The Prince and the Prince
(An anthology)
 

 by: Hankster

© 2023 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

hankster@tickiestories.us

Back Story

Tucked away in The Austrian Alps there was once a small land-locked kingdom called Mont Bella.   Neither King Philip, nor his wife, had any living relatives, so when Queen Anna Louise gave birth to twin sons in 1699 AD, the survival of the kingdom was assured.  Unfortunately, neither prince ever sired children, and when they both died late in the eighteenth century, the kingdom was split, and absorbed by Switzerland and Austria.

Henry was born a mere five minutes before William.  As the king’s first-born, Henry was always treated as heir to the throne.  William was very well treated, but certainly never pampered like his older brother.  He always felt like Henry’s shadow.  It existed, and it was there, but it had no function. The two boys were extremely isolated within the palace walls.  They had no relatives and no friends at all.  In the early eighteenth-century princes did not go to school with their subjects.  They were tutored at home.

When the princes were thirteen years old, a marriage was arranged between Henry and a princess from a neighboring kingdom.  The betrothed, Princess Mary, was only eleven years old.  The marriage was to take place on Henry’s eighteenth birthday.  A fantastic state celebration was already being planned in both countries.  Luckily for William, he was spared a prearranged marriage.

Unfortunately, when the princes were fifteen years old, King Philip and Queen Anna Louise both developed a terrible sickness, which in modern times is called pneumonia.  They both died an hour apart, and Henry ascended to the throne.  His first official act was to annul his forthcoming marriage to Princess Mary.  His advisors were furious, but Mary was more thrilled than Henry.  She was fifth in line to the throne of her country.  She felt no responsibility to the monarchy, nor any hesitancy in entering a convent when she was sixteen.  She felt that it was her calling.

The second thing Henry did was to cut a hole in the wall between his bedroom and William’s.  They had adjoining rooms.  Master carpenters turned the hole into a very ornate door.  In fact, it was a work of art.  The door provided the twins with complete privacy.  They could visit each other without anyone knowing.  They were always lonely, and had been visiting each other, and sleeping together at night, for some time now.  Unfortunately, they had to sneak out in the hall, and hope that nobody saw them.  The same sneaky process was repeated early the next morning as one of them returned to his room.

Perhaps if they had friends or other siblings, it would not have happened, but the two princes began to pleasure themselves sexually from the time they were eleven years old.  By the age of sixteen, they participated in manual, oral and anal sex.  They had no instructions.  Whatever they did, they did purely by instinct.  Nor did they have any idea that what they did was a crime in their country, and most others.  They had no way to know that they were doing anything wrong.  Even if they did, they considered themselves to be above the law.  Anyway, Henry would rule someday, and he could change the law.

Prologue

One afternoon, when they were about twelve years old, Henry excused himself from his tutor to use the chamber pot in his bedroom.  As soon as he left the room, King Philip walked into the classroom.  Philip took William’s hand.

“Come with me, Henry,” he said.  “I’m about to meet with my advisors, and I think from now on you should sit in on such meetings.  After all, the throne will be yours someday.” 

William was amazed.  He knew that he and Henry looked exactly alike, but neither of his parents had ever mistaken one of them for the other in the past.  He wondered if they were growing to look more alike as they matured.  He decided to pull a childish prank.  He went to the meeting with his father, and the truth of his identity was never discovered.  His tutor was too frightened to correct the king, or to say anything at all.

William’s little escapade was so amusing to Henry, that the heir to the throne laughed his sides off when William told him about it.  After that, they switched identities often, and nobody ever suspected.  It was a joke to them, but Philip and his advisors would not have laughed.  It was a serious breach of protocol. 

To be honest, even as they grew older, they sometimes switched places when it wasn’t a joke.  It was customary for the king to deliver a speech to the populace on Christmas Eve.  The first Christmas after his parents died, Henry prepared his short speech.  When the time came to address his subjects, Henry found himself with a very sore throat.  He could barely talk.

He ordered William to deliver the speech for him.  William was unprepared, and he balked at switching places with his brother.

“It’s not a request,” Henry whispered.  “It’s an order.”

William had to obey his sovereign, brother or not.

Henry saw how distressed William was, so again he whispered, “Don’t fret, Brother.  When I feel better, I’ll give you a special present in bed.”

“When the time comes, I’ll remind you of your debt,” William said, laughing. 

He stepped out onto the balcony overlooking a vast courtyard.  The courtyard was full of King Henry’s subjects.  They braved the cold winter air for a chance to see their young and very handsome king.  They all cheered loudly as King Henry (William) wished them all a very Happy Christmas and blessed them.

At the festive Christmas Eve feast that evening, Henry stayed in bed, and William took his place.  Not a single person realized that (William) was absent from the festivities.  Now there was no question in William’s mind that he was Henry’s shadow, which was slowly disappearing into the background.

For the next two weeks, until Henry recovered, William took his brother’s place whenever Henry’s presence was required to handle the demands of state.  For the first time in his life, William realized that he was better off than his overworked brother.  He accepted his role as his brother’s shadow, with relief.  He also accepted the role of the king’s chief advisor.  Henry had bestowed the honor on his brother.  It was never a case of nepotism.  Henry really depended on his brother’s counseling and advice.

William had resigned himself to his role in life, but Henry rebelled at all the responsibility he had to bear.  Without giving it a second thought, he made William stand in for him often, and like it or not, William shared his burden.  William loved his brother, and he was glad to help him out.  It’s a good thing that William was not an evil twin.  He could easily have usurped the throne.  Henry would not have cared, and William didn’t want it.

*****

The only friend either prince had was each other.  They both longed to go to school like other boys, to play sports, and to be allowed to bruise themselves occasionally.  Alas, the only sports they were taught were archery amd fencing.  They enjoyed it, but would have preferred contact sports.  They both knew that they were being pampered, especially Henry.  Henry’s title was Crown Prince.  William was an ordinary prince.

They were just shy of their eleventh birthday, when one night Henry was feeling lonelier than usual.  He did what a crown prince could do.  He got out of bed and crept stealthily to William’s room.  On the other hand, brother or not, William had to ask Henry’s permission to enter his room.

Henry climbed into William’s bed.  He shook William’s shoulder, and when his “kid” brother was awake, Henry told him to move over.  The brothers hunkered up to each other.

“Is anything wrong?” William asked.

“No,” Henry answered.  “I just don’t want to be alone tonight.  Now be quiet, and let me get some sleep.”

“Of course.  Whatever you say.”    

William rolled over, and Henry slithered up to him.  They lay this way all night, like two nesting spoons.  In order to make himself more comfortable, Henry threw his arm around his brother, and they both fell asleep.  In their sleep something strange happened.  Henry’s penis was nesting in William’s crack.  It felt rather good to both princes.  Henry rubbed faster, and William pushed his ass harder into Henry’s childish weenie.  Henry felt a strange sensation.  It was prelude to an orgasm.  He didn’t reach a climax, but he sure felt good.  He stopped rubbing, and William stopped pushing, when they both fell asleep.

When William woke up in the morning, Henry was gone.  He wanted to get back to his room before he was detected.  After that they visited each other almost every night.  They alternated which bed they would sleep in.  When Henry became king, and built a door between their rooms, they didn’t have to sneak around anymore.

With each passing day, Henry hated his position in life more and more.  He found all the pomp and circumstances to be ludicrous.  The protocol of the monarchy was yet a bigger joke to him.  He ordered his brother to impersonate him more frequently, so that he could take much needed breaks.  William didn’t like it, but he was not as negative as Henry about the monarchy.  He began to believe that he was more suited for the job than his brother.  Of course, he kept his mouth sealed.

On their eighteenth birthday, the day which was to have been Henry’s wedding day, Henry summoned William into the throne room.  He dismissed all the servants, and told them to tight shut the door.

“Why all the formality?” Henry wondered out loud.  “You could have spoken to me at dinner, or even more privately, in bed tonight.”

“I summoned you to the throne room for good reason,” Henry said.  “I have a proposition for you.  My wish is that you accept it voluntarily.  If you don’t, I’m afraid I’ll have to make it an order, Willie.”

“You have me frightened,” William admitted.  “When you tell me what the proposition is, will I continue to love you or hate you?”

“I’m not sure,” the king said, “but I hope you will love me more.”

“Well, you certainly have me intrigued.  Talk,” William said.

“Don’t you feel like a prisoner in this palace.  The only time we can mingle with people is at state affairs.  I don’t know about you, but I for one have had enough of it.”

“I know how you feel,” William said.  “Are you meaning to present me with a way out?  If you are, please note that I will never switch places with you, permanently.”

“Exactly.  Here’s my proposal.  I only want to take a couple of years off and travel the world incognito.  I want to see all the wonders for myself, but even more importantly, I want to interact with people.  I want to know what common men believe, especially about monarchies.  I want you to change places with me for the next two years, not permanently.  Nobody will be suspicious if you made the grand tour.”

“If I don’t approve,” William said, “You told me that you would make it a royal decree, so I guess I must obey.  I have to tell you that I’m very jealous.  What about me?  Don’t I get to see the world.  I have served you loyally since we were little boys.”

“I know, and here’s what I propose.  When I come home, we’ll become ourselves again, and you can make the grand tour.”

“But people will think I just returned from the grand tour.  How will we explain my resumption of that noble pursuit.”

“You’ll just tell everyone that you saw so much, and learned so much, that you want to continue your education for another two years.  You’ll say that the world is so vast, you want to see more of it.  I’ll grant you permission.”

“That might work.”

“We’ll make it work.  Now brother, let’s have an early dinner, and go to bed.  That’s the best place for me to show you how grateful I am, and how much I love you.”

King Henry kept his word.  He made his “kid” brother extremely happy all night long.  The two eighteen-year-old men lost count of the number of orgasms they experienced.

A few nights later, Henry packed two saddle bags with clothing, gold coins, and other needful things.  He donned the clothes of a commoner, and he mounted his steed.  By cover of night, and with the help of a moonless sky, King Henry slinked out of his palace, and began his odyssey. 

To be continued… 

Author’s Note:  The stories of King Henry’s travels will appear as additional tales, hopefully on this website.  Look for them.  HWB

Posted: 07/04/2023