Flame of Cytherea 04

---

Kat was a little overwhelmed as they sat and waited for the king. Just one more thing in her turned upside down life that she wouldn't have believed if someone told her just a couple of weeks ago.

Over the last week and more she had formed a friendship with Nicci, and it had been natural, easy to develop. As she looked around however she saw Nicci in a new light for the first time, she was a princess, and while she was a woman in a man's world, she still had great influence.

Her estimation of her new friend had gone up drastically at that realization. Nicci had never once when discussing Justin tried to pull the princess card, or treat her as anything but a complete equal. Simply as a friend and potential other mate for the man they both loved.

She was hoping the king was of similar character...

----

Sally has pondered things on the run over the last day and more. Besides being in awe of what Justin told her about his feelings, and that he thought they came from the goddess, she thought she understood why the goddess felt she needed to ask him, instead of the other way around.

She had been under her mother's spells. Her free will had been compromised for almost twenty years of her life, which was most of it. If he had asked her, she might have doubted herself or worse, them at some point in the future. Especially when life got in the way and the inevitable argument or two came up. She would have doubted that she had truly known herself and what she wanted.

Since it had been her decision to ask, to the point she had broken tradition, she didn't think she would ever doubt it. She had asked, and when they lay together she had given everything of herself to him. She believed with all her heart she would never regret doing so.

She wasn't worried about what might happen here, she would follow him, both the Flame of Cytherea and the man Justin, wherever he led...

---

Nicci's tears ran down her cheeks. She was looking at her reflection in the mirror, her mirror, the one in her room. She was trying to understand what had just happened.

At first, when her father came in everything went well, he had welcomed them all. Then he had told them he could build an invasion force. Waiting over a year wasn't ideal, and she had a feeling Justin would go it alone before waiting that long. But her father had been more supportive than she had expected, up to agreeing to allow a small stealthy force if they couldn't wait and could find volunteers.

Then it had all fallen apart, he had turned to her and said harshly, "Daughter, you disobeyed me, you will go to your suite and not leave the castle for at least two months."

At first she almost laughed, she couldn't believe her ears, she was being sent to her room and punished like a child. It seemed absurd after her life had changed so drastically over the last couple of weeks.

She had tried to explain how she felt, and that she was living with Justin now, that they were in love and committed. That she also protected him and she had more important things to do than hide in her room. He needed her by his side. Not only that, she believed the goddess wanted her by his side.

She had tried, but she had barely gotten three words of protest out when her father's face reddened in anger and his voice rose and squashed hers into silence.

"You will do as I say, that is an order from your king! If you persist in this disobedience you will no longer be my daughter, do you understand?"

Then he had ranted at her, about what could happen if she followed Justin to Egeria because of some fool girlish infatuation.

She had turned red in embarrassment; she couldn't believe he had said that. She loved Justin, and would never leave him, but she also loved her family despite how unreasonable her father could be at times. The thought of either leaving Justin or her family tore her heart in half, so she had done the only thing she could.

She retreated to her room, just ran out of the room without saying a word. She needed to think, and she had the small hope her father would come to his senses and allow her the freedom to make her own decisions. She just hoped Justin and her companions knew she was just stalling, and that she hadn't abandoned them.

She hadn't, had she? She collapsed onto the bed and sobbed...

---

Nora almost started cursing when Nicci ran out of the room.

Then the king turned back to them and said, "Sorry you had to see that," looking directly at Justin he said in an almost grudging tone, "I also want to thank you for joining the soldiers though you had no responsibility to do so. There would be a lot of suffering people out there if it were not for you. Feel free to use the guest rooms in my palace for as long as you wish, if you need anything simply ask one of the stewards, but I must ask you for the time being, do not seek my daughters company."

Fucking idiot. She almost rolled her eyes. She knew the king was a good man. It had been one of the reasons she had relented and joined her sisters two years ago. But when it came to his daughter, he was just as much a fucking moron as any overprotective and overbearing father.

They were dismissed, so she led the three of them to the guest wing and picked out an empty suite that had two bedrooms attached. Everyone was quiet and it felt off without Nicci with them, Justin was looking a little out of it and she thought she may have to knock some sense into him.

It would work out. She was sure of it.

---

Justin was angry. Despite all the king's concessions and nice words, he could feel the underlying tension behind the words. The fact he had basically implied he had taken advantage of his daughter's naïve infatuation merely confirmed the idea. So much for impressing the parents. He was also a bit confused, it seemed to him living together was sort of like being... engaged in this culture. Not quite that, but close enough, and he had just been forbidden to see her?

It had hurt when she ran out, it had felt like a rejection. He had a feeling it was more of a tactical retreat, so she wouldn't have to make a choice between him or her family when she was put on the spot by her father's ultimatum. But it still hurt and that had made him angry, although it was also the fear of losing her altogether that made it worse.

This anger was too personal, it was harder to push down, to let go of. Worse, there was nothing he could do except hope and wait for her decision. Despite what he wanted, how could he ever ask her to forsake her family for their relationship? That would make him as bad as her father. Yet at the same time, shouldn't he fight for her? Would she want him to? He just didn't know how.

Not even together for two weeks, yet he hated the absence of her presence. She meant too much to him. He sighed and got hugged from three different directions at once.

They broke apart when the meal came, and he sat down with the ladies to eat. Finally Nora broke the silence.

"Nicci will figure it out and we'll have her back soon. In the meantime, should we go to the temple this afternoon?"

At first the idea of doing anything was unappealing to him, but he realized doing something may distract him from his worry. Besides, the idea of him brooding all afternoon wasn't a very attractive picture, he needed to get over himself and trust in Nicci. She wasn't gone after all, he just... feared she would be.

"That sounds like a good plan. I don't like the idea of waiting around for a soldier buildup, we really need to get some idea of what I am expected to do. I don't get the feeling we have enough time to wait."

After lunch, once again with Nora in the lead since she knew the city, he found himself walking through the streets. He noticed they were getting some looks, probably because he had Kat and Sally holding his arms on either side. He wasn't sure how rare that was, but they had also walked out of the castle like that, so he shrugged it off as curiosity.

The temple wasn't all that far away, and was also one of the only buildings in the city made of stone and not wood outside of the castle. It was probably also the largest building in the city outside of the castle. It looked to be just one story, but higher than the buildings around it and taking up much more space on the ground. It also had a large dome in the center.

The inside was beautiful, immediately inside was a small fountain with a statue of the goddess that seemed strangely familiar to him. They were approached by a man in robes who had an open face and a gentle smile.

"Good afternoon, I don't recognize you. I'm an acolyte here, are you new to the city?"

He couldn't help the answering smile that bloomed on his face despite his worries.

"Yes, I'm Justin and you could say I'm new here. I was hoping I could talk to a priest or priestess? I have some questions about the Flame of Cytherea from long ago."

The acolyte looked curious, but instead of asking a question he said, "Certainly, please follow me."

They followed the acolyte into the nave and immediately turned and walked along the back wall to a door. They were led through a couple of hallways until the acolyte knocked on one of the doors. Another man, wearing robes that were more adorned, answered the door.

After a few whispered words from the acolyte they were gestured inside and the four of them were left alone with the priest. The priest welcomed them and gestured to some chairs, when the ladies and he sat the priest started talking.

"Warren tells me that you have questions about the Flame of Cytherea?"

He was reluctant to admit what he was, a lot of people had treated him in a ridiculously deferential manner when they found out, and he didn't want to deal with it here, although he realized it was probably just a matter of time.

He wasn't even sure what to ask really, he had been going on the assumption the last Flame was made to fight off a dark god somehow as well, that was a hell of an assumption. Although it did feel right.

He asked vaguely, "I wanted to know what the reason was for the gift given, and how the goal was accomplished?"

The priest sighed and said, "All I know is the last Flame saved the world from encroaching darkness. I know that probably isn't much help. The true threat is known only to the high priestess."

He asked why and the priest replied, "The nature of the threat, if it was general knowledge its return could be accelerated. Whatever the threat was, it took both free will and knowledge to loose it on the world. So over time the knowledge was suppressed as much as possible."

Even the vague explanation sounded like the dark god, but he needed specifics.

"Can we meet with the high priestess?"

The priest shook his head, "She is very busy, besides she would not tell you what you want to know."

Seeing no other way around it, he reluctantly raised the white flames over his body and said, "Are you sure she won't see me? It is rather important."

His fears were realized as the priest stood and bowed, eyes wide and perhaps a bit wild. "We had heard rumors the Flame of Cytherea was back but... I'll be right back."

Sally giggled when the priest left and said, "You really hate that don't you?"

He shrugged helplessly. "Respect is fine, it's the fawning looks that drive me nuts. Perhaps Cytherea finds me worthy in some way, but I am still just Justin."

The ladies shared a look he didn't recognize, then as one they dropped to their knees around him and started fawning, obviously teasing him. He couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips. Of course, that's when the priest opened the door and slipped back inside.

He snickered as the ladies jumped up, faces red, and sat back down in their chairs.

The priest said regretfully as he took back his seat, "The high priestess, Celia, would love to meet you and answer any questions you may have, but she is tied up for the rest of the afternoon in prayers and services. Could you come back in the morning?"

Slightly disappointed, but also excited he would soon have what information there was, he assured the priest he understood.

"Tomorrow morning should be fine; I will stop by right after breakfast."

The priest escorted them out. None of them wanted to go back to the castle yet, so Nora gave them a tour of the city which ate up a few hours time. He followed as she pointed out the good shops, a few different taverns, where to get the best armor or weapons. They were all doing their best to ignore the fact they were one short.

When they made it back to their room, he heard Nora giving instructions to bring out dinner. A short time later they were at the table eating when he felt Kat's hand on his leg. He made an effort to control his breathing when she started to trace circles with her nails on his inner thighs, teasingly close to his manhood. He looked over at her sharply when she started to rub his pleasure through the fabric of his breeches.

Her face was the absolute picture of innocence as she continued to chat with Sally across the table. He put up with it for about two minutes before he squirmed, holding back a gasp. He stood, forcefully grabbing her hand and walked toward the second bedroom. He closed the door after they crossed the threshold.

She put her arms behind her and backed away slowly, an innocent look still on her face as she asked, "What is it love? Something wrong with dinner?"

He growled and pulled her in for a kiss, but she ducked and danced to the side.

"What is it dear? Did you... want something from me?" she asked coquettishly, slowly backing away again.

He both loved and hated when she did this, it drove him crazy with lust every time. He rushed her again, this time he got a good hold and spun her by the arm, pushing her up against the wall. His weight held her still as he held her arm behind her. He reached with the other hand to unclasp her breeches, mind clouded by lust by her beauty, her teasing.

She said in mock innocence, "I was enjoying dinner, shouldn't we go back?"

At the same time, she was driving him crazy grinding her ass back against his painfully hard cock and rocking her hips, not coincidentally keeping him from getting a hold of the clasp. He spanked her hard, which brought out a moan and she pushed back against him firmly, he finally managed to unclasp her breeches.

Once he got them past her sexy hips, they slid slowly down her legs far enough to expose her.

She breathed out in faux innocent confusion that caused his lust to spike again, "What are you doing?"

He spanked her bare ass hard, then checked her. She was dripping and moaned loudly when he put his hand on her sex.

He growled as she turned her head, faux wide eyes full of innocence, protesting his actions and rough treatment. All he could think was she drove him insane, so expertly manipulating him in this game as she seduced him into rough sex. He knew it was play, yet he was overcome with lust and needed to claim her, to take her, to fuck her hard and fast.

He took care of his own clothing and bent his knees a little, then he thrust up into her in one quick stroke.

It only made his lust rise further as she whimpered in pleasure and flooded his pole, screaming his name on the very first stroke as he impaled her. He gasped when she ground herself against him, her inner walls hugging him tight during her bliss. When he released her arm, she braced herself against the wall as he grabbed her hips.

He started to pound into her from behind, pushing her hard against the wall with each thrust as her hungry core greedily sucked him in each time their flesh spanked together. He couldn't hold it for long, it was all just too intense, her grasping heat milked him time and time again as she rolled from orgasm to orgasm, his manhood pleasured deeply inside her hot, wet sex. He never stopped, couldn't stop, taking her hard and fast until he felt his legs start to numb...

He spanked her hard again right before burying himself up to the hilt, growling out, "Here it comes, I'm going to fill you."

He felt her tremble and tighten around his invading flesh again at his words, his pole surged and started to empty itself into her hot welcoming sheath. He couldn't help smiling back at her, at the little smile of triumph on her mouth. He pulled her hair and twisted her head to the side, kissing her hard before releasing her.

He may have pinned her against the wall and ravaged her, but he was under no illusions, she had been in charge the whole time. They got dressed and went back out to the common room of the suite, they did need to finish dinner after all.

He almost choked on a bite of food when he felt Nora's foot slide up his leg and she started to gently massage his manhood...