7: Songbird

I had business to conduct before we could leave. The first order was the burial of Jules/Julia. If I remembered the Damsel Rule Book correctly, a damsel who died and was buried on Chaos was returned to Cassandra. I hoped so. Otherwise, I would want to take her body with me to the bank vault. We were a somber group that returned to the Inn. Ariel continued to weep and Lisa whispered to me that she was still in pain. I wanted to wrap up the business as quickly as possible.

I had five horses and their tack, bows, arrows, swords, and daggers that we'd put in the inn's stable the previous night. We sorted out the armaments in the common room and selected the best items to keep in my box. In sorting through the bags, we also found a bit more money, blankets, and other camp supplies.

"Do we have any idea where this crew was headed when they decided to stop and take over the inn?" I asked.

"They were just coming back," Rafe said. "The Mayor had sent junior to Hoch Castle to train as a swordsman. He had visions of him becoming a warlord and claiming rulership of the city. Waste of money."

"Well, that would explain why they are so well-equipped for journeying. I want to sell most of this stuff. We'll keep two saddles and tack and the best equipment. I need to sell the horses as well."

"Let me take care of that, partner," Gabe said. "I know Barnaby at the stable and he will deal fairly with me. He might not with ... uh..."

"A cripple?" I asked. "Yes, that might be true. Gabe, I think we should keep the two black horses. They look like they are in very good condition." He walked around the two horses. They were both taller and sleeker than the other three. They reminded me of Morgans. He nodded his head.

"Board will cost you," he said, "but chances are Barnaby couldn't afford to buy these two from you. How would you like to handle it?"

"Get what you can for the other three and their tack. Take a fifteen percent commission from the profit. Keep the remainder in the inn's account and pay the board and upkeep for the two from that. Sound fair?" I asked.

"More than fair, partner. Now. About the weapons?"

"I'll keep the daggers. I'm much better with them than with the swords. Weasel's are especially fine. We're keeping two swords and the trappings. The rest can be sold if there's a market for them."

"I'll buy one of those swords myself," Raphe said. Gabe nodded and set aside two of the swords. I pulled two bows and all the arrows. I looked at the rest and the remaining clothes. I'd already taken a change that would fit me and one for Lisa. Ariel brought out her spare dress and the innkeeper's clothes. I tucked her dress into my bag and set the other items with those to be sold.

"Same deal on the rest of this. Sell and take fifteen percent," I said. "Now we need to get to the bank."

It was a lot of gear to transport and Raphe helped us. Gabe was already starting to serve the noon customers and his wife, Molly, was supervising our serving wench as she rushed dishes from the kitchen. I bid farewell to the brothers and closed the vault door. I placed my finger in the hole and felt the odd burning sensation. My box popped onto the table and we loaded it with everything. I included my canes in the box and Lisa placed her combs in it. Ariel looked at us strangely.

"Healing chambers are amazing," I said. "I feel like a new man." I closed the lid to the box and we felt the twisting sensation that announced our arrival on Crossroads. Persephone helped Ariel immediately to the healing chamber and then returned to greet Lisa and me.

"My hero!" she exclaimed, leaping into my arms and kissing me deeply. "You have done so well!" She turned to give Lisa a kiss filled with just as much passion. "Lisa, you are truly his caretaker on any world. I love you!" She led us to the shower, stripped us all, and bathed us with great care and attention. That care included an orgasm each for Lisa and me, and one for Persephone from each of us. As we stepped out of the shower, we heard the chime of the healing chamber. "Lisa Caretaker, since you know Ariel already, will you take her from the chamber into the bedroom and get her whatever nourishment she wants? I will conduct Hero Lincoln to the chamber from the other door so they do not cross paths before he has been cleared. Sometimes damsels come out of the chamber so horny that it is impossible to separate them from the hero so he can enter."

Lisa agreed and as the door to the bedroom slid closed behind Ariel, I entered the chamber with Seph.

"You were such a bad boy," Seph said. "Just hope the chamber does not put you back in the condition you pretended to be in when you left!" I laughed as the lid closed and I lost consciousness.

I woke up to Lisa's smiling face bending down to kiss me. Angels sang.

"How are you feeling, my Hero?" she asked.

"Wonderful!" I said, pulling myself out of the chamber. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you greeting me as I emerge?"

"Seph is busy with Ariel and I need to get in the chamber. It's a rule of returning to Crossroads. It scrubs us for bugs and contamination. And repairs any little nicks that you might incur on Chaos."

"You didn't incur any nicks, did you, Lees?" I said. I was sure I'd have known if she was hurt.

"No, love. It's just routine. Close me in and go join your songbird." Lisa stepped into the chamber and I started to close it.

"Wait! That music is her? I thought it was being piped in!"

"I think you are going to like your reward," Lisa smiled. "Now close the chamber."

I closed her in and watched through the glass as she immediately entered the suspended state that lets the machine work its miracles. Then I followed my ears to the dining room. I was glad they were there as I was really hungry. My stomach growled as I approached.

I suffered a moment's disorientation as I walked into the room. Well, it wasn't a room. I mean it didn't look like a room. It was a wide open nighttime sky. Low on the horizon, the shimmering disk of Horace was just visible. Above us, the sky faded to black with a million twinkling stars. I turned in place and saw the panorama of nighttime sky that surrounded us. A low table with candles set between plates of delicacies was surrounded by cushions. On one of these, Ariel sat in a diaphanous gown, playing an instrument much more like our lute than the cithara.

And she sang.

Her voice was soft and clear—heartbreakingly sweet. The words were a love song, praising her lover and her Hero. She sang of how her heart was filled with joy and sadness. That her body longed for fulfillment. That her eyes could see the answer to her dreams. All the time, she looked at me and held me enrapt in her voice and her presence.

Seph took my arm and led me to my damsel. I sank down on the cushions and she set the lute aside so she could embrace me, mold me to her body as we reclined.

"Are you well, my Hero?" Ariel asked.

"I am well and enchanted," I answered. "And you, my Damsel Ariel? This greeting is a bit of a surprise." Ariel giggled and my face bounced softly against her breast.

"I am barely contained," she confessed. Seph placed morsels of food in our mouths that stopped conversation for a moment as they melted on our tongues.

"Mmm. What is this?" I asked. "It is so delicious!"

"It is a Cassandran treat called asoyta. Most closely linked to earth oysters, but not as slimy," Persephone said. She continued to feed us. Neither Ariel nor I needed our hands to eat and so they were involved in lightly touching and exploring each other. After we swallowed each bite of food, our lips touched and sometimes our tongues. Ariel's containment was an uncertain thing as she gasped at my touch and gave herself over to my explorations.

"Persephone Caretaker explained to me that this was your first rescue," Ariel whispered in my ear. "She suggested that you loved to look at the stars and to be romantic. These were things I did not see on Chaos in the midst of my pain and loss. I wanted your first time with a damsel to be remembered always."

"Ariel Songbird of Cassandra, I want your first time making love to a man to be just as memorable," I whispered.

"But on Chaos, there were men."

"No. Those were not men," I said. "Men do not take from women for their own pleasure without concern for their partners. My father once told me..." It was a long time ago before the accident and I'd just started dating. "He told me to never make love to a woman who wanted it less than I did. My desire for you, my Damsel, is great. I hope you desire me as much." Tears sprang to her eyes and she kissed me. The kiss deepened and I found my way into her robes to caress her tender, full breasts. She repeatedly stiffened and relaxed as small orgasms tickled her one after another. We rolled together. I panicked for a moment thinking that we would crash into the table, but it had already vanished. Not only that, but my dear caretaker had gone as well. I pulled the gown from Ariel's body and marveled at the classic perfection revealed. Every curve was sensuous and addictive. I wanted to explore all of her and take her to undreamed-of heights.

Nonetheless, our first coupling had little more foreplay than our kisses and explorations. Once her gown was lost, there was no stopping us from joining together and I slid smoothly into her depths.

"My Hero!" she gasped. "Take me. Erase from my mind the animals of Chaos. Ease the suffering of my loss with your goodness and love. Create in me the life that will bring our worlds closer together and be a salvation to my people. I love you, my Hero."

With that declaration, our bodies moved together and built rapidly to her first major climax. I was amazed at my staying power and gave all credit to the healing chamber. Still, I would not last long in the tight confines of her sex. As I moved within her I could feel the pressure building in my core and kissed her passionately. When I came, her whole body responded and she shook in orgasm as I pulsed within her.

She kissed me all over my face as she gasped out her joy. Tears ran from her eyes. She clenched my manhood within her, pleading for it to not escape. In response to her pleas, I remained firm and we moved together again, hardly having recovered from our first summit before we sought new and higher peaks to conquer.