Zofia Castle - Mila's Shrine
VI
After a short stay at Zofia Castle, Celica's group heads off through treacherous territory; towards Mila's Shrine.
"Hey, sleepyhead!" Mae exclaimed.
Boey awoke almost instantaneously. He tried to chastise Mae, but quickly found out his mouth was full. Did… did Mae slip that on him while he was asleep?
"We're ready to go," Celica said. "You've overslept again."
"Hehe, Boey always oversleeps…" Genny noted.
Maybe if you three didn't make me work so hard, I'd be fine with a normal amount of sleep, Boey thought.
"I see you kept the bit on. It's good that you're so enthusiastic!" Genny said.
"Boey's getting better at this," Mae said with a wink.
"Let's not waste any time," Celica said. Boey thought something seemed off about her, but didn't have time to worry about it before they exited the building.
Upon reaching the castle grounds, Boey felt Celica's hands on his shoulders.
"Down. Now."
Boey, surprised by the harshness of her tone, obeyed quickly. He had little time to brace himself before Celica's butt was on his ribcage and her legs were at his sides. She cracked the reins and Boey started crawling.
"Would you like the blindfold..?" Genny asked.
"Maybe later. Mush, Boey. We've got a lot of ground to cover," Celica demanded, her feet kicking his sides.
Boey wondered what had caused Celica's change in demeanor. She'd never cracked the reins very hard before, and her thighs and butt had a stronger grip on him than usual. She even felt heavier, too. Something was obviously making her stressed.
An hour of travel passed, and she hadn't gotten any lighter in that time. Boey was able to manage, but rough riding from the heaviest rider was draining. She didn't avoid any pebbles or bumps, so his hands hurt from the debris in the pavement that she carelessly drove him over.
"Um, Celica, is everything alright?" Genny inquired.
"Really, Genny, I'm fine," she said. Boey could tell from the way she tensed up on top of him that she wasn't "fine".
"Are you sure, Celica?" Mae asked. "You know, it's just us. You can tell us if something's wrong."
"Well, I…" Celica said, "I wasn't expecting Alm to be so pigheaded."
Boey felt her tension grow as she squeezed his upper back with her thighs and rear. This was clearly a sensitive subject for her. Her crotch became warmer, and he wondered if her blood flow had gotten faster.
She cracked the reins in frustration, sending Boey ahead faster. Boey lamented that his favorite jockey was not riding him gracefully today, instead choosing to be as rough and careless as she pleased. His hands hurt from the pebbles that he'd hit. Occasionally, he'd try to walk around them, but Celica would pull to keep him going straight in the center of the road.
The weight from an upset Celica started to become harder to carry. He struggled to keep pace, and whenever he slowed down, she'd crack the reins to punish him.
"Faster," she commanded, "and keep your form straight."
"Celica, we've been traveling for over four hours. Can we take a break now?" Mae asked.
I never thought Mae would save me… Boey thought.
Celica didn't slow Boey down or look at Mae. She only said, "We've got plenty of walking to do. We should break when we get there."
"Ugh, but my feet are starting to hurt from walking. You've had Boey the whole way. Can one of us take a turn?"
Boey had never thought before that he'd like to be ridden by Mae, but after traveling four hours under a harsh Celica, he was hoping for Mae to sit on him instead.
"In a little bit, sure," Celica offered. "I just want to get my head straight first."
Mae seemed disappointed, but she was unwilling to fight Celica. Boey held on to the fact that Celica would hopefully be done riding soon, and he'd have Mae jockey him instead.
Time went on under Celica's waist, and Boey wondered if Celica was unwilling to trade her place. The rein cracks and side kicks became more frequent as he faltered more, pain from the pebbles and bumps in the road impeding his progress.
Finally, Celica said, "Alright Mae, let's trade."
"Thank you! I was worried you'd never let me have Boey back," she whined.
Boey had a small internal celebration as Celica's rear couldn't be felt on his ribcage any longer, but his party was cut short by Mae's signature butt drop onto the same spot Celica had been in.
"I've been waiting for this, Boey! Giddy up!" she commanded, cracking the reins.
Mae's soft butt practically bouncing on his upper back, Boey didn't know why he expected she would be much easier. Sure, she let him watch out for bits and bumps in the road, but she was always so active. She never seemed to tire of barking orders at him today, like "Speed up, Boey! We've got places to be!" or "Stop, Boey..! Okay, start again!" or "Keep your back straight! Don't you know someone's trying to ride you?"
Genny commented, "Wow, Mae, you're really going for it today!"
It hit Boey. Mae was extra active because of the "rules" they had set for him. She was playing around with the fact that he had to comply with her every whim, since she knew Boey understood that he had to obey his jockeys.
"I can't wait for my turn," Genny said. "You two look like you're having so much fun!"
"This is alright," Mae responded. "Boey's definitely enjoying himself today, though. Aren't you glad we voted to ride you again?"
Boey sighed, unable to give the response he wanted to.
Mae continued on as if she heard him agree."That's what I thought!" she exclaimed, "It's so much better this way. Now show your appreciation! Mush!" She cracked the reins, and Boey did his best to speed up as Mae's waist pushed into his ribs.
"Shall we take a break?" Celica asked. It seemed that she's calmed down a bit, and Boey was ecstatic to hear her offer.
"Not yet!" said Mae. "Boey's good to go for a while longer. Maybe we'll break in an hour."
Boey's heart sank as he heard Mae's response.
"I'm kind of tired," said Genny. "I could use the break."
Boey wanted to thank Genny.
"Why don't you ride with me?" Mae asked.
Nope, against the rules… Boey thought.
"I'd love to, but… Didn't he say we couldn't have multiple people riding him at once?" Genny inquired.
"Actually, he said we shouldn't all three ride him at the same time," Mae corrected, "so two people is fine!"
"Oh, you're right! Okay then!" Genny cheered, walking towards them.
Boey lost all hope as Mae smugly smiled, pulling on the reins to stop him. He wondered if she knew she was driving him crazy, and was enjoying it. Boey paused for a moment, and watched Genny as she made her way to him. She lifted one leg over him, straddling his shoulderblades. She sat down in front of Mae, and Mae lifted the reins over Genny, so she didn't sit on her way of controlling him. Genny lifted her legs up and over to his front, hanging them on Boey's shoulders. Mae kicked her mount's sides, so he resumed movement.
Over time, Genny seemed less and less focused while sitting on top of Boey. She wasn't so firm today… she was softer, and she moved from side to side more.
"Alright, Boey, speed-"
Celica interjected with a hushed voice, "Shh! Don't wake Genny."
Genny giggled on top of him, and Mae was finally quiet. He wondered if she would stop demanding things of him so that Genny could sleep. Instead, he noticed that Mae's posture changed. Her soft butt was a bit more firm, and her bony thighs clenched him. Instead of demanding things, Mae tried her best to keep Boey as smooth a ride as possible, riding in a style similar to Celica - that is, Celica before today.
As time went on he saw that Mae had a different side to her, a nicer calmer side. Maybe she wasn't so cruel after all? Then he thought back to the past week or so and instantly changed his mind. How could he think that when here he was, shoulders aching, palms sweaty and calloused His whole body was constantly physically overworked. Furthermore, Mae had got Genny on him as well.
"Okay! I need a break," Mae finally said, "Riding this far is tiring."
Boey wanted to say, How do you think the person you're sitting on feels? but, couldn't.
However, Boey was ecstatic for his break, since he was at his breaking point. This euphoria was quickly forgotten because Mae pulled out the blindfold.
"Keep Genny on your back and don't wake her up. I'm going to put this blindfold on you for later!" She told him.
"Hold on. I think I see something. I'm going to take a look at it.." said Celica as she started walking off the road towards the coast.
"Can I come?" Mae asked.
"Sure! I could use the company," Celica responded. Boey could hear them walking off, but after just a couple minutes every sound near him was suppressed due to the quiet sound of the waves off in the distance. Boey was alone with his thoughts. All he could think about was that this wasn't even a break, they got to go for a calm walk on the beach while he was stuck here holding up Genny. As he thought that Genny slipped, and he had to move sideways to keep her balanced. Somehow she stayed asleep.
Finally he could hear footsteps and people talking. They were back. He was just anxious to get to Ram because this blindfold was itchy and his shoulders were really starting to bug him.
"Where are we?" he heard a female voice ask.
"I have no idea," Another female voice responded.
"Look, I'll just ask these people."
"Let's just walk by them."
"No, maybe they know the directions."
"Don't you dare, Palla!"
"Excuse me…?" The voice asked.
"PALLA! STOP IT!"
"Shut up, Catria!… EXCUSE ME!""
Genny bolted awake and fell right off of Boey, creating a loud 'Thump!". She seemed dazed and very confused to see a blue-haired girl and a green-haired girl standing in front of her.
"Who are you two?"
"I'm Palla, and this is my sister Catria." Palla explained, "Can you help us find this place…" she pulled out a map from her pocket, "Ram Village?"
"Haha! That's exactly where we're headed. I'm Genny, this is Boey, and we have two other friends- Celica and Mae, who will be coming back soon!"
"Told you they'd be able to help!" Palla mocked.
"Fine, you were right, but why is that man dressed like a horse?" Catria asked.
"It's a long story, but we use him as a way of getting around, you see, we travel awfully long distances and he helps us keep our stamina for battles!" Genny explained.
"Yeah, I still don't understand," Catria said.
"Don't be rude," Palla scolded. "so where are… Mae and Celica… right?"
"Yeah" Genny answered, "Oh! Here they are now, the red-haired one is Celica, and the pink-haired one is Mae."
"Got it, thanks" Palla replied. Celica and Mae walked up and greeted the two strangers.
"Hi! I'm Mae."
"And I'm Celica."
"Yup, I could tell from your hair!" Palla laughed, "I'm Palla, and this is Catria."
"They were lost and looking for Ram Village, so I said we'd take them there." Genny explained, "Is that okay?"
"Absolutely, we were just on our way." Celica answered, "We just have to get our transport ready, Boey, you ready?" she said as she walked over to him.
When she hopped on, Boey was relieved to instantly feel the difference, she was much less tense, everything, including her butt, was completely relaxed.
"Come on, Boey. Let's go!" Celica ordered as the stirrups hit his sides.
Boey was happy that Celica was riding more smoothly. Her change in demeanor and treating him better made him feel almost happy to be her mount, in a way. He willingly lent control of himself to his favorite rider, as she gracefully steered him wherever they needed. A conversation began as they trotted.
"So, you ride him? Boey?" Palla asked.
"Yes," Celica said. "What about it?"
"Nothing, it's just that I'd never thought of or seen that. Does he enjoy it?"
"He doesn't seem to mind," Celica said.
"Well, sometimes he complains," Mae said. "But once we get on top of him, he knows to listen to us. We've broken him in pretty well."
Genny cheered in, "Yes! We're good at making him obedient."
Palla responded, "I see. Interesting!"
"He's quite comfortable," Celica added. "Much more so than any horse I've ridden. And he's smarter, so he's easy to control."
"Is that so?" Catria asked.
"Yep!" Mae asked. "Sometimes we practically fight over who gets to ride him. Personally, I think that since it was my idea, he should always be mine to ride, but… I'm happy to share him."
"Well, aren't you generous?" Palla joked.
"You know it!"
Palla continued, "Well, Catria, Est, and I always ride pegasi."
"Who's Est?" Genny asked.
"She's our younger sister," Palla informed, "and we've been split up. Our pegasi are with her too, which is why we're on foot. She's across the desert, so we have a long way to go."
"Oh, wow," Celica said, "It's too bad there aren't more Boeys to ride there."
"It's really that nice to ride him, huh?" Palla asked.
"He's comfortable, easy to control, and this way, we don't have to walk as much. Would you like to try?" Celica asked.
"Sure, if that'd be alright!" she said.
Boey didn't know how to feel about this. He'd just gotten Celica on his back, which was manageable, but after all this riding, they were going to put somebody completely new on him, while blindfolded? He grew anxious as Celica pulled him to a halt and dismounted him. He awaited the new jockey as she took her time figuring this out. He heard her stand over him, then she grabbed the reins, and after a longer than usual time, he felt her waist sit on his back. Whoever this was, she had a cute butt and fantastic legs, but she was a bit heavier than Celica, and he was completely unfamiliar with her. She cracked the reins harder than they'd ever been cracked before. He took a moment, but he started moving again.
"Maybe you should take the blindfold off, if it's your first time," Genny suggested.
"Okay!" said Palla, "That's probably for the best, since I'm not quite used to this."
Boey felt soft fingers untie his blindfold, allowing him to use his vision. He turned his neck to look at the girl on top of him, and was surprised to see how pretty she was. Boey quickly turned away, hiding the blushed expression that grew across his face.
"Hey there!" Palla said. She cracked the reins hard, like he was one of her pegasi. Boey, not wanting to disappoint the pretty girl sitting on him, moved forward and endured the pain.
"Boey's never been ridden by someone experienced with mounts," Mae said.
"Oh, is that so?" Palla said. "Then I hope you're ready to be properly ridden, Boey. Hiya!" She cracked the reins again, and kicked his sides hard.
Boey sped up to a new high pace, understanding that Palla wouldn't be going easy on him. When he lost form, Palla would pull on the reins, making him ride more smoothly. While Boey had time to think about his disdain for being ridden by the others, Palla didn't give him a moment where she wasn't demanding more from him. Compared to Palla, Genny was an easy jockey to work with. Palla clearly knew how to demand obedience from a pegasus, and she was going to demand it from Boey too.
It seemed almost part of her. From the second she mounted him, there was no shyness. Once she was on, it was as if she had become someone else. She took full control of him, forcing his every move. Boey had no free will under Palla, she was under complete and full control.
Every movement Boey made was made first by Palla, she was making every decision for him. Before long Boey was exhausted, his free will was completely taken away, he felt her weight on top of him growing; but she continued to demand more and more from him. Everytime Boey tried to send signals, be it slowing down, disobeying, she retorted with disciplinary action. She wouldn't say anything, but she did ride him into pebbles and off the beaten path.
She rode him like one of her Pegasi, she sat atop him tall and proud, lower body completely relaxed. His body began to shake and spasm under the weight, every muscle aching and begging for Boey to stop moving. But he was worried about what his next punishment would be.
Finally he could see Ram Village in the distance. He sped up slightly as he'd rather get there sooner than later. Palla was entertained by this and encouraged him to go faster, by cracking the reins. This forced Boey to increase speeds even more, completely exhausting his arms. They felt weak and tired and he was already anxious to get to the inn, where he would finally be able to sleep in a bed.
When Palla dismounted Boey heaved a sigh of relief. He stretched his back upwards and he could feel how tight and weak his muscles had become.
"Whew! It felt good to be back on a steed!" Palla exclaimed, "Thank you guys!"
"No problem, Boey is great!" Mae replied.
Palla squatted down in front Boey and gave him an ear-to-ear smile. This was the first time Boey got a really good look at her face. She was pretty, his face quickly grew red.
"Aww he's nervous!" Palla laughed. She gave him a soft noogie on the head. Then she untied the bit and reins from his head. He felt relieved to finally be free. Palla helped the sore and exhausted Boey stand up.
"So where are you guys going tomorrow?" Celica asked.
"We are going to go Northwards to look for Est." Palla explained.
"We're staying here - do you want Boey?"
"That would be sublime!" Palla beamed as she looked at Boey. She seemed so happy to be riding again that Boey felt a responsibility to be a good mount for her. He swore to himself right there not to let her down, to completely obey her.