by Freya Garth
Goril’s mind turned to the old conundrum, and he thought again around the well-worn paths, but found no new destination. Ah well, he should count his blessings. He’d just had weeks with Doraya, and although some of that time had been very difficult and worrying, much of it had been highly enjoyable. By rights, he should have gone without a woman for a week or more, yet because of Doraya’s meld, he could look forward to a night with Mabbi. Really, he decided, life wasn’t at all bad.
* * * *
Doraya was glad to reach the dining cave. Fiami was hungry and so, therefore, was she. Goril was hungry as well, she realised, as she caught his eye. He put his hands together and pulled a face as if begging for food, which made her laugh. Dragon riders soon brought trays bearing quartered fowl and root vegetables roasted together, with big jugs of thick gravy, and Doraya’s mouth watered so hard at the savoury aromas that she had to swallow repeatedly. Luckily, it was only moments before she was seated in front of a large trencher of food, which she attacked with gusto.
Mabbi nudged her. ‘You’ve got more appetite these days. That’s good to see. Wine?’
She didn’t wait for an answer, but poured some ruby-red liquid into Doraya’s goblet.
When the sharp edge of Doraya’s appetite had been smoothed down and she was able to eat more slowly, she took a few moments to look at her surroundings. Goril was involved in animated discussion with Alda and some of the other riders. She wondered whether they were talking about her, then decided it was unlikely. They must have plenty of other things to talk about. The dining cave was as spacious and pleasant as she’d remembered, lit with the same globes which were everywhere inside the caves. The other women were such easy company. They were engrossed in a debate about the best way to cook tubers, and Doraya considered joining in but decided she’d rather take the time to sort out her thoughts. Then she realised with a shock that she was beginning to feel as if she belonged. Which was just as well, given that she was likely to be here for the rest of her life. It was an unusual feeling, although not at all unpleasant. In fact, quite the reverse. These women were so kind, so caring. As were the men, it seemed. She hoped that was true, and from everything she had experienced since her arrival at the dragon riders’ caves, it seemed likely that it was.
She would be glad, she thought, when she knew all the dragon riders. Although maybe getting to know them would be fun. Were any of them better looking than Goril? She scanned the cave critically. Some could be thought so, if someone felt strongly about, say, a swarthy complexion or a barrel chest. Although most of the dragon riders were good looking in one way or another, she decided that she preferred Goril’s lean and muscular frame, and his chiselled, angular face framed by a mane of golden hair.
Most people had finished eating, and riders were beginning to clear away the empty trays and trenchers. The discussion between Alda, Goril, and the others seemed to have been settled. Ropana was claimed by a rider, then one of the other women.
Mabbi touched Doraya’s arm to attract her attention. ‘I’m going with Goril tonight,’ she said.
Doraya felt a moment’s envy, although she wasn’t sure of whom. Then she felt silly. After all, she knew full well that Goril would be with each of the women at times, just as she would be with each of the men. Wasn’t she looking forward to that? She was nervous, yes, but it was also an exciting challenge. When she thought about it, she felt glad that her girlfriend and her lover could find enjoyment together.
‘They decided I should to find out how it affects you,’ Mabbi went on. ‘Alda will take care of you. He’s very kind.’
‘Thanks for telling me,’ Doraya said.
‘The way things are with you and Fiami’—Mabbi gave a wry grin—‘I reckon you’d have worked it out quite quickly.’
‘I probably wouldn’t have known it was you, though,’ Doraya said. ‘And I’m glad it will be.’
Mabbi gave Doraya a quick, affectionate hug as Alda reached their table.
‘Doraya,’ he said, in his rich deep voice, ‘I believe I am to have the pleasure of your company tonight.’
He held out his hand, and she took it and rose from her seat to accompany him. He led her through the dining cave and the tunnels to his bedcave. It was very similar to Goril’s, with a comfortable canopied bed and two chairs either side of a blazing fire. A small table stood to one side bearing two jugs and two goblets.
‘Sit down, my dear,’ he said. ‘I can offer you wine or water. I shall have wine. I find, with age, that it intoxicates me less and soothes me more.’
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, feeling at ease with this kindly old man.
‘I’d like water, please,’ she said. ‘I had some wine with dinner, and I think I’ve had enough.’
Alda looked pleased. He poured her a goblet of water and handed it to her with a courtly gesture before pouring wine for himself. Sitting down took him a few moments, and then he stretched his legs out by the fire and sighed with relief.
‘You know, when I was a younger man, I would have told you I couldn’t live without women, without intimate relationships.’ He looked at Doraya with penetrating blue eyes. ‘Actually, what I miss most is flight. My dragon feels her age as much as I do, and her wings are as creaky as my legs. It’s no longer safe for us to travel, so we stay here, warm and well cared for, which makes us lucky. Yet I’d love one more flight with her. She could fly so far without tiring, soar higher than anyone else. She is a queen among dragons.’
He gazed back down the years, and Doraya sat quietly, not wanting to disturb his memories. Then he shook himself and frowned.
‘Here I am, rambling like an old idiot, while I should be hearing from you.’ His kindly smile was back. ‘Can you manage your meld now?’
‘Mostly. I think.’ Doraya wasn’t sure how to say what was in her mind, so she felt her way. ‘I might know more after tonight.’
‘Ah, yes. Goril and Mabbi.’
So he knew what she was thinking. His face was full of reassuring sympathy.
‘Be sure to tell me,’ he went on, ‘as soon as you feel any discomfort or anything unusual. I’m sorry it happened to you, but we had no way of knowing it might. It makes no difference to how highly we value you.’
‘Because you have so few women,’ Doraya said.
‘No, no, child.’ Alda wagged a finger at her. ‘Because you are beautiful and spirited and brave.’
She opened her mouth to argue, then looked at his stern face, shut it again, and inclined her head to acknowledge the compliment. That earned her another smile.
‘But,’ she said, ‘you do need more women.’
‘That’s true.’
‘I don’t understand, sir—’
‘My name is Alda.’
‘Alda, then. The life here is so good. I had no idea. All I’d heard were stories about dragons eating women, and women being enslaved, and so on. I’m sure many women would love to come here if they knew what it was really like. Why can’t you tell people the truth?’
‘That is a good question.’ He steepled his fingers. ‘It has a long answer. Are you happy to listen?’
She nodded.
He explained the history of the dragon riders, how they had been glamorous fighters, protecting the borders of the kingdoms, adored and desired by many women. Peace had been obtained between the kingdoms, and the dragon riders’s role had changed. Women had still been very attracted to the dragon riders, but other men had come to resent that and had eventually extracted a promise from the dragon riders that they would not make any effort, through word or action, to catch the fancy of a woman. If a woman approached a dragon rider, without enticement, that would be acceptable. The dragon riders agreed to make this promise because they could not imagine a situation where too few women would approach them. There had never been such a time. Now, generations later, with their role reduced to a little message-carrying, they were in exactly that situation and could see no way out.
Alda’s expression wa
s grave as he finished speaking.
Doraya didn’t think it was a good time to tell him about the tingling which had begun in her most sensitive parts as he’d spoken of the dragon riders’ promise. Anyway, although he’d been so kind, she felt shy about sharing something so intimate with him. She decided to try to control herself.
‘I can see you’re in a difficult position,’ she said. ‘Can’t you talk to people, explain how things have changed?’
‘We’ve tried,’ Alda said. ‘Believe me, we’ve tried everything we can think of. There’s nothing in it for them.’
‘There would be for the women.’
‘But we can’t speak to the women.’ Frustration rang through his voice. ‘That’s the whole problem.’
Doraya hesitated before voicing the idea which had been growing in her mind over recent days. ‘I could.’
Alda looked at her with hope dawning in his eyes. ‘You will have to travel with Goril.’
‘Either that or we’ll both have to stay here for ever.’
He shook his head. ‘Nobody would condemn Goril and Fiami to that. It would be a waste of their lives.’
Doraya wriggled in her seat. She wanted to ask Alda more about how she might be able to help the riders, but she desperately needed to suppress the sensations from her pussy, which now felt as if it was burning.
Chapter Four
‘Are you having a little difficulty there?’ Alda asked her kindly.
‘I need—I can’t—’ She could no longer form sentences.
‘Do whatever will help you most,’ Alda said.
She didn’t need telling twice, nor could she move away from his gaze. She simply hauled up the skirt of her dress, parted her legs and jammed her hand into her sopping wet cunt, pressing her wrist onto her throbbing clit as she frigged herself as hard as she could.
‘Aaaaaaaahhhh!’
The relief of being able to acknowledge and respond to her arousal was immense. She thrust herself onto her hand over and over again, vaguely aware of Alda sitting calmly across from her with an appreciative smile on his face, no longer caring about exhibiting her need in front of him. Her peak was close now, and she moaned, spreading her legs wide as if to receive a lover, Fiami’s encouragement suffusing her mind as delight suffused her body and she came, peaking three times in quick succession as if she was intimately linked with Goril.
As she returned to her senses and realised what she’d just done and where, she felt the inevitable warmth rising from her chest to her face.
‘How beautiful you are,’ Alda said softly. ‘I had heard about your blush, and I am glad of the chance to see it for myself.’
He’d seen rather more than that, she thought, but if he wasn’t going to mention it, neither was she. Reaching for her goblet of water, she composed herself, hoping that Goril was satisfied and she could resume her discussion with Alda, who obviously felt the same, as he said, ‘You are going to have to travel with Goril. The question is how to manage it.’
‘What does he do?’
‘Conveys messages between the kingdoms.’
‘That doesn’t really need two people.’
Alda nodded agreement. ‘Yet there may be a way for you to develop a role. It will be important for you to get to know the people you meet, to find out what matters to them. Then you and Goril can exchange your impressions and perceptions. That in itself may generate ideas.’
‘It sounds a bit vague,’ Doraya said.
‘Probably because it is.’ Alda’s eyes twinkled. ‘To some extent, my dear, your role will be what you make it. Much like it is here.’
It hadn’t occurred to Doraya that she had a part to play in defining her role with the dragon riders. She felt as if she’d been shoved from one thing to another, mostly outside her own control. The women, the men, the meld, the assessment. Although, of course, it had been her own action which brought her here in the first place. Maybe now it was time to use a little more initiative.
‘Saban mentioned,’ Doraya said, ‘that you might like some massage for your back.’
‘That would be most welcome,’ Alda said. He rose stiffly from his chair, with the aid of his stick, and moved to the bed. She helped him undress, then carefully kneaded his back, finding knots of tension and pressing them away with determined fingers.
Her pussy began to tingle again, then burn.
‘I’m sorry—’ she began.
‘Do what you need to do,’ Alda said. ‘We’ve got all night.’
Doraya frigged herself to orgasm, more slowly this time, then finished Alda’s massage.
‘If you could throw a couple of logs on the fire,’ he murmured, ‘and lie down with me.’
She did as he asked and slid beneath the sheet. He reached for her hand and held it.
‘I think,’ he said quietly, ‘you will need to stay in the women’s caves when Goril is with another woman. Unless, or until, you are able to develop more control.’
Doraya felt downcast, as if she’d been found wanting.
Alda must have realised, because he went on, ‘This is not a criticism of you, but I think the mismatch between your urges and a rider’s might be difficult for some of our men to handle.’ He turned his head to look at her across the pillows. ‘Although when you have got to know the men, you may want to try it with one or two of them. That shall be your choice.’
It seemed there were to be a lot of choices and judgements in Doraya’s near future. This felt so different from her life as a kitchen wench in King Panac’s castle, where she had to do what she was told from morning to night and try to stay out of trouble. She hoped she could rise to the challenges of her new life.
‘I guess this is a big change for you,’ Alda said.
She was beginning to wonder whether he could read minds.
‘If anything troubles you,’ he went on, ‘and you want advice, please feel free to come to me.’
On impulse, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. ‘Thank you.’
His eyes twinkled again. ‘Doraya, I think you will be very good for us.’
If only she could relax and rest with him now, but there was no chance of that, as the tingling had started once more. Perhaps Alda was right about her staying in the women’s caves when Goril was with another woman. The sensations weren’t unpleasant. She could manage by herself, and Alda was so kind and accepting that it wasn’t embarrassing with him, but being with another man could be very difficult.
‘Alda, guess what.’ She rolled her eyes, making him chuckle.
‘It’s quite fun for me to observe,’ he said, ‘even though I have no wish to join in. Make yourself at home, young lady. This is your home now.’
Doraya felt a rush of gratitude almost as great as her lust. If she could ever do anything to help Alda, she decided, she would.
When she had climaxed again, she put her hand back in his, and they drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, Doraya woke first. She lay in the comfortable bed, luxuriating in the warmth and quiet, turning the events of the previous day over in her mind. Today she would try to use her initiative more. Tonight, presumably, she would be with a new rider. She wondered who it would be, but her speculation was unrewarding, as she only knew a few of the riders by name. When she had the chance, she would talk to Goril about Alda’s suggestions for their travels together.
Dear Alda. He must be sleeping very soundly. His breathing was so quiet. She held her own breath to listen, but couldn’t hear, as he was lying on his side facing away from her, so she leaned over to touch his shoulder, but there was no response. Then she heard keening, a beautiful, sad, alien sound with harmonics that squeezed her throat and brought tears to her eyes, and simultaneously felt a great wave of sadness from Fiami.
Surely that would wake Alda.
He was so still.
Dread began to gather in Doraya’s stomach as a heavy weight of dismay and anxiety. Before she could think what to do, Saban burst into the room and ran to kn
eel at Alda’s side.
‘Oh, my dear, my dear.’ She dropped her forehead to his shoulder, and then Doraya knew for sure that he was dead.
Saban’s shoulders heaved in stark contrast to the unmoving body of Alda.
Doraya slid out of the bed as unobtrusively as she could, walked around to Saban, and stroked the older woman’s hair.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said quietly.
Saban raised a tear-stained face and took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘It’s not your fault.’
Doraya felt humbled by the effort Saban was making to control her emotions.
‘Alda and I,’ Saban went on, ‘had said everything we needed to say. We both knew this moment was near. It’s just so… final.’
She reached for Doraya’s hand, and they gazed at Alda’s peaceful face, eyes closed, head resting on his pillow, as if he was still just sleeping.
The keening grew, not louder, but more intense.
‘It’s the dragons,’ Saban explained. ‘Alda’s dragon has also died, and they grieve.’
‘I can feel it from Fiami.’ Doraya placed a hand on her solar plexus where a huge emptiness had settled.
Then, other dragon riders began to arrive, and the women. Everyone wanted to say their good-byes to Alda, and Doraya stood by the wall, feeling awkward and out of place. When Goril came into the bedcave, her heart rose and she took a step forward to greet him, but he didn’t even see her and sought out Saban’s arms for comfort. Tears were streaming down his face. Doraya stepped back again, automatically taking up her invisible servant’s stance from her castle days. People hugged each other as they wept through their initial grief and shock. There hadn’t been a moment for Doraya to sort out her own feelings. Maybe she could slip away, go back to the women’s caves, get some time to herself.
Little by little, she sidled out of Alda’s bedcave, feeling her own first pang of loss. While she had only known Alda for a short time, she had become very fond of him. He had said so many things to her last night, and she tried to remember them all as she made her way through the tunnels which resounded with the dragons’ keening, every voice now taking part from the shrillest treble to the deepest bass. It was evident that the dragons were taking comfort in their harmonising as the humans took comfort in their hugs.
