Black Roses for the Knight of the Queen (4/6)
Title: Black Roses for the Knight of the Queen (4/6)
Author: Rowen
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: R
Spoilers: The setting for this story is fourth season, during 'The Long Night' after Ivanova has left the station but before the Shadows destroy the colony world.
Synopsis: "We can't get to Sheridan, but that doesn't mean we can't hurt him. Humans are sentimental about their friends and loved ones. If we corrupt or kill someone he is close to..."
Pairing: John/Delenn; Delenn/Lennier
Genre: Adult; Darkfic
Disclaimer: Babylon 5 belongs to JMS, Warner Brothers, PTEN and TNT and are used without permission.
Notes: If you're not of appropriate age in your district, go away now.
Many thanks to my beta readers Kathleen, Shaz and Alta for doing a wonderful job. Cyber roses for all of you. @--)-)---
If you think you think one of the scenes in this is familiar, it is because I borrowed it from one of my other stories, but wanted to include have it as part of the back story for this more 'canon' piece.
This story was written in 1997
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Chapter 4
.....Do not touch me again in that fashion! We may sometimes *look* like you, but we are *not* you. Never forget that!...
.....She is my mentor, my teacher, my.....
.....I am required to tell someone that which I have never told anyone before.....
.....I love her.....
.....it is not romantic love....
.....higher and nobler....
.....A pure, perfect love.....
.....I have vowed to stay at her side through all things for as long as I live.....
-----------------------
A higher, more pure love... how puerile. Childishly naive. Morden felt like gagging at Lennier's memory. A pure love. He shook his head. Lennier had got one thing right, though: he had vowed to stay at his mistress side for as long as he lived... Dangerous, Lennier. Very, very dangerous.
"A lovely, beautiful sentiment." Morden made the compliment sound like an insult. "A pity it isn't true."
Lennier's first reaction was disbelief, then anger.
"Are you accusing me of lying?"
"Oh of course: Minbari don't lie. How *careless* of me to forget that." Morden stood toe-to-toe with the enraged Minbari, an act that would have been suicidal in the real world. "Well we both know how true *that* statement is," he sneered. "A nice comfortable fiction, isn't it? You forget, I *am* you, Lennier. I share every thought, every memory you possess. Even the ones you would prefer not to have; the small thoughts and daydreams, desires that you try to suppress. Here, let me show you..."
With infinite care Morden drew the two of them back to the memory of Lennier's meditation grove, concentrating on crafting the scenario and mood. It was not all that difficult, he decided, as he willed a figure to appear. Delenn. But not the Delenn Lennier knew as mentor and teacher, rather Delenn the woman, the lover.... And this time it was not Sheridan who was at the focus of that feeling. With one more nudge he 'pushed' Lennier in to join her.....
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A shaft of moonlight pushed through the overhanging canopy to bestow its luminous benediction on the pair sitting in the glade. Lennier stared with wonder, love and almost disbelief at the woman before him. She was here. With him. The silvery light reflected off her white robe, seeming to make her one with the two moons riding far above them. The half-eaten bowl of red-fruit lay forgotten on the ground between them as they simply sat, listening to the sounds of the insects and the breeze lightly rustling the leaves on this, the most perfect of nights.
Their wedding night.
All the rituals had been completed, the final just moments before when they had tasted of the fruit, binding them as male and female, husband and wife, in the secluded temple glade. Joined forever.
Delenn's green eyes were dark and filled with an expression that he had longed for: love. And something more - the smoky warmth of passion.
"Lennier," she murmured, setting the bowl aside and reaching out her hand to caress the side of his face. Her touch was soft and ethereal, as if she were no more than the breeze itself. Lennier covered her hand with his own, pressing it more firmly against his face to reassure himself she was real. When she did not vanish into a swirl of mist he smiled, drawing a similar smile to her lips.
"Delenn." His voice was husky as he named her. Delenn - his wife, his lover, the most perfect and beautiful reflection of the soul of the universe. Slowly, he guided her hand down to rest over his heart, stroking the skin on the back of her hand softly. Tentatively, almost fearfully, he stretched out his other hand to reciprocate the gesture. He could feel the intoxicating warmth of her skin beneath her robe and the steady beating of her heart as her chest rose and fell with each breath.
"My love."
Gracefully she shifted her weight onto her knees, leaning close, closer, until her lips touched his.
During the Shan'Fal Lennier had discovered how much she liked to be kissed. It was not a Minbari custom, but then he had to remember that Delenn was no longer fully Minbari. He had thought it strange, though not objectionable, and if it gave Delenn pleasure then he would partake in it. But he had not appreciated how truly... erotic... the experience could be, he decided, as her tongue carefully traced then parted his lips. His hands shifted to close about her waist as she delicately explored his mouth. Almost without knowing it, he closed his eyes and began to actively participate, his lips mimicking the action of hers, tasting in her mouth the redfruit they had just eaten. Pulling away just a fraction, Delenn slid her hands beneath the neckline of his ceremonial robe and pushed the fabric off his shoulders. The night breeze felt cool on his skin as he shrugged his arms out of the sleeves, leaving him naked to the waist. Her hands brushed his torso lightly while her eyes roamed over his form.
"So beautiful," she murmured, leaning forward and flicking her tongue across the sensitive skin at the base of his throat. "So beautiful." Her hands traveled up his neck, caressing the sensitive skin just at the edge of his crest as she took his mouth again in a sweet kiss.
With a moan, he pulled his mouth away, breathing heavily as her hands continued their intimate handling of the sensitive portion of his anatomy. He rolled his head back, pressing against her hands. The sensations he was experiencing were exquisite as the purely hormonal response of his body increased the blood flow to the nerve endings.
"Delenn." The whisper ended in another moan as she bent forward and brushed her lips over his temple at the edge of his crest. Lennier's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his lap as the other hand tangled in the soft hair at the nape of her neck and drew her face to his so he could taste her mouth once more. Hair... It still surprised him, he thought as the silken strands slid through his fingers. The texture was... exotic, and unexpectedly sensuous. Applying a slight force, he tilted Delenn's head back and caressed her throat with his lips, feeling the wildly beating pulse beneath the skin. A small sound of pleasure escaped her throat - a sigh no louder than the faint breeze - but it rippled across Lennier's being, amplifying his own pleasure. His body, his mind, his very soul were so attuned to Delenn that he could almost feel what she did. He lavished attention on the incredibly sensitive skin of her throat and earlobes, his hands half-supporting her weight as she arched backward within the circle of his arms, pressing her body against his. Even through the robe she still wore she felt incredibly warm against his bare flesh.
"Lennier." Her eyes closed, she rubbed her cheek against his, nuzzling and kissing the edge of his crest. "I love you." She opened passion-filled eyes to meet his as she traced his lips with the tips of her fingers, barely making contact. "I... I should have realized it sooner."
"No, Delenn..." Lennier wanted to reassure her but she stilled his words with the slightest pressure of her fingertips, shaking her head. She looked down and he followed her gaze to where his arms wrapped about her.
Hesitantly, he withdrew his hands, moving them to the front of her robe, his eyes holding hers. Her breasts brushed against his palms and he cupped them, stroking the erect nipples through the thin fabric. Delenn drew a shuddering breath at the touch, leaning forward. With a feeling akin to reverence, he grasped the edges of her robe to bare her body to him.
"No." Her voice was rich and throaty as her hands covered his. "Let me."
Delenn stood, closing her eyes and lifting her face toward the moon as if accepting its radiant blessing. Her fingers unfastened the last tie on the robe and she shrugged out of it. Lennier watched the soft fabric slither down her body in a whispering sigh to fall in a shimmering pool about her feet. Then slowly, he raised his eyes from her feet back up the length of her body. The moonbeams reflected from her pale skin and it almost seemed as if Delenn herself was glowing with an inner radiance.
Lennier shrugged off the robes from around his waist, then starting with her feet lightly trailed his fingers up her body in the gentlest of caresses. Over her calves, skimming up the outside of her thighs until he reached the curve of her hips. Rocking forward to kneel before her, he grasped her buttocks and drew her to him. While caressing her hips he touched his lips to her slightly rounded belly, alternately kissing and nuzzling the soft skin, then frowned as he remembered. Had she been fully Minbari, her two openings would have been located there on either side of her lower abdomen, but becoming human had shifted her anatomy around, and they were now between her legs. His mouth moved lower then and she cried out, fingers digging into his shoulders as he kissed her more intimately, letting his lips and tongue learn how to pleasure her. He could feel the tension in her body beneath his hands as he thoroughly explored the sensitive region.
Delenn actually whimpered and Lennier felt a heady rush at the sound - that he could bring her such delight. A moment later her small hands grasped his crest and drew him away, gasping at the contact with the over-sensitive edges.
"Lennier..." She was breathing rapidly, her face flushed. "I cannot stand any longer and if you keep doing that, I will fall over." Her palm stroked his jaw. "I wish to give you pleasure as well."
"I... Oh you are, Delenn. In Valen's name, you are."
She knelt, pressing against him. Even before she had removed her robe, she had been warm, but now to his night-cooled skin she felt like an inferno, surrounding, consuming him with fiery passion.
"I want to do more." Her lips were scant millimeters from his, sharing the same air. Then she rubbed her hips against him and Lennier abandoned his rigid control, groaning at the contact with his arousal. His shaft had long since emerged from the protective internal pouch and her hand slipped between their bodies, closing confidently around it, tracing the hard ridges, teasing the sensitive folds of skin around the tip. Her other hand played with the back of his neck, every so often swiping across the edge of his crest. Lennier could not concentrate in the face of the dual stimulation and surrendered himself to the rapture her hands were invoking. Her thumb slid between the lips of his sheath to caress the sensitive inner lining of the sheath. He was so lost in pleasure he barely heard her command to lie back.
"Wh... What?" He opened his eyes trying to understand what she had just said. Her hands shifted, pressing his shoulders gently.
"Lie down, Lennier."
He did as she commanded, reclining on the soft moss near the brook, looking up at the crystalline sparkle of the stars in the deep black of Minbar's sky. After so many years spent living amongst the stars it seemed almost strange to view them from here once more. Full circle.
He felt a warmth enclose his shaft and arched his back as Delenn's mouth worked magic upon his body. Her hair draped across his stomach, she mirrored the intimate explorations he had similarly performed on her. His muscles clenched reflexively, the moss scratching at his bare skin, as she tasted and probed him, her hands on his hips preventing him from moving.
"Delenn," he whimpered, reaching for her, and tugging her to lie full length against him. He looked deeply into her eyes - into her very soul - and felt the love he saw there. "I love you." He kissed her tenderly and rolled her beneath him, their lips still joined. Delenn's legs parted allowing him to rest between, his shaft nudging her opening. During the Shan'Fal they had discussed the changes to her body and explored them together, so he knew more or less what to expect. Carefully, slowly - very slowly - he pushed inside. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, urging him on, but Lennier refused the temptation to rush, rocking slowly in, then pulling back, each time moving further inside her body until she had fully engulfed him. He lay there, letting them both adjust to the sensation while he gazed down at her face, fixing this instant in his memory forever. Finally, he began sliding back and forth, holding himself with firm control until he had satisfied her desires. It was difficult not to let go, her body welcomed him with each stroke, gripping his shaft firmly. From their relative positions he could not reach her mouth, so he kissed her breast, suckling the rosy nipple, and reveling in the incoherent moans. Delenn's muscles tightened around him and he knew she was close to release. All at once, she stepped over the precipice and flew, her body writhing beneath his. The rhythmic spasms pushed Lennier past the limit of his self control and he too found fulfillment, their cries mingling with those of the night birds as he filled her with his seed.
The breeze rustled through the grove, through the soft leaves of the trees, to wrap around the exhausted couple. It caressed bare skin with gossamer fingers, lazily stirring the dark strands of the woman's hair before moving on and leaving the two alone, bathed by the silvery light of the moon.
-----------------------
Morden felt his Associates actively intervene to dampen the backlash he would experience from Lennier's orgasm through their link. He used the respite to gain control of his own reactions and shore up his mental defenses. In the real world he knew his body was sweating from the mental exertion of directing and controlling Lennier. The crafting of the scenario had been taxing. He had not only had to 'create' a simulacrum of Delenn whose responses were believable, he had to draw enough elements from Lennier's memories of Minbari culture and ritual to make it appear real. Morden had been hampered by his own lack of knowledge of the Minbari and Lennier's relative inexperience with intimate relationships, so the Four had to fill in some of the other details. But peering into Lennier's mind had given him greater insights into the Minbari than his Associates had ever been able to provide. *Their* thoughts and mental processes were so much more advanced than those of the lesser races they really did not fully comprehend the passions, contradictions and philosophies that drove lower races. Each race had its own unique mind-set, and trying to impose one type of thought patterns over another did not work particularly well. For instance Minbari did not generally have the detailed sexual fantasies or dreams that humans did. So by placing the memory of the scene he had just experienced in Lennier's mind, Morden was guaranteeing the Minbari would feel a great sense of shame and personal loathing for having considered his mentor in that fashion.
He shrugged aside the intoxicating, heady sense of power and concentrated. It was time to proceed while the memory of passion was still fresh in Lennier's mind. A slight
and Lennier was no longer wrapped in Delenn's warm embrace, but back once more in the Inquisitor's cold room, his body on the floor as if still curled around his phantom lover. With more than a touch of malice, Morden left physical 'evidence' of the encounter on Lennier's robes.
"Now," he said conversationally, crouching by the prone Minbari, "I may be wrong, but that did not look like... What was it?" He paused theatrically as Lennier levered himself into a sitting position. "Ah, that's right: a 'nobler, higher love.'" He tilted his head, waiting for a response.
Lennier looked positively shell-shocked, his arms wrapped around his knees. When there was no response, Morden knelt beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You cannot hide from the voice of your conscience, Lennier." Quietly. Sympathetically.
"I... I have defiled her... defiled Delenn," Lennier choked, staring into space. He looked down at his crumpled robe and saw the evidence of passion. With a sharp jerk, he tore the fabric from his body and hurled it away from him. "Oh Valen..."
Perfect! Morden rejoiced inwardly, but his face showed only concern.
"Lennier you *love* her. You love her heart, her soul, her mind... and her body," he added after a pause and was rewarded with a flinch.
"She is fated for another." Lennier's eyes were full of anguish.
"And how do you know that"
"Valen... in his prophecies he foretold that when the ancient enemy returned, the Minbari would re-unite with the other half of our souls and defeat the Shadows."
Morden stiffened, his eyes widening. When Lennier thought of Valen, the thought that rose to the surface was the face of Jeffery Sinclair. He delved through the relevant memories, sifting them into a cohesive strand and was appalled by what he saw. He felt his Associates own... surprise... mirror his own. Jeffrey Sinclair *was* Valen and Valen *was* Jeffrey Sinclair. It was not more of the 'soul rebirth' bullshit the Minbari believed in. Physically, the great Minbari leader and prophet and the former Commander of Babylon 5 were one and the same. Sent back in time together with Babylon 4 by some unknown means in order to defeat the Shadows in the previous War. Morden experienced the same consternation his companions did at the revelation. This was against the rules! It was an outrage! The Vorlons had made an agreement with the Shadows ages past not to use time travel in their disagreements. The Vorlons had *cheated*!! They must return to Centauri Prime to report this flagrant breach of the rules to the others. Without words, they urged Morden to hurry and finish his task here.
"Valen - before he became Minbari, was human, Lennier," Morden pointed out after taking a deep breath to calm his outrage. "Sinclair must have seen Sheridan with Delenn before he... left. It would have been obvious to him that Sheridan had a... passion... for her. She is, after all, a physically beautiful person and humans still base attraction very much on the physical aspect. Much like animals, in that respect. And of course it is also a very human characteristic to try and 'match' unattached people into couples." Morden bent closer, conspiratorially. "Sinclair and Sheridan were friends - and Sinclair knew that if he, as Valen, 'prophesied' such a match Delenn would feel obliged to follow it." He pressed the idea of such a conspiracy firmly into Lennier's mind, not giving the Minbari a chance to reject it.
"That is..." Lennier climbed to his feet, his face betraying anger.
"Outrageous," Morden agreed, also standing and reinforcing the anger. "And of course humans are very casual about such relationships. Once Sheridan has what he wants from Delenn; once he fucks her a few times... why he'll go and find himself a human woman for companionship."
Morden could feel the hurt and anger burning in Lennier's veins. Now to tip it over. "You know I'm right. You have been around humans enough to see it happen before." Carefully, he reconstructed the scene Lennier had inadvertently walked in on earlier that evening where Sheridan and Delenn were asleep in each other's arms...
-----------------------
Together on the couch, wrapped in the oblivion of sleep, lay the Captain and Delenn. Involuntarily Lennier took a step forward, clutching the object in his hand more tightly as he examined their sleeping forms. Delenn was balanced precariously on the edge of the couch, but Sheridan held her securely against him with a hand on her buttocks, the other hand tangled beneath the dark hair that streamed across his chest. Despite the tension of the impending battle, the man's face held a smile. A lewd, almost hungry smile. Lennier clenched his jaw as Sheridan shifted in his sleep and rubbed his hands inappropriately, intimately over the woman who lay so trustingly against him. The Minbari raised his hand. Sheridan was vulnerable. It would be so easy...
He started as the object in his hand reflected the dim light, gleaming. A knife. Frightened, he dropped it and watched it spin end over end, the metal flashing as it caught the light, until it landed with a loud clatter on the deck.
"No!!!"
The image of the office and the sleeping couple vanished and once more he was back in the Inquisitor's room.
"No, no, no!" He staggered from the circle of light, and leaned up against a wall, letting its cool strength support his weak legs. He could hear his 'conscience' move in behind him.
"Lennier..."
"I can not kill!" He spun, facing the dark-haired human. "All life is sacred, no matter what! No matter Sheridan's behavior it is no excuse for having such thoughts! There are always ways to resolve problems. Oh, Valen forgive me!"
"Ways for Minbari, yes." His conscience sounded... impatient. "But this is humans we are talking about. They are ruled by their passions." The thought of Sheridan mis-handling Delenn surfaced in his mind again, but Lennier forced the anger down, turning to logic and fact.
He pulled away from the support of the wall and drew himself to his full height, staring at the strange human reflection of his inner self. Why would his mind use such a construct? When he finally spoke his voice was quiet but determined.
"The Captain may not be Minbari, but he has always acted honorably toward my people and toward me..." Lennier could feel something brushing the edge of his awareness. Something almost within his grasp... something powerful... strange...
All he had to do was reach out and...
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Author: Rowen
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: R
Spoilers: The setting for this story is fourth season, during 'The Long Night' after Ivanova has left the station but before the Shadows destroy the colony world.
Synopsis: "We can't get to Sheridan, but that doesn't mean we can't hurt him. Humans are sentimental about their friends and loved ones. If we corrupt or kill someone he is close to..."
Pairing: John/Delenn; Delenn/Lennier
Genre: Adult; Darkfic
Disclaimer: Babylon 5 belongs to JMS, Warner Brothers, PTEN and TNT and are used without permission.
Notes: If you're not of appropriate age in your district, go away now.
Many thanks to my beta readers Kathleen, Shaz and Alta for doing a wonderful job. Cyber roses for all of you. @--)-)---
If you think you think one of the scenes in this is familiar, it is because I borrowed it from one of my other stories, but wanted to include have it as part of the back story for this more 'canon' piece.
This story was written in 1997
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 4
.....Do not touch me again in that fashion! We may sometimes *look* like you, but we are *not* you. Never forget that!...
.....She is my mentor, my teacher, my.....
.....I am required to tell someone that which I have never told anyone before.....
.....I love her.....
.....it is not romantic love....
.....higher and nobler....
.....A pure, perfect love.....
.....I have vowed to stay at her side through all things for as long as I live.....
-----------------------
A higher, more pure love... how puerile. Childishly naive. Morden felt like gagging at Lennier's memory. A pure love. He shook his head. Lennier had got one thing right, though: he had vowed to stay at his mistress side for as long as he lived... Dangerous, Lennier. Very, very dangerous.
"A lovely, beautiful sentiment." Morden made the compliment sound like an insult. "A pity it isn't true."
Lennier's first reaction was disbelief, then anger.
"Are you accusing me of lying?"
"Oh of course: Minbari don't lie. How *careless* of me to forget that." Morden stood toe-to-toe with the enraged Minbari, an act that would have been suicidal in the real world. "Well we both know how true *that* statement is," he sneered. "A nice comfortable fiction, isn't it? You forget, I *am* you, Lennier. I share every thought, every memory you possess. Even the ones you would prefer not to have; the small thoughts and daydreams, desires that you try to suppress. Here, let me show you..."
With infinite care Morden drew the two of them back to the memory of Lennier's meditation grove, concentrating on crafting the scenario and mood. It was not all that difficult, he decided, as he willed a figure to appear. Delenn. But not the Delenn Lennier knew as mentor and teacher, rather Delenn the woman, the lover.... And this time it was not Sheridan who was at the focus of that feeling. With one more nudge he 'pushed' Lennier in to join her.....
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A shaft of moonlight pushed through the overhanging canopy to bestow its luminous benediction on the pair sitting in the glade. Lennier stared with wonder, love and almost disbelief at the woman before him. She was here. With him. The silvery light reflected off her white robe, seeming to make her one with the two moons riding far above them. The half-eaten bowl of red-fruit lay forgotten on the ground between them as they simply sat, listening to the sounds of the insects and the breeze lightly rustling the leaves on this, the most perfect of nights.
Their wedding night.
All the rituals had been completed, the final just moments before when they had tasted of the fruit, binding them as male and female, husband and wife, in the secluded temple glade. Joined forever.
Delenn's green eyes were dark and filled with an expression that he had longed for: love. And something more - the smoky warmth of passion.
"Lennier," she murmured, setting the bowl aside and reaching out her hand to caress the side of his face. Her touch was soft and ethereal, as if she were no more than the breeze itself. Lennier covered her hand with his own, pressing it more firmly against his face to reassure himself she was real. When she did not vanish into a swirl of mist he smiled, drawing a similar smile to her lips.
"Delenn." His voice was husky as he named her. Delenn - his wife, his lover, the most perfect and beautiful reflection of the soul of the universe. Slowly, he guided her hand down to rest over his heart, stroking the skin on the back of her hand softly. Tentatively, almost fearfully, he stretched out his other hand to reciprocate the gesture. He could feel the intoxicating warmth of her skin beneath her robe and the steady beating of her heart as her chest rose and fell with each breath.
"My love."
Gracefully she shifted her weight onto her knees, leaning close, closer, until her lips touched his.
During the Shan'Fal Lennier had discovered how much she liked to be kissed. It was not a Minbari custom, but then he had to remember that Delenn was no longer fully Minbari. He had thought it strange, though not objectionable, and if it gave Delenn pleasure then he would partake in it. But he had not appreciated how truly... erotic... the experience could be, he decided, as her tongue carefully traced then parted his lips. His hands shifted to close about her waist as she delicately explored his mouth. Almost without knowing it, he closed his eyes and began to actively participate, his lips mimicking the action of hers, tasting in her mouth the redfruit they had just eaten. Pulling away just a fraction, Delenn slid her hands beneath the neckline of his ceremonial robe and pushed the fabric off his shoulders. The night breeze felt cool on his skin as he shrugged his arms out of the sleeves, leaving him naked to the waist. Her hands brushed his torso lightly while her eyes roamed over his form.
"So beautiful," she murmured, leaning forward and flicking her tongue across the sensitive skin at the base of his throat. "So beautiful." Her hands traveled up his neck, caressing the sensitive skin just at the edge of his crest as she took his mouth again in a sweet kiss.
With a moan, he pulled his mouth away, breathing heavily as her hands continued their intimate handling of the sensitive portion of his anatomy. He rolled his head back, pressing against her hands. The sensations he was experiencing were exquisite as the purely hormonal response of his body increased the blood flow to the nerve endings.
"Delenn." The whisper ended in another moan as she bent forward and brushed her lips over his temple at the edge of his crest. Lennier's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his lap as the other hand tangled in the soft hair at the nape of her neck and drew her face to his so he could taste her mouth once more. Hair... It still surprised him, he thought as the silken strands slid through his fingers. The texture was... exotic, and unexpectedly sensuous. Applying a slight force, he tilted Delenn's head back and caressed her throat with his lips, feeling the wildly beating pulse beneath the skin. A small sound of pleasure escaped her throat - a sigh no louder than the faint breeze - but it rippled across Lennier's being, amplifying his own pleasure. His body, his mind, his very soul were so attuned to Delenn that he could almost feel what she did. He lavished attention on the incredibly sensitive skin of her throat and earlobes, his hands half-supporting her weight as she arched backward within the circle of his arms, pressing her body against his. Even through the robe she still wore she felt incredibly warm against his bare flesh.
"Lennier." Her eyes closed, she rubbed her cheek against his, nuzzling and kissing the edge of his crest. "I love you." She opened passion-filled eyes to meet his as she traced his lips with the tips of her fingers, barely making contact. "I... I should have realized it sooner."
"No, Delenn..." Lennier wanted to reassure her but she stilled his words with the slightest pressure of her fingertips, shaking her head. She looked down and he followed her gaze to where his arms wrapped about her.
Hesitantly, he withdrew his hands, moving them to the front of her robe, his eyes holding hers. Her breasts brushed against his palms and he cupped them, stroking the erect nipples through the thin fabric. Delenn drew a shuddering breath at the touch, leaning forward. With a feeling akin to reverence, he grasped the edges of her robe to bare her body to him.
"No." Her voice was rich and throaty as her hands covered his. "Let me."
Delenn stood, closing her eyes and lifting her face toward the moon as if accepting its radiant blessing. Her fingers unfastened the last tie on the robe and she shrugged out of it. Lennier watched the soft fabric slither down her body in a whispering sigh to fall in a shimmering pool about her feet. Then slowly, he raised his eyes from her feet back up the length of her body. The moonbeams reflected from her pale skin and it almost seemed as if Delenn herself was glowing with an inner radiance.
Lennier shrugged off the robes from around his waist, then starting with her feet lightly trailed his fingers up her body in the gentlest of caresses. Over her calves, skimming up the outside of her thighs until he reached the curve of her hips. Rocking forward to kneel before her, he grasped her buttocks and drew her to him. While caressing her hips he touched his lips to her slightly rounded belly, alternately kissing and nuzzling the soft skin, then frowned as he remembered. Had she been fully Minbari, her two openings would have been located there on either side of her lower abdomen, but becoming human had shifted her anatomy around, and they were now between her legs. His mouth moved lower then and she cried out, fingers digging into his shoulders as he kissed her more intimately, letting his lips and tongue learn how to pleasure her. He could feel the tension in her body beneath his hands as he thoroughly explored the sensitive region.
Delenn actually whimpered and Lennier felt a heady rush at the sound - that he could bring her such delight. A moment later her small hands grasped his crest and drew him away, gasping at the contact with the over-sensitive edges.
"Lennier..." She was breathing rapidly, her face flushed. "I cannot stand any longer and if you keep doing that, I will fall over." Her palm stroked his jaw. "I wish to give you pleasure as well."
"I... Oh you are, Delenn. In Valen's name, you are."
She knelt, pressing against him. Even before she had removed her robe, she had been warm, but now to his night-cooled skin she felt like an inferno, surrounding, consuming him with fiery passion.
"I want to do more." Her lips were scant millimeters from his, sharing the same air. Then she rubbed her hips against him and Lennier abandoned his rigid control, groaning at the contact with his arousal. His shaft had long since emerged from the protective internal pouch and her hand slipped between their bodies, closing confidently around it, tracing the hard ridges, teasing the sensitive folds of skin around the tip. Her other hand played with the back of his neck, every so often swiping across the edge of his crest. Lennier could not concentrate in the face of the dual stimulation and surrendered himself to the rapture her hands were invoking. Her thumb slid between the lips of his sheath to caress the sensitive inner lining of the sheath. He was so lost in pleasure he barely heard her command to lie back.
"Wh... What?" He opened his eyes trying to understand what she had just said. Her hands shifted, pressing his shoulders gently.
"Lie down, Lennier."
He did as she commanded, reclining on the soft moss near the brook, looking up at the crystalline sparkle of the stars in the deep black of Minbar's sky. After so many years spent living amongst the stars it seemed almost strange to view them from here once more. Full circle.
He felt a warmth enclose his shaft and arched his back as Delenn's mouth worked magic upon his body. Her hair draped across his stomach, she mirrored the intimate explorations he had similarly performed on her. His muscles clenched reflexively, the moss scratching at his bare skin, as she tasted and probed him, her hands on his hips preventing him from moving.
"Delenn," he whimpered, reaching for her, and tugging her to lie full length against him. He looked deeply into her eyes - into her very soul - and felt the love he saw there. "I love you." He kissed her tenderly and rolled her beneath him, their lips still joined. Delenn's legs parted allowing him to rest between, his shaft nudging her opening. During the Shan'Fal they had discussed the changes to her body and explored them together, so he knew more or less what to expect. Carefully, slowly - very slowly - he pushed inside. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, urging him on, but Lennier refused the temptation to rush, rocking slowly in, then pulling back, each time moving further inside her body until she had fully engulfed him. He lay there, letting them both adjust to the sensation while he gazed down at her face, fixing this instant in his memory forever. Finally, he began sliding back and forth, holding himself with firm control until he had satisfied her desires. It was difficult not to let go, her body welcomed him with each stroke, gripping his shaft firmly. From their relative positions he could not reach her mouth, so he kissed her breast, suckling the rosy nipple, and reveling in the incoherent moans. Delenn's muscles tightened around him and he knew she was close to release. All at once, she stepped over the precipice and flew, her body writhing beneath his. The rhythmic spasms pushed Lennier past the limit of his self control and he too found fulfillment, their cries mingling with those of the night birds as he filled her with his seed.
The breeze rustled through the grove, through the soft leaves of the trees, to wrap around the exhausted couple. It caressed bare skin with gossamer fingers, lazily stirring the dark strands of the woman's hair before moving on and leaving the two alone, bathed by the silvery light of the moon.
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Morden felt his Associates actively intervene to dampen the backlash he would experience from Lennier's orgasm through their link. He used the respite to gain control of his own reactions and shore up his mental defenses. In the real world he knew his body was sweating from the mental exertion of directing and controlling Lennier. The crafting of the scenario had been taxing. He had not only had to 'create' a simulacrum of Delenn whose responses were believable, he had to draw enough elements from Lennier's memories of Minbari culture and ritual to make it appear real. Morden had been hampered by his own lack of knowledge of the Minbari and Lennier's relative inexperience with intimate relationships, so the Four had to fill in some of the other details. But peering into Lennier's mind had given him greater insights into the Minbari than his Associates had ever been able to provide. *Their* thoughts and mental processes were so much more advanced than those of the lesser races they really did not fully comprehend the passions, contradictions and philosophies that drove lower races. Each race had its own unique mind-set, and trying to impose one type of thought patterns over another did not work particularly well. For instance Minbari did not generally have the detailed sexual fantasies or dreams that humans did. So by placing the memory of the scene he had just experienced in Lennier's mind, Morden was guaranteeing the Minbari would feel a great sense of shame and personal loathing for having considered his mentor in that fashion.
He shrugged aside the intoxicating, heady sense of power and concentrated. It was time to proceed while the memory of passion was still fresh in Lennier's mind. A slight
and Lennier was no longer wrapped in Delenn's warm embrace, but back once more in the Inquisitor's cold room, his body on the floor as if still curled around his phantom lover. With more than a touch of malice, Morden left physical 'evidence' of the encounter on Lennier's robes.
"Now," he said conversationally, crouching by the prone Minbari, "I may be wrong, but that did not look like... What was it?" He paused theatrically as Lennier levered himself into a sitting position. "Ah, that's right: a 'nobler, higher love.'" He tilted his head, waiting for a response.
Lennier looked positively shell-shocked, his arms wrapped around his knees. When there was no response, Morden knelt beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"You cannot hide from the voice of your conscience, Lennier." Quietly. Sympathetically.
"I... I have defiled her... defiled Delenn," Lennier choked, staring into space. He looked down at his crumpled robe and saw the evidence of passion. With a sharp jerk, he tore the fabric from his body and hurled it away from him. "Oh Valen..."
Perfect! Morden rejoiced inwardly, but his face showed only concern.
"Lennier you *love* her. You love her heart, her soul, her mind... and her body," he added after a pause and was rewarded with a flinch.
"She is fated for another." Lennier's eyes were full of anguish.
"And how do you know that"
"Valen... in his prophecies he foretold that when the ancient enemy returned, the Minbari would re-unite with the other half of our souls and defeat the Shadows."
Morden stiffened, his eyes widening. When Lennier thought of Valen, the thought that rose to the surface was the face of Jeffery Sinclair. He delved through the relevant memories, sifting them into a cohesive strand and was appalled by what he saw. He felt his Associates own... surprise... mirror his own. Jeffrey Sinclair *was* Valen and Valen *was* Jeffrey Sinclair. It was not more of the 'soul rebirth' bullshit the Minbari believed in. Physically, the great Minbari leader and prophet and the former Commander of Babylon 5 were one and the same. Sent back in time together with Babylon 4 by some unknown means in order to defeat the Shadows in the previous War. Morden experienced the same consternation his companions did at the revelation. This was against the rules! It was an outrage! The Vorlons had made an agreement with the Shadows ages past not to use time travel in their disagreements. The Vorlons had *cheated*!! They must return to Centauri Prime to report this flagrant breach of the rules to the others. Without words, they urged Morden to hurry and finish his task here.
"Valen - before he became Minbari, was human, Lennier," Morden pointed out after taking a deep breath to calm his outrage. "Sinclair must have seen Sheridan with Delenn before he... left. It would have been obvious to him that Sheridan had a... passion... for her. She is, after all, a physically beautiful person and humans still base attraction very much on the physical aspect. Much like animals, in that respect. And of course it is also a very human characteristic to try and 'match' unattached people into couples." Morden bent closer, conspiratorially. "Sinclair and Sheridan were friends - and Sinclair knew that if he, as Valen, 'prophesied' such a match Delenn would feel obliged to follow it." He pressed the idea of such a conspiracy firmly into Lennier's mind, not giving the Minbari a chance to reject it.
"That is..." Lennier climbed to his feet, his face betraying anger.
"Outrageous," Morden agreed, also standing and reinforcing the anger. "And of course humans are very casual about such relationships. Once Sheridan has what he wants from Delenn; once he fucks her a few times... why he'll go and find himself a human woman for companionship."
Morden could feel the hurt and anger burning in Lennier's veins. Now to tip it over. "You know I'm right. You have been around humans enough to see it happen before." Carefully, he reconstructed the scene Lennier had inadvertently walked in on earlier that evening where Sheridan and Delenn were asleep in each other's arms...
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Together on the couch, wrapped in the oblivion of sleep, lay the Captain and Delenn. Involuntarily Lennier took a step forward, clutching the object in his hand more tightly as he examined their sleeping forms. Delenn was balanced precariously on the edge of the couch, but Sheridan held her securely against him with a hand on her buttocks, the other hand tangled beneath the dark hair that streamed across his chest. Despite the tension of the impending battle, the man's face held a smile. A lewd, almost hungry smile. Lennier clenched his jaw as Sheridan shifted in his sleep and rubbed his hands inappropriately, intimately over the woman who lay so trustingly against him. The Minbari raised his hand. Sheridan was vulnerable. It would be so easy...
He started as the object in his hand reflected the dim light, gleaming. A knife. Frightened, he dropped it and watched it spin end over end, the metal flashing as it caught the light, until it landed with a loud clatter on the deck.
"No!!!"
The image of the office and the sleeping couple vanished and once more he was back in the Inquisitor's room.
"No, no, no!" He staggered from the circle of light, and leaned up against a wall, letting its cool strength support his weak legs. He could hear his 'conscience' move in behind him.
"Lennier..."
"I can not kill!" He spun, facing the dark-haired human. "All life is sacred, no matter what! No matter Sheridan's behavior it is no excuse for having such thoughts! There are always ways to resolve problems. Oh, Valen forgive me!"
"Ways for Minbari, yes." His conscience sounded... impatient. "But this is humans we are talking about. They are ruled by their passions." The thought of Sheridan mis-handling Delenn surfaced in his mind again, but Lennier forced the anger down, turning to logic and fact.
He pulled away from the support of the wall and drew himself to his full height, staring at the strange human reflection of his inner self. Why would his mind use such a construct? When he finally spoke his voice was quiet but determined.
"The Captain may not be Minbari, but he has always acted honorably toward my people and toward me..." Lennier could feel something brushing the edge of his awareness. Something almost within his grasp... something powerful... strange...
All he had to do was reach out and...
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