Viviana's Gift

"I'm very wet after you made me come so hard," she said, keeping him aroused and focused on her. "Would you like to try to make me come again?" He nodded like an eager teenaged boy and Vivian chuckled. "Well then, my lord," she said, lifting her hips and shifting his cock into position, "let me give you a special gift." And with that she sat down on him and let his full length slide into her welcoming vagina, gasping involuntarily as he filled her.

"Oh blessed gods!" Lord Elwin uttered in a feral growl. "How good that feels!"

Viviana began riding his thick rod slowly at first, getting used to its girth within her, building a rhythm. The effect on the crippled man was dramatic. He began to breathe heavily and writhe his upper body, reaching out to squeeze her tits, then running his hands down her waist. Taking hold of her hip bones, he started lifting and pounding her down on him like a doll, driving himself deeper into her hole.

Clumsily he tried to reach around to grab her ass, but without the use of his legs to counterbalance he couldn't lift his upper body enough to reach.

Viviana shoved him back down to the mattress by his shoulders. Sliding off his cock — drawing a whimper from the struggling man — she arced one leg over his upper body, then lifted her other leg gracefully over his uncooperative legs, so that now she showed her back to him — as well as the lovely ass he so desired to grasp.

Wriggling on his cock to position the tip at her opening, she pressed down until she felt the head slip inside her, then shifted her hips to take him in fully. Flinging her lush black hair aside, she gazed over her shoulder at him and said, "I believe I caught you staring at my ass as I left the room earlier. That was naughty of you, since I was vulnerable and could not cover myself." She spread her legs wider and lowered herself until her boobs touched his shins. "You may stare all you like now."

She began to bob her ass so he could watch his full length disappear inside her again and again. After a few strokes she felt his strong hands grasp her fleshy globes and again take over her movements with his own aggressive rhythm, ramming her firmly down on his cock.

She knew this was going to bring him to climax soon, but that was fine. It was working for her as well. This angle let her press her clit against his shaft as he stroked her, and on every one of his hard downward beats she felt her clit kiss his balls. That and the sensation of being used with such pleasure aroused her highly, so that she felt her own climax rising.

Just the thought of the healing power of her orgasm always pushed her over the edge. The tingling sparked in her lower belly and rapidly spread through her groin, hips, thighs and full body. Just as the cliff edge approached, Lord Elwin cried out with a loud "Ahhhhhh" and rammed her ass down on his hips, burying his cock fully into her and mashing her clit against his balls.

Over the cliff she went, her own cry of pleasure joining his, arching her back and bucking her hips against the tight grasp of his hands on her butt cheeks. As he jetted his come deep inside her, the walls of her vagina slathered his member with her healing ointment, where it would be absorbed into his skin and enter his tiny eye, even as the throbbing of her vaginal muscles massaged him with her orgasm.

Collapsing onto her master's legs, she cherished the warm afterglow of their passionate coupling, enjoying the feeling of his erection within her as it serenely softened and eventually slipped out. She turned around then, laying her head on his shoulder and one leg across his body, and they shared their warmth like that for a time.

"You are a special woman," Lord Elwin said finally.

"Not so special," Viviana protested mildly.

Lord Elwin gave a laughing grunt. "Still you play with me. You have given me a great gift, and I'm no fool as to not recognize it."

Viviana smiled at that. Little did he know the extent of the gift.

"Ah, it feels good to be a man again!"

"I'm pleased you enjoyed our encounter, my lord. I assure you I did as well." She shifted onto an elbow to look him in the eye. "Sex is good, and it feels good, and it is a pleasure to share. But being able to fuck is not what makes a man. If you want to truly be a man, go to the woman you love, tell her how much you love her, and ask for her forgiveness. Then let her decide what she wants. Will you do that, Elwin?"

Lord Elwin stared into her eyes, nodded once. "You're leaving, aren't you? I'll never see you again."

"You know that's for the best, my lord," Viviana answered.

Again he nodded, his eyelids growing heavy now. "I can never thank you enough for what you have done for me this night."

"Give your thanks to the gods," she said, laying her head back on his chest. "I am but their instrument."

How much more thankful he will be in the morning, she thought, when he wakes, his audacious servant girl only a memory, and rises from his bed. Rises to stand on his own two legs. Legs that have been restored to him. But first he will sleep deeply as the gods complete their work. The thought comforted her.

It was time for her to go, to leave this house, to leave this town, but Viviana felt so weary, deep into her bones. It hurt to lift a limb. For a few hours she would rest, and she let herself be lulled to sleep by the deep breaths of the slumbering man beneath her.

Before the dawn broke, Viviana gathered her belongings and left the house of Lord Elwin while he still slept.

**********

One month passed as Viviana travelled through three different towns, staying in cheap inns and picking up work where she could as a server or cleaner. Unfortunately, her increasing pains were making work more difficult, and her money was running thin. So in the current town, she begged succour from the temple and was generously offered a small room in which to stay. It was a tiny space, with only a straw pallet on the floor and no pillow for her head, but she was thankful for it.

As an instrument of the gods, Viviana was comfortable in temples. In all the towns she passed through she spent many hours in the temples, praying and hoping for mercy from the gods. Her condition had grown much worse. Weeks of rest since her last healing mission to Lord Elwin had done nothing to improve the pain she suffered or the degradation of her body. She had lost weight; it was becoming harder to eat, harder to move around ... harder to hope.

Perhaps this was the end for her, wasting away in a spartan room in a small-town temple. And in the times when she felt the weakest, she thought perhaps that was okay. Every night she would recall the men she had been instrumental in healing. Because of her, they were whole again and given a new chance at a good life. And reminiscing about the sex with each of them wasn't so bad either. Though she was too young to die, her life had meant something. That was more than many people had the satisfaction of feeling as their lives drew to an end.

Or perhaps her prayers would be answered if she persevered in her faith. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live longer than a mere twenty-six years, wanted to enjoy life and love and sex, the way she used to before the pain started. She cherished her role as the instrument of the gods, and would for as long as she lived. Her life was in their hands, she knew that. If they wanted her, they could take her. But they could not assign her another healing. It had gone too far for that. She hadn't the strength. She longed instead for her own healing, so she could continue to heal others.

Late one afternoon there was a gentle tap on her shoulder as she knelt before the alter. It was one of the priests.

"Forgive me for disturbing your prayer, child," he said, "but a messenger is asking for you."

A messenger for her? How could that be when no one knew she was here, or even who she was? She followed the priest to the front hall where the stranger was waiting, thanking the holy man as he departed to leave them with privacy.

"Miss Viviana?" the messenger inquired politely.

"Yes," Viviana answered warily.

"Lord Elwin sent me, miss."

Oh no, Viviana thought. This isn't right. This isn't supposed to happen. There should be no further contact after a healing. The men are supposed to go on with their lives, not become fixated on the her. Besides that, Elwin was supposed to use the gift of his restored body to rebuild his life with the woman he had asked to marry him, the one he said he loved. Why had he tracked her down?

"How did you find me?" Viviana asked the man.

"Lord Elwin is wealthy," he answered as explanation.

"Why has he sought to find me?"

"I am instructed to give you this, Miss Viviana." The messenger handed her small, cloth purse. "That is the pay Lord Elwin owes you for the last five days of your employment in his household. You left without collecting it."

Viviana took the purse, felt the few small coins within it. As little as it was, it would help. "Thank you. You have come a long way just to pay me a few coppers."

"There is more, Miss Viviana. I am also instructed to offer you this." This time the purse he held out was made of silk. As she took it, she felt its greater weight, and when she looked inside she saw not coppers, but gold coins.

"Lord Elwin requests that you please read this personal message," the man added, handing her a small scroll.

She unrolled the scroll and read: "Viviana, I ask that you accept my gift. This is not payment — I am not so crude as that. When I woke to the use of my legs, I knew with certainty that the gods had sent you. This is my donation to support your ministry. It is yours to accept or decline. I give you the choice, for you also taught me about choice."

Below that was written one more line: "She forgave. She said yes. I know now what it truly feels like to be a man. Thank you." Lord Elwin's signature concluded the note.

Tears filled Viviana's eyes, for so many reasons. The greatest reason was the joy given to her by that last line. Not only was Elwin healed, but by extension so was the woman who loved him. They would be together now. Aside from that, she also felt a more personal joy, that of receiving direct gratitude from a man to whom she had given of herself, for whom she had voluntarily suffered. Gratitude is a powerful gift.

Then there was the money. Yes, she was grateful for it, but only in that it would mean she no longer had to depend on the temple's charity but could instead contribute to their work. Or, in the event of her demise, she would no longer be saddling the priests with a pauper's body to bury at their expense.

It was ironic, Viviana thought, that the gods would send her confirmation of the efficacy of her ministry and funds to support her for a long time to come, yet not the healing that would allow her to continue. She was certain she could not survive channelling another divine healing. She wondered then, could this be a harbinger of her prayers answered? Did this mean the gods intended to heal her?

She sent the messenger on his way with thanks for his service and a simple message to pass along to Lord Elwin and his bride: "May the gods bless both of you." Weary from the excitement, she took only a small piece of bread with water for supper, then retired early to her tiny room.

She expected her sleep to be somewhat eased that night, with the burden of money lifted and a spark of hope kindled, but she had not counted on any more messengers. This time it was not a man on a horse, but the gods, calling to her in her sleep once again, showing her the plight of a young man about her age, leaning heavily on a cane, plagued every minute by incessant pain. His body was shutting down. From what disease she was not shown, but the effects were all that mattered. He was a child of the gods and he was suffering. The gods had chosen to make him whole again. And they would do it through her.

Viviana woke abruptly. "No." She bolted upright, immediately regretting it as pain shot through her body. Still with her. She hugged her knees and buried her face between them. "No. Please. I can't. I can't."

She wept through the rest of the night.

The next morning, she knelt on aching knees at the alter and prayed to the gods: "I have prayed many months for the healing of my body, that I may continue to be the instrument of your healing gift to others. But this day I accept the answer you have given." Tears dripped from her cheeks onto the cold, stone floor. "I will obey. I will go where you send me. I will bestow your healing gift on the man you have shown me. If it means my end, so be it. I accept your judgment, and put my faith in your wisdom."

That afternoon she departed for the three-hour journey to a destination that would in all likelihood be her final one.

**********

It was a large town with many inns, but Viviana knew the one to go to, the one where she would find him. The ill man was a drifter, had no permanent address, perhaps as a result of his illness, but he was here in this town now, staying here in this inn. The gods had shown her. Viviana broke with her frugal tradition and took a larger room at the inn, one with a comfortable four-poster bed sporting an oversized feather mattress. She avoided thinking too deeply about why she did it. She was trying to avoid too much thinking altogether.

For the first two nights, she stayed in her room, resting in the luxurious bed as much as possible, and taking her meals in the room. She ate more than she felt she wanted to, trying to build up some added strength. The food and rest gave her some energy but did nothing to lessen the chronic pain.

Two days was all she would give herself. It was time to do what she was sent here to do.

That evening, Viviana took her supper in the inn's tavern. With the sun having set, the room was dim, lit with too few lamps to reach all the dark corners. Viviana scanned the room, already busy with patrons, but didn't see the young man with the cane. Of the dozen tables, only two were still free, so she made her way to one of them, trying to smooth her gait but knowing her stiff movements were still noticeable. She could only do her best.

She ordered a light meal and ate slowly, keeping watch the whole time. This was the most likely place to find the man she sought. With that expectation, she wore a dress that showed her figure well and had a plunging neckline that displayed her ample cleavage. She did draw admiring looks, but as the hour passed it seemed the eyes she wanted on her would not be here this evening. Perhaps she would return later for a nightcap and another try.

She would find him, if not this night, then the next or the next, as long as it took, for as long as she lasted.

"Pardon me, miss," came a man's voice from behind her, snapping her out of her reverie. He moved into view. "There are no tables free at the moment. Would you mind very much if I were to join you, so that I may sit to take a cup of wine? Standing at the bar tires me," he added, indicating his cane.

Viviana couldn't understand how she had missed seeing him enter the tavern, since she had been watching the door the whole time, but she shook off her surprise and focused on her good luck. Here he was, the man she was going to have to figure out how to approach when he arrived, asking to join her at her table. Was it simply good luck, or were the gods, in their mercy, easing the way for her? She didn't waste her time wondering.

"You are welcome to sit, sir," she answered with a gentle smile.

The man lowered himself into the chair with an effort he was obviously attempting to conceal. He invited Viviana to join him in a drink, which she accepted, having opted for water with her dinner, so he ordered a flagon of wine for them to share.

"My name is Oded," the man said, and Viviana told him her name in response. The wine arrived promptly and Oded poured for both of them, his hand visibly shaking, though he managed not to spill any.

They shared benign small talk and Viviana found the man easy to like. Despite his serious ailments, he had a good sense of humour, frequently drawing an easy laugh from her. As she finished her first cup, Viviana welcomed the warming sensation of the wine in her body as well as the lightness in her head. Oded must have felt the same effects, for he dispensed with the small talk and grew a bit bolder.

"I saw you when you entered the tavern," he said. "You are too beautiful to miss."

So, Viviana thought, he was here the whole time. How did she not see him? "I didn't notice you when I came in. And that's not because I don't find you handsome," she countered.

"That would be because I spend most of my time trying not to be noticed. I was standing at the edge of the bar farthest from the lamp. Yes, I do sometimes hide in shadows, but no, I am neither criminal nor creep. I just find that my condition can make people uncomfortable."

"Your condition?"

Oded smiled. "Thank you for pretending not to notice. But in earnest, I thank you for allowing me to share your company. Too many people feel the need to keep their distance, not understanding my affliction and not caring to take the time to understand. It can get lonely."

"I would like to be a person who takes the time to understand. You may pour me more wine."

Oded filled his companion's cup, obviously pleased. Over a second cup of wine, he explained to Viviana that there was nothing contagious about his condition, which was everyone's first concern and a stigma of illness that is hard to dissuade. He didn't always suffer from it, had in fact enjoyed good health for most of his life. But now, at only twenty-seven years old, his body had inexplicably and without warning decided to simply start shutting down. Yes, he had seen physicians, but they had no answers for him, no diagnosis or treatment. All they could offer was the opinion that he had inherited a defect, though no grounds for this assertion were given. He chose not to blame his parents. Instead he chose, as he put it, to live as long as he was alive.

"I have explained my situation to you. Now, beautiful Viviana, in the interest of fair play, you must tell me about your malady."

Viviana was taken by surprise, and unprepared. She had always been able to hide her affliction before this. She hadn't thought about what to say to a man she had been called to seduce if he were to notice. Any perception of illness could easily kill a man's interest.

When Viviana didn't answer immediately, Oded continued, "Forgive me the intrusive question. I know better than anyone that it is an intimate one, but I hope you will trust me as I have trusted you. I noticed when you entered that walking gave you some discomfort. If I am to be honest, it's what gave me the confidence to approach you. I hoped you would possess an understanding that would precluded prejudgment, that you might see beyond my obvious physical issues and we might have a chance to become acquainted."

Was she hearing this right? Instead of being a turn-off, his noticing that she had a physical challenge actually increased his attraction to her? Who needs big boobs when you've got a nice limp — was that it with this guy? Again she wondered if the gods were doing their small part to help her deliver their gift, knowing their instrument had become badly out of tune, perhaps even about to play its last melody. Not one to question the methods of the gods, she went with it.

"It is a form of arthritis," she told her companion, the simplest explanation for her stiff movements.

"But you are so young."

"It is not common, but not unheard of."

"Is it very bad?"

Viviana stared into her cup. "It has become quite debilitating at times."