Chapter seven
“I don’t know about you, Braden, but this silence is deafening. I know that is not something that you’re used to, but it is where I come from. You keep looking at me like I’m some kind of mirage or aberration. I can assure you that I’m right here with you and that you’re not losing your mind.” I had my hands around him and we were close to the black castle. We were behind several other Dragos and we were waiting to be entered into the halls of the black castle.
“I don’t know how that could be normal where you come from, Shana. That was unbelievable and I can’t stop smiling.” It was weird seeing his reaction to having a girl go down on him like that. It was almost like I was seeing it through a virgin’ s eyes. I suppose technically, he was a virgin to blow jobs. I think that I had just shown him something that he was never going to forget. I smiled, cinching my fingers a little tighter around his waist. I don’t know why, but it gave me a sense of joy to give him that experience.
I wondered what other sexual acts he had not tried. It was going to be interesting to see just how far I could corrupt his mind and his body. I doubted that I was going to have to do much convincing. “I still can’t believe that you’ve never done that before. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s cute and I can’t stop smiling about the fact that it was your first. It was not only your first, but I gave you your first. By the way, it’s called a blow job.” I could see him mouth the words from over his shoulder.
“That makes no sense and there was no blowing involved.” Now that I think about it, I suppose he was right. There was more sucking than anything else. I guess the term really didn’t make much sense if you thought about it. “We’re going to have to come up with a better name for it than that. Right off the top of my head, I would say something involving suction.” I really didn’t care what he called it, just as long as I was able to do it again, as often as I would like.
“It really doesn’t matter what we call it. I can see your reaction to what I did and I now know that even though you thought it was strange, you would do it again and again and again.”
“Are you kidding me? If I were to tell this to anybody, they’d think that I had lost my marbles. However, if they were to experience it for themselves, I think that it would be like a secret that nobody could keep to themselves. I want to scream it to the world, but I’m not stupid enough to make a spectacle of myself.” That was pretty ironic, considering that he was wearing red armor. I would say that he stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was not my place to say anything.
“I have no problem keeping this to ourselves. I just think it’s a damn shame that nobody knows about it.” For an alien society, they were able to show pleasure with their mouths to the women, but the women weren’t able to mimic that same thing. I wondered how many closet cases there were out there. It was not only considered taboo, but it was practically nonexistent. I was curious and looked around at all these people and wondered who else had been in the position that he was in a few minutes ago.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I’m also glad that you were amenable to wearing a dress. I know that you’re not comfortable and you look like it’s choking you to death.” The bodice was tight and it was giving an ample show of bosom to anybody that wanted to look. The strings were tied all the way down. It would be interesting to see him try to get it off me. To watch him tear into me like I was a present on Christmas Eve was going to be something to see and feel.
We were moving at a snail’s pace and I didn’t see anybody interacting with anybody else. They were keeping to themselves.
When we got up to the end of the line, there was a guard in black armor. His helmet was on and you could only see the whites of his eyes. “State your business.”
“I’m here for the tryouts to become one of the guardsmen.” At that statement, he looked Braden up and down. He made this scoffing sound, like he wasn’t worthy of wearing the black armor. “I’ve been training for three years.” I didn’t realize that this was his last opportunity. If he didn’t succeed now, he would be relegated to living off the land.
“I don’t suppose you have ever thought that there was a reason why it has taken you three times. Maybe it’s because that you just don’t have what it takes.” If I were on the other side of the Dragos, I would’ve smacked the taste out of this man’s mouth. He was being rude and maybe he was told to put down the prospects. Maybe he was doing it because he didn’t want to lose his own position within the elite. Whatever the reason, he was making Braden feel insecure and I had to do something to lift him up into the light.
We moved through the gate and heard the slight snicker from behind. I put my hand on Braden’s shoulder. He turned to see what I had to say. “Don’t listen to him and I’ve seen you kill that thing in the garden. I couldn’t call it a snake, because I really didn’t know what it was called. “You acted with efficiency and if you can do that during the tournament, then you’ll walk out of there with your hand raised in triumph.”
“It’s nice of you to say that, but maybe he’s right. You’d think that after the first two times that I would give up, but that is not how I was raised. I was told that whenever we got knocked down, we dusted ourselves off and got back on the Dragos.” That was not the saying that I remember, but it was close enough.
“I don’t want you to give that man any credence. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He doesn’t see you the way that I do. I don’t want you to think of yourself as a failure. Think of it, as two practice runs for the real thing. You’re ready and I don’t want you to think that you’re not. You have the eye of the tiger.”
“What is this…tiger that you speak of?”
“Um, it doesn’t matter. It just means that you are ready for whatever they throw at you. Your instincts are honed and you’re destined to take your place with the elite. If his opinion really means that much to you, then prove him wrong. Prove them all wrong and show them the man that I know you can be. You are a warrior and nobody is going to be able to stand up to you.” The slump in his shoulders that I had seen after the guardsmen had gotten through with belittling him had now strengthened to a new resolve.
“I think that having you in my life has given me more fire in my belly. Courage is not given freely, it’s earned and I think I’ve done that and more. I don’t think you know this, but I volunteered to fight alongside the guardsmen when I was only 18. There was a raid coming and they needed every able bodied person that they could find. I was happy to do my duty, even though I was injured.” I had seen the scar on his left bicep, but I didn’t ask him about it.
“We have time and I would like to hear about it.” I was giving him the green light to speak of past glories. I’ve heard that warriors of the past had a duty to themselves and others to pass down their legacy. Braden had no son and his stories had fallen on deaf ears. He wanted an audience and now he had an audience of one. I could see that he was missing that moment of complete awe in everybody’s eyes, as he told his story. If they were to believe him, then warriors of the guardsmen had fallen, while he stood tall over everybody. If that was their history, then they really would want to sweep it underneath the rug. They couldn’t allow him to speak these lies, even if they were the god honest truths.
“It was pretty tame, until that one day that we were ambushed. Everybody around me was slaughtered and I fought valiantly with blood dripping from my hands. I was stabbed in the arm, but I was able to fight on through the pain. After the battle had come to its inevitable conclusion, I was the only one left standing. The guardsmen had been slain, but every time that I told that story, they made it sound like I was making it up.
“I can see in your eyes that it happened and for them to ridicule you, only means that they couldn’t believe that the guardsmen would go down like that. You take too much for granted, Braden. It shouldn’t matter what others think. You know the truth. There’s no reason to be better than anybody, but yourself. Take that lesson with you into this tournament and it will serve you well.” I was beginning to talk like them.
“You are good for me. My wife was for me. That is until that fateful day.” Her death had struck him hard and she was haunting him to this very day. Even from the grave, she still had a deep effect in his life. I didn’t want to compete with her and I didn’t think I had to. I wasn’t anything like her and I prided myself on my originality. I was not and nor would I ever be a damsel in distress.
Everybody was gathered in the main arena and then Lord Vadam stood on a parapet overlooking the festivities. “I want to welcome you to the 22nd annual Festival of Dragos. May your aim be true and may there be fire in your belly. Let us begin with introductions and then we will start with the flying of the arrow.” There was a hush across the crowd.
“I don’t like this, Shana. They are mixing things up and usually the flying of the arrow is the last of the festival. It is the most harrowing and for them to place it at the first, only means that they are looking for the best of the best. It would also mean that there is something coming. They want to find that raw talent.”
Introductions were made and then the two warriors that were chosen at random stood on either side of the arena with bow and arrows. The bow was a gleaming silver alloy and the arrow was made of pure white hot energy.
“As your Lord and master, I am ready to commence with the flag being unfurled.” Everybody looked skyward and this black and white flag with a blue flame in the center was raised. People stood and cheered wildly. There was not one person that was left sitting. I was overwhelmed and felt like I had to do something. I decided something of great importance and most likely Braden would never forgive me. I’d gotten caught up in all of this and for some reason it compelled me to stand and take a step away from Braden.
Before they could start, I pushed aside from Braden, even though he was trying to reach out to me. “Where are you going? Come back here.” I wasn’t listening and before long, I was standing in the middle of these two would be gladiators. They looked perplexed with seeing me out there. They turned toward Lord Vadam shrugging their shoulders. The crowd was aghast and they also turned towards Lord Vadam for guidance.
“I would like to be a part of this festival and become one of the guardsmen.” You could hear a pin drop and then laughter ensued from the parapet.
“You are a woman and you should know your place and stand by your man. This is no place for you. This is blasphemy and is punishable by death.” Two of the guardsmen in black armor appeared right beside me.” You have a warning to step aside young lady. If you do not, then I will be forced to make a drastic decision on behalf of my people.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He motioned to the guardsmen and they raised their hands, until they turned into five electrical looking whips. They were now hanging from all of their fingers. People were standing waiting to see my punishment and even Braden was looking on in terror.