The Meaning of Strength - Part 1

Story by guardian-hawk on SoFurry

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#1 of The Meaning of Strength


NOTE: this story is a direct sequel to one of the earlier stories in my gallery, The Use of Power; however, I've attempted to write it so that you don't have to read that first to be able to understand/enjoy this (I hope). That said, if you haven't read the first story and you're interested in past events between Juneas and Asara, The Use of Power will tell you a lot more about their history. ------ Juneas braced himself, then lowered his shoulder and pressed hard against the massive bag of sand, knocking it onto its side and letting its contents slide out onto the bare patch of dirt beside it. He watched it until the flow of sand stopped before taking the bottom of the bag carefully in his claws, rearing back onto his hind legs and picking it up to make sure as much sand got out of the bag as possible. Once that was done he dropped back down onto all fours, gave the bag to the guards watching him, and swept his paws through the mound of sand, doing his best to distribute it across the open space, then smoothed it down further with his tail until the construction chief ordered him to halt. "That's good, dragon. We'll tamp it down by hand from here; go get the carts of cobblestones and pull them over." He grunted acknowledgement through his bridle and followed his contingent of guards across the half-repaved square to the side street where the carts full of small stones (small to him, anyway; each stone was about the size of a human fist) had been left after they had stopped working at midday to eat. The guards attached the carts to the towing harness he wore, and after waiting for them to make sure all was secure he took his first slow step forward, groaning at the effort it took to get each of the heavy carts moving. He was careful even after getting started to move at only half his normal walking speed; even if it made it harder to keep the carts moving, they were just as hard to stop as they were to start and he didn't want to get them moving too fast. Juneas was panting hard through his nostrils by the time he returned to the edge of the newly laid sand. The train of carts was heavy even for a dragon of his considerable strength, and all the construction work he had done over the course of the day had tired him out already, but thankfully once he brought his load of cobblestones to a halt he just had to lie on his belly and wait while the humans packed them into the sand. While he waited his guards brought him a trough of water, removed his bridle and let him drink; he eagerly lapped up the cool, clear water, and paused only for a jaw-stretching yawn before holding his head down so he could be bridled again. Ten years, he thought with a sigh as he watched the humans work. For a little more than ten years now he had served them and Asara, obeying every order they gave him, living in a cell he'd helped them build, kept under guard and restrained unless he needed the freedom to eat, drink, and exercise, or to perform whatever task they had given him. Typically the job was construction or transportation; his claws weren't good for manipulating the small objects humans typically favored and the only building he could fit inside was King William's castle, which meant there wasn't much he could do aside from heavy lifting, towing, or taking the place of a mechanical crane. It was dull work, but then, he didn't have much choice in the matter. Not that he had been disobedient, even at the beginning. Asara had defeated him in battle and to bring him here to be enslaved was her choice to make, and after what he'd done to the dragoness he couldn't deny he deserved such a punishment. Still, though, to go from the ruler of a small city to a slave in a much larger one was not an easy transition, and for a while he had growled at every order, complained or talked back (when his bridle was off), fought his chains almost without realizing it... There was still a small part of him that questioned why he bothered to obey them, thinking that Asara had only won because she was lucky and that he could easily defeat her and escape if he wanted to, but he ignored it; he deserved this punishment, and would not be so dishonorable as to run instead of taking responsibility for his actions. So he would be a slave, as King William had decided, until his punishment ended and he was allowed to move on. But there was one aspect of his sentence Juneas had found much harder to cope with. After learning of how--and how often--he had raped Asara, King William had chosen to let her control when he would be permitted to mate or masturbate, and it was a power she delighted to exercise. The first couple of months had been the worst. Not only was his body used to mating at least once a day, but he had come to associate Asara's scent and presence with sex, which meant he was aroused almost constantly for the first few weeks. At first she had tried to punish him for it, but after realizing (thankfully) that it wasn't something he could very well control she'd settled for taunting him about it instead--which was even worse. Instead of beating and threatening him and making his tasks more difficult, she began to tease him, speaking in ways that would remind him of what he'd done to her before, giving him ever-so-brief glimpses under her tail, suggesting that if he stayed on his best behavior just a little while longer, then maybe, just maybe, she would give him permission to relieve his pent-up arousal...

    • * "Good dragon," Asara purred, pushing gently at Juneas' shoulder with one green-scaled paw until he lay down on his side. His guards stepped forward then, and under the dragoness' watchful eye he lay still so they could swap the longer chains between the shackles on his paws that allowed him to walk for short ones that would hold his four paws tight together beneath his belly, too close for him to be able to walk or even stand up. "Such a good, well-behaved dragon you've been," she nuzzled him, then held his head still with a paw so the humans could tie the reins of his bridle to his shackles, forcing him to hold his head by his paws. "I think you deserve a reward, don't you? You've been here a whole month and you've been so good at following orders so far, you haven't tried to disobey me, you haven't tried to escape..." He grunted past the bit in his mouth, tilting his head a little. A reward sounded nice indeed, especially if it would be of the kind he thought she was suggesting... He felt the first vestiges of arousal forming in his loins and did his best to suppress a groan at the feeling. "I thought you'd agree," she chuckled, and paused to make sure the guards had finished binding him before waving them out of the cell with her wing. "So here's a little show just for you, for being such a good slave-dragon..." She turned her back on him and crouched, weaving her body sinuously back and forth. "Remember the way things used to be?" she murmured, head turned to look back at him. "The way you used to control me," her wings fluttered, "the way you owned me, the way you used me every day..." her tail twitched upward for a moment, but not enough to display her to him. He purred softly back and rocked his hips towards her, penis sliding out of his slit as it continued to swell. She had already teased him so many times before, but this was different; she'd said she was going to reward him, that he'd been good and he deserved a reward for it, and that meant he'd finally be allowed to mount her, or at least to take his paws to himself... The thought only aroused him further, and just a few moments later he was fully hard, cock jutting proudly out away from his belly and into her view. "I see you remember it well," she bared her teeth in a feral grin, taking a couple of steps back towards him, then finally raising her tail and letting him see her sex. "Remember how amazing it felt to take me..." He raised his head off the floor to better take in the sight, his purr turning to a low, constant growl as he began thrusting in her direction, towards the vent he already knew so intimately, and he couldn't help but follow her suggestion and think about how good it felt to mount her, to rear back, force her tail aside and thrust deep into that tight, hot flesh, to take her hard and rough until it brought him to wonderful climax... His cock bobbed in time with his heartbeat now, his arousal had grown so strong, and he whined softly at her as she continued to display herself but made no move to put herself where he could reach her. She kept going a minute or so more, watching as he thrust harder and harder into the empty air, and as he began to consider just taking a paw to himself she went still and lowered her tail, reaching out to stroke his neck with its tip. "There, wasn't that nice?" she purred. "You've been a good dragon for a month... If you can stay on your best behavior for another month, then I'll let you masturbate, all right? How does that sound?" He froze with shock, eyes going wide. What? She'd just so deliberately teased him, worked him up so much, and now she was going to leave without letting him do anything? He whined again, pleading, doing his best to look desperate, but she just stroked him again with her tail before beginning to walk away. "You know the rules, Juneas, and I don't think you deserve that much yet. I'll be back with more work for you in the morning. Keep a close eye on him," she added quietly to his guards, then snuffed the torches and left him alone for the night. He squirmed in the darkness, tail lashing and wings twitching against the chains that pinioned them, claws clenching and unclenching as he did everything he could think of to distract himself from his needy arousal. His memory was still so firmly fixated on how it felt to mount her, how much he loved it, how wonderful the sensations of orgasm were... He clamped his jaws on the bit in the back of his mouth and tugged against his reins, trying to focus on the pain it caused, anything to distract himself long enough for his erection to go away... But it didn't. It had been so long since he'd felt such pleasure, so long since he'd been able to release himself, and now he'd come so close, been so strongly reminded of how incredible it could be--only to be denied once again. Why not just take his paws to himself anyway? a part of his mind wondered. He was tightly shackled, but it wasn't enough to keep him from reaching his belly with his forepaws, and the chains wouldn't get in the way--and if that didn't work then he could just use his tail. What would she do if he did disobey her? Beat him? Refuse to give him permission for another couple of months? He wasn't afraid of a little pain, and even if she never did give him permission to masturbate then he could just keep doing it anyway, couldn't he? How bad could it possibly be? If he just kept quiet, the guards wouldn't be able to see him doing anything in the darkness; sure, there was no way he'd be able to hide the mess it would make if he actually did it, but it would be no trouble to make sure they didn't notice until then-- No, he growled, extending his paws as far as he could before he could be tempted--even if he still couldn't keep himself from humping the empty air at his belly. This was a punishment he had accepted, and if she had ordered him not to, then he would not. Yes, he hated that she'd teased him knowing full well what it would do to him, he hated that he no longer had the power to decide whether or not he received any pleasure, but he only had himself to blame, and if this was how he would be punished for what he'd done to her then he had to accept it. As hard as it would be. Juneas struggled a little while longer, but as her scent and the memory of what she'd just shown him faded away he gradually regained control of himself, finally able to still his hips, to stop clenching the muscles in his loins, to think of something other than sex... He couldn't keep himself from moaning unhappily as his penis softened and slipped back into its slit, though at the same time he sighed with relief as the arousal and all the desire and temptation that went with it finally disappeared from his mind. The tease left him with a lingering ache in his hindquarters, and he'd be snarling at Asara in the morning, but for now he needed to concentrate on sleep. Whatever tasks Asara had in mind for tomorrow, he was sure to need all his strength for them.
    • * The humans were wrapping up their work, and the movement of Juneas' guards drew his attention; they put the unused stones back into the foremost cart, then made sure his harness was secure before giving him the signal. The load was much lighter and easier now but he still moved slowly, careful not to turn more sharply than the carts could handle, and returned them to the street he'd towed them from, his guards walking along with him while the workers cordoned off the newly laid stones so they could have time to set before the square was re-opened. It was harder to return the train of carts than it was to bring them to the square: they had to be backed into the street, which meant the humans had to steer them while he pushed, walking backwards and doing the best he could not to step on them by accident. But they managed it without too much trouble, and finally his guards detached him from the carts and took off his towing harness--only to hold up another set of restraints. He sighed and stood still so they could shackle his paws and clip reins onto his bridle. The bridle he had been made to wear most of the time since his defeat ten years ago, though after seeing how obedient he was Asara had stopped requiring the chains that restrained his paws--and even the ones on his wings--in most cases. But Asara wasn't in the city now, and hadn't been for months; she had left a while ago, and while she hadn't told him her intentions he was sure she'd gone to search for other dragons, and most likely for a mate. In her absence the humans had chosen to make him wear all those bonds again, and while he didn't like it he of course had to accept it, and even understood why they insisted: without Asara there, the chains were their only way of controlling him in case he ever did choose to disobey them (he hadn't). He looked wistfully up at the sky as they locked the manacles shut around his four legs... If she'd just come back, he wouldn't have to wear them... That wasn't the only reason he missed her. The humans didn't talk to him much, and since they only took off his bridle to let him eat and drink he never had a chance to talk to them either; while Asara's words for him were usually filled with subtle teases and jabs at his subservience, she at least spoke to him, and in the mornings and evenings in his cell would usually take off his bridle for a while and let him talk with her. It was also easier when she let him exercise, for she could just lead him along by the reins or accompany him without making him wear any restraints at all, while the humans would strap a saddle to his back and make him carry them along with him so they could control where he walked or flew. Plus, he thought, after spending more then twenty years being around her so much, he'd grown so used to her mere presence that he felt almost... incomplete when she wasn't around. Yes, he'd realized that he'd grown attached to her while she was his prisoner, but to feel the same way when their positions had been reversed was something he didn't expect. His tail lashed once with irritation; why was she still gone? He wanted to see her again, to talk to her, to... Though there were a few things that he didn't miss while she was gone. While he'd eventually managed to adjust enough to be able to spend time around her without being aroused by it, she had continued to tease him relentlessly, even while he was performing the tasks she'd found for him. She would flick her tail up, tickle his belly, move in some awkward way that would oh-so-briefly expose her to him in a way that seemed just innocent enough to possibly be an accident... Sometimes she would even go so far as to murmur things to him--in dragontongue, so none of the humans could understand--about how she could pleasure herself all she wanted and how much she loved to do so, how wonderful it felt, while he had to stay on his best behavior and hope to be eventually given permission to do so himself. She had even made King William's army bring back most of the different restraints he'd used to bind her over the years so she could make him spend the occasional night in an especially helpless or awkward position, or just tie him up for the fun of watching him squirm uncomfortably in the chains. "Come on, dragon, back to the castle," one of the guards said, tugging at his reins, and he glanced up at the evening sky one last time before following them, head and tail low.
    • * "On your back," Asara growled. Juneas paused, cocking his head to one side. He hadn't done anything wrong, he was sure... Why was she angry? But the look she gave him wasn't quite an angry one, it was almost eager, predatory. Did she have something planned for him--and was that plan good or bad for him? She growled again, baring her teeth. "I'm waiting..." I suppose I'm about to find out, he thought, rolling onto his back. The chains around his wings dug into them a little as his weight pressed them tighter against the sensitive membrane, and while he shuffled them distractedly to relieve the ache she had his guards start changing his bonds. The chains that linked his left paws to his right were removed entirely, while the chains running from fore paws to hind were shortened as much as possible. Then the guards pulled his two sets of paws in opposite directions and bound them to anchors in the floor, forcing him to spread his paws almost uncomfortably wide apart. "You've been a very good dragon, Juneas, doing everything I've asked of you for all of these two months, so dutifully obeying a dragoness you'd kept as your own slave for so long... And you even managed to put up with all my teasing without ever touching yourself without permission. So I think it's time to reward you for that." He purred happily, arousal beginning to build at the thought of finally feeling those sensations he'd been denied so long, but after a moment he began to squirm back and forth in confusion. He couldn't reach his belly with any of his paws... Did she want him to use his tail? Or maybe she meant to actually mate with him! "Yes," she tilted her head, "I'm finally going to let you feel what you've wanted to feel all this time. You deserve this..." She nuzzled at his belly around but not quite touching his slit, and he did his best not to hump into the touch of her snout; she wouldn't like that. Still, though, his swelling cock emerged as she pulled her head away, and the gentle caress of her paw brought him, lying back and groaning at the long-missed sensation, to full hardness. "Just one thing I have to do before I can let you get started." She stepped forward and held his head against the floor with her claws, and he struggled against her for just a moment before her tail continued what her paw had started, stroking slowly up and down his length, and the return of such long-denied pleasure was so wonderful he didn't even notice as his guards loosened his bridle--even though he immediately parted his jaws to pant. But it wasn't so strong that he didn't notice when she jammed a ring of metal between his front teeth and squeezed his jaws shut around it, his guards quickly tightening the bridle again to keep him from opening his mouth and popping the circlet out. "Wha..." he began, squirming in her grip, and as she seized his reins and pulled his head, neck and shoulders up off the ground he realized what she intended. "No! Aaarra, n--nnn!" It was too late. He fought with all his strength to pull back, to break free, but there was nothing he could do to stop her; she pulled his head down against his belly, his cock going right through the center of the circlet she'd put between his teeth and sliding into his mouth. He growled and tried to pull away, doing his best to suppress a shudder of pleasure as his tongue pressed against his dragonhood, but she held him there long enough for his guards to tie his reins around his hindquarters, too tight for him to get more than the base of his penis out of his mouth--nowhere near enough to twist his head and get it out entirely. "There you are," she laughed, and took a step back to give him room. "You have permission to masturbate; go right ahead!" He growled, wishing he could ask her for some other way to do this, but his own hard cock in his mouth was an even more effective gag than the bridle and he had no chance of speaking to her--as if she'd listen anyway. Juneas recognized the ring as another of his own creations: at the advice of some of the humans he'd formerly ruled who said it felt nearly as good as sex (or better, depending on who he talked to), he'd had the ring constructed to be placed between Asara's front teeth--just as it was now between his own--so he could force her to suck him off without having to worry about her biting down on him during the act. Asara had hated it, and while he had found it enjoyable he preferred mating over it, and thus had saved it for occasions when he'd wanted to use sex to punish or humiliate her without letting her feel any pleasure of her own. But to do this to himself? Yes, he'd masturbated before--and now was quite eager to, if he could only do it some other way--but... He gave himself an experimental suck, sliding his tongue along his cock, and while it felt good enough to make him shiver with pleasure he couldn't help but think of the main use for a penis, and when his mind conjured up the scent of his urine he nearly choked in revulsion. And Asara had always most hated the moment when she brought him to climax this way; was his seed just as unpleasant, maybe even worse? And did he want to find out? Even if he'd been Asara's slave for two months now--and would be for the next thirty years--that didn't change the fact that he was a proud, strong dragon! He didn't need to stoop to the level of masturbation, especially not a method this unpleasant, in order to get some sexual relief; if he did, it just meant he didn't think he was capable of attracting a dragoness to mount, and his enslavement certainly hadn't made that the case! He could wait, if necessary, he didn't have to humiliate himself this way... And besides, he'd gone so long without any of this sensation, so what was a while longer? Asara had to be missing the pleasure of their daily mating at his fortress only a few months ago just as much as he was, and if he could just wait it out, he was sure eventually she wouldn't be able to control her desire for him any longer, and then he'd get what he wanted in a much more satisfying way. There was no need to do this, and besides, she hadn't ordered him to masturbate, just said that he could, which meant he didn't have to if he didn't want to... But of course if he didn't want to, then he had to find a way to get out of it. Escape from his shackles or bridle was impossible, so he needed some other way... The ring holding his mouth open around his cock had been designed based on his girth but wasn't tight enough to reduce blood flow, so if he could just concentrate on something else and keep from sucking or licking himself, his arousal would go away. And she couldn't force him to suck himself if there was nothing in his mouth for him to suck! Asara chuckled, drawing his attention back to her. "What's the matter, dragon?" she nuzzled his cheek. "I thought you wanted to touch yourself... I know you haven't been able to climax in so long... Don't you want to feel that pleasure again? I said you could, so what's stopping you?" He growled at her, doing his best to ignore the memories her teasing brought back and looking away, concentrating on whatever else he could think of. He didn't just miss being able to mate, he missed other things... Being able to run and fly freely, without a bridle and reins, without shackles on his paws--it was working, his arousal was fading! He missed being able to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, missed his home, the humans he'd ruled over, he missed being free! He clenched his claws and struggled briefly, imagining the sky around his old fortress, but that was all the time he needed; his penis had shrunk enough now that he could pull his mouth up and off of it, and even as Asara opened her mouth to snarl at him it disappeared back into its slit. "Fine! Suit yourself; I certainly don't want to watch you pleasure yourself, even if I do want you to know how much horrible it was to be forced to do that to you. But know this: if you ever want permission to masturbate, you'll be doing it this way, so if you can't bring yourself to accept it then you won't be getting to orgasm anytime soon. And you'd better hope you stay on your best behavior, because if you make me the slightest bit angry I might just order you to suck yourself for my amusement. Put him in his usual position for the night and make sure he keeps his paws off himself; I'm going to fly." She left the cell in a huff as his guards came over to change his restraints. He sighed in a mixture of relief and disappointment as the humans set him up for the night. Yes, he really would have enjoyed a proper chance to pleasure himself, even if it wasn't as good as mating, but he hadn't wanted to do it that way and was just glad he'd found a way to get out of it. But really, he thought, I'm almost glad I didn't. It's been long enough now that I don't feel the need to mate all that often, and being reminded of how it can feel might change that, might make me go back to wanting it, almost needing it every single day, and that's not something I want to bear after how bad those first few weeks were. Maybe things are better this way.