Westrons Pt. 04

- "It's somewhat embarrassing, Countess."

- "I'm interested in your story, Master Cook. Please - enlighten me."

So I told her a highly stylized Pylosian version of Romeo and Juliet, with Karpov and Pelek's daughter as the star-crossed lovers. I portrayed myself as Karpov's loyal friend, who earned the resentment of the wealthy, influential Patriarch Pelek.

- "I had to flee, Countess - at least for a time. To remain in Pylos would have been to risk not only my life, but also those of my family and friends."

- "I see. Go on. The Consulate?"

I blushed. Then I explained that a friend - a supposed friend - had convinced me that the Consulate in Cercen still existed. I thought it had been closed, but he assured me that it was still - secretly - maintaining relations with the Westrons.

- "I was misinformed. Duped. It's embarrassing to admit, but I was a fool."

- "You are not the first person to be betrayed by a false friend." she said. Maybe she'd experience that herself. "Go on with your tale."

I described the lugger, and my landing in Frenet. The attempted robbery by the boatmen I turned into a dramatic fight for my life, which I'd escaped by swimming the river, leaving my sword and my chest behind.

- "It's a wonder you're here at all." said Countess Kanitz.

Honestly - I have no idea at all if she believed me. In addition to being shockingly beautiful, she struck me as remarkably intelligent, too.

Kanitz surprised me, then, by rising from her seat to re-fill my glass. I was distracted by the swell in the front of her silk shirt, but I could've sworn that she ... sniffed the air, close to me. It was just as the Major had done, when I first arrived in Cercen.

When she sat down again, the Countess smiled.

- "Tell me, Master Cook." she said. "Do you have any thoughts on what will happen if war breaks out, next year?"

Talley had suggested to her that I was some sort of military genius. Now I had to say something semi-intelligent, or else make him look like a liar.

I'd learned a great deal about the style of warfare in the Here and Now. They fought to achieve tangible goals. Land and people created wealth, so the objective in war was to take a piece of land from your enemy.

It wasn't necessary - or possible, really - to completely destroy the opponent. Victory could be achieved by capturing territory. Take three provinces, and you could force a negotiated peace: in the treaty, you could return two provinces, in return for permanent annexation of the second.

- "The Crolians will attack on three fronts." I said. "But their real goal will be to capture Tonol."

Tonol was a large city in the south of the Westron Kingdom. I'd studied Talley's maps. Given the location of the major Crolian supply depots, and a few other factors, I was reasonably confident in making that prediction.

- "You intrigue me, Master Cook. I would like to help you ... and it may be that I can. Would you be willing to return, and speak with me again? Say ... in a sevennight?"

- "I am entirely at your disposal, Countess."

***

- "What'd she say? What'd she say?" asked Talley. He was far more nervous than I was, which helped me to remain calm.

A second interview seemed like a good thing, to me. I just wasn't sure what more I could do to impress Countess Kanitz.

- "Just be yourself." suggested Tisucha.

***

Countess Kanitz was punctual once again. Still, she apologized.

- "I'm sorry, Master Cook. I have to move our meeting to another room. I hope that won't inconvenience you?"

- "Hardly, Countess."

- "I wonder if you and Airta would help me carry these boxes down there. There are some things I would like to show you."

- "At you service." I said. What other answer was there?

The Countess left. Airta was the retainer with hair the colour of rose petals. She pointed at one box, and picked up another.

The boxes were made of wood. The contents looked like scrolls, but it felt like I was toting a box of rocks. My load was surprisingly heavy. Airta didn't seem to be struggling, so I couldn't stop and put the damn thing down.

By the time we got the stupid things to their destination, I was sweating profusely.

- "Wait here, please." said Airta. Were her nostrils flaring?

The room seemed to be some kind of library. As I read titles of a few books, I heard a door open and close. Another Westron female had entered the room.

Her hair was blue. She saw me, and let out a moan. Then she stumbled.

- "Are you well, Lady?" I asked. I moved towards her.

She looked up at me, eyes wide, nostrils working. She was panting, too. I could barely see her pupils. Was she ... high? Drugged?

She leaned towards me, and probably would have fallen if I hadn't caught her. She moaned, and turned her head ... and then she licked the side of my neck.

Oh, shit. She was in hemmer. I'd seen countless examples, in vids, while I was in stasis. But I'd never expected to see it in real life. Not this close.

She pressed her body against me, and took a deep breath, almost inhaling my scent - a heady compound of pheromones and ... sweat. The lady moaned again, and I felt her arms go around me.

I'd never been so hard in my entire life. I could smell her arousal, and it was incredible. Intoxicating. Her body was hot, as if she was feverish. I made the mistake of glancing down; her shirt was partly unbuttoned, and I could see one breast almost entirely, right to the nipple.

The urge to rip her clothes off was ... surprisingly powerful. I wanted to turn her around, bend her over, and plunge my length into her. I wanted to rut, to fuck her like an animal.

I didn't.

For one thing, everything I'd seen or read in stasis aboard the Halygon suggested that Westrons in hemmer were more particular about who they copulated with.

And I remembered Countess Kanitz. The army was all female. How could I be part of it, if I couldn't resist the sight and smell of a Westron in hemmer? I wanted desperately to fuck this blue haired woman, to jam my cock into her and spray my seed all over her fertile eggs ...

Instead I pushed her back, to hold her at arm's length.

- "Help!" I called out. "Help, here! Airta!"

No one came right away. I had to physically hold off the blue-haired lady, who was moaning and reaching for my cock. The urge to fuck her was still strong, but not irresistible.

Finally, Airta came into the room, and pulled blue-hair away from me. A moment later, Countess Kanitz herself arrived.

- "I'm sorry, Master Cook." she said.

I was angry. "You don't look all that sorry." I said. "Was this some kind of test?"

- "Yes." said Kanitz. "That's precisely what it was."

- "I beg your pardon?"

- "You've asked for a commission in our army, Master Cook. Our entirely female army." She didn't have to say anything else. I understood.

- "You needed to know if I could control myself when faced with a female in hemmer."

- "Yes. You passed, Master Cook. Would you come to see me again - in ... five days?"

- "At your service, Countess." What else could I say?

***

Obviously, I couldn't describe my second interview to Tisucha and her daughters. But later that night, over small glasses of honey mead, I related what had happened to Talley.

- "Holy shit." he whispered. There was no equivalent expression in Westron.

"You did right." he said. "Was it ..."

- "Difficult? Yes."

***

My third interview with Countess Kanitz was very different. For one thing, she kept me waiting. For another, she came in wearing a dress. It was form-fitting, a sheath which only accentuated her exceptional form. I could see her nipples poking through the top.

- "How are you today, Master Cook?" she said, with a smile.

- "I am well, Countess. What is the test today?"

Her smile grew wider.

- "Yes, you passed my first test. You didn't seriously believe that I would send you out to join an army composed exclusively of females, if I didn't know that you could control yourself? Did you, Master Cook?"

- "No Countess. I understood the rationale for your concern. I just hope that ... the lady involved wasn't ... harmed, or ... inconvenienced."

Kanitz laughed. "How very kind of you. But, please: tell me about her."

- "Pardon?"

- "Tell me about Nystu."

- "That was her name? Nystu?"

- "Yes. What did you think of her?"

- "She was in hemmer."

- "Yes, she was. What did you think of her?"

- "I don't know what you mean, Countess." I said. "Are you asking if I was interested?"

- "Interested?" she said. "What a lovely word. Was she ... difficult to resist?"

- "If you mean, did I want to ... copulate with her, then the answer is ... yes. She was very desirable."

- "So why didn't you ...?"

- "I didn't think that it was ... that it would be appropriate."

- "Mmm ..." The Countess smiled. "Another lovely word. Appropriate. Would you think it appropriate, Master Cook, if I tested you one more time?"

"Shall we say ... in another three days?"

***

Kanitz postponed our next meeting - or test - by three more days. By the time I returned to the Palace, I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

What I got was the Countess' time. She wanted to discuss military matters. She'd never served in the Westron army, but she was remarkably well informed, and very intelligent. That was the feeling I got from her every time we spoke: Kanitz had a first-class intellect.

By that, I mean that she was far more intelligent than I was. Sure, I knew things she didn't. But if she'd had Sleepread ...

She understood one thing as surely as I did: the opposing armies were nearly identical, in terms of weapons, and tactics. The limitations of their logistics systems meant that they could only equip and field so many soldiers.

- "With so many things being equal," I said, "that really puts a premium on good generalship."

Kanitz smiled. "I couldn't agree more."

"I have only one more test for you, Master Cook." she said. "Will you come with me?"

The Countess led me down a hall, and then down a set of stairs. Two soldiers were guarding a solid door. Was I about to get a tour of their dungeons?

Kanitz produced a key, and the soldiers stepped aside. The door was quite thick, and heavy. I had to help her pull it open.

It wasn't a dungeon. There were rooms down here. Bedrooms.

Kanitz led me into one of them, where a single candle flickered. She used it to light several more candles, and some wall sconces.

The room was dominated by a massive bed. There was a chest, against one wall, and an armoire. But it was really just a room with a bed. I felt my erection swelling.

- "Nystu was a test." said Kanitz. "It was ... inappropriate of us, to confront you with a woman in hemmer, without warning. I apologize. But it was necessary, too."

"This test is ... less necessary. But I would like to satisfy my ... curiosity. I wonder how difficult it was, for you to resist her. Also ... I owe a friend a favour. There - now you know everything."

"I will leave you here, Master Cook. If you are not ... interested, or if you do not feel that it is ... appropriate, you can knock on the door, and the soldiers will let you out."

Then she smiled at me. "But I hope that you won't."

Kanitz left, closing one door behind her. A moment later, a door on the opposite side of the room opened.

It was Airta, her attendant. The woman with hair the colour of rose-petals. She'd come to my assistance when I was trying to push the blue-haired woman - Nystu - away.

Now Airta was in hemmer. Her eyes were extra bright; her nostrils were flaring again. The robe she wore did little to conceal her shape, or the fact that her nipples were shockingly erect. As she came toward me - a little unsteadily - I caught the first hint of her scent.

I was already hard, from the idea that Kanitz had led me to a bedroom. Now I swelled even further, painfully, against my breeches.

Airta wasn't a beautiful female. She couldn't hold a candle to Kanitz, or Tisucha, or Tallia and Esyle. But her face was attractive, and her bright red hair had its own appeal. As she approached me, her robe swung open, and I was lost.

Airta had an sturdy, ripe body. Full, up-tilted breasts, that seemed like they were about to expand, all on their own. Her nipples were incredible: puffed-up, engorged, one pointing at my face. The swell of her belly ... the flare of her hips, were powerfully alluring.

At close quarters, her scent was overwhelming. Then she moaned, softly.

I wondered then - and still do now - if I could have resisted her, had I been so inclined. But Kanitz had made it clear: I'd already passed the control test. This was ... different.

I took the robe from Airta's shoulders, and led her on to the bed. Somehow, I managed to pull my breeches down even as I climbed atop her ... at the last second, I noticed that her pussy was wet - no, drooling - before I wedged my cock between her lower lips and drove it deep.

We rutted, like animals. I fucked her - Airta - hard and fast. She moaned again, which only turned me on more. I fucked and fucked and tried to nail her into the bed, and Airta only clutched me tighter and humped me harder.

When I came, it felt like I was blasting half of my lower body into her.

I didn't pass out - but that I was only because Airta clung to me like a barnacle. She nuzzled my nipples, and then wedged her face into my armpits, taking deep breaths.

That seemed to re-energize her. She reached down, and began fondling my balls. Then she slid lower on the bed, and took my swelling cock into her mouth. If her goal was simply to get me hard again, then she succeeded instantly.

Airta climbed up on top of me, and tucked my erection inside herself. I was painfully hard. She rocked, and swirled, and then began lifting her hips and slamming them down again.

I let her fuck me, for a dozen thrusts - and then a dozen more. Then I flipped her onto her back, and began pummeling her with my dick. She wrapped her arms and legs around me, and groaned.

The sensations were incredible. I could feel her hot, wet pussy, seething around my rock-hard erection. I could smell her other-worldly arousal, and hear her moans. I'd never been harder in my entire life.

I flooded her insides with another explosive ejaculation. I couldn't believe that my body contained quite so much semen.

Moments later, Airta was tonguing my nipples, and snuffling at my armpits again.

- "Go wash. Go." I pushed her away. The redhead looked at me, slightly hurt.

"Wash." I repeated. "And I'll make it worth your while."

My brain was still functioning. As Airta left the room, I was aware of where I was, and what I was doing. Now I finally had some sympathy for Westron males - a female in hemmer was virtually irresistible.

When Airta came back, I had to inspect her. I was fascinated by the thin strip of bright red hair - fur, really - which stretched from the nape of her neck, all the way down her spine, to just above the crack of her ass. It was surprisingly ... arousing. It reminded me somehow, of a landing strip of pubic hair, pointing the way to her privates.

I stroked that strip of fur, lightly, with my fingertips. She seemed to like that, shifting her position on the bed to give me better access. I continued to stroke, and Airta moaned. She reached for my cock, which was rising again.

- "Wait." I said.

I wanted to continue my tour of inspection. She let me turn her over, and spread her legs, so that I could examine her privates. Her lips were swollen, engorged with blood. I teased her with my fingers, and then my tongue.

I fucked her three more times, before I collapsed in a heap. Every time, I came inside her, until the sheets beneath us were soaked in sweat and seminal and vaginal fluids.

There must have period when I slept, for a time. I awoke to find a powerful smell in my nose. It was Airta's pussy, which she was grinding against my mouth, even as she tried to suck my cock into her throat.

I growled, flung her over, and entered her from behind - which was exactly what she wanted. I let her feel my weight on her back, before I spewed another load of semen into her.

The time of day no longer mattered. Airta's fluids, her scent, were like the secret ingredient in impotence inhibitors. I was hard, and stayed hard, even after six or seven orgasms. Then I lost count.

It seemed to affect Airta in a similar way. After our sixth or seventh fuck, we were lying side by side. I was panting, short of breath. Airta reached out, to stroke my sweat-soaked hair. She smiled. She looked ... happy.

I must have slept again. When I awoke, I found Airta waiting. She was lying beside me, watching me sleep. She'd either left the room, or someone had delivered food. Airta offered it to me. It was probably a good idea; I needed to keep up my strength. She didn't look like she was finished with me just yet.

- "Not a talker, are you?"

- "No." she said.

We sat on the bed, cross-legged, with the plate between us. I fed her little cubes of meat, and caressed her lips and cheeks with my fingertips. She smiled as she ate. It seemed to make her happy.

That led directly to our eighth - or ninth - fuck.

Somehow, my dick wasn't worn down to a nub. I should have been chafed raw - but I wasn't. Nor had Airta shown the slightest discomfort when I was pounding into her.

She passed out, which gave me a much-needed rest, but also another chance to examine her. Airta had the ripest body I'd ever seen. Her tits weren't immense, but they were tremendously alluring. She was voluptuous, in the truest sense of the word.

I got hard again, just watching her sleep, so that I flipped her over, and entered her from behind. She didn't protest at all, so it didn't feel wrong.

Airta coaxed another two orgasms out of me. I'd lost count. We fucked somewhere between eleven and thirteen times, and I deposited at least nine loads of semen into her pussy. Hard to believe, but it's true.

Kanitz sent me home, at some point. She had me chaperoned by an escort, to make certain that I could find Talley's house.

I was completely, totally drained. Somehow, though, I felt incredibly ... alive. When I awoke the next morning, there was an extra little spring in my step.

It wasn't love. I don't think Airta had ever said more than two words to me. I was also well aware that she wouldn't be in hemmer again for a year, or a year and a half.

Would I be anywhere near when Airta was ready again? Despite all the information about Westrons that I'd absorbed while in stasis, there were so many things I didn't know.

Talley's family were obviously aware of what I'd been doing. Gone three days, only to come staggering back, looking thoroughly exhausted? I'd washed, of course, but they could probably still smell Airta on me.

- "Who was she?" asked Tisucha. I was startled.

- "Pardon?"

- "The lady in hemmer - that you copulated with." She didn't seem upset - only curious. Talley just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

- "Umm ... Airta. The Countess' ... retainer." I realized that I didn't know Airta's title, or job description.

- "Was she good?"

- "Umm ...?" I looked to Talley, for some kind of help, but he was busy pretending that he wasn't paying attention.

- "Did you enjoy it?" asked Tisucha, with a big smile.

- "Yes. Of course."

- "Three days!" said Talley's wife. "She must have enjoyed you."

- "Was she your first in Cercen?" asked Tallia.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

- "Ahh - I wonder, ladies: is there some social convention, after ...?"