Sons of Sparta - A Story of the Spartans, Book 3
(inspired by the story 'Spartan' parts 1 through 4)
by argouru
Note: All credit for the creation of the Spartans and Amazons, as well as the Spartan mythos belongs to the author 'CF', to whom I owe special thanks for his allowing me to write about these incredible people.
WARNING: Portions of this installment of the series includes a section regarding mental illness.
The next morning, John awoke in the huge bed to find himself alone in it. He rose, still nude, and went in search of his missing lover. He found the Spartan sitting cross-legged on a large mat in the middle of the living room, completely nude, his sheathed sword lying across his bare lap and his eyes closed. A pleasant, musky incense burned on a stick mounted in a long wooden tray to catch its ashes. John entered the room quietly and sat on the floor a ways from the man, watching him with a slight smile at the serene expression on Henry's face, as though he didn't have a care in the world. John watched the well-muscled torso flex and contract rhythmically as Henry breathed softly.
"I'm almost finished," Henry said quietly, surprising the human, who had thought he was unaware of his partner's presence. A few moments later, Henry took a deep, cleansing breath, lifted his sheathed blade so he could touch the pommel to his forehead, then lowered the blade and opened his eyes to gaze gently at his human mate with a soft smile. "Good morning."
"Morning," John said gently in reply. "You do this a lot?"
Henry nodded. "I meditate every morning to make sure I'm always in control. The instincts of the warrior run very strong in my family, so we all meditate daily to maintain control." He frowned. "I don't ever want to lose control with you... Not ever. Not the way Dad Daniel did last night. I couldn't stand the thought of you ever being afraid of me that way," the Spartan said with a sad expression. A tear ran down his cheek and moved by the display of grief, John scooted over to his lover and kissed him tenderly on the lips.
"It's okay, I know deep down that you'd never hurt me," John told him.
"But still, you're human and inherently weaker than us, so that makes it even more unforgivable," Henry said, closing his eyes. It was fortunate that he did so, for he thereby missed the flash of sudden resentment on John's face, which the human immediately squashed down.
Henry opened his eyes, then rose up to his feet slowly, stretched and yawned. John leaned backwards from his position on the floor and drank in the beauty of the Spartan's body, his hurt feelings distracted by the pleasant view before him. Henry finished his stretch and gazed down at the man he loved, seeing the lust and pleasure in the man's eyes. "Like what you see?" he asked huskily.
"Fuck yeah," John said, reaching towards the well muscled body hesitantly.
"Go ahead," Henry said thickly. "I meant what I said before John... I'm all yours. You can touch me whenever you want to."
John placed his hands on either side of Henry's waist, rose up to his knees and began to kiss his way up the toned right thigh before him, working from the knee up and sliding his hands up to cup the perfectly-sculpted bubble butt. He slowly worked his way upwards until his forehead brushed the slowly arousing penis before him. He moved over and gently licked the right testicle, feeling it roll around under the skin under its own power. He sucked gently at the loose skin, pulling more and more of the scrotum into his mouth until the testicle itself entered, then the skin continued to be swallowed up until the other one followed its twin into the warm, damp interior of the human's mouth.
Henry gasped in shock at that, stunned that John could fit both of the Spartan's large testicles in his mouth at the same time, smelling his clean, warm flesh. There wasn't enough room for the man to move them around, but he rolled his tongue over them as best he could and tugged lightly at odd intervals. Henry let his head roll back on his neck, enjoying the sensations. John kept this up for several minutes before freeing the scrotum and licking slowly up the length of Henry's fully engorged organ. He reached the end, took it in his hands and worked down the foreskin to expose the head which began to drool lubricant.
John, who had never before had the pleasure of experiencing an uncircumcised penis, as his own had been cut when he had been an infant, played with the skin, sliding it back over his extended tongue and roving around the sensitive glands of his partner as the delicious, clear lubricant danced on his taste buds. He then tried to work the long shaft into his mouth, but could only get slightly over half of the way before he gagged. Choking, he pulled off.
"You okay?" Henry asked with concern. John nodded and tried again, more slowly this time. Unfortunately, he had almost no experience with deep-throating and therefore couldn't get very much of Henry's shaft into his mouth. He gagged again, pulling off and coughing for several moments. Taking pity on his partner, Henry reached down and gently helped the human to stand. "John, it's okay," he said gently. "You don't have to work so hard to please me. I want you to be able to enjoy this too."
"Sorry," John apologized.
"Don't be. Let's take this slow and easy... But first," Henry said, reaching for a piece of paper on the bookcase. He showed it to John. "The results of my bloodwork. A clean bill of health."
John examined the page. "Distopic Anal Inversion Syndrome?" he read with a frown. "What's that?"
"Huh?" Henry said, snatching the paper back and scanning it in confusion. He lowered it in disgust as John snickered. "You dick," he teased in a mock-sour tone.
"Sorry, couldn't resist," John said, still chuckling.
Henry chuckled, leaned down slightly and kissed him quickly. John reached down and took Henry's semi-soft phallus into his hand and squeezed it tenderly. "I wish you weren't so big."
"I'd apologize if I thought I could lie convincingly," Henry said with a slight sense of pride.
"You're too tall, too. It's hard to kiss you," John teased.
Henry reached down, wrapped his arms gently around John's waist and lifted him upwards, with only a little effort despite John's one hundred and seventy pounds of weight, to kiss him levelly. John faltered slightly at this, feeling another twinge of resentment at Henry's assumption that he needed help and the ease with which the Spartan lifted him up. Henry sensed John's hesitation and set him down. "What's wrong?"
"Just pressure on my guts that was a bit uncomfortable," John lied. "Sorry," he finished, hugging Henry close to hide his face so that hopefully his partner's feelings wouldn't be hurt. "I want to take you, but you're too big for me," he said with honest regret.
"Well..." Henry said slowly. "I did pick up a few things to help us with that..." he trailed off, blushing with embarrassment. "You wanna see them?" he asked.
"Sure," John said, letting Henry lead him back to the bedroom. As they went, John became aroused all over again by the movements of Henry's perfect buttocks and forgot his resentment. They reached the bedroom and Henry had him sit down on the bed as he opened the nightstand drawer. He pulled out a large bottle of lube, a few dildoes and a small tube of desensitizing cream.
"You want to try to work on learning how to loosen yourself up?" he asked.
"Sure," John said, so Henry urged him to lay back and the Spartan began to stroke John's body sensually, kissing his legs and massaging the flesh of his thighs, urging him after several minutes to open his legs. "Are you okay with this?" Henry asked nervously. "I don't want you to do this just to please me. I'm more than willing to let you be on top if you want. I've used these on myself," he said, looking embarrassed. "So I have a little experience."
"No," John answered slowly. "I feel more like a bottom than a top. Besides, most of the guys I've been with were bottoms, I was always the top and didn't enjoy it very much. It was okay, but I couldn't really get very into it. I know that might make me seem kind of weak, but-"
Henry put his finger gently, yet firmly to his partner's lips to cut off the human's words. "John, being a bottom doesn't make you weak in any way. I don't think of you as weak or inferior to me just because you prefer to receive rather than give... It's alright by me. Don't think that way about yourself. Not ever!" he finished with gentle firmness.
"Okay," John said with sincerity, then laid back and relaxed as Henry's strong fingers began to explore his groin, slowly working towards the small knot of muscles. Henry took his time, working long and slow. Finally after fifteen minutes, John began to truly relax. Henry lubed up his fingers and began to slowly, patiently loosen his partner up, noting that it took a very long time for John to begin to let his fear and tension drain away and begin to open up bit by bit. Henry then went to work with the smaller dildo, making John moan in satisfaction as it entered.
Henry worked at him for some time, loosening the human up more and more, then he tried switching to the larger dildo, coating the end with the desensitizing cream and working very slowly. Surprisingly, John soon had the fake phallus deep inside him, groaning in pleasure as he was fucked with the rubber instrument which stimulated his prostate as it slid back and forth across it. He reached down and began to lazily stroke his own shaft.
Finally, with the human's permission, Henry got himself ready and slowly entered his partner. He gasped with joy as he felt the sensations of fucking another person for the first time. He began to stroke himself in and out of John's interior, moaning. Suddenly he lost control and came, groaning in bliss as he ejaculated.
"Did you just cum?" John asked in shock.
Henry recovered, then looked very embarrassed and disappointed. "Yeah... I'm sorry."
"Was that your first time doing that?"
"Yeah. I honestly didn't think I'd lose it that fast!" he said sheepishly.
"It's okay," John said with a sympathetic smile. "I came quickly my first time too. We can try again later once you're ready to go again."
"Actually," Henry said slowly, noting that he was still hard. "I could go again now."
"Already?" John asked in shock. "But you just came a moment ago."
"Spartan virility," Henry explained sheepishly, blushing.
John overcame his shock and experimentally squeezed down. "Okay then, go ahead," he said in anticipation, then sighed in pleasure as Henry began to piston again, rubbing back and forth in rhythm against John's prostate until the human cried out joyfully in release, using only minimal stimulation to his own penis, his seed spraying over the both of them as Henry filled his love's posterior with the results of his second orgasm.
Afterwards, they laid there, each feeling as though they had just experienced the best sexual encounter of their lives. They cuddled together for some time before John got up and ran to the toilet to release the vast amount of Spartan sperm he had received. Henry chuckled when he noted that it seemed to take a half hour for the human to clean himself out and up.
"Ah fuck!" John groaned as he came out and stretched. "I thought I'd never get it all out! Well, fun as that was, we should actually do something more than sex today."
Suddenly remembering, the smile vanished from Henry's face and he shot upright in bed, glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "Ah shit!" he swore in annoyance. "I missed morning prayer!" He grumbled to himself as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed with a frown. "I guess I'll have to do the afternoon one instead."
"Your religion means a lot to you, doesn't it?" John asked.
Henry nodded. "It's thanks to Lord Apollo that Dad Sam and you are both still in my life. Mind if we swing by the temple later?"
"That's fine," John said, scratching his side to relieve an itch.
"You want to come in with me? Or are you of a different faith?"
John shrugged. "I don't really have a faith, to be honest."
"What about Apolline? You work at the temple, but it's okay if you're not comfortable worshipping Him. Apollo has temple servants of other faiths, you know. He's very understanding of those who worship other gods as well as or instead of Himself. He's used to it after the days of ancient Sparta, Greece and Rome, as well as the other old nations when people worshipped several gods."
"I don't know," John said slowly. "I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about Him... As well as deciding if I can forgive Him or not."
"Forgive Him?" Henry asked in shock. "What for?"
John shrugged timidly. "As stupid as it sounds, for saving my life."
"But you accepted Lord Joshua's healing! It was your choice to accept it!" Henry protested.
"What?" John replied, looking baffled. "Oh... No, I mean when He tried to push me out of the way of the car."
"He what?" Henry asked slowly, stunned.
"Henry... I thought you knew. The only reason the car didn't kill me outside the temple that day was because Apollo intervened and tried to knock me out of the way."
Henry sat there, unable to believe what John had just told him. "John, that's impossible! Lord Apollo never violates a person's free will, even if it leads to their doom! He can't have gotten involved in the accident!"
"The suicide attempt," John corrected, making his partner grimace at being forced to confront the truth.
Henry thought about that. "But He never interferes... He wouldn't even do so to..." he trailed off, unable to voice the rest of the sentence. He still hadn't told John about how he initially hadn't wanted to become bonded to another. His sadness and confusion slid slowly into anger. He rose and looked at his partner. "I'm going to the temple. Are you coming?"
"Now? Why?" John asked.
"Let's just say dear old Granddad and I need to have a little chat!" Henry snarled grimly.
"Granddad?"
"My Dad Sam was adopted by Lord Apollo when He brought my parent back to life and made him Spartan. Lord Apollo is technically my siring grandfather."
"Huh?" John asked, his face screwed up with shock and confusion...
Steven and Giorgos entered the temple earlier that same morning, the Grecian spending the night with his Spartan partner and his family. Fred, who had been making incessant sexual innuendos of late to both his partnered brothers and their human mates, was uncharacteristically withdrawn and stayed in his room most of the morning.
The couple left the house in the late morning and walked over to the main entrance, climbed the white stone steps and passed the Grecian pillars of white marble to enter the vaguely Parthenon-esque temple building. They walked through the main lobby and past the security guard's desk, the attending guard nodding in greeting with a smile as he recognized the Head Priest's son, and they came to a stop before the racks of cubby holes that served as storage space for people's belongings during worship. Steven removed his clothing without shame until he was properly nude and stored his things in an empty space, then donned his personal sword belt and checked his blade to make certain it was sound. Giorgos, blushing furiously, reluctantly removed his own apparel and stored it away beside his partner's things, then used his hands to cover himself with nervousness.
Steven placed a comforting hand on the human's shoulder. "Don't hide yourself. You have a beautiful body and shouldn't be ashamed of it," he whispered kindly. "Everyone approaches Lord Apollo naked."
"But," Giorgos wheezed, his already thick accent growing even stronger from nervousness. "What if I become aroused?" he asked, blushing so hard it spread down his neck and onto his chest.
"Ignore it," Steven instructed casually.
"Ignore?" Giorgos asked in shock, certain he had misunderstood.
"Exactly. Erections are a perfectly natural bodily function. It's considered poor taste to either hide it or to draw attention to it on temple grounds. Apollo accepts us as we are and encourages us to do likewise. However, we aren't here for personal pleasure, so drawing attention to it is seen as very vulgar. If you get hard, just act like you're not. Don't worry, as long as you stay by my side and hold my hand, all the single guys will get the hint and leave you alone. Coming between a partner bond is considered a grave insult to Lord Apollo, as He's the one who gave that gift to us in the first place."
"Of course," Giorgos replied skeptically.
They walked over to the weapons distribution desk just outside the altar room and Keith selected a blade for Giorgos, then Steven helped him to fasten the belt properly so that the sheathed weapon would lay at the human's left hip, thereby allowing him to draw it with his right hand comfortably. Steven, who was left-handed, wore his on the right. "Be very careful with your sword," Steven warned his partner. "The blade is fully sharpened and can easily injure you if you're not careful with it." Giorgos nodded numbly, pale with nervousness.
They walked over to the entrance to the altar chamber and stopped. Steven took his love's hand in his own as they stood side by side, the swords hanging on the opposite side from their partner. "The moment we step onto the marble floor of the altar chamber, you will feel the power of Lord Apollo envelop you. It will feel like a literal sensation, so be ready for it and know that as long as you are respectful, He will cause you no harm."
"That is not reassuring," the human said in a shaky voice.
"Don't be afraid," Steven pleaded softly. "I'll be right here beside you the entire time. I promise."
Together, they stepped though the doorway until they stood upon the vast, single piece of gleaming white marble that served as the floor of the altar space. Giorgos felt the power of the god surround him immediately, as though stepping from a cool room with still air into one that was hot with a breeze. There was a strong pressure in the air, as though something, some strange and terribly powerful aura of unfathomable power had suddenly engulfed him without warning. A strong sense of panic engulfed the human, who began to tremble and breathe harshly at the intensity of the power he was being subjected to.
Seeing this, Steven pulled him into a firm, yet gentle embrace and began to rock him gently in place. "Don't be scared, Giorgos. I'm right here with you. I won't let anything happen to you."
"W-w-w-w-what is this?" the human stuttered in shock, feeling terrified.
"This is the power of my god's presence. It is the manifestation of the might of my Lord. Don't be afraid Giorgos. As long as you are respectful to Him, no harm will befall you." He held the man for several minutes, kissing his shoulder gently in a soothing manner as he continued to rock his love back and forth gently until Giorgos stopped trembling with terror and slowly relaxed ever so slightly. Finally, after several minutes, Steven pulled back to arm's length and stared at his love with concern. "Will you be alright?" he asked nervously.
"I... Will try," the Grecian said thickly, causing the Spartan that he loved to nod his head gravely in understanding.
Together, they walked over to join the rest of the worshippers who were gathered in a half circle facing the twenty-foot tall bronze statue of the nude god, his youthful face strong and determined of expression, his body well muscled in the athletic manner. To the statue's right, the large basin-shaped firepit of gray marble stood on its thick legs, raised up from the floor enough that there was space open beneath the basin itself to show there was nothing underneath which could be secretly feeding the eternal flame which burned within it as a representation of Apollo's power and presence within the temple. Near the center of the chamber sat the rectangular altar itself, made from a single piece of obsidian. Around the edge of the chamber rose a series of Grecian pillars of gray marble.
Steven's father Sam was serving in his role as Head Priest today and stood at the center of the chamber, his head bowed and his hands resting on the hilts of the twin blades he wore on each hip, the belt supported by an x-style harness across his well muscled chest as the symbol of his service to his god. He took a deep breath and drew his blades by crossing his arms in front of his chest, the steel ringing slightly as the blades came free of their scabbards. He held the blades up and overlapping to form an 'X' which was the sword cross, the sacred sign in honor of the god.
He turned to face the statue, still saluting in the sword cross, then he began to spin the blades in circles, moving only his hands and wrists. As Giorgos watched with a frown, the head priest continued the motions. He leaned over to his partner and whispered quietly. "What is he doing?"
"Sword presentations," Steven whispered back quietly into the human's ear. "As a god of war, Apollo appreciates the presentations as the showing of His priests that they are fit of body and skill to fight on His behalf. One honors Lord Apollo by showing their skill with blades by going through these specific motions. Da-... The Head Priest," he corrected himself, "will only be doing the first, sixth and seventh presentations today as this is a regular ceremony, rather than a formal one."
Giorgos could only stand there numbly, not knowing what to think or say to that. Instead, he stood there and watched Sam spin his blades for several minutes before the Spartan suddenly dropped to his right knee, the points of both blades stabbing down to, but not striking, the marble floor. He remained that way for several moments, then rose, formed the sword cross again and began a different set of motions. This time he used his whole arms to loop the swords high and low in back and forth figure eights in front of him, the blades crossing each other first high, then low, going back and forth repeatedly. He did this for some time before dropping back into the kneeling posture with the blades pointing downwards.
Sam rose up and formed the sword cross again, then began to spin the blades in a simple arc repeatedly for several minutes before dropping to kneel once more, then rose and formed the sword cross one last time. With that, he knelt once more. Following Steven's silent instructions, Giorgos carefully pulled his blade free of its scabbard and turned it around slowly, then knelt on his right knee with the sword before him, point downwards and resting his head on the pommel as the point rested upon the stone floor of the chamber.
"Lord Apollo," Sam called out loudly for all to hear, not even sounding winded after all the exercise he had just been through. "We call out to You in worship. We honor Your Strength, Your power, Your wisdom. We stand here within Your sacred temple to give praise unto You and ask for Your blessings. Watch over us and aid us in becoming strong and noble beings, both man and woman, Spartan, Amazon and human. Glory to You oh mighty one. Be with us... Receive our praise and worship and hear our prayers. Apollo be with us!"
"Apollo be with us!" the worshippers intoned, Giorgos following a moment later nervously and feeling embarrassed that he had spoken late.
Everyone remained silent, so the human lifted his head slightly and looked at his partner. "What do I do?" he asked in a whisper.
"Pray to Apollo about anything you wish if you want to," Steven whispered back. "If not, just remain this way silently until we rise to our feet."
Not know what to pray about, Giorgos remained silent, but soon found that he had to struggle to remain balanced in this awkward position and nearly feel a few times, feeling foolish as he had to fight to remain in place. After a time, Steven seemed to finish and stood. Seeing this, Giorgos went to rise, but was unable to do so gracefully. Taking pity on his partner, Steven offered him a hand. "Watch where your sword is as you rise," the Spartan warned as he helped Giorgos to his feet, the human being careful of his blade as instructed. Steven then motioned for the human to do as he did by raising the blade to point to the ceiling before his face, bow his head respectfully, then carefully slide his sword home. Only once the wickedly sharp weapon was safely back in its scabbard did Giorgos finally feel safe. He sighed with relief.
"My worshippers," Sam said in a strong, radiant voice that rang off the walls without harming anyone's ears, "Let those who wish come forward to receive My blessings."
"Lord Apollo," Steven breathed in awe.
"What is wrong with your father?" Giorgos asked nervously, clutching his partner's arm in fear.
Steven turned to the human with slight worry. "It's okay, Giorgos," he whispered. "Lord Apollo is channeling Himself through the body of the head priest so that everyone can hear Him even if they don't believe in his existence. The head priest is alright and has given our lord his permission to be used this way. He'll be just fine. Also, don't refer to him as my parent while he's serving our lord. Whenever he's in worship, always refer to him as head priest in respect of his status as leader of the temple's clergy. Would you be willing to receive blessings?"
"What do I do?" Giorgos asked, staring at Sam with wide eyes and a slowly fading fear.
"Just kneel before Him and let him place His hand upon your head."
"I... Don't know..." the human hesitated.
"Don't be afraid. It won't hurt or anything. I'll go first."
Feeling apprehensive, Giorgos let Steven lead him over to join the people who knelt respectfully before the deity within the body of His priest. The human knelt and watched as Steven was blessed, the god murmuring to him gently. The Grecian saw a look of deepest joy and strength come over the Spartan's face. Then Sam moved to stand before him and Giorgos swallowed nervously.
"Giorgos," the Spartan priest said in that same unearthly voice that radiated with power. "Do not fear Me. I will not force My blessings upon you and will not be offended if you wish not to receive them. All that matters to me is that you and Steven are happy together."
The human looked at his father-in-law with surprise, wondering what all of this was. How could the man make his voice sound so different? Feeling that this must be some sort of deception, the Grecian decided to call the bearded man's bluff. "I will accept your blessings," he replied calmly.
Sam reached forward and placed his hand upon the human's head. "Blessings," He said gently.
Suddenly, an intense power, like the light of the sun concentrated, poured through the human's body until it filled every cell of his being. He could not help but to gasp in shock at the touch, then stare at the priest in wonder. Such a feeling could not possibly be faked. "Lord Apollo... You -are- real," he breathed in wonder. Overcome, he dropped down forward, blowing to the god until his head rested upon the floor. "I am sorry I did not believe! Forgive me!"
"Hush," Apollo said gently. "There is no need. I understand that you have struggled with religion, feeling as though you had to believe in the god that your parents worship. You were agnostic and wandered spiritually without direction. You do not need to worship Me if you do not wish."
"What would you ask of me?" Giorgos asked, still bowed as his partner stared at him in wonder as he knelt beside his love.
Apollo smiled with Sam's face. "Only that you enjoy the happiness you share with your partner. That is all."
"I will," Giorgos promised in a whisper.
"Rise and be well," Apollo said and the human complied. "You will always be welcome within My temple. Be well, Giorgos," he finished gently, then turned away to the next person who awaited blessings from the deity.
Steven turned to his lover. "Are you okay?" he asked gently in a low voice.
Giorgos looked to his partner with moist eyes. "Steven," he whispered thickly with emotion. "I am so sorry... I did not believe. I thought it was pretend. I did not know. I am sorry I did not believe you."
"I forgive you," Steven said, hugging his partner close to him...
They rose after the service ended and left the room, Giorgos looking back at the statue of the god he had doubted the existence of and knowing he would return to this place. They went to pull their clothing out of the cubby holes after Giorgos returned his sword to the attendant at the weapons desk, when the human paused, looking towards the entrance with a frown. "Henry and John are here," he said.
Steven smiled as he pulled on his pants. "Guess someone was too busy having a good-... Time," he said, pausing in stunned confusion at the grim look on his brother's face, the joke faltering on his lips.
His oldest brother and human partner approached, then Henry nodded curtly to Steven and Giorgos. "Hey guys," he said in a slightly harsh tone as though he was upset by something. John looked unreadable, though Steven sensed no animosity between them or directed towards him or his Greek lover.
"Henry, what's wrong?" Steven asked his brother with concern. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah, you could say that," the older sibling said with an edge of resentment in his voice.
"Why are you upset?" Giorgos asked with concern. "Have we offended you?"
"No," Henry said, shaking his head. "It's not you guys I'm mad at."
Steven glanced at John with a raised eyebrow, but the human shrugged. "No," Henry said. "It's not John, either."
"Then what is it?" Steven asked.
"That's what I want to know," Henry replied cryptically, then turned to his partner. "You don't have to come in with me."
John began to remove his clothing. "I work here, Henry. Besides, I want to hear this. It does concern me, after all."
Henry nodded as he removed the rest of his clothing while John rapidly caught up with him.
"Henry-" Steven began nervously.
"We'll talk later," the angry man replied. "Assuming I'm able to speak afterwards!" He grumbled testily, donning his sword as John went over and acquired one for his own use from the weapons desk.
With that, the older two men entered the altar chamber, leaving the younger men standing stunned and confused in their wake...