Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 08:45:37 +0200
From: A.K. <andrej@andrejkoymasky.com>
Subject: "The Free Commune of Silvana" 4/6 (Historical - fantasy)

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THE FREE COMMUNE OF SILVANA
by Andrej Koymasky (C) 2006
writen on March 7, 1995
translated by the Author
English text kindly revised
by Bill

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USUAL DISCLAIMER

"THE FREE COMMUNE OF SILVANA" is a gay story, with some parts containing
graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land, religion,
family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be better
not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU don't
care, or because you think you really want to read it, please be my
welcomed guest.

-----------------------------

CHAPTER 4 - Prince Hawthorn invades Silvana for six months. Gentle's
heroism. New dangers

On year 4 Fl LXVII Prince Hawthorn O'Tower, who had conquered the Texts'
territories of Richton, entered with his army into Silvana territory and
conquered its four fortresses. The Regency with all the soldiers that
succeeded in escaping from O'Tower, took refuge in Garden Castle. On
this occasion the Regency stipulated a pact with the O'Villas of
Breadmount. In fact they understood that the Commune could not oppose by
itself such a big and well armed army.

Prince Hawthorn was well known for his cruelty, his dissolute and
pleasure-seeking life. In the first decree he issued after conquering
the Commune, he declared that all the boys in the age of the Fruit
belonged to him and had to be ready to give themselves to him for his
pleasure. The episode we will later narrate shows how strong the pride
of the young Silvanites was; the majority flew to Garden, others opposed
giving themselves by being imprisoned and some with their lives; very
few were those who subjected themselves to the Prince's greed.

Hawthorn's rule over almost all the Commune territory, lasted exactly
six months. In fact the Great King sent his troops against the Prince,
who had to leave the Commune in a hurry to protect his seat in Braveton.
In his flight he dragged with him the few youths that had given
themselves to him, and nothing else was never heard of their destiny.

The Commune and Breadmount Lord fought side by side with the troops of
the Great King, who recognized their respective dominions. The Great
King offered to the Commune some territories bordering Braveton and
Kindton beyond Swift river, but the Commune, thanking him, didn't
accept. Therefore the Great King sent them as a gift and a gesture of
thanks, many weapons and much gold.

Gentle's story, a seventeen year old boy, happened in this occupation
period.

Gentle was brought in front of Hawthorn and the Prince, stunned by his
great beauty, ordered him to undress and to go to wait for him in his
bed.

Gentle answerd, "You have no rights on me; neither you nor any living
being. How can you just presume you can order me to do such a thing?"

Hawthorn burst out in laughter, "How can you say I have no rights? I
have the right coming by my strength. This land now belongs to me,
therefore also any and every thing that stands or lives on it. Hence,
you too are now mine."

The youth shook his head, unworried, "You are a thief, a marauder and
you will be punished for this. You say I belong to you, but you are
wrong. No free man belongs to another man. You can steal my body, my
life, not my freedom."

Hawthorn said, "It is just your body that I want; what use can I have
for your freedom? I cannot have your freedom in bed with me and enjoy
it!"

Then Gentle said, "If it's only my body you want, you can also take it,
as you are stronger than me."

"Good, I see you understood; so, then, undress yourself, and I will take
you here, in front of everybody, so you will learn not to oppose my
orders!"

"I will do as you ask, Hawthorn, I will strip myself here, in front of
you and  your men, but I will not rid myself of my clothes, but of my
life. A body you want, a body I leave to you," he serenely said and
extracting a dagger from its scabbard, he immersed all of it into his
heart before any of the attending people could have time or a way to
stop him. He fell on the ground without a wail.

Hawthorn bent over him, raising his head from the ground; Gentle was
still alive. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"You wanted my body: take it, here, in front of everybody as you said.
Be a man of your word, take me." He said with a smile, and breathed his
last.

Hawthorn stood up, his face pale, "Take him away!" he only said.

His soldiers raised Gentle with care and respect and took him outside.
They went down to Flowerfield and deposited him amongst the flowers.
Then the Brothers and the Friends came, dug a grave and, wrapping him
with their mantles, as they had no time nor means to make a coffin, they
buried him.

When Hawthorn had to flee away from Silvana, they went back to the place
of the temporary sepulchre. They exhumed him; his body was intact and
was fragrant like flowers. They put him in a wooden coffin, buried him
again in the same spot and built on his grave a monument representing a
young man lying on the ground, with a dagger embedded in his heart. On
the dagger hilt there is a gold sun with sixteen rays, the symbol of
freedom. Gentle's face is suffused with a sweet smile and his eyes are
turned towards the point where, behind the Cliff, each morning the sun
arises.

On 6/3/4 Se LXVIII (1393), the Commune faced a new invasion attempt. The
new Lord of Richton, Nut O'Valley and the captain of the Great King in
charge of Braveton, reached an agreement and, during the night entered
Silvana territory with two columns of soldiers, with the intent of
climbing Blazing Mount and canceling the ancient freedom of the
territory. One of the columns, bypassing Weir, took the road from
Richton and the other column crossed the Swift river between Serene and
Lilvalley.

But on that night an unforeseen snow blizzard happened with great
violence and the second column was lost in Mines territory, unable to
find their way back. The other column, that was going along a more
smooth road, went on without problems, albeit more slowly than planned.
Going around Borough, they went up to the Valley gate and were preparing
to climb the Cliff, when some stray dogs started to furiously bark. The
sentries, amazed by that unusual furious barking of several dogs
together, went to the parapet and looked down and became aware of the
attempt, so they launched the alarm signal. The defenders of the four
castles of Silvana, and also those of Livewaters, Borough, Serene,
Lilvalley and Woods armed themselves and approached this column between
two fronts, forcing it to disband and flee away.

While running away, they met the men of the other column and told them
that the surprise had failed, therefore also these soldiers, lost and
tired, went away back across the borders. But on the field they left
eighty-four dead, while the defenders didn't count any victims. To
celebrate the escaped danger, outside Valley gate was erected a monument
to the pack of dogs (and not wolves as some tourist guides say) howling
on a snowy field.

Around Silvana walls, in the mean time, several Friends' houses had been
built, mainly those of artisans, so that, to also protect those houses
from a possible attack and at the same time provide a further defence to
the complex of the four main castles, the Commune decided to build a
second town wall. It goes from the confluence of the two small rivers of
Livewaters and Silvan, which is the one that springs from the Founder's
house where the hot and cold waters mix, to the Livewaters castle; it
then turns to the boundary with Terraces territory, under Sunsweet
castle, runs along the Road including Flowerfield and, continues
running along the Road, then once more joins the wall at the confluence
of the two rivers. On this second wall there are only three gates: the
Plain gate on the road leading to Richton, the Woods gate on the road
that from Borough leads to Temple, and the Sun gate leading to Woods and
Garden.

This same year the Castle Guard is formed, to outfit this army unit.
They wear a green jacket and red breeches, have a red drum-shaped hat
with long white feathers softly going down to the left shoulder. They at
first were armed with crossbows and, several generations later, with
bayonet rifles. The Castle Guard has patrol dogs and they have to sleep
in special lodgings built within the new wall.

Six years later, on l'1 Fl LXVIII (1399), the Commune undergoes a new
invasion attempt that is repelled with great difficulty after eight days
of bloody battles, where for the first time the women are also armed to
defend the territory's freedom. Then the commune renews a pact of
"perpetual alliance and absolute protection" with Breadmount Lord,
engaging both territories to a reciprocal rescue in case of attacks or
invasions.

But on 2 Se XLIV (1431), the last Lord of Breadmount dies. As he had no
heirs and he was married with the youngest daughter of the Great King,
his territory is included in the kingdom. Fearing, and with a good
reason, new attempts to be annexed, the Regency sends to Royalton a
delegation to ask guarantees. The Great King partially agreed to the
Regency requests, but he imposed two conditions: every other year the
Commune had to send a thousand soldiers to his army and each year the
Commune had to send to the State Treasury three thousands measures of
fine gold or an equivalent amount of goods.

The Regents managed to obtain two things: that the thousand soldiers had
to form a special corps and would never be dispersed in the royal army
under any pretext and that the payement to the State Treasury would be
defined as a "gift". This had the advantage of not declaring the Commune
subject or tributary to the kingdom, but that was enough for the prudent
and wise Regents.

-------------------------------------------------

Moral decadence of the Commune. The reforms. Rebirth of the Commune

But gradually, the Commune life decayed. Once the external dangers were
ended, the Commune withered under the weight of internal discord, of
moral decadence, of administrative corruption. The Council and the Forum
were unattended. Public education was neglected. The asylum right had
crowded the territory with common criminals. Justice, as with other
public offices, didn't function because of lack of means, caused by the
heavy yearly "gift" the Commune had to send to the Great King.

In this period was written Lilbold's story, well illustrating to which
point the morals of the proud Commune had lowered.

Lilbold was a Brother teaching at Woods. An evening, while he was making
love with his companion Bull, said, "It has to be amusing when, at the
Fruit age, you could make love with all the others and not just in twos.
I heard that when I took refuge in Silvana."

"Yes, we did it also in three or in four, but it was just kids'
amusement."

"Yes, very amusing I guess. I would like doing it. Would not you?" he
asked, tempting.

"Well... yes it could be amusing." Bull said.

Then Lilbold said, "So, then, let's do it; wouldn't you like a little
ass, still fresh and delicate, a sweet and perfumed mouth?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Our school boys, who are right now enjoying each other."

"You know it is forbidden."

"Therefore it would be even more exciting. Come, let's go and amuse
ourselves." Lilbold said.

Silently, they entered the Flower dormitory. They saw a fourteen year
old boy who was taking another boy and with his mouth was satisfying a
third one. Bull moved away from the latter and, offering himself to the
first boy, said, "Taste this, it is more saucy!"

The boy looked at him in amazement and said, "But you are an adult..."
but he could not go on talking as Lilbold went on top of him to mount
him. So the two made use of the boy until they were satisfied.

The boy, when they let him go, was in tears. All the other boys had
assisted, mute.

"You had not to do such a thing." Said another fourteen year old boy.

"Oh, really? And why? It has been agreeable, therefore tomorrow we will
do the same to you. And if one of you will tell, we will slit his throat
like a lamb, so remember this well. Your families entrusted you to us,
therefore we can do with you all that pleases us."

On the following night, after asking the others to make them aroused,
they took advantage of the boy who had dared to protest as they said
they would do. The boys, scared, complied to all the two adults'
requests without daring to breathe. Not yet satisfied with that, the two
companions also started going to the single rooms of the boys in the
Fruit age, and taking advantage of them as they pleased, and the boys,
willy-nilly, surrendered to their requests.

Then Lilbold, during the lessons, invented a new kind of amusement: who
got the higher note, as a "prize", had to crouch under the teacher's
desk, between his legs, to satisfy the teacher's desires with his mouth.
This led to the fact that all the students tried to get low notes. So
Lilbold imagined a "punishment" for those whose notes were lowering; the
boy had to bend over his desk and Adroit, a nineteen year old boy who
was their accomplice and who was famous for his genital size, took them
in front of all the students.

One of the boys, when the school-year was over, complained to his
parents, who reported the two teachers to the Father of Woods
fraternity. The man carried out an investigation, but the majority of
the boys, scared, denied everything. The Father was all the same
convinced of the truth of the report, but Lilbold and Bull, using three
of their accomplices amongst the boys of the Fruit age, threatened to
report the Father to the Regency telling them that he had several times
taken advantage of the three boys, against their will.

The Father, scared, declared that Lilbold and Bull were not guilty and
condemned the boy who reported them to five months of prison. The result
was that several families didn't send any more their boys to the school.
When the army officers went to investigate, Lilbold and Bull, giving
them costly presents, persuaded the officers to leave and to declare
that the boys not attending the school were were absent because they
were ill.

One of the boys of the Fruit age who still attended the school, one day
decided to take revenge on the two teachers for what they were doing.
Therefore he went with some school mates to see the soldiers of Woods
and offered to have sex with them if they, in exchange, made an ambush
to Lilbold and Bull and made them undergo the same treatement they were
doing to the boys. The soldiers willingly accepted. Eight of them, one
evening, waited on the road for Lilbold and Bull and while they were
going up to the Cliff, assaulted and immobilized them, undressed them
and all eight of the soldiers raped them.

Lilbold and Bull, furious, reported them to the Defender, asking he
punish them. The Defender made an inquiry, but the boys and their
families declared that each soldier, that evening was their guests and
never left their houses. Therefore the Defender acquitted all the
soldiers. Then Lilbold and Bull went to see the Father asking him to
appeal to the Regency, but the Father said, "You reaped what you sowed.
Don't complain and in future try not to exceed."

This short story shows the degree of moral decline that the community
had reached. The story tells us that Lilbold was a former refugee,
therefore possibly a criminal who escaped the guards of the Great King,
but this doesn't justify the Father's behaviour, nor the fact that a
common criminal could even become a teacher. Moreover the Father doesn't
tell the two to stop, but just not to "exceed"...

The one who tried to put a check on this situation, understanding that
the foundation of all the evil was exactly the educational system, was
Rector Handsome Basketmaker of Gardens. On 2 Se LXXVII (1541) he
reformed the school system. Everything concerning the students was
exactly as before, but the teaching had to concern not only "letters and
arts, but morals and customs as well" and he totally reformed the
teachers' training: he founded a course for the youths between twenty
and twentyfour years of age so that whoever wanted to become a teacher
was trained and kept under observation. Moreover he established that
only people who were born in the Commune could become a teacher. He also
decided that a body of inspectors had to regularly visit all the school
to verify their functioning.

Eleven years later another reform was approved by the Regency: The
General Council was reduced from eightyfive to fortyfive members elected
every five years, and each member was bound to attend the meetings,
under prison pain. Moreover the Twelve Deputies Committee was founded,
consisting of a representative of the Brothers of each castle, elected
every four years, to assit the Regency. The General Council, along with
the Forum, was the legislative body, while the Twelve Deputies Committee
was practically the government, in fact they had to care about relations
with those outside their territory, internal order, finances, territory,
communications, health, education, agriculture and herding, commerce,
handicrafts.

Rector Handsome Basketmakers also established that the Forum had to
assemble twice per year, on the first day of the fifth month and of the
eleventh month, to make proposals and requests. The Forum could also
repeal a law previously issued by the General Council. Moreover, the
Forum had to appoint, every six years, the nine Conduct Censors, that is
the Superior Court who had to choose the Common Censors, that is the
judges of the three instances of judgement, and watch over their
conduct.

The last reform concerned who had the right to ask for asylum. If it was
proved that they were guilty of crimes against persons or property, the
asylum was denied. A refugee could get Silvana citizenship only after a
period of time equal to twenty percent of his age when he applied for
asylum.

All these reforms gradually led to a rebirth of the Commune which,
therefore, once again deserved its title of "Very Right".

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The invasion of Prince Tree Mastiff against the asylum right. New
agreement with the king

On 7/6/5 Le LXXIX (1589) two men arived at Weir and asked for asylum.
They were brought to the Censor to be scrutinized. From the records we
know that they were one Friendly Counter, forty-five years old, and his
son Pacific, twenty-two years old. They fled from the Great King's
territories as they were servants of  the Grand Priest and Prince Tree
Mastiff and had been falsely accused of robbing him.

Pacific explained that in reality he refused to subject to the sexual
demands of the daughter of the Grand Priest and she took revenge,
accusing him of having stolen five ancient and precious gold statuettes.

"If we stole them, we will have them with us, or will have with us the
money if we sold them." the father said.

The Censors examined them separately, questioned them for a long time,
and at the end they were persuaded that the two did tell the truth,
therefore they declared both of them acceptable and the Interiors Deputy
issued them the residence permit. They were hosted in the special
Refugee Shelter, standing near the Sun gate, waiting to find work and
then a house.

Employment was offered to Friendly, who was a gardener, to work on
Flowerfield and his son Pacific, who was a servant, asked to work with
Master Refulgent, who was a weaver, to learn weaving. Master Refulgent
willingly welcomed him and started to teach him his trade. Refulgent had
four children and the second was named Sincere and was a seventeen year
old boy, gentle and shy. He worked in the daytime in his father's shop
and at night attended the school.

Soon Pacific and Sincere became friends, and the boy taught, with
patience and skill, the weaving art to the young refugee, encouraging
him and teaching him the little tricks he knew in order to do a better
job. Finally Pacific was able to weave his first saleable cloth and felt
very proud. Sincere explained to him also the Silvana customs and in
their little free time narrated to him its history. Pacific always asked
him plenty of questions.

When he heard about the sexual education in the Commune, Pacific was
deeply amazed. "They teach you to make love?"

"Yes, sure. It is an important thing, don't you think?"

"But... also between men, you said?"

"Why, don't you make love between men, from where you come?"

"Yes... there is some for sure who do that, but in hiding. Here at your
place, they even teach you how to do it! It seems unbelievable. And also
that two of the same sex can marry, here!" the youth exclaimed, full of
incredulous amazement.

"But you who said no to the priest's daughter, isn't it because you like
men?"

"No, I just didn't want to do it with her."

"So you never made love with a man, a boy?"

"No, I never did. Well... besides when a boy, with a mate. But it wasn't
really making love, we just amused ourselves a little, and carefully
hiding," he then admitted, slightly blushing.

"Hiding? It seems so absurd, so ridiculous to me. Wasn't it a good
thing?"

"Well, yes, it was amusing, agreeable, but it was just a kids' thing."

"And with girls, did you ever make love?"

"Really everything... just once."

"And you enjoyed it a lot?"

"Well, it was agreeable... yes."

"I feel it agreeable with a girl, but with a boy I feel it to be really
beautiful, I like it a lot more."

"But why?"

"Bah... because two men, between them, can make love in the same way.
And also, because I know the effect on my body of whatever my mate does
will have, and as two boys have the same body, I know what he can enjoy
most and what least and so he knows about me. A man takes a woman and
that's all. Two men, on the contrary, can also take each other."

"So, then... will you marry with a man?" Pacific sked.

"I really think so. When I will find the man who is right for me."

"It seems to me so weird, all this. Two men can be great friends, but
lovers..." the young man said, shaking his head.

"Two people can be so much friends that they want also to love each
other, don't they? It's just natural, I would say. And it is beautiful,
because you can tell the other, with your body, things that in any other
way you can not be able to express." Sincere answered back.

Three and half months had elapsed since their arrival to Silvana, when
three coaches asked to enter from Garden frontier. In one there was the
Grand Priest Prince Tree Mastiff in person, and in the other two his
train. The order to let them enter was given. At the Sun gate the
Foreign Deputy welcomed them and, making them pass through Finegate, led
them inside the Great Cave, where the Regents were waiting for him.

The Prince said he knew that two criminals, thieves and guilty of
sacrilege, took refuge in the Commune territory and that, as they were
his subjects and servants, he asked the Regents to hand them over to him
so he could take them back, try and punish them. Silvana Lord answered
that it wasn't correct that the Commune territory was hiding two thieves
guilty of sacrilege, therefore he was not able to satisfy the Prince's
request.

Tree Mastiff insisted that he got information from a reliable source
that they were in the Commune territory and therefore, he arrogantly
added, they should at once go and find them and hand them to him. The
Lord repeated that there were no thieves guilty of sacrilege. The
Prince, angry, said that he was looking for two of his servants named
Friendly and Pacific Counter and he resolutely demanded a very fast
handling.

The Lord, resolute, answered, "I have no man to hand over to you.
Therefore, you can now leave and go back to your lands, Prince!"

The Grand Priest Prince stood up, in anger, and said, "It doesn't end
here, I swear! I want those men and I will get them!" and went away.

Friendly and Pacific were terribly scared but everybody reassured them
telling them they were in no danger as they were in a safe land. But on
the seventeen of the tenth month at dawn, Tree Mastiff reached Garden
heading thirty-nine knights, three hundred fifty chosen soldiers and
1647 infantrymen with seven war machines and stormed the castle. Then
they went up to the Sun gate that they knocked down in just three hours
then he attacked Road gate. After only ten hours of struggle, at night,
he succeeded in penetrating inside the internal walls round. He arrested
the Regents and all Deputies and proclaimed himself master and Lord of
all Silvana territories.

Then he assaulted one after the other all the fortified boroughs and
castles and took all of them. He disarmed all the Commune soldiers and
gave orders to his men to mop up all the houses and to question all the
inhabitants to find the two refugees.

But in the mean time, as soon as they got an inkling of the approaching
attack, the Regency took two urgent measures: they sent to the Great
King their Legates to protest against the encroachment of their rights,
and at the same time ordered to hide the two wanted men.

Master Refulgent entrusted them to his son Sincere, giving them a sack
of food, some blankets and heavy clothes, telling his son to go and hide
in the mines. Fleeing through Plain gate, Sincere drove them to Mines
territory; he knew it very well as, when a little boy, he often went
there to play games. It was an inaccessible zone, full of ravines,
shafts, galleries, some still in use, other deserted. Reaching one of
the galleries, Sincere lit three lanterns and they penetrated into the
mines. They walked in a maze of galleries and passages, now climbing,
now going down, until they stopped in a small cave near which ran a
small pool of pure water.

"Here we are. Under here it will not be too cold and we have water to
drink and to wash ourselves. Even if Mastiff's men find these galleries,
before finding where we are they will have a lot of trouble. The
important thing is that they do not find us here while we are sleeping.
Therefore, one of us has to stay at the last tunnel crossroads we
passed; if somebody is coming from one of the other three directions, he
will hear their steps and weapons noise well in advance. Whoever is on
guard will have all the needed time to call the other two and I know
very well all the passages, the ways out and we can escape again."

"But the food we have will last at most seven, eight days." Friendly
objected.

"Don't worry, my brothers and their friends will organize to recurrently
come and give us food and news. You will see that everything will go
smoothly." Sincere answered and started to spread the blankets and to
set the few things they had brought with them. Then he asked who wanted
to do the first guard. Pacific offered himself and went to the
crossroads with a lantern and sat in wait.

Sincere had brought with him paper and pen, to pass his time, and
started to write.

"What are you writing?" Friendly asked him.

"All this story." The boy answered.

"But here in Silvana, everybody is able to write?"

"Sure. Not in your place?"

"My son and I, like the majority of servants, never learned."

"It is not difficult. If you want I can teach you."

"Not to me, at my age. But I would like my son to learn; he is still
young. You would really teach him?"

"With real pleasure. When you do your guard shift, I'll teach him. This
will also be useful to pass our time."

"Thank you very much. You all are so kind here."

"Well, unhappily not everybody, even though our teachers tell us that
kindness is a great virtue." The boy answered with a smile.

When Friendly went to stand in for his son, he told him that Sincere
would teach him to write.

So Pacific went back to the small cave and asked, "My dad says that you
will teach me how to write. Is it difficult?"

"No. You just have to remember a hundred characters."

"Can we start now?"

"Sure." Sincere told him and, taking his copy-book and a pen, he started
writing down their names and asked him to copy them, correcting him and
making him repeat the exercise.

Then they ate, and Sincere went to stand in for Friendly and Pacific hit
the sack, to sleep. They were hidden for a week when Pacific, who was on
guard, ran to the cave to give the alarm: he heard some noises coming
from one of the other three galleries. Sincere told them to pick up
everything and went to the crossroads to listen.

When the two refugees arrived with the sacks, Sincere whispered, "It is
only one person and he moves fast, he could be one of my friends. Wait
here, I'm going to see."

"If it is a soldier, an enemy?"

"Don't worry. I'm going in the dark and will see him or them before they
can see me and I will come back to direct you away."

"But how can we know it is you coming back and not somebody else?"
Friendly asked worriedly.

"Right... If it's me, you will hear me snapping my fingers like that,
alright?"

"Yes, I understand." Friendly said.

Sincere left, barefoot, in the darkness, following the wall of the
gallery with his hand, fast and light, until he made out in front of him
a little flame approaching. Quite soon he recognized his younger
brother. So he called him, took one of the two baskets he was carrying
and with him he went back towards the others saying aloud, "I'm coming
back, it is just my brother, don't worry."

His brother told them that Mastiff seized all the Commune and was having
his men search for them, but according his father there, under the
ground, they were in the safest place. They hoped that sooner or later
Mastiff went away and stopped searching for them. They agreed on special
signals to give when somebody came again to fetch them with food and
news. Sincere asked him also to bring them some more items that could be
useful for a stay that would seemingly be long.

At last the brother left and Friendly went to do his guard shift.

Pacific said to Sincere, "I really am scared, you know? And you have
been invaded because of us. Why are you doing all this for just two
people who are not even of your community?"

"You two are, at this point, our people. Everybody struggling for their
freedom is our people. But you are still trembling! Don't worry,
everything will end nicely, I'm sure!" Sincere told him, caressing his
cheek in a light, affectionate and reassuring gesture.

Pacific asked in a whisper, "May I embrace you?"

"Sure." Sincere answered.

They were side by side, sitting on the blankets. They approached and
embraced.

Pacific said, "I feel better, now; I feel safer. Hold me tight..."

Sincere embraced him tighter and caressed his back then, on instinct,
lightly put his lips on Pacific's. It was just a friendly, affectionate
kiss. But Pacific pushed out the tip of his tongue and gently pushed it
between his friend's lips. Sincere slightly quivered and started to suck
it gently, caressing the nape of his neck.

Pacific shuddering let himself go to that kiss then, caressing his
friend's back he asked with a soft voice, "Sincere, do you want to make
love with me?"

"And you? Do you want it?"

"Yes..."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but I desire it. I want to tell you with my body what I
wouldn't be able to say in another way." The young man said, kissing him
again and pushing him to lie down.

Sincere smiled hearing him repeat the words he told him about one month
earlier; evidently Pacific had thought about it for a long time. Lying
down, their youthful members interlaced, their bodies searched for one
another. They caressed each other all over the body with growing desire
and pleasure.

When Sincere felt his friend's arousal, he started to pull off the
clothes of Pacific who followed suit and in a short while their naked
bodies tightly rubbed, full of mutual desire. Sincere gently guided him
in the ways of sexual love until, filled with quivers of passion, they
finally united, giving each to the other with joy.

When, slightly panting, still embraced, they relaxed, Pacific caressed
the boy's body and murmured, "Thank you, my friend. It has been really
beautiful..."

"Yes indeed." Sincere merrily answered and held him tight.

"Can we sleep like this, without dressing again?" Pacific asked.

"But, and... your father?"

"I told him that I was feeling more and more attracted to you. He
understood and told me it was alright. There is no problem."

They had to stay hidden for two months. Pacific learned to read and
write rather nicely and the two youths were now always sleeping together
and made love often and willingly, feeling more and more attracted to
each other and happy to be together. Outside, the snow had fallen but in
the cave, being deeply under the ground, it was not too cold. The
friends were bringing them food and news rather regularly. Mastiff
demanded allegiance of all the population that, on the Brothers' advice,
pretended to bow to the invader, but that in reality were only waiting
the answer fron the Legates sent to the Great King or else the right
moment to rise and rebel.

On the fifteenth of the twelfth month at last the Legates came back from
the kingdom capital accompanied by a royal Plenipotentiary with his
convoy. The Great King ordered Prince Mastiff to free all the prisoners
and to immediately evacuate the Commune, wthout taking with him neither
prisoneers nor goods belonging to the Commune. The Prince had to bow his
head and to obey, under the personal control of the Plenipotentiary. He
called back all his men and soldiers and left the Commune territories.

When everybody had left, the population had a great festivity and
Sincere's family went to announce to the three hidden friends that all
was over, that they were free. Sincere started again to attend the
school, Pacific to work at the loom and Friendly to tend Flowerfield.
But now Sincere had to sleep at the school and when he was back home he
had to work, therefore for several days the two friends had no occasion
to share a bed.

One day, while Sincere was explaining to his friend how to fit out the
loom for a twill of five, Pacific said, "Sincere... I miss very much
that we cannot make love any more."

"You miss it too?"

"I think that... I think I am... in love with you."

"Really? Oh, Pacific, you can't know how glad I am hearing you saying
so! I too think I'm in love with you..."

"I would like living with you... forever."

"I too. But we have to wait some three more years before we can ask to
be united."

"But meanwhile we can make love all the same, you and I?"

"Yes, we can. On the evening, before I have to leave to go to school, we
can. I will ask my father to allow us to use the room on the upper
floor. I'm so happy to know that you love me too!"

"Didn't you understand it in those two months?"

"I feared it was only because of the peculiar situation we were in, but
now that we are back to normal life, you didn't want to continue. You
never told me you loved me."

"You neither..." the young man sweetly reproached him.

"That's true, but it was only because I feared to embarrass you, I
feared it was not reciprocal."

"No more fears now, right? You know, now, that I want to marry you!"

"Sure, my sweet friend." Sincere answered.

Well, this is the story as it can be reconstructed reading the small
copybook that Sincere wrote in that period and that, for some peculiar
reason, ended in the secret archive of the Commune. Some pages of the
small copybook are covered by the writing exercises of Pacific, and his
improvements can be seen.

One of the consequences of the unlucky incident with Prince Tree Mastiff
was that the Commune and the Great King engaged a permanent Legation, in
other terms they established diplomatic relations. Another consequence
was the organization of the Milice. The soldiers, divided in the three
old corps of the swordsmen, lancemen and bowmen, remained only as guards
at the gates. But all the other men in military service were organized
in the Milice that had a blue uniform with white decorations, and that
was under the orders of a General Captain and eight fortress Captains.
The Milice also formed the first musical band composed of fifty men.

At that time, they were armed with a sabre, besides the war weapons:
crossbow or halberd; later they were armed with a rifle and in more
recent times also with a pistol. Moreover the best elements of the
Milice formed the so called Chosen Guard, founded on 12/3/2 Fl LXXIX
(1591) and formed by sixty-one men with light blue uniforms with golden
decorations, a golden kepi with a casc of light blue feathers, white
gloves, armed with sabre until recent times; their duty was to protect
and defend the Regents and the Deputies.

The Fortress Guard remained as the professional part of the Milice,
keeping their old uniform and its duty to always be on watch on the
glacis and, until several generations later, that is up to the founding
of the Gendarmerie, they also had police duties. Later also the Fortress
Guard was armed with rifles, and in more recent times with sub-machine
guns.

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CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 5

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In my home page I've put some of my stories. If someone wants to read
them, the URL is http://www.geocities.com/~andrejkoymasky/ If you want
to send me feed-back, please e-mail at andrejkoymasky@geocities.com

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