The Shrinemaiden (The Maidens) (16 page)

Adelai wailed as the pleasure went on and on, could feel herself spiraling out of control as her whole body thrashed wildly on the floor. She felt him force his cock into her one last time, and with it his pulsing jets of cum, spending into her bruised and sore pussy.

She was still shaking by the time he had withdrawn his cock from her, and she might have lain there for several minutes more in that condition had he not lifted her in his arms again, trading in the hard floor for the softer bed. Her whole body felt liquid, like every bone had been leached out of her body, barely able to move on her own.

“Thornton….” She breathed, overwhelmed by what was the most amazing orgasm she’d ever had to date.

“I think I like it when you call me by my name.” The captain said, his arms now possessive against her waist.

Adelai wanted to babble - to tell him how amazing that had been, how amazing he was, how much she loved him, everything - half-words formed on her lips, some spilling out, and she never knew just how coherent or incoherent she was, because the exhaustion was soon overriding everything else. Adelai fell asleep to the feeling of the Thornton stroking her back, his warm breath tickling at her hair.

It must have been several hours later, perhaps even just before dawn, when Adelai woke again. Sleepily, her hand stole across the sheets but frowned when she found no one there. Her eyes opened and, slowly, she sat up.

Thornton was standing beside the bed, putting on his military uniform - the first time he had ever done so since they had been in the rooms together. Silently, Adelai watched him dress, now wide awake, and tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. She couldn’t speak, and even if she managed to force words past her lips she didn’t know what to say to him at all. Their time together was now over.

The captain finished dressing and turned to look at the bed. Gone were the soft expressions and the smiles she loved. Now that look of implacability was back on his face, his blue eyes hooded. Those eyes traveled from her face down her body and then back again, like he was memorizing every curve of her and storing them for later. He said nothing, either. He strode toward the door but paused to look back at her one last time.

Adelai didn’t know how she must have looked to him, with her eyes begging him for what her mouth couldn’t say. Finally he turned and opened the door. A moment later, he was gone.

It was only until several minutes later, after she understood that he had finally and truly left, did her tears finally fall.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Preparations

Adelai spent the next several days befuddled and miserable. She was barely conscious of what went on around her, oblivious to the streams of servants that filed in and out of her room, offering her things she paid scant attention to. Her rooms had once been her sanctuary, the place out of all others that she truly considered her home. But now it could have been the vast plains of Corvusica for all that mattered now. Everything she thought she had cared for had been left at one of the inner rooms inside the temple of Inne-Anneah, among the fading incense and the now-cold sheets.

She had spent the first three days in this haze, and it took her that long, in the end, to finally snap out of it. Adelai was a practical girl by nature, and she knew that spending the rest of her days moping in her rooms, even if the high priestess would allow her to - which she absolutely would not - would do nothing to change the fact that the captain would no longer be accessible to her in the previous ways he had been. She wanted to see him again. She would like nothing better than to climb into bed with him and stay there for the rest of her young life. While the latter was no longer possible, there was still a glimmer of hope for the former. If a contract came from Sarcopia, as King Belair seemed to think would happen, then there was the possibility that she might see Thornton once more. It was a very small hope, maybe even a futile one, but she would willingly grasp at any straw at this point if she could see him again.

The high priestess must have known what her mood might have been, for no word was sent to her regarding her circumstances since she had left the temple. Now that her melancholy had been lifted from her, or at least for the moment, Adelai was now impatient, having planned her next course of action. For two more days she paced the room, impatient and waiting for word from the high priestess that never came. Only the day before Lyspae had came to visit her, her own face flushed with excitement. She had been bought by a wealthy nobleman from the House of Clavish, she had said. She had taken his fancy during the night of the bidding, and now had leased her out on a contract for a full year, and more if both sides were amendable. She was to leave later in the afternoon, and was expected to arrive at the nobleman’s house shortly before nightfall.

Chatty by nature, she had also informed Adelai that she had spent most of the month closeted with a ‘delicious amber-eyed trainer’ who had been most instructive in her lessons, and remonstrated that the high priestess had not sought to provide such lessons earlier. To Lyspae’s own inquisitive questions, Adelai fended them off, laughing and saying that her own trainer was blue-eyed, and just as equally instructive, which mollified her. It hurt to talk about her captain that way, but Adelai had learned to hide how she really felt from others.

She congratulated her friend on her success, trying not to be jealous. At least the pretty brunette would remain safe and happy within the borders of Atalantea, and she was such a sweet girl that her nobleman would be sure to keep her on for some more years if he could afford the price. While Lyspae’s star was on the rise, Adelai couldn’t help but feel that hers had already its zenith, and that there was no other way to go but down.

Lyspae had expressed some surprise that Adelai had not yet received word of any of her own contracts. “You received the highest bid out of any of us, out of any shrinemaiden in the last twenty years!” she pointed out, “I’d thought the high priestess would have sent for you first out of all of us.”

Adelai tried a nonchalant shrug, though her insides churned at that sudden thought. What if no one had asked a contract from her, after all? After her very public and expensive bidding, it would be the very worst humiliation a shrinemaiden had to suffer through. “Perhaps no one was interested in me, after all.”

But Lyspae shook her head, adamant. “That’s not true! I heard Priestess Saleia herself marvel over the amount of contracts sent to her office on your behalf, and you know how hard it was to impress her!”

Adelai thought that over even as Lyspae bid goodbye and hurried to finish the rest of her packing, after promising to write as often as each possibly could. If the high priestess had received many offers, then why was it taking so long to summon her? Perhaps Priestess Saleia had been aware of her despondent mood - the servants undoubtedly would have told her, for they were some of her eyes and ears - but far too much time had passed, especially in light of the high priestess’ infamous impatience. She conceded, therefore, that she was doing this deliberately. But why?

She watched from her window, waving as Lyspae finally rode away in the nobleman’s carriage that had been sent for her, before coming to a decision. She was now the only senior shrinemaiden in the temple. Many of her other sisters had already departed for their own respective contracts; some, a few days ago, the final few around the same time as Lyspae. The high priestess was deliberately goading her into making the first move, and while Adelai was loath to dance to her tune, to march into her office and demand information on her contracts as Saleia obviously wanted her to do, she didn’t see any other alternative. In this matter, the priestess’ cunning would outlast Adelai’s current frustration and curiosity to know who had bought her. The old woman, Adelai thought sourly, was crafty indeed.

When the horses and carriage with its accompanying bodyguards had receded into the distance, Adelai turned away from the window and strode out of the room. She made for the high priestess’ office without delay, and the anger might have been apparent on her face, for servants took care to hurry themselves out of her way.

The high priestess was engrossed with several important-looking documents by the time Adelai burst into her office without first announcing herself to her clerk, as others were expected to do. The high priestess was neither annoyed nor furious by this breach of decorum. Instead, she gazed placidly over at the shrinemaiden, like she was no more than a sudden errant breeze.

“What is it, my dear?” She inquired mildly, like her purpose had not already been written in her eyes.

Adelai knew that the high priestess expected her to be furious at the delay, so instead she strove to do the exact opposite. She took a deep breath, and smoothed down her skirts. By the time she could finally speak, her tone of voice was pleasant, almost amiable.

“It occurred to me that while my other sisters have already departed, I have not even been told of my own contracts. I thought temple affairs have kept you too busy to relay the information yourself, so I have taken the liberty to come to you instead.”

The high priestess actually fought to hide her smile, though Adelai saw it. “The lack of news was not an error on my part. I had thought to wait awhile until the dark vapors that had followed you during the last few days has finally departed.” Her expression changed then, to one almost of sympathy. “Do you feel better, Adelai?”

Adelai nodded, trying hard not to let her true feelings show, even if this was only for her own pride rather than to antagonize Saleia further. The high priestess had done all she could on her behalf, including allowing the captain to train her, though she might have thought it would do them both more bad than good. To hold some petty grudge against her now felt churlish.

“Things have happened, and cannot be undone. I will get past this. What happens next?”

Priestess Saleia looked approving. “Good. I am glad to see that my instinct about you is as sound as ever.” It sounded more like patting herself on the back rather than giving Adelai any actual praise. She glanced down at the papers in her hand. “There have been a significant number of bids for your contract from all corners of the kingdom. Obviously, King Belair’s bidding price for you has had some significance.” She gestured for Adelai to seat herself at an empty chair by the table, and from the pile of papers she began to single out several, laying them before her.

“Out of a considerable number I have chosen these contracts for your own perusal. Each of them have their own merits as well as drawbacks. Given the important nature of your role in Belair’s plan, I thought that you might like to go over the different options you have before making a decision. Needless to say, only contracts from Sarcopia are being considered for you. Other contracts offering paltry sums have already been declined.” Adelai looked, hiding her astonishment. There were easily three dozen pieces of paper on the paper, each a different contract for her.

“This one,” The high priestess said, pointing to the first sheaf she had laid down, “is a contract by the Duke of Alzhon. A nobleman very much in the confidences of King Garrant, but of a somewhat unsavory reputation. Since there are far too many other contracts available to choose from, and all with better distinction and reputation than this duke, I would suggest declining.”

“Please do.” Adelai said with a shudder, remembering the fat duke with his toad-like eyes.

They went through each of the contracts one by one, and it took much longer than Adelai had expected. Some of the contracts were from noble households with honorable reputations, but so far from the close circle of the king that they had to be rejected, knowing that the information Adelai sought would not pass through them. Other contracts were from those close enough to Garrant, but of such spurious reputation as that of the Duke of Alzhon’s that the high priestess felt it would not be worth saddling her with an out-and-out sycophant. The best contract of all, she said, would be to find one whose buyer was close enough to the king to have gained his ear, but with equal amounts of reputation, intelligence, and the respect of his peers and of the people, one capable of swaying influence himself.

Finally, there were only three contracts that withstood both their scrutinies. The first contract was from a military general named Kazer, one of the king’s most trusted advisers. He was also known as the Jackal, for his military cunning.

The second contract was from a high-ranking noble, the Earl of Sevrigne. He had married the king’s own second cousin, and currently holds the position of Comptroller of the Household for the ruler. By all accounts he was a quiet gentleman who liked to hunt, and was respected by many who know him. His wife had passed away only a year ago, and as it was said he was still in mourning for her, no one knew exactly why he wished the services of a shrinemaiden.

The last contract was from an immensely wealthy merchant named Enzo, who controlled most of the grain industry within the kingdom. While not exactly royalty himself, he has made many other noblemen indebted to him, and his opinions therefore carried great weight among most of them. It is said that the king himself considers him a close confidante, and many meetings have passed inside the palace where he had been present, despite his lack of a title.

The settlements for all were similar. Adelai was to set up residence in their households and to play hostess to all guests of her new patron. She would attend parties and other formal functions with her master if it would so require. Sexual relations was implied rather than made explicit in the contract, but they were worded in a way that there was no misreading the intent. What was explicitly written though, was that Adelai can only pursue relationships of an intimate nature with anyone else only if her patron had given his consent. The only exception to this rule was the man who had initially bought her bidding price, though that must have Adelai’s consent as well.