Castle in the Clouds

On a cot in the corner of a room made of stone, Nasuko slept—her pale, naked body illuminated by a shaft of light infiltrating through one of the room’s slitted windows, shading her a brilliant golden yellow, like paint on a canvas. The room was threadbare, containing only some pots and pans, a hearth (unlit), and a wooden table with a chair.

Draped over the chair were the only clothes Nasuko owned: a simple blue dress, white lace undergarments (sheer), and a white bow she would use to tie her hair back. It was what she had been wearing when the men came and took everything; likely, it will be what she wears when she meets her death. Apart from the steady rise and fall of Nasuko’s bare shoulders, the stillness of the room was absolute.  

Outside, the clouds had parted to reveal a lone stone tower atop the ridge of a mountain—a singular circular parapet that looked as though it had separated itself, at one point or another, from the rest of the castle it had originally been a part of. On the roof, standing idly, was a jet-propelled plane.  

Nasuko was aware she had awoken, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to start her day. The cool air of the early morning felt good on her exposed skin. It gave her goose pimples, making the little hairs on her arms stand up like they would whenever there was an electrical storm outside. Once, Nasuko had actually flown through such a storm, experiencing equal parts fear and awe when her silky, golden hair had stood straight up, hanging immobile in the air as if possessed. It was rare for her to take the plane out, even rarer for the weather to surprise her like that. If ever Nasuko had any doubts before flying, she would postpone until the feeling passed. Better to be safe than sorry. Luckily for her, she could hear no foul weather brewing, nor any wind, nor any indication at all that the day would be anything but sunny and bright. Perfect for flying.  

Rolling over onto her back, Nasuko sighed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. When her vision unblurred and her body came back into focus, she was startled by how gaunt she had become, remembering back to a time when she had been curvy, with breasts big enough to grab one in each hand and squeeze, and a butt that did not feel hard in her hand, but which gave in softly to the pressure of her touch, like a downy pillow. The only part of her left unscathed was a patch of bright red hair where her legs met at the middle, healthy and luscious hair, her prized possession, and the only remnant of her once virile body.  

The image of the boy flashed in Nasuko’s mind, startling her.

A wetness. Reaching down, Nasuko slipped a finger into herself, feeling the warm, moist walls of her vaginal cavity. A good sign. Swinging her legs over the side of the cot, planting her bare feet on the cold stone floor, Nasuko stood, her breasts jiggling lightly as she did. When the bombs fell after the men came, it had been sheer luck that her portion of the castle had been spared. Life was nothing more than an unbroken chain of luck—at least, that was how Nasuko saw things.  

The last buttons of her dress buttoned, and with her hair tied, Nasuko sat down to have a light breakfast, the same food she would have every time she flew, a meal consisting of hardtack and pickled vegetables. Something light but hardy enough to get her through. Better than just vegetables, but worse than a meal with meat.  

By her estimates, it had been two years since she last had a proper meal, not since the boy had died, back when the castle was still intact, and she was still hiding out in the walls for fear of being found out and made into a concubine or something equally degrading. The men attacked under the cover of night. Patsu, Nasuko’s brother, spotted them while out on a midnight patrol in his plane. He said it looked like the night sky but on the ground, their innumerable torches spread across the landscape like a blanket of stars. The warning had come too late. The kingdom of Elsinor—her father’s kingdom—was known as a hub for engineering and the arts; her people were scientists and creatives, not warriors. A backlog of repairs meant their fleet of fighter jets had been reduced to just twelve serviceable ships, and their standing army numbered at most a quarter of the total number of enemies Patsu reported back. They were practically doomed from the start. Nasuko had begged her father to let her fly even though she was still in training, but he refused, commanding her to stay hidden away in one of the castle’s secret rooms until he came to get her.  

The sounds of death and destruction were all around her. Nasuko’s hideout, hidden behind a wall in a room normally reserved for visiting guests of the royal family, in the farthest tower at one end of the castle, was little more than a closet, never meant to be lived in for very long. However, when it became clear to Nasuko that Elsinor had not only been defeated, it had been conquered, and all its inhabitants either banished, enslaved, or killed, she realized she would have to do just that, for a time, at least until she could figure out an escape.  

The first day was filled with the screams of the dying. The second day was marked by the movement of many feet. The third day all was quiet. On the fourth day, the boy moved into the room.  

He must’ve been about her age, Nasuko didn’t know why she always referred to him as “the boy” in her head, it just felt right. He did have a boyish face, even if his arms were strong, and his legs lean. Against her better judgement, Nasuko had carved out a peephole in the rock wall between her hideout and what was now, by all appearances, the room of some young prince, or auxiliary member of the new royal family that had lately taken over the castle. In three short days the invaders had been able to destroy Nasuko’s life, and erase it from memory. The thought astounded her.  

What little food she had managed to grab in her rush to get into the room quickly dwindled. By the end of the first week Nasuko was hungry. By the end of the second week she was nearly delirious. She had been scheming that whole time, planning her escape, watching the boy’s movements to see if there was a pattern, so she could time it up just right. Unfortunately, the boy appeared to have no routine, spending most of his time in bed reading, or writing in a journal at his desk.  

Sixteen days had passed since the attack when Nasuko slipped out of a crack in the stone wall, disappearing down the hallway toward the kitchen where she knew she could grab some much needed food, and where there was a hidden passageway from the time of the old kings, part of a series of interconnected tunnels running through the mountainside, the use of which had been forbidden for as long as Nasuko could remember due to the age of the tunnels and their unstable nature.  

Raiding the kitchen proved simple enough, the only guard she encountered on the way was asleep. With bread, cheese, and some cured meat in hand, Nasuko rounded a corner out of the kitchen, coming face to face with a spiral staircase where she knew there was a hidden switch that opened an entrance to the tunnels.

Nasuko’s disappointment was palpable when the stone wall opened to reveal the ancient passageway had collapsed in on itself, likely years before, and was now completely inaccessible. She all but limped back to the room, licking her wounds, too lost in thought to realize the boy had awoken, and was sitting up in bed in only his underwear with a strange look on his face, watching her as she stood in front of the half-open door to her hideout.  

Immobilized by fear, she could only watch as the boy stood and approached her. He lifted a hand, cupping her chin, pulling it lightly toward him, stooping as he did so, so that they were now face to face. Nasuko could feel his warm breath on her lips, see the definition of his ab muscles.  

“Are you a ghost?” he said.

She couldn’t help but smile. It took everything in her not to confirm this suspicion. “No,” she said.

The boy’s eyes searched her face. “You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you living in my wall?”

“You’re living in my castle. Well, my family’s castle.”

“I see.”

Nasuko thought she felt the slightest shift in the way he held her face in his hand, from gentle suggestion to an almost forceful persuasion. He let go of her, stepping back.  

“Your kingdom is no more. I will have to report you, have them take you away.”

Something about the way he said the last part made Nasuko feel like he was unconvinced of this himself.  

“Wait! Please don’t. I’ll do anything—anything.”

Dropping the food to the floor, Nasuko stepped to where the boy was, throwing herself onto him, kissing his bare chest, nibbling at his nipples. He had to push her away, but, she thought, only half-heartedly. Part of her studies as a pilot in training had been concerned with human anatomy and, by proxy, the act of sexual reproduction. Though she never found time to try it herself, or a willing partner, for that matter, Nasuko was nevertheless intrigued by the topic, and even went so far as to locate several volumes on the subject in the royal library, reading them in her free time. She learned all about vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, and filatio, in addition to the existence of several kinds of kinks and so called “fetishes.” In one of the books, she read that sex could persuade a man to do just about anything, even convince him to turn on his kin. It was time to test the theory.  

“I apologize. On my honor I would never take advantage of you in that way,” said the boy, bright red in the face. “If you please, it would be best if you came without a fight.”

Again, Nasuko detected a hint of doubt in his voice.  

“I’ve been watching you.”

“You have?” said the boy, avoiding eye contact.

“What do you write? In your notebook?”

“Poetry.”

“I’d like to read some.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now.”

The boy hesitated, before dutifully retrieving the journal from on top of the desk. Turning back around, it fell from his hand to the floor with a dull thud when the boy realized Nasuko had undone her dress and let it fall in a puddle of blue fabric. Her sheer underwear did little to hide her pink nipples, and the red strip of hair at her crotch. The boy could see every curve of her body lit up by the flickering candlelight: her full breasts hanging like teardrops, her flat stomach, wide hips and thick legs rippling with muscle, courtesy of her daily exercises, part of her training. Nasuko could see his cock swelling in his underwear, stretching the fabric.  

Stepping toward him, Nasuko reached up with a hand to cup the boy’s face, bringing her lips to his, kissing him, and he, not kissing her back, still not sure if he should proceed or turn and run. Nasuko knew she had him now.  

Turning, Nasuko bent over the bed, sticking her butt straight up behind her, flashing the boy her pink little butthole, and tight pussy through her see-through undergarments. She waited. Before long came the touch of a hand on her ass, and the unmistakable feeling of the boy’s erect penis penetrating her.  

Nasuko winced at the way he jammed it in there, all dry and hard and rough. Thinking back to what she had read, Nasuko realized they were suffering from a lack of lubrication. The boy was struggling to fuck her dry pussy, trying to ram it in there dumbly, like the problem was he wasn’t pushing hard enough. Calmly, Nasuko spit on her hand and reached back, gripping the boy’s cock so that the wetness rubbed off, feeling the cool spit hit hit her vagina with relief, causing her body’s natural lubrication system to kick in.  

It was just like she’d always imagined it, reading about it, dreaming about it. She could feel his cock penetrating her deep, feel its edges as it scraped the walls of her vagina. And then she remembered the clit, and rubbed it, surprised when she felt an explosion of sensation, and a substantial increase in wetness, allowing for the boy to fuck her even deeper. She felt as he came, his legs shaking, the liquid oozing out of his cock, pooling in her lower belly.  

Pulling himself out, Nasuko turned around, kneeling on the ground, immediately taking the boy into her mouth.  

“Agh.” The boy hadn’t expected to go again so soon, but Nasuko wanted it, she had to admit, even if it was simply a deal she was making—her life for his pleasure—she was still a scientist, and this was research. Nasuko wanted to engineer sexual pleasure the way she did her plane, open it up, see how it all worked. Back and forth her head moved, shoving the boy’s cock as far down her throat as it could go, till she almost gagged.  

The boy undid her sheer lace bra, letting fall her breasts. He reached down, pinching one of Nasuko’s nipples lightly, twisting it, sending shocks into her belly.  

So, he had done some reading as well? Nipple pinches were not innate to a sexual novice, who did not expect pain to be associated so closely with pleasure. Nasuko felt him getting hard again, swelling with the load she planned to swallow this time around.  

In the flickering candlelight, Nasuko’s hair caught the red glow, magnifying it, shimmering like the sea at sunset, her hair rippling like waves along with the motion of her head as she swallowed the boy's cock down her throat. Reaching around, Nasuko pressed her fingers against the boy’s butthole, feeling him shiver at the pressure, moaning as she slipped in an index finger to the knuckle. He came again, a smaller load this time. Nasuko swallowed it with ease, licking the rest off of the head as it continued to trickle out, noting the unique flavor of the liquid, not unpleasant at all.

Nasuko turned around again, presenting her butthole to the boy, ready to be fucked anally now, to see how that would feel, but the boy said he had to take a break. So, they lay together on the bed, holding each other.  

The boy kept her a secret for months. Nasuko was now free to move about the room all she liked, but the boy forbade her from trying to leave, even going so far as to install a guard outside the door twenty-four-seven in case she got any ideas. In all that time, the boy and Nasuko explored each other sexually, each night trying some new position, or sequence of positions, or some new kink or fetish Nasuko had read about to see how it felt. It was a terrifying time for her, but also, too, very exciting. She came to find she loved anal intercourse most of all, the grinding, the pain mixed with pleasure, and the fact that she had to totally relax and give in to the sensation in order for the boy to be able to squeeze into her tiny hole.  

Of course it couldn’t last forever. When the boy returned to the room one night in a fury, Nasuko could only listen in horror as he detailed to her the reason why he had to turn her in once and for all, in order to save face for some “misunderstanding” that had occured, which had caused him to fall out of grace with the new king. Why he thought she would go down without a fight, Nasuko couldn’t say. Perhaps he came to expect her obedience. Maybe he thought she loved him? The boy promised it would all be alright, that he would fight to free her, but Nasuko saw no other choice than to kill him, slit his throat right then and there with a knife leftover from dinner.  

Nasuko could hear from her hideout the frantic movement of feet as people came and went, gawking, talking, postulating as to where the boy could have gone, and if foul play was suspected. The bombs fell at an opportune time, his body was just beginning to stink in that little room no bigger than a closet, and Nasuko couldn’t take much more of it. If it got any worse someone would be able to smell it from the outside, and they’d be found out.  

So, when the whole world shook and rattled and groaned for what felt like an eternity, before stopping all at once, the discovery that the rest of the castle had been erased from existence was almost a relief to Nasuko. By all accounts she was now alone.  

That afternoon, Nasuko watched as the boy's body fell into the endless abyss below.  

Traversing the castle ruins and mountainside, Nasuko found the entrance to a usable tunnel, one day, months into her isolation. It led to a hangar with a jet, the one that had been set aside just for her. She had flown the thing up onto the roof, as far as she could get it on a practically empty tank.

Nasuko had to grow her fuel, distilling and processing it from plants she harvested from the mountain. It took up a sizable portion of her roof garden, but it was worth it. One day, she might actually find something out there, someone who could help. With such limited resources her flights were impossibly short, and she could only go up once every six months. She’d considered saving the fuel to go on a longer flight, but knew that the nearest civilization was more than a full tank’s worth of distance away. It would have to come down to luck once again.  

On the roof of the tower, there was no wind, only still, warm air and clear skies as far as the eye could see. Nasuko ducked under one of the wings of her plane, running a hand along the smooth metal surface. Today was the day; she would be going up again.  

The jet engine kicked on with a sputter and a whirr. The vibration felt good, tickling Nasuko’s pussy, making it tingle. Pulling back on the stick, the jet launched vertically, before Nasuko pressed down and the engines adjusted, propelling the jet forward through the clouds.  

Nasuko felt free when she flew—light, like a feather, but strong like an ox at the same time. Impossibly fast and yet agile, nimble, lithe. She cut through the sky in twists and turns, slicing through the thin air like a knife through butter.  

When it came time to turn back around and head home, no signs of life having been detected from above, Nasuko was surprised by how frightening the prospect seemed to her: returning to that god-awful place, alone, to wither and die slowly locked away from the rest of the world.  

As if on its own accord, the jet kept flying, farther and farther from the tower, where the castle had been, and Patsu, and the boy—until night crept in, and the engines sputtered and died. It was only a matter of time now, Nasuko knew she could only glide on the wind for so long.

On the horizon, she saw a light.