Morena and the Matriarch Ch. 06

A Compassionate Friend and a Jealous Bitch

Morena woke up to the sound of loud knocking, Alyssa's name being called and the realization that she was snuggled up to, and in the crook of the arm of, a big, well-muscled and sexier-than-hell Callunar male.

Must've been a hell of a night, she thought to herself with a smile -- and then it all came rushing back to her, and she felt the burn of the blush creeping up her face. Doubly so, because on the opposite side of this mountain of a man, the Grey-eyed Lady was sitting up and rubbing her face and muttering, "What the fuck???"

Morena watched in awe as Alyssa erupted from the bed, disentangling herself from the covers and shouting, "JUST A FUCKING MINUTE!!" at the door. Then she bolted for the toilet and Morena could hear the sounds of Alyssa pissing like a racehorse. She also felt Steven -- she presumed that's who she was waking up with -- rustle slightly and she caught the glint of a pistol coming out from under the pillow.

"They're probably just my people, coming to look for me," Morena managed to call out to Alyssa as she realized the sun was up.

"I hope so," Steven said quietly, and she realized he was feigning sleep.

Alyssa wandered out of the bathroom in all her naked glory, through the bedroom and into the parlor, where she went to the door, looked out the peephole and then opened the door.

"Yeah?" she asked in a rather surly tone. It was Mistress Stella.

"Pardon me, Mistress," Stella told her. "I'm looking for Mistress Morena. She was supposed to meet me this morning and we can't find her anywhere. Do you know where she is?"

Alyssa just held the door open wide and motioned Stella in.

"Through there," she told her, pointing at the bedroom, then headed for the kitchenette to start coffee.

Stella cautiously made her way into the bedroom. What she saw when she entered stopped her dead in her tracks.

Morena peeked out sheepishly from the covers and waved her hand, meekly calling out, "Hi?"

Stella regained her composure very quickly.

"Mistress, we were supposed to be on the road an hour ago," she informed Morena. "We need to meet the train."

"The train can bloody well wait," Morena told her, starting to see which of her body parts would move. "It's always late, even if it's the bitch's private express... Ow..." She discovered she was definitely going to be sore sitting down for awhile.

She slid her legs to the edge of the bed to try to stand up.

"Ow..." She was going to have trouble walking for awhile, too.

Steven slid out of the bed on the other side and walked around.

"Would you like some help with the shower, Mistress?" he asked.

Stella felt faint.

"Goddess, Steven, that would be wonderful," Morena muttered, ignoring for the time being the fact that her number two was gawking at Steven's naked body.

So he picked her up and headed for the shower.

"Coffee in three!" Alyssa called out from the kitchenette. "Mistress Stella? You want some?"

"Um, yes... thank you," Stella answered, breaking the trance and walking to the parlor.

"No, we didn't break her," Alyssa commented to Stella without looking up from the fruit she was cutting up. "She's a glutton for punishment but she'll be right as rain in a few days."

"She needs to see the Matriarch tomorrow afternoon," Stella told Alyssa cautiously.

"Well, she may be a bit sore, but she'll do alright," Alyssa reassured her. "Cantaloupe?"

"Yes, thank you," Stella responded, a bit distracted by this young Procurer and her athletic body.

"We're going to have to disappoint her," Alyssa continued, still without looking up.

"How so?" Stella asked.

"She wants Steven to go along as bodyguard. Or at least, that's what was on her mind last night. He won't do it. He and I are going back today. You'll need to make do with your usual security staff."

* * * * * * * * * *

Between Alyssa, Steven and Stella, they'd gotten Morena showered, dressed, breakfasted and on the road in less than an hour -- and this time, she had the pile of pillows to sit on, not Stella. Shortly after that, Alyssa and Steven headed on out for the return trip to Vern's Dale.

Morena's coachmen tried to make up some time, but on the bumpy roads, Morena wasn't sure it was worth it. And besides, she was right. When they got to Bigglesby Station, the train wasn't there. In fact, although they were an hour and a half late, the train didn't arrive for another half hour after that, puffing into the station behind a huge plume of smoke and steam.

After the War, as the train systems began to be rebuilt, the engineers discovered that the diesels, diesel-electrics and electrics were too fragile to keep running. So they'd fallen back on building and retrofitting steam locomotives, running on coal or wood, depending on what was available. They did have generators driven by the locomotive to supply electricity for the cars, and the Matriarch's Express took full advantage of it. It was noted for its opulence. Between refrigeration and air-conditioning on the one hand and electric heat and lights on the other, it was the ultimate in luxury travel.

Morena rated it because she was transporting the life blood of the Matriarchy.

The Matriarch wasn't on the train. She would wait, ensconced in her throne room and surrounded by her sycophants, so that she could formally receive Morena with as much pomp and display of her power as she could muster. Instead, it was her assistant, Madge.

"Greetings, Mistress Morena!" Madge called out as she stepped down from the railway car. "It is truly good to see you!"

"Hello, Madge," Morena answered, a lot less energy in her greeting than in Madge's. "It's always good to see me when I bring high quality product."

"No, no," Madge protested with less gaiety, sensing something in Morena's mood, "I'm talking about you. And I'm talking about me, not the Matriarch. I really do enjoy seeing you."

"If you're not speaking for Her High-and-Mightiness, then yes, it's good to see you, too," Morena told Madge. She motioned to her two armed guards and they brought over a large and a small suitcase each for Morena and Stella, and a couple of smaller hard-cases which Stella took into custody. Madge gestured at the train and a couple of porters came over and picked up the suitcases, carrying them back aboard.

"Are you going to test them on the way in, or wait?" Morena asked, starting towards the train with Stella and Madge falling in beside her, and her guards flanking them.

"We'll wait," Madge told her. "The test equipment in the train's lab is on the fritz. As soon as we get to Capitol, I'll take you to your quarters, give you a chit for the product under Seal and take it to the lab there. The results will be in before you meet with Her High-and-Mightiness tomorrow afternoon." She winked at Morena.

One of the things Morena liked about Madge was her irreverence for the Matriarch and all things stuffy. She had a bawdy sense of humor when she was allowed to let it out, and had seen more than her share of strange and exotic behaviors in her tenure as Chamberlain to three different Matriarchs, responsible for managing the Matriarch's household.

"Then let's find me somewhere comfortable to sit and get me some coffee," Morena told Madge, wincing as she mounted the steps up to the carriage.

"Already waiting, Mistress," Madge told her. "Rough night last night?" she added as she noticed Morena's difficulty ascending, "Or just Old Age?"

Morena turned to wag her finger at Madge, ready with a pithy retort about well-hung men, then thought better of it, pausing in mid-wag. Madge burst out laughing and Morena couldn't help join in.

"She was young and stupid, once," Stella commented with a smile as they made their way to the lounge.

"Not so young anymore, I think," Madge smiled.

"And your point is...?" Stella smirked.

"Okay, you two... knock it off," Morena said back over her shoulder. "You wouldn't be walking straight after the two of them, either."

"The two of them?" Stella was truly shocked. "You did them both???"

"Shut up, you," Morena told Stella as she fluffed up some pillows on an overstuffed couch and eased herself down into it. She didn't even get a chance to get the word coffee? out before a porter was there with a large mug, cream and sugar.

"I thought we'd forgo the fine china and use something of a more practical size," Madge told her, also sitting down. Stella followed suit, setting the cases next to her. "Your two guards can get comfortable," she added. "We have reserved berths for them. You won't need them until we get to Capitol... I've personally vetted the train."

Morena motioned to her two guards. "Go get rested. I'll need you in the City. Ask a porter for anything you need."

"Yes, Mistress," they acknowledged and headed for the sleeper car.

"You can tell the engineer we can go," Madge directed the porter. He turned and left, and not long after, the train lurched into motion. Since Bigglesby didn't have a roundhouse, they had to negotiate a complicated set of switchbacks to get the train turned around and headed back to Capitol, and every bounce and jounce made Morena wince.

"Goddess, here's hoping for a smoother ride and soon," she commented, raising her mug in a mock toast and taking a deep draught.

"It will be, Mistress," Madge told her with a small smirk. "They've been doing a lot of rebuilding and repair to the tracks over the last year. It gets much better once we pass the town of Deadzone in about two hours. After that we actually pick up speed and it will only be another twenty hours to Capitol. That gets us in around 8am."

"That's a nice improvement," Morena commented. "Once we level out, though, I think I'm going to nap. Stella, please make sure I don't miss meals."

"Yes, Mistress," she acknowledged. "We certainly want you to get your beauty rest..."

"Sarcasm ill-suits you, Stella... even if you're right," Morena groused, then turned her attention back to her coffee.

* * * * * * * * * *

Getting back to Vern's Dale had been relatively easy. They hadn't run into any bandits, or problems with wild animals. They did, unfortunately, run into a heavy downpour just before they made it to Mossy Hill. Cold, wet and tired, they sought out the Inn and the girl Lizzie. They were surprised when they were accosted by the innkeeper.

"Are yeh the Mistress Alyssa what supposedly gave me Lizzie fancy unnerwear an' a doeskin tunic?" he asked.

"Yes, good Sir, I am," she replied warily. "She earned them."

That seemed to give the man pause.

"So she didn't knick 'em an' forge the note?" he asked.

"Not at all," Alyssa told him. "We wanted some special help and she went above and beyond with her service. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Not any more, Mistress, and I'm sorry to have troubled yeh," he told her with a slight bow.

"We'd like to have her help again, if you don't mind," Alyssa told him.

"I don't think yeh'll have a problem with that," he nodded over his shoulder. "She's been foamin' at the mouth t' git to yeh since she saw yeh ride up. It ain't that I didn' believe her... she hadn' lied t' me before. I just wanted to make sure she hadn' helped herself afore I let her help you agin."

"We would greatly appreciate the same room as before, with the private bath, and Lizzie's help, if you don't mind," Alyssa told him.

"Actually, Mistress, if yeh want better, I got a room with hot an' cold runnin' water an' a tub an' shower, if it's gettin' the cold outta yer bones yer wantin'. No extra charge fer good customers like you."

"That, Sir, would be fine," Alyssa decided and moments later, Lizzie was helping them carry their stuff up to the room, get snacks out and get coffee started.

When they got settled, Alyssa looked around and was impressed.

"This has to be the fanciest room in the inn," she commented to Steven. "Tub and shower, hot and cold water, a little kitchenette, comfy furniture and what looks like a very comfortable huge bed. Hey! And packets of instant coffee and tea and powdered cream and sugar... nice!"

"It is, Mistress," Lizzie told her. "There's one other like it, but this one's got the better view. The other one looks out over Main Street..."

"Where it's a lot easier for people to see you if they're watching you," she added softly.

"Is there something we should know, Lizzie?" Alyssa asked softly.

"Well, after you left," Lizzie told her in hushed tones, "that other Procurer lady was nosing around, trying to find out what you had in your saddlebags. Nobody could tell her, of course, cuz you and Mister Steven had been so careful. But there was a lot of speculation. And one of the ideas was that instead of a Procurer delivering men, maybe you were just delivering part of them, if you get what I mean. The Procurer lady really perked up at that one."

"So then around midday, she leaves town. But she don't go back towards the Dale, like usual. She heads out like she'd be following you. And she hasn't been back. You shoulda passed her on the road."

"Thanks, Lizzie, I appreciate the info," Alyssa told her. "And you're right, she's getting a little nosey."

"By the way," she added a moment later, "would you like a hot shower? With us?"

Lizzie took a deep breath and let it out slowly... and Steven had the oddest expression on his face. Alyssa thought maybe he was trying to follow some kind of internal argument in the young woman, with his 'mind-reading' thing she was now sure he could do.

"Mistress..." Lizzie started slowly. "Can I ask you a kinda personal question?"

"Sure," Alyssa told her, figuring she was instigating it, she should probably answer her questions.

"If you were going to lose your virginity," Lizzie asked, "would you rather do it with somebody like you guys, who obviously know what you're doing and could be a lot of fun, but weren't ever going to be a life mate? Or... would you wait for that one special guy that you'd fall in love with, an' plan to get married with and all that? Even if it fell apart later."

"Keeping in mind that special guys, especially fertile ones, are hard to come by around here."

It was Alyssa's turn to take a breath and let it out. She'd made her choice years ago. But that didn't mean it was right for this girl.

"Look, Lizzie," Alyssa told her, "it depends on what you want. For some women, the emotional and spiritual bond you can have with a life mate is worth saving the physical for, so when you share, you can share all of you. For some women, it's important enough that they'll die virgins if they haven't found the right man."

"Others get the choice taken away from them, especially in the Cities, but out here, too. Rapes are a lot more common than a lot of people think, whether it's a single guy or a band of ruffians. You're lucky that hasn't happened to you and you should pray to the Goddess it never does."

"There's others that figure it's a rite of passage to womanhood and they either want to make it special or they just want the status of Virgin to go away. If what you're looking to do is break your hymen because it's inconvenient, you can do that without intercourse. If you're looking to have intercourse so you can consider yourself experienced, or hell -- just because you want to... well, having a balling buddy, or a nameless stranger you'll never see again, to do the honors can work just fine. Providing they're into pleasure and not pain."

"The thing is, you've got a lot of options. And I don't mean to talk down to you, but you need to see that you're the one who has to make the decision about what's right for you. I can't do it for you."

"I think I know that, Mistress," Lizzie told her. "And I'm looking at my options. If I can ask, what choice did you make?"

"What makes you think I'm not a virgin?" Alyssa asked, and got a Get Real! look back in return.

"Okay, Lizzie, in my case it was a double whammy. I hated the title of Virgin. It made me feel like a freak. Not quite rational, but there it is. The other part was, if I was going to marry a man, I didn't want him valuing me for a piece of skin between my legs and a presumed ignorance in the ways of the world. So I specifically set out to get a man to relieve me of my cherry."

"But that was my choice, not yours. This one, you need to figure out for you."

Lizzie nodded as she listened.

"I like the way you think," she told Alyssa. "That's pretty much where I've been going, anyway."

"So, Mister Steven," she went on, turning to address him. "Would you like to deflower me?"

Alyssa thought Steven was going to choke on his coffee. When he stopped spluttering, he paused for a moment, then answered her.

"Lizzie, I'd hurt you," he told her.

"Yeah, so I've heard," Lizzie told him. "But it's not supposed to last very long. One sharp pain and some blood, but then it's done."

"No, no," Steven tried to explain. "I mean, I'd hurt you."

Lizzie looked confused. "You'd want to beat me up or something?"

"No," Steven was trying to find a way to say it. "I mean, I'm rather well endowed for a man. In my size. I could really hurt you, tear your pussy, if I didn't fit and we tried to have intercourse."

"Well, yeah, I know you're big," Lizzie pointed out. "That'd make sure you broke my hymen, right? So you seem like a good choice."

"Lizzie, he's trying to tell you that your pussy might not stretch enough to fit around him when he's erect, and if you tried to fuck him and you didn't stretch enough naturally, the forced stretching could tear your pussy... really do damage to your body."

"Oh..."

Lizzie seemed to think about it for several moments before asking Alyssa, "do you fuck him?"

"Yes..." Alyssa drawled. Oh, brother... she was thinking. This girl is not getting it.

"Well, we're about the same size," Lizzie informed her. "Your tits and hips and ass are bigger, and you're sporting a lot more muscle than me, and you've got maybe a couple of inches on me, but we're still pretty close. I could probably fit him."

Alyssa was marshaling her arguments when Steven intervened.

"Miss Lizzie," he told her, "I'll tell you what. If you really, seriously want my help losing your virginity, we're going to go at it in a particular way. First, you are going to be sexually cranked through the roof, probably several orgasms' worth, and loosened up by hand as much as practical."

"Second, I'll be on my back and you'll straddle me so you can ease yourself down on me only as far as you can without damaging yourself. We can deflower you without you having to take me completely in. And third, if at any time you change your mind, we stop right there. I will not be offended or frustrated."

"Is it a deal?"

Lizzie thought about it for a moment, then brightened up and stuck out her hand.

"Deal," she told Steven.

As he shook her hand, Alyssa interjected, "so can we get that hot shower? I'm still freezing from that damned soaking."

* * * * * * * * * *

Madge had been right. Once they got past Deadzone, the track improved and the train accelerated. With less jostling, Morena's morning-after soreness began to lessen. She decided to get some lunch before trying for a nap.

Madge showed her and Stella to the dining car and at their invitation, stayed with them to eat. After looking over the rather elaborate menu and not seeing anything she considered fit for human consumption, Morena put down the menu and looked at Madge.

"Is there any way to get something as simple as a club sandwich and some soup on this train? Or is everything 'poulet au beurre d'amande avec sauce à l'orange', or 'espadim azul com salada de manga', or 'gae noe su-peu' -- whatever that is."