Alraune Mandragora Ch. 04

Marna's hand rose to her open mouth. She gasped a tiny gasp as her eyes feasted on the woman's body.

Sister Margaret blushed and turned away, only to expose the grace of her exquisite haunches to the girl. "You must forgive me, I haven't stood naked willingly in the presence of another for some time."

Marna stood and wrapped her arms around the naked woman from behind. Margaret seemed to jump slightly at the sudden touch, but did not protest. Marna just hugged her. After a few moments, Marna spoke.

"I can't imagine how it has been for you. I only know that I miss my lover very much, and it must be so much worse for you." Marna released the woman. "Now sit, and I will tell you my secret. Our secret."

Margaret sat on the stone bench and gathered her robes loosely about herself. Her eyes peered up at Marna like blue ebony in the golden candlelight.

"Our lover, and I know that they must be one and the same, comes from somewhere beyond the sky." Marna began to pace as Margaret had, her hands clasped behind her back. She loved stories, and relished the opportunity to tell one.

"The stars, as it happens, are distant relatives of the sun. Very distant. Our lover comes from one of those distant suns. Our lover is a very ancient form of life. No god or demon or trickster from a gnome story; our lover was exiled to this world we live in like a sailor caught adrift on an island far away from any familiar shores."

Marna looked back at Margaret, who was captivated absolutely. Marna continued.

"I can't explain it very well, but the creatures we encountered were different - but the same. It seems that it changes when it can, or when the need arises. It can survive when little else will. It needs a hidden place to thrive, a secret place to grow. It can feed on many things, such as we. But unlike us, it does not feed on what we can smell or taste or touch. Our lover feeds on things like love... and pain... and death. It can survive on things we sense as our own feelings. Among other things."

Margaret had stopped breathing. Marna could hear a drop of water somewhere off in the undercroft.

"These things are hard to understand, I know." Marna bowed her head. "But it is as I have said. And I know you believe, but you must also believe that though my mind is full of images and strange things, I can not yet grasp what they mean."

Their eyes met. Margaret simply nodded. Her mind was full of questions, but also understanding.

"Come." Marna bid her. "I have something to show you."

Marna took up one of the candles and began descending the stairway. She heard Margaret following her swiftly. When they were walking the uneven paving stones below, Margaret reached out and took Marna's hand for guidance. When they reached the far corner near the collapsed stairwell, Marna lowered the candle to show what grew in the pile of rubble.

It was a single flower. It was very dark, but Margaret could see that it grew thick and very deep, dark red in color. It stood not two feet tall in the cold and dank blackness.

"Oh..!" Margaret exclaimed. "Is... is it..." She could not find the words.

"Yes." Marna assured her. "And it grows even now. But you will not see it grow, for it grows downward. Eventually its roots will have gone deep enough, and we will find shelter among them. We will find warmth, and love."

Margaret shed a single tear. It fell and splashed into the thin dust that carpeted the stone floor. "It's beautiful." Was all she said. She turned and looked at Marna, who continued to admire the flower as she spoke.

"We can return to my family's farm, Margaret. We can visit there, and when we are finished and my parents are satisfied with our visit I can take you to my hidden place. And there, dear Margaret..." Marna paused. She looked up at the woman, with a smile. "There you will have what you seek."

Marna knelt down before the flower and set her candle aside so that it stood on its own. "Come. Kneel by the flower, and we shall feed him."

Margaret did as she was asked. "How... do we feed... him?" Margaret stammered.

Marna turned and faced the woman. She bent forward and kissed her on the cheek. Her breath caressed the woman's face as she spoke. She smelled like heaven. "My body is the key. You must love me, and your deprivation will end. This is all I know."

Marna stood. She unfolded her robes and let them fall, one by one. The layers of cloth that hid her body fell away, and soon she stood naked before the kneeling woman. Marna returned to her knees, and stayed there in silence, waiting for the woman to feast upon her body.

"Thank you, Marna." Margaret said plainly. "You have saved me from darkness and pain."

"Enough now." Marna consoled her. She reached up and proffered her unearthly breasts to the woman. "Our pleasure will help the flower grow. Taste me, I can satisfy your longing. For now, at least."

Margaret let her own robes fall. She moved in, and closed her eyes before her lips clasped around one of Marna's ready nipples. As soon as Margaret's tongue touched the flesh of the girl, something passed between them. Something awoke in Sister Margaret's mind. Like a beloved memory.

"Oh..." Marna had never been touched by another person in this way. "Oh goodness." She said, as if responding to a dream. Margaret began to suck gently. "Oh my!" Marna yelped, turning her head and squinting against the sudden wave of unknown pleasure.

She had, after all, never known such pleasure while completely conscious. Before long, Margaret had embraced the girl fully, holding her up slightly. Marna was shocked by the strength of the older woman. Margaret buried her face in the flesh of Marna's bosom, and she sucked with her whole mouth. Margaret's head bobbed back and forth, and it was as if her entire body was trying to pull at the contents of Marna's breast. Suddenly Margaret made a strange, hungry sound. The nectar had begun to flow into her mouth, feeding her at long last.

"That's it!" Marna laughed. "Yes! The flower is opening, Margaret! Your hunger is making it bloom!"

But Margaret hardly heard the girl's praises. Margaret was consumed by her awakening. Consumed by her hunger for the long lost sweetness of surrender.

Marna's hands grasped and pulled at the woman's body. She twisted and writhed with unexpected pleasure as the woman sucked neckar from her breasts. Soon they lay down, Marna on her back and Margaret feeding atop her. Margaret was crouched over her on all fours, holding Marna down strongly. All Marna could do was lay there and react to each pulse of electric pleasure that shot from the woman's lips through her breasts and down her spine. This coupling continued in the darkness for some time. Marna looked up to see the dark flower in full bloom right before she felt all the sensations in her body climaxing. Marna began to scream with pleasure.

Up the stairs and through the ancient structure, her screams would never be heard by anyone over the din of the storm.

Sister Margaret smelled more sweet seduction in the darkness, and she sought the source. She moved down the young girl's sumptuous curves and plunged her tongue into the weeping darkness between Marna's legs. That was all Marna could take, and her screams reached a fever pitch. The woman had buried her tongue deep within the girl's sex, swallowing every drop of sweetness that flowed from within. Marna could only toss her head from side to side and grip the crumpled mass of her robes for some sort of link to the waking world. Otherwise, her mind was gone from her body almost completely. Her mind was reaching out for her lover in the dark.

In the dark, lit only by the solitary candle, the flower basked in the radiance of the two women. Below them, roots were forming slowly. Reaching blindly into the soil, conquering stone, making way for a new life to emerge; a consciousness to be born.