Blessing of the Rose

John’s chance to taste Moira’s lips was regrettably cut-short by another knock on the door. The Warden practically jumped like a scared cat to the opposite end of the room and quickly brushed her hair in order with her fingers before patting down the creases in her clothes. John couldn’t blame her. Rather, he was grateful. He’d rather not get caught red-handed swapping spit with a religious order’s prized virgin-warrior.

John sat up on the bed and, like Moira, tried to rub out the creases in his shirt with mixed success. ‘One of the maids would have just ironed this shirt as well,’ he mused before slipping on his shoes. The door opened moments later and the Brighton’s loyal butler stepped inside.

“Pardon the intrus-,” the butler began. “...My Lady… I was not aware you were here alone with Mr. Newman. Please understand this is not proper…”

“He is my guest and my friend, Reginald. Is it not proper for a host to entertain her guest?” Moira replied, hiding her blush behind a heated stare.

“But my Lady-”

“What is not proper,” the Warden interjected, “is scolding your Warden like she is a child in front of her guest.”

‘Damn,’ John suppressed a grin as he watched the butler squirm uncomfortably. It was rare that Moira intentionally threw her weight as the Warden around to get her way.

“Yes… of course,” the butler sighed, casting a bitter glance in John’s direction as if blaming him for this turn. “My deepest apologies, my Lady,” the butler gave a deep bow before facing John. “Mr. Newman, Miss Lorelei is now ready to see you. I came to escort you to her chambers.”

“That’s okay, Reginald,” Moira spoke up again. “I’ll take him to Lorelei. I’m sure you’re needed elsewhere in the manor.”

“If you insist, my Lady,” the butler bowed and gave John the stink eye once more before departing, leaving the door open behind him.

After a few seconds of quiet wait, Moira walked over to the door and checked the corridor before closing it once again.

“I’ve never seen Reginald so hostile with a guest,” the Warden hummed as she walked back to sit beside him.

“Gee, I wonder why?” he replied sardonically, causing her to chuckle lightly.

“So…” she began after a moment.

John glanced her way. Her face was flushed as red as her hair. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight to him by now, but it was adorable all the same.

“I, uhm… liked that,” she continued, her voice faltering into a mumble.

“I did too,” John agreed. “But I’m not sure where it leaves us.” Of course it was abundantly clear that they were more than just ‘friends’ now. How they moved forward, however, was not so obvious. “I-I don’t know how to say this gently, but I’m still with, Red.”

“I know,” Moira nervously took his hand in her own. “I’ve known for a while now that I couldn’t have you and keep you to myself. I’ve been thinking a lot about it, actually,” she admitted. “And I think it might be for the best, granted there is a significant complication...”

“How so?” John arched his brow, curious how the Warden of a deeply religious order who sanctified marriage and chastity rationalised her place in his polyamorous lifestyle.

Moira’s free hand clenched into a fist against her chest as she steadied her breathing. “Well… I-I’m a virgin.”

“… I figured that much,” John stifled a laugh.

“I mean...” she suddenly broke her hand away from his and stood up. She paused for another moment before abruptly pulling down her pants and panties in one swift motion. “I must remain a virgin,” she clarified.

John was at a loss for exactly what to say as he came face to face with a gleaming gold chastity belt. The belt wrapped tightly to the Warden’s nether regions, arcing around her toned body at the point where her thighs met her torso, and covered both points of entry. “Wow…” he breathed awkwardly. ‘So that was why she ran away the last time Red and I started getting intimate with her, huh?’ “Do you shit in that thing?”

He didn’t think it was possible her face could turn more red, but it did. “John!” she exclaimed, aghast with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he replied quickly. “So you wear a chastity belt; Red and I figured that out last time we all started getting frisky together. Why though?”

“Well, it is to do with my divine powers,” Moira sighed. “A Warden only holds the Blessing of the Rose for as long as she remains chaste. Once she… unites with a man-”

“C’mon, Moira,” John teased lightly. “You don’t have to dance around the wording here.”

“You are hopeless, Newman,” the Warden shook her head. “Your mind is always in the gutter. Why did it have to be you I fall for?”

“Well, it’s hard to keep my head clear of impure thoughts when you’re so provocatively on display before me,” he replied, making no small show of drinking in the sight of her bare thighs.

Moira glared at him before bending forward to refasten her pants.

“That’s not to say the view isn’t greatly appreciated,” he added quickly as he reached forward. His hands sunk into the firm but plump flesh of her ass cheeks and pulled her to him before she could pull up her pants.

“Jo-” she began in protest before he cut her off with another kiss.

“Now, you were explaining what would happen if I fucked you,” he grinned lightly.

“I will smite you here and now if you keep derailing this very serious conversation, Newman,” the Warden warned, despite relenting her body to the intimate position. “As I was explaining: if we were to ‘fuck’ as you love to so crudely put it, it is certain I would get pregnant — no matter the efforts undertaken to avoid such a circumstance. Once that happens the Blessing is transferred to the father, who holds the Blessing until their daughter — for the result of such a union is always a girl — comes of age, at which point the Blessing is transferred to her.”

“Wait… is ‘transferred’ a euphamism for sex here? Because I’m not really keen on the idea of boning my daughter,” John frowned.

“What? Of course not!” Moira replied heatedly. “There is a ceremony but no intercourse is involved… the Warden must be a virgin, remember? In that scenario I w-would have… with my father… urgh. I don’t even want to think about it. How could your mind even go there, John?!” the Warden leaned away from him with a look of disgust.

“Well, you’re acting like the Blessing is some sort of magical STD and your only example of it ‘transferring’ is through sex,” John defended himself. “How else was I supposed to take it?”

“Okay, perhaps I didn’t explain it all that well,” Moira admitted.

“I’m beginning to get the sense it’s not something that can be explained logically in the first place,” John replied. “Anyway, moving on: you said you’re guaranteed to get pregnant… but can’t I just pull out or wear a condom?”

“From what I understand, once we start you will find it very… difficult to finish elsewhere,” Moira blushed. “And the magic of the Blessing has historically overcome all attempts to avoid pregnancy. Contraception will not work, condoms will dissolve, impotence is cured, vasectomies are healed over… you get the idea.”

“This all sounds like an elaborate prank,” John laughed lightly.

“The Blessing of the Rose was a gift from the Lady, Gaia, herself,” Moira countered, a note of frustration entering her voice. “This is not just some joke, John.”

“Uhm, sure…” John reluctantly agreed, not at all believing his own words. Gaia was a sassy, whimsical, and sometimes cruel deity who had played several pranks on him in the past. Founding a religion that prized chastity yet which, at its core, was plagued by lust was exactly the kind of devilish joke he expected of her.

“So… yeah,” Moira let out a heavy sigh. “That’s the closely guarded secret of the Order. Well… there are two more quirks you ought to know about…” the Warden trailed off as her hands fidgeted nervously.

“I’m listening,” John assured her.

“Well… the first is that my powers… well, when I use them I grow… aroused,” she sighed again and buried her head in her hands.

And thank god she did too because John failed dismally at hiding the amusement on his face. Yet the more he thought about it, the more sobering the revelation became. It was definitely a prank — and a cruel one at that. You gain great power with the cumbersome catch of having to maintain a vow of chastity, yet the power you gain actively encourages you to break that vow. It was a frightening monkey’s paw for sure. Had John been in Moira’s position, he’d have definitely lost the Blessing within days. ‘You are a twisted bitch, Gaia,’ he cast his thoughts upwards.

“I… can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you,” he said sympathetically as he gently squeezed her hand.

“It is a trial every Warden must pass,” Moira swallowed. “But thankfully the Blessing does not prohibit self-pleasure and… the household maids have been of great assistance to me in the past,” she admitted.

“So… it’s really only vaginal sex that’s prohibited then,” John checked.

“I suppose so, yes,” Moira sighed again, pressing her head into his shoulder. “But by the Lady, if you tell anyone that, I will die from embarrassment, but not before I castrate you, Newman,” Moira solemnly swore. The look on her face left John with no doubt she’d follow through on her word.

“Hey,” John began in a soothing voice as he reached forward and sunk his hands into her plump ass cheeks to give them a playful squeeze.

“Jo-” she began in protest before he tilted her jaw with one hand to silence her with a kiss.

After a moment he pulled his face away, leaving Moira flushed and panting. “I’m willing to be patient for as long as you need to remain chaste; it’s your body, so you make the rules,” he promised, despite continuing to grope butt and waist playfully. “Buuuuuut, it seems to me that we still have several ways to enjoy each other’s bodies,” he teased.

The Warden let out an involuntary shiver under his ministrations. “I… uh, suppose that is true,” she agreed breathlessly. “B-but there is one other issue.”

“Right, you said there were two,” John put his hands to rest on her ass to let her speak.

“Well, you see, if you were ever to take the Blessing from me you would not be able to sleep with other women,” Moira explained as carefully as she could. “That is to say, until our daughter came of age I would be the only person you could have intercourse with.”

“Oh, well that’s better than I thought, I suppose,” John let out a small laugh. “You’d left me thinking before that I’d have to swear of sex entirely for eighteen years. My willpower is not that strong.”

“Y-yes, well I suppose from that perspective it could be considered an improvement,” Moira acknowledged. “But what about Red?”

“Yeah, she would not be very happy,” John agreed. “But that’s a conversation we’d need to have with her. And in any case, we’re talking about possibilities well into the future. I’m not ready for a child anytime soon.”

“Neither am I,” Moira agreed.

“Either way...” John paused to kiss her on the nose, “I’d rather enjoy the time I have with you in the present than worry about issues that won’t matter until long into the future.”

“By the Lady, John,” Moira sighed happily into his lips. “There are some times you’re so obnoxious I just want to strangle you. You’re crude and a hopeless flirt and the very opposite of the ‘respectable’ man my father would want for me,” the Warden murmured. She had shifted her face into his neck, as if to hide herself from his eyes else she find herself tongue-tied. “Yet other times, like now, you know just what to say to set my heart at ease or racing so fast I struggle to breath. In truth you were the first true friend I’d made that was my age and now… well, you’re my first love and the first man I hope dearly to have a future with.”

“I feel the same way, Moira,” John smiled, resting his forehead on hers. “I want you in my life and I’d fight tooth and nail to keep it that way.”

The Warden radiated pure warmth in his embrace as she sighed contentedly.