Notes: M rating is earned here as we refer to the reproductive parts of plants… and people! Please read and review!
The Sanctuary
"The little princess thought she would be sold in Rihad as a concubine, as no Nord or Breton would want her, due to her dark skin, and no dark elf would have her due to her foreign upbringing…" Babette noticed the puzzled look on Nessa's face and stopped reading. "What's wrong?"
"What's a concubine? I thought they were those spikey animals in the forest."
Babette laughed. "No, dear, those are porcupines. A concubine is a secondary wife or perhaps a mistress."
She furrowed her brow again. "You mean a whore?"
"No! A whore sells herself to many different men. A concubine stays with just one man. She's not exactly a wife, but sort of like one," Babette explained patiently. "She brings him status and is committed to his pleasure. Sometimes a concubine's sons are acknowledged as heirs, but not usually."
Rolling her eyes, Nessa sighed deeply. "How barbaric! I'd kill anyone that suggested such a thing to me. At least if you're a whore no one owns you."
"No one except the man who has just purchased your favors," Babette pointed out.
"No more so than you own the carpenter who builds you a table. You've just purchased their abilities for a few hours," Nessa argued.
Babette stared at her a moment and then nodded. "I suppose you have a point there. Well, in some places a concubine is treated very well and they have a higher status than most women."
"So… I mean, this is all very interesting, Babette, but what does Barenziah have to do with… ummm… women and well… you know."
"Oh, Nessa. You mustn't be afraid of naming things - love between women."
"Um, yes, I suppose," Nessa took out her dagger. She took a keen interest in honing it. Being tutored in this by a ten-year-old girl, even if she was a 300-year-old vampire was strange.
"All right, I'll skip ahead to the good part." She thumbed through the pages of the book until she found the passage she was seeking. "Blah, blah, blah…Barenziah ran away and later spent some time in Markarth and stumbled upon a temple of Dibella. Here we go! One of the priestesses took a particular interest in her.
"Barenziah's youthful loveliness fascinated the priestess, Julia, and she fell in love with the dark elf. But Barenziah had only experienced pleasure with men, and one Khajiit in Riften, and she didn't know what to make of the priestesses advances. One evening Julia let Barenziah peep through a hidden window into the secret inner sanctum where the mysteries were practiced. Only the highest priests and priestesses were allowed to participate, and the wealthiest donors to the temple.
"She watched as each of the participants inhaled the herbs from the brazier and chanted. Then a gong sounded and the worshippers formed two circles. Accompanied only by chanting, the two circles began to move in opposite directions. They swayed and whirled in circles while singing, reaching out their hands to touch someone in the other circle. There were caresses of hand against face or hip, as they passed one another. Sometimes whispered promises were exchanged. The movements of the circling dancers sped up and sweat and torchlight gleamed on their skin. Their eyes shone with intensity and then… the gong sounded once again and the dancing suddenly stopped.
"Barenziah watched it all with fascination. Most of the priests and priestesses were lovely to look at, although some of the wealthy donors were not so pleasing. Still, no matter who was across the circle from them, they came together in lustful embraces. Whether it was a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman, or a man and a man, all surrendered to Dibella's will. Clothes began to fall like petals from delicate flowers in a wind storm.
"'Do you see that pair?' Julia whispered to Barenziah, pointing out the tall, fair Nord and the Dunmer.
"Speechless, she nodded as they began undressing one another. The Dunmer priestess seemed fascinated by the Nord's breasts. She held them like overripe melons and suckled on their dark tips while the other priestess pushed up the skirts on the dark elf and caressed her thighs." Babette stole a glance at Nessa whose eyes were looking a little glazed, and cheeks were becoming fetchingly pink. She had finally stopped sharpening her blade.
Nessa jumped off her bed. "I think that's enough. Dinner is ready soon and I should… um… imp stools, white caps. We have another alchemy lesson, don't we?"
Her dimples always gave her away when she tried not to smile. Babette picked up a dried red mountain flower from Nessa's collection of herbs and inserted it into the book where she had left off reading. "All right. This is where I left off reading… the good part. You can read it later." She stood off and laid the book down carefully on Nessa's bed. "You know…", she looked appraisingly at Nessa, "you look a little tired. A little nap might do you good." She skipped out of Nessa's room, shutting the door behind her.
Babette giggled all the way down the passageway until she ran into Astrid.
Astrid arched an eyebrow at her giggling friend. "What's so amusing, Babette? Seeing you this happy makes me nervous."
"Oh, nothing. I'm just seeing that our newest recruit is properly educated."
"Hmmm… and just what are you tutoring her in?" Astrid was genuinely curious.
"I gave her some stories to read. Remember that lost volume of Barenziah I found a few decades back?" Babette's dimples twinkled with amusement.
"Oh! The one with the stories from Markarth?" Astrid's smile grew. "Not the priestess Julia story?"
"The very one," Babette said, winking at Astrid.
"Ah! Well… a very good reading choice for her. I approve. Please continue to supervise her reading selections."
"As you wish, guild mistress," Babette said, sarcastically.
"Little minx!" Astrid laughed at her friend.
"Queen bitch," Babette shot back.
Both of them were chuckling as they parted ways.
~o~o~o~
She was going to get up and work on her archery, no… collect some mushroom, or get something to eat. Astrid wanted her to eat more. Astrid… She shut her eyes and could see herself as the dark elven priestess and Astrid as the Nord. Her determination to do something useful faded away quickly and the book tugged her back to the bed. She sat down and opened it to the page Babette had marked. The red flower fell to the ground unnoticed.
"As Barenziah watched the two priestesses entwine, Julia saw an avid gleam developing in her eyes. She leaned close to the beautiful dark elf and whispered in her pointed ear. 'Do you see what she's doing with her mouth?'
"Barenziah had never seen anything like this. Certainly Straw, Therris, and the occasional soldier had been fun, but this… the way the dark elf was crying out and writhing in ecstasy… this was something she very much wanted. She turned away from the little hidden window and looked intently at Julia. 'Where's your bed?'
Nessa read on, not even realizing how much time was passing. The two women in the story ended up on the reverend mother's bed, since the acolyte Julia didn't have her own room and the reverend mother was involved in the ritual.
"Julia's tongue probed Barenziah's damp cleft, her lips sucking gently on the swollen pomegranate seed at the top. The dark elf princess gasped with pleasure and wove her hands into Julia's fair hair. With her free hand, the acolyte pressed a finger inside her and searched for the altar of Dibella, the secret spot their order held as one of the sacred keys of feminine pleasure. Barenziah's moan assured her that her training had not failed her as the dark elf reached the first of what would be many climaxes that afternoon."
The book fell out of Nessa's hands and she tugged madly at the laces on her leathers. Pomegranate seed? Secret pleasure altar? Promptings from her loins hinted that such things must exist. She finally got free of her clothes and set about exploring her own body in earnest.
Nessa was not a maiden. Her adoptive brother had tried to rape her, but she'd fought him off and then had left that family the very next day. On her own she'd fallen in with a Stormcloak soldier and he had taken her maidenhead. It was pleasant, but not satisfying. She'd been puzzled over the obvious completion he had found in the act and wondered if something was wrong with her. Then she'd been swept up with the Stormcloaks in an ambush and had nearly been executed. That had been the extent of her carnal experiences, such as they were.
Damp cleft? Her fingers did find herself surprisingly damp, indeed. She lay on her side and searched for a pomegranate seed… at the top of the cleft? Her fingers dragged across herself until she noted a spot that seemed tenderer than the others. She pressed harder at it and flinched. Too much! It was odd how sensitive that little area seemed to be. Is this the pomegranate seed or the altar of Dibella? Her fingers slid easily across it, her dampness making it rather slippery there. It felt nice but she didn't gasp or scream or do any of the things Barenziah had done. She tried a little longer but her frustration merely grew. Next she went searching for the altar of Dibella and that proved even more elusive.
Was she broken? It seemed that all this prodding and prying had simply increased her frustration and done nothing to assuage it. She sighed heavily and got up, redressing in her leathers. It was certainly time for dinner and she hated being late, then everyone would watch her coming down the stairs and, somehow, she just knew they'd know what she had been up to.
She came down the stairs quietly but Astrid saw her. "Ah! Here's our lovely new recruit, at last," she said loudly and then everyone was looking at her. She wished she could fade away into the shadows. "Come, sit by me, my dear. Move over, husband."
Heat crawled up Nessa's neck. She thought of the acolyte Julia and the Nord priestess and her eyes drifted to Astrid's cleavage. Arnbjorn got up and made room for her. She got her trencher of food and brought it over to the table and squeezed in between the pair. At first, the werewolf seemed resigned to being displaced then he lifted his head and looked directly at Nessa. His nostrils were flaring, like he was trying to pick up a scent.
Female in heat! A gong rang inside his head and the reverberations spread through the rest of his body. Gods damn her, she smells wonderful. The thought infuriated him and his face twitched as his instincts fought with his jealousy. Jealousy of the girl or his wife? He wasn't entirely sure. A sheen of sweat popped out on his forehead and he sub-vocalized a growl of frustration. He turned his attention back to the half-cooked rabbit on his plate and tore into it messily.
Astrid stole a furtive glance at Babette who was enjoying watching Arnbjorn's frustration and Nessa's confusion. She didn't have the keen sense of smell Arnbjorn did, but she could guess. Alas, it was another disadvantage to becoming a vampire; she no longer exuded the same earthy, lusty scents normal humans did. Watching her husband's reaction was nearly as fun as watching Nessa's confusion.
"So, my dear," Astrid draped an arm over Nessa's shoulders, "what have you been up to this afternoon?"
The girl flushed and looked like a cornered rabbit. "I was… reading a bit. The library here is… is… very…" She stopped, at complete loss for words.
"It's very educational. Isn't it Nessa?" Babette came to her rescue. "I got her started on some history books."
Nessa nodded and sent Babette a thankful look. "History," she mumbled. Her appetite fled and she just stared down at the food piled on her plate. She just knew everyone was looking at her. Could they know what she had been doing in her room? She looked around. Nazir, Gabriella, Veezara and Festus weren't paying her the slightest heed, but nonetheless she vowed to starve before she came to another communal meal.
Arnbjorn glanced at Nessa and, for once, felt sorry for her. His wife was toying with her every bit as mercilessly as a cat toys with a mouse before consuming it. "Eat up, girl," he said gruffly. "You're going to need to start pulling your weight around here and we can't have you fainting from hunger when you're stalking your prey."
Nessa looked at Arnbjorn and nodded curtly. She hadn't forgotten how rude he had been to her. Why did he care if she starved or not? She took a bite of food and found her appetite returning. She focused in on her meal and tried to ignore how closely Astrid was pressing her leg against her own.
"So, in another day or two, Nessa, Nazir will have a few contracts to give you. Do you think you'll be ready?" Astrid asked. She placed her hand on Nessa's knee, under the table.
Nessa was just tearing a chunk of bread off with her teeth and the hand on her knee made her freeze for a moment. She swallowed the unchewed bread and it didn't go down correctly. She was seized with a coughing fit until it suddenly came free and, to her horror, sailed out of her mouth and halfway across the table.
Nazir looked away from his conversation with Veezara. "Careful there, new girl. I'd hate to lose you before you even get your first contract. If you're going to die on me, at least have the decency to do it during a job."
"My poor dear!" Astrid said solicitously. "Are you all right?" She rubbed Nessa on the back. "I think perhaps we should go and let you eat in peace. Babette? Arn?" Astrid got up and gave Nessa a quick hug. "We'll talk tomorrow, my dear. Sleep well." She and Babette started up the stairs but she stopped when she noticed Arnbjorn wasn't with them. "Arn?"
"I'll be up in a while," he said. "I want another rabbit."
Astrid's eyes went between her husband and the girl and she smiled at him. "Of course, dear."
Arnbjorn didn't get up to get another rabbit; he sat and stared at Nessa. There wasn't any use fighting it, Astrid would get what she wanted. If his wife wanted to seduce this girl she would do it. Perhaps his wife was far more subtle than he was, but they'd been together long enough for him to have an idea of what she was planning. But this girl was an innocent. She had no idea how those two vampires were manipulating her.
"It's all right, morsel," he finally said, his voice pitched low so the others wouldn't hear him. "I love my wife and I'll do anything for her. If that means standing aside for you, temporarily, then I will."
Nessa's fork clattered to the table and she turned to stare at Arnbjorn. "I don't think…"
"That's shit and you know it. We both know she wants you. I knew she would before she even set eyes on you." He snorted and speared a potato on Nessa's plate. "You're not going to eat that, are you?"
"You knew that? How?" Nessa asked, ignoring the stolen potato she didn't want anyway.
"I carted you to her. I got a look at you." He picked up the potato in his hand and bit it in half. He chewed a few times, looking at the girl. "You're her, you know. Before she turned. She sees herself in you." He smiled ironically at the girl. "You make her remember what it was like to be truly alive, truly human."
Nessa watched Arnbjorn carefully. This was a side of the man she'd never seen before. He actually did care about people, his wife, certainly. She found herself actually liking him. Gods, yes, he is handsome… she could certainly understand why Astrid loved him. But now she found there was more to him than just good looks. He was loyal and protective of Astrid… indulgent of her whims. "I don't want to come between you and your wife, Arnbjorn," Nessa whispered. "I don't know about… I mean it wasn't ever my intention for things to be like this. I mean, she's very beautiful, but you two are married and I'm… I'm no one."
He snorted with amusement again. "You have no idea, tidbit, do you? Gods, you are an innocent. Well, that won't last long." He clapped a hand on her shoulder. "A word of advice, ham shank. Don't fall in love with her. She's mine." He rose from his chair and stretched. "Night." He nodded to the other assassins and left.
Nessa stared down at the cold remains of her dinner and wished with all her heart she was back at the thieves' guild in Riften. She had fit in there. Here, despite Astrid insisting they were a family, she felt very much like an outsider.
~o~o~o~
Notes: My thanks to Ebonclaw, Biff McLaughlin, Raven Hunter, Janele, TheOtherLaChance, Zevgirl, Ethizen and whoopsiedoodle for the reviews! You're all awesome! I love reader feedback.
For those of you who haven't played Skyrim, Arnbjorn always calls the Dragon Born food names. He explains he can't help it, he's a werewolf and the DB looks like food to him. I absolutely loved it when he called my character tidbit or morsel. Almost as much as when Brynjolf calls me "lass". *fan-girl sigh*
My thanks to Zevgirl and Biff for their feedback on Google+.