Four #4
I think we spent a good ten minutes kissing before I finally stopped her and took her over to a bench someone had placed nearby, where I sat down, pulling her onto my lap.
"Talk to me," I whispered, putting my chin on her head as I held her close.
"I was hoping… maybe…" she started off, embarrassed.
"We will. But for now, tell me about your life."
"Well, once Feliogustus finished healing me, I was sent back to Juntura with several others who were ready to return home.
I was able to send a message to my father, who arranged for a ship to pick us up and bring us back.
He was so happy to see me. Mother cried.
It was so nice to be home, I cried, too… "
Closing my eyes, I just sat there and listened as she talked.
She told me about coming home, of picking up the pieces of her life again.
She'd decided not to sail anymore; she was a helmsman, or had been when she'd been captured.
She'd taken up sculpting and other arts, which she'd done before she'd gotten the urge to travel, working aboard one of the flying cargo ships.
She'd realized early on that she needed to follow Feliogustus and had converted to his faith. She'd even talked her father into taking her to visit the temple I was having built in Dani's memory! I hadn't heard about that, but then again, I'd been very busy.
She'd made it official, then, and started talking with her father about doing something to show her gratitude, not just to me, but to Feliogustus for allowing me to save her, and for fixing the things in her head that had been broken during her ordeal.
Her father had agreed with her, and when she'd decided to build the shrine, he'd backed her completely.
"How many children do your parents have?" I asked at that point.
"I have three brothers and a sister; my sister and one of my brothers is younger."
I noticed then that the others were standing off a ways. Zed was conversing with them, and they were nodding. I decided I'd let him handle it for now. He knew more about shrines than I did.
"Is there anybody special in your life now?"
She shook her head.
"Solenne, you're the kind of woman any man would want. It's been over four years now."
"I… it's…" She sighed. "I think a lot of the men out there are either worried about how I'll behave after having been a whore, and the others aren't sure they want a woman who was a whore."
I growled softly at that, and for a moment, I wondered if putting a beating on someone might help.
She patted the side of my muzzle. "It's not just that, Champion."
"Will, call me Will. I'd like to hear you say that instead."
"Of course, Will," she said, giving me a hug. "The truth is, I've been afraid to be intimate with anyone."
"Oh?"
"I'm worried… I'm worried that I… that something inside me might still be broken."
I snorted. "Trust me, Fel took care of everything. Don't give in to your fears, and don't let them stop you from living your life."
"I know, I know, but I was hoping…" She hugged me again, but let her hand stray just a bit lower than was strictly polite. "I want you to be the first," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Because I'm safe with you. Because I owe you. Because I want to give you, if not all of me, then perhaps at least a piece of me."
I kissed the top of her head. "Well, let's go see what's going on with Zed and your friends over there."
"Will you spend the night with me?"
"Happily," I said. Standing up slowly, I carefully set her on her feet, then put an arm around her.
I walked up to the elves Zed was talking with, noticing some interesting expressions on their faces as they took me in, a big, buff, seven-foot-tall Junturan who was armed to the teeth and smiling, with Solenne pleasantly snuggled up against me.
"William the King-killer and Godslayer?" one of them asked.
"Please, just call me William. I'm just a humble servant of my god, Feliogustus."
The elf stuck out his hand. "Well, it's nice to see the rumors are true."
"What rumors are those?" I asked, shaking his hand.
"That you're humble, friendly, and not full of yourself," he replied, smiling.
"Oh, I can be quite full of myself, trust me on that!" I said with a chuckle. "Only to those who have earned it, however."
"I'm Castien, and this is Mitilar, Rhys, and Aithlin," he said, motioning to the other three. "Zed here has gone over what he'd like done, and we can get started on it in the morning."
"Great, how long will it take?"
"We'll be done by noon. It's all fairly simple."
I looked at Zed.
"Shrines are simple to start with. They grow with time as people leave offerings or gifts."
I nodded. "Well, then, what next?"
"You can help me set the wards and bless everything," Zed said, smiling at me. "Gentlemen? I think we're good for now."
"William?" Castien asked.
I nodded. "I've only built churches and temples; I've never done a shrine before, and honestly, Zed knows more about this than I do. So I guess we'll see you tomorrow?"
They all nodded.
"Until tomorrow." And with that, they all left.
"Well, let's get started. Think we can find a shovel?"
"I'll show you where to find one," Solenne said.
"How long do you think this'll take?" I asked, looking over the site.
"Once we've got the ward stones buried, maybe an hour? This isn't going to be terribly large, and twenty minutes of that will be me consecrating the altar."
"It'll be a real altar?" I asked, a bit surprised.
"Yes, but don't go telling everyone about it."
"Why not?"
"Because we only have permission to build a shrine and not a church. While most shrines do have an altar, it isn't usually consecrated unless a cleric was involved in its construction. I don't want anyone to think we're trying to build a church here."
"What would it take to turn it into a church?" Solenne asked.
"You can't. What you'd do is build a church across from it and leave the shrine intact. Or if you wanted to build a temple, you'd make the shrine a part of it, but theologically, it would still be a separate thing."
I gave her a hug. "Trust me, this is more than enough."
"You think so?" she asked, looking up at me.
"Yes, I do. Now, let Zed and me get to work."
"Can I watch?"
I smiled at her. "Of course you can."
A couple of servants had come out and set up lights while we worked, though we didn't need all that much.
If I had to guess, we probably started sometime after eight, local, as it had gotten dark at that point.
When we finished blessing the ground, and it had become holy to Feliogustus, I had to admit I enjoyed it.
When Zed started the consecration ceremony, I went and sat with Solenne.
What started out as simple cuddling had turned into a much more serious petting session by the time Zed was done.
"So, where are we spending the night?" He came over, interrupting us when he was done.
"Umm! Sorry!" Solenne said, embarrassed.
"It's okay. Feliogustus has no problem with people expressing their love and affection for our champion," Zed said, grinning at me.
"He doesn't?"
"Not if it involves Will, here, he doesn't! Though he's pretty understanding with most others, as well."
Getting up, I picked up Solenne, gave her a kiss, and then set her on her feet.
"Let me show you to your room," she said to Zed, and linking her arm through mine, she led us off to the house.
Once there, a servant took Zed in hand, and Solenne took me off to her bedroom.
We picked up where we'd been earlier, only this time, I peeled her out of her clothing.
She really was gorgeous, almost as good-looking as Evean, which was something of a shock, though my ego soaked it up.
After all, what man doesn't appreciate a beautiful woman in bed with him?
I started off slow the first time, because I wasn't just worried about her state of mind; if she hadn't been with anyone in years, I didn't want to hurt her by accident. She was much more relaxed the second time around and was rather wanton by the fourth.
§ §
"Hi, Fel," I said, taking the beer he handed me and sucking it down. "This was unexpected! Well, for me at least!"
Fel smiled at me. "I guess you could say the same for me. I had no idea when I healed her that it would lead to this. I could tell when she built the small shrine in her room once she'd converted, but I'm limited on Keman, because I have no presence there at all."
"Are the men really avoiding her?"
"Some are, but in the fullness of time, that will fade, and they'll start to chase her once again. It was more her uncertainty and her desire to sleep with you first."
"She's been waiting for me?" I said, giving him a surprised look.
"Hoping and praying is more like it," Fel said with a laugh.
"But I barely interacted with her!"
"You saved her, you saved her from a terrible fate, and you did ask me to help her and the others. She's quite aware of what you did, and she understands, deeply, that she has a debt to you and a debt to me."
"So she's doing this to… I don't know, pay me… you back?"
"In a roundabout way, yes, she is. I'd already told her that she doesn't owe you or me anything, that this was done to right the great wrong that was done to her, and you asked for my help because you're a compassionate man, and her plight moved you to beseech me, your god, for help."
"Then why is she doing it, if she doesn't have to?"
"Because she wants you? I mean, really, William!
You really did a number on that place and that town, saving her and the others.
So, of course, she wants a night with the big, brave hero.
As for the shrine? She's come to realize that she does like my religion—prefers it, in fact, after the time she spent here.
So she wants to spend the afterlife in my domain and do what she can to help others learn about me. "
"Guess I need to wake up and show her just how much we care," I said with a smile. "I don't think I'm going to be taking her away from here, however."