The Shrinemaiden (The Maidens) (10 page)

The rooms she kept would not be hers for much longer, she knew. All shrinemaidens were expected to leave the temple to complete their first contracts, and would not be expected back in the temple for some considerable time should their contracts be drawn out, or should they find another. Occasionally some would return, but were given other rooms to stay at. Her rooms, as well as those of her sisters, would be given to the next batch of girls waiting their own day they would become shrinemaidens. Adelai couldn’t help but feel sad knowing that she would have to leave the only home she knew, though it had to be done.

The final training among the shrinemaidens often took place on temple grounds. This was mainly for the shrinemaidens’ own safety, so that the high priestess and her trained personnel could keep a close watch over all the proceedings, to ensure that none of the girls were being mistreated without their knowledge. It was something that was always whispered about and speculated on by shrinemaidens too young to begin their biddings yet.

The senior shrinemaidens of Adelai’s time had often wore smug, self-complacent looks on their faces afterward, as if having been told a secret no one else would be privy to. Something about that training seemed to have changed them as women; they walked with their heads held higher, their movements even more sinuous now than they had ever been in previous classes. Most of the senior girls radiated overpowering female sensuality, and Adelai had always wondered what it was that changed these girls to such a degree, to turn them from affable shrinemaidens into the sultry, self-assured women the Inne-Anneah temple was known for. Adelai had always felt ridiculous. She had tried to imagine herself acting as seductively as some of these girls had, and found the whole idea funny. She was the bookish, quiet type. Even knowing she was a shrinemaiden, no one had ever ventured to anything close to describing her as seductive.

The only time she had ever displayed such skills, had been to Captain Thornton.

Now it would seem all that was going to change. Each shrinemaiden would be assigned a certain room, all located within the inner sanctums of the temple itself, as opposed to their rooms in the building across from it. They were expected to remain in these chambers for as long as training was finished, which could take any time between a month to two. By the time the shrinemaidens emerged, like butterflies rising out from their cocoons, the majority of the contracts for them would have started coming in, giving the High Priestess and her council ample time to sort through the papers and determine the best ones for every shrinemaiden. As there were only a dozen or so new shrinemaidens each year, the demand had always been higher than the supply could afford, and so the girls found themselves very rarely out of work, the only difference being the prices each girl could command.

One by one she had watched as her fellow shrinemaidens moved out of their rooms, packed their belongings and bid their tearful goodbyes. It was very likely that some of the shrinemaidens would be gone long before the others had finished with their own training, and most would begin their new lives as mistresses and beautiful court ornaments to powerful men all across the different kingdoms. Adelai had never been close to most of the other novices, friendly to all without being a true confidante. Nonetheless, it made her feel sad, to acknowledge that their lives would change soon enough.

It was only five days afterward, when she was the only senior shrinemaiden in the rooms, did the high priestess finally summon her back into the office, to be assigned her new residence for the next month. As was her habit, the old woman made no explanation as to why there was a delay, and Adelai was wise enough not to press the issue further, though the headmistress must have known about her mounting frustration during the last few days.

“Sandera here will bring you to your room.” She said, barely even looking up, and that was the extent of the conversation. There was no further explanation of what she was to expect, and there were no other details forthcoming. Gone was the mild sympathy she had displayed for Adelai back at the Sarcopian palace, and the girl was back to being treated like a non-entity. It was hard for Adelai to swallow her mounting vexation when the high priestess was being this impossible.

No one had ever told her about what went on in the chambers underneath the temple, or even where they were located. The novices had never been allowed inside the inner sanctum, and it was even larger than she had expected. A small stairway leading up, found behind a simple-looking door, was the only indication that there was more to the temple than its main chambers. It, in turn, led toward a long corridor on the second floor that only had four doors despite the length of the hallway, and then toward another staircase.

Adelai followed the matron, Sandera, down that new corridor, and then another set of stairs leading into the fourth and final floor. Here there was only one room at the furthest end, and the closer they neared it, the faster Adelai’s heart beat, wondering what could possibly lie beyond this door. She knew from the whispers of the shrinemaidens that had gone before her that their time here had been a pleasurable experience, but that was all they were willing to divulge. The trainers, they had said, had been handsome and strong, selected based on the girl’s own preferences. But again, that was the extent of her knowledge.

Each shrinemaiden had been taught to prepare special tea to enhance their pleasures if needed. Adelai had consumed two kinds of tea - one that would prevent pregnancies and other complications, as she had done on the night of the bidding, and a tea proven to be an effective aphrodisiac. In her nervousness, she felt like she would need it.

The room they entered was surprisingly large, certainly larger than she had thought it would be. There was a comfortable-looking bed in its center, and there were rows of tables lined up neatly on one end. With a gasp, Adelai recognized many of them as sexual toys of various sizes and shapes, and she was horrified to realize that she only recognized very few of these, and what they were for.

Sliding screens formed one area of the wall. A pair of metal cuffs were attached to a sturdy piece of rope hanging down from the ceiling beside the bed, and she felt her knees go weak, partly from astonishment and fear, partly from barely repressed desire, at the possibilities. There was a faint scent in the air, an odd mix of eucalyptus, incense, and rose petals. The room had no windows, but the air felt fresh, as if being funneled in through some other unseen source. There was a small connecting door that led into another smaller room, which she presumed was allotted for bathing.

There was no one else in the room, however. As little as they were told about the training that was to take place, she at least had known that some sort of trainer was to be present to offer their ‘assistance’. Adelai turned around, wanting to ask the matron this puzzling question, but the woman simply bowed and was already turning away, and she found herself throwing her questions at the now-closed door.

“Finally,” a voice said from behind her, “I was beginning to think she would never leave.”

Adelai felt faint when the captain of the guard stepped out from behind the screen, clad in nothing but a short linen robe that was tied at the front. Of all the people she had expected to find in the inner chambers of the temple, he was the one she least expected to find at all.

“The priestess said you refused…” She felt herself say weakly, even as shock warred with a sudden burst of happiness.

“Only for the moment. I could not guarantee that I could leave Sarcopia without arousing suspicion. But Garrant sent me out again for another one of his reconnaissances.” He caught her in his arms. “I am not expected back for another month.”

She turned her head up toward his willingly, kissing him back frantically even as her hands tore at his robe, tugging the sash that held it together. He was naked inside, and her fingers explored him eagerly. At the same time he was tearing through her own light gown, heedless of the cloth as he grasped the front with both hands and tore it in half, his strength only fanning her desire. “Took five days to arrange, to come here unseen.” She moaned against his lips, her wonderment at why it took so long for her training to begin, now answered. “Doesn’t matter. I have you for a month, little one.”

A thrill shot through her. A month. The captain of the guard was to be her trainer, and it was to be for a month. To someone who had never expected to see him again, and especially in this capacity, it was like another wish that had been granted despite the odds. “Yes,” she whispered against his rough, unshaven jaw, kissed his stubble. The dress fell down her feet, forgotten, leaving her just as exposed as he was.

He swept her up in his arms, drawing out a startled giggle from her, and carried her to the bed. He tossed her almost nonchalantly onto the bed, the mattress so soft and deep that her body bounced up slightly upon impact, but he was following her soon enough, his hands coming to imprison her wrists above her head, an action similar to what he had done during their first night together.

She looked up at him, admiring the way his eyes looked down at her, fueled by obvious lust. His firm mouth, his chiseled jawline. Those eyes strayed down her body, taking in the view and enjoying his sweet time until she struggled lightly against his hold, entreating him silently to begin. Her nipples were hardened nubs, her breasts heaving up as if begging to be noticed.

He did. Adelai cried out as a tongue circled that pink bud, laving at the sensitive flesh and teasing her for a few minutes more before taking in the whole tip into his mouth, suckling hard. Adelai moaned at the contact, her whole body lifting to mold itself against his. Her legs spread of their own accord and her eyes closed, reveling in the sensations that the captain could always stir inside her without fail.

It came as another surprise when she felt his weight lift off from her, and she felt him take hold of one of her arms. All too quickly he looped a small cord around her wrist, and then quickly captured and did the same to the other before she realized what he was doing. The loops were connected to the headboard of the bed, something Adelai had not noticed before. There were two others at the foot, and the captain wasted no time tying her feet as well.

He smiled at the look of confusion he read in her gaze. “As much as I would like to say you are here solely for my pleasure alone, you are still to be trained. You don’t know how long it took me to persuade your high priestess that I would be a most suitable trainer.” It was a stark contrast to what Saleia had told her, but Adelai had difficulty speaking. She tried to move against her restraints, but they held her fast. To her shock, being bound and helpless like this only increased her anticipation. She was so wet, her legs spread and tied so he could see the evidence of her arousal leaking out of her core and pooling around her.

“Such a pretty little slut,” he murmured, and Adelai moaned in response. He shifted his position, until she could feel his mouth hovering around her pussy. “So wet, aren’t we?” A finger slid into her without warning, and Adelai arched, screaming, nearly orgasming just from that intrusion alone, the aphrodisiac finally taking full effect. She needn’t have taken the tea, she knew now. The captain alone was enough for her desires, but the tea on top of everything else was making her overly sensitive, that every stroke felt almost painful in her ecstasy. His hands reached up to find her breasts, cupping them almost reverently. He lowered his head and Adelai began to wail aloud, at the vicious lapping he began to give her. It only took a few licks for her to climax hard, hips bucking up against his mouth, desperate even in her orgasm to take more of his tongue.

And still he never stopped. He tongued her all throughout her orgasm, pinching her nipples hard, the pain only increasing her rapture. She came twice more, quickly and easily, wondering how she would survive it when he planted his cock inside her, if she could come so easily from his mouth alone. By the time he finally lifted his head she was a quivering mess, her body still strained with need despite her climaxes, her next orgasm hovering.

He moved to kiss her hard on the lips, all but raping her with his tongue, so forceful the kiss was. She could taste herself on his mouth, loving the feel of him even as she shifted underneath him, desperate to have him inside her. But he had other plans.

He reached up and freed her hands, only to switch the loops so that her hands were bound to the opposite cord from where they had been. He freed and recaptured her legs in the same way, forcing her to turn over before he swiftly tied her up again. Now she was on her knees, with her buttocks up in the air and lewdly displayed. “Captain.” Adelai whispered, not sure what he was about to do to her.

The captain had left the bed and moved toward one of the tables. When he returned he had something in his hand, and Adelai’s eyes widened. It was a wooden phallus, only longer and much thicker than the one she had been given as a shrinemaiden in training. It also appeared to be roughly the same size and shape as the captain’s cock.

“Don’t move.” His voice was low and harsh. Adelai trembled as he pressed the phallus against her sex, feeling her pussy open up as he increased the pressure, that smooth cock slowly pushing into her, all the way until her muscles clamped around its length, the base nudging against her clit.

“The high priestess told me of your encounter with Garrant.”

Adelai’s eyes flew open in shock. The captain was still looking down at her, and while his face showed no indication that he was angry at her, she suspected that he probably was. “Barely a day after your bidding, and already looking for another cock to ride, little maiden?”

She wanted to tell him that the Sarcopian king had taken her unawares, that she had had enough presence of mind to resist, but she was given no time at all to plead her case. The wooden phallus inside her lifted, and then slammed back down into her so hard that her buttocks fell back down toward the bed.

“Lift your ass up!” The captain barked. He had never taken that tone with her before, and she whimpered softly, but obeyed him. Her ass rose again and this time managed to remain in place even after he resumed his brutal fucking of her, the smooth toy making deep squelching noises in her cunny. She should feel degraded and humiliated, and she did, but his forcefulness turned her even further on.