Chapter 20
A knock at the door finally ceased Benjamin’s hammer falls, “Come!” He called, setting the hammer into its storage place and gazing down at his work. Viola, followed by Valtrya walked in, covered in grime from the day's work and looking both haggard and happy with themselves, “Hey you two. I’m almost finished, I just need to quench.” He greeted. His right arm began to glow, and he picked up the still-glowing metal with his bare hand. He ran a hand along the length of the piece, pulling and shifting the grain of the material until it was properly de-stressed, before dipping it in a vat of oil. His girls stepped over to watch as he pulled the metal out of the hissing liquid and laid it back on the table. “What is it… blade, funny.” Valtrya asked, “looks too thin.”
Benjamin smiled down at her, “it is much thinner than an iron sword. It is a type of sword from my home, called a ‘Saber’. Benjamin pulled out a roughly mocked up hilt, “It’s much lighter than what I used today.” He winced at Viola’s ascent shoulder rub at the reminder of their duels, but he continued, “I’m making it left-handed so that I can use a gun in my right. That's why I’m learning the sword the way I am,” He slipped the saber hilt over the tang, showing roughly what he was going for. “How are your armors coming?”
Viola groaned, “I’m redesigning my left arm. I made it to match what I was practicing with, but our duel is giving me ideas to change it. I still haven’t started on my buckler yet.”
Benjamin nodded, struggling to keep from spilling his secret project. “Good, I was hoping some good would come out of beating on each other.” He turned to Val, “Hey, now that we’re alone. Let’s do what Yilarran asked. Tell me, what did you learn from our fight.”
“I need to… keep my spear…” She began, “I also need to add to…. shield…. Something pointy…” she paused and dropped her head, “I panicked at… end. Knee on back…. Blade to neck… bad memories.” She shuddered for a moment, only to be engulfed in a gentle embrace. Ben kissed her on the top of the head, “I was wondering, that. How do you feel now?”
Val looked up at him, “Still trust… my Ben.” She said softly, giving a gentle smile before wrinkling her nose,“Come, baths…. We stink…”
Benjamin snorted a laugh, “the Baths would be nice. Our clothes need a good scrub.” Ben was slowly getting used to the… different… grooming standards in this reality, but all three of them were pushing those standards to their limits with the combat training/ Forgeworking Days.
The three of them departed for home, and Benjamin noticed the weather darkening more quickly than the setting sun usually dictated, “Looks like a blizzard.” He mumbled. “What is a, blizzard” Viola asked, reaching out to catch individual snowflakes in her glove. These flakes were almost comically large, and Benjamin enjoyed watching the sisters wonder at them. “Basically, it’s like when the snow fell, but much much thicker, with wind and ice. It might not be safe to leave the tree in the morning.”
As if on que, an icy blast kicked up a portion of slow on the ground, momentarily obscuring the walking path, “yup, we might actually get a day off.” Ben snorted. “Let’s hurry. Even I’m starting to get cold.” The three half jogged the rest of the way to the Farie’s Mother tree, making it inside just as the gates at its base began to close.
Vilora greeted them just inside the threshold with a hug, accompanied by a haggard-looking Jukha. The Hunter appeared to be covered in a slick silvery substance that reeked of death. “I was beginning to worry.” Vilora huffed, but Benjamin raised an eyebrow at the Ork, “I guess that explains what you’ve been up to. What was it?”
Jukha snorted, “a western great Egret. I don’t get to hunt them often. They hibernate in the summer, and hunt in the winter.” Benjamin looked him up and down, “How do they taste?”
Jukha laughed outright, “You will see. The Queen requested one for a formal dinner.” Vilora patted him on the back, “Come, the baths await all of us.”
The group soon arrived at the familiar baths, but this time Vilora guided them past the normal door to a second entrance revealing a singular pool with attendants waiting for them. Benjamin looked around cautiously. He threw a hand up over his eyes as he caught a glimpse of Vilora disrobing “WHOA! Can someone tell me what’s goin’ on?” Jukha broke into a hearty laugh and the attendants just looked moderately attentively at him. Vilora just chortled, “Oh come now, Benjamin. I’m old enough to be your matriarch, and I’ve healed enough of you to know just how you are built.”
Benjamin slowly lowered his hand to find the Farie and Jukha already settled into the pool, thankfully covered by the water. Vilora simply raised an eyebrow, “These are my private baths. It is our custom for people we consider family to bathe together.” Benjamin glared at her for a moment before being distracted by Vi and Val splashing eagerly into the pool. “Awe fuck it” he growled, stripping off the grime-laden forgework clothes and settling down into the pool, “I guess it makes sense, and You honor me by calling us family. A little heads-up would be nice. I was raised a bit less… flamboyantly in the modesty department.”
Vilora gave a dainty laugh, “But where’s the fun in that? Your expression was just so priceless.” Benjamin gave her a more relaxed scowl, “I guess some of the Farie stories of your people are close to true. Speaking of, I’ve not seen any male Vin, at all?” Vilora nodded, “Both the Vin and the Fay do not bear sons. Our race’s biology overpowers that of our mates. It allows us to bear children with almost any race, but we will always give birth to a Farie. I’ve over 20 children with Jukha, but I know not who they are. Each generation is raised in the mother tree together, it is our way. I only learned of my twin sister by chance much later in our lives.”
Benjamin regarded her for a moment before getting a splash on the face from Val. She tackled him from his right, driving him under the water momentarily. Ben surfaced only to see Vi splashing a wall of water at him from their other side. “No more serious talk, it’s time for, AAAHHH!” She was interrupted by both Benjamin and Val diving on her, dragging her under with them. Jukha and Vilora just smiled, watching the much younger than their millennia of years have their fun.
After a few minutes, things calmed down. Soaps were brought out and soon the pool had a respectable lather of foam covering its surface. “So, how are you liking your stay with my people?” Vilora asked, curled up in Jukha’s lap.
“It’s… nice. Being able to work with my hands feels good. I’m sure introducing steel has thrown everything up on end.” Ben pulled both of the Aereesin women to him, “I’m, happy. I could live in peace here.” He murmured almost prayerfully, before perking up visibly. “These two are working on their graduation project.”
“Oh?” Jukha asked, “What do ya have these poor girls making for you this time.” He teased. Ben was beaten to the punch by Val, “We are making…. Own Armor… steel Armor”, she looked around at Vilora and Jukha’s stunned expressions then blushed, “Benjamin family… you family… I share my voice with…. Family.” She turned and kissed Ben passionately for a moment, “The bribes are.. nice too.” She smirked as she felt Benjamin react to her body on his. “Busted again,” Ben snorted, extremely happy about the foam covering the water’s surface. Vilora smiled gently, “Your improving. Your voice is getting stronger.” Val beamed at the praise and settled down next to Benjamin.
Viola floated out from the side of the pool, “Ben says there is a blizzard coming.” Vilora gave an exaggerated shudder despite the steaming pool, “It is a particularly cold winter, this year. I suspect we may be tree-bound for the next several days.” Benjamin furrowed his brow, “I knew we were north, but I didn’t think we were this far North. Come to think of it, I don’t know exactly where we are outside of just ‘deeper into the FeralWood’.”
Vilora huffed a sigh, “My sister’s decision. We are also higher in elevation than the village we left. There is a large central mountain range that separates the east and west of the realms. We are west of the peaks. No realm has made it this far in over 1000 years.”
Benjamin looked around the room, “And the mother tree?”
“Planted from a clipping saved from our original mother tree around the end of the H’mure war.” Vilora answered before stretching. Jukha snagged her mid-stretch, pulling her to his chest and whispered something in her ear. Vilora’s face flushed brightly for a moment, “It is getting late. Our clothes appear clean. I think I’ll… um… retire for the night”
Benjamin glanced away as the two toweled off, instead choosing to lather his face and hair on last time. When he finished rinsing; He, Val, and Vi were alone. “I’m still not sure how that is physically possible.” He snickered, “I guess we better fo….. Ooof!” Val had forcefully pushed him back down onto the in-pool bench seat that ringed the edge below the waterline. She straddled him quickly, taking his head in her hands and kissing him fiercely. “My Benjamin” she whispered, smiling as she felt him react to her body against his. Val sank down onto his lap, her body giving a shuddering wiggle as Benjamin slipped into her.
“Hm” Ben let out a pleasured hum, “what brought this on.” Val bit his lower lip, and began slowly teasing him with little hip rolls, stirring Benjamin in small circles inside her “Work so hard, we only fall asleep at night. Val… No… I need to feel you.” she put a hand on her stomach, “here.” She rolled her hips again, and Ben watched the tension leave her body, “Tomorrow, we have no work. Tonight…” she began stirring her hips again, drawing a grunt from Ben. He looked over to Viola to find her out of arms reach, laid back with her head on the side of the pool. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the women’s shared sensations. Val pulled his attention back with a passionate kiss, followed by arching her back in invitation. Benjamin leaned forward and began teasing her nipples with his lips.
He let her guide his rhythm, kissing her breasts and neck in time to her hips. She set a maddeningly slow pace, reversing direction every so often as she knew he was following. Her body became his teacher, her hips slowing when she wanted his lips to linger, and speed up when she wanted him to wander. Their first few nights making love had been each discovering the other, building trust as barriers fell.
Tonight, Benjamin gave complete control to Valtrya. She led, and he followed. Benjamin found himself trapped between her thighs as Val kept him on the brink of climax, but resolutely refused to finish him. She could feel when he was close, and would sink herself fully into him, holding them both motionless, “Not yet, my Benjamin. Not yet.” She begged into his ear each time, her forge-sculpted body immobilizing him in her soft but powerful embrace.
Benjamin did not fight her, it was an act of total trust. His breathing slowed once again and she released him, returning to her lesson as his lips fell on her neck. This time Viola climaxed next to them. She let out a long low moan, finally overwhelmed by her sister's slow stirring rhythm, but Val never wavered. “Not yet, my Benjamin. Not yet” she whispered, pausing again as she felt Benjamin begin to lose control, “stay with, me” Val whispered, shivering when Ben nipped the nape of her neck. She began again, and he focused on that spot. Val began to shudder and moan as his lips worked up and down her neck. This time she slowed down as she brought Benjamin to the edge, but she could not stop. “Stay with…” her voice failed her as her own climax rippled through her body.. her back arched away from Benjamin, who caught her by the small of the back, drawing her breasts to his lips. Her hips rolled outside of her control this time, and her body shuddered as she felt Benjamin explode.
Viola let out a loud cry as she felt everything happen. Benjamin held a shivering and bucking Valtrya to his chest, unable to stop his hips from bucking against her as he experienced a long rolling climax. He realized that she had been holding herself off from orgasm so she could finish with Benjamin. “My Ben…” she mumbled. “My Ben” she repeated, draped over a still recovering Benjamin.
The three finally dried and dressed, Benjamin carried an exhausted Val to their room. Viola slipped up next to him after they settled Val into the bed “Rest, my Benjamin,” Ben looked a worried question at Vi, but she only shook her head before settling in with a gentle smile, “I am content. We wanted it this way, tonight. The snow is heavy,” she looked out the sealed terrace windows, and Benjamin noticed the deepening snow drifts upon them, “I shall have you in the morning.” She finished, hovering over him for a kiss. Benjamin couldn’t help himself, hooking her by the lower back and drawing her larger breasts to his lips, “tomorrow then” he whispered as Vi shivered at his teasing touch. He released her and soon followed them into slumber.
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……. Knock knock, fucker….
Benjamin pulled the trigger on his rifle, riddling the door with full auto fire from his Lage machine gun. He kicked the door open, just in time for a blinding wave of heat and energy to rip at him from the front. He was in a field, and he realized that the inferno around him… was coming from him. His body blazed with waves of howling radiant energy as various shapes in vaguely medieval armor found themselves ripped apart.
…… Benjamin!!…..
His heart stopped, turning to see Valtrya running towards him, her skin bubbling in searing blistering wounds. He opened his mouth to speak, only to have foaming blood pour from it. His body pulsed with power, and his heart imploded as he watched one of the women he loved disintegrate in front of his eyes, her armor slowly melting from the onslaught. Benjamin heard a second scream, turning to find Viola writhing in agony, her body reacting to Val’s death. She never recovered, taking a lance to her back from a near-faceless figure with long fangs and red eyes.
*No!* he could not scream, only think. And he felt his body surge as the ground blackened beneath him. He felt the energy from his being pulse again, and his vision flashed white.
Benjamin bolted upright in his bed, drenched in sweat, his head whipping to the side as the raging howl of the blizzard tore him further into the conscious world.
“Ben?” Viola’s soft but urgent whisper was almost missed in the moment, and Benjamin fought to calm his breathing through a cascade of emotions, “My Benjamin, what is it?” Viola asked a second time. Benjamin finally looked at her, her worry deepening with the abject terror in his expression, “A dream… a vision… maybe both… a nightmare…” He whispered. He shifted to sit up fully, “I need a minute.” Viola shifted to let him out of their bed, and Benjamin turned to pull the blankets up around them both to keep them warm.
The floor felt like ice to his feet, but he walked over to the terrace door, opening it fully to face the raging fury of the storm. The cold blast of wind and snow contributed to the desired affect, purging him of the last vestiges of sleep. He stood there for several long moments before a shivering arm reached his shoulder, “Benjamin, speak to me…” Ben closed the door, turning to take the hand of Viola, who stood with him, wrapped in a throw blanket. The two of them sat on the loveseat-style couch, “I… I think it was a battle of some kind, I was… I don’t know what I was… but I was aflame…. Almost as hot as Suelin herself. Val tried to…. “ Benjamin started shaking uncontrollably, and Viola threw her blanket around the both of them. She ignored his frigid skin, straddling him and pulling his head to her chest, “shhh my Benjamin…. Shhhh… It was but a horrible dream.. shhh, I’m here. Val is here, we are safe.” Benjamin sobbed into her embrace, unable to hold in his emotions. “It felt so real…”
“I am real, my Benjamin.” Viola whispered into his soul, “We are real, and we are well..” she squeezed his face into her more generous breasts for a moment before releasing his head, “What do you need, my Benjamin… ask it.” Benjamin lifted his head, sharing a kiss with her, “why do you call me, my Benjamin?”
Viola smiled down at him from his lap, leaning in to kiss the edge of his jaw, “You would never let us call you ‘My Lord’. You hated it, but we adored you even then.” She half whispered, slowly kissing her way to his ear before starting down his neck, “Later, as we understood what you were doing, why you hated being called ‘master’; we spoke it in hope, that you would stay with us, and not send us away.”
Viola smiled as she felt Benjamin’s body simultaneously melt into her touch, and harden between her thighs, “and now?” He asked, shuddering slightly as she shifted her hips to take him to herself. “Now… My Benjamin…” she emphasized the phrase as she took him fully, “It is truth. You are ours. You belong to me, you belong to Val.” She took a breath, and began to move him inside her, “In the same way that I and my sister belong to you, in here” she pressed a hand to his chest as she rode him. “What do you need my Benjamin” she repeated.
Benjamin caught her around the small of her back, sinking her firmly onto his lap, and his other hand caught the back of her head. he pulled her face to his, and their tongues danced. Viola let her body melt to his, realizing what he was asking.
Their lovemaking turned into a long intimate kiss accompanied by the occasional hip roll. Benjamin’s lips explored her breasts, then Violas lips teased her ear lobes. She nipped him on the collarbone, then gave him her throat as he returned the love bites with his own. “My… Benjamin…” Viola whispered, finally beginning to bounce on his lap. Benjamin slipped his hands around her ass, lifting her gently to guide her tempo.
Benjamin gave her a gentle squeeze, “Mine.” He whispered back, and Viola gasped at the possessive tone in his voice. He began adding a buck to his hips with every bounce. She did not tease his climax. She drove him to it with determination, giving him no choice but to fill her. His explosion cascaded her own, causing her to shudder wildly through her own passion.
They clung to each other for a small eternity, and eventually, Viola spoke first, keeping Benjamin in a desperate embrace, “We are yours. Nothing in this realm can change that,” she kissed him fiercely, “My Benjamin.”