James Stuart
the Erotic Historian

Monastery Tales

Chapter 8
The Trial of Brother Manuel

"We shall now begin the trial of Brother Manuel, for the murder of the abbot of this establishment. The…"

"We shall also try the man for heresy, for it is clear that he was in league with the devil when he committed this wicked act," interrupted Brother Alberti.

"The first step of the court will be to establish, whether or not the brother was responsible for the murder," the bishop said, clearly annoyed at the interruption. "If he is found to be so, then we will move on to if he is also guilty of the even more serious charge of heresy." He then turned to the accused and said.

"Brother Manuel, do you admit or deny that on the night of St Stephini's day, you entered the chambers of Father Francisco, and using a knife, slit his throat. I advise you to carefully consider your reply, you will answer to God for any untruths."

Manuel sat quietly for a moment, and then rose to his feet.

"I deny the charge, I did not kill Father Francisco," he said, trying to sound assertive.

"Very well," the judge said, with a hint of regret, "Brother Enzo, I leave it to you to show the court the evidence of his guilt."

Enzo rose to his feet, and throwing a smile at the audience, he turned to address the three judges.

"The evidence is very clear in this trial, on the night of the murder, Brother Manuel stormed into the meeting of the senior brothers, and threatened the life of the abbot. He must have realised that with others present he could do not carry out his threat at the time, so left to prepare for the murder that evening. I was one of those present, and I say that is what I saw." He turned to the other senior brothers and said, "Are there any of you that were present, who deny what I have just said?" The line of senior monks slowly shook their heads. Though a few of them did not exactly agree with Enzo's wording, and were unhappy with the fact that he had not told the judges the reason why Brother Manuel had come into the room in the first place (not that it would have made much difference if he had, as it hardly justified murder). In any case, they were all too scared to give another version, so remained silent.

"On the following morning Father Francisco was discovered murdered. I was alerted, and went together with Brothers Mario and Alfonso, to the cell of Brother Manuel. We found him asleep in bed, there was an empty wineskin on the floor next to him, and it was clear that he had been drinking. We searched his room, and found the following items under his bed." Enzo pointed to the knife, the monk's robe, and the sandals on the table before him, and then held each up for the judges and audience to see.

"They were all covered in blood, undoubtedly the abbot's blood. It was immediately clear to us that we had caught the killer." The brother sat down, feeling his job was over, for him, the verdict was beyond doubt.

"When you questioned Brother Manuel afterwards, did he admit to the killing."

"When he was in a fit state to talk," Enzo said disgustingly, "then he denied killing Father Francisco. This we interpreted as meaning that he may not have been alone in this act, but had been part of a demonic group, serving the wishes of the devil."

"Do you have any evidence of the involvement of others?" Enzo paused before answering, he did not expect his presumptions to be queried. "No, but his denial proves that he is trying to protect some others."

Lorenzo was unconvinced by this logic, but there seemed no point arguing the point now, as it had no bearing on the guilt or innocence of the accused.

"Have you any other evidence that this man killed the abbot?"

"No," Enzo replied, amazed why any more evidence would be required.

"Did anyone see him enter the abbot's chambers at night?"

"No, it was night time, everyone was asleep."

"Can anyone say that they know Brother Manuel could not have been there?" Brother Alberti asked, trying to alter the direction of the questioning more favourably to the prosecution.

"No one, he was unobserved all night," Enzo answered confidently.

"And did you find anyone else with knifes and bloodied clothing in their cells?"

"No, none."

It was now clear to Bishop Lorenzo that further questioning of Enzo would yield nothing, so it was time to throw the field open for others to give some input.

"Before we consider our verdict, is there anyone that would like to say something in Brother Manuel's defence?"

A deadly hush fell over the room, as the bishop's eyes scanned the assembled host. Brother Manuel had been popular amongst his fellow monks, and if this had been just a criminal trial, some would have risen, and at the very least vouched for his good character, and non- violent nature. Yet they all knew that this could turn into a trial for heresy, and frequently in these cases, all those that spoke in defence of the accused, were assumed by association, to be guilty as well. Thus, out of sheer fear, none of the brothers rose to speak, but cast their eyes to the ground, ashamed of their own cowardice.

The bishop was greatly saddened by this response, but he understood it. There really looked like nothing could save his old friend now, and he would have to battle to prevent the ridiculous heresy charge. Even though there was no evidence of this, a trial could frequently turn into a blood hunt once emotions had risen.

"I would like to say something," a small voice from the back said, interrupting the bishop's gloomy thoughts. Instantly the entire audience swung round in their seats to see who it was that had spoken, and were amazed to see a young boy standing between the pews at the rear of the chapel.

"Sit down at once boy!" boomed the voice of Brother Alberti. "How dare you interrupt this trial." The man recognised the boy as one of the junior novices, and decided he would personally make sure the child was so severely trashed he would not be able to sit for weeks.

The youngster made no move to return to his seat, but said, "Please let me speak, it is very important to the trial."

Alberti was about to blurt out another order, when the bishop raised his hand and said.

"I will not talk to anyone over the length of the whole chapel, come down boy, and stand before me."

As young Leo slowly walked down the aisle he could feel the eyes of the assembled monks and novices burning into him, and excited whispers filled the room. He kept his own sight on the three seated men at the front, where Brother Alberti was staring at the boy in fury, the cardinal out of curiosity, and the bishop from total bewilderment.

Leo halted a few feet short of the desk, and Lorenzo paused a moment to examine the boy more carefully. He was certainly an extremely attractive youth, well worth dragging down here just for a closer look.

"Your eminence," Brother Alberti whispered to the bishop, "We can not let this simple child hold up these important matters."

"What's your name boy, and are you here to speak in defence of this man," Lorenzo asked, pointing out the accused.

"My name is Leo your eminence, and yes I am."

The old bishop shook his head in disbelief. It was plain to see from the quivering of the child's arms, and the look in his eyes, that he was absolutely petrified. Whatever it was he felt for the defendant, it must be very strong to have given him the courage to stand up in front of all his betters.

"You can not possibly understand what this is all about child, return to your seat now," Brother Alberti said, and then addressing everyone, said out loud, "This is ridiculous, he is making a mockery of the whole trial, shall we invite the monastery animals in as well, to see if they would like to speak."

"I do not wish him to speak on my behalf, Leo please, I beg you, go and sit down."

The attention of the audience now swung to the accused man, as it was he that had stood up to speak. Manuel had been horrified when he saw the boy he loved above all else enter this deadly fray. There was no way he was going to allow the boy to destroy himself, simply in the vain hope of saving him.

Suddenly there was a large bang as the bishop thumped his fist on the table, making everyone in the room jump in surprise.

"The accused will be silent, it is I, and I alone that will decide who speaks at this trial."

The old bishop was staring at Manuel, but it was clear that his final point was not addressed solely to the defendant. There was a short pause, and then Lorenzo asked the trial clerk if there was anything in the rules on clerical trials that stated a minimum age one had to be before one could speak. The clerk looked a bit perplexed at the question, and picking up a huge volume besides him, started to quickly thumb through the pages. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, the harassed man could sense the court's impatience.

"I can not find such a rule, your eminence, but to allow him to speak would seem most irregular."

The old judge spent a few moments in thought, and then announced.

"Very well, you can speak, only I am warning you boy, this had better be relevant to the trial, or else I'll ensure you get beaten by everyone present for so shamelessly wasting our time."

With that pronounced, a huge wave of relief swept through Leo, as if the first hurdle of some great journey had been completed. He took a few deep breaths, and then began. "The first thing I would like to show the court is that it is not possible for Brother Manuel to be guilty of the murder of Father Francisco."

At this announcement, a wave of murmurs and gasps swept through the chapel. Brother Alberti blurted out another objection about the boy being mad, but the bishop held up his hands to silence the court, and told Leo to continue.

Leo walked over to Brother Clovis, who was the physician who had examined the murdered abbot.

"Brother Clovis, I believe that Father Francisco was killed by having his throat slit."

"That is correct boy," the old monk replied.

"And that given the nature of the injuries, the attack would have come from the rear?"

"That is almost certain, due to both the line of the cut, and the fact that no other injuries were on the body, which would have been likely had Father Francisco seen the murderer coming."

Leo approached the table on which lay the trial exhibits, and taking hold of the knife, he slowly walked over to Brother Manuel. The wretched monk looked up into the eyes of the boy, and it was clear he was in mental agony. He silently pleaded with the boy not to continue with this, but he realised things had already gone too far.

"Brother Manuel, please show me exactly how you would assail a man in the manner Brother Clovis has described," and with that said, he offered the accused the knife. With his will largely subdued, the man took the weapon, and the boy immediately turned his back to him. There were yet more murmurs running through the crowd as the supposed murderer was now armed. The two monks sitting besides him tensed up, ready to seize him should he attempt anything stupid. Manuel slowly got to his feet, and looking down at the slim beautiful neck of the boy he adored, he decided he had no choice but to play along. Reaching around, and holding the point of the blade some six inches [15 cm] from Leo's body, Manuel simulated a cut across his neck. That done the lad turned round, reclaimed the knife and thanked Manuel, who sat down again. A collective sigh of relief rippled through the chapel.

"What is this charade meant to prove," Brother Alberti gasped. Leo ignored him, and addressed the main judge.

"Please note that Brother Manuel cut from right to left," and he traced a line along his neck. He then walked back to the physician.

"Is it correct that the slash that killed the abbot ran from the left side of his neck, and then cut deep into his right shoulder?"

"Yes."

"And this could not be achieved had the knife been wielded from over the victim's left shoulder."

The physician paused to think about this one for a while, then agreed this would have been very difficult.

"So Brother Manuel could not have been responsible for the crime, since he is left-handed, and would have thus attacked the abbot from the left side," the boy exclaimed. Yet again the crowd started to chatter amongst themselves at this revelation, though Brother Alberti could not remain silent.

"So this proves what I have been saying, if Brother Manuel is left-handed then he is indeed in league with the devil, I say we move to the charge of heresy now!"

"Please, Brother Alberti, calm yourself," the bishop said, "left-handiness is an abnormality that should be discouraged, and taught away at childhood, but it is not church policy that this automatically makes adherents partners of the devil."

"Yet we do not know for certain that the man really is left-handed," Brother Enzo said. "This whole ridiculous performance must have been worked out in advance by the accused and the child."

Leo span round to look at the brother and tried to think of something to refute this, but the silence was broken by Brother Domingos, the librarian, who slowly got to his feet, and speaking haltingly, addressed the court.

"No, it is true, Brother Manuel is indeed left-handed, and I am ashamed to say I have known for many years. When he was a boy, I tried to teach him to probably use his right hand, but he could not do it. The writing with his left hand is so beautiful he is one of the finest scribes in the abbey, so I had not the heart to stop him. It is for this reason that he currently writes alone in a side chamber in the library.

Brother Enzo was clearly still unconvinced.

"Yet even if this is true, the accused could still have carried out the murder with the knife held in his right hand, I am certain that this arm was still strong enough to murder the defenceless abbot. He probably used his right hand to deliberately mislead us."

Leo was frustrated, if this was correct, it was hardly an action by someone that, even by his own admission, was drunk on the night of the offence. All the same, it was a possibility he could not disprove, so he decided to move on.

"There is another reason why Brother Manuel is innocent, and that is the blood on his sandals." The boy walked over to the trial exhibits, replaced the knife, and then picked up the shoes. "It is inconceivable that these would have been splashed with the abbot's blood during the murder, because Brother Manuel never wears his sandals, he always walks barefoot, it is clear to see that these sandals look barely used."

The eyes of the court immediately fell on the bare worn feet of the seated Brother Manuel. Enzo was about to blurt out that this was absurd, the reason why the man was clearly barefoot at the moment was due to the obvious fact that his sandals had been impounded as evidence. However, before he had chance, two of the younger monks amongst the audience, stood up and verified the fact that Manuel did in fact always go barefoot.

"Again irrelevant," Brother Alberti said, "lets not forget that the devil guided his actions, he wore his sandals for the murder as another ploy to mislead us. I see that the boy has not explained how it came to be that the poor abbot's blood was splattered over the accused's clothes."

Leo looked angrily at Alberti, it appears that all his arguments would to be both countered and disregarded. He could feel tears of frustration welling up inside him, but fought to keep these back. After all, it would hardly help the defendant if his advocate broke down crying. Still the boy knew that Brother Alberti seemed determined to convict Manuel, no matter what was said, so there was no hope in persuading him. Since the bishop was friendly to the accused, and had been fair so far in this trial, Leo hoped that he at least would vote to acquit. The real key man in all this was the cardinal from Rome, who would have the casting vote in this affair. He had sat silently listening to the proceedings, never asking any questions, nor giving any signs as to which way he might be leaning. Leo prayed that the man was at least open minded, and had not come to the trial with the verdict already decided.

"Have you anything else to say child?" the bishop asked calmly.

"Yes, your eminence, I have," came the answer, and the old man smiled to himself, he rather expected that the bright boy had a few more surprises to pull. Leo took another deep breath, as he prepared himself for the next, much more controversial stage of his evidence.

"The reason why Brother Manuel's clothes had the abbot's blood on them, is that they were removed from his cell during the night by the real murderer, smeared with the victim's blood, and then placed under his bed. This would not have been difficult as Brother Manuel has admitted to being under the influence of drink on the night of the murder."

"Are you saying that someone was deliberately trying to frame the accused for this murder?" the bishop asked.

"Yes I am," Leo replied.

"This is preposterous," Brother Alberti exclaimed, "The boy has no proof that anyone else carried out this wicked act."

"Yes I do, I know who the real murderer is," the young boy answered, trying to sound as defiant as possible.

"I warn you to consider very carefully before you say anything else," Bishop Lorenzo said, "Accusing another of this deed without the evidence to back you up, could get you into deep trouble for attempting to smear the name of an innocent man. Your punishment will a lot more severe than a hiding."

Leo paused, whilst he built up the courage for his next sentence. The court was deathly silent as it waited attentively for the boy to speak, who took a big gulp, and then spinning round to face the table holding the items of evidence, he said.

"Brother Enzo carried out the murder, it was he who killed the abbot on the night of St Stephini."

No sooner had these words left his lips, the entire court went into an absolute uproar, as if everyone suddenly started talking or shouting at once. The old bishop started banging on the table, demanding silence. When things finally started to die down, it was Brother Alberti who was the first to speak.

"The boy has gone completely and utterly mad, Brother Enzo is one of the most kind and respected monks in the monastery. To accuse him of such a deplorable act is beyond contempt. Your eminence, must we listen to any more of this devil child's deranged ranting? Brother Enzo is not the one on trial here."

Brother Enzo himself looked distraught, the colour had completely drained from his face, and he stared aghast at his accuser. After hearing the words of Brother Alberti in his defence, he too spoke.

"How can you say such a thing boy? I loved our abbot as much as anyone, why do you think I could possible want to harm him?"

Lorenzo held up his hand to still any further comments. "The boy says he has proof, and this court will hear it before making any judgements, Leo, please continue."

It was the first time any of the men had referred to the boy by his name, and it gave him an extra boost as he steadied himself for the final challenge. He walked towards Brother Enzo, and then asked him.

"Would you show the court the crucifix you are wearing?" The man looked pleadingly at the judges, but when the bishop told him to show them, he reluctantly unhooked it from around his neck, and handed to the boy. Leo then passed this on to the main judge, who examined it.

"It's a nice silver crucifix, but what relevance does this have on the case," the man commented.

"It is important because it used to belong to the abbot."

"How do you know that? it is just a plain normal one that is easily obtainable from many places, I have a few similar myself."

"If you read the small inscription on the back, it says, 'thanks for everything, love LB'. The LB stands for Little Bear, which was the abbot's pet name for his favourite nephew." Leo spun round to face the seated Luis, and asked him. "Can you confirm that this was your gift to him?"

The young man, who had gone ashen with shock as he heard the inscription read out, paused, and the spluttered out.

"Yes, yes, I gave him that the last time I saw him alive," he then turned to face Brother Enzo and shouted angrily "What are you doing with it?"

Poor Brother Enzo was beginning to look rather harassed, but quickly gave a reply, "Er… Er… the abbot gave it to me, a few days before the murder, he said he already had many others and wanted me to have one."

"I can not believe that," Luis shouted back, "It was a personal gift from me, he would never have given it away."

Enzo turned back to the judges and hurriedly said, "Surely your eminence, you can not believe that I murdered the abbot simply to steal that small piece of jewellery, which you have said yourself is of no great value."

"I confess that it would be a drastic action for so small a gain, do you really think this was the motive for the murder?" Lorenzo said to the standing boy.

"No, I do not, I believe he stole the crucifix as an after thought following the murder. It is true that Brother Enzo had little personally to gain from the abbot's death, but I believe that he carried out the killing on behalf of others that would benefit a great deal from it. Whether he was paid, promised favours, or blackmailed into doing the murder, I do not know. One of those that would benefit is Archdeacon Dino, who is now almost certain to be named as the new Bishop of Milan, where he will inherit all the wealth and power that comes with that great office. I have with me a letter sent to the Cardinal that proves that Brother Enzo was involved in the murder."

Leo pulled a folded piece of paper from inside his outfit, and, after gaining the bishop's permission to read it out, proceeded.

My Dear Friend

You will be pleased to hear that the knife you sent has arrived safely. If all goes well, it shall shortly be used on the abbot and he will be out of both of our ways. I have successfully persuaded our cat marked friend to actually do the deed, it will now be a matter of waiting for the right opportunity to arise, so that we can all avoid suspicion of involvement.

"This is an important revelation indeed, if the letter is genuine, but I fail to see how this implicates Brother Enzo."

"The cat marked friend is Brother Enzo, he has a birthmark shaped almost exactly like a cat, this must have been known to the two conspirators that exchanged the letter."

"Do you know where this birthmark is?"

Leo went a bit red at the thought of having to tell the court this, but knew it could not be avoided. "It's on his posterior," he answered quickly. There were a fair number of laughs around the court, as a rare moment of humour helped to relax the atmosphere slightly.

"How come you have seen it then boy?" the bishop asked.

"Er… I once helped Brother Enzo with his bath," Leo replied. This was of course not the truth, but he could hardly tell the court that he had been rimming the monk's ass at the time.

"Do you have such a birthmark, Brother Enzo? if you deny it then I may require you to bare your bottom to the court." Poor Brother Enzo was looking very pale with all these accusations against him.

"I do have a birthmark there," he stammered, "but I have always thought it looks more like a dog than a cat." This just caused more laughter in the audience, and clearly failed to eliminate him as the potential 'cat marked friend'.

"The letter is clearly a forgery!" Brother Alberti yelled, "The boy must have written it himself, he admits that he already knew about Brother Enzo's birthmark."

"You must convince us that the letter is genuine," the bishop said, "How did you manage to obtain it?"

"The letter was seen by one of Archdeacon Dino's servants, and during a visit to Milan yesterday, I managed to speak with this man, who gave the letter to me."

Again Leo had lied, but he hardly wanted to give the court the whole sordid details of how he really got hold of the item. "There are three things that can prove its authencity. Firstly, I have been told that the archdeacon has similar letters in his possession. Secondly, the knife, it has the emblem of the house of Mencini on it, which is Archdeacon Dino's family. The final thing is I know who wrote it, and I can produce a witness to say that he knows this man sent correspondence to the archdeacon."

"How can you know who wrote it?" Lorenzo asked, "the letter has not been signed."

"That is true, but I have here another document," the boy produced a further piece of paper from under his frock, and handed it over to the bishop. "I think you will agree the writing is identical, and must have been written by the same man."

"I agree," the bishop said after studying both documents for a short while, "who wrote this second document?"

Leo took a deep breath, he knew the critical moment had arrived, and had no idea what was going to happen after he had revealed his final card. "I removed it from the monastery library, it was written by Brother Alberti."

After the words had left his lips once more the court was in uproar. Brother Alberti, who had been uncharacteristically silent over the last few minutes, was now going more and more red as rage built up inside him.

"You do not honestly believe such nonsense," he roared. "Let's not forget that the boy works for the devil, he must have been give demonic powers to write the letter in my handwriting. Oh Lord save us from this evil! strike him down before he bewitches us all!"

Brother Alberti clasped his hands, and looked up at the heavens as he uttered these words. Yet it was no divine intervention that caused what happened next. Brother Enzo sprang from his chair, and seizing hold of the knife, in his right hand as it happens, rushed towards an astonished looking Leo.

"Oh lord, let me be the tool of thy vengeance, give me the strength to slay this evil child," he yelled.

The young boy, who till now had been too occupied in delivering his case to consider what might be the consequences, just froze as the man headed towards him. The determined monk wasted no time in swinging the knife directly at the child's head. Leo reacted just in time to dodge back, but the blade caught him on his shoulder, and with a cry of pain he toppled over onto the ground. Brother Enzo leapt onto the prone child, and raising his hand in the air, plunged the knife down aiming for the boy's heart. Yet the tip came to a sudden halt, just a few inches from its target. Brother Manuel, alone of those present in the chapel, had reacted swiftly to the attack, and had managed to seize the attacker's arm before the knife had reached its goal. The two men strained to control the movement of the weapon for a few moments, until several more brothers, having overcome their initial astonishment, piled into the fray.

Brother Enzo was quickly restrained and disarmed by the reinforcements, and then hauled away as he screamed.

"Lord help me, am I the only one not controlled by a demon, save us, help, help!!! …"

Manuel ignored the ranting, and immediately ripped away the top of Leo's frock to check on the wound. Other monks soon surrounded the man and boy, but eventually the bishop managed to push himself to the front.

"Is the child all right?" he asked.

"Yes, the blade cut into his shoulder, but fortunately the wound does not appear to be very deep," Manuel answered.

"Praise the lord, he had a lucky escape."

A few seconds after this another, somewhat smaller character, entered the enclosing circle. Marco had not cared which of his betters he had pushed or crawled through the legs of to get to the front.

"I thought you had been killed," he cried, and then burst into tears of relief on seeing his friend was still alive.

Manuel smiled at the young child's reaction, and then addressed the bishop.

"I need to tend Leo's cut, am I free to go? or do you still believe that I killed the abbot?"

"I for one have been convinced by this clever boy of your innocence, and the attack of Brother Enzo certainly removed any doubt as to who was responsible." Lorenzo turned to the cardinal, who had also come to see what had transpired. "If you agree with me, then the trial of Brother Manuel is over."

"Indeed I do. I came to this trial having been told that it was a straightforward case, the guilt of the defendant being beyond doubt. However, due to this rather extraordinary child, it has been the most bizarre trial I had ever attended. It appears this monastery teaches its novices to look into affairs that are really none of their concern." It was clear from the tone of the man's voice that this was not something he particularly approved of.

"I also think that we have some searching questions for Brother Alberti," the bishop said "Where is he now?" There was a short pause before a monk shouted that he was no longer in the chapel, he must have slipped out of the back during the confusion following the fight.

"You fools," Lorenzo shouted. "Still, he can not have got far, go and find him."

Immediately several monks dashed out of the chapel on this errand. Manuel had no intention of joining the chase, so he swept Leo into arms and proceeded down the aisle towards the exit. The remaining monks quickly parted to let them pass, staring at the pair. Marco, who was grinning at their reactions, trotted on behind.

Manuel took the wounded boy back to his cell, and immediately dispatched Marco to go and fetch some water and bandages. Leo lay on the monk's bed, and looked up at the man. He had not said anything since he had been attacked, the shock and emotion of the events having finally halted his tongue. Only now could he speak.

"Thank you for saving my life."

"And thank you for saving mine," the man replied.

The two remained silent for a while, simply looking into each other's eyes as Manuel stroked the boy's hair. Eventually Marco returned and sat on the edge of the bed holding his best friend's hand whilst Manuel washed and dressed the wound. When he had finished he sat back and said.

"So, are you going to tell me how you found out who the real killers were?"

Thus over the next hour or so, both boys told the monk about all the things that had happened since that fateful night. Only this time he heard the whole story, with none of the sordid details missing out. Marco discussed at some length all the things he had to do to ensure Leo got his trip to Milan. They were interrupted three times during the boys' narrative.

The first visitor was the physician who came to check that Leo's injuries had been attended to properly. He did not remain long, and was clearly still a bit embarrassed at having missed the facts the youngster had brought to light. Bishop Lorenzo called in after about an hour, and explained that Brother Alberti had been spotted trying to escape on one of the monastery mules. However, it appears he was not a good rider, and after he tried to speed up when two monks chased after him, the animal threw him, and he was quickly caught. He, like Brother Enzo, was now under lock and key and would wait to hear whatever fate the church authorities had for them.

"What about Archdeacon Dino?" Leo asked, "Will he still become the bishop of Milan?"

"He is an important man, and is part of a powerful family. However, I have a lot of influential friends myself, some of whom are enemies of the Mencini family. If we can locate other letters in his possession that link him to the abbot's murder, I think it will be easy enough to ensure he too stands trial, or at the very least goes into exile."

The bishop left, saying that he would do all he could, and thanked Leo for having the courage to do what he did. He kissed and blessed all three, and left with his heart in joy that his old friend was no murderer.

The last visitor was Luis, the dead abbot's nephew. He entered rather nervously, but addressed Leo.

"I would like to personally thank you for exposing the true killers of my dear uncle. I know he was no angel, and that in moments of weakness he was sometimes harsh to his charges, but he was always kind to me, and did not deserve to be slain like he was," The young man then spoke to Manuel.

"I regret that I was so convinced of your guilt, and would have struck you down myself had I been given the means at the beginning of the trial. Like almost everyone else, I believed the lies the real culprits had spread around."

"That's all right," Manuel answered. "There were times when even I was unsure of my own innocence."

Luis then produced the small silver crucifix that had now been returned to him, and he handed it to the young boy lying on the bed.

"I would like it if you would accept this small gift of gratitude, the inscription on the back still applies."

Leo thanked him, and then asked.

"Have you decided to enter the monkhood, this monastery still has a vacancy for an abbot?"

"No, I don't think so," Luis laughed. "It certainly has some benefits, but I think I will find a job in civilian life, the intrigues and politics within the clergy are more than I could bear."

After Luis had left, Leo finished off his tale.

"When I found the letter sent by Brother Alberti, I finally knew for sure you were innocent. Unfortunately, I could not get out of Archdeacon Dino's house until early the next morning. Fabio and me were dropped off by the carriage near to his squat, and after recovering my clothes, Fabio helped to guide me back to the inn where I should have remained the night. Brother Garibald was waiting for me when I arrived, and was none to pleased that I had delayed his departure. Fortunately, he did not waste too much time in scolding me, and we quickly set off back to the monastery. Throughout the night in Dino's, where I hardly slept, and during that long journey back, I had time to think through all the other facts of the case. Since I knew who was the killer, and who were the conspirators, I could eventually work out the missing pieces of the puzzle. I then remembered that you had written the inscription in that book you gave me with your left hand, and so I managed to work out the evidence that you could not have been the killer. We arrived back in the monastery just as the trial had started, and I so dashed into the chapel and took a place at the back. I had hoped to explain everything to the bishop before the trial, but as things worked out, I never had the chance."

Manuel had laughed or exclaimed throughout the entire telling, occasionally shaking his head in disbelief, particularly on hearing the risks Leo had gone to in order to ensure his innocence. He felt he should scold the boys for putting themselves in such danger, but right now he was too happy to criticise any of their deeds.

"You really are a very clever boy, indeed you both are, I'm sure I would have never have worked all that out." Manuel reached out and gently patted each boy on his head. He then addressed Leo. "Since you have not slept much last night, I am sure you are shattered, me and Marco will leave you to get some rest, we can awaken you for the evening meal,"

"But I am not tired at all," the boy complained. Given all the excitement, the adrenaline was still pumping through Leo's vanes, and sleep was not on his mind right now.

"You must rest."

"No please, we are together again, let's not part, please Manuel, let's make love now, I want to wipe away the memories of the horrible things that have happened since we parted. Please, do this for me."

Manuel smiled, and stroked the boy's hair as he lay, "You really are in no condition for this, you have been injured remember."

"My heart was wounded more than my shoulder, I feel fine, and I'm horny, grant me this little request."

Marco, who had sat quietly for a while, was suddenly feeling a bit out of place. "I'll leave you two alone then," and he got up from the bed.

Leo immediately sat up and took hold of the young boy's arm. "Don't go, please Marco. I want to make love with the two most important people in my life, you don't mind do you Manuel?"

The man just smiled as he pondered the fact that life could twist and turn in the most unexpected ways. At the start of the day, he was faced with almost certain execution, potentially even being burned alive. Yet here he was now, being offered a menage-a-trois with two ravishing boys. How could he refuse?

"If Marco wishes to stay, I would be delighted to include him in any fun we can get up to."

The little boy's face lit up in delight when he realised he was to be included in the love triangle. Tears of joy started to fall down his cheeks, and he flung his arms round Leo, and started to kiss his face.

"Steady on lad," Leo laughed, "Since I'm the injured one, I'll dictate what we all do, I hope that's okay." The other two nodded, this was not a day to deny him anything.

"Okay, Manuel, I want you to strip my little friend, kiss him all over."

Leo wanted to immediately join up Marco and the man, since they had not made love before, and he knew it would eliminate the awkwardness of the three together. Furthermore, Leo had seen so many different naked bodies in the proceeding 24 hours, he now simply wished to gaze once more on the bare flesh of his favourite little boy. The monk made short work of divesting the blond child of his clothing, and he took a moment to feast his eyes on the pretty young boy. Marco clearly loved being the centre of attention, and was even happier when the man started to gently kiss and touch his sensitive body. After some five minutes of such simulation, Manuel pulled the boy up so that he stood on the bed, which gave him easy access to the kid's small prick and balls.

"Make him cum," Leo shouted, and the monk slurped the boy's entire genitals into his mouth, and after wetting his finger, moved it round to the rear where it slipped into the Marco's rear hole. In such expert hands, the eleven year old quickly came, and Leo was thrilled to watch his mate's body shivering all over. When he calmed down, Manuel let the child slip into his lap, whereupon the young boy gazed at the other two with a contented smile on his face.

"What do we do next?" Marco asked when he had gotten his breath back.

"Manuel should strip off and lie down on the bed, then us boys can pleasure him."

The monk stood up, and pulled his brown robe off, and his large prick stood to attention. Leo was sure Manuel was quite a bit skinnier than he remembered, but that was to be expected for someone that had spent so long in jail. The teenager was already naked, as the monk had stripped him before he tended to his wound. The boy drew back the blanket covering him, and moved over to make room for the man. He winced from the pain in his shoulder, but was relieved that Manuel did not spot this, as he was sure the monk would have ended the fun immediately.

Brother Manuel lay down on his back and looked down at the two naked boys, Leo to his left, Marco to his right.

"Just repeat everything I do, only on your side," the dark haired teen told his little mate, and then slid further up the bed till his head was level with that of the monk. He started to kiss his adult lover on his right cheek, and Marco quickly followed suit on the left. The two young mouths crept steadily down, kissing and licking Manuel's neck, and upper chest, until they came to rest on his nipples, which were treated to a full sucking. The monk closed his eyes and revelled in the joy of this moment. He felt a bit guilty that the two children should be treating him, when he owed them so much. However from their giggles, and smiles as they checked on each other's progress, it was clear that they were having fun.

After the monk's nipples were erect, the two youngsters moved further down and started to lick his cock, one on each side. The feel of the their soft tongues on his throbbing prick sent Manuel into heaven, but was made even better when Leo slipped the head into his mouth, whilst the younger boy dropped down to lick the his heavy balls. The monk lost all track of time as the sensations overwhelmed his body, and just as he thought he was about to explode the sucking suddenly stopped. When he opened his eyes all he could see was Leo's gorgeous bottom, and he noticed the boy was busily applying saliva to his bumhole. Keeping his back to the man the boy then slowly impaled himself on the monk's hard cock, and when he was embuggered to the root, he lay back on to his lover's chest. The two lay still for a moment, delighting in their physical union, before the boy slowly moved his hips back and forth, fucking himself on the large prick inserted up his tight ass. Marco did not remain idle, but concentrated on sucking the elder boy's four inch prick, so that it was properly lubricated for him. The blond boy then stood over the fucking pair, twisted round, and slowly squatted down, so he too could get a hard prick up his young bum. The monk now had the weight of two boys on top of him, but he was so enjoying the fucking, he barely noticed. Leo was also in heaven, being sandwiched between the two people he loved, he was having the twin pleasure of fucking and being fucked. The grunts of the trio grew louder as their climaxes started to approach. Manuel started bucking his hips rapidly as he drove his prick in and out of Leo's rotating ass, yet then he froze and started to shoot wads of cream into the boy. The feel of this was enough to send the young teenager off, and so he too emptied his balls into the boy above him.

The three lay quietly for a while as their passions slowly subsided. The two boys had moved to either of the man, their head's resting on his chest, with one leg cast over his body. Manuel had an arm around each one, his hand firmly holding the boys' soft bottoms, making sure they didn't topple off the narrow bed.

"It's good to have you back," Leo said at last.

"It's good to be back," the monk replied.

"Now everybody knows you are left handed, will you join the other scribes in the library in the future?"

"Hmmm, I don't think so, I have got used to working in that little room, it would be hard to change now. I'd be happier staying put, as long as you visit me from time to time." Leo smiled up at the man, indicating he would definitely do just that.

"Though after what has happened, it will be difficult to settle down to the old routine," Manuel continued. "You know, I'm getting rather tired of copying books containing half-fictional accounts of holy men long dead. Do you think, in hundreds of years from now, anyone will want to read such stuff? No, I would really like to write something of my own, something that would be enjoyable to read."

"What would you write about?" Marco asked.

"Oh, I might write an erotic story about two boys, who are the best of friends, that embark on a series of adventures to free a wrongly imprisoned man."

The boys giggled when he said this, rather happy that he wanted to write about them.

"What will you call it?" Leo asked.

"Hmmm, I don't know, maybe 'Monastery Tales' would be a good name."

Marco grinned at them, and whilst lightly slapping his naked bum, he added, "Considering what the boys used to help the man, perhaps a better name would be Monastery Tails!"

The End