“Stef, you can stop running now!”
The moment Alaina’s voice reached my ears, my knees buckled and I simply toppled down onto the ground. Sweat steamed off my body, and my ribs and sides burned with each breath I gasped down. How long I’d actually kited the dead around the graveyard, I have no idea. It’d felt like forever to me, and my feminine form wasn’t built for strength or endurance.
To say I was beyond exhausted was a complete understatement! Honestly, if it wasn’t for the compulsion on the neck collar forcing my poor muscles to turn me onto my back and sprawl out invitingly, I might’ve drowned in the inch-deep water of the swampland! I was simply too drained and exhausted to move a single muscle on my own!
“Good job.” Laulaia laboriously forced herself to close the distance between us, and then she unceremoniously plopped herself down beside me. Mustering all my strength to force myself to glance over at her, I was shocked to see that she looked almost as tired as I felt. Forcing herself to meditate and work her magic twice more, even after she had used her energy reserves up, had really taken a toll on her as well. Neither of us was honestly in any shape to move or fight any longer. We’d pushed ourselves past the point of extreme fatigue, and now we were both paying the price for it.
“Sorry guys,” Alaina apologized, moving over to us as if she still had all the energy in the world in her. “We’re not going to be able to rest here long. The moon’s moving low, and the two of you are exhausted. We’re going to need to head back as soon as possible, or else we may end up being outside here when the sun rises and the boogermen begin to awaken.”
“Ugghghh…” Honestly, I wanted to complain, but I simply didn’t have the strength to move.
“Stef, use the Goddess’s blessing and restore both of your energy,” Alaina commanded. “Then use it again to heal yourself and your muscles. Chances are, you’ve probably pulled several of them and haven’t even realized it yet.”
“Ugghhh…” Groaning, I simply closed my eyes and tried to offer up a mental prayer to Casper. “Oh great goddess of life,” I thought piously, “kindly restore my energy and that of my companions.” For a moment, I felt my eyelids growing heavy, as I started to drift off to sleep, but then a warm wave of energy flowed up from my fingertips and washed over my whole body, slowly lifting the fog of exhaustion from my brain. As my thoughts slowly came back into focus, and I regained a fraction of my lost energy, the warm glow slowly moved from my body over to envelop Laulaia, and then Alaina, as well.
“Thank you.” Sitting up, Laulaia still looked drained, with sunken shadows lingering deep under her eyes, but she now had enough energy to stretch and slowly force herself upright. Even if my magic could restore her exhaustion, it couldn’t restore her magic, and it was obvious that she had pushed herself and was running completely on empty.
“Welcome,” I told her, feeling a little light-headed myself. Even though I hadn’t used a lot of magic running from the dead, the whole experience was mentally draining. My energy levels might be back up to the point where I could move again, but my brain just wasn’t willing to catch up. It needed time to rest and unwind.
“Lady Life,” I murmured softly under my breath, “heal my poor sore muscles and aching joints. Our night isn’t done yet, and I still need to be able to move without locking up and falling on my face, like an idiot.” Honestly, I never really pictured myself to be someone who would pray much, but I actually seem to be getting quite comfortable with doing so, anymore. I guess it’s just another sign that’s proof of how much I’ve changed, since coming here. (As if becoming a slave-toy and a woman wasn’t proof enough for anyone!)
Once more, a soft pink glow slowly started at my fingertips, before moving down to envelop my whole body slightly. As it sinked into my skin, I was surprised to find several aches and pains easing and going away, that I wasn’t even fully aware of until they were gone. Sounds odd to say it in such a manner, but think of it almost as if you have a huge zit on the top of your forehead. Popping up, it builds slowly, and you’re generally unaware of it – until after you squeeze it. The moment it bursts, the relief of a pressure you didn’t even know you had, makes you go, “Ahhhhh…” – that’s how my muscles felt at the moment.
One moment, I thought I was fine. The next moment, Casper’s magic washes over me, and the tension in my body relaxes, leaving my knees feeling weak and me moaning slightly in relief. The human body truly is an odd thing!
“Open status,” I muttered softly, under my breath. When the small blue box popped up, I was elated to see that I’d gained thirteen levels from all the dead we’d cleared! Learned four new skills, and unlocked half a dozen new magics!!
NOT!
No matter how much we might wish otherwise, life just doesn’t work like damn video games. I’d spent all night running the dead in circles, and all I got from it was dizzy. Sighing deeply, I pushed my whimsy aside, and eased up. “I’m ready to go back,” I told everyone. All I really wanted at the moment, was a nice long soak in the pool, and then to curl up and enjoy a deep nap today.
“Let’s go then! Lead the way, Shadow!” Laughing merrily, Alaina and Shadow bounced off in front of us, scouting for any dangers as we made our way back to the city, heading to the pond in the temple grounds.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Glancing over at Laulaia, it was obvious she was dreaming about that same nice soak and nap that I was. Just where the hell do Alaina and Shadow get their endless energy from??
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Arriving back at the temple, I was once again disappointed and had my daydreams dashed. I’d wanted to plop into the pool, close my eyes, and simply sleep the day away, but unfortunately, I’m stuck in these stupid shackles.
“Stef,” Alaina instructed me, even before we’d finally made our way completely down the steps to the underground pool area, “help our lady out of her clothes, and wash them for her. Help her with getting cleaned up, and be certain to scrub all the muck out of her hair, and I’ll work on fixing us something decent to eat.”
“Certainly, my lady.” Sighing, I knew there wasn’t any reason to gripe or complain. Laulaia certainly isn’t going to give me a break – not when it comes to pamper her, at least! Forcing my tired body over to where she was at, I tried to smile weakly, as I slowly helped pull her out of her clothes. Honestly, even though I’ve watched her perform her magic several times now, on various different things, I still find it utterly odd and amazing to think that my old tattered pants could be turned into a new set of clothes fitting for her to wear. Magic certainly is an amazing thing!
Spending the next half hour, or so, I took my time and relaxed as much as possible while slowly scrubbing Laulaia down. Taking meticulous care, I gently washed her from head to toe – front and back – and then spent several long minutes gently massaging and scrubbing her hair, until all the tangles, dirt, and grime was free from it.
“The meal’s ready,” Alaina assured us, as Laulaia eased out of the pool and went to sit naked beside her. As much as I wanted to join them, so I could hurry up and eat and then get some rest, I couldn’t. I still had to take time to wash and clean Laulaia’s clothes, before laying them out beside the edge of the pool to dry, and then I had to wash myself.
By the time I’d finished my chores, everyone else had finished eating already – not even Shadow had enough decency to wait for me to finish, so he could eat with me! After wringing my ridiculously long hair out, as much as I possibly could, I eased over and sprawled out in my usual “hide nothing, and keep it all available manner”, while Alaina dipped out a bowl of mushed fruit and oatmeal for my supper.
“Eat this, and don’t complain,” she ordered, once again flipping back into her “bully mode” now that we were back in the safety of the temple grounds. “And afterwards, don’t forget to entertain yourself like a good little slave, okay? In fact, you should just make it part of your normal sitting habit from now on,” she laughed, sounding rather devilish, in my opinion.
Sighing deeply, I slowly nodded and then began to rub my hands over my body once again. “Of course, my lady, but let me ask – why are you doing this to me? Was I ever that demanding, or demeaning to you? Did I anger you somehow? If so, is there some way I can make it up to you?” As I’d learnt earlier with Laulaia, I can’t actually refuse, and I can’t really complain, but I can ask questions – especially if I’m using them as a means to find a way to please the ladies better.
“No… no…” Blushing slightly, Alaina fidgeted back and forth on her feet several times, before embarrassingly admitting, “You haven’t done anything to me – or to my lady. At least, not anything which we didn’t want you to do, or that we weren’t willing to have done to us.”
“Then why?” Even as much as I wanted to be dispassionate about asking, I ended up stressing the question a lot more than I intended.
“For your own good,” Alaina sighed. “It won’t be long before we finish this task up and end up heading into the village Casper warned us about. From all she’s said, the people there are complete assholes, and they treat the slave children of the gods like shit. I’m afraid if you don’t learn to endure, something will happen that we’ll all end up regretting.”
“But aren’t you already regretting what’s happening?” Once again, I had to force down concern over my own well-being, and focus entirely upon her own. “Are you happy, with things like this?”
“Of course not!” Alaina’s denial was instant and firm. “You’re my lord-husband, but I don’t know what to do anymore! We’re not back at my lady’s land, and we can’t rely on the protections of her father anymore. We’re lost, alone, and in a land controlled by a demon – A DEMON!!” Tossing her arms around my neck, Alaina finally lost all composure and broke down and cried uncontrollably in my arms.
It wasn’t but a few moments later, that Laulaia was back over and with us, adding her tears to the ever-growing puddle of our own. It seems I’m not the only one feeling the pressure and torment from being lost in this new world. Even Shadow jumped, barked, and howled forlornly, sharing in our misery as we finally opened up and all shared the dread we each were facing in our hearts.
Instead of the day being a time of resting, and recovering for our magics, it was a time of heartfelt confession and conversation. Even with our time limit for the full reward growing ever smaller with each passing day, no one was interested in resuming our hunt that night. Instead, we all talked about our worries for the future, what we feared we might have to expect once we finished our task for Casper, and then we all tried together to sort out how best to prepare for whatever might come.
In the end, the girls decided that even if the society we were going to be traveling to was going to treat me like shit, that didn’t mean they had to. I’d already endured enough, and guilt was starting to eat at both the young ladies’ hearts. At the moment, I couldn’t be their “lord-master”, as I was stuck in the role of being their “slave”, thanks to Casper’s stupid shackles, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be a “trusted slave”, or a “protected slave”, or even a “treasured slave”. We’d just need to think of some suitable excuse to fool the people for the short time which we were with them, and after all of us wracking our brains all night, we came up with one:
The people can’t use me, as Laulaia is saving me for an alchemy experiment. I need to remain “unsoiled and unused” for at least a year, so she can see if her experiment will help her give birth to a child with higher magic potential for her family’s sake. The exact details are a family/wizard/alchemist secret, that she’s not allowed to reveal to the rest of the world, without proper permission.
We can’t be positive that the excuse will work with the people we’ll meet – after all, we haven’t actually met them yet – but it’s the one we all decided on together. If it fails, then I guess we’ll just have to accept the consequences and deal with the fallout together, but it’s what we’re going to try, at least.So for now…
For now, my hellish time of training as a slave is finished.
As for the future, who knows what it’ll hold. I guess we’ll learn that, one day at a time, as the future slowly unfolds.