Chapter 51

I walked in the front door of the manor and two priestesses, who seemed to be waiting for my return, greeted me. They both quickly stood from a pair of wooden chairs by the ornately carved door that hung from the wall as a decoration. Both temple women were particularly slender, dark and short with fine-hair framing their face. Their hair style was strikingly different from any other woman I'd seen on this planet. A memory of another woman in a second-year cadet uniform sprang to my conscious thoughts; the blonde woman had the same bobbed haircut these priestesses wore, cut straight around the head at about the jaw-level. The blonde was from my home world and was well known to my family. The cadet's blue eyes captured an intense look of want, but the image faded with no other aspect of a reference or meaning.

Both golden-skinned temple women were about my height, which was unusual around here. They had an arrestingly elegant appearance in their travel clothes and expensive temple cloaks hung on a coat rack. Fine, hunter green shirts and pants clung loosely to the women, dried mud splattering their brown riding boots. Their similar, strong facial bones had sharp angles that shouted "look at me" in a charismatic way. I forcefully closed my mouth, as I took a moment to recover from my hungry gaze at the temple women. A little smile quirked on their faces.

"Sisters?" I asked.

"No, cousins, although we do get that question pretty often," the woman on the left said. Now that she answered, I noticed the shape of her eyes looked a little more elongated and her waist was slightly smaller. She continued, "Our mothers and fathers are brother and sister, so we might as well be sisters. My name is Honor and my cousin's name is Finch."

Finch said, "We arrived today on The Lady of Truth on its return from Conquest Point." I was surprised Derwen's ship had risked the sea so soon after the raid on Convey, but she was accustomed to hostile waters whereas I was not."

Derwen and Katsu had sensed my arrival and entered the manor behind me, through the front door with Mercedes and Weaver in tow. Each of my lovers kissed me and surrounded the visitors. My lovers didn't seem surprised at the presence of the priestesses. Katsu, Mercedes and Weaver each wore the open weave temple dress I so loved, displaying their shapely bodies for my growing erection's benefit. I felt both Derwen's and Katsu's amusement at my sudden change in emotion.

Derwen said, "I see Von has returned from his trip to the observation tower."

"More like a fort, now," I interjected, the comment not surprising anyone. "My women know everything that happens around here, " I thought.

Finch said, brightly, "We had just begun introductions when you arrived, Lady Derwen." The woman trying to politely catch glances at my temple women without staring at them.

"We came to ask Lord Solon for permission to establish a Moon Mother Temple in Juniper Hills," Honor informed me. Looking at my lovers offered nothing but neutral responses; they seemed already aware of the purpose of these visitors. "These attractive representatives would brighten my day in Juniper, " I thought.

"Why is that Honor?" I asked, intrigued at the thought. Finch looked more doubtful at the neutral reaction of my women.

"Our order wants representatives close to you," Honor answered, reflexively.

Finch tagged the end of Honor's comment with an addition, more defensively, "Lady Derwen and your companions have confirmed the rumors our temple has heard, about your healing magic and your sudden appearance out of the Great Swamp. Seeing you in person, as white as a full moon, there is no denying your countenance is from Moon Mother."

Without a thought, I quipped, "I honor Moon Mother and Earth Mother, having both temples represented in Juniper would please me." A warm, pleasing feeling washed over me from Derwen and Katsu, they liked my answer.

Unexpectedly, Finch knelt and kissed my hand, with tears in her eyes as she looked up at me. "Thank you, Lord Solon, Honor and I are so happy to hear this grand news." Honor shifted about uncomfortable, as if not knowing how to respond. They both looked in their early twenties, obviously not fully experienced in diplomacy or negotiation.

"Juniper Hills is not a grand place; we are a rather simple village compared to Conquest Point or even this manor estate," I said sincerely.

"We are aware of the nature of your homestead, Lord Solon. Our temple members take every opportunity to speak with the members of Lady's Derwen's ship that sells your fish and goods when it comes to port. The crew is a popular source of stories in the city. I doubt they pay for their drinks in any tavern," Honor corrected.

Derwen frowned. I was not surprised in the least at Honor's comments. We spoke a little longer and while these visitors were intriguing, the constant exposure to the charms of my lovers had stirred my passions. I dismissed the visitors and told them to work out the details of their new temple with Coven when they got there and they surprised me by saying their home temple would cover the costs of the building and the annual needs of the Juniper Hills temple. Derwen offered free passage for them and any other members from Conquest Point, but Derwen obviously sensed my need as she politely, yet swiftly, helped the two visitors out the main door.

"Now that is over, let's get you upstairs," Katsu soothed. Mercedes looked at her mother and Katsu waved both Weaver and Mercedes up the stairway, the younger women giggling and raced to my bedroom. Derwen and Katsu hooked an arm under my elbows and walked me up the stairs, nibbling at my neck and earlobes. As we entered the bedroom the young women were already sprawling naked on the bed as Katsu and Derwen kissed me on their respective cheek and gave me a slight shove in the direction of the bed.

"We will see you later, Von. Weaver is going wild with withdrawals and you need to help the poor girl. Oh, and of course, this is Mercedes's idea," Katsu said, softly in my ear.

"Tonight, you are ours," Derwen added, in the other ear as they both turned and left, closing the door behind them.

Weaver and Mercedes greeted me with hearty-smiles, their fingers intertwined together. I quickly undressed and felt my quiver move, full of excitement under my hard shaft. I crawled between them to embrace their love.

In the evening, I spent more time with my children before they fell asleep. Walking around holding them in my arms was such a satisfying feeling, their innocence reminding me why providing my family a safe environment was worth killing men for. The death and maiming I'd seen was easy to forget when I held such tiny fingers and saw such sweet contentment. When we put the babies to rest, Derwen's tired eyes told me she needed rest not sex. My wife's earlier enthusiasm waned under the strain of her responsibilities, but Derwen's body still reacted to my pent-up need, her nipples pointed and called to me. I kissed her gently and guided her towards the master bedroom. She kissed me and dropped her hand from my grasp heading towards a guest bedroom door while pointing at me to go to the master bedroom. I felt Katsu's excitement in our shared link, understanding their plan. Katsu waited for me in her temple dress at my bedroom door, a sly grin on her face. I surveyed Katsu's ready body, the gentle curve of her swollen lips, enjoying my lover's interest. Drawing a hand across the door, I closed it to the world. I felt an aching throb, knowing I would bask in Katsu's glow.

The pre-dawn gray filtered into my open bedroom window, bringing me out of the last of my dreams. I looked around and realized the bedroom was empty, so I took a moment to clear my head and put on a thin, woolen robe. Waking up alone in bed wasn't uncommon now, as our children demanded feeding, as babies do when hungry in the early morning. Walking down the servant's stairway I came across Derwen's friend Ridgeworth, startling her. I embraced her, and she took the opportunity to extract her oral medicine, which left both of us happy. Morita, the new kitchen maid, was getting the kitchen fires going and caught Ridgeworth opening my robe and milking me. My wish to get a bit of cheese and bread turned into an interesting encounter for all three of us. There was no doubt in my mind this would make Derwen happy for her long-time friend. Derwen is a long-term thinker and I didn't believe Ridgeworth suspected her friend's true goals. As a supportive husband I felt honor-bound to help Derwen. I was certainly happier and with my head satisfied, thinking about the night's dreams was easier.

My dreams were more numerous and chaotic than usual. The weather reports and ship movements mixed with more fragments of my old life, blending with images of useful tools and inventions for this world. Our clear weather bode well for the completion of Hajin's new fort around the observation tower. The Caldavian raiders had finally retreated from one of the northern port towns, sailing east around Convey towards their territory. A large force of men, from northern estates and freeholds, marched to recapture the now abandoned husk of a town. The raiders had razed the heart of the town, and a stream of refugees were strung out along main roads as far away as Port City. The city's watch had defended the inner harbor gate long enough for many residents to flee the barbarian horde. The city's protectors were at last overwhelmed, however.

The largest group of raiders remained in the other captured town, spreading their wicked ways further southwest towards the freeholds north of us. While Derwen fed our children in the upstairs guest room, we talked about some of my dreams. My lover listened intently, while encouraging our babies to leach milk from her mammary glands. I avoided the dream and details about my old life.

I asked her about the friendly troops that had finally moved to push the raiders off the island--her spy and express rider network were the finest in the land. Derwen described the collection of nobles, many not friendly with her faction, who controlled the men-at-arms, the estate guards, and the levies that were asserting renewed control of the north. The infighting among the nobles over command, influence, and placement of positions in the improvised army was terrible, causing long delays in the army's movements. Additionally, a token number of men-at-arms and mercenaries from Port City, led by the City's watch commander, were part of the moving calamity called an army.