THE COMING OF AGE

     Rutya shivered slightly. It was a cool, crip morning in the Amazon
village, and all she was wearing was a loincloth. However, it was not the
chill in the air or her nudity which worried her the most; it was the
sacred ceremony she was about to endure.

     Her tribe demanded that its female warriors be stronger than men. So,
every girl had to undergo a test of strength upon reaching 18 summers. They
all had to wrestle a boy of the same age, and win. To fail meant either a 
lifetime of servitude, working in the kitchens and toiling in the fields 
with the men, or a quick death at the hands of the victorious boy. To lose 
in this ceremony invited a terrible fate. Furthermore, as the daughter of 
the tribe's greatest warrior, she had a family tradition to keep up. To 
lose would bring great disgrace upon her mother.

     Rutya knew that she was well prepared for this event...although she
was slim, her body was firm, and she was a good wrestler. The blood of
a great warrior flowed through her veins, after all. And like her mother,
she was beautiful, with ample curves and dirty blonde hair.

     Looking around, the girl saw every warrior in the village gathered
around the sacred pit of combat. In the pit stood the ancient priestess
of the tribe and Rutya's mother. They would be officiating the ceremony.
On one side of the pit, half a dozen slave boys sat on a bench, chained
to the ground by their collars. The tribe always bought some slaves
for the purpose of this ceremony, since it was considered good form to
kill one's vanquished opponent. The menfolk of the tribe were too
valuable as servants to waste this way.

     Rutya herself was sitting on a bench, with her similarily attired
friends next to her. They were all joking nervously about how they would
defeat the boys, but Rutya could see that there was fear in their hearts.
What if they messed up? What if the boy got lucky?

     Rutya's nervous thoughts were interrupted by the beating of the drum
which signaled the start of the ritual. Silence fell over the village, and
all eyes went to the priestess.

     After a brief prayer in an archaic tongue, the old woman cried out,
"Rutya, daughter of Gul'd'en, it is time for your Coming of Age. May the
spirits watch over you and guide your hands in combat." Rutya stood,
and walked into the shallow pit of combat. It was really nothing but
a large, circular hole in the ground, with some mud at the bottom, but
was still revered as a testing place.

     One of the boys, a fellow about Rutya's height and build, was
unchained by Rutya's mother. He had short brown hair, and was quite
well muscled. It was clear that the sight of Rutya's half-nude body
stimulated him despite his fear...for his cheeks were flushed and his
loincloth (the only clothing on him) was filled to bursting with his
manflesh.

     "Let the Coming of Age begin!" shouted the priestess, clapping her
hands. Rutya looked anxiously at the advancing boy, and got into a wrestling
stance. It was time for the combat to begin.

     The boy leapt forward, and grabbed Rutya around the waist, pressing
his body against hers. Rutya could tell that he was strong, perhaps as
strong as her. But he was clumsy and unskilled in combat, and that would
be his downfall. Rutya pushed his face away from hers with one hand, and
then plunged her other hand into his solar plexus. The boy gagged and
doubled over.

     Rutya grabbed the boy's head, and shoved him down into the mud. She
tried to dive on top of him, but he snared her body between his legs,
and began to squeeze. Rutya gasped in pain. The boy must have been a runner,
since his legs were enomously powerful. She didn't think it would be
possible for her to pull them off. Her breath was pushed out of her, and
she sank to the ground.

     Rutya could feel her consciousness fading, and realized that she
was losing. It would take unorthodox methods to win this battle. With
the last of her strength, she pulled the boy's loincloth down to his
shins, exposing his genitals. She then grabbed onto his throbbing
member, and squeezed.

     The boy's legs relaxed as he exploded in a burst of pleasure. He
lost his concentration on the wrestling match, allowing Rutya to shove his
shoulders down onto the mud and pin his hands behind his back. Then, as
the unfortunate boy began to realize what had happened to him, Rutya
wiped her filth-covered hand on his face.

     The boy began to struggle hard, seeing a gleam in Rutya's eyes. He
realized what was coming, but wasn't able to resist. Rutya grabbed the
trapped boy's head again, and began to twist with all her might. There
was suddenly a loud, cracking noise, like stepping on a wasp's nest only
wetter, and the nude lad's struggles ceased.

     Rutya stood, to the thunderous applause of the tribe. Wordlessly, she
walked over to take her seat with the other warriors. One of her friends
leapt into the combat pit, made confidant by Rutya's success. The boy
who stood to meet her looked down at the nude corpse of his predecessor,
and gulped.