Chapter 44 | The Queen Who Ruled by Herself

The Anatomy Lesson

Farrday morning was hectic, and Temmin had to skip his ride. On learning of the prince’s morning appointment at the Lovers’ Temple, Brother Imbert had simply rescheduled his morning workout: “A horse will wait, Farr will not! You and the red-headed idiot will be here at five!” As if in retaliation for the early hour, Imbert had run the young men ragged right up until the last moment; Temmin had barely had enough time to clean the sweat off his body and dress. It was a small consolation that Jebby was waiting for him in the courtyard for the ride into town.

Temmin hadn’t even had time to choke down a cup of coffee and some toast let alone a proper breakfast, and his stomach was rumbling audibly as he walked up the steps of the Temple. No one waited for him at the top; he quietly made his way through the light crowd of worshippers in the main hall on his way to the Supplicants’ Chamber, acknowledging with brief nods the bows and curtsies of the people. Once inside the room, he found Anda and Bessa already there, changing into their Temple garb. “Hello, Tem!” the girls chorused, and they each kissed him quickly.

“Is there anything to eat around here?” he said hopefully as he sat down on a couch. “I haven’t had my breakfast.”

“No time for anything like that,” said Bessa, brushing out her long fair hair. “Hurry up and get changed! Barik Lover will be here for us any moment, and you don’t want to be caught half-dressed.”

“Which one’s Barik?” said Temmin, tugging off a shoe.

“I don’t know if you’ve met him,” said Bessa.

“What’s he look like?”

“Older,” she answered. “Short. Bald. Beautiful brown eyes, but otherwise not much to look at--”

“--Except for his cock,” interrupted Anda. “Enormous! If you’d ever seen him naked, that’s how you’d remember him.”

“Oh!” said Temmin, folding his clothes. “Him! I met him once.”

“Oh?” said Anda with a grin. “Met him how?”

Temmin blushed. “In the shower once.”

Bessa giggled. “Go on,” Anda prompted.

“And that’s it! We took a shower together--oh, stop it!” he exclaimed in annoyance as the girls burst into laughter.

“Sorry, sorry,” said Anda, checking her laughter. “Are you ready? Just in time, here comes Barik.”

As soon as the priest entered the room, Temmin began to blush uncontrollably. Barik was fully dressed, and absolutely nothing had happened between them the one and only time they’d met, but the girls’ teasing had gotten to him. Barik took in Temmin’s reddening face, flicked his eyes over the rest of the prince, and raised an eyebrow at the girls. Bessa looked down; Anda gave a tiny shrug. “Are we all ready?” he said. “Good. Let’s go. The class is gathered in one of the small assembly rooms.”

“Excuse me,” said Temmin, “aren’t we the class?”

“You will refer to me as Barik Lover, Temmin Supplicant. No,” said Barik over his shoulder as the four of them left the Chamber and walked through the main hall to a corridor. “You’re helping me teach the new Postulants today.”

“Teach?” whispered Temmin to Anda beside him. “How can I teach?! I don’t know what I’m doing!”

“Be quiet back there, Supplicant,” called Barik without turning around.

Anda nudged him. “Ehm--yes, Barik Lover--?” he said, looking at Anda for confirmation this was the right thing to say. She nodded in satisfaction. They walked down the corridor past several doors until they came to the right one, filing past Barik and into the front of the room. Before them sat a small group of eight Postulants, four male and four female; they all seemed very young and vulnerable to Temmin, but he realized they were at least as old as he was and probably older. As the Lover and his entourage entered the room, they all stood.

“Good morning, Postulants,” said Barik. They bowed and murmured greetings. “Now,” Barik continued briskly, “after yesterday’s orientation, we’ll begin today with an anatomy lesson.” To Temmin’s surprise, Barik began shucking his clothes off and handing them to Bessa, who folded them neatly and put them on a shelf before removing her own blouse and skirt. Temmin looked to his other side and Anda was already naked and twiddling her thumbs. She gave Temmin a pointed look; he gave her a pleading one in return, and she gestured toward his drawstring with an urgent little tugging motion. Barik cleared his throat, and Temmin realized everyone was naked but him, including the class; little giggles were breaking out among the Postulants, and Barik cleared his throat again for silence. Reddening furiously, Temmin shrugged out of his clothes and hastily stashed them on the shelf. Why was he at the front of the class? Shouldn’t he be in with the new Postulants?

He didn’t know quite where to put his eyes once he finished; unclothed, the eight Postulants before him were all the various shades of attractive, from not at all to very, but he still wasn’t used to being naked in front of others. He settled for looking at a particular spot over the door where an irregularity in the plaster produced a few odd little shadows. As for his hands, he followed the girls’ examples and kept them clasped tightly behind him.

“Now that Temmin Supplicant is with us,” said Barik, “let us begin. Davik Postulant, what are the sensual areas of a woman? Demonstrate on one of the Supplicants please.”

“Demonstrate how, sir?” said Davik, blushing. Well, thought Temmin, at least he wasn’t the only one discomfited.

“Try pointing,” said Barik dryly.

Davik walked to the front of the room and stopped in front of the only person skinnier than he was: Bessa. “Well,” he said, gesturing awkwardly toward Bessa’s pale pink nipples, “here, obviously, and--ehm--” he waved a hand near her hips-- “Here,” he said vaguely.

Barik sighed. “I realize you’re from the back of beyond, Davik Postulant, but in every Temple everywhere we use terms more specific than ‘here.’ I cannot believe your Head Lover sent you to us not knowing the words ‘breast’ and ‘vulva.’” Davik blushed so hard he nearly turned purple. “Moreover, you are incorrect. Anda, please show young Davik the sensual areas of the female body.”

Anda padded over to Bessa suppressing a smile that showed in her sparkling eyes. “Davik Postulant is correct in one respect, Barik Lover,” she said, sliding a hand between Bessa’s legs and back out again. “The vulva and the breasts are the most sensitive parts of a woman. But they are not the only sensual ones. In fact, you should touch them last. There’s the neck--” she said, running a finger lightly against the side of Bessa’s neck below her ear. “That’s always a lovely place to start. See her shiver? The tops of the ears...the curve of the spine...” Her finger ran down Bessa’s back, barely grazing the skin. “The back of the knee,” she added. As she stooped to demonstrate, her heavy breasts dangled, and Temmin began to forget his own nakedness. She kept up a running commentary as she brought her featherlight touch over Bessa’s body so thoroughly there couldn’t be an inch left untouched but her breasts and sex, he thought.

By this point, Bessa was flushed; her breath was audible, and her nipples were darkened and hard. “Can you tell me the sensual areas of a woman’s body now, Davik Postulant?” asked Barik.

“No, sir,” said Davik in a small voice; his cock was flat against his belly--all of the men were at least a little hard--and he swallowed audibly. “She touched her everywhere.”

“Ah! That is correct, Davik. Everywhere on a woman’s body is a sensual area. Go back to your place now. Who can show me the sensual areas on a man’s body?” Every hand shot up. “Ah, you’re not all as thick as young Davik, then. You’re right, men are the same. But because every area on a body is a sensual area doesn’t mean that every body likes being touched in the same ways. Pair up, male and female for now, and experiment on your partner everywhere but the nipples and sex. Take turns, and don’t speak to one another. Use your bodies--eyes, fingers, noses--to learn. When you are through, I want you to be able to tell me three places your partner particularly enjoys being touched, and three places your partner particularly dislikes being touched--but don’t tell anyone. Mark it down in your notebooks.”

Temmin turned hopefully to the other Supplicants, but they were already spoken for--Anda with a raw-boned young man who looked as if he could lift her over his head with one hand, and Bessa with the waiflike Davik. Barik, who had picked the prettiest girl for himself, pushed one of the three remaining girls into Temmin’s path. “Temmin Supplicant, this is Evra Postulant. No curtseying, girl, he’s nothing but a Supplicant here.”

Evra checked her instinctive bob and smiled up shyly at Temmin. She had hazel eyes set wide on a fresh, open face framed in smooth, light brown hair; her body was sweetly rounded and modestly curvy. Temmin wouldn’t have picked her himself, but he had to admit he could find nothing against her. “Shall I go first, then?” Evra said in a high, soft voice. Without waiting for an answer, she began running her fingers lightly up Temmin’s right arm. He let out a tiny, surprised gasp; she was barely touching him, but her fingertips were electrifying; goosebumps followed in their paths. She kept her eyes on his as she ran her fingers around his neck, down his chest, on the insides of his elbows, the cleft of his buttocks, the sides of his ribs, gauging his reactions without asking him a thing. She guided him to a seat and touched each foot from heel to toe, smiling as he tried to pull away when she ran her fingers across his sole. When she finished, his cheeks were flushed and he was aroused enough that he didn’t care who else was in the room any more.

Evra nodded that she was finished and went to scribble her notes down in her book, then came back and stood dociley in front of him, arms held slightly away from her body and an expectant look on her face. Temmin stood up and timidly ran his fingers up her arm, as she had done. She flinched away, and he pulled back as if she’d burned him. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

“No talking, Supplicant,” said Barik from across the room.

Temmin grimaced and tried again, touching her even more gingerly. She flinched away, but this time took his hand and put it firmly against her skin. He slid his hand up her arm, using his palm, and she smiled and hummed. Ah, he realized: She’s extremely ticklish! He kept up the exploration, discovering how lightly he could touch her before it became uncomfortable, and noting that the slope of her hips and the nape of her neck seemed like especially pleasant places for her to be touched.

“Are we all done? Have we written our notes? Take a moment, then thank your partner,” said Barik, an almost lazy, satisfied tone to his voice. Notes? He had nothing to take notes with, thought Temmin. Bessa caught his eye and jerked her head toward the shelf where their clothes lay; atop his neat stack of garb was a slim book with his name on it, just like the others had, with a pencil attached to it by a rose-colored ribbon. Temmin wondered where it had come from, but decided to write out his findings before he was once again left behind with everyone staring at him, a thought that caused his arousal to subside substantially.

When he finished, he found Evra standing close beside him. “Thank you,” she smiled, and kissed him so thoroughly his arousal came charging right back. He wanted very badly to cover himself with his hands, but when he looked up he saw that every other man in the room was in the same predicament; the male Postulants ran the gamut from horrified to proud. Barik just winked at him, completely unconcerned as his huge prick bobbed in front of him.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” thought Temmin.

“Now, switch partners, this time men with men and women with women,” said Barik.

“I know I’ll never get used to this,” Temmin added to himself.