By the end of the week Anne had satisfied all of the men at least once, and the commander allowed her Sunday off.
Tired from her exertions, she slept well past dawn. It was broad daylight when she woke to see Dora standing over her and knelt at the woman's feet.
"Stand up." Releasing the bracelets, she told her girl to raise her arms.
She took a large earthenware bowl from a table and dipped a hand in it. Her fingers were covered with oil. She proceeded to apply it to every part of Anne's body.
It had a fragrant scent of rose or passionflower; Anne breathed it in as the woman rubbed it on her shoulders, then her breasts. She applied it carefully to the nipples, then lifted them to reach the fold beneath as Anne sighed with pleasure.
Then the belly and the thighs. Skipped over the fleecy triangle between, saving that for later.
She stepped behind Anne and applied a coat to her back and legs before massaging it into her buttocks. Anne grew wet and started to moan without noticing she was.
"Open your legs." Familiar with this command Anne complied at once, almost losing her balance in haste.
The old woman dipped her hand once more into the oil and raised it between Anne's thighs; Anne closed her eyes and started to tremble as the hand touched her womb.
She could not remember what happened next, only that she was on her knees shaking as Dora dried her hand. She remained there while Dora fed her, and bent to her water bowl afterwards.
Dora bound her hands, leashed her, and drove her outside up a forest path into the jungle.
Recovering her awareness, she looked about her. It had rained overnight and the air was clean and fresh. The path beneath her feet was soft with damp fallen leaves. Here and there she saw the eyes of small creatures watching them pass up the trail, and a distant view of the sea beyond. She rejoiced in the green-tinged sunlight that filtered through the trees overhead, happy to be naked on her leash.
After a period of easy ascent, they came to a side trail edged with round pink stones and turned onto it. It led to a grassy circle ringed with huts. In the center was a rectangular mass of pink marble; an altar.
At their approach a dozen young women, nude like Anne, emerged from each of the huts except for one structure that was larger than the rest.
A dozen pairs of soft hands lifted Anne and laid her gently on the altar. Four of the girls held her hands and feet down at each corner.
Anne was dismayed that she was to be sacrificed with so little notice or ceremony; but she had expected this ever since she arrived in the country. She took a deep slow breath to calm herself; she was ready.
A cloth in the doorway of the large hut was drawn back and a woman like the others, a little taller maybe, approached. She wore a diadem of gold around her forehead but nothing else.
She did not carry a knife; Anne was to be strangled then. She raised her neck for the woman's convenience.
The priestess smiled. No, her life would not be taken; this was a sisterhood of the goddess of love.
At a nod from her, eight pairs of hands caressed Anne's arms and legs, moving slowly toward the center of her body. She saw what Dora had oiled her for.
They continued to progress inward past her elbows and knees, gently stretching her skin and relaxing it in waves. Anne began to moan. Her head swung and a pair of hands held it firmly in place.
This continued for she did not know how long: her breasts and belly received their full share of attention until she was moaning and weeping continuously.
When the priestess decided her subject was ready, she leaned forward and extended a soft wet tongue into Anne's most intimate space. Anne felt her hips thrusting in the motions of love before a wave of amorous heat consumed her.
The priestess withdrew and let her movements subside. It was a minute or two before Anne could open her eyes and look up at the sky; and a dozen girls looking back at her.
They lifted her up and set her on the grass. Too weak to stand, she knelt at the feet of the woman who had brought her such ecstasy.
Sofia gave her name and explained. This sorority of the goddess consisted of a dozen vestals (virgins who abstained from coupling with men) and one chosen each month for the role of priestess.
They entertained guests like Anne in service to their divine patron; all women were welcome to receive this devotion.
They were about to take their midday meal. Anne and Dora were invited to share it with the company.
Dora shook Anne's leash (she noticed it remained on her neck) and the group proceeded to an area where bowls of food were set up.
Dora fastened Anne's bracelets in back, told her to kneel and stood behind her; the older woman would dine later.
The mealtime arrangement of this convent was unusual; six pairs of girls knelt opposite one another, each with a spoon and a bowl of porridge. They took turns feeding their partner.
Anne was placed opposite Sofia, but with her hands tied she would be unable to feed the priestess. She noticed there was only one bowl between them.
Sofia explained; she would not take any food today. She pointed to a path paved with black stones that led away in the direction opposite to their entrance.
Each month at the time when the old moon had vanished and the new one not yet appeared, a new priestess was appointed. Sofia's month was up today; she would crown the new one at the end of the meal.
Then she would leave the sisterhood and go down that path to another altar a short distance away. It was made of black onyx, dedicated to the god of the underworld and served by an all-male priesthood.
She would be laid on it and lose her virginity to the entire company. Then at sundown, when neither the light of the sun or the moon illuminated the earth, she would be sent to mate with the god below.
It was the highest honor a woman of the tribe could aspire to, and she was to receive it today.
Another girl from the tribe would join the community to bring the number back up to thirteen.
She began to feed Anne, who struggled to overcome her surprise. The porridge was good, a milky mix flavored with honey and she was hungry. Forgetting Sofia's case she ate the entire contents of the bowl as the woman spooned it into her mouth.
When that was done and the vessels cleared away, they all stood. Sofia hugged each of the girls in turn.
