Princess Jern's Centaur Mentor

"Believe me when I say that I was not myself, Jern." Chiracles made explicit following those expressions of regret. "Thinking back on how I ravaged you so, it leaves me feeling nothing but awful..."

"Oh, so you're saying I'm a lousy hook-up, is that it?" Jern retorted, seeming to be more offended by the misconstruction that Chiracles found their fling to be disappointing than the manner in how he treated her, which in turn took the centaur aback, as while he had expected her to be irate with him as a potential reaction, it was not in this way. "Well, you definitely didn't seem to feel awful about it in the moment, you daft old nag!"

"Ah, no! Th-that's not what I...oh, confound it! The words escape me!" Chiracles rejoined in turn, becoming flustered in his failure to articulate himself. "Listen, don't get me wrong, all I want to say is that I'm eternally grateful for you doing what you did, but I cannot help but feel I took advantage of the whole situation towards its end..."

"What advantage? You're saying this like I went into it not knowing exactly what I was in for...well, maybe not exactly per se, seeing as that was my first time being shagged by a centaur, but if I was offended in the slightest or wanted out at all, I wouldn't have made any bones about letting you know, believe me. We both gave our agreement to go through with it, didn't we? And besides, if anything I'm the one that led you on, not the other way about! If there's one thing I think even you've gotta learn, Teach, it's how to loosen up a little." Although the centaur was still not completely convinced that their coupling was entirely appropriate, Jern's words did bring a little comfort to the jaded veteran and reassured him their deed was not inherently wrong, as brazen as those words were presented. It was becoming more difficult for him by the day to believe this really was the same girl who fawned over him so modestly when they first met. "Anyway, enough of all that! I've burned enough daylight here sleeping in and flapping our gums here isn't helping any! I ain't letting you take the day off just because you're feeling a bit bashful...especially not when I think I more than earned another day's worth of your time after last night~" To that closing sentence spoken in a slightly flirtatious tone, the centaur raised an eyebrow, though refrained from falling back into his sheepish tones in this instance. After all, he had an example to set for his disciple.

"If you insist...oh, and don't think I'm letting that 'daft old nag' comment slide by. Just for that, you'll be training twice as hard today: doing everything twofold and at double the speed. You're lucky I'm not making it for the month." Just like that, the Stallion Centurion had returned to his usual strict self.

"Ah-ha! So, you admit you've been going easy on me this whole time? Well, I'm sure last night's convinced you I'm capable of more than you thought~ " Jern replied, not only undeterred by his threat, but showing an infectiously toothy grin that Chiracles could not help but mimic himself. "Anyway, let's head! The veggies ain't gonna tend themselves." Jern went to get herself properly dressed for the day, though stopped to say one last thing to the centaur. "Oh, yeah, and by the way, if you ever pop a hard-on like that again, you can always come to me for help, y'know."

"I assure you, Jern, last night's incident will not be repeated!" Chiracles stated, and indeed this declaration would prove true...for the next couple of days at least.

III

Despite her intercourse-induced impairment, Jern completed her twofold training, albeit at a lesser pace than what was her average, and forced to take more breaks than she would otherwise like to admit, though in spite of his earlier warning, Chiracles - understanding her condition - let her off lightly with this, despite the princess' objections to the contrary. However, once she was back in top form the very next day after, Pallidius returned to his usual drill sergeant demeanour for the most part, although a much tenderer side of him was now noticeable by night once that day's coaching had concluded, becoming far more cordial and open to Jern during those hours as if the two were closer to companions rather than mentor and mentee. Their conversations were not strictly confined to battleground lectures anymore (although Jern still enjoyed hearing the way he recounted his adventures very much), but Chiracles also opened up to her about matters far more personal: of fond friends, of fierce rivals and of loves lost, of the nostalgia he held for his native territory, and how even the most hardened of veterans could be reduced to a melancholy when ruminating the old lives they left in their birthplace, which in turn spurned a slight sense of homesickness in Jern for old Snjórland, the first she had felt since her departure so many months ago.

Once or twice, he touched upon his brief role as a quill-pusher for Caliga's senate after resigning as an active centurion (his reasons for doing so not being quite so monumental as Jern had speculated: the centaur had simply grown far too weary from seeing too many close allies either maimed for life if their lives had been spared at all, or of loyal folk wind up as traitors) and did not mince his words about the the rampant corruption amongst those running the country of which he was powerless to bring change about to (and not for lack of trying), jading him further. And that was before mentioning the unbridled discrimination the politicians and clerks of the capital had for anybody who was not of humankind, and oft hearing whispers of him being likened to a filthy, unintelligent animal by those stupidly brave enough to whisper behind his back when they believed him out of earshot, although Chiracles considered these verbal insults not worth dignifying by lashing out lest he only drew further comparison to a beast, although he admitted to having difficulty keeping his ire in check some days when certain slurs cut especially deep. These were all factors that led to his eventual decision to depart from the cities and towns to live a life of isolation.

It was also worth noting that two or three days after his and Jern's moonlight liaison, Chiracles' concupiscence seemed to be dormant, as he did not have to abruptly depart to wait for his ardour to placate itself. However, following this inactive period, during one afternoon when Jern was in the midst of swimming laps in the very same lake they conducted their coitus beside, the princess noticed on her return stroke that the centaur stood obviously restless. Ending her swim prematurely, she emerged from the water with her body just as dripping wet as it was naked (which was to say completely) to check up on her teacher. As the redhead had reckoned, Chiracles' unfading libido had once more reared its ugly head, and although the Centurion was still not entirely comfortable in confessing it, he could at least now be candid about it.

As she had promised, Jern told him she would gladly take care of the problem (said with a slight smile on her lips) to which Chiracles conceded to her doing, albeit without anywhere near as much opposition as he had shown the other night. This occurrence did not come close to reaching the same level of intensity as the last, though Jern still kicked things off with a handjob that employed both her mitts (her preference for two-handed weaponry and recent practice in polearms really coming in handy on how to handle a member of this length), giving the cock few kisses and licks for good measure. Afterwards, she laid her back upon the most comfortable boulder available at that time and place (though it was still not very comfortable at all) and directed Chiracles to stand directly over her, bringing his penis forwards when he did, which Jern then manually guided to her orange-haired muff, though was careful to only fit the tip plus about an inch inside, which even that alone was a feat enough to elicit a sigh from the princess. Chiracles then gently rocked his barrel back and forth, mindful not to add any more than a few centimetres than what was already within the human's sex, while said human reached over with one hand to grab the part of his penis just underneath what was penetrating her and started swiftly stroking that small section to provide the centaur further stimulation in addition to what he was gaining from gently bucking into her constrictive cunny.

The centaur did pick up the speed in his motions after a point, but overall kept his pace far more controlled compared to the frenzy he had previously displayed, no doubt now that the accumulated edge had been taken off his sex drive. A part of Jern could not help but feel a little let down at this outcome, although she found the slower pace pleasant in its own way for the most part, and was able to bring Chiracles to an orgasm much swifter than what she projected, though the sedated tempo was not quite enough to make the redhead herself cum before then. This was easily remedied by the princess simply masturbating herself to a finish then and there so that the titillation would not distract for the rest of the day's training. Chiracles probably expected her to to temporarily take leave and do so in private when she asked if he minded (not unlike how he had hitherto handled his bouts of horniness), but the young woman simply remained where she lay and shamelessly took care of the issue within his presence, much to Chiracles' surprise and slight jealousy over how her arm was of adequate length for her to self-stimulate her genitals by hand, but still he openly observed the princess play with her pussy, and Jern quite enjoyed having a one-man audience witness what was otherwise a usually private deed as her cunt leaked with copious amounts of his own seed.

And from then on, whenever Chiracles had a growing erection that required abating, Jern was more than eager to help handle the hindrance, with the centaur slowly coming to terms with it being a necessity with each instance. Although, he did catch on at a quicker rate to the fact that Jern seemed to quite enjoy herself during these moments of assistance, and at one or two points, when he was feeling especially bold, offered the use of his own hand in place of the princess' to save her finishing her own self off following his shallow proddings, and his dexterous digits proved he was not lacking in that area of expertise either in spite of the long period he must have spent out of practice, with the redhead able to detect an involuntarily hint of joy in Chiracles' expression when he provided her with a swift climax by his fingers alone.

For a few weeks longer, such an arrangement on top of the arrangements already agreed upon continued up until one morning that began just like any other, when Jern awoke and was already on her knees in the muck of the plot outside plucking carrots as was her usual routine, Chiracles summoned her to the front of his home, wishing to speak something to his student.

"You needn't concern yourselves with your daily chores anymore, Jern." He started off saying to her, and although she wished he had told her this sooner before she dirtied her hands and her trousers, she was also left wondering why this was the cause, but before she could ask, the centaur continued: "As of today, you are no longer under my tutelage." He stated straightforwardly and without fanfare.

"What?!" Jern exclaimed, rightfully flabbergasted by the blunt manner such news was delivered. "N-now, hold your horses for just a moment, Teach! Er, if you forgive the phrase. But you can't give me the hoof just like that without a warning! At least tell me where I went wrong before you do! I've done everything you said, and then some! Well, just about everything..."

"Jern, please, you misunderstand me. You haven't done anything wrong." Chiracles interrupted her flustered rant as soon as he was able to get a word in edgewise, which only left Jern with more questions than she already had, though the non-human went onto explain before she asked any of them: "Aside from perhaps doing something about that rash rushing to conclusions of yours, there is nothing left that I can teach you. I have passed on the extent of my military knowledge."

With that statement, the Iron Princess looked up to the Stallion Centurion in amazement and adoration not dissimilar to the cast she had conveyed when they had first met. "You mean...?"

"I do. You are hereby graduated from your training." With Chiracles making his meaning explicit, Jern was overjoyed, scarcely believing this coveted day had finally come. She could have crooned and cavorted on the spot, she was so elated, but she reigned in her emotions while Chiracles continued his speech, and was especially sober when she heard what he had to say next. "However, your real lessons will only now begin once you are back in the thick of things putting what you have learned into practical use. Experience will prove to be a far better teacher to you than I could ever hope to be. Ah, but let us not downplay the difficulties you had to overcome to reach this point. I'm afraid there's little I can provide in the way of a worthy ceremony, but at the very least, will you accompany me to the outpost one final time and share some drinks with me at the tavern? Not as pupil and master, but as fellow soldiers."

"Oh, if you're treating, then it would be my absolute honour, Sir!...Actually, I suppose you're just plain ol' Chiracles Piladius to me now that we're equals." She snickered, which amused the centaur in turn.

"And...I also want to say 'thank you', Jern...for everything you've done for me, I mean." Chiracles went on to say, sounding as though he was struggling to bring himself to say the words. Jern was just surprised to hear him sound so sincere right at the very end, though pleased to hear him voice such sentiments all the same. "You've brought some much needed fun and variety back into this old man's life who didn't even know how much he missed it! I'm thinking about treating myself to an extended holiday...there's still much of the world left that I have yet to see for myself."

"Glad to hear it, Tea- er, Chiracles! But you can save your thanks for the moment, 'cause I've actually got a present to show ya!" Jern replied as she started making her way around the L-shaped house, gesturing for her former instructor to follow. "I actually figured I'd be leaving you sooner or later, so I thought I'd better get something ready as a going-away gift. Just as a way for me to say thanks for putting me up and putting up with me!"

"Oh?" Intrigued, Chiracles accompanied her round back. It was hard for him not to notice how Jern had been engaged in some sort of project during the last few weeks with the scant free time she had to spare, borrowing some of his tools he had lying about for making small repairs to his home and scraping together what materials she was able to afford from the outpost in the pursuit, although she made her teacher swear that he would not take a peep under the canvas where she kept it sheltered beneath until she was ready to show it, and it seemed that occasion had come at last. Chiracles would be lying if he said his curiosity had not been burning to know what could possibly be the result of so much disruptive hammering and sawing.

"Ta-da! Finished it just the other day!" Jern exclaimed when she yanked away the concealing sheet to reveal a rather crudely constructed device. In approximate shape, it resembled a vaulting apparatus on which one might see a gymnast practising their trade; a box of planed planks about two metres long, six decimetres wide and fifty-five centimetres tall, with a number of nails pounded into every possible edge (and at varying degrees of bentness) to ensure it would not fall apart even if struck by a great force, and stood a little over a yard from the floor by means of four braces of sturdy wood affixed to each corner of its underside and projecting diagonally outwards to the ground. A hole about five inches in diameter was carefully sawed out of very centre on one of the box's end-faces, with the interior of this cavity lined with a material pink in colour which seemed soft and rubbery, but packed so tightly as to leave naught but a narrow - but elastic - wrinkle of an opening, while the opposite end had a horizontal beam attached along its top edge resembling some sort of rest. Chiracles had no clue what this homemade device's function could be from a glance, though fortunately he was spared the insult of asking its gift-bearer, as she went on to expound. "Now, I'm not much of a dab hand when it comes to woodwork, and it might not be the prettiest thing in the world, but I'm confident this thing's solid enough to handle your urges even at their worst when you've nobody about who can lend you a hand~" She said with a smirk, giving her amateurly rustic contraption a couple of pats, as if to indicate how proud she was to have built it.

"Ah." Was all Chiracles could utter, forcing a nervous smile and a shaky chuckle as he blushed behind his beard upon finally realising the apparatus' rude purpose. "This certainly is a...generous gesture...I'm not sure what to say." That last sentence was at least true.

"Glad ya like it!" Jern then said with genuine glee, his embarrassment obvious save towards the princess apparently, which was then followed by an uncomfortable pause when she looked to the centaur, who looked back at her in turn, as though she was waiting expecting for him to say or do something, even though Chiracles did not know what that might have been. "Well? Aren't you gonna try it out?" Jern eventually ended this delay a few seconds after.

"Wh-what? Here? Now? With you watching!?" Chiracles stammered, nonplussed by the frankness of her making such an ask.

"Why not? It still hasn't had its trial run yet, so I gotta make sure it's up to snuff and make any adjustments if needed." She gave her reasons, and before the centaur was aware of it, the human woman had dove beneath his body with the alacrity of greased lightning and seized both his rotund testicles in each hand and started to fondle them against each other to induce his cock to emerge from its sheath, making even the mighty Centurion yelp and quake from the quickness at which it was happening. "C'mon, lemme see the Stallion's potent lance primed one last time~"