Seraglio of the Gods - Segment 07

Chapter 31

Almost without any effort, Vulcan pulled my dress up over my head, and then tossed it carelessly onto the floor. He rolled over on top of me, roughly inserting a knee between my wildly thrashing legs.

“Stop fighting me, woman, you’ll hurt yourself,” he muttered, trying to grab my flailing arms. One of my hands managed to smash into his nose, causing him to grunt from the pain. After that, Vulcan tried harder to subdue me, ignoring the blood dripping from his nose. I turned my head away from his to avoid the blood, but one of his hands grabbed my hair and forced my head back.

When he pressed his mouth against mine, the intoxicating feel of his warm, soft mouth almost made me weaken. Almost, but not quite. With Vulcan still holding my hair tightly in his left hand, this left only one of his free to my two. Before he could stop me, he had a black eye and bloody scratches down his face from my long, unbroken fingernails.

He let go of my hair and finally managed to pin both my arms on the bed beside my heaving body. Once more, our mouths met, and this time he took mine prisoner. With his heavy body on top of mine, and my arms securely trapped, he took his time prolonging the kiss until we were both breathless.

“I hate you, you know that,” I whispered, tears of frustrated rage coming into my eyes.

Vulcan kissed me one more time before answering, “I know. I hate you, too.” With that, he rolled off me, offering a silent chance to escape from him. I laid there, tears running down my face, knowing he had won once again.

Vulcan pulled me next to him to give me one last quick kiss before getting out of bed. Stunned, I watched him cross the bedroom and disappear into the forge work area. The rush of lust inside my body at seeing this tall, naked male walking away from me surprised and shocked me.

Within two minutes, Vulcan was back holding something in his closed hand. He sat on the bed beside my reclining body and opened his hand. Inside was a ring. Not just any ring, but one I’d seen made when I was a child living with relatives on their farm. After Vulcan helped me to sit up next to him, he placed the ring on the ring finger of my left hand. It was a unique ring formed from a long horseshoe nail. Instead of the heavy iron of my childhood rings, this one was of solid gold and rested lightly on my finger.

I looked puzzled when Vulcan smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. He pushed himself back to use the pillows at the headboard to support him in a sitting position. I found myself gently maneuvered to sit between his spread legs, my back against his chest. When I leaned backward to enjoy the full length of his body, I heard a soft chuckle coming from behind me.

“Are you comfortable?” What a silly question for Vulcan to ask. Any woman would be comfortable with the arms of the man she adored wrapped around her. When I didn’t answer, but just gave a delighted sigh, Vulcan kept one arm around my chest to cup a breast in his hand. The other hand went lower and touched the chain resting on my hips.

Without warning, the golden chain broke in two and slid off my body. Vulcan caught it and placed it on the bed where I could see it.

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Chapter 32

Grace’s arrival with our evening meal interrupted this tender and confusing moment. By now, I no longer felt embarrassment at having the elderly servants seeing me naked and in Vulcan’s bed.

“Grace!” I eagerly called out, “Come see what Vulcan gave me.” I waved my hand so she could see my ring finger. I noticed the delighted look she gave Vulcan and thought she was simply pleased he had given me a present.

“Melody,” Grace said, taking hold of my hand to see the ring more closely, “it’s a beautiful ring.” She glanced at Vulcan’s face and started laughing. “Was the gift before or after you beat him up?”

Vulcan pulled me tighter against his chest. “If you think she was rough on my face, Grace, you should see what she just did to my back while we were having sex.”

Okay, I might not feel embarrassment about my nakedness, but discussing my sex life with someone still caused me to blush. Grace just grinned at my discomfort, and then caught sight of the golden chain lying beside me on the bed.

“Vulcan, so soon?” This odd question seemed out of context to me, but Vulcan’s nod confused me even more.

Suddenly, I remembered Sabrina and felt guilty at feeling pleasure while still not knowing where she was. “Grace, have you seen Sabrina? The last I heard, the witch Izzy was dragging her down to your living area.”

Grace’s grin disappeared, and she didn’t answer me immediately. Walking back to collect the basket left earlier in the day by Sabrina, she paused as she was leaving the bedchamber. “Vulcan can tell you about your friend. It’s his place to do so, not mine.” With that cryptic comment, she left. I turned to Vulcan for an explanation.

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Chapter 33

When I twisted around to face Vulcan, I saw a guilty look on his face that quickly disappeared. ‘So? What is going on? Why was Sabrina taken down to the servant’s quarters? Why hasn’t Ares come to help her?” I moved away from him when rapidly asking these questions.

“Melody, calm down and I’ll tell you everything.” Vulcan tried to pull me back against his body, but I was having none of it. “I’ll answer your last question first.” He gave a shake of his head, when I tried to speak. “No, just listen.”

I settled down on the bed, but made sure to keep out of arm’s length. “I’m listening, so where is Ares?”

“He’s staying with his son, Cupid, and has deserted Sabrina. In fact, he abandoned her weeks ago, even before we left to fight the Titans.”

“Why didn’t she tell me? Why did he do such a cruel thing to her?”

Vulcan gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “He did it because he’s Ares. Sabrina was only one in a long line of females he made fall in love with him. Once that happened, he became bored and removed their chains. At that point, the women suffered one of three fates.”

“You mean taking off the chain has a meaning for us?” I reached down to my hips where my own chain no longer rested.

Vulcan saw my fear and managed to reach over and pull me back into his arms. “Before I tell you what is happening to Sabrina, I think you should hear the story behind the chains of submission.”

Resigned to Vulcan holding me, I waited, too terrified to even move.

Vulcan’s voice came from behind me, and I heard, “Centuries ago, when those on earth still worshiped us, there was a landowner, Acteon Baptiste, who ran his village with a heavy, brutal hand. He ordered all the people there to pay homage to Zeus, the name those in that area called my father. In return, my father gave this man more and more power over the villagers.” Vulcan stopped to compose his thoughts, and then continued.

“In that tiny village, there was a beautiful 16-year-old maiden named Iris who repeatedly rejected the advances of Baptiste. She had already given herself to Hestia, the eldest sister of Zeus. You might know Hestia better by her Roman name of Vesta.” Vulcan next said, “This young girl took a vow to be a Vestal Virgin and remain a virgin until she died.”

Vulcan stopped once again to see if I understood what he was saying. At my nod, he went on. “Baptiste became infuriated at her and called on Zeus for a way to bend her to his will. Zeus agreed to help and sent him to my forge carrying a large bar of pure gold. With the gold bar, Zeus sent a piece of parchment with orders for me to create a golden chain that would bind the maiden to Baptiste as long as she wore it. Included on the parchment were Egyptian words to engrave on the flat links of that chain.”

I held up my hand to stop him. “Was that the chain Jupiter placed on me back on earth that I wore until you just took it off?”

“Yes and no,” was Vulcan’s answer. “Just let me finish my story.”

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Chapter 34


“After I delivered that golden chain to the landowner, the father of the maiden came to me with a horrible story. During the night, Baptiste entered their home and abducted their sleeping daughter. They heard Iris screaming as he pulled her from her bed and dragged her outside. They could only watch as Baptiste forced their daughter to straddle his horse in front of him and disappeared into the night with her.” Vulcan winced when he said this. “Women during that time rarely rode horses and then only sidesaddle. To ride like a man would cause a female, especially a young virgin, considerable discomfort when her legs stretched out into an unnatural position.”

I understood what he was saying since I’d read many novels about how women rode a horse in the strange sidesaddle position. “What happened next, Vulcan? Did her family rescue her?”

Vulcan shook his head. “No, Baptiste rode for hours deep into a nearby forest. The miles went by with the young girl made to lean back against the man to keep from falling off the horse. While she was in this position, he was able to remove her nightclothes and toss them behind the galloping horse. Searching family and friends found these clothes the next day, but this was the last clue they had of where she had been.”

I felt saddened by what Vulcan was telling me, but I had to learn the rest of it. “Did they ever find her?”

“Not right away. The landowner owned a small cabin located miles inside the forest next to a rapidly running river. By the time the exhausted horse carrying the two people arrived at the building, Baptiste felt overwhelming lust for the naked virgin sitting in front of him. He dragged her off the horse and into his home, forcing her to lie face down on the hardwood floor. From a pocket in his clothing, he pulled out the chain I’d made and rapidly strapped it around her waist. While he was explaining what the chain meant, he started removing his own clothes.”

“Vulcan, you haven’t explained what the chain is all about.”

Vulcan hesitated before deciding to get the truth over quickly. “The chain I made at the order of Zeus had the power to put the woman under the total power of the man who placed it around her. She still might want to resist, but she would be unable to fight off the man or whatever he wanted of her whenever he was near her. What Baptiste wanted of Iris became obvious when he brought her to the bed and raped her repeatedly that night. In fact, her tears and pleas for mercy added to his enjoyment of her young body.”

“You made that monstrous chain? You were just as guilty as he was.” Once again I angrily pushed myself away from Vulcan, not caring if I hurt him in the attempt. However, curiosity about the fate of the young girl overcame my disgust with Vulcan’s involvement in it. “How did it end for her?”

Vulcan let me go and went on with the story. “While the search went on for the missing young woman, Baptiste returned to his land near town and continued on as usual. However, each night he’d return to his home in the distant woods. There, he’d unlock the door that had kept Iris trapped inside during the day and order her onto the bed. The chain kept her a prisoner while he sadistically abused and humiliated the weeping young woman. Only after she was begging him to stop the torture did Baptiste finally satisfying his lust. This went on repeatedly until almost daylight, leaving Iris bruised and cowering in shame on the bed. As the sun came up, he would lock Iris inside once again and return to his village property.”

Vulcan stopped to see how I was taking this tale of horror. He saw the repugnance on my face aimed at him and what the chain he’d made did to the young girl. “Do you want me to go on?” he asked. At my nod, he said, quickly as if to get it over with, “One morning, Baptiste forgot to lock the door behind him. As he was riding away, Iris escaped and started running through the forest, trying to get back to the village. He had ridden less than a mile when he saw her naked figure racing through the trees. She was heading away from him and toward the raging river. Panic gave her speed when she heard the horse coming closer and closer. When he was almost within reach of her, Iris veered away and jumped into the river.”

“She still had that chain on?” I asked this, already knowing what Vulcan would say.

“Yes, she was far enough away from the power the chain gave him. Like I said, he had to be in proximity to have control over her. Baptiste watched the fast flowing river catch Iris and quickly pull her under the water. She came to the surface yards down the river where foaming white-water showed the presence of the first of three rapids. Her lifeless body smashed against the rocks and continued on downstream. Baptiste rode beside the stream, watching the progress of her body until it washed up on the bank in a quiet part of the river.”

I tried to keep from crying for the young woman, dead so many centuries ago. “Is that how the story of the chain ended, with her death?”

“No, that was only the beginning, Melody. I’m not sure you should hear the rest.”

* * *

Chapter 35

Before Vulcan could continue with the horrible story, Ares interrupted us. Unheard by us, he was nonchalantly leaning against the bedroom doorframe, with a sinister smile on his battle-scarred face. “Tell her the rest, Vulcan. She needs to know exactly what a woman's fate will be when a god tires of her.” With that, Ares pushed himself away from the doorframe and started into the room.

Vulcan quickly got out of bed and reached for the dress I’d discarded days earlier. At the sight of the blood-soaked garment, he tossed it back on the floor in disgust. Instead, I found myself garbed in a soft linen dress that covered me from my neck down to my bare feet. After somehow accomplishing this feat, Vulcan helped me out of bed to stand behind his own naked body.

“What do you want, Ares?” he asked, frowning at the sight of the arrogant male trying to catch a glimpse of me. “There is nothing here for you, so please leave.”

“Oh, I will after I give you Jupiter’s order. Evidently I’m his messenger, but I wasn’t expecting to find you still with this slave after all this time.” Ares leered at me, something I hated when earth men did it and even more from him.

“What does he want now?” Vulcan pulled on his own scant loincloth and laced up his well-worn sandals while asking this. “I already told Hera I wouldn’t do it, so if he’s trying to convince me, he’s out of luck.”

“Well, things change as I just saw. Call a servant to take the slave back to the women’s quarters. I have my own business to attend to, so you’d better hurry. Jupiter is furious at you for disobeying his wife.” Not giving Vulcan a chance to argue, Ares left after sweeping his eyes one last time over me. Somehow, I don’t think the dress was a hindrance to him seeing my naked and defenseless body.

Vulcan turned to me, annoyance on his face. “I’ll only be a little while and will come for you soon.” He gently kissed me before walking toward the bedroom door after Ares. “Wait for the servant in the forge area. She should be here in a few minutes.” I followed him into the work area and watched him leave and start across the courtyard toward Jupiter’s palace. Coming from the women’s quarters, I caught a glimpse of Grace hurrying toward me.

Without warning, someone caught me from behind and roughly pushed me face down against one of Vulcan’s wooden workbenches. A harsh voice whispered in my ear as I felt the dress Vulcan had just given me torn from my body. “He has released you, so you’re mine to take. Now you’ll feel a man inside you instead of a weak cripple like Vulcan.”

Recognizing the voice as belonging to Ares, I started screaming in terror, fighting to escape from his rough embrace.

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To be continued in next segment.

Seraglio of the Gods - Segment 08  (XGC) Chapters 36 through 40. #1315168 by J. A. Buxton