A Battle of Minds Ch. 05

This is the fifth chapter of a six part story. I recommend reading all chapters, but if you want to read only this one, here is what happened so far:

For three years, Laura has suffered due to a mysterious pendant that suddenly appeared in the small town of Leskow. First her class mate Martin controlled her with the help of the pendant, and then her former math teacher Mr. Seger did the same. In the end, Martin returned. Eventually Laura always managed to free herself and now has the pendant in her possession. Though her plan was to destroy it, she now decides to use its power for herself.

~~~~~

The waves of Lake Leskow splash gently against the shore of the perfectly round, small island. The brightly green grass on the island and the long reeds growing around it sway in a gentle breeze. The island lies right in the middle of the lake. On it, its outlines set sharply against the evening sky, stands a castle. Its delicate towers stand tall, their roofs sparkling golden in the evening light. The castle gives an almost surreal quality to the idyllic picture of forest, water, and setting sun. Like a page torn from a book of fairy tales.

Not far from the castle, at the shore of the lake, lies the small town of Leskow. On this warm summer evening, everyone in the town seems to be taking a small break: People are looking up from their daily work, to enjoy this scene of peace and beauty. Their faces rapt, their mouths open, everyone displays an expression of breathless admiration. All have turned towards the castle, which is bathed in a golden glow as the sun slowly sinks down behind the trees.

Were a stranger to walk into Leskow this very evening, he would surely join the citizens in their admiration, all the while wondering how happy they must be to have a view like this one in front of their eyes, every day of their lives. The stranger would not be able to stop thinking about how wonderful life in a town like this must be. He would feel envy for all those people living in such a tidy and quiet place. He would be amazed at the peace of the little town. There are no arguments ever to be heard in Leskow, everyone is content. The people of Leskow love their little town, they love each other, and more than anything else, they love their queen.

And the queen loves her subject. She loves the little town that she rules over. Every evening she steps out of her castle, stands at the shore of her little island, and looks over the dark waters towards Leskow, to the simple houses standing opposite her majestic home, bathed in the same golden evening light. Her most trusted servants surround her; they never step away from her side. The lake lies calmly in front of her, the muddy waters tamed. To the queen, Lake Leskow is the beginning and the end of all: She was born from this lake.

***

From the moment that Laura stepped out of the waters of Lake Leskow, the locket's chain hanging around her neck, she knew what she had to do. She did not have to learn how to use the little piece of jewelry; it was, as if all the skills Martin and Mr. Seger had acquired through practice and hard work throughout the last three years, were transferred to her automatically. The young woman and the locket seemingly became one; they belonged together. There were no questions for Laura anymore. Her own future, the future of the world, and her own role in it: All of it was a path she could see clearly laid out in front of her. All she had to do was step onto that path. And now, that she knew, she was more than willing to do so.

Now, the power of the locket was hers alone, and anyone who had taken part in making her suffer during the last years would feel the consequences. Of course, her true enemies had been Martin and Mr. Seger, and they were both dead, and thus beyond even Laura's reach. Everyone else, however, was still there: All those people the two of them had used to torture and humiliate her again and again were still living their safe and happy lives in Leskow. They would have to suffer now. She would take revenge on them, on all those young men from school, who had been coming to the forest on Martin's orders. For the rest of the town's inhabitants, however, Laura was planning to be a gentle queen, strict when necessary, but fair and loving.

Though she was still naked, Laura held her head majestically high as she strode through the forest, towards Leskow. The closer she got to the small town, the more people she met. Some of them were taking afternoon walks in the forest; others lived in the outskirts of Leskow and were working in their gardens. The people stopped their walks and their work as they saw her coming. They bowed their heads respectfully. Not one of them remarked on her lack of clothes -- in fact, not one of them seemed to notice. Once Laura had passed them, they followed her at a certain distance, awaiting their queen's orders.

Finally, Laura stepped once again toward the shore of Lake Leskow, but not in the forest this time. As she stood on the meadow next to the school, the whole population of Leskow gathered in a half circle around her. Vaguely she remembered standing at this very place two years previously, gazing out over the water: She had awoken for a few moments back then, but now it seemed to her like a long forgotten dream. This had not been her; this had been a different Laura. Now she was queen.

With a benevolent smile on her face, the queen turned around to face her subjects. The crowd stirred and moments later a young woman stepped forward, falling onto her knees in front of Laura. She lifted up a long, cream colored dress, presenting it to her queen. Despite its simplicity, the dress was exquisite and clearly expensive. There was only one shop in Leskow that sold such dresses, and Laura had always wondered who in town could even afford to buy anything there. After all, throughout most of her life she would not even have been able to buy a T-shirt in that shop, and she was by no means from a poor family. Now, however, as queen, she clearly needed dresses befitting her status. A queen can't be naked in front of her subordinates.

As soon as she had thought that, the people of Leskow turned away respectfully, allowing their queen privacy, as she with some difficulty slipped into the dress. The dress was really quite different from the jeans and t-shirt Laura was used to wearing. As she allowed her the people to face her again, the crowd gasped and then broke out in cheers of pride: They had a beautiful queen. Laura let her gaze wander from face to face. She had an appropriate dress now. She would need servants, too. And a castle.

The queen turned to the lake. She lifted both hands, pointing their palms towards the dark waters, from which immediately bubbles started to rise; at first a few, then more and more, as if the whole lake was boiling. After a few moments, the outline of something big appeared under the water's surface. Something was slowly rising up from the lake's bottom, like a huge animal or a submarine. The crowd, however, did not seem surprised or scared. Instead they started cheering happily, as the playful little rooftop towers, the jutties and arched windows of a fairy tale castle slowly rose out of the water. After a few minutes, the whole building stood on an island in the middle of the lake.

The castle and the perfectly round island appeared to be illustrations in a fairy tale, but there they were, they were real. The waves of the lake splashed soothingly against the islands shoreline, as if they had been doing so since the beginning of time.

Now, all the queen had to do was find a way to get to her castle. The waters of the lake were one of the few things that did not obey Laura's will yet, she had to cross them somehow. It only took her a few moments to find a solution: Along with the whole population of the small town, the members of Leskow's Rowing and Sailing Club were also present at the lake. The queen called them forward and sent them to get their boats. She would choose the best boat. For now that would suffice as an appropriate means of transport. Two young men, former classmates of Laura, were to be her rowing staff. Laura vaguely remembered that those two had enjoyed more than one intimate encounter with her the year before last, due to Mr. Seger's twisted plans. Thus it was just appropriate they would now have to serve her, she deduced.

As all the most urgent matters had been attended to, the queen ordered the two of them to transport her across the water, to her castle. Her other subjects could continue with their daily lives for now. After all, the town had to be kept running. The queen wanted her people to be happy; she wanted them to live good and normal lives. Of course, there were exceptions: All those young men and women who had visited the upper grades of Leskow's school along with Laura, and graduated sometime in the last few years, could not join their fellow citizens anymore. They had to follow their queen to the island.

Gathered in a luxuriously decorated entry hall, they waited motionless and in silence, while their queen rested. Eventually, when she had gathered new strength, the returned to them to decide who of the young people would be her servant from now on. The ones upon which this honor befell clapped their hands in joy, before they quickly hurried out of sight to start with their various tasks right away. Mysteriously they knew at once what had to be done to make their queen happy, without that Laura herself was required to spend more than a fleeting thought on those tasks. Others were not so lucky: They were sent down to the castle's prison cells. There was no trouble caused, they went there quietly and without protest -- after thanking their queen for giving them a proper and just punishment.

***

"Ready... Steady... Go!"

On their queen's command, nine young men jumped into the cool water of Lake Leskow. Their fluid motion was synchronized so perfectly, they appeared to be one body and one mind. Looking at their masculine, muscular bodies, Laura unwillingly let her tongue wander over her lips. For a moment, she was surprised at herself. Should she not feel disgust at the sight of any man, after all that had been done to her? Her body seemed to think otherwise -- Laura felt a certain tingling sensation, a certain warmth in her groin, at the thought of the strong arms of one of them holding her.

Maybe she should order one of the contestants to her room this night? Which one? This wasn't an easy choice... The queen decided to let luck decide. After all, this was a new era, she explained in the speech she gave to her people at the festival site. Any explanation was superfluous, of course. The people of Leskow knew that the queen was right in everything she did. Still, it felt good to put her thoughts into words: This was a new era, it was thus appropriate to alter the rules of the diving competition a little bit. The winner of the big event of Leskow's "Castle Festival" should from now on receive a little more than just a victory kiss. Just the thought of it made her heart beat faster in anticipation.

Every now and then, the head of one of the young men appeared above the water's surface, so he could catch breath. However, all nine of them gave their best. They stayed under water as long as they possibly could; searching the ground of Lake Leskow for the small box Laura had dropped into the water from a boat, hours earlier. It was an honor to win this contest, and an honor to give your best for Leskow, and for Leskow's queen.

The people at the lake shore cheered, the constant buzz of their voices rising and falling, but never breaking off completely. They had forgotten the accident, which three years ago had brought an abrupt end to the most important tradition of this festival. Laura did not think about it either. What was one dead man, who had perished years ago, against the joy of a celebration for her town? And at last the title "Castle Festival" had become one of true meaning -- the queens palace was towering proudly on its little island, its towers pointing into the bright blue September sky.

Laura did not waste her time wondering why she had been able to suddenly make a castle appear out of the lake. She did not care whether it had been there before, or whether she had created it -- she just knew that this castle was hers. She was sure that it belonged to Leskow, and that she belonged into the castle, as Leskow's queen. Maybe, somehow, all of this was connected to the castle festival -- in a way, it seemed to Laura, this castle was in fact what the divers had been looking for throughout the centuries. Year after year, during hundreds of diving contests, they had been searching the lake's ground for this castle, and for their queen.

***

"Oh! Yes!"

Never in her life had Laura come as strong as this day. For a few moments all darkness seemed to disappear, she saw bright lights even though her eyes were shut, and the castle's vast bedroom was echoing with her lustful cries.

As her orgasm -- the third of the night -- slowly ebbed away, Laura remained motionless for a few moments, her body limp, her skin shining with sweat, and her chest heaving. For those few moments, the world ceased to exist. Or, at least, to matter.

It took Laura a little while to find back into reality, to catch breath again and orientate. Finally, the queen opened her eyes. There was a face above her, the face of the surprisingly handsome young man, who had won this afternoon's contest. He smiled down at her, though his eyes seemed somewhat unfocused.

He was still hard inside her, but the queen had gotten what she wanted now. There was no reason for him to come; he would not know how to appreciate it anyway. As soon as Laura thought that, the man withdrew from her, rolling to the side -- for a moment, she believed to see something like disappointment in his eyes. She knew, however, that in fact he could not even know what was happening, what he had been doing.

The queen, on the other hand, knew. Her heartbeat was still not quite back to normal, while a wonderful heaviness was surging through her body, a calmness she had not known in years. This was surely one of the best ideas she had in a while, Laura mused. For the first time, she was not someone's toy. All she had ever known about sex was Martin's and Mr. Seger's perverted fantasies. All she had ever experienced were the things they forced her to do. Now, for the first time, her body was not an object used by others to satisfy their own needs. No, this time, she used the power of the locket for her own enjoyment. She had sex, exactly when and how and with whom she wanted. And it was better than she could ever have imagined.

Or maybe, Laura thought on, this was more akin to masturbation. After all, the man had not been truly conscious of his actions. Rather, he was just obeying her orders. Laura pushed away those thoughts. She had gotten good at this: There were many thoughts she was pushing away these days. Thoughts that did not befit a queen. Thoughts that brought complications to something that should be clear and obvious.

This was no time for this type of concern. What she was doing was nothing more than her natural privilege as queen. She would go on like this, every night from now on, the queen decided. There were many good looking young men in Leskow, and she would play with each and every one of them. That much, at least, the people of Leskow owed her. After all, she was their queen, and she had saved all of them from Martin's macabre plans -- whatever they had been.

Happily, Laura rolled to the side, and right away the young man beside her, who had remained quiet and motionless until now, put his arm around her, allowing her to snuggle up to his warm body. Within minutes, Laura was asleep.

***

It was the middle of November, already, but it was still as warm as an August day might be. The sun was shining down onto Leskow from a cloudless, bright blue sky. This glorious sky and this bright sun appeared above the little town every day, without fail. They seemed to illustrate the fortune and happiness of all people living here. The queen loved wandering through the streets of her small kingdom, followed by her most trusted servants. She loved seeing the smiling faces of her subjects, as they bowed their heads to their queen. No matter what they were doing before -- the daily tasks that had become the fulfillment of their lives -- they would stop, as soon as their queen approached, and kneel down at the side of the road.

"Thank you!"

The queen's eyes fell on a little girl. The child fell to her knees in Laura's path, her face lifted up in admiration. Laura's heart seemed to melt, as the child looked right at her from round blue eyes, not yet displaying the polite shyness all adults showed in front of their queen. The girl was beside herself with joy: She had dreamt of meeting the queen, of thanking her for all the kind things she did for Leskow.

"You may stand up", the queen said, her voice softer than usual, and the child stood up, but curtsied before her a few times.

"What are you thanking me for, my dear child?" Laura asked. She knew the answer -- still, she never grew tired of hearing those words.

"I thank you for being our queen. I thank you for allowing us to see you every day. I thank you for taking care of our needs, and helping us to be better people. I thank you for being allowed to be one of your subjects."

The queen smiled and patted the girl on her head, as the people gathered there on the street sighed in one voice. Then the queen continued on her way through town, without another word, while the child hurried back to her mother's arms.

***

His lips and tongue were soft, his mouth tasted wonderful, and he was a great kisser. She had made the right choice, the queen decided happily. She would spend this night with him, and she was sure she could expect an exciting night. The young man was only a few years older than her, with dark hair and beautiful brown eyes, his body well toned, but not exaggeratedly so. He was exactly her type. She did not know his name, but that didn't matter -- there was no need to address him.

For just a moment, it occurred to Laura that she could let go of her control over the man's mind. It was not unlikely that he would enjoy their encounter just as much as she did, if he was given the chance. Laura knew how to please a man; she enjoyed it, just as much as she enjoyed being pleased. Free will, however, was not good for the people of Leskow, or people in general -- that was one of the things the queen had finally understood that day, months ago, when she had put the chain with the pendant around her neck. And apart from that -- could she really be sure this man knew how to satisfy her, if left to his own means? If she stayed in control of his mind, she could at least be sure she got everything out of this night that she was hoping for.

The queen stopped the kiss, and the man looked down at her expectantly, while Laura lay down on the bed. She shifted a little bit to one side, and then to the other, until she found a comfortable position, and opened her silk robe. Her figure was not as slim and girlish anymore as it had been back at the time, many years ago, when the pendant had first started turning her life upside down. She had grown up, matured, had become more feminine -- though these curves were newly acquired, showing the improvement in living conditions she had experienced in the last few months. However, though her figure was more rounded than it used to be, she was still far from having any weight problems. In fact, she could admit to herself without hesitation, she looked just about perfect now. The man would surely have agreed, had he been conscious of her nude presence right in front of him. He would definitely have enjoyed the feeling of her soft, smooth skin under his hands and the view of her perfectly shaped breasts, the queen was sure of that. However, she did not need his approval, not anymore. She knew she was beautiful.