Chapter 3

Training started the next day, contrary to Sekhmet’s plan. They spent the first day bonding without a care in the world. They finished braiding Nerata’ari’s hair. She now sported almost a hundred thin black cords down to the middle of her back. Unlike Sekhmet’s though, hers ended with perfectly polished blood red rubies that ever so faintly glowed in the dark.

Sekhmet told her partner what little she knew about the origins of her power. There was a higher power than all the Gods, and whatever it was, it was the reason the Gods had their powers. It only spoke to Ra and Zeus, but that was very rarely and only a short sentence or two at most. They always consisted of orders to be carried out, either by lesser Gods, or one of the two of them directly.

She told her about her life history. She reassured Nerata’ari that, contrary to popular belief, Sekhmet wasn’t a consort of Ptah’s. This greatly relieved the Oracle as visions of being hunted down by an angry God flashed through her mind for a few seconds. Sekhmet spoke of her “birth” when the higher power formed all the Gods into existence at the same time, before matter even existed. She wasn’t sure how old she was, because for the first periods of her life time didn’t exist, at least not in the way either Gods or humans knew of it now. Sekhmet regaled her with stories of her many battles, inspiring awe and envy in her young lover.

In all her stories though, Nerata’ari found one thing striking, Sekhmet had always been alone.

“Why didn’t find a lover in all that time? You went countless eons alone, it must have been awful.”

“I never found anyone I felt like I truly connected with. There are other Gods that might make for a good match on paper, but in real life they are the last people I’d ever fall in love with. You on the other hand I fell for almost immediately when you became my Oracle. I saw in you compassion unmatched in all the world, understanding beyond my comprehension, generosity that far exceeded even that of a typical priestess. You have a love for your fellow humans that the Gods would be proud to bear, and it’s only surpassed by your love of animals. You have patience beyond measure. I’d be a fool not to fall in love with you.”

Nerata’ari almost wept tears of sweet joy at Sekhmet’s gushing. When she became her Oracle it was a connection unlike she had with anyone else. Besides the obvious, during the brief communications with her Goddess during prayer she felt truly loved and appreciated, far more than Nerata’ari thought she should be feeling during these times. Maybe this is where her romantic feelings for Sekhmet first began she thought. It would explain why they became flirtatious after just a short period in her temple.

Training started with unarmed combat. Nerata’ari proved to be both a competent and eager student. Within hours she was already beginning to master the basic stances, strikes, and blocks. During a break for lunch Nerata’ari examined all the weapons and armor along the wall. She ran her hand, still glistening with sweat from the morning’s work out, over Sekhmet’s chestplate. It was solid bronze and weighed about forty pounds. It looked as though it was almost made as a likeness to her body, it’s stomach was flat in the front and curved around the sides, while its upper half was dominated by two large protrusions to fit Sekhmet’s massive breasts. Nerata’ari looked at her reflection in the armor, its color giving the world a brown glow. She couldn’t wait for the day to wear her own. She imagined it would be obscenely heavy and ridiculously cumbersome to fight it.

Two questions immediately jumped into the young Oracle’s mind so fast she didn’t know which one to ask first; they competed like two small children for their parents attention.

“Why are we training naked?” she asked. “I mean, I love seeing you naked, and being naked in front of you, but wouldn’t it make more sense to wear the clothing and armor we’re going to be fighting in so I can get used to it?”

Sekhmet came up behind her, so close that her breasts pressed into Nerata’ari’s back, and leaned in, bringing her face next to hers. “It’s so much more fun watching you do all this naked” she said seductively in her ear before nibbling on her earlobe. “Besides” she continued, “you need to learn the technique first.” She took Nerata’ari by the back of the wrist and moved her arm around as though she was swinging a sword “improperly fitting armor inhibits technique, but you would never know if you started out wearing armor and adjusted your movements slightly, you would just think that was how the technique was done. The armor should always be crafted to the body and the technique, never the other way around.”

That seemed like a perfectly good reason to Nerata’ari, not that she would have argued for either of them wearing anything really. The feeling of her lover’s body pressed against her combined with the deliciously playful things her mouth was doing to her ear almost made her forget her second question for a moment. “If you have all these powers, why not just think your enemies dead? Why fight them and risk hurting yourself?”

Sekhmet stopped flicking her lover’s earlobe with her tongue and let it slide from her mouth with a small pop sound, “whatever it is that gives us our powers limits them in certain ways. I can’t actually kill anyone with them. You might think I could make a rock fall on someone, so I’m not directly killing them, but then my powers would either fail to create that rock or lift another one. Trust me, we’ve all tried something like that, it never works. We also can’t bring people back from the dead, nor can we travel forwards or backwards in time.” She lowered her voice into a more sultry tone, “We also can’t make people fall in love with us, although Cupid was once able to make other people fall in love with each other somehow, but that didn’t end well.”

That was something Nerata’ari was a bit concerned about, the idea that she had been coerced somehow into loving her Goddess, but she never gave those thoughts much consideration. During their time in the temple, and here in Sekhmet’s palace, she had come to trust her unconditionally, that last statement was merely a nail in a coffin that already had enough.

They trained for the rest of the afternoon, until the sun dipped below the horizon somewhere behind their pyramid. They took turns bathing each other in the pool, which turned into love making, as is the case for every pair of young lovers throughout human history. They finished the night cuddling in the pool, staring at the stars on the horizon while conversing in hushed tones, as though someone might overhear them and figure out they were in love. They slept soundly in their bed that night, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Months went by as their training continued, their daily routine not varying substantially. Nerata’ari’s strength, reflexes, and abilities soon matched her more experienced partner, neither being able to get the upper hand on the other in their daily sparring matches.

They were relaxing in the pool one evening, soothing away the day’s wear and tear on their bodies. Sekhmet was sitting in her partner’s lap, thoroughly enjoying what her lover’s mouth was doing to the spot where her neck meets her shoulder when she remembered one minor event that led to the realization of a major problem.

There was going to be an eclipse that night and she didn’t want Nerata’ari to miss one second of it. Far more importantly though, she wasn’t sure her lover knew what it meant because Sekhmet was training her physically but not mentally, she had completely forgotten to educate her.

She jumped from her partner’s lap, turned around, and kneeled between her legs one step below her, the water coming up to her chin. “I’m sorry my love, I just realized that I’ve been training you for combat, but not for life itself. I’ve taught you what you needed to stay alive, but not what you needed to make it worthwhile. Please forgive me” she implored.

Nerata’ari cradled her partners face in her hands while lowering herself down to kiss her on the forehead. “You’re all I need to make life worth living” she replied, kissing her lips tenderly. “Besides, I can tell by the look on your face that you intend to fix whatever it is that you think you did wrong, so please don’t feel like you have to apologize to me.”

Sekhmet’s heart soared with the sweet words Nerata’ari spoke, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. “Thank you my love” she said, jumping to her feet to plant a kiss on her lips. “Your lessons start tonight then!” She exclaimed like a young child about to show her parents the most amazing thing she had even seen in her life.

Sekhmet raised her hand and spread her fingers wide, palm pointed towards the ceiling. The roof replied with a low rumble, like distant thunder, that grew to a deafening roar, as though every block above them was about to come crashing down on their heads.

Nerata’ari watched in amazement, albeit with her hands over her ears, as the blocks in the ceiling began to rotate and turn, rolling over each other sideways until the last of them disappeared behind the walls of the room. Above them was nothing but the night sky, filled with more stars than Nerata’ari had ever seen before.

Sekhmet enjoyed the look on her face for a few seconds before interrupting her, “Over there” she said, pointing to the back of the room. In the sky above the back corner, the full moon slowly began its journey through the night sky. Nerata’ari stared intently at the moon in all its glory. She had seen the full moon countless times, and while it looked even more beautiful from her new vantage point, she wasn’t sure exactly what it was she should be learning. Just when she was about to inquire as to what she should be seeing she noticed it; a sliver of the moon had disappeared! She looked even closer, assuming her eyes were playing tricks on her, but as she looked more of the moon slowly disappeared.

“What is Iah doing?” she asked thinking the moon God was drunk.

Sekhmet smiled, “he’s not doing anything, this is part of the earth’s dance through the cosmos.”

Nerata’ari sat mesmerized as the eclipse unfolded. She was still amazed at Sekhmet’s powers. Her own immortality was still hard to grasp, but she could at least chalk that up to her Goddess. This was completely different. This was a natural event that happened all by itself! Even with her own transformation and sitting next to her Goddess she felt incredibly small and insignificant. As Sekhmet described how large the earth and moon were and how they traveled in relation to each other and the sun, that feeling only increased until she was almost dizzy. More and more, amazing thoughts and ideas flooded her head. Sekhmet had destroyed some planets! She heard the stories but the scale hadn’t hit her until now. Her lover, the most gentle, tender person she had ever known, had destroyed things so vast that they were beyond her comprehension.

When the eclipse was at its height it plunged their home into almost total darkness. Just as Nerata’ari was about to ask how long the moon would be gone for she felt Sekhmet’s mouth on her neck, right where hers had been on her lover just a few minutes earlier. Nerata’ari threw her head back and moaned softly into the night sky. Sekhmet pressed her body against her back as she reached around and cupped her breasts. She practically dug her fingers into the stone edge of the pool from a mixture of pleasure and anticipation. Sekhmet bit down on her neck while pinching her nipples, causing her to gasp and her arms to go weak, almost making her collapse into the stone under both their combined weights.

Sekhmet continued to play with her left breast, pinching and twisting her nipple, while her right hand moved down her body. Nerata’ari parted her thighs, spreading her legs wide on the stair she was kneeling on, so Sekhmet could do as she pleased with her body. Her fingers slid between her pussy lips until they found her clit, which they began to slowly massage. Nerata’ari’s eyes shot wide open as she nearly screamed. All the stars in the Milky Way looked back at her gently, almost lovingly, as if they approved of her life and love.

The Oracle shuddered as her Goddess slowly fingered her. Sekhmet never increased speed, just slowly thrust two fingers into her over and over again. She knew it was enough to bring her young lover close to orgasm, but not to push her over the edge. Nerata’ari closed her eyes and gyrated her hips, grinding her pussy on Sekhmet’s hand as she fingered her.

Nerata’ari had no idea how long they had been at this, but could tell even through closed eyelids that it was getting brighter; the eclipse was drawing to a conclusion. Sekhmet’s fingers were driving her insane with pleasure and an unbearable need to cum.

“Please give it to me!” she screamed.

“Give what to you my love?”

“Anything! I don’t care, just make me cum!” she begged.

The Goddess pushed her hips forward to steady her quivering lover and began fingering her in earnest. Nerata’ari whimpered as the pleasure built in her. In no time she was screaming out as her long awaited orgasm hit her like a ton of bricks. The priestess shook from head to toe as her lover continued the assault on her vagina.

When her orgasm had finally run its course and she recovered a bit, Nerata’ari surprised her lover by spinning around and picking her up in her arms. Sekhmet giggled in delight as she was hoisted from the pool by Nerata’ari. The priestess threw her on the divan next to the pool, causing her to gasp in surprise and pure lust.

Nerata’ari gazed upon her lover’s body like a predator going in for the kill. The moonlight cast eerie yet seductive shadows all over her form while simultaneously reflecting like a million stars off of her glistening body.

Nerata’ari didn’t, couldn’t, waste anytime with foreplay, she needed her lover NOW! She moved to the end of the divan and shoved her partner’s legs wide before diving straight into her pussy with her tongue.

“OooohhhUuuuuggghhhh” Sekhmet moaned.

Nerata’ari wrapped her arms around Sekhmet’s legs and pulled her closer to her mouth so she could get her tongue deeper into her. She soon switched tactics though, moving up to flick her clit with her tongue while fingering her with two fingers. Within no time Sekhmet was squealing in delight as Nerata’ari practically hammered away at her pussy. Without warning she came, squirting juices all over Nerata’ari’s face and hand.

Sekhmet was still panting when Nerata’ari cralwed up next to her and cuddled up against her; an arm and leg draped across her, her face buried in her neck. The two women fell asleep like this, blanketed in nothing but moonlight as their home traveled the night sky.

From that day forth their training schedule consisted of classes in the morning and weapons training in the afternoon. Sekhmet taught her partner all the math, science, and philosophy she could handle and then some. She insisted she learn as much as possible because she believed uneducated people were always manipulated by others to do their bidding. Luckily for both of them Nerata’ari was as good a scholar as she was a fighter. She easily handled learning physics and biology, even chemistry too with a bit of extra studying. Math was slightly harder, but she was able to surpass what any human on the planet knew at the time in a matter of months. Philosophy was both entertaining and engaging, so much so that the two of them would often discuss it in great depth during sparring matches.

Months passed in the blink of an eye, yet they remained in seclusion, always training, always learning. Soon their time spent together was measured in years. Nerata’ari became a formidable warrior and scholar, even by the Goddess’ high standards.

The time never dulled their love for each other either. Each new day was like it was their first all over again; each kiss sent chills through their bodies like lovestruck teenagers. They never fought, never felt the need for time apart. On the day of their third anniversary Nerata’ari had come to a realization. She both missed her brother and his family, and wanted to move her relationship with Sekhmet into a more serious direction. She wasn’t quite sure where that would be, after all, they were head over heels in love and living together, but something inside her drove her thoughts in that direction.

“Would it be possible to visit my brother’s family? I haven’t seen them since a few weeks before I came here, and as much as I love your company, I do miss them.”

“Of course my love” she replied between sips of wine. “Anything for you. I can send you down there whenever you want.”

“I’d like it if you could go with me.”

“Ok”

Nerata’ari hesitated. She wasn’t afraid of Sekhmet, she knew she wouldn’t be mad, but she still couldn’t shake the trepidation she was feeling. “I’d like to introduce you to them ... as my partner.”

Sekhmet dropped her glass and lowered her head. Nerata’ari was unable to see the look on her face. She worried she had gone too far in her request. She was about to retract it when Sekhmet ran at her and jumped. She caught her lover as Sekhmet wrapped her arms and legs around her, covering her face with kisses.

Sekhmet knew how Nerata’ari’s people looked down on love like theirs, and how she would probably be rejected by her brother, and yet she was still willing to go through all that for her.

“I love you so much babe” the Goddess said, giggling like a little girl the entire time. She continued, her words streaming from her mouth in torrents, “Are you sure though? They might reject you. I know your society would cast you out, I know most of the other Gods would reject us, but I’d kill any one of them that tried to get in our way! But I didn’t think you’d be willing to give up your only family for me, and I was sure never going to ask. I feel bad too, I really don’t want you to lose your family, I’d completely understand if you don’t want to introduce me to them.”

“I love you. You’re my heart, my soul, my life. I’d die for you without hesitation, and I’d also kill anyone that tried to tear us apart. But I also feel like I want to world to know about us. I want others in love like us to be able to live in the open. You make me want to change the world!”

The two of them planned everything out, Nerata’ari was increasingly worried she would lose her family, but never strayed from her path. She decided they should both wear the traditional clothes of a priestess of Sekhmet, a red dress, gold colored shawl, and simple sandals. They were going to introduce Sekhmet as another priestess from a far away temple, not as the Goddess herself. Sekhmet would rather have made a grand entrance, secretly in an effort to awe her family into submission and make them less likely to reject her, but Nerata’ari wouldn’t have it. She wanted the meeting to be on the level as much as possible, given the circumstances, because she wanted an honest reaction from her family. Sekhmet wasn’t a huge fan of the idea, since it meant the love of her life would probably lose her family, but she agreed that it must be done by Nerata’ari’s method. Being the mischievous one that she was, Sekhmet jokingly threatened to go in as a full lioness and accuse Nerata’ari in front of her family of bestiality. To drive the joke home Sekhmet transformed and cowered, speaking fluently “Sh ... sh ... she m ... m ... makes me do things to her”, a single tear rolling down her nose and over her whiskers. Nerata’ari roared with laughter, playfully kicking her in the ass. The Oracle did agree to let her partner entertain the children with “magic” tricks. They also agreed not to spend too long there, even if things went better than hoped for, because they didn’t want to make her brother feed them seeing as they had little food for themselves.

Sekhmet teleported them just outside the city, behind a stone wall so no one would see them magically appear out of thin air. The walk into the city made Nerata’ari nostalgic. The smells of spices in the market, the women selling themselves nearby, even the children at play all brought back memories for the Oracle. They stopped by the temple, it’s doors were still closed, the writing in blood still faintly visible on the wall. They stood outside, hand in hand, not wanting to go in and despoil the tomb for the fallen women with their presence. The pair just stood outside the doors quietly paying their respects.