Blossom Pt. 01

Jinai turned away from me and pulled her caftan to her waist, baring her sculpted back, before she shimmied the garment off. The baton lay strapped between her shoulder blades, and the knives sheathed along her slender thighs. After unstrapping those, she wore only a brief halter and loincloth, and a set of bangles and amulet I had consecrated myself. The gold charms at her wrists and ankles glinted in the dim light.

I watched her, aware that I should be offering her privacy, but unable to pry my eyes away.

"I know what you're doing," the handmaid muttered. "And I don't think it will work."

"What am I doing?" I asked, afraid she had noticed me gawking.

Belatedly, I turned and undressed, stripping to my own halter and loincloth. The red and gold thread gown was mud-stained and, thanks to Jinai, nearly sliced in half. I tossed it into a corner.

"Being kind," she said. "Hoping to win their affection and trust." She set her weapons aside and lay out on her kangas, her muscles stretching fluidly.

"You are a good person," she said. "But these people will never see beyond your skin. They think you are cursed. Use that. They will never love you, Keya, but they may fear you."

"Zahar came here with seven warriors. My mother sent fifty to bring him home. If intimidation could have worked, it would have," I said. "I can only be what I am. The future of my House depends on it."

"In the world I come from, fear is powerful. Love is weakness," Jinai said.

"Is that why you're with me, Jinai? Because you fear House Oko?"

"Of course not," she chuckled. "I work for gold."

I might have hoped for a different answer. I might have hoped that Jinai's loyalty was personal. But I knew that was naïve. Jinai was perhaps thirty rains of age. She had worked for the House for many years, first as a simple maid, and then assigned to me by my father. But no matter how long she had served, this was still just a contract exchange.

How could it be anything more?

"Then perhaps," I said with some sadness, "I should offer them gold as well."

Jinai, if she heard, did not respond. I drew vellum, ink and stylus from my satchel, writing an account of the day in the dimming light, until the tallow burned down to an ember.

I listened for a time, until I was certain of the steady, lengthened breaths of Jinai's slumber. Even with the pliant reeds and kanga, the floor was unforgiving, and sleep did not come.

Zahar came here in search of a demonic cult. The men we had captured certainly could have been cult followers. There had been reports of demons in these swamps abducting villagers for decades. It remained to discover where our captive had come from, without meeting the same fate that had befallen my brother.

But my thoughts were inexorably drawn back to the sensuous, as I listened to Jinai's soft snores from across the small room. Images from the day replayed in my memory, of the supple length of her leg as she sat in the boat, of her half-naked body as she lay down to sleep.

I had felt so unprotected -- as much as my flesh felt exposed under the sun's glare. To be without my mask before the strangers of Seku's crew, and these villagers. To sleep on this wooden floor, and to risk tumbling into the fetid waters of the swamp.

I felt vulnerable. Raw.

Without intent, my hands had begun to move. One had pushed up my halter to bare heavy breasts and stiffened nipples to the warm air. The other hand plunged beneath my loincloth. My mound was stubbly with recently shorn hair, and it prickled my flesh as I fingered my dampening slit. I twisted my nipple, hard enough to hurt.

I longed for human contact. To simply be touched by another seemed a pleasure that any common-born peasant could enjoy, but I was denied. I imagined filthy, roughened hands of men, more than I could count, all grasping with lust for my tender flesh.

I imagined yielding to those hands.

My cunt flowed now, and making soft sloshing noises as my fingers plugged it full. My nipples throbbed as I tugged at them. I choked off a scream.

I saw Jinai in my mind's eye, kneeling before me, ripping my gown. The handmaid tugged down my loincloth, revealing my drooling nether lips.

I came, then, my body trembling. I covered my mouth with one hand, fragrant with my own sex, to keep from crying out.

I lay for a time, shivering in the grip of both pleasure and terror.

And finally, I slept.

*

I asked Seku and his sailors to share a breakfast with us on the edge of the water. Girls from the village brought us rice stewed in coconut milk and smoked fish, before they began their day's work of washing clothes by the water, and drying fish in the other floating huts. They sang as they set out fish on wooden racks for smoking. Men and several boys took boats out to search for prawns and crabs.

"I haven't hired you to be guards," I told the sailors, "but I ask you to help Musa care for our captive. Feed him, loosen his bonds. By the ancestors, allow him to wash. I will pay you extra. He may be our only means of finding my brother."

Seku upended a cup of the watery tea we'd been given, drinking the last dregs.

"What will you be doing, Lady?"

I glanced at Jinai. Like me, she wore a shorter dress today, over the flowing pants of the Eastern fashion. I had donned my headwrap again, to protect my scalp from the sun.

"I'm going to meet the villagers," I said, "and see how I might serve them."

Seku pursed his lips in thought. I wondered how he would be spending his time, but I decided that was his own concern.

"There are about twelve families here," he said. "More in a couple of sister villages a few hours boat ride away. Many extended families have members in all three."

Once we finished our bowls, the men went off to check the captive.

"I need to know that you back me, Jinai. Even if I choose to use kindness rather than fear," I said, once we were alone.

My handmaid shrugged. "I do what I am told."

I grinned. "That is not precisely true. Nonetheless, I need to know you are behind me. You are," I swallowed, "the closest thing I have to a friend."

She gave me a steady look, and nodded sharply.

With Seku's assistance, Jinai and I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon greeting the families of the village and distributing the gifts we'd brought - fine cotton kangas and headwraps, steel nails and needles.

The villagers' homes were ingeniously built. Most consisted of a grass dome hut on stilts, raised above and in front of another hut below. The grass fibers were decorated with dried hibiscus and orchids, or hanging kanga cloth. Women tended stew and watched over children in front of the lower hut, using the overhang for shade when they needed it.

Most of the families were politely friendly, and some few even asked me to bless their homes, or their boats. A few gawked at me like I was an aberration, but most concealed their prejudices.

To perform the blessing, I poured palm wine for libation, and asked them for tales about their ancestors. They stared at me curiously when I unfurled a scroll to record their forebears' names.

I asked them how they fared. All of villagers relied in some way upon the fishing trade, and sold their catches of shellfish and dried fish to Seku and other merchants from the city of Namu.

To my surprise, the woman from the night before, Njiba, asked me to perform a naming ceremony for her daughter and infant grandson. After the rites were finished, she sat down with us over tea. Her hut, on the western edge of the village, overlooked a field of rice and vegetable crops that backed the homes.

"I thank you for your kindness to us, my Lady, but I do not understand the purpose of your visit. When your brother came, he asked about demons and cults. But we know little of such things," Njiba said, sipping from her cup. "He and his warriors rowed off into the swamp, and never returned. When the red and gold men of your House came looking for him, I told them as much."

"I persist in the hope that someone knows something about where Zahar might have gone," I replied with a smile. "My brother was the firstborn of my House, and we have an interest in Seku's trade. If anyone can help me find Zahar, I will see to it that we pay a price half again what we pay now for their trade, as our undying reward."

Njiba's expression clouded briefly as I mentioned that Zahar was firstborn, but her apparent sympathy turned to eager attentiveness as I spoke of trade.

"I have told the other families as much," I said. "I hope that they will spread that word to their relatives in all of the villages."

"That is generous my Lady," Njiba said. "I will share this news."

Afterwards, when we were alone, I asked Jinai for her thoughts.

"I knew beachcombers and fishermen's boys back in Namu," she said. "They learned every cove, every shallow and every grain of sand along the shore. I don't believe the fishermen in this swamp know nothing about where your brother went or where this demon is.

"This village seems almost all women and girls," she said. She crouched at the edge of the water, peering curiously at her vague reflection as the late afternoon sun angled over the surface.

"The men were out on their boats," I said.

"Even so," she replied. "There weren't that many, and I spotted a few girls in the boats. I'd guess there are twice as many females here as males.

"But you did well," she admitted. "Njiba appears to be a leader. Word will spread of your offer, and if someone knows something, they will have a hard time refusing." She poked a stick into the water, dashing her image. "These people are just eking out a living."

I nodded. "They are good people," I agreed. "I feel it from the spirits here."

"You were right last night, Keya. You can only be what you are. If someone needs frightening," she said, with an alarmingly savage grin. "Just tell me."

Later, I questioned the captive, sitting him down in our sleeping room, with Jinai watching over me like a mother elephant over her calf. The man smelled better, and apparently had not tried to escape.

"Why should I allow you to take me to Blossom?" I asked him in Gujari.

Baba's wandering eye gave me the impression of madness. "She is exquisite," he said. "To be with Blossom is the most joy you will ever have."

"To be with Blossom," I repeated. "To be near Blossom?"

"To be with Blossom, as a man is with a woman."

"To mate with Blossom," I said. "And you have mated with this creature?"

"Of course. You will also," he said. "You will not regret it."

Jinai scoffed. The captive quailed a bit as he glanced at her.

It was known, of course, that demons sought to mate with humans. According to legend, demons could mate as both sexes, and bear offspring themselves or impregnate a woman. But there were no proven cases of a human bearing a live demonic child.

"How many mates does Blossom have, Baba? How many of you are there?"

Baba shrugged. "There are many. Our numbers are always growing."

"Are there fighting men that wore red and gold amongst you?"

Again the shrug.

"Think, Baba-"

"You will see," he interrupted me, showing his imperfect smile again. "Let me take you to Blossom. Then you will have no more questions. I need Her," he said. "Let me take you."

After Musa took Baba out, Jinai scoffed again. "He is enchanted," she said. "Even I can see that. Can you break the spell?"

I shook my head. "I have no one to call upon. I don't know his ancestry, and he won't tell me. Baba isn't from here, that's certain."

"So what will you do? If you let him take us to this demon, we'll be entering into a trap. If we try to follow him, we'll probably still end up walking into an ambush, or losing him altogether in the swamp."

"I don't know yet," I said, sighing. "I'm hoping that the villagers will help."

My handmaid pulled her dress over her head. This day, she had forgone the halter. Jinai's breasts were as delicate as she was harsh -- shaped like teardrops, with large, dark areolae. I realized I was staring, and turned away to study my scrolls.

Jinai shucked the loose trousers she wore and lay facing me. I felt my body flushing with heat in the most distressing places. It wasn't as if I hadn't seen men and women in loincloths before -- they were everywhere in the warrens and waterfronts of the city.

But somehow this was more intimate. I knew Jinai as well as I did anyone outside of family. We were in private, and I was unmasked - which meant that my lust was somehow more evident.

I opened my satchel to rifle through scrolls, searching for a distraction. I was curious as to clues about what sort of demon we could be facing. I pulled out some of my writings.

Minor infernals could be ruled out. Demons like the sanju were common and rather harmless, more of a nuisance than a threat. Then there were various demons whose interbreeding with animals was evident -- elephants, hyenas, antelopes, leopards, even buffalo.

Serpents seemed the most common around the Empire. Zahar himself had stamped out two snake demon cults in the outskirts of the city.

Demons often had a mysterious ability to communicate with other animals. But there were no records of a type that could exert the kind of extended control over humans that our captive suffered. Most cults were based simply upon brute force and intimidation.

Perhaps this was a plant demon. Tendril demons like the tsuka were extremely powerful, and perhaps there was a sort of infernal that created a drug-like effect, like a hedge-witch's love potion.

"When are you going to be married off?" Jinai said, abruptly.

"What?" I looked up, and saw her reclined on her kanga, like some sculpture carved from blackwood. I buried my head in scrolls, feeling the heat again, and a tempting twitch between my thighs.

"Don't you noble Houses care about heirs and birthrights and such?" she asked. "It seems like your mother should be making sure you're birthing more Okos instead of looking for lost ones."

"I'm sure my mother is quite interested, but no one in the other major Houses wants a cursed mother to their children. Men find me repulsive."

"You'd be surprised what men like," Jinai chuckled. "Some of it is indeed repulsive. But you are not."

I unfurled another scroll, hoping she was done. But she wasn't. She was studying me. I felt myself flushing.

"Aside from the shade of your skin," she said, "you have an innocent allure. Almost childlike. Men are drawn to that, even if they won't admit it."

"Why aren't you married off?" I blurted, looking up.

"Marriage is for the wealthy," she chuckled bitterly. "When you don't have a home, or an inheritance, or parents... the prospect loses its shine."

"You're not poor, Jinai," I countered. "Not anymore. You could buy land, if you chose."

"True. Maybe when you are safe, back in the city, making Oko babies, I'll take a husband, to keep me warm at night."

"I think you should be content," I said, "no matter where my path takes me."

"I am content."

"So am I. Then we won't talk of marriage anymore," I said.

"My apologies, Keya," she said softly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't," I said. But even I wasn't convinced of that.

When the tallow burned down, and Jinai was soundly asleep, I stripped off every thread of my clothing, leaving only the warding charms around my neck and wrists that I never went without. Just the act of taking everything off, of being stripped bare, made me throb with need.

I was consumed by the thought that she lay only a few paces from me. I could lie close enough to her in the darkness to feel the heat of her body, and smell her scent. I could even touch her, and she might not object.

Lying on my belly, I balled up my halter and loincloth and thrust them down under my heated cunt. I rocked my hips against the knot of clothing, gently at first, but with increasing urgency. The pale globes of my breasts flattened against the floor. My nipples grazed roughly against the kanga cloth. Reeds crunched beneath me. Every bit of my soft flesh that scraped the floor flooded me with sensation.

I could smell my own cunt, as my nether lips mashed against the cloth. I was past gentleness. That sensitive little nub became the center of my existence, as every thrust of my pelvis sent a wave of bliss surging through the rest of me.

Just the knowledge that I was naked and wet, so close to Jinai, humping the floor like a bitch in heat, sent me over the edge.

But once I shuddered through my orgasm, I only wanted more. I reached down, between my legs and the floor, and plunged three fingers into my sopping cunt. I stifled a groan, as I imagined being rutted.

My thoughts took a depraved turn.

Demons cared nothing for human superstitions. A demon would have no qualms about my pallid skin and hair. It would only seek to make me its mate. To plunge its cock into my greedy cunt, over and over again, until I was flooded with its seed, my womb heavy with infernal offspring. I imagined myself being bred by demons, and soon I was rutting myself furiously with my fingers.

I rolled over so that I could reach deeper, and jerked my hips up to meet my plunging hand. If anyone had discovered me at that moment -- anyone at all -- I would have thrown myself upon them, so great was my need.

I embraced that risk, listening to the sounds of my own flesh, rutting my fingers, legs splayed. Part of me yearned for Jinai to awaken, and part of me was terrified it would happen.

When I came, it was harder than ever before. I had to bite my fist to keep from screaming. I lay there, panting softly, embracing the delicious ache between my legs and the feeling - for that instant - of satiety.