Tales of Erogenia: Book 1 - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Balancing the Cha

As Zenaria stared at Tren, a whirl of emotions, spun through her mind; joy, surprise, trepidation, and a strange aching in her heart. For some reason she was short of breath and hot in places she should not have been hot. Tren's first words, however, swept her initial reaction away. "So you have returned," he said, his voice completely devoid of emotion and his comment was directed to Ulua.

Zenaria felt her heart twist. It was as if Tren had not even seen her. He was focused entirely on Ulua, his hands on the hilts of his twin blades, his eyes cold enough to frost his breath. "I am glad to see you too, brother," Ulua said calmly.

Zenaria's eyes widened. It was like watching two cats circle one another. What had come over the two assassins that they should show such animosity? Without thinking she drew her sword and stepped between them, her barbarian anger surging to the fore. "What is this? How can you give your sister so poor a welcome?"

Tren seemed to see her for the first time and his dark eyes widened in surprise. A strange emotion flickered across his face, one that was almost instantly replaced by his usual emotionless calm.

"He thinks I have betrayed the order," Ulua explained. "Such an act is punishable by death."

"I will not let that happen," Zenaria proclaimed. She looked at Tren, her blue eyes flashing fire. "You will have to go through me first."

"But she betrayed the assassin's creed," Tren protested. "She should be dead."

"I care not for your muddled creed," Zenaria growled. "Without Ulua I would not have escaped and without me she would still be a prisoner. We are bonded as warriors of the Snow Leopard."

"I thank you, my sister," Ulua said, touching Zenaria's arm, "but there is no need." She turned to Tren. "There was no betrayal, my brother." And then Ulua explained her captivity and the predicament that had kept her from killing herself.

Tren appeared relieved and tears glistened in his eyes. It was the first time Zenaria had ever seen him display much in the way of emotion. He held out his arms and enfolded Ulua within them. They hugged only briefly and then Tren stepped back looking into Ulua's eyes. "I thought I had lost you when you did not return and then when I heard that you had been taken prisoner and had not ended your life I thought you had betrayed the Beni Sidra and I would have to kill you. You must tell me of your adventures and how you managed to escape the High Thuski, but first we must decide how to deal with this harem you have brought me."

The caves were large enough that there was room for all of the women. What was lacking was the sort of furnishings they were used to and the quality and quantity of food and drink. However, despite some complaining the young women seemed content to put up with the hardships of their existence in return for the promise of freedom. They knew that with the amount of gold each of them carried they had the means to set themselves up in a life of luxury and control who they selected as husbands.

"We will have to get them out of here as soon as possible," Tren said. "It is only a matter of time before one or the other of them becomes discontent and decides to try and find her way back to the Sandakar."

Zenaria and Ulua nodded their agreement. They settled in the harem girls as well as they were able and then prepared a meal by combining the rations Ulua had ordered the Thuski to provide for them.

While eating, Ulua and Zenaria told Tren of their adventures. The telling took until late at night at which time Zenaria and Ulua were more than ready for sleep. They slept in their robes, Tren commenting that tomorrow he would try to acquire proper bedrolls.

Tren was gone when Zenaria awoke. Ulua was busy working up some sort of breakfast for the two dozen young women, most of whom were still asleep. "You might want to see if you can work out some latrine arrangements. We can't have them going just anywhere and the place Tren used is not large enough for so many."

Zenaria nodded and trotted off to see what she could find. She selected a dry tunnel that branched off from the main cave and was not too far away from where the harem beauties were sleeping. It sloped appropriately away from the main cave and was quite dry. She acquainted the girls which her choice and then returned to Ulua to help complete the breakfast preparations.

"We can't stay here long," she commented when she saw how much food Ulua was preparing. Every one of Tren's cooking utensils was in use and there still was not enough to feed everyone at once. In addition, the food was being used up at an alarming rate. They would have to find a way out of Uhra Don and quickly. The problem was, Zenaria was not sure that the pampered harem girls could make it across the desert wasteland she and Tren had crossed.

Tren returned near noon. By that time both Ulua and Zenaria had stripped off their desert robes. Tren eyed their black lacquered armour appraisingly. Was it Zenaria's imagination, or did his eyes linger on her just a split second longer than on his sister? He set down a bundle of gear he had brought with him. I've arranged to have more gear brought to the stables tomorrow. But then we will have to leave. I dare not take any more chances in having this hideaway discovered."

"What is our way our?" inquire Zenaria.

"The way we came in." He went on after noting Zenaria's look of concern. "I know it will be a tough trek, but here is really no choice. I can't bring in almost thirty camels. I would be sure to be noticed. We will have to travel at night to try and avoid most of the heat and hope that these harem girls can stand up to a five day trek across the desert."

The rest of the day passed with various preparations a good deal of which was explaining to the harem girls what the situation was. To Zenaria's surprise most of them reacted well to the prospect of a five day walk through a desert hell. Setia, one of the girls who had been Zenaria's servant summed up their attitudes best. "Better to die of thirst than serve our lives as the Thuski's whores. We will follow you anywhere, mistress."

Zenaria was not sure if most of the girls would agree with that sentiment, but no one contradicted her. Zenaria found herself flattered that Setia had pledged her loyalty to her rather than Tren, but she tried not to get too full of herself. It was Tren who knew that way across the desert, not her.

She busied herself during the rest of the day helping to sort through the equipment needed to cross the desert safely. Many of the girls helped, which was fortunate as it took awhile to fill and stockpile the numerous waterskins that would be needed for the journey. Tren had little faith in the ability of the young women to ration themselves on the desert march so he had acquired waterskins that would be carried by the three camels he had managed to acquire. That way he could ration the water use by having it where he could keep an eye on it. It took a good deal of the day to fill the large waterskins and make sure that they were not leaking.

There was also the task of creating packs for each of the women of an appropriate size. Since the women ranged in size from petite tall it was necessary to create individual burdens rather than force all of the women to carry identical loads. It took most of the day to finish these various tasks, and after eating another meal prepared by Ulua with the help of some of the women, Zenaria felt in need of a final swim.

The noise of two dozen chattering young women was close to driving her to distraction. Zenaria found it difficult to believe the amount of mindless noise the girls could generate and she needed desperately to find some place away from them. It was dark when she entered the pool, but a quarter moon and the light of a billion stars provided enough light that she had little trouble as she slipped into the cool water. She sighed as the water caressed her skin. Even in the caves the desert heat was pervasive near the entrance and Zenaria had spent much of her time near the entrance where the light was better, but the temperature was higher.

As she stroked languidly across the pool she found herself longing for the cool isolation of her subarctic homeland. She thought back to the spirit quest that had started her on her long journey. Could it be that it had only been a few months ago that she had left the stockade of the Snow leopard? It seemed like years. After what she had accomplished she felt as if her quest should be over. Surely helping to free Ulua should count for something. However, she knew it was not so. There was still something lacking and she knew it with every fibre of her being.

She had reached a shallow area created by a rocky ledge that jutted out of the canyon wall on the far side of the pool. During the day it was the last part of the area surrounding the pool to be vacated by the sun and Zenaria could feel the heat radiating from the rock, warming the water. It was shallow enough for her to reach the bottom and she rested there, her mind buzzing with the question of her unfulfilled destiny. It was at that time she realized that someone else was there.

"Beautiful night for a swim," Tren commented from the base of the cliff. He was almost completely invisible, hidden in the shadows, but Zenaria knew that he was almost certainly as nude as she was. Her mind shot back to the time she had seen him emerge from the sun-drenched pool in all of his naked glory. In spite of being immersed in water up to her waist she was suddenly so warm that she almost plunged back into the pool.

Zenaria stammered some incomprehensible reply. For the first time in her life her tongue was not working. She was burning up, barely able to answer, but more particularly it was where the heat was concentrated. Her loins felt as if they were on fire and an unnatural heat suffused her breasts. Her mouth was dry and her nipples were so taut that they tingled in anticipation. She stood uncertainly on the edge of the pool, the slight evening breeze playing around her overheated body.

Tren moved slowly toward her. "Come," he said holding out his hand. "It is time to balance that Cha you tried to explain to me."

Zenaria tried to speak, but no words would come out. As his hand touched her an electric shock surged through her body. The touch jolted her, causing her to jerk back. "I...I can't," she stammered. "M...my vow."

"Very well," Tren answered, "then we will deal with your vow now."

"Here?" Zenaria gasped, finding her full voice. "But we are standing in water and have no weapons."

"We have what the gods gave us," Tren replied. "What more do we need?"

Zenaria nodded slowly. "Very well, but I will not hold back."

"I would not respect you if you did," Tren answered and then he struck, but not in any way that Zenaria would have imagined.

He scooped water toward her, but with such force that for an instant Zenaria was blinded. She staggered back, blinking frantically to clear her vision only to find that when she could see again Tren was nowhere to be seen.

She turned in a circle, her senses tingling. Surely this was one of the stupidest battles she had ever been in. "Come up, you coward," she raged, searching the surface of the pond for some sign of her opponent. All that was revealed, however, was the widening circle of ripples from where Tren had dived beneath the surface. She turned again, expecting an attack from below at any second and backed slowly toward the rock wall. When Tren did surface she would give him more than a warm welcome.

"Uuggh! A Tren-sized weight slammed into her from above. Zenaria realized as her head was forced beneath the surface of the water that she should have looked up instead of down. She also realized that taking a deep breath would also have been an even better idea.

She struggled to find her footing, but discovered that the impact of Tren's body had driven her not only down, but out into the deeper water. She floundered, struggling to fight her way to the surface against Tren's weight. Her lungs burned, her struggles consuming the very oxygen she so desperately needed. She twisted her body, attempting to break free of the assassin's grip, but Tren had wrapped his arms and legs around her in such a way that he was impossible to dislodge.

Zenaria refused to panic, battling even as her mind began to fog. Her groping hands found one of Tren's arms. Closing her fingers over it she pulled even as her strength began to drain from her body. She felt the arm loosen. Just another second and she would have enough leverage to break free. A buzzing sounded between her ears. Her grip weakened. "Tricked," she thought. "Tricked." And then the buzzing drowned out everything else as she slipped into unconsciousness.

---

The first thing Zenaria became aware of as she regained consciousness was a dim glow. As her eyes adjusted she realized that she was looking at a small stub of candle burning in a dark cave. She moved in an attempt to sit up and was hit by a blinding headache. Her lungs also felt heavy and it was difficult to breathe. Nevertheless, she persisted in pushing herself into a sitting position. A few feet away Tren knelt on the floor of the cave, his eyes fixed on her. He held out a small cup. "Take this. It will make you feel better."

Zenaria was conscious that she was still unclothed, even though Tren had wrapped a loincloth around his middle, but she took the cup without comment and swallowed the liquid. It was bitter tasting and fiery with the taste of a mixture of hot spices. However, it had the effect Tren had promised. Heat spread though her mouth and sinus passages, clearing her head and loosening the thickness in her lungs. She coughed, bringing up some watery phlegm and immediately felt remarkably better.

"You tricked me," she gasped. "You would not have beaten me otherwise."

"You are probably right," Tren agreed. "But one the first rules of battle is to know your opponent. You knew that I was Beni Sidra, but did not take into account that I might act like one."

Zenaria managed to get to her feet, swaying slightly. She had been shamed as a warrior, but she would not go back on her word. "All right," she said, bowing her head. "You have beaten me. You are free to do what you want with me."

"You are forgetting what I said when we first met," Tren answered. "I take no woman against her will. I will not hold you to a promise that was so rashly made."

Zenaria coloured in anger. This was not how she had visualized her defeat. She had pictured herself being overcome by some valiant warrior only after a glorious and prolonged battle, after which the victor would pin her to the ground and ravish her until she was nearly insensible. Instead she had been tricked into fighting a battle at a place chosen by her opponent and held under water until she was reduced to a drowned rat.

"You are free to go," Tren continued. "I will tell no one of what has transpired."

Zenaria bristled like a wolf. Tren's seeming rejection had her ready to spit blood. Had the assassin no concept of honour? "What is wrong? Am I not good enough for you? You invite me to give myself to you and then will not take what is yours by right."

"I have no more right to you than the High Thuski did. No man should take a woman by force. You made a vow when you were only a child. You are now a woman of great beauty and intelligence and a promise made in such haste should not have the power to dominate your life."

Zenaria opened her mouth for an angry retort and then two of Tren's words sank in. "Beautiful?" "Intelligent?" She had never thought of herself as fitting either of those words. Worst of all, the comment completely disarmed her. Did Tren really think of her that way? For the first time she took a good look at where she was.

"Where is this place?" she asked, looking about her. She saw that it was a small cave, in which were a small sleeping pallet, two small cups, and a wineskin.

"It is where I hoped to take you had you agreed to my invitation," Tren said. "No one except me knows where it is, not even Ulua."

"You prepared this for me?" Crude as it was, she suddenly felt flattered. It was hardly the sort of place a woman dreamed about for a romantic tryst, but somehow that didn't matter. Her anger flowed out of her.

"I've been a fool," she thought. "I swore to submit only to a man who could defeat me in combat and then used my natural ability training to make myself invincible." Probably not even as skilled an opponent as Tren could have beaten her in a straight up fight. What he had done was to find a way to remove the burden she had placed on herself.

She took a deep breath and turned to face him. "I will stay," she said. Slowly she stepped toward him. Tren gently placed his hand behind her neck and pulled her head down to his level.

The kiss exploded through her. Her knees buckled and she swayed and would have fallen had not Tren held her. Slowly he eased her down to the pallet on the floor of the cave, but the kiss did not end. Their lips parted and their tongues entwined even as Zenaria lay back and Tren moved his body over her.

A soft moan of pleasure rose from deep in her throat and suddenly her body was on fire, heat suffusing her loins, her hands clutched at Tren, trying to pull him even closer. Her actions almost frantic.

"Gently, my barbarian," Tren whispered. He moved his lips to her throat, and then kissed her eyelids, before moving back to her lips. At the same time his hands moved over her body touching, caressing, and stroking her to an even higher level of passion.

She arched into him, pulling at his loincloth and hooking her legs behind his knees. Her breathing quickened, becoming fevered. It seemed she had waited for this moment all of her seventeen years even though by the standards of her tribe she was only two or three years late. Tren's loincloth slipped from his hips, helped by Zenaria's fingers, and she pulled him toward her, opening her legs in wanton invitation.

Tren, however, appeared to be in no hurry. "Slowly, my beauty," he murmured. "It will be all the more enjoyable for taking our time." He continued to tantalize her, moving his hands over her body, teasing her into a mounting state of sexual excitement.

She quivered as his fingers stroked her back and his lips moved over her throat, and then moved between her breasts, gently brushing her nipples. The touch caused Zenaria to gasp. She arched into him, inviting him to take the taut rosebuds of her throbbing nipples into his mouth. Tren, however, ignored her, instead moving his mouth and hands lower, his hands caressing her outer thighs and buttocks and his lips and tongue tracing an erotic path below her breasts and over her belly.

Zenaria moaned both in passion and frustration. Her body was on fire and Tren seemed reluctant to quench her desire, yet his every touch raised her to another level of sexual excitement. Her hands clawed at his back ripping long welts across his dark skin, and she sank her teeth into his shoulder.

Tren grunted, and exerting surprising strength gripped her wrists and pinned her arms to the pallet. "Alright, my lioness; it is time."

He entered her smoothly, Zenaria receiving him like a well oiled sheath as his sword parted her swollen lower lips. She cried out in carnal desire, her body rising to receive him. The brief moment of pain as she lost her innocence was submerged in a rising tide of passion that swept all other sensations before it. She struggled to escape his grip, her smooth muscles tensing, but Tren held her, riding her bucking body as she heaved against him in uncontrolled passion.

For several minutes Zenaria seemed inexhaustible, taking everything Tren could give her and then demanding more, but slowly her strength waned, even as her passion mounted. Something was building inside her, something indescribably powerful and wonderful beyond anything she had dreamed of. And then her body convulsed and she screamed, breaking free of Tren's grip and using her legs and arms to pull him deep within her.

Again and again her womb contracted, her body gripping Tren's shaft so tightly he gasped in disbelief. And then finally, she fell back temporarily exhausted, her chest heaving. She felt completely satiated. Never had she felt such complete fulfillment and she wanted to do nothing more than lie back and hold her lover.

Tren, however, was not about to let her off quite so easily. He pulled out of her, but now teased her nipples with his mouth and teeth, refusing to let her state of arousal slip away. And then his hands and mouth went lower, touching her in a way she had never dreamed of.

Within minutes Zenaria was once again panting like a fish and then he entered her once more, moving in and out of her in a gentle rhythm that had her whimpering in desire. Slowly, like a pot coming to boil, Zenaria's passion mounted until once again her body shuddered in sexual release. It seemed less intense than the first time, but went on and on, slowly mounting in intensity, until Zenaria was crying out as her body convulsed in uncontrolled ardour. Only then did Tren spend his seed into her, his own cry of passion blending with hers.

They lay quietly, their arms and legs interlocked; their sweating bodies too exhausted to move. After awhile Zenaria spoke. "That was wonderful. I feel like such a fool."

"Yes?" said Tren expectantly as he softly stroked her belly.

Zenaria shifted her body invitingly. The touch of Tren's fingers had her body tingling in anticipation.

"I could have had this years ago if I had not been so headstrong."

"Sometimes," Tren said, as he slowly sat up, "the gods have a way of placing us on a certain path for a reason."

What do you mean?" Zenaria asked, sitting up and accepting a cup of wine as Tren poured another for himself.

"Did it never occur to you that your gods might have had some plan for you? If you had not taken your vow of celibacy you would probably not have undertaken your Spirit Quest, in which case you would never have met me and Ulua would still be a prisoner."

The thought hit Zenaria like a thunderbolt. Although her faith in her deities was profound she had never considered that her life might serve some higher purpose. Perhaps her actions had not been so headstrong after all. "You are more than just a lover," she said, nuzzling Tren's ear. "You are wise as well."

"I have been trying to convince you of that since I met you," Tren answered. He kissed her gently, and then a little harder; and after that the only sound was that of their heavy breathing punctuated by their grunts of passion.

---

They made love twice more before morning. In between Zenaria chatted, telling Tren more about her homeland and her place in it. She had no way of knowing if it was the sort of thing that passed between lovers, but Tren seemed interested enough in it, especially the relationship she had with Jaree.

"As I said once before," he said. There is more to you than meets the eye. Although what meets the eye is certainly worth looking at."

"Is it really true that you find me beautiful?" Zenaria asked, rolling on to one elbow so that she could look Tren full in the eye. "Or was that just a ploy to get me to make love to you?"

"You are the most spectacular beauty I have ever seen," Tren answered. "And I thought so from the moment I met you."

Zenaria was not given to weeping, but a wave of emotion welled up within her. She had to swallow hard several times to maintain her composure, finally solving the problem by wrapping her long legs around Tren's waist and pulling him toward her. After that time both she and Tren were too exhausted to talk. They slept until dawn, when a noise outside the cave awoke both of them.

Ulua's voice floated through the cave entrance. "Breakfast is ready."

Zenaria and Tren both sat up. "I thought you said no one knew of this place," Zenaria said.

"I didn't," Ulua answered, poking her head around the corner, "but you two made so much noise last night that we thought the camels had come into season."

"Did everyone hear?" Zenaria asked.

"Everyone who wasn't deaf or dead," Ulua replied stepping into the cave. She seemed completely unperturbed that both Tren and Zenaria were nude. "I expect even the High Thuski could hear you."

For some reason Zenaria found herself blushing, especially given the fact that she had left her clothing and armour near the side of the pool and would have to appear nude when she returned to the main cave. However, Ulua neatly solved that problem for her. "I have left your clothing and armour outside the cave, but I expect after your night's exertion you may wish to bathe first. However, do not take too long or your porridge will get cold."

As Ulua left, Zenaria got to her feet or rather she tried to. She gasped as she discovered that there was more to the small ache between her thighs than she had thought. "What is it?" Tren asked, noticing her discomfort.

"I... I'm a little bit sore," she answered, blushing even more furiously than she had before.

Tren smiled. "That is to be expected. I too am in a little bit of pain. The next time we make love I think I will have you declawed."

He turned as he spoke and Zenaria stared in shock at the deep lacerations on his back. "I did that?" she gasped.

"You become somewhat excited when you are in the throes of passion. I will get Ulua to put some ointment on these. They will heal."

Zenaria nodded dumbly, barely able to stop her mouth from forming a huge grin. Tren had said 'next time.' It was hard to concentrate on anything else as she walked to the mouth of the cave, gritting her teeth to hide her pain and trying to walk normally.

Outside, the tunnel was deserted. Zenaria sighed in relief. She had half expected all of the harem girls to be waiting for them. Picking up her clothes she followed Tren to the pool and took a quick swim.

The cool water leached some of the soreness out of her. She emerged dripping wet and dressed without bothering to dry herself. Even though it was early morning the heat was already impressive and she knew she would dry quickly. She entered the main cave and found to her chagrin that every one of the harem girls was assembled for her entrance. Her embarrassment was more than evident as she turned the colour of a beet. Her mortification was made even more complete by the knowing grins of most of the girls.

She might have fled the cave had it not been for Setia. "Welcome, Zenaria," the girl said. "You have now become a woman."

Zenaria straightened. "Yes," she thought. "I suppose I have." She smiled and joined the girls for breakfast.

Continued in Chapter 18

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