Hello Lit fans. This is my first attempt at writing a fantasy story that can become a series of stories that revolve around a main central character. I warn that it is longer than I have previously written, but feel it has a readable tempo. Tell me what you liked and tell me what you didn't like or if you think I should continue with the character development going forward. My only hope is you enjoy the story for what it is...
Cillandra blew the air from her cheeks in a frustrated raspberry of exhaustion. She had been walking this island for a while. The sun had been low in the sky when she had been dropped by boat in the only cove that allowed access to these upper lands. Since then, she had been steadily climbing upward along a rough and unstable goat track, with the sun now baking hot and past its highest point.
Needing a break from the monotonous walk, Cillandra rested in the dappled shade of an old, weathered olive tree just off the path and surveyed the distant ocean from her lofty vantage point. She caught a view of a distant sail and her thoughts drifted to those bastard overseers who had brought her to this, dare she say it, God forsaken island. The overseers in their studiest duties had emptied the very bladder of water she so desperately wanted to drink from now. She was then un-ceremonially dumped off the skiff and abandoned to her fate, with only the promise to be retrieved on the same day, some two full seasons of cycles from this very day. Marooned with an empty drinking bladder, her gilded dagger, a striking flint, her small rucksack containing some rope, a small blanket, a small wrist sized shield that doubled as a plate and the clothes that she wore.
Cillandra was a Nymph and a beautiful one at that. From the top of her braided golden hair to the base of her sandaled feet, she oozed femininity. Her eyes were a piercing green hue and set into a kind and caring face with full plump lips. A slender neck joined her head to her firm petite shoulders. She sported full pert breasts that bounced lightly as she walked, a taught navel, narrow hips, muscular buttocks, long shapely legs and her skin was tanned and flawless. She wore a travelling tunic with cape, an etched leather belt with scabbard and was adorned in fine gold jewelry accents that denoted her importance.
Taking the bladder from the rucksack she manipulated the cork free and using her long nimble tongue, probed the only moisture available from the pour hole before setting the bladder back and continuing on her journey up the rocky goat track.
Before long the track levelled off onto a broad plateau at the very top of the island. The remnants of a small ruined settlement lay within its realm. There was an ancient stone building with its roof half collapsed, what appeared to be a wrecked stable, a raised stone lookout overlooking the sparkling sea with a full 360-degree view of the surrounds, a large sundial that strangely looked almost perfect made from brass. She took the opportunity to place a smoothed pebble found nearby to mark the suns position on her first day. "Looks like this is home for tonight" Cillandra said out loud.
Taking a moment to explore her surroundings, she discovered a flock of birds nesting in a nearby olive grove and took the opportunity to harvest some eggs for her evening meal. Also, Cillandra found a small natural spring, it was located near a pile of large boulders but was too small to fill the drinking bladder. She instead got on all fours and lapped at the water before it disappeared below the boulders. The refreshing drink was most welcome as she slowly drank her fill.
The sun, now setting over the horizon as Cillandra set a small fire, placed her newly acquired eggs onto the hot shield she had placed by the side of the fire and watched them cook. The aroma of the food awakened her appetite for the first time and as she settled in to eat the meal, her thoughts lingered of home. How she wanted to be back in Gormal. How she wanted the perfumed oils of a luxurious bath. How she wished she could have enjoyed herself as an eighteen-year-old who had now come of age. She sighed, and set to eat her meal. Over time the sun passed into the sea and a pitch of darkness never before seen by her descended over the island, the light and warmth of the fire now a comfort, along with the dagger, kept in its sheath under the blanket she lay beneath. The effort of the day clawed at her and pulled her into the realm of sleep.
The call of nearby cattle stirred her from her slumber, the night still heavy did nothing for her senses. She strained to see if the herd was close in the darkness, as the calls now had all but died away. She placed some more wood on the fire and made a pact to find the herd in the morning, then drifted back to sleep. All the while the eyes of an unseen observer upon her.
The first rays of sun lapped at Cillandra's face and she came too in an instant. She excitedly packed her things into her rucksack and looked around the nearby area for the signs of cattle. She was surprised to not find any, anywhere. The few hours spent searching the plateau had made her hot and frustrated. Passing the sun dial she placed another pebble on the ground close to the first one but not quite in the same place. And then headed over to the spring. After lapping at the water again, she sat in the shade of one of the bigger boulders with her back against it. The cool of the rock, calming her irritation. She closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed, her hearing now tuned into the world around her. Cillandra focused on the sound of the sea breeze rushing through the leaves of nearby trees and then.... there came another sound, it took a moment of intense listening to recognize it, Cillandra's brow furrowed as she concentrated." It's water dripping" she exclaimed." And close" she continued. Springing to her feet she searched for the source.
The spring was only feet from where she stood, the boulders loomed large over her. "Could it be?" she clambered up the pile of enormous rocks to their summit and there in the middle of the pile, a large dark hole. She cautiously peered inside and to her amazement saw a stone staircase peeling into the darkness with the unmistakable sound of water dripping deep below. She took a stone and dropped it into the hole and after a few seconds heard the satisfying sound of splashing water. Enough to fill the empty bladder.
Summoning her courage she slipped into the hole, found her footing on a stair, allowed her eyes to adjust to the darker environment and began the decent of the staircase. The inside of the hole below the height of the boulders widened out into a massive cavern and she realized she was climbing down a shaft of pure carved limestone, its steps worn with time and by the ancient footsteps of previous inhabitants. The way lit by the shaft of light from the top and reflected in dancing shapes on the walls by the water beneath. A short time passed and she found herself at the bottommost step. The pool of water completely surrounding the column except for a small path leading to another large boulder at the base of the caverns wall.
Taking her water bladder from the rucksack, she sampled the water in the pool and found it clean and drinkable, then proceeded to fill the bladder to its maximum, before capping it and setting it back into her sack. Her thoughts now changing to her own needs. She was in need of a bath, having been hot, sweaty and generally unkept for the last week since the overseers claimed her from her parents.
Cillandra removed her sandals, then her belt and lastly pulled the loosened tunic over her head, revealing her naked body to the cavernous space. She slowly stepped into the water, the chill of the water causing her skin to pull into small goosebumps over her entire body and her nipples to pull tight and become erect. Deeper she waded with the water slowly working its way higher with every step she took. First her calves, then her knees, then thighs until the water lapped at the base of her buttocks and ebbed at the folds of her pussy. She stood still, taking a moment to feel the caress of the water. She savored the sensation, longed for more, then dived forward, allowing the water to completely envelope her body as a whole. The feeling was one of pure pleasure. Dirt, grime and frustration gone in an instant.
Enjoying her newly found source of water, she rubbed her hands all over her body, taking care to clean carefully under her breasts, her fingers sending small sparks of excitement through her cells as they brushed and caresses her hardened nipples, then she cleaned between her toes and continued on by rubbing her tired leg muscles till she came to her sex. Her fingers traced the outer folds of her private sanctum and felt the coarse stubble of hair that had grown since her last cleaning, a scowl formed on her face. She waded back to her kit, fetched her dagger from its sheath. Then carefully sitting in the shallows took the dagger with its razor-sharp edge and shaved the offending hairs from her body. After inspecting her work, she returned the blade to its home and continued with her bath.
Her fingers again traced the folds of her sex, delving in and out as she cleaned her pussy, her fingers working the most sacred of her folds. It may have been the fact she was clean, feeling good about her improving situation or the embrace of the cool water but before long cleaning gave way to a heated self-discovery. Her thumb brushing her rapidly hardening clitoris. She worked the nub with just the right pressure, the electric sensations it produced made her breathing quicker and more labored and when she pushed her middlemost finger passed her folds and into her hot, tight, lubricated hole, her pussy spasmed. A quick but intense orgasm ripped through her. She moaned out in ecstasy and the echo reverberated around the cavern as she came. Cillandra gave a little smile at the sound of her own moan. The sensations of her orgasms had become more powerful as she grew older. She loved to discover herself as regularly as she could. She would imagine the charming dignitaries, the rough sailors of the port or even the cute peasant folk that crossed her path putting their fingers or more into her, but to date none had been so lucky.
Now clean, Cillandra took the opportunity to wash her tunic. Down on all fours she felt the throb of her aching sex as the wind blew over and around her wet body, her scent carried in the breeze, she smelt herself, sweet and morish. She took a moment to savor the smell. She continued cleaning her tunic, wrung it out and put it back over her body, its wet fabric clinging to her body and where it met her skin was slightly transparent, but with the heat she was now omitting it would dry in no time.
After gathering her gear up, Cillandra followed the small path toward the large boulder and was intrigued to find that it continued around and behind it to a large doorway cut into the rock and then vanished into the dark beyond. In the doorway adorned to the wall, lay an old torch. Taking her striking flint, she lit the torch, took it from its holder and ventured further forward. The path was anything than easy to follow as it changed direction on itself, sometimes split into multiple paths. Cillandra would follow one path only to find a dead end then retraced her steps, following the other path, before long she began to feel a little lost. A loud noise from around a corner that she had just passed caught her attention. Taking her dagger, she went to investigate, only to find a dead end. "Is that right" her mind raced. The stone unforgiving as she touched it. "I must have missed a turn?" her mind trying hard to remember.
All her senses were now heightened, and she could smell something other than the damp air. The smell was like that of the aromas that came from the gladiator pits. Strong in its scent of the men who reveled in being as strong and powerful as they could be. The smell that she secretly enjoyed. Her mother, the queen once said "it was the musk of man". She remembered for a moment the glazed expression on her mothers' face as she relived a memory deep within her mind.
She stepped back around the corner from where she had just come and was met by an enormous figure holding a large three-pronged trident and a thick corded rope.
