You cheated by coming in here, there’s not enough room to overtake you.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed, “Can’t handle being beaten by a girl?”

“Alya… I’ve known you long enough to realise that there’s no shame in being beaten by you,” he replied, “You often use magic to cheat.”

She gave him a mock-shocked look, “I would never stoop to using the sacred arts for so trivial a thing.”

He gave her a sceptical look and shook his head, “If you say so.”

She rolled her eyes and looked over her horse, “Aw, poor dear’s worn out… we raced these two hard today.”

“We’ll rest them a bit before heading back,” he suggested.

She nodded, “A good idea.”

They tied the horses to some trees, but left enough slack for them to move and graze freely, they also brushed the sweat and foam from the horses’ flanks with brushes from their packs. Once the horses were brushed and watered the pair sat near the creek, enjoying the warmth of the sun tempered by the shade of the trees.

“By the gods it’s so hot today…” Alya said with a frown, “I feel like I’m being roasted…. Mhm… I know how about we go for a swim to cool off?”

Talan twitched an eyebrow, “We didn’t bring any swimming clothes.”

“So? We don’t really need them. It’s not like we’ve not done it before,” she replied.

“Not for a long time… since we were children,” he pointed out.

She shrugged, “Well there’s no one around, all the way out here, and I don’t see any problem.” She stood up and glanced down at him, “I’m going for a swim whether you join me or not.”

With that she slipped out of her shoes and pulled the simple white sundress she’d been wearing over her head and letting it fall to the ground, leaving her wearing only the chest-wrappings that bound her breasts and kept them out of the way and some silken panties. Her skin was smooth and unblemished, pale as alabaster, the eye drawn by gentle lines and curves to all the right places. She made her way towards the water’s edge, her shapely rear swaying almost hypnotically as she entered the water. Alya gasped at the cold, though she paid little heed to her nipples hardening from the cold water to stand prominent beneath the cloth that bound her breasts.

Talan sighed and shrugged, “I may as well join you.” He stood up and removed his shirt and trousers until soon he was bare-chested and standing in only a boxer-like garment made of cotton. His body was lean and sculpted with subtle muscle, honed by years of training with the sword and of riding horses in races and hunting. He stepped into the cool water and waded to the deeper parts of the creek, “Well… it is nice and cool…”

Alya soon followed with a grin, “Much nicer than boiling alive,” she agreed, wading out to him.

“Thank god there’s no one around to see you like this,” he commented.

“Imagine what my father would say!” She laughed, before taking on a stern tone, “Alya, that is no way for a child of the Aseni to act, and certain not my eldest daughter.

You will lead House Asen when I am gone, you must accord yourself with dignity and decorum, not act like some peasant girl!”

“Exactly, much like what my father would say. I’m the Heir of the Talri after all," Talan said with a roll of his eyes.

Alya bowed mockingly, “Your highness, cavorting around half naked in a creek with a girl. How unbecoming.”

“You’re a noble girl, it doesn’t count,” he replied glibly.

“Oh? I don’t count? Oh, to be dismissed so easily… the Rose of Asenmar spurned!” she said dramatically.

“Oh hush, you’ll recover.”

Alya turned away from him and huffed, heedless of the fact that she was practically baring her arse at him with the movement, “For all your noble birth, you are little more than an ill-humoured peasant. Making such jokes of a lady!”

Talan tore his eyes from her firm, rounded buttocks with a red face, glad she’d had her back turned so she wouldn’t notice him staring, “Forgive me, how can I make it up to you?”

She turned round with a mischievous grin, “A massage once we’re out of this creek and I want to be waited on, hand and foot, when we get back. For three days.”

He choked back a laugh, “Alya… you’re the daughter of the second most powerful man in the kingdom. You’re already waited on by a score of maids.”

“But not by a prince,” she replied, “Think of how much I could brag, that the Heir to the Imperial Throne should be my servant.”

“Why would I lower myself to being your slave?”

“Because, Talan dear, I am a beautiful woman and despite your high station… you’re just a man. You can surrender now, or later. I suggest saving yourself some humiliation,” she replied.

He shook his head, “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

She grinned, “Is that a challenge, Highness?”

His eyes narrowed, but then he smirked, “Sure, go ahead. Do your worst.”

She chuckled, “I warned you…” And then her whole demeanour changed, she suddenly looked confident, her eyes smouldering and low as she waded closer to him, her hips swaying slowly, she placed her hand on his chest and almost purred, “You have no idea what you’re getting into, my dear friend. I don’t show mercy.”

He was caught totally off-guard, he took a step back, his cheeks reddening, and managed to slip on something and fell on his backside in the creek. Alya laughed softly, “Graceful as ever my lord,” she bent down to help him up, giving him a good view of her breasts pressed together by the cloth that bound them. She pulled him to his feet and grinned, “Besides I won our little race so you owe me.”

The glimpse of her perfectly formed breasts held tight together, a hint of her hard nipples straining against the fabric, had had an unexpected effect on him. He’d always known that she was beautiful, desirable. The number of suitors that had tried to claim her hand was testament to that fact even if someone was too blind to see the evidence staring them in the face. She was not known as the Rose of Asenmar for nothing.

But he’d never thought of her in a sexual way, they were friends after all and had known each other since they were in the cradle. But suddenly he realised that he was half-naked in front of a beautiful woman who was wearing very little at all. Predictably his manhood rose to the occasion and started to harden.

His expression must have been strange because Alya tilted her head and giggled, “You’ve gone all funny Talan, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. Nothing at all.” He said quickly, turning away from her, “Uh… must be the heat.”

“The creek not cooling you down?” She asked, wading up behind him, she hugged him from behind, “Aw, poor Talan. Your skin really is hot. You must be boiling alive.”

The feel of her warm, wet body pressed into his back, especially her soft breasts and the feel of her hard nipples poking him did nothing to help the poor young man, “I’ll… um… I’ll be fine. We should just… swim.” The gods help him. His cock had never been as hard as it was at that moment. He just prayed she wouldn’t notice it or he’d be humiliated.

“Why don’t we get out of the water? Hey, maybe you can give me that massage you owe me.” Alya said with a grin, trying to turn him around to face her.

Without the water to hide his erection he’d be discovered for sure. Talan was desperately trying to force his cock to soften by sheer willpower, but the thought of being able to touch and rub Alya’s body wasn’t helping matters. She was surprisingly strong and he found that he couldn’t escape her grip as she dragged him back to the bank of the creek…