Goddess Chronicles

Cathy was confused and more than a bit frightened. Yet something about this woman calmed her. It had from the moment she walked into the room. The warmth depths of her brown eyes reassured her more than her words.

Turning back towards those in the room, the woman commanded, "Bring her forth."

The Minotaur obeyed as he carried her back to the front of the dais, sitting her gently on her feet, but keeping his hands around her hips as if to offer her support should she need it. Cathy would have said 'thanks,' if her voice were functional. But it had not been since the woman touched her.

Once more, as if reading her mind, the older woman approached them. Her hands brushed tenderly at Cathy's face as she held her gaze.

Looking people in the eye was never something that had been comfortable for Cathy. She had been punished more than once for not looking some sundry foster parent or social worker in the eyes when spoken to. But the gesture implied an intimacy that she had not felt. Until now.

"Trust. Do you trust me?"

The question was shocking to Cathy's sensibilities. She, who never trusted anyone. Not in a very long time, if ever. Why would this woman that she had just met ask such a strange thing? Even more alarming, why did she find herself nodding her head? And why did she mean it?

"You will learn much of trust in the years to come, my child. This night is only the beginning. That trust will be more precious to you for the very lack of it before this night. It will be one of your greatest gifts to impart to those you are called to minister to," the woman spoke so low now that only Cathy and the Minotaur could hear.

With a slight nod of her head, the Minotaur reached out and pulled the golden rope from about her waist. The sheet that had been her only covering pooled about her feet. Cathy was naked before the dozens of people that remained.

She had never been naked in front of anyone. She did not even look in the mirror when she showered because she knew what she would see - fat. She was disgustingly fat. Now, that was all revealed to this room full of strangers.

She felt fear and shame. Her throat tightened at the memory of that other day; the voices of those other 'perfect girls echoed in her mind. This was so much worse. And just when she had begun to believe, to as the woman said, trust. Now, this. This violation. She felt the tears start to spill down her cheeks as she raised her hands to try to cover herself.

"No, my daughter. Stop." Cathy turned her head towards the voice and once more, lost herself in the depths of those comforting brown eyes.

"You are perfect. The Goddess makes each of us in her image. Some of us are thin likes reeds in the wind. Others She makes muscular to bear the weights that they must shoulder. And to some, She gives generously. But each is crafted as She intends. As Fate wills it."

Her hand reached out to brush against the soft jiggle of her stomach. Cathy knew she should have felt mortification, disgust, perhaps even shame. Instead, she knew only comfort, acceptance, and love. It was a new feeling for her. This young woman that had been raised by a string of strangers, most of whom were more interested in the money that she represented than in her, the others of whom loved only so long as it suited them.

This was different. This was unconditional. Unconditional love was a feeling that until that moment, Cathy would have sworn was a fantasy. A mythological creature like dragons, fairies, and elves. But that was the only words that applied to the woman's tender touch.

The woman's smile broadened until her mature face softened, glowed like the sun on a spring day, gentle, comforting, warm, but not too hot. "Yes, now, you see. Now you feel. Now you realize Her gift. That which She wants to fill you with, to overflowing. That which she wants you to share with others. That which is the essence of the Mother, the Goddess."

Turning to face the crowd which seemed to have pressed closer to the stage, she once more held out her arms towards the heavens, "Now, it is time. To welcome the Goddess. To greet Her new incarnation on the earth."

The young men, who must have returned without Cathy noticing, nodded at the woman and walked to the side of the room at which sat some sort of ornate, golden-looking lounge, the type that would have made a cheesy prop in a Cleopatra movie.

Four of them surrounded the monstrosity, grabbing the handles that seemed to protrude from the four corners. Working as a unit, they lifted the thing and carried it to the dais. They sat it directly before the woman, then bowed once more and took places along the front of the stage. Their broad backs to it as they faced the crowds, their hands folded behind them.

The Minotaur lay Cathy on it. She stared up into his fathomless eyes as if to ask 'why,' but the words still would not come. His only answer was a smile, if a bull-headed beast could do such a thing.

But it was once more the compassionate gaze of the older woman that captured Cathy's attention. Lying there, looking into her eyes, she felt like a newborn babe who had just met its mother for the first time. She wanted to memorize every crease and tiny line about those eyes and around those full lips.

She studied those lips as they drew nearer and nearer. When they touched hers, she felt as if a million volts shot right through her. The power was almost overwhelming; she would have fallen were she not already lying down.

When the warm, wetness of the woman's tongue snaked around the edges of Cathy's lips, she was powerless to stop them from opening like a bud in the early light of spring's first morn. When that tongue slid against hers, it was as if she were breathing life itself into Cathy. As if she were reborn.

Confusion reigned in her young mind. She was not a lesbian. She would not even consider herself bisexual. So, what was it about this woman? How could her kisses fuel something inside Cathy's body, mind, and even soul? Something that she had not known even existed.

Her body burned. She was sure that if someone took her temperature, she would have a fever. For a moment, she considered the myths of instantaneous human combustion. If that were real, then surely she was in grave danger.

Still, she was powerless to stop the kiss that seemed to drag out for an eternity. That brought to life every hidden sexual desire and need in Cathy's young, untired body. Cathy was not sure she would want to halt the kiss or this night, even if she could. As much as her logical mind screamed out at some unknown evil lurking just beneath the surface, her soul seemed to recognize its destiny, its purpose.

When strong hands gripped both of her breasts, Cathy moaned into the woman's mouth. Her senses that were already on overload ratcheted even higher. She feared that she would lose consciousness. Could you die of pleasure? She had no idea. Had had no idea that such passion was even possible.

But she was confused. Whose hands touched her? She was aware now of new, strange sensations not only on her breasts. Other hands caressed her stomach, her thighs, even her feet. She felt them tugging gently, spreading her legs wider, hands began to explore areas that she had long since forsaken. But where she had failed to ignite any desire, they inflamed.

She wanted to see who it was, but the woman's face blocked her view. Cathy wanted to cry out, whether, in trepidation or lust, Cathy was not sure. But again, the woman's mouth swallowed her entreaties. She was powerless to do anything besides lie there and feel. Feel their touches, the passion that ran like wildfire in her blood, consuming her thoughts.

And feel she did. All of it. It seemed timeless. An eternity was but a moment, or was a moment an eternity? Still, it went on. Cathy found herself writhing against those hands. Arching and undulating like a snake. Seeking their caresses like a kitten.

When the woman finally broke the kiss and drew back, Cathy willed her eyelids open. She looked up into the woman's kind face. It seemed almost to glow, perhaps it was merely some trick of lighting, but it only enhanced her ethereal and timeless beauty. Her fingers tenderly brushed Cathy's swollen lips.

"You are perfection, my daughter."

Her words were so heartfelt that for a moment, Cathy could almost believe them. But she had spent too many long years avoiding mirrors, could still hear the voices of those girls taunting her with the words, 'fat,' 'pig,' 'disgusting,' and others. She felt the warmth of tears coursing down her cheeks. If only...

The woman's finger brought one of her tears to her lips; she tasted it. To Cathy, it seemed such an odd thing for her to do. Then she leaned over, licking away the wet trails those tears had left down her cheeks.

"No more, my daughter. No more pain. Those memories will no longer taunt you. Those words no longer hold power to hurt you. They only exist to remind you that our words hold that capacity - to injure, to harm, to wound deeper than a sword."

She tenderly kissed Cathy once more. Her lips coaxed Cathy's to open again. When she did, the woman exhaled into her mouth. Her breath filled Cathy, not merely her lungs, but her whole being from head to toe seemed to tingle unexplainably. Cathy practically arched off the table like some patient in those medical drams when the doctor used a defibrillator.

And that was precisely what it felt like. Like the breath had brought her back to life. Cathy drew that power deep into her soul. Something seemed to whisper in her mind: hold onto that feeling. And she did.