Chapter 32 | The Tale of Two Kingdoms

Aftermaths

Temmin awoke to the sound of teacups. Opening one eye, he saw Bessa laying out the tea things on the low table in front of him. Someone had thrown a light blanket over him, and his Temple trousers lay neatly folded by his feet at the end of the couch. He opened both eyes and looked around; they were alone. Bessa moved comfortably through the room, dressed in Temple garb; she took the steaming kettle from the stove and filled the teapot, peered down into it for a moment, and clapped on its lid, satisfied. He sat up.

"Oh, you're awake!" said Bessa, placing the kettle on the cooler side of the stove. She crossed to the couch, handing Temmin his trousers. "Are you feeling any better?"

Temmin rumpled his hair, then stood up, pulled on his trousers and sat back down. "I'm not sure," he muttered. "They told you what happened?"

She sat down a respectful distance from him on the couch. "No, of course not. Tea?" He nodded, and she poured him a cup and then one for herself. "I knew you were going to the petitioning rooms, though, and I remember what that was like the first time." Bessa paused and sipped her tea. "It's rather...startling, isn't it?"

"I don't know if 'startling' is the word," he replied, letting the fragrant steam from his cup fill his nose. "They didn't tell you what happened?"

"I said no," she said impatiently, "why would they? I wasn't there, so I don't need to know. But," she continued more kindly, "if you need to talk about it, feel free, I'd be glad to listen. If you'd rather not talk about it, that's all right, too. I'll even leave if you'd rather."

"No," said Temmin quickly. "Don't go." He reached for her hand just in case, and she let him take it. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk about it yet. I don't know if I ever shall be. But I don't want to be alone."

Bessa scooted a little closer to him. "It's all right, I'll stay." She gazed at their clasped hands for a moment, and put her free hand atop his. "Do you want to hear what happened the first day I walked through the observation gallery? Would that help?" Temmin nodded mutely.

"It was a year ago," she began. "Right when I started here. The old Embodiments had just retired, and Allis and Issak had taken their places. I was the first Supplicant they chose--they inherited Anda, she was halfway through her time here. When we went through the gallery, what disturbed me most was a woman..." Bessa trailed off and looked away. "It was a year ago, and it's still hard to talk about--a woman pretending to be a girl. She was pretending to be a very naughty little girl, and the Lover she was with was pretending to be her father. Eventually he grew impatient with her and turned her over his knee. He spanked her until she cried--" Bessa's voice dropped to a near-whisper-- "actually, he spanked her until she came. She begged to be a good girl, so he let her suck his cock. And then he fucked her, telling her what a good little girl she was for her papa."

Tears filled Bessa's eyes. "They saw it in me, right away. I talked all around it, talked about all the other things we saw, but not that. And they didn't let up until I let it out." Temmin felt tears start in his own eyes, and he squeezed her hand. "Once it was out, I didn't know what to do with it. I still don't know what to do with it. They didn't push me after that--we haven't talked about it once since. They said when I was ready, we'd talk. And I haven't been. I haven't been." She choked back a little sob. "I don't want to have sex with my father. But..." She lapsed into silence.

"It was my sister," said Temmin quietly, letting his tears fall. "She's a devotee here."

"I know, I've met her. She's a darling."

"Well, and I realized what that meant, being a devotee, and it all came out. I don't want to have sex with her, either. But I do. D'you know what I mean?"

"Yes," she said, smilng through her tears. "I think I do." She leaned into him, and he slipped an arm around her comfortingly. "My father and I--we're not close." Temmin burst out laughing, and after a shocked moment, she joined in fully. "Oh gods, stop it, Temmin!" She wiped her eyes. "I think I've just finally come to the conclusion that I don't so much want my father as I do a father. I want that so badly, it's all I've ever wanted. I've tried so hard all these years to please Papa, especially since Mama died. And I get nothing. I get nothing from him. I never have. It's why I came here. No one was ever going to marry me, I'm the plain, dowry-less second daughter of a family with good breeding but no money. It was either enter a Temple or keep house for him the rest of my life, and I just couldn't do that. I was extremely lucky that not only did the Lovers' Temple accept me, but the Embodiments accepted my chase."

"Bessa, you could easily make a good match. You're a beautiful girl!"

Bessa laughed. "I'm a skinny stick."

"You're not skinny, you're willowy."

"I'm pale as a ghost."

"You're translucent. You have beautiful hair, don't put it up all the time, you should display it. Bessa, really, you've been here for a year and you don't know how pretty you are?"

"No, Temmin, I've been here for a year and I've learned to see what a man is thinking when he looks at me. And when you first looked at me, you did not see a beautiful girl. No dissembling, please. Not here."

Temmin turned her face toward him. "You're right, I didn't. But I do now." He pulled her closer. "Bessa," he said softly, "is it all right if I kiss you? I mean, are we allowed?"

"Yes, we are, and oh, I do wish you would," she answered. He dipped his head down and gently kissed her. He felt her breath blowing softly into his mouth as he rested his forehead against hers. Temmin kissed her again, and she responded more urgently, opening her mouth to him and stroking his jaw with trembling fingers.

"You're shaking. Are you afraid?" he said. Bessa nodded mutely. "Surely you're not afraid of me!" She shook her head. "Come here, then, sit on my lap." She climbed up into his lap and he cuddled her close. There was a strange power in this comforting; a current was running between them, and Temmin suddenly felt very much in control of a situation like this for the first time since--since Mattie, he realized. It brought him up short for a moment, but as he rocked Bessa in his lap, her shaking subsided. This didn't feel the same as that night in the garden; this felt better, much, much better. His cock twitched in his trousers. "There, see?" he murmured. "You're safe here with me. What's to be afraid of?"

"You make me feel safe," she murmured into his shoulder. "Don't let go."

"I won't, dear. Now, kiss me." She twined her arms around his neck and kissed him, biting at his lips until he took her chin in his hand. "None of that." He plunged his tongue into her mouth, taking what he wanted until she moaned deep in her chest. He slipped a hand inside her shirt and ran it up the soft skin of her back. He could feel the gentle bumps of her spine under his fingers. Bessa squirmed on his lap; it sent a thrill straight through him, and his cock hardened fully, poking against her thighs. She gasped. "You feel that, do you?" he whispered in her ear, and before he'd completely thought about it, added, "You're being such a good little girl, look what you've done to me."

Her breathing picked up speed, and her gray eyes flew wide open. She tried to bury her blushing face against his shoulder again, but instead he turned her outward so that she sat with her back against his chest, his hands under her shirt splayed over her small breasts, and his cock sliding against the cleft of her ass through the layers of his trousers and her skirt. "Temmin, we can't--you have to wait for them--"

"Ssh. I know. Never worry. Let me do this." He remembered how much Anda had liked it when he'd bitten her neck, and he took an experimental nibble on Bessa's nape. She groaned aloud, and brought her arms up behind her head and around his neck to pull him closer. He smiled against her freckled shoulder and bit her again, harder, and she jerked convulsively. Her nipples were very hard between his fingers, and he rolled and pinched them as he sucked and bit at her neck. "You're shivering again," he said into her ear. "Are you still afraid, then?"

"Yes," Bessa whispered, grinding against him.

"Of what?" She took one of his hands and guided it under her skirt between her legs. Even before his fingers reached her opening he could tell she was desperately aroused; her thighs were wet. His prick leaped as he slipped his fingers just inside. "Gods, you're dripping. Is that what you're afraid of?"

"Yes!" she cried softly.

"Never worry, I'll take care of you. I have you right here, I won't let you go. Do you feel my fingers? Yes? Sshh. That's my good girl." Bessa writhed as he slid his fingertips round and round, the way Bessa herself had guided his fingers on Anda. She was burning hot inside and extremely wet, just as Anda had been, but she didn't feel the same. Her inner lips were more prominent, to begin with. He held one between his fingers and pinched lightly; she jumped, and pulled back. Curious, he dipped a finger deeper inside her, tickling her just at her opening. She bucked against his hand and let out a sob. He slid the finger further into her, slowly, and explored the folds inside. She thrust her hips forward. "You like that?"

"Yes!" she hissed. "Ah! Please--put another one in? Please?"

"Two?" he said. "I'd like to, but won't that hurt?"

"No!"

"Are you very certain?" He withdrew the finger he had inside her until the tip was just at the entrance. Where had he gotten the nerve to tease her? He'd never touched a woman like this before that morning, and here he was slowly driving Bessa crazy. He remembered the two men in the petitioning room, and how the smaller one had given all control over himself to the larger one; this must be something like what the larger one felt like, thought Temmin, and he rather liked it. No, he loved it, this feeling of power and control. Better, he could tell that Bessa loved it, too.

"Oh, please don't take it out! Don't stop, please!--Aaaah! Oh!" she cried as he plunged two fingers back inside her. "Gods, yes, that's--owtch. Ow. Temmin, ow! Stop!"

"Ow?" said Temmin, deflating instantly. He stopped his thrusting and withdrew his fingers. "Oh, Bessa, did I hurt you? Oh no! I'm so sorry!"

Bessa turned around on his lap and hugged him. "It's all right," she laughed softly. "It's all right." She picked up his hand and showed him his still-glistening fingers. "You just need to trim your fingernails before next time. You scratched me." She gave a sly smile and took one of his fingers into her mouth, licking her own juices from it. Temmin gaped at her; she merely took his other fingers and put them in his mouth. "That's what a woman tastes like," she said. "Well, that's what this woman tastes like, we all taste a little different." Temmin sucked on his fingers, savoring. She tasted like a slightly salty, sweet tomato, of all things. He felt his interest reviving, but before he could do anything about it, she swung her legs down and stood up, primly arranging her skirt. "You are one to watch, Temmin Supplicant. You learn entirely too fast."

He stood up. "I do? I thought the idea was to learn quickly."

"You would appear to be more than usually gifted in your ability to learn," said Issak from the grand hall doorway. He smiled lazily, arms crossed over his chest.

"And how long have you been standing there?" said Temmin, irritated. "I don't care to be watched like that."

Before he knew what had happened, Issak had a fistful of his blond hair and was pulling his head back painfully. "You forgot to address me as 'Holy One,'" he said, voice full of unexpected steel. "And I don't care at all for your tone, Temmin Supplicant. Do you care to reconsider those words? No?" He pulled harder, and Temmin ended up on his knees.

"Yes," he gasped, "I do, Holy One, please forgive me, Holy One, I don't know what came over me, Holy One!" Issak released him, throwing him toward the floor; Temmin caught himself quickly. When he dared to peep up at Issak, the other man was doing his best to keep a smile off his face, finally giving up.

"Sometimes I don't know what to do with you, Temmin. You have been spoiled and petted your whole life, whether you know it or not. But somehow you still ended up able to be ashamed of yourself when you misbehave. It's really very hard to stay angry with you long. Is the tea still hot? Ah, thank you, Bessa," said Issak, accepting a cup. "It's good to know one of my Supplicants remembers her manners."

"I do beg your pardon, Holy One," mumbled Temmin contritely, timidly ruffling his hair to see if he still had any left where Issak had grabbed him. "May I get up, please?"

"Yes, get up. It's time to complete the rest of our tour of the Temple. Bessa Supplicant, you are dismissed." Bessa gave a small curtsy, and Issak led Temmin into the grand hall again. Such a quick reversal, Temmin thought. Here he'd been completely in control of things with Bessa--blissfully in control--and then suddenly, he was on the floor with Issak twisting his hair off at the roots--almost as blissfully. His mind wandered back to the question, what kind of person was he. Was he the kind who reveled in spanking a young man raw, or was he the kind who wished to be tormented until he cried? Or worse, was he the kind who reveled in bending others to his will whether they wanted it or not?

Temmin observed politely as they looked in on the neat dormitories, the vast library, the art collection--Temmin wanted to spend more time in that room, there were some truly anatomically astounding renditions in there, but Issak propelled him firmly out the door.

They walked the gardens, past the hedge maze and through a sculpture garden even more astonishing than the art collection. Many private little nooks and niches could be found in the gardens; more than once they came upon a passionate couple among them, and they finally stumbled upon a pretty young postulant satisfying herself on the stone phallus of a prone statue of Nerr tucked into an isolated corner. "Oh, carry on, I insist," said Issak as she made to stand, and the blushing girl brought herself to a climax, breasts bouncing, as the two men watched. Issak kissed her when she was through and shooed her off to her dormitory.

"Well, I think I like that garden very much, Holy One," said Temmin as they walked back in her wake.

"I thought you might. I intend to take you back to that statue of Nerr one day," replied Issak.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I shall very much enjoy watching you fuck yourself on that marble prick." Temmin looked at Issak obliquely for signs he was teasing, but the Embodiment's green eyes were quite serious and contemplative, as if he could see Temmin straddling the statue even now. Temmin decided to change the subject.

"It's getting dark out. What happens here at night?"

"Our main meal is luncheon, which we've already had. We'll have an early dinner in the Supplicants' Chambers, the three of us."

"Three?" said Temmin as they entered the Temple.

"Anda and Bessa will be at their homes tonight, in fact, I'm sure when we get back, they'll already have left. We will be on our own this evening."

Allis was waiting for them just inside. "Just who I was looking for. We have time for a bath before dinner." She took one of them in each arm, the still-milling crowds of people parting for them with much bowing and curtseying, which they ignored as their due. They walked through the grand hall to the staircase leading down into the baths, the one part of the Temple Temmin hadn't visited yet.

He stopped at the door. "You're welcome to go first, Allis."

Allis stared at him a moment, then made the closest thing to a giggle he'd ever heard her make. "Temmin, we're all taking a bath."

"Well, yes, but it's only polite to let you go first, I mean, there's only one tub in a bathroom, eh?"

Issak opened the door; a fragrant cloud of moisture emerged. Peering inside, Temmin saw a tiled pool big enough to swim in set into the floor, steam and several naked bodies rising from it. "Yes," said Issak, "there's just the one tub. In you go."

Issak swatted him into the room with one hand and grabbed the end of his trousers' drawstring with the other. Temmin made a quick clutch at the cloth before they could fall from his narrow hips, but quickly realized everyone else was either naked or undressing, and that modesty made him look faintly ridiculous. He stepped out of the trousers and shucked off his shirt, hanging them on a nearby peg as Issak was doing, then turned--

--and saw Allis just pulling her shirt over her head.