CHAPTER ONE

Once, many years ago, there lived a King and Queen who ruled benevolently and wisely over their tiny kingdom.  This fine couple had been married for some years and, despite valiant efforts,  were still childless.  The happiness that they both enjoyed,   from each other's civilised company,  scintillating intellectual conversation, and the love in which they were held by the simple peasant folk who made up most of their subjects,  was not sufficient to overcome their regret at failing to produce an heir - someone who would continue to rule over their land,  once they had both passed away.

One day, the King was in the depths of despair.  He was also in his office.

"When will the good Lord grant me my desire and present me with an heir to my throne? "  he despairingly asked nobody in particular.

A few yards  away, on the far side of his large office, a mist seemed to form.  King Wilhelm  removed his fashionable spectacles  and wiped them.  He  replaced them onto his regal proboscis and looked over the room again.  The mist was still there.  Not only that, but it was increasing in density until it passed into a state beyond  mistiness to assume a kind of quasi-solidity.  Seconds passed.  The mist grew ever darker and  took on what appeared,  to the good King,  to be fleshy form.  More seconds passed.  Features began to appear and the misty apparition became ever more  tactile.   Finally,  the miasma resolved itself into a human and female shape of the most superlative beauty.

"Who are you?  And how did you get past Security?" asked the astounded monarch.

"Don't you mean the Palace Guard?" replied the Good Fairy (for it was none other than she).

"Course not!  I mean Securicor!  Those chocolate soldier so-called Guards!  They're just for show - couldn't knock the skin off a rice pudding!   Bloody bunch of fairies!  So sorry, ma'am - no disrespect!"

He reddened at the thought that he might have offended this apparition.  The Good Fairy looked severely at the King.

"Because you have made a remark, however jocular in intent,  betokening the most apalling   insensitivity to minority rights and alternative lifestyles,  I must give you a message somewhat different from that which  I had originally intended."

She continued.

"Because of my supernatural intervention, you will have an heir, but it will be a daughter.  For your Kingdom to continue and not  become the plaything of other Great Powers, it will be necessary for your daughter to find a husband who will become the next King.  Your child will have to pass through many travails in order to secure and deserve the love of her chosen man.  There is much grief ahead for you,  and even more for her, Your  Majesty.   That will teach you to make politically incorrect remarks - you  Fascist!
 

With these words, the vision faded.   The Left/Liberal  Good Fairy retired to the wings to adjust her make-up and consult her Filofax to see what,  and with whom,  was her next appointment.

The good King pondered the fairy's remarks for some time.  Must be a pretty third rate  fairy, he thought, not to see the kind of guy I really am!  For, truth to tell, one reason for the King's failure to impregnate his wife was his own decided preference for members of his own sex!  The bluff joke that he had made to   the Good Fairy had merely been an example of the obfuscation he frequently employed in order to disguise his  own sexual proclivities.

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 That night, with the Good Fairy's unseen help,  the Royal couple managed  get it together.   The Queen's physical charms finally  stimulated her spouse, inspiring him to ejaculate such a sufficiency of royal seed into her welcoming womanhood,  as to set in motion the wondrous mystery  of procreation.  Nine months later -to the day - the Princess Sara was born.

She was, vowed all the King's sycophantic  courtiers, the most beautiful baby that had ever been born in the entire history of the Kingdom.  In time, this female prodigy grew, matured and developed into a perfectly proportioned and breathtakingly, heartbreakingly,  beautiful maiden.  The world had never seen a fairer damsel.   (Please remember that Hilary Clinton had not yet been born).

As Princess Sara grew up, her parents preferred her to enjoy  the company of girls of her own rank and station in life.  In a land where a rude and unlettered peasantry predominated, the strict application of this rule would have  meant that she had a fairly lonely upbringing.

So it was that  Martha was chosen as her childhood companion.  Martha was a peasant child whom the King and Queen had designated to be their beloved daughter's  servant/companion.  They had grown up  together since both were three years old.   From the very beginning, Sara  treated  this  peasant girl as her own especial companion.   When they were both children, all was well.  Then both girls started to develop into young women and Sara's manner became less friendly.

Her parents, ever conscious of the need to treat their subjects justly, heartily regretted their daughter's increasingly haughty and imperious treatment of the poor Martha, but such was their love for her that they failed to do anything about it, other than,  mildly and ineffectually, to  rebuke her from time to time.
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The King, in particular,  was so devoted to his increasingly lovely offspring that her every little whim became his command and, in the words of an old saying,  she was able to wrap him around her little finger.  This unchecked pride and haughtiness  made her feared and almost hated by the servants.  I say alnmost hated, because there was always about her the odd redeeming flash of kindness, and she was so amazingly  wonderful to behold, that no one who saw her could ever fail to be utterly bewitched by her great beauty.

Many young men fell utterly and hopelessly in love with the fair Princess Sara, but most were of inferior rank  and ruled out as proper suitors.  Those who were of sufficiently high estate were rejected by the Princess, who had shown herself to be an accomplished scholar from her earliest years, as being either too stupid,  too ugly,  or both.  As her eighteenth birthday drew nigh, there was no sign that her parent's dream of finding a husband for her and a future ruler for the kingdom would be realised in the near future.

CHAPTER TWO ( First Stripping Scene - that's what it's all about!)

One morning in late March, Martha came into the princess's bedroom and playfully pulled off the blankets, as had been the way with the girls over the years.  One morning it would be Sara  pulling off Martha's bedclothes and the next the positions would be reversed.  This would usually be the signal for  a wild bit of horseplay and a pillow fight, culminating in the giggling pair rolling affectionately around on the floor,  before they dressed and went down to breakfast.  Of late, however, Sara had been growing more conscious of the great disparity of rank between her and her peasant companion,  and prouder and ever more conscious of her own exalted station in life.   And this particular morning she was in a very disagreeable mood indeed, thanks to a very disturbing dream she had just had.

The Princess leapt out of bed and struck the poor girl hard on the face.  Martha shrank back fearfully - when would she learn that the happy carefree days of their shared childhood were past, she asked herself?

"Get out of my room this instant.  Never come in here again unless ordered to.  How dare you be so insolent?" she stormed at the poor girl, who retired in tears.

After she had dressed herself (she hated to have anyone else see her nudity, even Martha), she went out to the antechamber where the sobbing girl was sitting, her face in her hands.

"Get on your feet at once!  How dare you be seated without my permission, you lazy good for nothing!  I'm going to punish you for your behaviour and teach you a lesson you'll never forget!  Stay here until I return.  No breakfast for you today - and that's just the beginning, my girl!"

As soon as the angry Princess had left her, poor young Martha abandoned herself to her grief, still obediently remaining standing.  She did not mind the absence of a meal, or whatever else her mistress might have in mind for her.  It was the awful loss of a beloved friend that was causing the tears to flow.  She prayed for the proud Sara's heart to be softened and for the good days to return so that they could both be happy together again.

When Sara returned, she was smiling.  Unfortunately for Martha, it was not a nice smile. She had decided how she would discipline her servant and teach her not to get ideas above her station ever again.

"Get undressed at once!  I will take all your clothes and lock them away until I decide to let you have them back.  You can perform all your duties naked until further notice.  Go and tell my father I shall be going riding later and then go and prepare two horses  - you are coming with me, as usual."

"What will the king think if he sees me like this" asked a trembling Martha as she stood naked before her erstwhile friend.

"Tell him you are being punished.  Now get out of my sight and be outside the stables in twenty minutes with the two horses ready."

The distressed and embarrassed girl did as she was told, feeling everybody's eyes on her pale and naked body as she made her way through the corridors of the palace to the King's apartments.  She entered shyly,  blushing from head to toe.  She wished she could become invisible and had never felt such utter shame in her life before.  How could my dear Sara, whom I love so deeply and would die to protect from harm, do this to me? she asked herself as she tried to fight back the tears.

The King looked up as the naked girl came into his room.  He looked devastated and went red with anger.

"What is the meaning of this, Martha?  Have you gone mad?"

"I am being punished by the Princess for being insolent and for forgetting my lowly station in life, Your Majesty."

The King recovered his poise.

"And do you deserve this treatment, Martha?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The good old man knew this to be untrue.  The girl was just trying to cover up for his daughter - he could see that quite plainly.  He sighed and wondered how he could prevail on his proud  and imperious young Sara to mend her ways.  Something MUST be done, he told himself.  She was becoming worse by the day.  And then he thought of those blue eyes and golden hair and her soft warm lips as she kissed him, and his determination wavered once again.

"The Princess is going riding this morning, Your Majesty, and I am to accompany her as usual.  May I please be allowed to leave and prepare the horses?"

"Very well, Martha.  I expect she will allow you to dress for the ride.  I certainly hope so!"

She explained that she was to go straight out to the stables and be waiting ready for her mistress.  No clothes for me today, she thought.  The king allowed her to leave and she made her way outside.  As soon as she left the warmth of the palace, the early morning chill began to penetrate her body and she shivered.

She instructed the leering groom, who had long had a fancy for her,  which horses to prepare and then stood holding the bridles as she waited for Sara to come out for their morning ride, usually such a pleasant experience for them both.

The vindictive Princess, still deeply disturbed in her mind by her terrible dream, looked out of one of the palace windows at the shivering Martha - it was early in the day, and Spring had only just arrived.  She allowed her to stand for over half an hour before finally going out into the yard and mounting her proud jet black steed.  Martha gratefully mounted her horse and the pair  made their way slowly towards the Forest.  Sara made no attempt to force her horse into a trot for some time, preferring to cast the occasional glance at her shivering friend, who was obviously praying for the chance to move faster and generate some heat for her body.

Finally the experience of being on horseback had its usual calming effect and Sara began to feel sorry for her unkindness.  She urged her horse into a gallop and both girls went careering into the woods, taking one of their favourite tracks until they emerged on the other side and approached the nearest town.  By this time, Martha was ceasing to be chilled and her skin was no longer blue but glowing a healthy pink, which was a relief to, the by now  remorseful, Sara.

They brought their mounts to a halt and sat side by side looking over the little capital city, spread out below them.  "I'm sorry, Martha!" said the Princess.

"That's OK, Sara.  I'm glad to be able to let you take out your troubles on me, if that's what you want."

The Princess reached across and put her delicate white hand on Martha's firm young shoulder.

"I'll never be  nasty again - I promise.  I'll make it impossible for me to - somehow!  Let's go home and find you the very loveliest clothes to wear.  And you must get your breakfast, you poor girl.  You must be famished!"

Later that day, Sara made a solemn affirmation in front of witnesses, including the King and the highest in the land,  that Martha was to be treated from now on as her equal.  She was never again to be bound by any of Princess Sara's commands unless she so wished.  In order to reinforce this affirmation, the King raised the Princess's companion to the status of Lady.

The next morning,  Sara was again in a bad mood after a repetition of the same dream. She again struck  the girl in the face.  This time Martha, aware of her new status, hit the Princess back and sent her sprawling across the room.  Sara rubbed her jaw thoughtully as she picked herself up.  The newly ennobled girl had  a venomously accurate and very powerful punch.   Princess Sara was never to strike her childhood companion again or lose her temper with her.  She still had the same bad dream, but kept her distress to herself, until the time came when she had to confide in somebody - her beloved Martha.