Tabitha's first trial

I had no idea what to expect inside the church-grounds. I've never been the religious type myself, but of course, I know what the inside of a church looks like. Somehow, I didn't think I was going to find a bunch of orderly pews in front of a pulpit or anyone handing out church bulletins at the door. This was a faux-fantasy-RPG and I'd been told that the locales I visited would be "dungeons," so I pictured seeing something like a maze full of monsters and treasure chests inside. If it was a full labyrinth... how long was it going to take? Could I really drag this huge-ass sword-- and for that matter, this huge ass-- around for that long, swinging at slimes and goblins and things?!

It seemed that at the very least, I wasn't going to have to worry about this being the kind of building that was larger inside than it was outside. To my surprise, opening the door revealed a church that was fairly standard-sized and even decorated normally, with the only oddness being the visage of my friend Gina adorning the stained-glass windows. It was nice to see her face on something instead of Regina's for a while. Regina's admittedly gorgeous, smirking face was so prevalent in this world, I was beginning to become numb to it altogether.

The church appeared to be empty. The front entrance, the sermon hall, and those little side rooms where the bellboys hang out were all vacant, giving the whole building an eerie silence, save for the too-heavy thudding of my boots against the hardwood floors as I entered in. It felt so peaceful inside... I could see the sun shining in, projecting colors in spots on the floor through those artful windows, and the air was so still, I could see the tiny dust motes drifting lazily through the beams of light. It honestly made me want to pick a church pew and lie down for a cozy nap where nobody would bother me. Without much further trepidation, I dragged my sword through the threshold into the entrance.

I should have known the peace wouldn't last long! In the next moment, the door behind me slammed shut with an oppressive wooden creak, shuttering itself far too quickly for its size and weight. Just for the sake of knowing, I turned and placed one hand on the handle to try tugging at it. As mentioned before, I'm pretty big, but I wouldn't call myself strong. All the same, I could have been one of those new Amazonian muscle-ladies that are so popular in manga these days and still not gotten that door open! This was nothing less than a game element, preventing me from backtracking until I handled the task at hand!

Knowing that escape was no longer an option, I gripped my over-sized sword with two hands and turned to take a look around. What once appeared to be harmless white dust motes appeared to be gathering into some sort of mass-- two masses, rather-- near the center of the hallway leading into the chapel. The masses began to take on a familiar shape, one I'd looked at a lot of times before and would ordinarily appreciate: the pleasing curves of a woman, complete with a thin waist, belled hips, and a voluptuous bosom. "Gina?" I asked, hopefully. Perhaps this was the appearance of my long-time friend! It had been so long since I'd met her face-to-face, I didn't even care if I was dressed like a tone-deaf Dragon Quest cosplayer. I couldn't wait to share this crazy new world with her!

When the hair materializing in silky strands appeared silver rather than orange-red, I got the picture: this wasn't Gina, it was Regina. The rest of her goddess-like body took shape, clad in a revealing white outfit that nevertheless covered a lot more than her chain ensemble. The garment consisted of a long cloth over the front and back with a huge, gold cross on it that accented the breasts with its placement, all held by just a chain around the waist and a collar at the neck, so that the lower part of the garment billowed around her curving legs. Elbow-length gold gloves and thigh-high gold boots, along with a golden circlet, completed the outfit, but the most notable new addition was a pair of huge, golden wings growing out from between her shoulder blades. That same classic, wolf-like grin was on her face, however. I knew her real identity and this was no angel...

Well, if this one was Regina, then the other one materializing must be Gina, right?

Wrong.

Perhaps I should call the second figure Re-Regina, because the figure that formed was exactly the same as the previous one: a duplicate Regina, garbed in angel gear and wearing the exact same face. "Greetings, adventurer. Welcome to your first stop... and perhaps your last," the first one taunted me, placing one hand on her bare hip and leaning forward, so that her generous side-boob was accented all the more.

I leveled my sword at the two of them; they may be dressed like angels, but they were clearly my enemies. "Where's Gina?" I questioned them, with my eyes darting back and forth. This was annoying... I couldn't tell which one I was meant to speak to. Which one was the real one? What did "real" even mean in the context of a being like this, anyway?

"The priestess? You're not fit to see her yet," the second one told me, striking a different, equally sexy pose to the first one by turning to side profile and resting one hand upon her cheek. From this view, I could see her bare skin, running from her shoulders all the way down to her thighs, with no underwear in sight.

"Really? I have to pass a trial here before I can even begin the trial involving Gina? I heard about the legend already, from the old lady outside. There's some kind of ritual I'm supposed to carry out in here, right?" I asked, talking tough but really feeling completely clueless.

"Ha ha ha... I wouldn't call this a trial, exactly. That makes it sound like some sort of puzzle. How would you describe this particular encounter, Regina?" Regina #1 asked, turning to look over her shoulder at her identical twin sister.

"I'd call it a battle," the second one answered, grinning evilly.

"Really now?" the first gasped, forming an O with her mouth and raising her eyebrows, before settling into an equally malicious face. "Because I was going to call it an ass-beating."

I clutched my sword tighter and thought about trying to kick out one of the windows and escape. "I can't battle! I-I-I don't respond well to ass-beatings!" I babbled, hoping that Regina or the multiverse mes would understand how completely averse to physical confrontation I felt. I wished that I still had the power of the ring and not just the physical form of it on one finger, so that I could snap Regina back into a form of servitude that was easier to work with. "C-Come on, isn't there some kind of lesson I'm supposed to learn? Th-This whole church, the Matronly Burden thing, it's all like, metaphors or symbolic or something! I'm supposed to figure that out instead of fighting you, isn't that it?" I reasoned with the two of them. My squinting eyes were circling without the usual benefit of glasses to hide them; I was starting to feel nauseous. "Can we just push pause on this?"

"The ass-beating is actually part of a lesson. Trust us, it'll make sense later," Regina #2 giggled, approaching with a swagger in her walk. "Don't worry! We'll convert this to a format that I believe you will enjoy."

What kind of ass-beating is enjoyable? I'm not that much of a masochist! I'm not one of those people that gets turned on by pictures of ladies getting punched in the gut or ryona videos where they suplex a fighting game girl into the pavement over and over again! I'm a delicate if hefty flower, specialized for art and creativity with my physicality slider all the way down to zero. I think I may have been saying all of this out loud as well, but the Reginas just kept approaching me with menacing laughter. Just to test-- I had to try-- I swung my sword in a broad arc to stop the approach of the two of them. This was a JRPG, right? They wouldn't make the very first encounter something that I can't overcome with basic attacks and skills!

Oh wait. Scripted encounters like that are something that a lot of Japanese RPGs love, huh? I wasn't surprised when the sword hit the first Regina's abs, stopping it mid-swing and sending a shiver running from the tip of the blade into my arms. I simply dropped the sword onto the ground with a loud crash, followed by my own shriek. The sword hadn't so much as cut into that slutty angel dress Regina #1 was wearing. I'd always been jealous of people with nice abs, but seeing this sword-deflecting six-pack was giving me a new fit of anger. "Th-This is stupid! We need more groundwork before a scripted boss battle! We need- eep!"

I'd been warned I'd face a trial and this is where things got tasking. Despite my protests and wiggling, the first Regina grabbed hold of me around the waist in a hug, pinning both of my arms to my sides so that my elbows sunk into my midriff. For a moment, a smile may have crossed my face, as I felt her unguarded body rub up against mine in an unfamiliar female-on-female embrace, the kind of thing I'd often fantasized about. Hadn't I mentioned wanting to get it on with lady angels before? Maybe this trial wasn't going to be so bad?

It was going to be so bad. So bad.

The world turned upside down as Regina's statuesque but smaller frame lifted my immovably heavy body over her head in a backdrop suplex, causing me to land shoulders-first on the hardwood with my legs in the air. It wasn't as painful I was worried it might be, but it was still much worse than my usual comfort level, i.e. I am not a wrestler. That should be obvious. I don't wrestle. Why was I wrestling?!

Once the dull pain in my shoulders cleared up a bit, I became aware of the fact that wriggling was doing nothing to help me escape and that the pose I'd landed in had my legs spread with that armor loincloth dangling over my gut instead of my groin, so that anyone paying attention would get a nice look at a strained pair of black panties barely doing their job of covering my bush and pussy. This was the sort of pose that would have cosplayers hoping all of their tape was in place. Actually, would a cosplayer ever allow themselves to be photographed in this position? With my arms still held by the bridge suplex, there was little I could do but kick my legs fruitlessly. "I'm not learning anything! This is not educational!" I protested childishly. If there was some kind of lesson to learn here, how the heck was I supposed to focus on it?!

"We're not to the teaching part just yet, dear. Settle in," the second Regina chuckled, approaching and raising one hand. At first, I thought I saw a golden short-sword appear in it, causing my eyes to widen with fear. Once the angel's divine armament took its real shape, I think my expression changed just a bit, from one of abject terror to one of anxious anticipation. The angel was wielding a gold-colored spanking paddle in one hand. The tool was about the length of her elbow to her wrist and looked like it would provide a good, flat swing when applied anywhere on the body. Of course, one part of me was being presented most prominently, so it wouldn't take me a long time to figure out where she was aiming, even if her eyes weren't rooted on it like it was a big juicy slab of meat.

"I'm... I'm not actually into spanking," I protested feebly.

The Regina smiled sympathetically, patting the implement up and down in one palm with a tantalizing slowness. "Oh, sweet Tabby... Maybe you aren't yet. I doubt you've had a lot of experience with it. But this scenario is an optimal one created by an alternate you, so I think it stands to reason the odds are fairly high you will be." She winked, then began to rub the flat, cool surface against my pale, upside-down butt-cheeks, which now faced the ceiling of the church. When I gulped in anticipation, her smile spread just a bit wider.

"I-I think I learned my lesson. I learned my lesson! L-L-Let me goooo, I learned it, I learned iiiit!" I screamed, my voice echoing throughout the church's every corridor.

All I'd learned was that I'd given free reign over my adventure fantasy and its details to a truly frightening person!