Sister Cities Ch. 03

Chapter Three - Fleur Goes Through the Change

Leona was bent over Ben's desk as he pounded into her from behind. Their flesh slapped together with each stroke, wet and noisy. His breathing was harsh, the grip on her hips nearly punishing as he worked toward his release. She had already cum once when he ate her pussy, but she felt the pressure beginning to rise again.

She pushed back against him with every pump of his hips, bringing them together harder and allowing him even deeper inside her. The desk was nearly too tall for him to reach her special spot, and she was forced to use her arms, propped up under her breasts for leverage. As long as he held out just a few... more... strokes.

With a gurgled cry, Ben shot his load inside her. He slowed his movements, but Leona shouted, "No!" and kept pushing back against him. With a groan, he understood her request and did his best to keep going. He even reached around her and fingered her clit, helping her along.

She finally reached the elusive peak with his help and shuddered her way through her own orgasm. As her pussy clenched down on his dick, Ben gave a weak cough and pulled out of her. "I can't... Fuck, woman, you'll kill me one of these days."

Ben collapsed on a chair. Leona rose from her position and gave him a curious look as she slipped into the adjacent cleansing room. After quickly cleaning herself up, she wet a cloth and took it back into the office. When she held the cloth out to him, she noted Ben's pallor and sweaty skin.

His hand trembled slightly when he took the cloth and used it wipe his face before cleaning his now limp and shriveled cock. When finished, he gave the cloth a weak toss toward the cleansing room and remained slumped in the chair. His breathing still hadn't evened out when he propped his elbow on the arm of his chair to hold his chin in his hand.

When he had first trapped her, Leona had given him a few weeks to think that he was in charge. Then she taught him otherwise, and during the twelve years that followed she had remained at the church on her own free will, finding it a convenient place to be for a while. The opposite of what he'd intended their relationship to be.

"You don't look very good," she observed, pulling on a robe over her young, fresh body.

Ben took a moment to try to control his breathing. "I don't feel very good at the moment."

She sat in the chair opposite the desk he had just fucked her on, crossing her long well-toned legs. "Are you going to die on me old man?"

He only shook his head, pulling his robes over his body, not making an effort to put them on.

"And if you go belly-up, what happens to me and Fleur?"

Ben closed his eyes and leaned his head back, looking like the old man he was becoming. He'd passed his sixty-third year on his last birthday. If he'd ever thought that Leona would keep him young, he'd been terribly mistaken. Since she remained young and healthy, her sexual appetites were perfectly normal for a young woman. It was his new theory that the damn woman had fucked the life out of him.

But she had a point. He'd forced her to stay, locked in the tower for months. But then Fleur had let her out and the two of them had planned to walk right out the door. It was only his quick tongue and the admittedly good reasons he offered for their remaining that kept them there. Over the years, he'd developed a fondness for Leona. Fleur, they discovered, had been an outstanding organizer, keeping the church and his sermons going like a well-oiled machine.

He had indeed made plans for her. Though he knew they both may fool him in the end, Ben was certain that he'd managed to keep the wealth he'd accumulated over the years hidden from the women. A will lay tucked away in his desk, waiting for his death. The easily cowed people of the town had deeded him the church and land years ago. It would all go to Leona. How she'd explain herself after his death, he no longer cared.

"You'll be provided for," he told her cryptically.

Leona stared hard at him for a moment before announcing, "I need a virgin."

Ben's eyes opened wide. "Why? I got you one last year and your marks are still strong."

She leveled a glance at him and he dropped his eyes. "Because Fleur's birthday is in two weeks and she's decided to stay with me. I need a virgin so she can join me in the change."

The Father looked confused. "You need a virgin but she's the one changing?"

Leona sighed. "Alright," she said. "She needs the virgin so she can change. I'm the one requesting the virgin from you as per our agreement."

Narrowing his eyes at her, Ben considered this. "That was not our agreement. I agreed to supply you with virgins. Not her." He knew damn well he'd provide the virgin. He simply didn't want to make it easy for her.

Meeting him glare for glare, she replied, "Do you remember what happened the last time you attempted to deny me what I asked for?"

Ben straightened in his chair. He clearly remembered how close Leona had come to walking right out the front door of the church. Stark naked. Her intention was to declare his true nature to everyone in the village. He'd learned the woman did not merely threaten, but followed through when he tried to keep her under his thumb.

He raised a hand in a calming gesture. "It's just that it's getting difficult to make young men disappear. The Hansens still ask me, a year later, if I've heard from their son."

Leona sat back in the chair and considered the circumstances. She'd moved from the tower room he'd originally put her in to a large, sumptuous apartment in the back of the church. "We need another city close by. One we can get the virgins from without such difficulty."

"There is no other city," Ben groused. It had been his main reason for keeping Leona in the church. He'd had to travel a far distance when he'd wanted a woman for sex.

"We also need scientists. This backwater village needs to grow, expand. Modernize."

Ben rubbed a hand over his face, his voice tired as he said, "That also goes against everything I preach. We can't have scientists."

Looking at the man across her, she noted the gray in his hair and the sag of his belly. He seemed to be aging much faster than he should. "A second city would fix that," she insisted.

With a growl, Ben pulled himself from his chair and said, "You can't snap your fingers and make a second city appear. Where would you put it anyway? There's nothing here!"

She watched as he jerked his robes on, tying them with his fancy gold cord. "On the other side of the river."

He paused, his hands still on the cord wrapped around his waist. "You've thought this out."

"Not much else to do around here."

Ben knew better than to step one foot through that figurative door. Boredom had been her biggest complaint ever since he'd brought her in that first night. He finished tying his robe and headed for the door. "I'll get your damn virgin," he said. "Don't know what the fuck I'll do with two of you around here, though."

That was a decent point, Leona thought. She had no idea yet what to do next, especially after Fleur went through her change. Since leaving her sister's inn, Fleur had acted as housekeeper to the church. That included making appointments for parishioners to meet with "Father Benevolent," as they called him. Once she made the change to her younger self, she could no longer allow people to see her.

Leona had learned through the years that Ben had shunned any connections with another church. He was a self-proclaimed priest, not having had any formal training or education. He had decided that it was an easy way to make money and hold a position of power. It had worked remarkably well in the small, isolated village.

But that meant that he answered to no one else. No diocese, no formal head of the church, no one ruled over the illustrious Father Benevolent. When he died, the village would have to seek another priest on their own or let the church lay silent. Leona knew he had money tucked away. She didn't know where, and until he died, she didn't really care.

The door quietly opened and Fleur peeked in before entering with a glass of mulberry wine in her hand. Her distaste of the relationship between Leona and Ben had been obvious twelve years ago. Since then, she'd grown to accept it as all part of her new life. Leona had spent years teaching Fleur all she knew about their marks. Until recently, she feared that Fleur, a virgin herself, would not take a virgin and chose to remain young.

"Father Ben looked awfully pale,." said Fleur. "He went straight to his room. Did something happen?" She took the seat beside Leona and handed her the glass of wine.

Taking a sip, Leona nodded thoughtfully. "He's getting old. Faster than he should. If we lived in a large city with doctors and hospitals, I'd suggest he have some tests run. But that's not going to happen way out here."

Fleur was quiet for a bit. "But what will happen to us if he..."

Leona patted her friend's knee. "Don't you worry. I'm very well-rehearsed in moving on and starting over." She sipped more of her wine, her thoughts wandering. "But wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to move on?" Shaking her head and giving a wave of her hand, she chased the thought away. "No. I promised to show you more of the world than this sleepy little village. We have places to explore, adventures to have."

She heard Fleur give a soft sigh. "But I wouldn't mind staying. I know we can't, not once I... change. But I like it here."

Studying Fleur's wistful looking face, Leona paused. "If you want to stay, then use that remarkable organizing brain of yours and help me find a way."

Fleur's hazel eyes met Leona's brown ones and she gently clasped their hands together. "You'd do that for me? Give up your adventures?"

Leona shrugged. "Maybe not completely, but it would be nice to have a place to call home. A place to always come back to." She looked around the church office. "But not a church, exactly."

Fleur giggled. "No, I'd hate to live like this forever. It's cold and drafty and stone is not appealing. And those hideous stained glass windows," she added with a delicate shudder.

After a shared laugh, the two went their separate ways, Fleur off to see to the myriad of details she took care of every day, and Leona to check on Ben. She found him sound asleep on his bed, still wearing his robes. Real concern filled her heart. This was not normal behavior for the man.

She went to her apartment and quickly changed into soft leggings and a long silk tunic. After a quick peek to make sure Ben was still sleeping, she went to his private office next door. There she quickly and thoroughly rummaged the small room, looking for anything to show he'd taken steps to secure a future for her and Fleur.

Having found nothing, she went back to the large, public office where they'd fucked. She took in the smell of lemon oil and knew that Fleur had also returned to do a cleaning of the room. Smiling at her friend's quirks, she wondered if Fleur would be such a stickler once she'd changed. Starting with the desk, she opened drawers and rifled through each one. In the bottom drawer lay a stack of papers plainly labeled with her name. Pulling them out, she sat down in his chair behind the desk and began to read.

Twenty minutes later, she laid the small sheaf of papers on the desk and leaned back. "You old codger," she whispered. The papers explained where Leona would find enough money for her and Fleur to live comfortably for a very long time, as well as the deed to the church and several other properties, including a very large parcel of land on the other side of the river.

Father Ben had accumulated a fortune in land, businesses, and money. It seemed he owned half the village and a goodly part of the land around the town. It had originally all been donated or given to the church, and Ben was clever enough to make sure his name was on everything. These papers gave all of it to Leona.

After carefully replacing the papers, she left the office and wandered to the sanctuary. She looked around at the gaudy windows and elaborate decorations and gave a rueful chuckle. All this would be hers.

She sat on the front pew and stared at the collection of candles in glass cups on a tiered table by the wall. People of the village came in daily to light the candles for various reasons; death, birth, sickness, or a heavy sin on their soul. Ben preached that each candle lit was a prayer to God and that he maintained the candles so that they never went out. That was a lie. Fleur had taken care of the candles from the first day she was there.

It was a nice gesture, Leona supposed, if one believed in that sort of thing. She sighed. What in the world would she do with all this? The old man had tied her to this place as surely as if he'd locked a shackle around her ankle.

~~~

Leona stared at the trembling eighteen-year-old boy in front of her. Tears tracked down his cheeks and his breathing had a hitch as if he'd start crying again any moment. She looked to Ben, incredulity clear in her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? What do I do with this?"

Ben shrugged. "You wanted a virgin. You didn't say a willing virgin."

Slapping a hand to her forehead, she turned and started pacing. "Fleur is also crying and having a fit. How in the world is this going to work?" The boy gave a shudder and a sob. Gesturing wildly, she asked, "Did you kidnap the poor thing? What is wrong with him?"

The boy choked out some sounds, but Leona didn't understand them. Fighting for calm, she kneeled in front of the chair he was cowering in. Looking into his devastated blue eyes she felt her heart constrict. When she motioned for him to try speaking again, he stuttered out, "I- I don't... wha... want to buh-be a priest." He then broke down in sobs.

Rising, Leona turned to Ben and stared him down. "Why does he think he's going to be a priest?"

Ben scratched his chin and avoided her gaze, "Because that's how I got his parents to give him to me."

Closing her eyes, Leona counted slowly in her head. It was her way of trying to relax. She was trying to reach ten, but after four she shouted, "What the fuck?"

Throwing his hands in the air, Ben glared back. "How else am I supposed to get you a virgin. I can't take one without a reason. Promising his parents that he'd go to the monastery is one way to keep them from trying to contact him again."

At the word "monastery," the boy began to cry in earnest.

Ben stepped closer to her and pointed a finger at Leona's chest. "I provided what you asked for. My part is done. When you're finished with him, let me know. I have his travel arrangements made." He stormed from the room as if he were the injured party.

Leaving the sobbing boy, Leona entered the cleansing room. Leaning on the washing bowl table, she stared into the mirror. There simply had to be an easier way to do what she needed to do. Grabbing a cloth, she left the room and stuck it in the boy's face to get his attention.

She waited while he wiped his eyes and cleaned his dripping nose. "You do not have to go to the monastery if you don't want to. But understand that you cannot return home. Ever."

The boy gave a few hiccups before looking up at her. "What? Really?"

Dropping down in the chair beside him, she replied, "Really."

"I don't understand."

She sighed. "What's your name?"

"Titus."

"Titus." She waited until he looked at her. "Your services are needed here in the church, but they are limited. Once completed, you are free to leave. The problem is that your family cannot know what you do here. Absolutely cannot. Father Ben...evolent, told your parents that as a reason for your lack of future contact. Do you understand that much?"

He nodded, messy brown hair falling into his eyes. Pushing it back in place, he looked at her and frowned. "But what is it I'm to do here that they can't know about?"

Leona ran her tongue over her teeth. She shifted in her chair, uncrossing and recrossing her legs. "It's uh... it's a bit complicated." Pausing, she ran a hand through her lush brown hair. "I need to you fu..uh... have... um... intercourse with a friend of mine." She finished her words quickly after the stammering.

"I don't understand." Titus looked more confused than ever.

Rolling her eyes, Leona bit her lip. "Of course you don't." She looked at him for a moment. "Do you know what sex is?"

Immediately a wild blush stained his cheeks. He ducked his head and looked around to make sure they were alone. "Ma'am...I - I can't... talk about that stuff."

Leona had dealt with virgins for over a hundred years. In all that time, she hadn't met one as virgin as this one seemed to be. "Okay, Titus, tell me why you don't want to go to the monastery."

"Well, because someday I want... I want to have a wife and children and a farm and such. Just not... not yet. My mama says I'm too young for all that business."

"Hmm. So what were you planning to do until you are old enough?"

Titus seemed to relax a bit. "I'm going to work in the store. My parents own the General Store and I help out in there. Mostly I load up customer's transports for them."

"General Store, huh?" Leona squinted at him. An idea that had been floating in the back of her mind ever since she'd seen Ben's will was looking increasingly plausible. "Your parents must be very busy. Probably not able to leave the store much and say... go across the river?"

For the first time since she'd met him, Titus gave her a shy smile. "No ma'am. They don't ever leave the village. The store is open every day but God's Day."

"Perfect," she said with a smile. "So, Titus, here's what's going to happen." She proceeded to tell him what she needed from him. His eyes went huge and his cheeks flushed bright red. After a while, she could see hints of interest forming in his blue eyes.

He sat in silence thought for a moment. "So all I gotta do is... be with your friend and then I can go across the river? I can set up my own store?"

"That's it. That's all I need."

"What if I don't actually know how to, uh... you know, with your friend?"

Leona took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'll help with that."

With his cheeks pink and his eyes skittering away from hers, he gave a quick nod. "Okay."

Leaning forward, Leona patted his hand. "Thank you, Titus. I appreciate this." She rose and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her. She wondered briefly if she should lock it. Looking up she spied Fleur standing on the steps.

"He's good to go. As long as you don't back out on me."

Fleur's blonde hair was streaked with gray. Her body having never filled out, she had remained stick thin all these years. Her work around the church had kept her body toned, but the brittle look she'd always had was more pronounced with age. She shook her head, hair in the same tight knot she always had it in. "I'm ready. I think. Maybe." Wringing her hands together, her hazel eyes pleaded with Leona's.

Stepping down to her, Leona took Fleur's hands in her own. "It'll be fine. I promise. I'll be right there. For both of you." They headed down the steps together. Tomorrow would be a big day for them all.

The next day was more difficult than Leona could have ever dreamed. Titus demanded time with Father Benevolent to confess his sin that hadn't even happened yet. Ben was in a mood and had no empathy for the young man. Fleur was a complete bundle of nerves that took all Leona's energy to keep calm.

Leona kept Fleur and Titus separate until it was time to do the deed. She decided that making the attempt in the middle of the afternoon was a good idea. If it all fell apart, there would still be time to try again.

In Fleur's room, she went around closing the drapes and fluffing the pillows. Fleur herself sat in a chair, wrapped in a robe that she held closed together at her chin. After extracting a promise from her that she wouldn't run away, Leona went to get Titus.