Tales of Alavern Pt. 05

"I am not an eloquent person." he spoke in the loudest, clearest voice he could. Megara snorted loudly behind him in an effort to choke back her laughter as Jura and Artemia simply looked on in shock at the very un-regal manner in which he had started his speech. "I've never really been good at speeches...or flowery language. I'm a bit too blunt for my own good, honestly...which is probably why I ended up getting into a couple fights on the day I first woke up here. I was alone and scared in an unfamiliar environment and the first people I ran into treated me like I was a monster or a rabid animal..."

Brianna tensed at his words. She remembered that day so vividly as he spoke about it and felt ashamed at how poorly she had handled the entire situation. She fought that shame so it didn't appear on her face as she stood there, but it festered in her nonetheless. She knew why she had acted as she did and Cyrus had long since forgiven her, but it did not sit well with her these days.

"...and in my anger at my mistreatment, I lashed out. I picked fights with everyone around me, including your queen. You all know that I won that fight and the crown that was wagered with it but not all of you know what happened afterwards. The intense shame I felt... I picked a fight because I wasn't good enough with words to solve my problem any other way." Cyrus continued.

His face and voice lowered considerably as he spoke about his shame. Shame that Naomi felt he placed on himself unjustly. She had allowed herself to lose her temper as well and worse yet, she had allowed her ego to poison that temper. She thought herself so much his better, so above all else that she had wagered her entire people's freedom simply to satisfy her own ego. She had felt her own shame...nearly drowned in it, until she had stepped into the royal chambers later that night. Brianna had helped her lift her head enough to function again, but it was Cyrus's attitude towards her that made her reconsider herself. She smiled as she recalled the freedom she had felt sharing her bed with him that night.

"I've tried to be better since then. To be somebody who solves problems, instead of trying to hit them until they go away." Cyrus continued, though he paused to chuckle. "I like to think I've done some good since then but I feel we can all agree...I'm not qualified for this position. So it is with no small amount of relief that I formally relinquish the throne to somebody much better suited to shoulder its responsibilities."

There was a mixture of light laughter and soft cheering from the crowd as he took the crown from his head and bowed as he handed the crown to Naomi. Naomi bowed back and gave him a secret smile before standing upright and placed the silver circlet crown upon her head. The crowd erupted into a deafening cheer as she stood again before the Verni with the crown on her head. She felt those cheers as weight upon the familiar headpiece, closing her eyes to take it all in as her position was finally and officially returned to her.

She had told those closest to her that she was going to miss being free of the responsibilities of the crown. She hadn't lied but as its familiar weight rested upon her, something inside her just...clicked. The burden of responsibility was part of her. Being Queen of the Alavern Isles was part of her, a part that had been missing. Before she had lost it, it had been all of her but being forced to give it up...to no longer be queen made her realize just how much she had tied herself to it. She had left behind the woman who loved, who was curious and adventurous. She had surrendered to being queen so much, that she had forgotten how to be Naomi. Whether he had realized it or not, Cyrus had caused her to reconnect with herself and now... Queen Naomi of the Alavern Isles was truly whole.

"My people, fellow daughters of the Great Mother!" Naomi shouted as she held her hands out. Her regal demeanor had returned in full force, tempered now with her new humility that gave her an aura that silenced the roaring crowd as though she were conducting it. "I stand before you today, once again your queen but no longer the same woman as I was. I am...humbled by you all. By the fact that when Cyrus announced he would relinquish the crown that none sought to oppose my return to it despite the mistakes I have made."

Cyrus stood flabbergasted a few steps behind her as she addressed the Verni. He had seen her act with grace before and remembered the aura she gave off back when they had first met, even with how upset he had been at the time, but the woman who stood before him now seemed less a mere queen and more a goddess. She was grace and patience covering a subtle undercurrent of true strength. His body nearly forgot how to breath as she glanced back at him with a strong smile for a brief moment. It was hard to remember that she had acted for months like a romantic, horny goofball and all too easy to remember that he had once had the privilege of sharing her body. He had a hell of a time fighting off his own blush.

"I thank you all and swear by the Great Mother that I will endeavor to be again worthy of the trust you have placed in me. Here now ends the reign of the first King of the Alavern Isles!" she continued. The crowd of Verni below all erupted into another deafening cheer. Even with her great presence, it took Naomi several minutes to holding her hands for attention to get them all to settle down enough for her to continue.

"He did not do poorly, let no record show otherwise. Though under-qualified, he was never afraid to ask for assistance from those with more wisdom and experience than himself. He truly did work to the best of his ability for all of us. He did not abuse his power, nor did he wield it selfishly. Most noteworthy of all though..." Naomi said, waving Megara forward with Brian in his arms for all to see, "He has managed to solve the greatest crisis that has ever plagued us! Thanks to the efforts of King Cyrus and those he worked with, the Verni will have children once more!!"

The Verni erupted into cheers yet again, crying out in joy as a single voice. It was different than the last few times though. This time...many of the Verni were cheering Cyrus's name. He received a playful shoulder bump from Brianna that he barely felt due to his shock. For so long, he had been a monster to them all. A thing to be despised, to be feared...but not anymore. As the crowd cheered, something inside Cyrus grew. He had felt close to his friend here, but never to the people. He and Megara had argued about how and whether he belonged here. For the first time, he felt that Megara had been correct. The Verni were his people too now.

"I need your silence!" Naomi shouted out suddenly, but not rudely. The cheers took a while to die down, but eventually all the Verni fell to silence and attention again. "Thank you. Now before I end this ceremony I have a few announcements I must make. First of all, I know there has been a lot of excitement in regards to the recent triumph at the Mother's Pool but I urge you all to remain patient for just a little while longer. We are still making sure that the new method of using it does not have unintended negative consequences. I assure you that as soon as we know it is safe, we will be making plans to allow all who wish to begin their own families to do so."

Naomi looked out over the crowd to gauge their reaction to the least shocking announcement she would make today. To her surprise, there were no voices of dissent or roars of protest. Her people merely took her at their word and she found herself moved once again by their great faith in her. She only hoped that they would be as amiable to her next announcement.

"Secondly, my time serving the crown instead of wielding it has shown me things about our systems that would never had occurred to me had this great shake up never happened. Namely, the sheer volume of responsibility the crown holds can barely stand in times of crisis. Should true disaster ever strike the Verni again, it's weight on a single head would be a hindrance instead of the asset that it is during the calm of peace. I intend to put forth a new law that hopes to solve this and another issue." Naomi explained. She paused for a moment and took a breath, nervous about what she was to announce but hopefully her people would at least be open to it. If not, she had given them the power to peacefully deny her request.

"A King surpassed the Queen and the Verni panicked. Riots broke out and we injured the innocent. It took an unforeseen miracle to bring us back to our senses. This must not happen again and so I shall put forth to you, fellow daughters of the Great Mother, a new law to vote on! A law to make King a permanent position in our government. The King shall be chosen by the Queen and shall work under the crown, to assist the Queen where needed. Male or female will not matter. Anyone can be King, and any unworthy King can be voted out by you! I trust you all to make your voices heard in one month's time!" Naomi explained.

Cyrus blinked, totally shocked at her announcement to make a King. To make a permanent position of King. Knowing her, it was probably a well calculated move to make something formerly feared ordinary but the implications of it... He glanced back at Megara in wonder of if she had any idea that this had been coming but his lover was speaking with Jura and Artemia in a manner that told him that she was just as surprised as he was. The only other person on the balcony who didn't seem to be floored by this news was Brianna, who stood there surprisingly impassively next to Naomi.

"And finally..." Naomi shouted with a soft tone in her voice and a warm smile on her face, "I am endlessly excited to share with you my final announcement! Citizens of the Alavern Isles, I am getting married!"

The crowd went dead silent at this announcement as Naomi beamed down at all of them. Brianna took a step closer to her and grabbed her hand softly in a manner plain enough for all to see. Naomi and Brianna gazed at each other a moment and with nearly every citizen of the Alavern Isles to witness it, kissed one another in a deep embrace. The crowd only stayed stunned for a moment or two more before a roar of excitement exploded from it. Jura and Artemia stood behind their daughter with tear in their eyes, embracing one another as they gazed at Naomi and her bride-to-be. Meanwhile, Megara had stepped beside Cyrus with a devilish grin on her face.

"Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?" Megara asked him, barely loud enough to be heard over the excitement of the crowd. Cyrus laughed himself out of his stunned state as he heard her snarky remark and shook his head.

"No I did not. Did you?" he asked. He was honestly surprised, especially as he wasn't even aware that the Verni had marriage until he had met Jura and heard her talk of her wife. With how Naomi had so shamelessly flirted with him, no matter the circumstance, she had never struck him as the type to settle down.

"Not the marriage part, but I had my suspicions about her intentions to make King a permanent position here. That girl really needs to learn to make sure that others are actually out of earshot when she mumbles her thoughts out loud." Megara replied. She snickered a bit, bumping Cyrus's shoulder gently as she held Brian to make sure she had his full attention. "She may have hinted that she would choose someone else by announcing her marriage in this way, but you realize that if that law passes you're going to be King again. Right?"

"Wait..." Cyrus stated, his eyes wide, "WHAT?!"

Epilogue

Ulfric looked down through his window to the mortal world in disgust while his lover, the nature goddess Ner, clung to his back with her arms draped over his shoulders. She had been attempting to entice him to bed for a while now, but all his attention at the moment was given to the filth he was observing. A lazy, overweight warlord slept on a throne after having conquered eight small kingdoms with the help of a minor blessing given to him by Ulfric. At first, he had been an ideal warrior. Strong in both body and mind, but now his body weakened as his rotten spirit festered on the surface. Ulfric had taken his blessing away from the warlord after realizing the mistake and was now looking at the enslaved concubines he had surrounded himself with.

A slender blonde caught his eye, chained to the warlords chair with a great fire of rage and hatred burning in her eyes. Ulfric could see that she was weak of body, but that was no fault of the girl's own. Her country had all but abandoned her long ago, yet her spirit had remained strong. Ulfric grinned as he saw the enslaved blonde quietly fashioning a sharp end to a wooden brush. She had shown him that her mind was nearly as strong as her burning spirit and Ulfric was pleased. He gave the blessing the warlord had squandered to this young woman, which he knew would help her body quickly grow as strong as it needed to. She would kill the worthless fool and become a leader herself. A true leader, leading with strength of body, mind and spirit. Ulfric's ideal champion.

"Pay attention to me." Ner said in a seductive tone as she pulled on his ear. Ulfric grinned as he closed his window to the mortal world, turning to the woman who's strength of mind had earned his respect. He was known as a savage, angry god by the others. He did not care. He knew that it was strength that advanced the world to a better place. Sometimes savageness is needed. Ner understood that all too well.

"As you wish." he growled happily. He could check on the woman's progress another time. She would likely be fine, with his blessing. The woman who had bested him in battle with her clever mind demanded his attention. His ideals demanded he give them to her. Besides, he liked this woman. He would even go so far as to say he loved her, if he believed himself capable of such a thing.

"Good boy." she said to him in a teasing tone. She patted his ass gently as he turned around and looked straight into her eyes with undivided attention as he always did. She would never admit it to the others, but Ulfric had become her favorite. His stern eyes complimented his unwavering disposition and the growl that was in his voice did wonderful things to her. Not to mention they seemed to complement one another oddly perfectly. Her hair shimmered the colors of a soft rainbow, the flowers entwined in it blossoming as she pressed her lips to his.

This was how their love play would always begin. She started soft and gentle, with tender touches that he would allow and follow along with for a time. She would will the foliage that acted as her clothing away and tempt him with her body. He would take the bait and then the contest would begin. His clothes would be torn off him by thorns and branches and he would rush forward to grab her to forcibly bring her to his bed. They would wrestle naked for a while until one of them was on top and the other would yield to their victorious partner.

It turned out to be his victory this time, with the nature goddess yielding with her hands pinned above her head beneath him. Her eyes lidded as he cemented his victory by biting her shoulder, marking her as his until the mark inevitably healed. He was already erect, but he would not mindlessly rut with her. She had shown him how to be a strong partner in bed and he would not dishonor her by ignoring those lessons. He rubbed himself against her folds slowly, making sure to please her as he did so.

She looked up at him and bit her lip as she summoned forth vines to bind her hands precisely where he wanted them so that his own hands could be freed up to play with her in other ways. Her body was already heating up and the flower of her womanhood began to grow slick with her nectar. He made use of his hands to knead her flesh and not just the breasts that usually shot straight for. No, he treated her entire body as soft earthen clay beneath his hands until she melted for him. Her arms, her hands, her legs, her feet and even her stomach were all included.

Ulfric growled in pride and pleasure as he felt Ner shudder in pleasure beneath him. With her nectar flowing freely, he felt no need to wait any further and plunged into her. Her loud gasp was followed by the soft, reverent speaking of his name and he knew he had properly conquered the woman beneath him. He fucked her furiously, giving her no quarter. The raw animal thrill of it all allowed his mind to freely empty and wander while he relished in the pleasure she gave him.

He thought of the man that the Great Mother had brought to her island. The man he had given a mixed blessing to right in front of her. He had only told the Nameless One of the benefit of health he would receive from that blessing but his blessing's true purpose was to dispose of the barrier that kept her daughters weak and complacent. All this Cyrus would need to do was come in contact with the barrier after his blessing had mixed with the Great Mother's own.

The thought of the Alavern no longer safe from being conquered mixed with the pleasure of his body, causing him to spill his seed into Ner before he had been ready. It would have embarrassed a lesser man, but not Ulfric. He would not stop, or slow down, or ache. He was strong. Strong enough to claim and conquer the goddess underneath him. He continued his assault on her womanhood with triumphant glee, thrusting away madly even as some of his seed began to spill out of her. He would make her own pleasure strong soon enough. That they were both sure of.

"Wraps your legs around me, Ner. Let us see if I can give you a demigod today." Ulfric growled loudly to her before he conquered her lips. She moaned loudly into his mouth as the sounds of their bodies hitting against one another echoed through the room. They would be fulfilled soon enough...