The Sighs of the Priestess Ch. 08

She sighed, "The trouble was that she liked to hurt me. At first, she would whip me, saying that I didn't lick and suck her well enough. Sometimes, she would whip me saying that I had done it too well and that now she was numb because of it."

She snorted quietly, "No one cared a fig that my lips were numb every day from doing something for an old sow with a shrill voice that no one else wanted to do for her. But after a while, I knew that she just liked to hurt me no matter what I did or didn't do. By that time, I was tired of my life anyway, and one day, I just refused to do anything for her anymore. I told her that I didn't care if she killed me. She whipped me as I knelt there on my knees with my head down. I only wished for a sharp blade and a little slack in my chains so that I might kill her. At last, she left me alone long enough for my back to heal and then she took me to the trader and handed me over as part payment on a younger girl."

"I felt sorry for the girl, but she is free now anyway. Sorn found me and bought me so that we could be together again and then he hunted the bitch who did this to me. He has not told me, but I know him. He must have whipped that one to death. That is harder to do than it sounds, Yanna, but Sorn is patient."

They gasped as they stepped into the cold water. "I did not need to wake up this badly," Besha grumbled. She looked at Yanna and together they looked at the waterfall.

"Well?" she asked her young friend, "Are we ready for this? I need to wash my hair. You may have to drag a frozen old woman out."

"Come on," Yanna smirked, "I have to wash my hair as well, and I have longer hair. It means that I will need to be under that longer than you. I also wear Illya's seed in a few places. I do not mind it, but it is a stiff reminder in my fur the next day so I will have to wash it out."

"Is he good for you?"

Yanna laughed, "He is a dream to love with. I only grumble about my fur, not my man."

It was cold. Absolutely, brutally, icy freezing cold as they stood there, but after a moment, they decided that it might go better if they helped each other with their hair so that they could get out sooner. They stood on the bank shivering.

"That was awful," Besha groaned, "We should have done that later in the day. I cannot hold still."

Yanna pulled her close and hugged her, "Well it is your luck to have a fur-covered friend. I am just as cold and wet, but if we hug each other, my fur will get us warmer quickly."

Besha nodded and held on, putting her head on Yanna's shoulder. "Thank you. We should have thought it out better and brought something to dry off a little with. I cannot go into the tent like this now. I will drip on Sorn and his poor heart will stop from the shock."

"Did it go well for you last night?" Yanna asked.

"Yes," her friend nodded with chattering teeth, "It was like it was so long ago. We are older now, but our love is still there and it even grows. I am very thankful."

"Besha," Yanna said softly, "I want to say to you that I am happy to have your friendship. I also want to say that you will never be old enough to be my mother. You would need to be thirty-five to have birthed me and I know that you are not that old."

"Ha," Besha snorted quietly, "I never knew that three years would make all the difference."

She smiled, "You have no reason to feel stupid. Sorn and I do not see either of you this way. We are happy to help you if we can. He told me that he was proud to be asked by Illya to teach him, and he said that he will make Illya a mighty fighter if he has the chance at the keep and if Illya keeps showing him that he has the heart as he does here. We both like you very much. The friendship that you show counts for much to a pair who have lived without friends all of our lives."

Yanna hugged Besha tighter for a second, "Thank you for that. Illya and I are lucky because we were given a few things to begin, but we sometimes do not know how to begin to make our lives together. We are different and he is brave to walk anywhere with me and hold my hand, but we still have little idea of how it will go. I think that is why we look to you so much."

She smiled, "I had a dream of you last night, though it was short. In my dream, you were my mother. I would have liked to have one like you for a mother. I did not appreciate what my mother did for me because I never knew what I had until after. Even so, she was not much fun. I know that you had nothing and a hard life, but in a better dream, I would love to be your daughter. I do not know why I think this way, but I like it."

Besha looked up, "I can see that you mean that. That is a nice thought, Yanna. I would have liked that too. I came with you yesterday as one who would not speak much, thinking that no one wanted to hear what I might have to say, but you make me laugh and smile and I almost think of you that way."

"Do you mean that? Even as I am?"

Besha nodded, "You are truly lovely, Yanna, and if I look, I can even see you as a girl. I would be proud to have a daughter like you, just as you are. But we cannot do that, so I think that I have a lovely grown --up young friend who begins to feel like my daughter to me. And I see the way that you try to learn from me. You can ask anything of me. If I can, I will help you. But I think that I see one thing in you where you shouldn't fear at all -- you are already a fine wife to Illya."

Yanna smiled at Besha and leaned down to nuzzle her neck for a moment. Besha flinched and pulled away laughing a little.

"Ah," Yanna grinned, "My friend is ticklish." Besha tried to pull away, but Yanna was very strong and held her only enough to nuzzle once more very briefly and then she left a quick kiss behind on the woman's cheek.

Besha smiled up a little curiously, "Why?"

She watched as Yanna looked at her shyly, "I hope I did nothing wrong, I just like you very much, and what you said made me happy. I am a cat, after all. You would fall over if I tried to rub myself against your legs, and what would happen if I tried to walk between them?"

They had trouble laughing quietly for a few moments after that. Besha looked at the feline face in front of her and moved her arms higher. "I like you too, Yanna. I have never known anyone like you, and I mean that other than the way that you look. Thank you for your friendship. It means much to someone like me." She kissed the side of Yanna's face quickly.

She turned and smiled, "Come, let's see about making some kind of morning meal, since we are up and shivering." They began to walk back together. Yanna looked down in surprise but smiled when Besha took her hand to hold. "Now I feel like a young girl again," she said, "I think that is the last time that I had a friend and I felt like this."

It wasn't long before they had a meal ready for the others and began to wake the late sleepers.

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Daggat and Smyrna got their gear on and left to ride to the farm where Smyrna had been born. Illya began his second set of lessons at the hands of Sorn. The two friends sat together by the fire and talked of many things.

Besha stood up and went to her tent for a moment. Coming back, she said, "I have been looking at your hair all the morning," she said, "and I can stand it no longer. It is long and lovely, but it needs a little care. Let's walk to the pool and I will comb it out for once, and I know that I will feel better for it. I have a spare comb for you and you will use it every day, Yanna. You should use what you were given."

Yanna was touched, but she was still curious. "Why must we go to the pool for that? Can't we just do that here?"

"We can," Besha laughed a little, "but I think that what Sorn must be teaching Illya will be hot and sweaty work. If I were him, I would want to stay a little close to the pool to cool off now and then. We might see more naked men if we stay there."

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Yanna and Besha sat together in the sunshine watching their men. Besha had worked a while at it, but now Yana's hair was untangled and it shone in the sun. She put a few thin braids in it and had Yanna stand in the water to see the result. By the time they got back to where they'd been sitting, their men came to the pool. The women sat and said little aside from some smiling whispered comments as they watched Sorn and Illya sit in the water for a few minutes discussing the lessons. Illya had many questions and Sorn answered them one after another.

Yanna snorted a little as the men left to begin again, "Illya says that he is simple."

"I hope you didn't believe him," Besha smiled, "He is very bright. Anyone can see this."

Yanna shook her head as she stretched out on her back in the warm sunshine, "Not for a moment."

They talked about life and anything that came to them and as sometimes happens, they began to speak of sex. Yanna looked over, "I want to ask about something. Do you know anything about ..."

Besha waited patiently, but Yanna lost her nerve and looked away feeling foolish. Besha looked down and moved some of Yanna's hair from her eyes. "I know a lot about almost anything that two people can do with each other, Yanna. I think that I must have seen it all and done most of it, though never for myself until last night. What is it that troubles you?"

Yanna fought with herself and then just asked. Besha listened and smiled.

"Easily taught and easily done once you know," she said. "Do you want to learn this?"

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Sorn stopped teaching when he saw Yanna and Besha walking toward them. "You have had Illya to teach all the morning, Sorn. I need him to teach my own lesson now. May I?"

"Of course, Yanna," he smiled, "and what would you teach?"

Yanna took Illya's hand, "Come. You need to learn that the chance to spend some of a warm sunny day naked in a meadow with a girl who loves you is not a thing to be wasted."

Sorn smiled and nodded, "Then he is yours. He grows a little tired anyway and could use a rest from this."

A long while later, Yanna began to urge and beg him, and Illya worked harder. She reached forward and helped herself a little, but was never too insistent. Her orgasms were pleasant and seemed to come from all over her as they caused her to tighten her muscles. Illya felt it and it took him closer to his own release. When he felt it beginning to get near, he gently pulled Yanna's hand so that her fingers could get to her sopping sex and she spread her fingers so that she could feel him slide in and out of her. He wet his fingers and caressed her nub.

Yanna threw back her head and howled, but it was only a short one. She wailed and screeched as she bucked and she tried desperately to call his name. Illya began to pound her as gently as he could and her cries then raised the hair on his neck until he groaned and squeezed her clitoris as much as he dared without hurting her. Yanna went as rigid as a plank when her last orgasm hit her. She made sounds that she hadn't even heard from herself before.

As the last strong waves died away, leaving little tremors, Illya made a sound that seemed to come from some pain, though it really didn't, and Yanna whimpered as she felt his contractions while he pumped into her. "You grow so big," she gasped.

"Deeper, "she whispered to him, "as deep inside me as you can go, Illya. Pull me to you, anything, I love you so." She didn't have much leverage, but she tried hard to get her legs around him further.

She sighed, "Stay like this, Illya. Please do not leave me yet."

Illya looked down at her face. He had to shift his weight carefully, but he touched her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I love you," he whispered.

They didn't move for a while. Illya slid out of Yanna in spite of what they both wanted, and they took a minute or so to slowly untangle themselves.

"Did you enjoy your gift in the sunshine?" She asked.

He nodded, "Where did that come from?" He asked, "I was very surprised." He kissed her for a moment, "And I like what you have done to your hair, Yanna."

"That was from Besha," she said, "She told me to take better care of what I have, and she did this for me."

She laughed, "I was trying to think of little ways to make it better for us when we play, and it is such a nice day. I love doing this with you outside more than anywhere else. Besha and I were talking and I thought to ask her if she knew some ways, and she did and then she asked me if I might want to learn of it. So she told me how it must be done."

She chuckled, "I am very glad of her help. I want to kiss her for that."

Illya shrugged, "Then kiss her, Yanna, at the least to tell her our thanks."

"It is alright, Illya? I like her very much and she never makes sport over the noises that I make. I begin to feel close to her and ..."

He hugged her, "It is alright. I think that she needs a close friend too. It makes me smile to see you together with her. Such beautiful women, you are."

"Thank you, Illya."

"I know," he sighed with a smile, "You love me so."

They stood up and Yanna put her arm around Illya as they wandered to the pool to bathe. By then, they heard the soft cries from the other tent.

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Illya and Yanna worked to prepare a meal for the afternoon. They'd found some mushrooms and a few wild scallions, a huge patch of chives, and some yams. They weren't certain about the mushrooms, so these were set aside. As Illya stirred up and added wood to the fire-pit, he noticed Besha and Sorn on their way to the pool, so he called out to let them know about the meal.

When they came back, Sorn looked at the mushrooms and nodded, "These are fine. There is another type that is similar, but they are deadly." Illya sliced the mushrooms and they went into the pan.

"Illya," Sorn said, "I want to know if you want to learn the ways of silent death as well as fighting. If you do not mind the work and like a little excitement, it can give you a good living. There are always some who want others killed over a thousand reasons. I would teach it if you have no trouble with it."

"I do not know, "Illya replied, "I have heard that one must sometimes lie in bed with the one to be killed."

Sorn nodded, "Many times, - even most times, I would say, it is the best way to do it silently. One cannot come crashing through the door. But to be good at it, one must know ways to please the one that you seek."

"I think that is another thing that bothers me, "Illya replied, "what if the one is a man?"

"Then you please him before you kill him," Besha said, "the same as if it were a woman that you were hunting -- unless you think that you can live well on half the pay. And anyway, it would soon be known that Illya cannot kill a man in a bed, and your customers would go elsewhere, thinking that you lacked other abilities. For those who seek to have another killed, it is important for them to think that you can do anything."

"Think on it a little," Sorn smiled, "I will not teach it if it is not what you wish to learn."

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The sunny afternoon drifted by. Sorn taught Illya ways to grapple and how to gain the advantage quickly. He learned ways to strike that would cause an opponent to gasp in pain for a moment, and during that moment, Sorn showed Illya the ways to finish the fight in an instant. It was a lot to learn and Illya's brain was a little overwhelmed, but Sorn only smiled and said that the lessons would be repeated several times later, since it would take some weeks to learn properly.

Yanna was on her side facing Besha as they spoke of how she should manage her household. Yanna's eye was drawn often to Besha's tattoos. "Do you know how to fight as well, Besha? I think that you must have learned it."

The woman nodded, "I had to. But I have never worked as Sorn does. There are many women who know the ways of silent death, and sometimes you must fight close up if things go wrong." She looked at Yanna, "But I do not think that you wish to learn something like that from me, Yanna. You have your own ways, no? I think that you only need to learn to be silent and you would make a good -- "

Yanna shook her head, "No, Besha. I would only leave a mess most times. Even if I could keep quiet, one look at the body, and it would be known how it happened. Any who sought the killer would only need a look at me and they would know."

"True," Besha nodded, "I didn't think of that."

Yanna moved closer and put her arm over the older woman, "Thank you for your help from Illya and me," she whispered and she kissed Besha's cheek softly.

Besha smiled, "It was my pleasure. Sorn and I wish you both much joy and happiness together. What was the cost to me? A half an hour talking to my friend here in the grass to pass some of what I know so that she and her husband can feel more joy? That is no hardship." She leaned closer to whisper as if what she was about to say was deliciously naughty, "If we have more of the chance for it, I will tell you more." She chuckled, "I will teach you wonders about loving your man, and then I just might talk to him as well. And if I cannot, then Sorn will tell him of these things."

She grinned, "It is my hope that I can turn you both into slaves to each other in your bed. You might be poor, or all manner of misfortune may befall you, but if I have my way, you will always have each other."

She looked serious for a moment, "Remind me to tell you that you must both stop to eat now and then."

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"There, " Sorn said in a whisper as he and Illya walked to the pool. "look at that."

They stopped and stood watching Yanna and Besha as they sat talking and laughing in the grass. Illya chuckled, "I think they hatch some plot. What do you think, Sorn?"

"I think," the man said with a little grin, "that our girls do not need us for the moment. I have been thinking that something like this might happen. They seem to need each other in a way, and are always together. Until they found each other, I was pulling Besha out of her darkness only a little at a time. Now, she is much more like she was before and I think it is Yanna who does this."

"I think it goes both ways," Illya said, "Because of what was done to her, I saw that Yanna felt apart from everyone. She is getting to like herself, and Besha always encourages her. Yanna told me this herself. I am glad that they are so close in so little time." He grinned, "I have learned that women need other women around them to be happy. Those two have not had this, but have it now and look how they laugh."

They were careful to stand near to the little waterfall so that the noise of it might cover any sounds that they made as they washed their sweat off. "What now?" Illya asked.

Sorn shrugged, "I think that you have learned as much as you can for one day. We could hunt, but we still have more food than we can all eat, no? I do not know the area here well, and I do not want to be too far away from them." He sighed, "I know not."

"Well," Illya grinned, "we can stand here like a pair of fools talking, but I think I will get my bow and practice a little. The Ba'al told me that when one learns an art, he must live it. I am to practise every day. What I learn from you is the same. I will spend my life in practising, I think. See that wide oak there. Do you think that you could hit that?"

"There is one way to know," Sorn smiled and they went to the tents to get their bows.

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"Where in the godforsaken desert are they?" Nisi-ini-su wondered aloud. "They could not have just disappeared into the mists of time."

She felt like walking green death and turned to one of the watchers there next to her on the top of the tallest spire of the keep. "Where could they be? How is it possible that they leave for that one dead road and leave the earth instead, and then we use the very same road and do not see them?"