The Balance Ch. 06-09

Hello All. Here are the next chapters in this story. Thanks to all those who have voted.

I am writing the next chapters, in which things will get a little dicey for our heroes. I have no idea how long this story will go, but I hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 6

"Ariana, you may go. Abiron, stay for a moment, won't you, lad?"

Ariana glanced at Abiron for a moment, then went up to the Deity and embraced him. "Thank you, my Lord. Thank you for everything. Thank you more than I can say."

The Deity patted her back. "You're a good child, Ariana. Be well. I will see you soon."

Ariana walked out quickly, the doors to the worship area closing softly behind her.

"Why did you wish for me to stay, my Lady?"

"Because as lusty as your wife is, I think she would still rather have a moment to collect herself before she takes you to her bed. It isn't every day that a mother marries her son. Remember, this experience is almost as strange for her as it is for you.

"I will give you a couple other pieces of advise, since you seem to think you will need it. First, if you ever wonder whether your wife, or any other woman, wants you in her bed, always err on the side of caution. If a woman wants you, she will let you know, and short of running away, there isn't much you can do about it.

"Second. Let your new wife guide you. She is wiser than you. Not just in the ways of the bedchamber," the Deity said with a smile, "But also in the ways of the world. You have been sheltered here. She was not.

"Lastly, don't walk into her chamber tonight with your spear at full mast. Actually, never walk into her chamber that way. It is arrogant and rude, and it puts a woman on the defensive."

Abiron flushed scarlet. "I am not sure I will be able to, you know, stop."

"Oh, you will, my lad," A cool breeze seemed to wash across his groin, and he relaxed. "That will last until about two minutes after you enter my lady's chamber, if I am any judge," She winked at him, "Besides, it gives a woman a sense of accomplishment to make a man ready. Never act like you don't need her, my boy."

"I won't, my Lady."

"Good, good. Now shoo! Don't you have a wife to be taking care of?"

As Ariana closed the door to her bedroom, her dress disappeared, replaced by a silk robe. The fabric clung sensuously to her breasts and hips, while circulating air from below that did little to quiet the fire in her groin. She glanced around the room. All was ready. Scented candles were lit on every flat surface. The shutters were open slightly to let cool air in. The cabinet beside the bed was unlocked for the first time in sixteen years, and all that was within it had been cleaned to make sure that it would be ready if needed.

Not that it will be tonight, she thought. Tonight was a night for initiating a young man into the joy and beauty of lovemaking. Amorous aides would be used later, as a spur for passion, but tonight things would be simple.

My son. No, my husband! How well he had looked in his borrowed finery. The sight of his strong young thighs in those breeches had nearly driven her mad. She could not help imagining how they would feel beside her own, her ankles locked behind his buttocks...

A knock at the door.

"Come in."

Abiron entered. He took one step into the room, then startled as his clothing changed. Gone were the fine breeches and tunic. In its place was a robe that matched Ariana's own.

Ariana laughed. "I think our Lord is trying to help us out. Wedding clothes are fine for a wedding, but awkward in the bedroom."

"Mother..."

"No. My name is Ariana. And you are now my husband, and I your wife. Call me by my name."

"Ariana. I don't know what to do."

"And that is why I am here. Why we are both here. I have been your teacher in many things, my son. Trust me. Allow me to teach you in this as well."

Abiron swallowed visibly, then nodded.

"Yes." The word came out of Ariana's mouth in almost a hiss. The dams were gone, the walls breached. There was no reason to deny her nature any longer. She could feel the Wanton rising up inside her. Her breasts flushed, engorged with blood. Her pupils dilated. Her groin was on fire with need. "Come to me, my husband."

Slowly, almost stumbling, Abiron crossed the room. He stood before his wife.

"This is how it begins," just as she had in the temple, she raised her hands to his cheeks and pulled his face down. Slowly, lingeringly, she kissed his mouth. Her lips opened and her tongue flickered across his lips. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth, and her tongue entered, playfully flicking across his, running across his teeth. She pulled it back, and was filled with joy as his tongue took the initiative and followed hers into her mouth. The two danced together and she could feel his manhood, stiff against her belly. The heat of it nearly drove her wild. I did that! Me! I did that! I am arousing him, arousing my son, my husband, my lover! Oh, dear Lord, I never want this to stop!

"What...what do I do with my hands?" Abiron asked.

"The hips are a good place to start. Or the waist. By doing that, you stake a claim to your lover's body. Your wife's body. You can go in two directions. But by starting there, you give her a chance to slow things down if she should not be feeling amorous." Ariana felt his hands close around her waist. Strong fingers, calloused with work, gentle with love. "Explore a little on your own, dear one. I will let you know if you err," she raised her mouth to his again, and this time he needed no encouragement. As their kiss renewed, she felt his hands slowly rubbing up and down her sides, from the curve of her hips to the sides of her breasts and back again. The feel of the fabric moving against her nipples excited her further.

"A moment, dear one," she stepped back from him and undid the sash that held her robe closed, then did the same for him. His muscled chest came into view. She ran her hand down it, down to the plane of his stomach, stopping short of his magnificent phallus. Oh, my Lord, thou art generous with thy servant! And mine. All mine. I made him within my body and soon I will be taking him back within me.

As his wife undid the belt of her robe Abiron was stuck mute by her beauty. All that he had imagined unwillingly for the past day was now revealed to him. He could see the graceful curves of her calves rising to her smooth thighs. From there, her hips flared and then curved inwards to her narrow waist. Her belly was flat and smooth, slowly rising to the mound of her pubis, thatched with neatly trimmed hair. His gaze rose higher to the glories of her breasts. Firm and high they were, as much as he could fit in his hand. Only the nipples were hidden from his view, the sides of the robe hanging from their tips.

He must have twitched, or his gaze must have given him away. "Do you want to touch them, my husband?"Ariana asked with a smile. "You have but to ask. Nothing is forbidden here. This is love."

"Ariana, may I touch your breasts?"

"Of course.

Abiron stepped close to her. He could feel the heat of her body on his skin. By the Deity, her scent alone is driving me mad! He grasped her robe, easing it off her shoulders, down her arms, and to the floor. At last her breasts were in full view, standing high and proud, challenging him. His right hand closed on her left breast, holding it between his thumb and index finger. He stood numb, marvelling at the feel of it. He weighed it in his palm, and of its own volition, his thumb moved and ran across her nipple. Ariana shivered, and her nipple was suddenly standing erect. He glanced at her. Her eyes were locked on his, smiling, her mouth slightly open and her chest heaving with desire. With sudden confidence his left hand rose and duplicated the feat on her right breast.

And then the chains broke loose on his soul and joy overtook him.

With a wordless shout of ecstasy he lifted his wife (his mother, his lover, the High Priestess of the Deity) from her feet. His right arm below her knees and his left arm under her shoulders, he carried her to their marriage bed and laid her down. As quick as thought, he shed his robe and knelt over her body. He lowered his mouth to her breast and caught the nipple in his mouth, suckling like a babe, and his wife screamed her pleasure at him. He moved his mouth to the other breast and she caught his hair with her hands, forcing his mouth down, arching her back at the same time, forcing her breast deeper into his mouth until he could lave the whole nipple with his tongue. He caught her hands in his and he pinioned them above her head, forcing her breasts upright, the nipples jutting high and mauled them with his mouth while she mewled her satisfaction.

Oh, there is fire within him, thought the portion of Ariana that could still think rationally, but he must learn that superior strength does not necessarily make a superior lover. As lithely as a striking snake, she twisted out of his grasp. She caught the left wrist that had been braced above her and pulled. Suddenly Abiron was under her and she was sliding her sweat-slick body up the length of his chest.

"Gently, my husband. Remember, what is given can also be taken away. Tonight, I choose to be in control. Do you understand?"

Abashed, Abiron nodded. "Do not feel shame, my lover. Betimes I enjoy being plowed like a field, but tonight I am your teacher, and you will follow my lead." Her thighs straddling his, her hands braced on the carved headboard, she lowered her breasts to his mouth. "Worship me. This is sacred."

And he did. With mouth and hands and lips and tongue, he made love to her breasts until they were twin cones of fire on her chest. When she could take no more and her body begged for release, she knelt, her thighs straddling his head, brought her nether lips to his mouth and taught him how to bring her to orgasm, his fingers clenching around her buttocks, his tongue deep inside her. She came, tears of joy streaming from her eyes as the aftermath of pleasure rippled through her.

And then she tended to his pleasure. She bathed his phallus with his tongue, watching it jump like a fish on the line, bringing him to the brink and backing away. She sucked his nipples, smiling at his reaction when they contracted to tiny pink nubs on his chest. She breathed deep into his ear, hearing him groan with unsuppressed passion. And finally, she straddled his phallus, rubbing her slick cleft against him until his breath grew ragged with wanting.

"Ariana...I must...I have to..."

"I understand, my husband." With a song in her heart that had been eighteen years in composing, Ariana took her son's phallus in her hand, slowly raised her torso, and impaled herself on it.

Abiron nearly fainted when he felt his mother take him into her body. The sensation was unlike anything he could have imagined, at once sensuously slick and burning with heat. Slowly, his instincts took control, moving his hips up and down to match the rhythm of his wife. She lowered her head, kissing him lingeringly, the tips of her breasts brushing his chest as the pace quickened. His legs came up, ankles locking around the backs of her knees, palms pressing down on her back. The pace grew more urgent. They were both moaning into the others' mouth, delirious with desire.

Ariana's hips came down, her knees locking around Abiron's thighs. Abiron's hips drove up, lifting his groin into Ariana's pelvis, and with a mutual shout of ecstatic release, he poured his seed into her womb in a scalding flood of rapture.

Part Two

Chapter 7

Ariana and Abiron lay entwined together, gasping with the aftermath of love-making. A cool breeze came in through the window and dried the sweat on their bodies. Ariana lay atop Abiron, her head on his chest, her dark hair fanning off her neck onto his side.

"That was...that was..." Abiron was at a loss for words.

"I know, my husband. I know."

"Is it going to be like that every time?"

"No. Sometimes it is going to be better." Ariana shifted, placing her hands beneath her chin and looked at her new-minted husband. "And sometimes it will not be as good. Sometimes I will be tired, or you will be frustrated, or the roof will leak. The important thing is that I love you, and that you love me."

"I am yours, and you are mine. Mine alone. For as long as we both shall live."

Ariana frowned. "Yours alone? Wherever did you get that foolish idea?"

"Well... It's part of the standard wedding vows, is it not? I've heard you say them enough times when those who wish to wed come here. 'To cleave to thou, and thou alone, until the Deity brings me to her arms.' I know the words to the ceremony, mother."

Ariana smiled, "Then you weren't listening to the words the Deity spoke over us this night. There was no talk of cleaving one to one only. We promised to love one another. We did not promise to limit ourselves to each other."

"But why? I don't understand. You are all I could ever have wanted." Abiron frowned, "Is it me? Did I perform poorly?"

"Abiron, of course you did not do poorly. How could you, with me to guide you? You pleased me very greatly. And you will do so again before this night is over," She reached up and patted his cheek with a wicked smile. "But, my husband, I am a round-heeled little trollop. I am sure that someday soon, when the time has come for us to go out in the world, a man will trip me and I will land on my back with my legs open. Do not take it amiss. It is the spirit within me. The gift of the Deity guides me, and I would not give it up for the world. Remember, the Wanton has her own store of knowledge."

"Well I know it. How can I not, who so recently took that knowledge as a gift? And what gift has the Deity given me? How will Her will manifest itself through my being?"

"I am not sure. I have spent long nights thinking about it, running it through my mind when I needed a distraction from the needs of the body. The Children make all merry and laugh, and though you laugh easily and well, there is a seriousness always within you, my son. The Youth and the Maiden rarely manifest themselves in our line, since we wed so young. Although you are well made and will grow into a tireless lover, my Lord spoke true about you. You do not have that spark that inflames all women who see you. The Father you might be, but not the Warrior. Your heart is gentle, and I do not wish for it to be broken by the cruelties of war. If I had to venture a guess, I would think that your avatar will be the Graybeard. His forte is wisdom, and he sees deep, finding the good where it lies, and weeding out the evil when it comes. Your grandmother Persephone was of the same bent, and I see much of her in you. When there were disputes, people would come to her for judgment. She could see into their hearts and see who was in the right, and who was not."

"The Graybeard, eh? I'm not out of my youth, and already you have me in my dotage," Abiron smiled. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. Her eyes caught his and held. Raising her chest, she slowly dropped her weight onto his groin. His phallus, which had never left her womb, twitched inside her and began to grow.

"How do I do this?" she answered his unspoken question, "How does a woman gain a man's eye? How does one man cut a swathe through a retinue of willing women? How does a maiden convince a blushing youth to join behind the stable?" He was fully erect now, and she knelt astride his thighs. She sank, taking him inside her until he was sheathed in her to the hilt, then raising again. The delightful friction made the small muscles of her belly twitch with need. His hands rose to her breasts, caressing her nipples, making her sigh. "I do this because I choose to do this. Because it is who I am and for what I was made. I have a body made for loving and a lifetime of celibacy to expunge from my memory."

Abiron rose to a seated position on the bed. Ariana's thrusts slowed as his arms came around the small of her back and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her head fell back, exposing her neck, and she laughed aloud as he ran his tongue from her collarbone to her chin, marvelling at the taste of her sweat. Slowly they rocked together, the muscles of her womb caressing the long hot length of him. He lowered his head, nuzzling her breasts.

Ariana's hips twitched, once, twice, and then her arms came hard around his shoulders as she came. Abiron could only within stand the flood of pleasure for a moment, and he emptied himself into his wife again.

Abiron slowly lowered himself to the bed again, his wife cradled in his arms. She sighed softly, and with a smile, he realized that she had fallen asleep. He shifted her head to his shoulder, and with one long arm dragged a blanket from where it had been kicked to the floor. He draped it around them as best he could.

"Pleasant dreams, mother."

And with that, Abiron fell asleep beside his wife.

Early the next morning, Abiron awoke to a snoring wife and a full bladder. Disentangling oneself from a beautiful, sleeping woman is not the easiest of tasks, and it is made more difficult when one is covered with the aftereffects of enthusiastic love-making. Somehow Abiron stood without waking his wife, and quietly made his way to the garderobe. After relieving the pressure on his bladder, he made his way back to the bedchamber and walked over to the window.

It was a beautiful fall day. Early morning sunlight poured across landscape, painting the temple and outbuildings in gold. A few puffy white clouds drifted serenely across the sky. Dew lay heavy on the grass in the fields beyond the temple, but a brisk wind from the north-west promised another pleasant and dry day.

A wonderful day.

Abiron smiled with pride as he looked at his wife. Normally a modest young man, the thought that he had loved Ariana into a stupor was intoxicating to his male ego. The memory of what they had shared last night drew him back to the bed. He lay down beside his wife and stroked one bare shoulder.

"Wake up, Ariana."

Ariana frowned for a moment, then opened her eyes. She smiled at the sight of Abiron in front of her. Surprise, surprise, she thought. Three guesses what he wants, Ariana, and the first two don't count.

"Good morning, husband. Is breakfast ready?"

The question caught Abiron flat-footed. It was his turn to make breakfast this morning, he realized, but the events of the last few hours had driven mundane thoughts of eating completely out of his head.

"Mmm...no, it isn't, Ariana."

"Well, you can go ahead and make it while I wash and get ready for the day."

"Are you sure? I was thinking that we could, you know..."

"You were thinking that we could make love again this morning? How sweet. But I have morning breath and my hair's a mess and I'm hungry. So be a dear and start breakfast, will you please?"

"As you wish, my lady priestess," angry at her rejection of him, seething about being sent to make breakfast like a child, Abiron turned to walk out of the room.

"Abiron?" her voice stopped him before he could reach the door. "What is the First Rule?"

Despite himself, Abiron smiled. He had heard that question a thousand times, when he would have rather slept late than said the morning rites, when he would have rather played with his dog Hercules (three years dead now, alas) than milk the cows, when he would have rather stayed up late reading than go to bed.

"There is a time for work, a time for worship, and a time for play."

"Well said. Despite what has changed between us, our duties remain the same. So after we eat we will worship. Then we will work. And then," her glance turned wicked, "We might have time to play."

Chapter 8

After breakfast and worship, Ariana and Abiron gave thought to the running of the small farm attached to the temple.