Fledgling Demigod

7

Galen felt his head impact the street below then something broke loose and he continued to fall. The impact on the street caused his body to turn slightly and he landed with a loud thud on his back in something cold, wet, and mushy. He lay still, wondering if he was dead and transported home. Maybe he was dead and in hell. The stench certainly pointed in that direction. "Well there's a sight you don't see every day," a raspy voice said and chuckled. Galen opened his eyes and looked up. He vaguely made out the shape of the hole he'd made in the roof of wherever he landed, and the stars beyond.

Groaning, he slowly got to his feet. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Currently?" the raspy voice asked and Galen turned in the direction of the voice to see a filthy man covered head to toe in mud. Or was that shit? "You're on my dinner," the man said.

Galen sighed in defeat. "Sorry about that," Galen said. "I'll make sure you get a replacement."

"You will, will you?" the man said then cackled. "And who might you be that you can give a lowly prisoner like me a new meal of slop and slime?"

"LORD GALEN!?" Lucinda yelled from somewhere down the hall.

"Here," he said with a groan and looked up at the man. "She got here quick."

"Lord Galen, eh?" the man said. "Things sure have changed, then. Where is Lord Beyron?"

"Dead," Galen said as he stuggled to his feet.

"Ah," the man said. "Pity. He was a good man."

"Thank the gods you're alright," Lucinda said, arriving at the cell door and jiggling a ring of keys.

"What's your name?" Galen asked the man.

"Beyron," the man said, grinning.

In moments the door was unlocked and Galen was wrapped up in an armored embrace. Lucinda ushered him into the hallway as Galen said, "I crushed his food."

"He'll be fine," Lucinda said as she locked the door behind her. "You're lucky you didn't crush your skull. What in the gods' name were you thinking!?"

"He needs a replacement meal," Galen said, ignoring her question.

"Prisoners don't get extra meals," Lucinda corrected him.

"Well, they do now," Galen said, looking pointedly at her. "I'll not have someone starving because of me. Make it happen."

"Well, finally some emotion other than apathy," she said, then sighed. "Fine, I'll make it happen."

"Get him a new cell as well," Galen ordered. "A clean cell. That one's full of shit."

Lucinda looked at him as if he had a third head. Shaking her head she nodded. "Fine, fine. Let's just get you back upstairs and cleaned up," she said.

"I can't die, Lucy," he said as fresh tears made tracks down his face.

"I'm glad you can't," she said.

"But I want to," he said. "I want to go home."

She stopped and gaped at him. "You're a right fucking idiot, do you know that!?" she fumed.

"I've heard it a time or two," he said, sniffling.

"You want to die?" she asked. "Do you? What about the rest of us that have come to care for you? What are we to do if you die? Huh? This decree that you imposed has given us hope for the first time in all of our lives!" She was pissed at him and her finger poked his chest. "What are we to do if you die? Those of us women that have already outed ourselves will either be immediately transported to the emperor's harem, marry some dolt that's willing to take us, or kill ourselves to keep from being subjected to the emperor's tortures. And if you think that's anything less than what Jasper's victims had to endure then you're a fucking imbecile!"

Galen looked at her, stunned.

"You were thrust into this world against your will," she said. "I get that. I get that you feel like it's not your problem that the patriarchy is a right piece of shit that kills people without regard to those left behind. I get that you don't think you should care. But I know that you do care, whether you want to admit it to yourself or not, and that's what I love about you. You care that the people of this world be treated decently, fairly," she pointed to the cell behind her that he'd just left. "and that is proof if nothing else is." Still fuming, she screamed in frustration and stormed off.

"Heeheehee," Beyron laughed. "Right fucked up, didn't ya?"

"Guess so," Galen said. "I'll see you get what I promised, Beyron. You have my word."

"Sure, sure," he said. "Just make sure you nestle yourself between that ones legs as soon as possible." He chuckled. "Any woman brave enough to stand up to nobility like that is marriage material."

Galen chuckled dryly. "You might be right," he said. "You might be right. What are you in for anyway?"

"Theft," the man said and cackled again.

"Oh?" Galen replied. "What'd you steal?"

"Nothing," the prisoner said, smiling again.

"They never do," Galen said, chuckling. Shaking his head, he said, "Do you have family? Someone that visits you?"

The man visibly sobered. "I wouldn't want them to visit me in here," he said. "But, yes. I have a wife and daughter. If they're still alive, that is."

"How long have you been in here?" Galen asked.

"Two years, my lord," Beyron said and sighed. "All because of a misunderstanding." He shook his head in regret, then looked up at Galen and started laughing maniacally again.

Walking away, Galen heard the man continuing to laugh at his back. He suddenly stopped. "Did she just say she loved me?"

"Oh-hohohooooo, she did now, didn't she?" The man cackled.

Upstairs, Galen walked back into his room to see a still fuming Lucinda standing beside his bedroom door. Her arms were crossed and she looked at him with a pointed expression. Her armor was missing but she still wore her uniform.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, go on," she said. "Get those filthy clothes off of you."

Galen rolled his eyes. "If you think I won't because you're standing there, then you're mistaken."

She blushed but hid it with anger. "So be it," she said. "But I'm not letting you out of my sight until I'm sure you're not going to try anything stupid like that ever again!"

"Okay," he said and started stripping. "Is the bath drawn up?"

"The maids are working on it now," she said, turning around.

"So much for not letting me out of your sight," he said, slightly mocking.

Her back stiffened. "This is different," she said. "I know you're right there."

"So," he said. "You gonna watch me get naked, take a bath, sleep, masturbate, all that?"

"If I have to," she said, and her ears betrayed that she was blushing to her roots.

"Fine," he huffed and walked past her and out the door to the bath room across the hall. The maids shrieked in surprise and scattered as he walked in the door and stepped in the tub. It was only part way full but rather than call for the maids, he called for Lucinda. "Get in here and finish filling the tub," he ordered.

"M-my lord?" she asked as she peeked her head in the door. Verifying that he was submerged and his nudity obscured, she stepped just inside.

"You're going to keep an eye on me so I don't try and kill myself, right?" he asked. "Well, what better way to do that than to attend my every whim. Fill the tub."

"Y-yes, my lord," she said and moved to comply.

Galen was visibly upset. He didn't mean to take it out on Lucinda but he couldn't help it. Not only did he want to die and couldn't, but he also couldn't get the images of his dead and dying wives out of his mind. On top of all of that, he kept reliving the memories of killing all those people. Closing his eyes he visibly winced as he heard the man's head from the clearing in the woods pop from his shoulders. He heard the squelch of the next dying man's body being literally ripped in half. He heard the blood and guts rain down on the ground like a sizzling firecracker.

Lucinda must have had help because in no time at all the tub was full. "That's enough," he ordered and the room went still. "Now, wash me."

He sat there for a moment wondering if she'd comply when he heard a shuffling of feet. She approached from behind and taking a sponge, she dipped it in the water and began wetting his body. She had her eyes closed the entire time but she snuck a peek every so often. When his body was clean, he stood up. "All of me," he ordered gruffly.

Her eyes popped open wide and she gulped. Taking the soap in a shaking hand, she rubbed it liberally on his cock and balls. His body responding, his cock started to harden. Slowly it rose as she rubbed it down with the sponge, never taking her eyes off of it. In fact, her eyes seemed to get bigger and bigger as his cock grew. When he was satisfied that she was done, he sat back down in the tub. "Now," he ordered. "Get undressed and get in with me."

"My lord!" Lucinda exclaimed. "That's not... I mean..." she spluttered.

He replied, somewhat curtly, "So it's okay for you to see me naked but I can't see you?"

"It's improper, Lord Galen," she replied meekly.

"I'll tell you what's improper," Galen said, standing up and facing her. "It's improper that I can't get the images of the dead out of my head. It's improper that I can't stop thinking about the people I killed, no matter if they deserved it or not. It's improper that women have to hide who they are just to gain a lick of personal gratification."

Tears were streaming down his face as he continued. "It's improper that I can't, fucking, die! Do you have any idea of what that's like?" he asked fuming. She was staring at him wide-eyed and fearful. He didn't give her an opportunity to answer. "It's fucking crazy, is what it is, but I can't seem to kill myself no matter what I try. I've tried just about everything I could think of over the last few days and nothing worked. I tried drowning myself in this very tub but the water went cold before I gave up."

There were tears streaming down her face now, too. "I tried slitting my wrists and cutting my throat but no blade I tried with managed to make even the smallest of cuts. It just glided off my skin like steel on granite. I tried hanging myself but that just had the same effect as drowning. The only thing I tried that even came close to working was when I choked myself out." He laughed as if the thought was absurd. "But, of course, once I fell unconscious my hand relaxed and I started breathing again. Jumping off of that landing was a last ditch effort to make my attempt a reality but wonder of wonders, I happen to land in the only part of the street weak enough to send me falling through it and into a cell filled with shit and piss and ruining some poor bastard's dinner!"

He stood there for a moment breathing with effort in his anger and with tears falling down his face. Finally, he said, "It's improper that I can't get the image out of my mind of Miranda's lifeless eyes staring up at me, through me, as if she were laying bare my soul before my maker. That's improper. So get your fucking clothes off and let me wash you for a change or get the fuck out."

She stood there staring at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, she started undressing. Three blushing maids tentatively moved in to help and before long, she was standing before him in nothing but her skin.

She was blushing profusely but Galen didn't notice. What he did notice was her perfectly sculpted body; the shape of her small round breasts and hard nipples; the way her torso tapered down to her waist then flared out at her muscular hips; the way her thighs rippled when she walked; the way her pussy seemed to glisten through her short, curly pubic hair.

Stepping into the tub she immediately sank down opposite him and covered her breasts with one arm across her chest. He motioned for her to turn around and she obeyed. He reached out and she flinched when his hands grabbed onto her hips and pulled her back into his chest. She blushed further when his still hard cock throbbed against her lower back, but she didn't try to pull away. She had her knees up to her chest with her arms around them, holding them in place. He took the sponge she'd used on him and dipped it into the water. Pulling it back out, he moved it over her shoulders and back, letting the water cascade over her perfect skin.

Next, he took the soap and rubbed it over her body. She let out a soft moan when his hands rubbed the soap into her shoulders and he squeezed, rubbing at the taught muscles, coaxing them to relax. She allowed her hands to fall from her chest into the water and placed them gently on his thighs as her knees separated and rested on his legs. Galen worked his way down her back with his soapy hands, pushing, probing, and kneading the knots in her muscles. When his hands moved back up to her shoulders she closed her eyes and instinctively relaxed against him.

She started rubbing on his thighs as his hands moved to the front of her chest. Her head fell back onto his left shoulder as his hands cupped the swell of her small breasts, working at the muscles underneath. She arched her back against his hands as his fingers caressed her breasts and rubbed at the rock-hard nipples. She moaned loudly as he lightly pinched both nipples. "Mmmm, my lord," she moaned.

"Do you object?" he whispered into her ear as his hands, never leaving the surface of her skin, dipped below the water.

Her breathing quickened as his hands rubbed the hard muscles of her abdomen. She moaned again and arched her back, thrusting her hips forward as his fingers grazed across the soft flesh of her lower lips and trailed down her inner thighs, moving in small circles. "MMMmm, no, my lord!" she cried softly. "Though I should. By the gods I should."

His palms rested against the skin of her inner thighs and started moving slowly inward. He paused with his index fingers resting at the cleft between her thighs and her pussy. His thumbs rested along the top of her lower lips. "Perhaps I should stop, then," he said seriously, though he made no move to remove his hands from her most intimate areas.

"Perhaps," she breathed in agreement as her head turned and she placed small kisses on his jawline. "Will you, though?"

"Only if you ask me to," he said and his thumbs started slowly working up and down her lower lips. She moaned again and her hips started to rock back and forth with his movements. His hands moved slowly inward and his fingers entwined with the coarse, curly pubic hair, tugging gently.

"Ohhhh, my lord," she moaned and nibbled on his ear.

He chuckled softly and she gasped into his ear as he dipped a single finger between her folds and traced it from the bottom to the top of her inner valley. Her hands gripped his thighs as the tip of his finger circled around the top of her clit and moved back down. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked as he turned his head so his lips were mere millimeters from hers.

Her eyes opened wide and she gasped again as the tip of his finger gently entered her womanhood. She looked at him as his lips gingerly brushed against hers. "Ohh. Mmmm," she moaned into his lips. "By all that is good and holy, my lord, I beg of you, please do not stop."

He kissed her and as his hands continued to explore her womanhood, his tongue began to explore her mouth. He traced a finger back up the valley of her pussy and slowly, gently, began to trace small circles around and on her clit. Her body began to respond in force, her hips pushing against him as they rocked back and forth. The part of her body above the water developed a light sheen of sweat mixed with the soap still on her. Galen could feel her body's contractions slowly increase as her orgasm built.

The mistake he made was closing his eyes. If he'd just left them open he could have brought his beautiful guard woman to climax. As it was, as soon as his eyes closed he saw Miranda. It was her moans he heard. It was Matilda's impending orgasm he felt. It was Elle's body he held. He suddenly went stone still.

Lucinda was just about out of her mind on the cusp of her orgasm when Galen stopped. He pulled his hands away and choked back a sob as he stood up and without a word stepped out of the tub and walked out of the room, water dripping on the floor from his wet body. Slamming the door to his room behind him, cutting himself off from the world, he began to cry deep, wracking sobs. His wails were loud and mournful as he fell onto his bed and curled up into a ball. The last thing he thought about before falling into unconsciousness was Elle's pleading face.

~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~

"Baby," Elle sing-songed.

"Mmm," Galen moaned sleepily.

"It's time to wake up, baby," Elle said, her fingers brushing lightly on his cheek.

Galen sighed deeply in contentment. He loved the feel of Ellie's fingers on his cheek. "Mmmm, five more minutes," he said and smiled as she giggled.

"Not today, baby," she said. "You're going to be late."

Galen cracked open a sleepy eye and looked at his supermodel wife. "For what?" he asked with a sleepy mile.

"You don't want to disappoint the dragons, do you?" she asked.

"Dragons?" he asked as he opened the other eye, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Mmhmm," she answered. "They're on their way right now."

He looked up to see a tier and beam wood ceiling, stone walls, and a mismatched brick fireplace. Realizing where he was he bolted upright, coming fully awake. "Elle," he said in amazement. "Is that really you?"

She smiled mournfully at him. "I'm sorry, baby. I really am," she said. "But no."

"Then," he said and paused. A fresh tear threatened to fall down his face as he stifled a sob. Clearing his throat he said. "Then who are you?"

She smiled warmly at him. "I'm your goddess, Galen," she said. "I'm sorry but I thought it would help you if I appeared as Ellie May."

His mouth turned down in a deep frown. "Well, it doesn't," he scowled.

"How about this?" she asked. Her form shimmered and as she came back into focus, she was a spitting image of Miranda.

"NO!" he said quickly and had to close his eyes to keep it together. "Please, anybody but anyone I've recently lost."

"Okay," she said. "Try this."

When he opened his eyes the beautiful face of Lucinda was staring back at him with her arms crossed over her naked breasts and an eyebrow raised in a silent, angry question. He saw that she was completely naked and he couldn't help but let his eyes wander downward to her beautiful, red bush of pubic hair. One of her hands lowered and with her fingers she motioned upward. Sheepishly he looked up at her and blushed slightly. He replayed the previous night's events in his mind and sighed. "I suppose I deserved that," he said.

"You're damn right you do," Lucinda's angry voice shot back at him. "That was a fucked up thing to do to that poor girl."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was angry and one thing kind of led to another and... yeah. That was fucked up."

"Don't apologize to me," his goddess said. "Luckily for you that poor girl still loves you. Though I can't for the life of me see why."

Changing the subject, Galen said, "Can't you just, I don't know, look like yourself?"

She scoffed at him. "If I had a body of my own I could," she said. "As it stands, I'm barely strong enough to keep your dumbass alive. All my power has been going toward that so you'll excuse me if I haven't had the time to develop an image I approve of for myself."

"Yep," Galen said. "Suppose I deserved that as well."

"What you deserve," she shot back, but stopped and raised her hands in a surrendering gesture. Sighing in frustration she continued. "This is pointless. I'll fill you in as best I can on everything later. Right now you need to get your ass up and get dressed. I've already laid out the clothes you'll need today."

"You said something about dragons?" he asked.

She tossed a sealed, rolled up parchment. He recognized the wax dragon seal. "I'll forgive you forgetting about that in light of recent events," she said. "Hurry up and read it, then get dressed."