"The Maid of Water."

"The Iron King names the Maid of Water," Talaitha intones. "May the spirits reveal the destiny which awaits him!"

Talaitha steps close to you, her eyes locked on yours, and her hands begin to touch your body. It is a strange sensation... her touches are pleasurable by their very nature, but it is obvious that they are not truly intended as such. Rather than seek out sensitive and intimate places, her fingertips brush over your temples, then press gently into your neck to feel your pulse through the strong blood vessels there... then her breasts press into your chest, but it seems that she does this only to breathe in the same time as you do; so that she inhales as you breathe out, and then again in the opposite manner. It may be your imagination, but it seems to you that she even somehow manages to match the rhythm of her heartbeat with your own. It is a strange intimacy, unlike that of a lover, more as if she seeks to become one with you than to share her body.

Her eyes close, and beneath the lids you can see them dart rapidly back and forth, as if she were suddenly asleep and dreaming. Her hands find your own, palm to palm, not lacing the fingers but aligning them with yours. Her lips are so close now that it is all you can do not to lean in just a hair's breadth further and kiss them... but you remember that Talaitha warned you to take no action without her instruction. Even if she has no true power or connection with the spirits, it feels unwise to disturb her trance again.

"The Maid of Water," she breathes, almost too quietly to be heard even so close. "Speak the name with me." With those words, Talaitha moves that tiniest bit closer so that your lips just barely touch, like a fresh dewdrop upon a blade of grass.

"The Maid of Water," you whisper, and her lips move in perfect unison with yours. Then she pulls away, and her brow furrows just slightly, concentrating hard, listening to whatever voices she alone can hear. Then she shivers, just slightly... and it may be your imagination, but it almost seems as thought the slight breeze which wafts around you forms the subtlest of sounds, which if you could only hear them a tiny bit more clearly, might be strange words in a tongue you have never heard before...

"Yes," Talaitha says, in a soft, melodious tone that drowns out the mysterious almost-sound. "Yes, I see her before me now. A woman of surpassing beauty and grace, is the Water Maid... she shines with the radiance of the Evening Star, wondrous to behold. A woman of the world, a woman of love and desire, a woman of noble birth who bears no title but her own name... she loves the Iron King even now, but only the King and not the man..."

Arethousa, you think to yourself, seeing her face before you. Certainly, you have considered her as a potential queen before; her beauty alone is sufficient that every man in the kingdom must have fantasized about taking her as a wife. It occurs to you for a moment that, while you may have had Arethousa in mind when you named the Maid of Water, there is no way that Talaitha could have known that - and yet, her description is uncannily accurate. Of course, she might just be telling you what you want to hear - that you will take as a Queen a woman of great beauty. Then again, that last part doesn't exactly sound encouraging...

Talaitha's hands begin to roam over your body, up your arms and down your back, pressing both firmly and lightly as she goes. A memory comes into your head, a time when you spoke to Elyssia's most learned healer of his arts; one Master Sanjay Bhandari... he showed you his charts of what he called the Energy Streams, and described a **** called the Chi which moved through all people. His charts indicated the places at which this energy could be redirected and controlled. It is hard to recall exactly, especially under the circumstances, but it seems to you that Talaitha's fingertips press those same points as her hands come to them.

"Show me the future," she sings, "what will come to pass..."

Suddenly, you feel moist lips against your fully-hardened manhood, and you realize that Talaitha is spreading her legs around you to take you inside her. It is all you can do not to respond and thrust forward, take her in your arms, kiss the lips which remain so close - but through an iron effort of will, you remain still and allow her to continue. Ever so slowly, she slides down upon you, her warm and wet passage opening and allowing you to penetrate. An involuntary shiver runs through you, but otherwise you are able to remain still. Talaitha rolls her head back, her eyes closed and still flickering with the signs of dreaming.

"Yes, she sits upon the throne at your side, regal and majestic, a true Queen in every sense. The spirits speak of dangers, however; they reveal a jealous man, a hateful man, one who covets the crown of the Iron King and lusts for the Water Queen. There will be blood before the end... blood upon the swords of the King and the Usurper, blood that runs in the waters, and the Water Queen..."

Talaitha's brow furrows in concentration, and she unexpectedly leans forward to kiss you upon the lips... but it is no lover's kiss, it is more as though she is forming a closer connection to you, trying to listen through your ears as well as her own. Slowly, she pulls you downward to the blanket upon the ground, for which you are most grateful; it was becoming difficult to stand! Somehow, she is able to gracefully lower both herself and you together such that you remain tightly embraced as a man to a woman, your shaft thrust deeply into her.

"Upon the heart of the Iron King rests the fate of the Water Queen," she whispers through lips which still touch your own. "If the King falters, the Queen shall perish... but should his courage prevail, it will forever bind them in love. The spirits... have spoken."

Talaitha pulls away, opens her eyes. "Please know that when one looks into the future, **** is always there, for we all must die in the fullness of time," she says. "But the spirits have shown me two futures, one in which the Queen lives long and your lives are good and happy, and one in which her life is taken young. They say that it will be your choice which leads to one path or the other. When the time comes, you will know, and I can advise you only to do what is in your heart. Perhaps it will be the wrong choice, but better that than to make the choice you would not have otherwise made, only to find that it leads to ****."

"I thank you," you tell her. It takes a moment for you to gather your composure, so that you can speak without the hoarseness of lust in your voice. Her actions have left you aching for release, but that is something you must put aside. A few deep breaths help to clear your head, though you are still very much aware of your hard cock still thrust into her sex, and the aching need which will likely remain unsatisfied for now. "I suppose... I will wait for that day, and then do what seems right."

"The day may never come," Talaitha says as she gently withdraws (perhaps a bit reluctantly?). "Remember, there were ten maids; this choice lies before you only if you court the Maid of Water, and perhaps not even then. Fate is beholden to the most trivial of turns... the future is always uncertain."

"May I ask another question?"

"The spirits have given all the answers they will give, for now; but of course, King Xavier, you may ask of Talaitha what you will."

"The Iron King... is that the name by which the spirits know me?"

"It is," she says. "They have spoken to me of you before, when I have meditated. Of course I know of your past, it is well-known in these parts that you were a worker of iron at the forge, but the name means more than that. Iron is the strongest of metals, and yet it also yields to become what it must be. It will bend to fire, but when it is quenched it becomes stronger still. It is the metal of the common people, in the form of a hammer or plow; it is also the metal of a knight's armor and shield, and the sword of a King like the one you carry at your side. The King of Iron is a king of all the people, both noble and common, a king who wields his power in service and not in domination. The spirits know you well, King Xavier."

"I thank you for your service, Talaitha," you say to her, as you both stand up and you begin to put your clothes back on. It feels somewhat awkward; normally, after you have made love to a woman, you would offer kisses and tender caresses and hold her in your arms, but it's hard to know exactly what you should do in this case.

"There is one other thing," she says as you prepare to take your leave. "Now that you have been connected to the Spirits, you may find that they visit you again. Since you do not have my power, they will appear to you in the only way they can - in your dreams. The dreams will be vivid and potent in nature, but do not fear; these dreams can no more do you harm than any other dream. If the spirits speak to you in this manner, remember that they cannot always be trusted, and it is always best to use your own judgement rather than follow them blindly." She smiles slightly. "Consider them as you would your advisors; wise and helpful, but not always right."