Paladin Ch. 02: The Champion of Light

Some time later Raya wakes from her exhausted slumber, momentarily disoriented. A jolt of fear surges through her at the realization that she's still bound to Zeffs bed. Where is Simon? Had it all been a dream? Or one of Zeff's mindgames? She raises her head as much as she can in her restraints, to look around the room, but there was no sign of the paladin.

"Sir Simon?" she calls out, barely louder than a whisper. Then louder: "My lord?"

To her immense relief, a deep voice responds from the next room. "Ah, the slumbering maiden has awoken. Just a moment, then I'll have you free from that bed."

Ten seconds later, true to his word, Simon appears in the doorframe.

Oh gods. This isn't fair. Why does Simon have his shirt off? Oh, of course - he must have been treating his injuries. Raya sees a deep cut across Simon's chest, surrounded by charred flesh, and covered by the white scabs that were a sign of magical healing. Whatever slashed Simon got him good. The cut runs from his left shoulder diagonally across his torso, through his left pec, through his six-pack of well-defined abs, down to where his pelvis meets his hip...

"Don't worry about me my lady, it will heal quickly. The warlock had some form of flaming whip."

Embarrassed that Simon had noticed her staring, but grateful that he'd misinterpreted the reason, Raya closes her eyes and lets her head sink back into the pillow. Not fair, not fair, she thinks again. Zeff's spell may have faded, but her long-denied orgasm is still simmering just below the surface. And she's still bound in iron to the bed, her legs held wide open, utterly powerless to stop Simon from doing whatever he wanted with her, just as he'd done so often in her fantasies while Raya was still in the grip of the illusion spell. Given all that, it's hardly her fault she's lusting after Simon, but get a grip she demands of herself. As it is he's going to find your pussy soaking wet, and your nipples rock hard - you don't need to be drooling over him too.

But Simon either doesn't notice her internal struggle or doesn't care to comment, and instead busies himself with the magic required to free Raya from her restraints. Raya hadn't noticed at first, but Simon carries a small flask with him - "Holy water," he explains - and sprinkles a few drops on each of the manacles holding her, and some more on each limb. It's all Raya can do to not moan and buck her hips as Simon massages the water into her bound legs.

With the preparation complete, Simon bows his head as if in prayer, and murmurs some phrases in a language Raya has never heard before, but which nonetheless fill her with a sense of peace and belonging. She lays perfectly still, afraid of disturbing the magic, and after a few moments there is a metallic click, and all four of the cuffs snap open simultaneously. Simon gives a satisfied smile, as Raya gushes thank yous.

"It is not I you should thank," Simon demurs modestly, "But the gods. The power is theirs, they but grant me the ability to focus it once in a while." He considers for a moment. "Let me give you some privacy to get dressed, I will wait in the hallway."

"Oh, but - " Simon pauses and turns back to Raya inquisitively, but she's unsure how to finish her sentence. "It's just... Zeff doesn't usually let me wear much clothes..."

"Fortunately that monster is no longer with us. With me, I rather insist on clothing," Simon replies. With a reassuring smile at Raya, he exits the chamber, closing the door behind him.

There was a bit more to the problem though than what Raya had explained to Simon. Zeff hadn't in fact banned clothing outright, though Raya did spend most of her time in the keep naked. There was one very specific exception though - the maid costumes he insisted she wore when she was cleaning the keep, or preparing and serving meals. They were "clothing" only in the most technical sense that they were made of fabric and worn, but each was more revealing than the next, designed to display and flaunt her assets rather than conceal them. Until she'd gotten used to them - you could get used to anything, given enough time - Raya had found wearing the maid outfits to be worse than wearing nothing. There were lots of reasons people might be naked, after all. For sex, sure, but also to bathe, to change, to sleep on a hot summer's day. There was only one reason people wore things like her maid outfits though - to advertise themselves as sexual objects. And the whole maid part was a humiliating reminder of her subservient role, as well.

The thought of wearing that lingerie for Simon makes Raya flush with humiliation, but also sets her heart racing, and puts a wicked smile on her lips. SImon had acted a perfect gentleman to this point - he is a man of god, and of course would not take advantage of a helpless damsel, no matter how much she might want it. But she's not helpless anymore, after all. The gratitude of the rescued maiden was one of the main perks of being a hero, everyone knew that. Raya would show Simon that she was not only willing but enthusiastic to play her role in that arrangement.

Raya passes over the outfit she'd been considering, the full length robe made of translucent lace. As revealing as it was, it was the most modest of her options, and she feels Simon deserves more of a treat than that. Likewise discarded is the outfit with the loosely flowing miniskirt; whenever she wore that Zeff delighted in conjuring a magical wind to follow her around, guaranteeing that the skirt would spent most of its time around her waist instead of hiding the anatomy it was designed to. But somehow that doesn't seem like Simon's style.

The next outfit was a single belt of leather that ran around her waist, with dozens of long thin chains attached that crisscrossed her body while concealing nothing. Two of the chains ran from the front, through her crotch, to the back. It was always a difficult day when that outfit came up in the rotation - the chains would nip and tease and rub at her crotch with every step, and Zeff would inevitably come up with a task like scrubbing the floors to ensure she didn't get a chance to sit still.

Raya's hands have unconsciously slipped down to her pussy, and she's begun to rub herself at the memory of the time Zeff had come up behind her and murmured an incantation that set the chains to vibrating, and Raya had spent the next hour cumming all over the floor she'd just cleaned. That had been nice, even if he did make her clean up the fresh mess with her tongue afterwards. FUCK she's horny. Raya pulls her hands back from her crotch, panting with arousal, but resisting the urge to finish herself off right then and there. No, she admonishes herself. Save it for Simon.

And what about this next outfit? Yes... Raya considers. That will do nicely. It's essentially a bustier, with attached bra and skirt. The bustier cinches tightly about her waist, shaping her into a pleasing hourglass figure; the bra is a shelf style that thrusts her breasts up and gives her nice cleavage while leaving the nipples (and most of the rest) bare; the skirt is a gossamer little nothing that's entirely see through.

The outfit is quick to go on, and Raya admires herself in the mirror. Once again, she feels the stirrings of the orgasm still lurking within her. The satisfaction she needs from Zeff's tease and denial session will be coming soon, she thinks - there's no chance Simon can resist her.

Raya considers her footwear options, which consist entirely of impractical high heels. They make her awkward and clumsy. She hated wearing them for Zeff. But they do make her butt look fantastic. She reaches for a black leather set with 5 inch heels. The floor is too cold to go barefoot, after all.

With the heels on, she gives herself another critical look in the mirror. Her long red hair is wild and dissheveled, but there's nothing she can do about that now. She's done her best to clean herself from her ordeal in the bed, but her thighs are still a bit sticky with her juices. She blushes, but there's nothing she can do about that either. She adjusts her bra until she's happy with the way her breasts sit, nipples thrust forward proudly and invitingly. She's ready to face her hero paladin.

Raya tentatively opens the door, and steps out into the hallway. "My lord," she greets Simon.

Simon had begun to stand when he heard the door open, but pauses halfway up, his eyes locked on Raya's figure. She casts her eyes demurely downward, feigning modesty. It's a posture that's at odds with what she's feeling - she looks hot, she knows. More than hot - she looks like sex on legs.

And she feels sexy too; sexy and confident. She's blessed with good looks, and has never wanted for male attention, even at the monastery with those shapeless long robes all the acolytes wear. There was a reason Zeff had chosen her from among all the possible victims to abduct - several reasons in fact, and they were all proudly on display in the joke of a uniform she had on.

Since Simon seems momentarily speechless, Raya fills in the silence. "My lord, forgive my appearance. Zeff didn't allow me much clothing, but he liked the way this outfit looked on me." Simon is still frozen half out of his chair, and Raya takes that as a compliment. She walks towards him, with her heels adding a seductive sway to her hips.

"My lord, it occurred to me, in the confusion - I don't think I said a proper thank you for rescuing me. And you suffered injury, coming to my aid?" A part of Raya can't believe how forward she's being, but she forges on, bending her head low so she can look up at Simon demurely through her lashes. "My lord, I wish there was some way I could make that feel better..."

"Ah, Raya," Simon's voice sounds strangled. "I think I understand. I want to assure you that you don't owe me anything. Dealing with the likes of Zeff is part of my holy charge, I seek no reward."

Raya blinks, taken aback. "Oh, but my lord, I -"

"Please," Simon says. "This is indecent. Put on something more seemly."

Raya flushes with humiliation, and not the sexy kind. "Yes my lord, forgive me. I - I fear I don't own anything else. This is all that Zeff permits me." Her voice was small, and she found she couldn't look Simon in the eye. Oh gods, what had she done wrong?

"Ah," Simon says. "I see. Well, you can wear something of mine. Nothing will fit you well of course, but maybe a shirt..." His voice trails off as he begins to dig through his pack.

Raya is confused and hurt. Why is Simon rejecting her? "My lord..." she asks tentatively. "Do you not find me attractive?"

"Raya," Simon considers how to answer, as he pulls out a white shirt that will fit Raya like a dress. "I do. And that's a problem, as we are both people of the faith. Your order considers chastity a virtue, as does mine. Also... also, you are clearly still traumatized by your ordeal as Zeff's captive. But you are free now. You no longer have to use your body to please men. You are a child of god."

FUCK, Raya thinks. What does a girl have to do to get laid around here? Child of god? Chastity as a virtue? Could he be serious? This isn't how it's supposed to go. Handsome hero rescues fair damsel, then they shack up and live happily ever after. Why exactly does Simon think girls are enrolling at secluded and poorly defended monasteries in the woods? So that once they inevitably get kidnapped by brigands and trolls and warlocks, they can be properly grateful to the rescuing hero, and take a giant step up the social ladder in the process.

Unsure how to express all this to Simon, she accepts the offered shirt and slips it over her head.

Then she shrieks and tears the shirt off again, collapsing to the floor, and clutching at her throat.

Simon is on his feet in an instant, a thick iron mace materializing in his hand as if from nowhere, scanning the room warily for a threat he doesn't see. "What is it?" he hisses. "What got you?"

But Raya still sits on the floor, clutching at her throat - at the leather band she wears around her neck. Since Simon had taken care of Zeff, she'd assumed...

"It's the collar, my lord," Raya explains. "A command collar. Zeff made me wear it. It's... I have to follow any command, or else it squeezes and..."

"Are you hurt?"

"No my lord," Raya answers. "It startled me, that's all. But it gets tighter and tighter if I'm disobeying something, and eventually..." she shudders, and doesn't complete the thought. "I assumed that since you killed Zeff, it would stop working, but, well, one of the commands was to not wear any clothing that he hadn't specifically given me." That was going to make escape... more interesting. But another, darker thought followed, and makes Raya gasp. "And also - he commanded me to not leave the keep grounds, and make no attempt to escape."

"I see," Simon says softly. He approaches Raya, and rubs his thumb softly along the leather of the collar. Raya is suddenly very aware of how close he is to her naked breasts, but his attention seems focused on the magical artifact. "I've heard of things like this," Simon muses. "It's going to make things a bit more complicated, I fear."

"Can you - can you get it off me, my lord?"

"Given enough time, I think so," Simon says. "I was hoping to leave here immediately, before - well, this is no place to linger. But getting this collar off will take time." He thinks, and reaches a decision. "Maybe I can find something among Zeff's belongings that will help. Let's go downstairs, and establish a base of operations. I can put up some protective wards, in case Zeff has left any nasty surprises behind. We can get some rest, and see if we can find something that will help get that collar off you."

He gives Raya a reassuring smile, which she struggles to return. Despite Simon's confident words, he doesn't seem completely certain in his ability to get the collar off her. Damn Zeff! Tormenting her still, even from beyond the grave. What if it can't come off? What if Simon is forced to leave her behind?

Simon finishes gathering his belongings - Raya had nothing of her own to take - and leads the way out of the hall, towards the main staircase, with Raya following behind. She's seriously regretting her choice of outfit now, and considers going back to change into one of the marginally more modest maid uniforms, but she's afraid of having to answer Simon as to why she hadn't chosen one of the more modest ones in the first place.

The ground floor of the keep is large, and Zeff has made full use of the space, with many rooms dedicated to awful magical experimentation. Towards the center of the keep are more ordinary functional rooms, and it's to these that Simon leads, peering appraisingly through doorways, before reaching the dining room.

"Let's make ourselves comfortable here," he suggests. "It's central, and easy to defend if we need to. Plus food is a consideration - we should take whatever looks normal from the pantry, it'll be better than the rations I brought."

Raya is barely listening, doing her best to look anywhere but at the chairs in front of the wooden table. She feels she'd die of shame if Simon noticed. Not that it's her fault of course, but while the chair at the head of the table - obviously Zeff's - is large and richly cushioned, the other chair is simple unadorned wood with a rather unusual accessory. A large knobby phallus is carved into the seat, jutting lewdly upwards.

Mealtimes with Zeff were always an ordeal. Besides cooking and serving in whatever the humiliating outfit of the day was, Raya generally spent her meals either on her knees under the table servicing Zeff, or else impaled on the dildo chair, squirming for his amusement. Raya feels herself moistening at the memory, and flushes with shame. Say what you will about Zeff, and there was plenty bad to say - he at least knew what he wanted from a pretty girl, and took it. Unlike certain paladins Raya could name, she thought with a hint of bitterness.

Fortunately Simon seems oblivious to the sex-toy-furniture hybrid at the table, and after arranging his belongings into a small pile in the corner, he's slowly tracing the perimeter of the room with his holy symbol clutched tight in his hands, murmuring in the same strange language Raya had heard earlier when Simon was magically unlocking the manacles that bound her to Zeff's bed.

Raya doesn't dare interrupt as Simon works, and soon the perimeter is complete, and Simon's arrived back where he started. "It's not much," he says by way of explanation. "But it should keep at least the lesser threats at bay."

He's businesslike as he proceeds with another incantation, holding his holy symbol high in the air and facing it in different directions. He pauses, considers, and seems satisfied with his work. He leaves the holy symbol on the table, towards the center of the room.

"Perfect. You should be protected here now."

"Thank you my lord," Raya says. She hesitates. "My lord... you're not leaving me, are you?"

"No Raya, of course not - don't worry, I'll get that collar off you." He gives her a steady reassuring look. "But I am going to go search through some more of the keep. As I said, there might be something to help with the collar, and there may be other artifacts that it's best to not leave lying around. You'll be safe enough waiting for me here."

"I can come with you, my lord," Raya offers at once, perhaps too eagerly.

"Best if you don't," Simon says. "It could be dangerous, tinkering with a warlock's possessions. I'll feel much better knowing that you're safe here. And... well... my spells require a certain amount of pious concentration, and until we solve the collar problem and find some clothing for you..."

He doesn't have to complete the thought, but Raya has no problem imagining the rest of it. "...it's hard to think holy thoughts with a nearly naked slut trying to get me to fuck her". He'd probably phrase it nicer than that, but surely that was the gist. Oh well - it was at least some solace to know that Simon was finding her distracting.

Simon completes his preparations. He'll be taking some weapons and potions with him, and leaving most of his gear behind. His bedroll is there, and a small collection of books, and Simon invites Raya make use of whatever she wants to pass the time until his return.

With a final reassuring nod to Raya, and the promise that he won't go far and will come running if she should shout, Simon heads off to explore the rest of the keep.