Why George Slew the Dragon

As was customary the prepositors came for her early on the day that she came of age; for it was ordained that one who had not been sired by a man was holy and consecrated to the service of the gods - if male to become a priest, if female to serve as a vestal - and that they should remain celibate all their years.

Peaceably Cali bade farewell to her mother and allowed them to escort her to the Temple stronghold, for even had she so wished there was no way she could escape her fate. She had long known that it was her destiny to become a vestal, as it had been her brother's to become a priest.

Shut in a small cell the hours passed slowly, boringly, as she waited to be given the red robe of a novice and instructed in her duties. At last there came a clatter in the corridor and the sound of a key in the lock. Awkwardly, bearing a tray of food, a tall, young priest entered.

'Jon!' She exclaimed in surprise.

'Hush, not so loud little sister,' he admonished. 'I had to bribe the kitchen vestal to allow me to deliver this in her place.'

'But how are you, brother? Two years and I've not heard from you. Why have you not written?'

'As you will discover it is not permitted for those commanded to the service of The Gods to communicate with the ones they leave behind.'

'Not even their sisters?'

'Especially not them, for they might disclose the truth of matters that only The Chosen may know.'

'Oh! But I was chosen to become a vestal anyway.'

'And now you are not. That's why I came as soon as it was possible. To advise you.'

'What do you mean, not to become a vestal? What else can I be?' Cali was confused.

Jon paused to gather his thoughts. 'Let me first set you aright, for much that we are taught is false . . . especially . . . that only those who are married may know and practice sex. Thus it follows that the children of an unmarried woman, like us, must have been conceived without benefit of a man, and are therefore special. Correct?'

'Yes, of course.'

'It's complete nonsense.'

'Then who is our father?'

'I know not, except that he must have been a priest.'

'But the priests are celibate.'

Jon gave a snort. 'That is what we are meant to believe. The truth is that a priest may have sex whenever he pleases. I've enjoyed many women in the last two years.'

'But where did you - do they - find the women?'

'What do you think vestals are for?'

'You mean - no I cannot believe it.' Cali was dismayed.

'Vestals keep house, but that is secondary. Their main duty is to serve us priests. If you had become a vestal you would have been required to entertain any priest who desired you - and with looks like yours it would not have been long before most would have taken and enjoyed you.'

'But what has this to do with being special.'

'Well, how do we replace those that go to join the gods? If it were to be with the offspring of priests and vestals it would expose the myth of our purity, and in any case would eventually lead to serious inbreeding. So, at a certain point in their career, each priest is commanded to select from the Common Folk an unmarried woman he fancies, doctor the Eucharist she receives at prayers, start an illicit affair and get her pregnant. Their issue are the special ones, the replacements, us.'

Cali shuddered and studied the floor. 'But if I'm not to be a vestal, what am I to be?'

'You remember in our lessons they taught us about the war with Dragonia?'

'Yes.'

'And how as part of the peace treaty, and to mark our subservience, we are bound to provide an annual tribute?'

'Sure.'

'What they didn't say was that this tribute is only nominal and takes the form of a maiden. A beautiful young maiden to please and entertain the ruler of Dragonia. . . . The elders have decided that you are to be our tribute for this year.'

'But I'm not beautiful.'

'Men think otherwise, and they make the decisions in the Temple. Anyway just accept what comes for a day or so. It won't be anything serious - at least not until you are given to Dragonia. I don't know what happens after that. But for now I'll keep an eye out and help where I can. Look, I'll have to go or they'll be wondering where I've disappeared to. Eat that food. Keep your strength up.'

Awkwardly Jon leant forward and gave her a brotherly peck on the cheek, then slipped out of the cell door.

Somewhat perturbed Cali toyed with her food until, some thirty minutes later, two vestals appeared, led her to a room lined with old, cracked tiles, briskly undressed her, bathed her, then clothed her in an ancient red robe.

'What happens now,' Cali asked.

'You get to be taken to the High Cardinal.' One of the vestals told her. 'Come on! He's impatient to know you.'

Wearing only his dalmatic the High Cardinal watched as Cali was brought to stand before him. The red shift marking her as a novice was threadbare and at least two sizes too big, only just clinging to the points of her shoulders and leaving bare her slim neck and clavicle. The thin cloth draped itself enticingly around her ample breasts and rippled slightly as she walked, plainly revealing the bulge of her nipples with their dark areola. Her gleaming black hair tumbled down her back in disarray until it nearly touched her tight butt.

He said nothing, just looked. He felt his manhood gradually stir and stiffen into readiness. This was one he would relish. Three-and-a-half score years, and more, were behind him but still he had the will and the power to want, ravish and enjoy - although not as often as in his prime. This one would delight him with the softness of those hand filling breasts and the thrusts of his shaft inside her hot, throbbing centre. Of the many vestals he'd selected to pleasure him over the years, few had possessed a body to compare with this girl. It was a pity she must be relinquished to the Tribute, but it had to be. At least he would have a use of her before she was sent south.

For her part Cali waited uncertainly. The supreme head of the Temple, this holy man, was staring at her most peculiarly. It was as if he wanted, intended, to have her. But no, he couldn't - if Jon was right he could take any woman he wished, so why should he want her? Anyway he was so old. That scrawny neck, those hollow cheeks and drooling lips revolted her. The thought of those liver-spot covered hands roaming across her body, fondling her breasts and caressing her thighs, made her feel sick.

'My daughter. It was intended that thou shouldst become a vestal. That our priests, who so devoutly serve the Mighty Gods, might be blessed with some reward for their endevours by enjoying the pleasures of your body. But on occasion the good of our congregation requires another, higher, sacrifice. We wish it were not so, that we could keep you amongst us, but we must bow before The God's command. Thou art to be our Tribute to The Great Dragon - the ruler of Dragonia - that he may leave us in peace for another year.' The High Cardinal paused, 'We do not have to explain, your brother covered it well enough.'

'You were listening?'

'Do you think we are so imprudent as not to take a few precautions. Of course we heard all that he said. . . . There remains just one item to be confirmed. Your beauty is undeniable, but alone it may not suffice to provide the pleasure to which a ruler is entitled. It is our duty to confirm that you will fully answer his desires.'

She was muddled, disjointed, confused. 'I don't understand.'

'We must be sure that when he uses you, as a man uses a woman, you will satisfy him. So we must first test your bounty.'

'I'm to be mated?'

'Yes. It is a chore we will ourself undertake.'

The thought of being taken by him repelled her. His pretence that he was only performing his duty was unconvincing, every word merely echoed his lust for her body.

The High Cardinal drew a silk scarf from the pocket of his dalmatic. 'But first, since your preference will likely run to youth rather than experience, let us blindfold you. Then you can focus your mind on our skill, not our image.' He fastened the scarf around her eyes.

'Now come. Disrobe and let us savour that lovely body with which The Great Gods have blessed you.'

What choice did she have? Trembling, she raised her arms and reached behind to unfasten her shift. Lazily it fell to circle her feet. She felt a slight draught caress her body, and shivered as she imagined his eyes on her naked and vulnerable flesh. He would be studying her boobs, her untouched pussy. Tightly she pressed her legs together to hide her nether lips.

'Trust us,' he said. 'Do all we say and you will have an experience you will never forget.'

She managed a faint, 'I do not doubt it, Your Grace.'

Smiling, pleased with her submissiveness, he looked her up and down, his eyes agleam with desire. His gaze lingering first on her quim with its lush beaver, then on her full, firm tits. His breathing grew harsh, his chest heaved as he reached for her and crushed her to him, the hardness of his erection stabbing her stomach. His palms stroked up and down her back, gently massaging her, feeling the smoothness of her skin; then paused on her hips, slid round to her flat belly and up, up to those adorable boobs. He stopped for a long moment, just cupping them and savouring their firm weight.

When he again moved he slowly dragged his palms to and fro across her nipples, feeling them swell, before holding her by the shoulders and easing her to the couch. Firmly he pushed her back until she was lying, her neat buns at the edge, her legs dangling.

His hands left her. Cali could hear a rustling - he was removing his dalmatic. Quiet footsteps and she sensed he was beside her again. A light, barely felt touch, brushed her mouth. Her tongue instinctively flicked out to find his finger as he caressed each lip in turn. Then he stroked her cheeks, before dragging his palms down across her chin, her neck, the hollow of her collar bone, smoothing the skin in small circles. When he reached her left breast he pressed gently around the edge spiralling in until he found her bud. It stood high for him to squeeze firmly, sending a bolt of ecstasy straight to her centre. She moaned.

The High Cardinal heard her breathing deepen, leant forward and ran his tongue around her other breast. God, she was tasty. His thin lips opened to take her swollen nipple into his mouth. He nipped her with his teeth, sucking her deep.

The fingers of his other hand found her pussy. Gently, oh, so gently at first, he stroked her from clit to anus. His fondling grew firmer. He pushed a finger inside to test her dampness, was gratified when she arched her back and pushed her mound into his hand.

The scarf was doing its work; she was unable to see him but his heavy breathing and the musky, unmistakable scent of sex was feeding her carnal needs and overcoming her revulsion. Her soft, 'Yes, yes,' was music in his ears.

'What do you want, my dear?' he asked.

Cali barely heard him, all she knew was the rapture of his hands and mouth thrilling her in a way she had never known before. As he rubbed her clit, she began to pant, gave a low moan and dug her nails into his shoulders, then down his back to his hips, instinctively pulling him to her.

He held back, in no hurry. She felt him ease himself onto the couch and kneel across her. All the time his tongue licked her nipples, his fingers explored her pussy, testing her wetness but not entering her. Her breathing quickened, she was near to climax. She whimpered, she needed to be filled. He would not let her come. His touch on her swollen pussy lips was feather light, then firm, then light. He seemed to sense her need and to repeatedly rouse and then deny her.

She was ready. His fingers parted the soft lips of her centre. The helmet of his cock butted them, sliding up and down coating itself with her dampness. He eased away from her, placed a hand to one side to take his weight, his other reaching for her thighs to open her wider before grasping his now totally rigid staff and positioning it at her entrance.

She felt it, hard yet soft, probing, pushing her lips apart as the glans slowly entered, forcing deeper and deeper. There was nothing else in the world now but this manhood thrusting, filling, rewarding her. His stroke was slow, his pelvis grinding her clit. She couldn't resist. The tremors started deep inside her then rushed out to explode around his cock.

He heard her cry, felt her come, but it was too soon, he wasn't ready yet. He thrust harder, faster; her beauty, her pleasure, her satisfaction were a dim, unimportant memory. All that mattered was his release. His thighs tightened, he shuddered, he whimpered. Hot and hard his seed erupted into her, filling her. He lowered his chest onto her two soft boobs and rested while his heartbeat slowed and the blood drained from his tyrannical probe.

Some minutes passed before he rose, resumed his robes and removed the blindfold. 'Yes, you will be a worthy Tribute. Would that we had more time to attend to your education ourself. It would please us greatly to instruct you further. However, the Gods have ordained otherwise. You are required to leave at first light.'

'No. Leave that. You deserve better,' he said as she reached to cover herself with the discarded shift. He pulled a cord by the arras and she heard the faint chime of a distant bell.

The two vestals who had escorted her into his presence entered and genuflected. They were good looking women only a few years older than Cali.

'What is the meaning of this rag?' The High Cardinal thrust the shift at them.

'But, Your Grace, it is not worth giving her new robes just for the journey. Especially as we are told she will be naked for the presentation ceremony.'

'But what if she is seen on the journey. What of her dignity. She deserves your respect. Both of you, remove your robes. Now!'

Quaking somewhat at his anger they quickly unfastened their gowns - red with the white edging of senior vestals - and laid them before their feet.

'Right,' he turned to Cali, 'take your pick. Either should be a reasonable fit.

Hesitantly Cali stepped to where, naked, staring at the floor, the two vestals waited. Gingerly she selected the nearest robe and swiftly lowered it over her head, grateful in the draughty room for the residual warmth of it's previous owner.

There was a sharp rap on the door. 'Come!' Commanded the High Cardinal. The figure that entered was young for a senior priest being but a couple of years older than Cali's brother, but he carried himself with the assurance of one who has already received some prominence in the governing hierarchy.

'Ah! George. Well timed.' The High Cardinal frowned at the two Vestals. 'We will discuss your performance later. You may withdraw.'

Hastily one gathered up the remaining robe and the other the rag that Cali had worn and, still naked, they hurried out of the chamber.

'There she is, George,' the old man gestured toward Cali. 'You may take her and be on your way. I will expect you back within three weeks.'

The young priest bowed his head. 'I am honoured Your Grace. I will not fail the Gods.' Reaching out he took Cali's hand and drew her from the room.

The priest called George led Cali to a room deeper within the Temple. Furnished, not luxuriously but comfortably, with a large soft bed, two easy chairs and side tables; the stone walls were softened with embroidered tapestries. There he sat her in a chair while he called for food and drink.

Over the meal she studied him. Two hand spans taller than herself, his easy movements spoke of a lithe well muscled frame hidden beneath the clerical robe. His hair was short, dark and curly, though somewhat haphazardly cut; his eyes almost black but with an amused flicker. A most personable male, she wished he had been the first to take her, not that ancient High Cardinal, skilled though he had been.

Glass in hand, the priest sat back and regarded his charge. 'I expect you wish to know what is to happen tomorrow,' he said.

'In general. We start on the journey to Dragonia.'

'Yes. His Grace has decreed we are to start at dawn. There will be you, me, eight other priests, and four vestals as your attendants. You will travel in a litter carried by the priests working in shifts - four on, four off. Each night, when we stop to rest, I am to assign a priest to further develop your ability to please a man.'

'You mean to mate with me?'

'Yes, that as well. The intention is that by the time we arrive at the border with Dragonia you will have coupled with most of your escort. Since they are all differently endowed - some small, some big - and each prefers a different way of using a woman - to which they will introduce you - by the time we arrive you will know how to pleasure almost any man'.

'Oh!' Unexpectedly she had adored being ravished, she wanted that delight again, but with the man of her choice. She felt aghast and revolted by the thought of submitting to a different priest each night. 'I . . . I'm not going to get much sleep then.'

'You can rest in the litter during the day.'

'And will you also mate with me?'

'Do you wish me to?'

'More than any other man. How I wish it could have been you who first used me.'

Flattered, he smiled, 'I also wish I could have been the one to take your maidenhead. But here the rules are strict and absolute obedience has been the cornerstone of my success. Which is why I watched without intervening when the Cardinal initiated you .'

Cali was startled. 'You saw me being deflowered?'

'Yes, I forced myself to watch, wishing it was me driving into you, pounding and taking your maidenhead; me making you moan and cry out, your tits bouncing to the rhythm of my thrusts. But if I had obstructed him I would not now be tasked with your care.'

Rising he took her soft hands between his and led her to the bed. 'Nor would I have the opportunity, if only for the few days of the journey, to myself enjoy you.'

Bending down he grasped the hem of her robe and slowly, calmly, began lifting it. As he reached her thighs Cali placed her hands over his, took the material from his fingers and with one swift motion swept it up and over her head.

For several minutes George just stood, his eyes exploring every height and hollow of her divine body until he heard, like the susurration of a distant sea, her whispered, 'Please . . . please . . . please.'

Cali rejoiced at his lean, well-muscled body when he undid the sash of his gown and let it slide from his shoulders; felt her nipples harden at the sight of his jutting cock. Her fingers strayed between her legs and pushed into her slit. Expectantly she began to writhe.

He reached for her body, caressing her. 'I heard you cry out as he thrust in and out, in and out. You were loving it - the more he gave you the more you wanted.' His lips were on her skin, kissing her.

Was he right, had she really wanted it to continue? But she knew she wanted to be taken again, wanted this priest to fill her.

His hand slid slowly down her smooth stomach towards her increasingly wet sex. 'Watching your initiation was when I realized I wanted you more than any other vestal in the palace.' His lips took a nipple, sucking on it.

She moaned softly, arching her body to press her breasts hard into his face. 'Oh yes, take me. . . now. . . please.'

She felt his knee pry her legs open, his hard cock search for her entrance.

His erection ready he whispered, 'Yes, I'm going to have you . . . ' He thrust into her hard. 'Now!'

Cali gasped and moaned as she was impaled on his velvet shaft. Her body jerking as he moved within her.

'Oh ye gods, Cali! I want to fuck you for ever. . . I'm going to fuck you hard.'