Reversed Circumstance
#13 of The World Over
*****
Hello everyone. Felinix here. Sorry about my long hiatus. I could make excuses, but I'm not going to.
Either way, here is chapter 13 of The World Over. Ironically the one chapter I wanted to get to was one of the harder ones to write. I think it must have gone through three or four drafts to get to this stage. And even now I'm still not sure I've got everything right. Please be gentle.
So, now that you're here, please enjoy the last chapter in this arc of the plot. (Finally)! And no that doesn't mean the story is finished.
*****
Chapter 13
Reversed Circumstance
Sara woke up with a pain in her stomach like none she'd ever felt before. Her head thumped and her breathing was ragged and heavy. She rolled onto her side to vomit, only to find that the contents of her stomach were landing on Mathias' lap.
He didn't argue with her, but stroked her hair back and shushed her, comforting her in any way he could.
A tear escaped and ran a trickle down the bridge of her nose.
"Mathias," she managed to whisper.
"Don't worry. You're going to be all right. Sara, can you hear me? You're going to be fine. Just relax."
He was good as covering his feelings, but she could detect worry in his voice, and briefly it gave her more comfort than the warmth of his hand.
Just then Helerna came in with a bucket of water, freshly pumped from the well outside.
"Oh my goodness Sara dear! You're awake! Thank the Gods." She came to Sara's side and wet a cloth, then draped it over Sara's forehead. Sara protested weakly, but gave in when she found the strength in her arm, and for that matter the rest of her body, simply wouldn't sustain her.
"How long...?" she asked.
"Almost four days," answered Mathias who leaned in to check her temperature with his palm. "You had us all worried."
"I'm sorry... Helerna, Mathias... I'm sorry." She began to cry.
"Oh, now Sara, don't cry like that dear. You're all right now. You just need rest. Here, have some water," and Helerna scooped up a cup of water from the bucket and offered it to her.
"It's not that," Sara cried, "Everything is back. I remember it. That night, Mathias, I remember."
"And it happened just like your previous attack?"
Sara nodded weakly. She hadn't noticed but the daylight shone through the window and was beaming onto the bed. It must have been almost midday because the spot on her legs where the beam was positioned were getting hot. She groaned, but couldn't manage to signal her discomfort in any meaningful way. Helerna changed the water on the cloth, wetting Sara's forehead again.
"Sara... whatever you remember, you can tell us all about it later. You need to rest; get back your strength. I'm going to make you some broth so just wait here."
"Can I see the kids?" she asked.
Helerna paused and sighed with a smile, "Of course dear, I'll go get them. They were really worried too."
The older woman left and Mathias was left alone with Sara.
"I suppose I'll hear that you didn't leave my side once while I was out," Sara joked.
"As a matter of fact..." replied Mathias, "... But Sara, really... you remember everything now? Your parents, your life... other... other people?"
His voice showed weakness, a trait she'd never realized in him before. His charming and subtly charismatic demeanour didn't shine like usual. She looked at him, her deep yellow eyes gazing over what she could see of him. She frowned at his question, feeling like he was concerned for the place he had so delicately carved out of her heart.
"Mathias, I..."
"It's just, that night... we... we almost... if you remember everything, I can't help but think."
She knew who Varian was again; she could see his hand stretching out for hers during the attack and the look on his face as she fell away from his grasp. But she also knew he was dead now.
Even though she didn't want to admit it to herself. A part of her had died along with him.
"Mathias, stop," she reached up to him gracefully, with all the strength she could muster and rubbed her palm over his chin, which he nuzzled affectionately. Then she drew his head forwards and kissed him lightly. He returned the kiss, fervently, then released. He smiled at her, just as the children poked their little heads in through the doorway.
"Sara!" they shouted in unison, which hurt her ears, but she ignored it.
"Hi you two. Did you take care of Mathias while I was asleep?"
"No! He wouldn't come outside long enough for us to."
"Yeah, Sara, he was mean. He wouldn't play with us or nothing!"
Sara giggled. "Well, you'll just have to teach him a lesson then, cause I heard him promise that he'd play with you until sundown today just to make it up to you."
"Really?" they shouted, elated.
"Yep. Really. Now you let him change clothes and he'll be right out."
They flew out the door laughing and Sara looked back up at Mathias, smiling. "I'm not the only one that needs attention you know. Go on, have fun. I need to rest anyway right?"
He couldn't answer her, but he did as she had suggested. He changed his clothes and left out the front door.
She didn't wake the rest of the day and it wasn't until late at night that she finally ate the broth Helerna had promised.
After that day in the outdoor bath, the little servant girl had joined Varian and the queen in bed every day for half a week. Today was no exception.
Varian was thrusting in and out of the queen while both she and the servant girl kissed wildly.
The queen had to admit, she had never really been into sex with another woman, but ever since being coaxed into it by Varian, she hadn't regretted it. Nor did the servant girl, if her moaning and meowing were any indication.
This night, they were sharing the luscious bed of pillows again. The queen was on all fours, Varian behind her, pumping into her sopping pussy blazingly fast. The servant girl, who had revealed her name as Bi'yah a short while after their first introduction, was kissing Terena with a fervour that was on par with Varian.
After a while Varian came again and they all collapsed on the sea of pillows panting.
"Mmm! Varian, and you Bi'yah; you're both so skilled at this."
"My queen knows how to please as well," replied Bi'yah.
"Oh Bi'yah, you're a tease. Come here kitten." She rolled over and kissed deeply the little servant, who eagerly returned the kiss, along with a good fondling of the queen's breasts.
"You two are insatiable!" said Varian.
"Oh spare us Varian," said Terena, "How long are you planning to hold on to your unbreakable constitution?"
"Until my queen says to stop of course," he replied, rolling towards them, already hard once again.
"Don't plan on quitting any time soon Varian, but I've had enough of that for the moment. I believe it's Bi'yah's turn at you. Varian, you know what to do."
He smiled wickedly and positioned himself over Bi'yah menacingly. She was lying on her back, still groping away at the queen's fine breasts, while Terena began to focus her attention back on kissing the succulent feline servant.
Varian positioned his member just outside Bi'yah's entrance, rubbing his tip against the edge of her lips, slowly teasing her, coaxing her open. This elicited a muffled meow from the adorable feline and he knew he was doing it right.
Not that he ever did it wrong.
He began his entry, slowly pressing himself deeper into her sweltering depths so that she stretched to accommodate him. She was tight, even after these five or so days, and he enjoyed penetrating her almost more than doing so with the queen, not that he would ever admit it.
Bi'yah gasped and broke the kiss, giving Terena another idea. The queen eased herself away from the blissful servant and moved up the delicate body, positioning herself so that she was straddling the girl's face. Her pussy was right in front of the girl's mouth, and tongue. Bi'yah got the hint and immediately began working her rough tongue against the lips of Terena's royal pussy. Electricity shot up through the queen's body, and she braced herself with both arms so that she wouldn't fall over. She lowered herself so that Bi'yah didn't have to crane her neck to reach.
Varian was satisfied that he had worked Bi'yah's depths enough and began to thrust with a little more strength; driving in to the hilt every few thrusts just for the little extra shock it seemed to send up through the servant girl's body. With each little shock a moan would escape Bi'yah's lips as well, giving a slight vibration through her tongue and into the queen in turn, who began to gasp and rock her hips lightly against the soft intruder.
The queen was very sensitive though, and so it took very little for Bi'yah to coax her to orgasm, which sprayed out over her muzzle and onto the pillow below. The girl loved the taste, and lapped even more eagerly to drink up the flavour.
Even though the queen's arms grew weaker with each passing second, she still maintained a position over the girl's mouth, still rocking her hips over the girl's muzzle and meowing when a particularly sensitive spot was rasped over by the delicate tongue within her.
Bi'yah however was far less sensitive. Varian in fact had trouble bringing the servant girl to orgasm. Though he was more than up to the challenge, and he had never failed before either.
He thrust into the tight depths hard and fast, breaking his pace only to work out the cramps that began to build in his legs because of the position. He grabbed Bi'yah's legs and held them apart, stretching her apart admittedly more than she would have liked. But she was too enthralled by his ability and stamina to care one way or another. Not to mention she was a little preoccupied at the moment.
Their climax built very quickly. Each knew how to drive the others wild, and they all employed those tactics readily. Varian loved the meowing noises the women made, the queen loved when her partners didn't mindlessly treat her as she had grown accustomed to, and Bi'yah was particularly fond of the rough and domineering actions of both her new lovers.
As the finale drew near, whimpers and moans and exasperated breaths rose heavy in the air. Their speed increased again, Varian pounding into the servant girl's pussy like nothing else existed and Terena groping and kneading the sensitive flesh of the servant girl's chest. Bi'yah needed only to lie and perform the same actions, but even so, the more frequent hilting of Varian's cock within her sent pleasure stricken purrs through her and wracked her brain with lust.
Varian had finally had enough and with one final thrust he came volcanically into Bi'yah, who in turn came with equal force all across Varian's lower body. Bi'yah let lose a scream of ecstasy into the queen's boiling depths and clapped her mouth around her opening. It didn't take much to bring the sensitive queen to her peak, and when she reached it, she meowed deafeningly and came into Bi'yah's waiting mouth and splashed the remnants onto the girl's chin.
Each panted and rolled to the side, none daring to touch each other to avoid what felt like would be a painful contraction of a second, or third, consecutive orgasm.
It was minutes before they regained enough composure to speak again.
"Varian, I do believe it's about time for supper."
"Shall I have food brought in my queen?" panted Bi'yah.
"Oh no, I can't have you wandering around in such a sweat. I'll send someone else for supper. We'll just have to take a bath while we wait." She smiled devilishly and was met with smiles of agreement all around. "We'll have to make tonight extra special though. Varian and I have an engagement tomorrow and we will be absent from the palace."
Bi'yah's ears flattened and she looked hurt somehow.
"Oh, don't be sad pet. There will be a special reunion when we get back, won't there Varian?"
"Absolutely my queen."
And with that they slipped on silk robes and made for the bath.
Sara had finally mustered the strength to get out of bed. She was a little stiff from staying in bed for so long, but she was more or less better now. She seemed to have plenty of energy too, which was all the better because Mathias came rushing to her bedside the previous day saying that there would be a small procession down the main street later on and that the queen herself would be appearing, if but briefly, on her way to another rich person's home. It would be Sara's one chance to see the queen, the ruler of the country, and she shouldn't miss it, even if she wasn't actually from Kaa.
In the afternoon, the procession actually made way through the city. It was only by chance that the parade's destination was located just outside the outer city, otherwise the queen never would have considered leaving her white walled fortress at all. Still, it was for appearance sake. It wouldn't do to have an invisible ruler after all. As usual, Varian was sitting right beside her on the canopied platform.
Mathias took Sara in a hurry to a place seldom noticed by many of the townsfolk. It was at the end of a long alleyway and up a tall ladder. He went up first and then scrambled precariously to the rooftop above. She adamantly followed. It was a perfect view. Along the streets were all the people in the city, throwing reeds to the ground; a symbolic gesture meant out of respect. There was a great cacophony of cheers and applause as the queen's procession was brought down the street. At first it was a low roar from the distance, but as her carried platform came round the bend a ways away the clapping and singing grew and grew enormously.
Sara leaned forward to take in the spectacle. She sat with her legs spread straight in front of her, bracing themselves across a small outcropping in the clay shingles of the roof. The din of the crowd grew louder and it was all she could do not to burst out in song and cheering herself. Though as soon as the queen came into her view, so did the man beside her.
Varian, sitting tall beside the queen and looking both threatening and regal in a way unusual for him.
She whispered his name to herself, a reminder that she knew who he was and he hadn't died after all.
Without even thinking about it she slid to her feet and leapt from the rooftop and into the crowd below. As graceful as she was, the fall still brought her to her knees. It took a moment, but when she had corrected herself she sprinted for the street, pushing past the spectators. She called out Varian's name over and over, drowning out the call of her name from Mathias still perched on the roof. As she broke the crowd she fell into the street, quickly and deftly leaping up again and pouncing towards Varian's side of the carried platform.
"Varian! Varian! Is it really you? Please, it is really?"
"What is the meaning of this? Away from me woman!" yelled Varian, batting Sara away with the back of his hand.
She did not relent.
"Please Varian! It's me! Sara! Remember? Sara!"
Though unseen from Sara's vantage point, the queen's placid smile changed to a furrowed frown as though recognizing the girl's name. Her composure was not immediately affected, though it did suddenly seem a little warmer under the canopy.
Sara grabbed at Varian, yanking at his fur and tearing the fabrics of his vest.
"Cur!" he cried, "Guards! Apprehend this woman! Take her to the palace dungeon and have her in chains." Suddenly he made a move more swift and sudden than Sara had ever seen from him. He grabbed her throat with a single hand and pulled her close to his face, "You will learn your place girl, and you will pay for these fabrics with blood." Then he released her, choking and gasping for breath, to the guards, who quickly bound her, kicking and screaming for Varian, and marched her to the palace.
"You will forgive me my queen if I am late this night. It would not do for me to appear in such a state. Allow me to return to the palace for a change and I will appear before you tonight in greater splendour."
The queen almost growled her next sentence. "Nonsense Varian. I have suddenly become overheated. I would prefer to return to the palace as well and perhaps learn the nature of our little riff-raff." She summoned for her messenger to send condolences to their host and propose a new date for their meeting.
It was hours before the light of anything touched Sara's fur again. And when it did, and she was awakened, she shuddered and squinted, trying to fight back tears of dryness. She had been strung with her hand bound to the ceiling, not hanging, but just barely touching the ground either, the balls of her feet the only support she found on the hewn stone. She had been stripped nude and left there, with orders that she was not to be touched in any manner save the bindings, which had been obeyed meticulously by the prison warden.
Varian was the first to enter, with two burly guards following quickly and taking their places on either side of the doorway. Then the door was shut and several torches around the room were lit. Varian paced around Sara's body slowly and menacingly, his good eye ablaze with anger.
Sara was the first to speak.
"Varian, I. Ah!" she screamed as the sting of a whip struck her backside.
She bit her lip, sobbing the pain away.
"You will not speak if not spoken to, wench!" Varian ordered, "Nor will you use my name."
He paced around her naked body slowly for a few more paces until he was face to face with her again. She starred at her for a long while before backing away, releasing his grip on his whipcord and then lashing her again, this time striking her right across her belly. She whimpered and whined at the strike and only opened her eyes again as she watched the last bit of his whip being folded into its loop.
"Please..." she spoke, quivering, "Varian, please. It's me. It's Sara."
"You know my name. But there are only a handful of people on this continent that know of it. Tell me, how did the knowledge lend itself to your ears."
"I know you. I have known you, for more than a year, two years, I can't remember," was her reply, trying her best to tell the truth to spare herself the whip.
But again he struck her, this time carving into the flesh on her ribs.
"You lie!" he screamed, "I have lived here for many years. I serve the queen. I have never known anyone as pitiful as you!"
"No!" Sara screamed, momentarily taking Varian aback, "We travelled together. I found you locked in a cellar in Lesahrad. You were human. Remember?"
Varian began to feel a chill run up his spine and a headache coming on.
He gritted his teeth together furiously and lashed her twice more.
"You are mistaken, girl! I've never even been to Lesahrad. I've never been to that continent! Do you say I lie?"
Sara wept her next words, "We met Miria, and travelled to Vivel, and Girard and went on an airship!"
His headache began to grow stronger and his bad eye began to twitch uncontrollably. Had Sara opened her eyes she would have noticed this. Varian waved to send his guards out, and they obeyed silently.
Now the two of them were in the dungeon alone. Varian's head throbbing painfully, his focus never wavering. Sara had only just begun to open her eyes again, wanting to see his face again, as frightening as it might be.
"You refuse to see reason, girl," he said, "You persist in your fairy tales and your lies." He drew a short dagger from a sheath on his belt and glanced at the reflective qualities of the metal. "I told you that you would pay for your debts in blood did I not?" He looked at her again, and she began to shake visibly. "Your lies here will be your last, I assure you." He drew his dagger up and strode forward, holding it at her neck. "Have you any last words?"
She began to whisper something, but it was so inaudible that he leaned in closer to hear it.
When his ear was nearly touching her lips the babbling her whispers formed became clear and he made out a few distinct words.
"You said you loved me. And I love you back."
Suddenly an intense pain shook through his brain, as though knives pierced his mind over and over again. He screamed, wide-eyed, as he gripped his temples and dropped to his knees. The knife he wielded was thrown across the room and skidded to a stop against the far wall. He began to quake uncontrollably and the twitches in his bad eye took great effect. With each full blink a shockwave shook the room, forcing pebbles and loose dirt to stir wildly. Then the shocks took form. Sharp blades of force curved through the air, cutting into the hewn stonewalls and floor, narrowly missing Sara's strung up body. Finally, after what seemed like several minutes there was a final burst of energy that tore the door from its hinges and shot the splinters up the hallway and pulled the rope bindings holding Sara up apart at the seams. Her body was flung across the room and spun and twirled to a stop a short ways away.
As screams and hisses of mental energy eventually ceased, Varian grew more and more aware of his surroundings. The room he was in was dim, only a few of the torches along the perimeter of the room still remained whole and his head spun with pain and numbness. He only vaguely felt the soft clothes touch his skin but felt as though an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
But that was not to last.
He could only just barely feel the presence of another body in the room with him. It was a body familiar to him, someone he felt that he knew completely.
Sara!
He felt his way towards her, his legs too numb to walk properly and when he finally placed a hand on the furred body he stopped. There was a puddle of something thick on the floor and in her fur. He gasped and managed to whisper.
"Sara." He shook her lightly. "Oh please, Sara, wake up. Wake up Sara! Sara!" His voice slowly became more urgent, begging and leading for her to wake up. "Please, please wake up Sara. I remember. I remember everything. I remember Lesharad. I remember Miria and the airship and I remember falling." Tears began to well up in his eyes and he pulled her limp body towards his and into his lap. He cradled her head as though protecting it.
Suddenly there was a loud crash from behind as the door to the chamber was thrown open. From beyond the threshold Queen Terena stepped into the room.
"Well Varian, have you found any--what in the? Varian! What happened here?" There was a pause. "Answer me!"
Varian couldn't remember whom it was that was talking to him, giving him orders, and so said the thing that first came to mind. "What is this place?"
"What are you talking about? Has that wench poisoned your mind and ruined your--"
Varian could hear the queen choking. His mind seized at her throat as he laid Sara gently on the ground again and stood up. The Queen gasped for air and began pounding her hands on the unseen force around her neck.
"W-what is this? Varian, help me!" tears began to drip from her eyes.
"I asked you a question," said Varian, menacingly, a fire burning deep in his eyes, sending a shudder of fear down into the depths of the Queen as he turned to face her. "And I will be answered!" Suddenly the wall at the side of the room exploded, though not from any natural source.
The grip around the Queen's neck was released and she fell to the floor gasping for air.
She looked at him pleadingly, though it didn't have the same effect it used to with him. She was looking at a different Varian, one that was not afraid of her power any longer.
"Guards!" she yelped in desperation. Her slight relief at hearing the trudging feet of armoured men was short lived however, as the rest of the stone wall erupted and caved in, blocking any entry into the room.
"Where is this place? I will not repeat myself!" asked Varian, quivering with fury above the fallen Sara.
"My castle," the Queen stammered, frightened for her life, "You came here a year ago under my service. I know not of the girl."
"Her name is Sara!" They both heard an enormous crash but knew not what it was. Outside, the top of one of the castle's towers followed the same fate as the wall of the dungeon.
"You fell," the Queen continued, "and he saved your life. He used his powers and put you under my command. He must have done something similar to Sara. That was a year ago."
Varian stopped his question at this new information. They had lost a whole year, been in the company of others for so long. Apart. It made Varian sick to his stomach. Then he turned to pick up Sara. The Queen saw this as her chance and turned to flee, only to find herself trapped in the same way the guards outside. Instead, she picked up a stone, dainty by any standards, but royalty are not normally known for their heavy lifting skills. In a sudden fit of bravado she rushed at Varian, screaming hoping to kill the obviously dangerous foe before he could ruin her kingdom.
But the rock in her hands crumbled to dust and she stopped short, falling to her knees and sobbing. Even someone like her hated the feeling of helplessness.
Varian turned to her then, Sara cradled in his arms and said in a soft and frightened tone, "A healer. You must have one right?"
Not wanting to evoke his wrath again she nodded meekly and slid away on her knees a tiny bit.
"Take me to them," he said.
She did so without complaint and watched at the boulders in their way were moved easily aside.
Elsewhere in the castle a cloaked figure seethed with rage. The bowl he was using to view the events in the dungeon was thrown violently to the side and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.