Fledgling Demigod Ch 02

2

Galen whistled in appreciation as the castle came into view. It wasn't as extravagant as he expected but it was still really cool to see. It was a simple castle with four walls and a tower at each corner. It even had a moat! "What sort of creature do you have in the moat?" Galen asked, excited as a school boy.

"Crocodilian," Miranda answered. "They don't have castles where you're from?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied. "But they're more old relics than common dwellings. We all live in houses now."

"And your nobles?" she asked. "They live in houses as well?"

"Well, no," Galen said. "The part of the world I'm from doesn't have nobles. We have elected officials to govern us."

"Hmm," she said. "Sounds barbaric."

"Better than being governed by one man who has no accountability for his actions," he replied. "Sure, it's not perfect, but what society is?"

"There is that," she agreed then stopped in her tracks. They were halfway across the field from the castle when Galen saw a small entourage approaching the castle gates. "No no no no, it's too soon!" she said almost in a whine.

"What's too soon?" he asked. "Who are they?"

"Emissaries from the Emperor," she answered. "Come to take me to be part of his harem."

"What!?" Galen almost shouted and she shushed him.

"Quiet!" she forcibly whispered as they hunkered down in the tall grass. The fading light of the setting sun helped them to remain unseen from the almost quarter mile distance between them and the castle gates. It also helped that they were coming up from behind and at and angle to the approaching emissaries. She looked up into his eyes. "I need a favor from you, Galen," she said, determined.

"Uh, what favor?" he asked.

"You need information on this world," she said. "I will give it to you if you marry me."

"What!?" he said, startled.

"Right now," she said, groping at his arms.

"What!?" he said again. "What...why?"

"Because if you don't, you'll never succeed in your quest," she said, trying to convince him.

"Yeah, but, I'm already married!" he protested. Was this woman nuts? She didn't act like she was crazy but the notion that she'd want to marry a man she just met like this out of the blue was outlandish even in Disney level proportions.

"Not in this world, you're not," she objected. "Please, Galen, I know it's a lot to ask..."

"You're damn right it's a lot to ask," he said. "Marriage is a sacred ritual between a man and a woman."

"You mean a man and women," she corrected.

"Huh?" he said, shaking his head. "Women? As in the plural form?"

"So, you are educated," she said and popped her head above the grass to look in the direction of the castle. "Blast, they heard us. Listen, if I had another course of action I would certainly take it but this is the only course of action available to me. Young women of this world that are not married by adulthood are forcibly taken from their homes and made to serve the emperor by giving him children. I want more than anything for that not to happen."

"Fuck," Galen said. "Are you serious?"

"Yes!" she said in hushed tones. "Now, please, do you agree?"

"I can't!" he said. "I'm already married and my wife will kill me if she finds out I've married another woman in this world!"

"What if I told you I will devote all my study and resources to making the spell work to take you home?" she asked with pleading eyes.

"I heard it coming from this direction, my lord!" they heard a man's voice say from a short distance away.

"Ugh!" Galen said. "Fine. What do I have to do? Give you a ring or something?"

"Lay with me," she answered and started to hike her robes and dress up.

"What!? Here!? NOW!?" he protested incredulously.

"They will want proof of consummation," she said hurriedly.

"That's it?" Galen said, and she nodded. "Just proof of consummation, nothing else?"

"Yes," she hissed. "Now hurry!"

"And they'll only test you for this proof?" Galen asked, an idea forming. "Not me?"

"Yes!" she answered. "Please!? They're getting closer!"

Galen heard the loud voices getting closer and made his decision. "We don't have to...er...lay together. You're a virgin, right?" he asked.

"I've never lain with a man, if that's what you're asking," she said, then yelped slightly as he darted his hands toward her legs. "What are you doing? Take off your trousers!"

"Trust me, Miranda," he said with an easy smile. She looked at him skeptically but did nothing when his hands trailed up the supple flesh of her legs. They found the innermost parts of her thighs and she winced slightly as his hands expertly rubbed across her sex. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "Just...uh...do...whatever it is you're going to do."

"Yes, milady," he said, grinning. He began rubbing her womanhood softly and twirled his fingers through her ample pubic hair, tugging on it gently. She let out an involuntary whimper as the middle finger of his right hand found her clit and softly began circling it.

"What...mmmm...are you...ohhh...doing?" she asked in a breathy moan. He trailed his finger down to her opening and felt how wet she was. He was honestly surprised and paused for a moment. "Why did you stop?" she asked.

"Sorry," he said and kept going. "It's just that I just now realized you're not wearing any panties."

"What are pan-tees?" she asked confused as he gently inserted his finger into her opening and barely got past the first knuckle when he found what he was looking for.

"Undergarments," he said as he smiled up at her and poked tentatively at her hymen. "This might hurt a bit. Ready?"

"Yes," she nodded, biting her bottom lip in an adorable fashion, and couldn't keep the hitch out of her breath as he stuck a second, then a third finger into her opening.

"I'm going to punch through it to break it in three, two, one," he said then jammed his fingers into her canal. Her hymen broke immediately and she cried out. He grunted as well, but just to keep up with the illusion in case anyone heard. He pulled his fingers slowly out of her and just as a precaution put his hand in his trousers and rubbed some of the blood and her juices on his penis.

He abruptly stood, then, and held out his hand to her with a wide smile on his face. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes the men searching for them were only about a dozen feet away. "Are you alright, my love?" he asked as Miranda composed herself.

She took his offered hand and let him help her stand as she planted a wide, excellently masked post-coitus smile on her face. Oh, she was a devious one. "Oh, I couldn't be more happy!" she exclaimed as she melted into his embrace.

"Oy!" a man's voice called out to him. "You there! Where is the Lady Miran-"

The man's voice stopped abruptly when Miranda popped into view and embraced Galen. "Hmm," she hummed dreamily. "Yes?" she said to the man as she looked up into Galen's eyes.

"Er...milady," the man stammered. "I was sent...I mean...the emissary."

"Yes, the emissary," Miranda said, still smiling up at Galen. Then, she looked at the man with a pointed expression. "Please inform him that he no longer has to worry himself with such trivial matters as to my welfare. My husband will see to those duties from this moment on."

"Er, milady," the man started but Miranda cut him off.

"Now, if you don't mind," she said. "we would like to carry on with our honeymoon."

"Er...I mean...yes, milady," the man stammered as Galen and Miranda walked past him toward the castle.

Arriving at the gates hand-in-hand, they were immediately let through. They had talked on the way in hushed tones so as not to be overheard, Miranda telling him about the surrounding lands and cities so he could come up with a decent backstory when interrogated by the emissary. And interrogated he was.

The emissary was, for lack of a better term, a behemoth of a man three times the size of Galen in girth and a good head shorter. He had a bald pate, beady, scrutinous eyes, and a nose so long and pointy you could ski off of it. He barely fit into the chair provided for him in the throne room and had to have four men help him squeeze out of it when he was done. He was an unscrupulous interrogator, though.

Galen was asked in detail about his home of Prax on the southern coast. Miranda had instructed him to use that city as his home because it was the least known city in the region. Seemingly satisfied, the emissary had huffed annoyingly when he was done. Next, he ordered Miranda's handmaids to check her for proof of consummation.

"And where is the writ of marriage?" the emissary haughtily asked when her proof of consummation was verified.

"If you'll pardon, Lord Albrecht," Miranda said in perfect political candor. "My father had it in his personal lock box in his room, which is magically sealed. It will take some time for me to weave through the spell to retrieve it."

"Surely when he died all the magical bindings he had in place dissolved," Lord Albrecht drawled in protest.

"No, my Lord, unfortunately," Miranda countered. "He was able to bind these and tie them off so they weren't connected to him at his passing. I'm confident they remain in place."

"Very well," the fat man said. "I'll have my wizard see to it at once."

"Begging your pardon, my lord," Miranda smoothly interjected. "But I am most familiar with his magic. I fear it isn't safe to have anyone but myself work on undoing the bindings as it will meet with disastrous consequences if anyone else should make a mistake while making the attempt."

"All the more reason for my wizard to make the attempt," the emissary persisted. "I only have your best interests in mind, my lady."

[What a sniveling little weasel,] Galen thought.

"I appreciate the sentiment, my lord," Miranda continued to protest. "But I could not bear the thought of someone getting hurt in my home if I could displace the bindings myself without any undue stress. If you will remember, my lord, my father was teaching me his style of magic, and while I don't consider myself adept by any means, I am most qualified to undertake this task."

Lord Albrecht, having no further argument on the matter, gruffly assented. "Very well, my lady. I'll leave you to it. How long do you think it will take?"

"A day or two at most, my lord," Miranda said and smiled placatingly.

"I would appreciate you putting all your efforts on it, Miranda," the fat man said, haughtily dispensing with her title. "King Jasper is not a patient man of late."

"King Jasper?" Miranda asked, confused. "Were you not to take me to the Emperor?"

"The king petitioned his father on your behalf," the emissary explained. "You were to go to Jasper, instead of the Emperor. Now, I assume you also have a writ of nobility for Master Galen as well?"

"I'm not sure if father had one written up," Miranda answered. "But I'll have one written up and ready to be sent with you by the time I have the marriage writ in hand."

"Very well," Lord Albrecht said. His voice was gritting on Galen's nerves like nails on a chalkboard. It sounded like he had to force every word and he had to take a breath after every other word. "I'll be in my tent in the northern meadow when you are ready." His men helped him out of his chair and he waddled out of the throne room. Miranda had motioned to Galen, and they stood and bowed slightly as the man and his entourage left.

She motioned for Galen to follow her through the back of the throne room into a stately drawing room. She collapsed into him and sighed with relief. Pulling back from him she said, "I'm so glad I was able to convince him to let me work the magic on father's lock box."

"There isn't a magical lock box, is there?" Galen asked with a smile.

Her mischievous grin matched his. "Nope," she said. "Which is why I'm glad he allowed me to open it. Now, I can have a writ drawn up for marriage and nobility, sign father's name to them, and send them off for the king to sign."

"Won't they be able to tell the difference in your signatures?" Galen asked.

She waved his concern away. "Not in the slightest. I signed father's name to all of his official documents so the signature will be real."

"And it all falls into place," Galen said, smiling.

"Now all we have to do is pretend for a week, at best," she said. "They'll be gone after that and we can go about our lives as before."

"Well, you can," Galen said, frowning.

"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Besides, pretending to be married might be fun."

"Fun?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know," he explained. "You're talking to me like I'm an idiot and yelling at me for not taking out the garbage and I'm calling you a fat cow for not putting out." He grinned.

"FAT COW!" she exclaimed. "Well, I never."

"Kidding!" he said, holding his hands up in supplication.

"What is 'putting out'?" she asked.

"Oh," he said. "You know, giving up the goods. The old bump and grind." She looked at him like he had a third head. "A roll in the hay?" he asked, hopeful.

"OH!" she exclaimed. Then she blushed profusely. "Oh."

"Sorry," he apologized. "Ellie always said what I lacked in tact I made up for in humor." He sobered.

"You miss her," she said somberly.

"Miss barely begins to describe it," he answered and sighed.

They had climbed many stairs before Galen thought to ask where they were going, but before he could, Miranda pushed through a door and walked into the night air. The new moon gave way to millions, possibly even billions of stars that sparkled liked diamonds as they littered the night sky. Galen openly gawked at the beauty of it. "I come up here every new moon," she said. "It's so beautiful and peaceful. It reminds me how small we are compared to whatever trials assail us."

"Wow," Galen said as he continued to marvel it the sight. "The stars don't look like this on my world. Nor are there this many." He suddenly thought of something and craned his head to look around. He would pause slightly as he looked, then continue his search.

"What are you looking for?" Miranda asked, taking his hand. He didn't flinch, just casually cradled her hand in his.

"On my world we have astronomers that study the night sky," he explained. "The most famous of which was Galileo Galilei. He discovered our moon and other planets and moons of those planets around our world. He also deduced that the sun, not the earth, was the center of our universe and that all the planets revolved around it."

"That's already widely known and accepted here," Miranda said.

"There were other astronomers, however," he explained. "that discovered and studied fixed constellations in the stars. Andromeda, Corona Borealis, and Orion, to name a few. I'm looking for anything that would look familiar. Namely Orion's belt, the big dipper, and the little dipper." He sighed, not finding them.

"Not there?" she asked with a tentative squeeze to his hand.

"No," he said. "I had hoped to at least see something I might recognize. Then, I could try and triangulate where we were in relation to Earth."

"Earth is your planet? Your home?" she asked. When he nodded she said, "We call our planet, Terra."

Galen chuckled. "Which is just another name for earth," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him and he raised he free hand. "I'm not laughing at you," he said. "Just think it's a funny coincidence, is all."

She smiled at him then, and looked up to a dark patch of sky overhead. She pointed. "There," she said. "The new moon."

"Fascinating," he said. "The stars are so vast you can see the perfectly rounded shape of the void." After a brief pause he said, "It's a bit bigger than our moon. I wonder if Terra is a bigger planet than Earth?"

She just shrugged, not replying. They stood there for some time, hand in hand, just looking up at the stars. When she began to shiver slightly, he suggested they retire to bed.

For the next week, they spent most of their time together talking and getting to know each other. By the end of the week they began to relax and get comfortable in their forced intimacy. Bedtime became a game as they used whatever was available in their room along with grunts and moans to keep up the illusion of having sex. Galen had even remarked in a whisper one night how her moans and cries of pleasure were so real. She had balked at him that just because she'd never lain with a man doesn't mean she never pleasured herself. She was human, after all.

"So, wait," Galen said, scrunching up his face in confusion. "You masturbate?"

She blushed profusely but nodded. "I have needs just like any man," she blurted out. They were talking in normal tones after a particularly loud fake romp where they rattled the armoire, her vanity, and finally the bed, banging it so hard it rattled the stone walls. Lying against him with her hand resting on his chest, she said, "Before you came along and split me in two I could regularly be found pleasuring myself. It's hard to concentrate on my studies when my body wants to be touched."

"I just thought," he started to say, then corrected himself. "Where I'm from, back in times equal to where your world is now, sex was completely taboo. For men it was normal to visit a brothel or harlot, but for women, sex was reserved only for the purposes of procreation."

"How barbaric!" she cried. "It's a wonder the women of your world didn't revolt and take over the patriarchy out of sheer sexual frustration alone!"

"Women were repressed at that period of time," he explained. "Most that exhibited any sort of sexual desire were sent to asylums for mental correction. Some even had their...um...lady parts...removed to help curb the desire."

She gasped in horror. "No, they did not," she said as her hand came up to her mouth.

He nodded reluctantly. "The men of that time were cruel in their ignorance," he explained. When she looked about to explode in anger he said, "Look, that was hundreds of years ago on my world. Now, women embrace their sexuality."

"So they revolted finally?" she asked.

"Not in so many words," he explained. "More like endured long enough to change the ideals from within over time."

"Well," she said, and her voice took on a sultry tone as she straddled him. She was still wearing her small clothes and he could feel the heat of her through both of their layers of clothing. She bent down so her face was just inches from his. "I'll just have to teach you the ways the women of this world take advantage of their sexuality."

"Are...we still pretending?" he whispered as he swallowed a dry lump in his throat. Instead of answering, she pushed forward and kissed him. At the same time her hips began to undulate on his crotch and he could feel his cock stirring. She moaned softly as she pushed her tongue into his mouth and swirled it around, searching, probing, begging for his tongue to join hers.

He was stunned. He gripped the bed for support, whether physical or emotional he had yet to find out. His body began to betray him and his hips started moving in time with hers. His tongue moved and she took advantage of the movement, touching, caressing his tongue with hers. She tasted like the strawberries they'd had for dessert. His hand unconsciously wrapped around her waist as she deepened the kiss.

She broke the kiss to take a breath. She sat up slightly, her chest heaving. "Oh, Galen," she said in a breathy moan. "I want you so badly."

He strained, fighting with all of his might to regain control. He placed a hand on her chest directly between her breasts. She pushed against his hand, inviting, begging him to take her. Her eyes pleaded with him. "I..want you, too," he said then hesitated. Then, he turned his head away. "But I can't. I'm sorry."

She slumped. "I know," she said after a moment. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. But my body is craving release. It's been over a week and I'm finding it harder and harder to control myself. And you can't tell me you don't need one as well," she said as her pussy seemed to squeeze his hardened cock.