This is the story of Alyssa, a sixteen year old girl growing up in the middle ages.

Alyssa’s dad, a successful merchant, had gathered a fair amount of wealth during his years of trading. Accompanying him for as long as she could remember, Alyssa had never gotten to know many people her own age. Nevertheless the girl had no problem being raised by her Dad, they got along very well. She tried making herself useful whenever she could, helping to unload the goods, taking care of the horses, preparing the food…

Everything seemed to be going fine until some time ago. Her father had decided it was time for his daughter to stop travelling and settle down. Hoping he could find a suitable husband for his little girl, he set off on a journey of his own. It wasn’t common for a low-born girl like Alyssa to get a decent marriage, but the money he had accumulated should make up for that. He had made sure his daughter stayed a virgin, which was a requirement for getting a high-born husband in these days.

Since his youthful daughter wasn’t used to being around others very much, them being travelling most of the time. The father had decided to leave her to work as a maid in the castle of Isden. The girl would hopefully get to know some nice people and learn a thing or two about life.

Isden was situated at the coast, making it a centerpoint of many trade routes. Setting off at this harbor, Alyssa’s dad had bought a ship. With a cargo of goods to sell, he was always on the lookout for good deals and potential partners for his daughter.

---

“You can put your clothes over there. Clover will bring you new ones, you can’t work in a kitchen wearing those rags.”
Alyssa looked around the room as she received a lecture about how dirty she was. The chamber they were in, was somewhat clammy. A big cog stood in the middle of the room, Elory had clarified that Alyssa would have to bathe before anything else. Elory was the head of the kitchen, the first person Alyssa had met today. She was an unattractive and rather big woman, perhaps even fat. Alyssa guessed it was like this with all cooks. But the big wart on the women’s nose didn’t make her any prettier. Alyssa thought it made her look like an evil witch.

“Hurry now, we don’t have all day.”
Alyssa certainly hoped Elory wasn’t going to be like this for her entire stay. Her dad never had haste with anything, but this woman… Alyssa got nervous just by looking at her.

Revealing her skinny upper body as she took off her shirt, Alyssa held a thin arm in front of her small breasts. With only one free hand to take off her trousers and underwear, it took her a while. When she had finally taken off everything, Elory inspected her naked teenage body.
“Hmmm, not bad. I can see why your dad is looking for an appropriate husband for you.”

Alyssa looked down at her body, trying to find what it was that Elory had seen. It couldn’t have been her breasts, she had made sure to keep them covered with her arm. Maybe it was something else? Her dad had always said her pelvis was to narrow, that she couldn’t give birth well with such tiny waist. Maybe Elory had seen something her dad hadn’t.

“Get in the tub now. Clover will be here any minute.”
The way she said it, seemed as if it was urgent. Maybe Elory had something else to do. She didn’t stay around for Alyssa to get in the water and left.

The tub seemed like the only way avoid the cold. Chills had started to creep at her young body. Alyssa stepped in the cog. The water was hotter than she had expected. But it had been so long since she had bathed, she didn’t really mind. Slowly she lowered herself down in the steaming water. When her shoulders reached the surface, she heard the door creek open.

A pretty blonde girl walked in the room, carrying a pile of brown clothes. It had struck Alyssa that almost everyone around these parts was blond, in contrast with her own black hair. The girl looked like she was around Alyssa’s age. A cute blond braid hung on each said of her head, giving her a typical milkmaid look. She was a bit taller than Alyssa, but equally skinny as her.
“Hey, here are your clothes.”

She guessed this was Clover, the girl Elory had been talking about. A smile spread across the blonde’s face as she watched Alyssa relax in the cog. Alyssa felt the need to say something back.
“Thanks.”

“Elory said you might need a hand.”
The girl went to sit down on the edge of the tub, looking at Alyssa who was in the water to her neck. The blonde seemed to be carefully examining her.
“You don’t look as filthy as Elory described you.” She noted.

Alyssa didn’t know if she had to take this as a compliment, she didn’t want to look stupid by saying ‘thanks’ again. Instead she settled with something neutral.
“Are you Clover?”

“Yep.”
It was the most cheerful ‘yep’ Alyssa had ever heard.
“Elory has asked me to look after you a bit. It’s Alyssa right?”

“Yeah.”

“Want me to help you wash your hair?” Clover asked, pointing at a green flask on the table Alyssa hadn’t noticed before.

“Sure.” She nodded, a bit surprised by the kindness of the blond girl. The girl came to sit on her knees behind Alyssa. As Clover opened the flask and started pouring its content onto Alyssa’s head, she couldn’t help but notice how good it smelled.

“So how long are you planning to stay?” Clover inquired, as a way to start a conversation. Her hands started to rub the soap into Alyssa’s black hair.

“Uhm… Until my dad finds me a husband.”

“You’re getting married?” Clover sounded surprised.

“Well not yet, he still needs to find someone suitable.” Alyssa explained. Clover continued rubbing her head, making sure the soap got everywhere. Alyssa couldn’t remember feeling this relaxed in a long time.

But the girl seemed to not fully understand her.
“What do you mean? Suitable?”

“Uhmm…” Alyssa pondered for a while, as she didn’t know the answer to that question immediately. “Someone worthy of my virtue.”

Clover’s fingers stroked through her hair as she started to understand what Alyssa was saying.
“You mean your virginity?”

“Yes… that’s why I’m not allowed to ride horses.”

That left Clover baffled.
“Huh, what?” She had no idea what Alyssa meant by that.

If her head wasn’t undergoing such a delightful massage at the time, she would have probably let out a sigh.
“My dad says. If a girl rides a horse and it’s a bit wild, it is possible for the girl to break her hymen.” Explained Alyssa.

“So you are saving your virginity until your dad finds this unknown man?” It sounded even crazier to her as she said it herself.
“You’re going to disappoint a lot of boys, by doing that.”

“Which boys?”
Alyssa hadn’t seen a lot of boys before. Her father almost always kept her by his side. But the ones she had seen, sure had looked interesting.

Using her hands to cup some water from the tub, Clover poured it onto Alyssa’s head and started washing away the soap.
“Oh, you’ll see which boys...”

---

When they got into the kitchen, the delicious smell of roasted chicken was all around them. Alyssa was now wearing a brown apron-like dress, similar to the one Clover was wearing. It covered up everything from her neck to her elbows and her knees. But when she walked, a gentle breeze could be felt coming from beneath. The other girl had helped her to dry. After which she had assisted Alyssa into her dress. It was a bit odd to Alyssa, to let someone besides her dad see her naked. But since Elory had seen her too, she figured it was ok. It’s not like she had to be shy of her body. She might not be perfectly built for giving birth. The few men that she had talked to, had always been full of compliments about how she looked.

There were two boys in the kitchen, both working at the spitroast. They had their upper bodies uncovered and sweating because of the heat. Alyssa couldn’t seem to keep her eyes of their bodies as Clover pulled her closer to introduce her to them.
“This is Damien.” She pointed to the guy on the left. He had strong arms and a handsome face. Something in his eyes gave Alyssa the impression, that he was the dominant of the two.
“And this is Martin.”
He was smaller in size, but about the same age. Martin had her back turned to her, busy with the chicken.

Like most other people she had met, they were blonde too.
“Hello, there beauty.” The guy on the left said. He was grinning so broad, his teeth were visible. Alyssa had already forgotten his name, distracted by his good looking body and charming smile.

The other boy seemed more occupied with the spitroast and merely mumbled.“Hey.”
His well formed back shone from the sweat as Alyssa inspected him.

“Hi.” She muttered timidly, not knowing what more she could add.

“C’mon. There still plenty more thing I have to show you.”
Clover was already pulling her hand to go elsewhere. As they left the room, Alyssa saw Damien slap Clover’s butt when she passed. But the girl didn’t seem to react to it.

---

Their tour around the kitchens and big part of the castle ended in the cellar. It was getting late already and Alyssa started to wonder when they would eat.

“So what do you think?” Clover asked, as she sat herself down on top of a barrel.

“Uh, it seems like a nice place to stay.”
The gardens were beautiful, the kitchen looked great and the rest of the castle seemed very interesting.

“Ye, I know.” The look on clover’s face changed to a more curious one. “But what about the boys?”

“What about them?”
They had been handsome, that much Alyssa was forced to admit. But she wasn’t here for boys, her dad could come back any day with her husband.

“How old are you, Alyssa?”

“Sixteen. Why? You?”

“I’m seventeen.” Clover answered.
“Didn’t you just want to eat them when you saw them?” She continued her question with a grin.

“Eat them?”
Alyssa was puzzled. Did she just say eat them?

The look on Clover’s face changed again, this time it looked more worriedly.
“You have never kissed a boy before have you?”

Alyssa felt her cheeks grow red. Not daring to answer, she set her gaze on something in the distance.

As Clover realized what situation she had put Alyssa into, she tried to make up.
“Don’t worry. Martin will gladly teach you.”

“Teach me?”
With a surprised look on her face, Alyssa turned her head to Clover again.

“Yeah. Damien will teach you too if you prefer him. But I recommend Martin, he’s much more gentle.” Clover saw that the other girl had no idea what she was talking about. “How are you going to take care of your husband, if you don’t even know how to kiss?”

Alyssa had no answer to that. So Clover just kept on babbling.
“They will be here any minute now, with the food. We always eat here in the cellar.”

Not much later they heard the guys come down the stairway.
“Anybody hungry?”
Damien entered the room with two loafs of bread and some chunks of meat. Followed by Martin who was carrying the beer. They were both fully clothed now, but their strong arms were still visible.

It seemed that the roasted chicken had made its way upstairs, to the Lords and Ladies. But Alyssa’s hunger was big enough, to be pleased with the scraps she was given. As the four youngsters attacked the bread, conversation started flowing.

“So are you pleased by how things go around here?” Martin asked.

She had just stuffed her mouth with a piece of bread. “Uhumm.” She nodded to make sure he understood it was a ‘yes’.

“I think she’s more interested in food than in you.” Damien chuckled, taking a drink of his mug.

“Alyssa has been travelling with her dad a lot, she hasn’t really met any boys.” Clover informed them. Alyssa looked from one face to the other as they talk about her, her mouth still full, unable to speak.
“She hasn’t even kissed before.” Clover kept on talking. Then winking at Martin as she continued. “But she’s willing to try.”

“Oh! Are you?”
Damien moved closer to Alyssa. As the boy spoke, she could smell the beer he had been drinking. She leant away from him, trying to avoid the scent.

“Damien, you’re scaring her.”
The blonde girl intervened and pulled him back. “C’mon, you can take care of me instead.” Clover took his hand and they went to sit in a corner behind some barrels. Alyssa could hear her new friend laughing sporadically, but had no idea what they were doing.

Left alone with Martin at the table, she couldn’t help but stare at him once in a while. When she had first met them, she had thought Damien to be the most handsome. Her opinion had definitely changed now. Martin appeared friendlier and more loveable than his taller counterpart. When their eyes crossed, Alyssa immediately looked away to dodge his gaze.

“Is it true?” Martin started to scout what Alyssa was really thinking. “Do you want to try kissing?”

“I know how to kiss… I’ve kissed my dad before.” Responded the girl, dubious if she didn’t know something about kissing all the others seemed to know.

“Surely not like how you kiss a boy?”

More cheerful noises came from behind the barrels, the two were definitely having a good time. Alyssa wondered what was so fun back there. Martin’s strange questions were rather confusing, she wanted to do something fun too.
“What do you mean, how I kiss a boy?”

Martin started to understand what kind of unknowing sapling he was dealing with. He stood up and went to sit next to her, laying his arm around her tender shoulders. A bit overtaken by the sudden approach, Alyssa still found herself rather comfortable beneath his arm. What really surprised her, was his face closing in. Before she realized what was happening, his lips were pressed onto hers.
Is this what he meant by kissing a boy?
It wasn’t until Martin opened his mouth and started to lick at her lips, Alyssa started to find it really strange.
What is he doing?
It was odd, but it felt kind of good.
As he had his arm around her, there was no easy way to back off. But it didn’t take her long to appreciate the feeling and once she did, Alyssa didn’t want to escape anymore.

As Martin kept licking at her lips, he became increasingly aggressive at it. For a moment Alyssa thought he was trying to eat her. His tongue pushed forcefully against her lips. As a reaction she parted them slightly. Martin used this gap to his advantage and brought his tongue into her mouth. She had no idea what he was doing. The only thing she did know, was that it felt like nothing she had ever felt before.

When Alyssa thought she was finally getting an idea of what she was supposed to do, she felt Martin’s hand on her inner thigh. A bit too high for her expectations. Rapidly she stood up and backed off, leaving Martin with a puzzled look on his face. Alyssa couldn’t understand how his hand got so far up her dress, without her noticing it. She had to think about her virtue!

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Martin uttered. He couldn’t fully comprehend why she looked so aghast. He hadn’t meant to scare her like that.

The loud footsteps on the staircase announced that Elory was coming down. Alyssa quickly tried to straighten her dress again and sat down. In the background she could still hear Clover and Damien making noises. She wondered if they were kissing like this too?

As the fat woman entered the room, she looked over to the barrels where Clover was and called out to her. “Hey, are you rumbling with the boys again? You’d better show Alyssa to her room.”
Then she turned her gaze to Martin. “And you, better clean this mess up. I want these mugs back in the kitchen.”

In the back of the room, Clover appeared from behind the barrels. It was clear that Damien had been under her dress, it was all wrinkled.
“I’ll be right there, Alyssa.” She giggled.

They had only caught sight of Clover for a few seconds, before Damien pulled her back behind the barrels. Clover giggled even louder.

“I can show her to her room.” Martin suggested to the old woman, as he started stacking the dishes. “Clover seems a bit occupied.”

Elory raised an eye.
“Maybe Clover should un-occupy herself then?”
She then looked to Alyssa and asked in a more friendly way. “Are you ok, with Martin showing you your room?”

“Sure.” It sounded happier, than Alyssa had intended to sound.

“Very well.”
Elory left the room again.

---

“I’m sorry about before.” Martin said, as he showed Alyssa to her room.

“It’s ok.” Alyssa explained. “I was just a bit startled, that’s all.”

“Ye sorry… Anyway here is your room.” He pointed to a medium chamber containing only a bed and nightdrawers.

“Thanks. Goodnight.” She smiled.

As Alyssa entered her new room, Martin called out for her.
“Alyssa wait!”
The girl turned around and he gave her a big kiss on the lips to seal the day.
“Goodnight.” He whispered.

To be continued…