Long, silver hair, slim form….. Delicate fingertips, amber eyes….. Slender legs, bright smile….. And a mouth that won't stop spouting nonsense, no matter what perfectly reasonable, logical things I continuously feed the attached ears on a daily; nay, hourly basis. I swear, those ears are just for decoration. Though the mouth, clearly is not.

Micaiah is a perfect example of why people who possess special powers should not necessarily always be the ones in charge. I mean, it's true that she's actually useful to have around, because of her prophet-like ability to sense danger…. But wait. It wouldn't be until later that I found this out, but that power was never hers to begin with. Rather, it was just Yune's poor choice in choosing Micaiah to be her voice to this world while she slept. Fucking dumbass bird-brained bitch. I mean, Micaiah's the apostle, sure…. whatever.

Well, Micaiah is a competent mage. But if I really wanted, I could have recruited someone like Ilyana to take care of magical odds and ends for the Dawn Brigade. Sure, we already had enough trouble putting enough food on the table for our members as it was, without figuring Ilyana's endless appetite into the mix. But, it all would have been worth it if I didn't have to listen to that annoying voice around the clock.

But, Micaiah had the mystical ability known as Sacrifice. I gotta admit, that's all well and good, but let's think about this; is Sacrifice really that useful? Yes, it had the ability to attract the masses. The common populace of Daein saw Micaiah working her magic, and lauded her as a Maiden of Miracles. But, if you think about it from a logical perspective, that's really more of a problem than anything. The Dawn Brigade never should have stepped out of the shadows to begin with; it drew the attention of dangerous men when rumors about the Silver Haired Maiden got out. Of course, it certainly didn't help that Micaiah was going around trying to help every last man, woman and child in Daein. I'd really have trouble counting the number of times she almost got both of us killed. Not to mention 'Dawn Brigade' was a stupid name to begin with; another useless tool to attract the eye of the common man while we should have been slinking though the shadows. Needless to say, another of Micaiah's worthless ideas…..

But I digress. I was discussing the usefulness of an ability like Sacrifice. And basically, my conclusion is as follows; it isn't really useful at all. There are plenty of merchants the world over who deal in fine staves. All I needed was someone like Laura, who could wield the staves for me; once I had that, I could just steal whatever I needed. So, in a more ideal world, I could have just stolen staves for someone like Laura, and stolen food for someone like Ilyana. That, would basically make Micaiah obsolete.

So, the question I've been asking myself all this time, comes to mind once again…. Why the hell do I tolerate that little bitch's existence? I really can't count the number of times I've wanted to slit Micaiah's throat while she slept; in any case, it's definitely more than the number of times she's almost gotten us killed. After all, every time that happened, I felt like killing her. Add on all the other times I wanted to kill her, and you've got yourself a much bigger number.

Of course, every group needs a leader. In hindsight, it really should have been me. Why everyone in the Dawn Brigade rallied under her so willingly is beyond my ken; though, it doesn't really seem like any of them had much brains to begin with. All Edward cared about was getting glory and honor on some mystical battlefield from ancient storybooks, complete with the fairytale ending at the conclusion. He had natural talent, true; but his mindset was a sure path to getting killed out on some lonely plain, to be forgotten in the midst of the rest of the slain soldiers. I saved him from certain death myself numerous times, of course.

Nolan had a decent head on his shoulders…. Until it came to the Brigade itself. For some reason, he saw the Dawn Brigade as some kind of happy family, all coexisting together in perfect harmony. And, I guess he saw Micaiah as the mother of the group… And thus never went against, or even evaluated, a single thing she said. And I wouldn't even waste my time talking about Leonardo. He was another man with natural talent, but….. He's also a natural born pessimist. He has the attitude of someone who's always willing to just give up when things get a bit too tough; another quick and sure way to an early grave.

No, what the Dawn Brigade really needed was a leader like Commander Ike. Natural charisma, the strength of a dozen men, a body that shrugs off wounds like I wish I could shrug off Micaiah's inane comments….. And a heart that truly cares for his comrades before anything else. Ike is the perfect leader, the kind who always sacrifices himself before others, and is never willing to give up anything for his ideals. He's strong in both body and spirit, and if I swung that way, I'd totally hit that. Not that he would let me.

And every time I so much as mentioned his name, Micaiah would have to have a little hissy fit about it! Just because he ripped through Daein like a fucking hurricane, totally destroying everything in his path….. If it weren't for him, Crimea would have been the one suffering oppression at the hands of Daein, not Daein to Begnion. Just because he fought for his ideals, which happened to hurt hers, doesn't mean he isn't a great man…. He's a better leader than most men, or women for that matter, on Tellius. And of course, it goes without saying that there's no comparison between someone like him, and someone like Micaiah.

So, the question still remains…. Why have I put up with Micaiah for all these years? But, then again, I feel like I came across an important clue, only a few thoughts ago…..

"Hnnnnn….! Hah….. Ahhhhnnn!"

….Ah, yes. Micaiah's breasts weren't large by any means, but they were nicely shaped and still had a bit of a bounce to them as I thrust into her. Not to mention that this was the only time I ever actually enjoyed hearing Micaiah's voice…. Basically, while that voice was making sweet moans of ecstasy….

Micaiah's slender white fingertips clutched at the clumps of grass around her as she tried to find some sort of hold on the cool ground.

"Hah….. Hahn!"

Sometimes, I wondered…. Did the rest of the Dawn Brigade ever hear us at night while we did this? I mean, we were a decent distance from the camp, but still… Micaiah was pretty loud. Not that I minded. I found those sweet moans particularly arousing, for some reason…. I wonder if that truth wasn't amplified by the fact that normally I couldn't stand that voice at all….? In any case, it didn't really matter if anyone heard. First of all, they were all too scatterbrained to care, and second of all….. They'd have to be pretty dumb not to know about my and Micaiah's relationship. Not that I was ruling out the possibility.

"Hah…. Hah…..! Ahh…..!" Unsurprisingly, Micaiah wasn't really able to find anything to hold onto. So instead, she just wrapped her arms around my back, and did the same with her legs….. Using my body as a support, she started thrusting herself onto me on her own, matching my rhythm to increase our sensations.

…..In response, I started thrusting harder. "Hah… Hah… Ah… Ahh….. Ahhhnnn….. Ahhh….!" Micaiah's gasps started getting shorter and louder as she approached orgasm.

"Hah, hah, hah, nnnn… Ahhhhhnnnnn….!" Micaiah's legs, arms, and vagina all tightened around me as she reached her limit, and the tight, wet sensation wrapping my dick pushed me over the edge, as well.

"Hah…. Hah…. Hah…." Gently laying Micaiah's body down on the wet, morning dew, I rolled to the side and enjoyed the afterglow of my own orgasm, with Micaiah's sweet panting as accompaniment.

"Hey, Sothe…."

"….Hmmm?"

"You were really into it tonight. Hehe…." And she unleashed one of her stupid little giggles.

….Damn it. I really wished that she wouldn't tarnish a perfect moment like this with her stupidity…. But I guess that was to be expected of the Silver Haired Maiden.

….Hm. There must have been more of a reason than just that, as to why I keep Micaiah around, right? I mean, she's annoying as hell, I can't stand being in her company for very long at all even though I tend to do so for long periods of time anyway, and she makes the stupidest of decisions. Despite all that, however, there must have been some other reasons I tolerated her existence for all this time, other than just the sex…..

Ah! Of course, I've got it. The time she stabbed Pelleas was pretty cool.

Here we were, Tauroneo, Micaiah, Pelleas, and myself. We were the only ones occupying this lonely, large room in Castle Nox of Daein. We were supposed to be here to discuss how to break the blood pact, but despite the importance of the situation, my mind was wandering. And how could it not? I was in the company of such….. esteemed individuals. Granted, this pretty much made the difference between me having to face off against Commander Ike or not, but it wasn't too likely that anything these three fools had to say about it would make a difference.

Well, maybe it's a bit unfair to speak of Tauroneo like that. After all, he certainly wasn't stupid. But, in the end, he really did have the same kind of problem as Nolan, though I certainly respected Tauroneo quite a bit more. Tauroneo was just a bit too quick to follow orders, though he did at least put a bit of thought into it first and voiced his opinion before blindly going down whatever path someone else set before him. The problem was, though, that in the end he was inevitably doomed to follow that path if he wasn't able to persuade his superiors away from it. Granted, it's a perfect mentality for a knight of his country, but…. It sure pisses me off.

As for Micaiah, I think I've made it pretty clear already what kinds of problems she has. So, that just left….

Suddenly, as if on cue, Pelleas turned to face me directly, distracting me from my thoughts. "Sothe. I'm sorry for all that I put you and Micaiah through, including this. Please forgive me."

"…..Don't worry about that now, Pelleas." Mainly, because I don't want to have to talk to a sniveling fool like yourself. Thankfully, he turned back to Micaiah, and my thoughts were allowed to wander once again.

Needless to say, Pelleas didn't have what it takes to be a good king. I would say that he didn't have what it takes to be a king at all, but…. Let's face it. All you really need to become a king is to be born to it. And that, is how bad kings like Pelleas are crowned. Although, the alternative wasn't much better…. The troops and people of Daein all loved her so much, so Micaiah could have easily gotten herself crowned queen. But, that would have been a complete disaster…. Not that it didn't happen later, anyway. At least Pelleas had the sense to sit and listen to other people sometimes. Though, I guess that's what got us into this blood pact mess in the first place.

"Ungh…. Ugh…." Suddenly, Pelleas fell to the floor. What a pain in the ass…. What the hell was wrong with him? I looked to his body, which had collapsed forward at Micaiah's feet. A thin trail of blood slowly began seeping from under him… And Micaiah held a small blade, stained with crimson.

My mind quickly siphoned through the conversation I hadn't been paying attention to. Based on the bits I had heard, and pieced together with the help of logic, it seemed the only way to end the blood pact was to spill the blood of the pact-maker. And Micaiah, had done that…?

Nice.

But what really got me going was the look on her face. That look of terror at what she's just done…. The realization that she's done something that can never be erased…. Well, I don't understand what she was thinking at that moment, as she's already killed so many before that. And, that's only the people I knew about. I mean, Micaiah's branded, right? So, she must have lived for a long time before that, too. Who knows how many people she's killed, and almost all of them were surely better than Pelleas. Though, there's no denying that look of fear and regret triggered something in me, and I had to admit, I was feeling a little aroused…. Micaiah wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.

But, I just had an interesting thought. Micaiah really is branded, right? And, beyond that, she's Empress Sanaki's older sister to boot… Making her the true Apostle of Begnion. So, exactly how is she branded? Well, there's only one tribe of laguz who actually made their home in Begnion…. The heron tribe of Serenes Forest, to be precise. And, Micaiah possesses the unique ability of looking into people's hearts…. A heron ability. So, basically, that means Micaiah is a heron, in a way. Heh…. That's kinda funny. Though, it also means that Micaiah knows how I really feel about her, and just accepts it…. I'm not too sure what to think about that one. Well, at least she realizes her place.

After Micaiah killed Pelleas, Almedha came in and freaked out. Of course, she had a look of positive bloodlust on her face as she approached Micaiah, so I had to intervene, lest something untoward happen to my sex toy. Other than that, though, she informed us that the blood pact had actually not been broken at all, so everything had been for naught. And, the look on Micaiah's face the moment she learned that fact…. positively delicious.

Micaiah stood up on the lonely castle wall, looking out into the cold, solitary night. There weren't too many guards posted, since the Apostle's army was still a few days away at least. And even if they weren't, I doubted Commander Ike would have attacked in the dead of night, anyway. It would have been too messy… Of course, he would have followed any strategy Soren set before him. And who knew what that little genius was thinking…. In any case, we didn't have to worry, because Micaiah's….. well, Yune's ability would have warned us of any impending danger.

I walked up behind Micaiah, with only one thing on my mind. "Hey, Micaiah. Aren't you cold?" Without waiting for a reply, I put my arms around her slight body from behind.

Micaiah responded by putting her arm around behind my neck, while still facing forward. "Not really…. Besides, what does it matter? Being cold… is better than being dead, isn't it? I mean, Pelleas…."

….Dammit. I should have known she was going to bitch about this. I mean, it was cool and all that Micaiah was the one to finally rid the world of that damn oxygen thief, but it wasn't going to be cool if I had to listen to her bitch and whine about it.

Still, if I wanted to get any tonight, I had to show some tact. "It's not your fault, Micaiah… If you weren't able to do it, someone else would have had to."

"But…. It didn't even make any difference. Like this, Daein really has no choice, but to fall…." Well, of course, she was right. But Pelleas was the one that got us into this situation in the first place! I mean, now that he was dead, at least he couldn't fuck things up any more, right? Still, she had to go around whining about it. Stuff like that just pisses me off so much…!

"Micaiah….. You can't change any of that now. So, there's no point in worrying about it, right….?" Saying so, I leaned in closer and started kissing her soft, delicate neck….

She didn't move to resist, but Micaiah did have to open her mouth, unfortunately. "…Sorry, Sothe. But, I really don't feel like it tonight."

Dammit, bitch. If you're not gonna have sex with me, then what good are you? Why the hell shouldn't I throw you from the battlements right now….? "Micaiah…. I just want to help you forget about things for a while…. This might be our last chance to blow off some stress. I mean, when Ike comes, we may never get the chance again…" I softly blew into her ear and kissed her neck again.

"….Maybe you're right. It's just…. I'm afraid. Right now, I'm afraid of so many things… Like, losing Daein. Losing my life. And, losing you…."

Well, if you don't want to lose me, you'd best stop bitching and give in. But, at least she seemed to have her priorities straight. "Don't worry. I can't make any real promises for Daein, but I at least have the strength to protect myself, and you…." At this point, I'd grown tired of words, so I moved my hand from where it was wrapped around Micaiah's belly, and used it to turn her face towards mine. Then, I put my mouth over hers and started slowly licking at her tongue, while moving my other hand up to lightly rub the area right below her breast.

"Mmmm…." Micaiah responded in kind by attempting to lick around the insides of my mouth, sending our tongues into an intricate dance. Now that she was entranced with our kissing, I removed my hand from her chin, but kept rubbing around the same spot with the other. Then, I wrapped my tongue around Micaiah's and started sucking on it.

"Mmmm….!" Micaiah started moaning a bit, indicating her building pleasure. Then, all at once, I moved my free hand down to her breast, and lightly pinched her nipple. "Mmmaahh…!" Micaiah's mouth opened up a bit around mine, allowing a small gasp to escape. I immediately stopped rubbing below her other breast, and moved that hand down to quickly move my fingers along her slit, and roughly rub her clitoris. At the same time, I released her tongue.

"Ahhh….! Nnnnn!" Ah, those sweet moans…. so arousing. And it was also pretty nice that Micaiah's clothes were so soft and silky to the touch; even though I was fondling her over her clothes, it was still pleasant to feel.

"Hmmmm?" I paused in moving my hands for a brief moment.

"Hah…. Hah…. What's wrong…?" Apparently, Micaiah wanted to know why I'd stopped.

"….No, it's nothing." Then, I leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "I just got distracted by how beautiful you are…." Right after, I nibbled gently at her earlobe, roughly cupped her breast with my one hand, and used the fingers of my other hand to thrust through the fabric of Micaiah's clothes, and into her moist cunt.

"Hahn! Naaahhhh….! Hah, hah…" Micaiah cried out as I plunged into her, and then started panting and moaning sexily as I thrust my fingers, fabric and all, in and out of her. "Hahn…! Not, hyah…. you're gonna…. Rip it!"

Don't talk back, bitch. Honestly, I didn't really care if I ripped it or not. Besides, Micaiah was basically the queen of Daein now, so she could easily acquire whatever clothes she wished. Of course, that was kind of dependent on whether or not she survived the upcoming battle, but…. As if I'd sacrifice something that felt this good. One way or another, I would at least protect Micaiah.

In any case, I kept on thrusting my fingers into Micaiah's now sopping wet cunt. As I did so, I secretly glanced over at young Laura, who'd stumbled upon us out here and was watching from around the corner. I could feel the heat of her blushing cheeks from here…. Of course, when I'd paused earlier, it was because I had noticed Laura walking around the corner. She'd immediately noticed what we were doing, and ducked back from whence she'd come. But, she wasn't able to keep her curiosity in check, so she stood secretly, to her knowledge, and watched. Of course, Micaiah wasn't exactly quiet, so Laura was able to hear her without any problem at all. But, it was only because of my heightened senses that I was able to hear Laura's breathing getting rougher.

I turned my attention back to Micaiah. I added some variety into my thrusting, and roughly rubbed and rolled her nipple, while also kissing and sucking on her neck. "Ah… Ah…. Hahn….. Ahhh….! Hah…! Hahn! Naaaahhnnn! Ahhhhhhh!" I guess the stimulation from the coarseness of the fabric on her clitoris was too much for Micaiah. She came, cried out for a while, and finally settled down into rough panting. While she was recovering, I took the opportunity to finally pull down her stockings, and also to pull down my own trousers.

"Hah… Hah…" As Micaiah continued panting, she reached behind herself and started rubbing my leg near my groin. "Sothe…. I, want to…."

"Hmmm? What is it, Micaiah?" I reached my hand up to hold her face, and leaned in close to her ear and neck again. I then put my other hand on her belly and used my upper body to push hers forward a bit, causing her and I to stoop slightly.

"I…. want….." Micaiah's body was growing really hot now, and she was blushing quite a bit. Well, not as much as Laura was, of course.

I whispered quietly into Micaiah's ear. "Come on…. You can tell me what you want, Micaiah…." Though, instead of waiting for a reply, I suddenly thrust my hard cock into her, instead.

Micaiah's body shook as I penetrated her still-sensitive vagina. She reached her arms out to the battlements in front of her to support herself, which made it convenient for me as I didn't have to support her body on my own anymore. "Ah…! No, Sothe…. Ah…. I, want…!"

Tch. How annoying. It pissed me off so much whenever Micaiah used that stupid voice of hers for anything other than panting and moaning when we were having sex… I didn't really care what she wanted, after all. Luckily, I'd come prepared for a situation like this….

Back when the Dawn Brigade was still at least partially in the shadows (Although Micaiah was already ruining that by this time), Micaiah made some stupid moves and managed to get herself thrown in prison while I wasn't around. Of course, the duty fell on none other than me to rescue her. Laura had joined us by that time, so it wasn't like I was the only one with brains in the whole group, but Laura would have been ill-suited to the task, to say the least. Not to mention that Micaiah had somehow gotten Laura captured, too. So, it was up to me to rescue them both. Laura for her skills, and Micaiah….. Well, in any case, I decided to check out the armory first to see if there was anything worthwhile we could use.

When I reached the armory, I found all sorts of….. interesting tools. I wasn't sure if the twisted King Ashnard had implanted such things into his prisons, or if the twisted Begnion Occupation Army had brought such things with them. Knowing Ashnard, and knowing the Senators, I wouldn't have been too surprised by either one. In any case, I wasn't into such things myself, though I did see one object in particular that would prove to be very useful, indeed….

After that, we broke out of the prison. I got Micaiah and Laura back, and we also managed to pick up a Daein soldier, Aran; a useful man if I ever saw one. He had great fighting potential, and knew enough to keep his mouth shut unless it was important. With him, Laura, myself, and Ilyana, who also happened to be there, we actually had enough useful members in the Dawn Brigade to match all the worthless fools whom we'd started with! Though, since Micaiah was still in charge, we were still doomed to fail.

In any case, we managed to escape, and the night came upon us like a cool, gentle breeze…..

"Ahhhhh….!" Micaiah's body fell atop mine as she was pushed over the edge from her own rough riding. As she lay atop me, she kept panting for several minutes, before wrapping her arms firmly around me on the cool ground. It was pretty nice, having sex out in the woods like this; to encounter each other in our own little world, ensconced in nothing else but the calming sounds of nature.

"Hey, Sothe." And, of course, Micaiah had to ruin it by speaking. Couldn't she just let me bask in this comfortable feeling in peace…? "When I was locked up…. I didn't really feel afraid at all. Because, I knew you would rescue me, Sothe…." Saying so, she wrapped her arms around me even tighter.

It was nice that she believed in me, but…. That voice still, somehow, just grated on my nerves…. But now, I had a safeguard. "Micaiah…. I actually found something. A gift, for you."

"Hmmm?" Micaiah put her hands on my chest and lifted up her body so she could look at my face. "You got something for me?" She looked stupidly happy…. But, this view, with her shapely breasts shown off in plain sight, was pretty nice, so I decided to forgive her.

"Yeah. Something special, Micaiah…. Just for you."

As she saw what I had gotten for her, Micaiah's face lit up in a soft blush. "Oh, Sothe…. Well, if you want…." Ugh. But, at least she didn't seem to suspect the real reason why I had picked up this little trinket…..

Back on the battlements, Micaiah…. "Ahh…! Sothe, I…!" ….wasn't shutting up. So, since Micaiah was supporting herself now, I released her face and belly, and reached into one of my many pockets. After all, a good thief needs plenty of space to store his acquisitions….

I whispered into Micaiah's ear again. "Remember this, Micaiah….?" I then wasted no time in fastening the ball gag on Micaiah's mouth. And, then…. I just kept thrusting into her from behind, while reaching around the front to rub her body and stimulate her breasts and clitoris.

"Mmmm…! Nnnn!" Micaiah made what panting and moaning sounds she could through the gag. I just kept thrusting into her harder and harder, pushing us both closer to orgasm. Micaiah's body was really growing hot, and it was showing a healthy flush, as well. Her face was an even brighter shade of red as air quickly entered and exited her nose.

Meanwhile, Laura apparently couldn't control herself anymore, either. I wonder if the ball gag was what finally flipped her switch…? More likely, though, she hadn't even seen it from where she was. It was probably just a slow building of arousal for her…. In any case, she started lightly rubbing her fingers along the groin area of her ecclesiastical robes. I found myself thinking that she'd better hope Aran didn't come across her like that. Or, maybe she would have preferred if he did?

"Mmmmm…. Mmmm…." Micaiah's body was shivering, and her moans were sounding rather labored. Dammit…. I was pounding her pretty hard, after all, so she was probably going to asphyxiate soon if I didn't remove the gag. She could have removed it herself, really…. But then she probably would have fallen down, since she would have to remove her hand from the battlement. Quite the dilemma, indeed.

I moved one of my hands from Micaiah's breasts, and slipped the gag from her mouth. "Mmmmahhhh…. Hah, hah, hah…" Even with full oxygen flow restored, it still probably wasn't enough. I mean, I was getting pretty close to cumming myself, and I was short of breath. Micaiah, who had been gagged just a moment before, was experiencing really labored breathing.

But, whatever. Once we both came, we'd be able to collapse onto the stone ground, and recover ourselves, together. Maybe if she didn't have any breath left, Micaiah wouldn't be able to say anything stupid. "Hah! Hah! Hah! Hahn..! Naaaaaahhhhhh!" Micaiah's pussy tightened around me considerably as she finally reached orgasm. Micaiah's was a quality vagina; it was tight in several different places, and those places seemed to move and writhe around my dick, especially when she was cumming. So, basically, whenever Micaiah came, I pretty much came too.

"Ungghh…." With a final grunt, I shot my load right into her. You know, now that I think about, Micaiah and I never did anything, prevention-wise…. yet, Micaiah never got pregnant. I wonder if a normal beorc and branded can even have children? Or, was it Yune's doing? Not that it really mattered either way.

"Hah…. hah…. hah…." Micaiah continued panting for a while, recovering her complete flow of oxygen. "Hah…. hah…. hah… Ungh…. Nghhii…"

Huh? Micaiah was making some pretty weird noises. "Hey, Micaiah? What's wrong?" I looked over to her, and saw…. tears on her cheeks. Ugh…. Did I go too hard on her? Though, this level should have been nothing to Micaiah by now.

"I'm…. sorry. Hic…. It's, just…. Pelleas…."

"…..Dammit." Well, I let that slip, but at least it would seem like I swore because Pelleas was dead, not because I was pissed that she had to not only bring it up, but she was crying about it, too. So, I might have been happy about it before, but if her stabbing Pelleas had to interrupt our sex, then what the hell was the point of it all…?

Now firmly disinterested in Micaiah, I straightened out and replaced my clothing. Curious, I also checked to see what Laura was doing. With the show in front of her over, Laura was left with nothing but longing. Her passion still not satisfied, she had stopped moving her fingers, but was still rubbing her legs together somewhat impatiently.

Then, she stood up and left, her face still flushed, and her body still hot. Maybe, she was going off to find Aran after all….?

So, in the end, my final conclusion had to be that even when she stabbed Pelleas, Micaiah hadn't redeemed herself at all because she had to bitch and whine so much about it. And that was only the beginning…. To this day, Micaiah still talks about him. Terribly inconvenient, and even more annoying…. So, it wasn't worth it. It probably would have been better if someone else had killed Pelleas instead…. Then, Micaiah wouldn't have this feeling of guilt over it, and though I'm sure I would still have to hear about Pelleas, she wouldn't be so insistent about the whole thing.

So, are there any other redeeming qualities Micaiah possesses? I already covered that there are more talented mages, and that her special abilities weren't actually all that useful…. Besides her sexual skills, of course.

Well, I guess I had to face it. Micaiah was Yune's voice. And, no one else could have done it, either…. Micaiah is the apostle, so of course she hears the voice of the goddess. Micaiah and Yune are like two sides of the same coin…. They coexist very closely, though they are also separate entities. I mean, they even shared the same body quite a bit…. Were all the apostles like that? And, will they all be like that from now on? And, if I someday get Micaiah pregnant, doesn't that mean that Daein will possess the apostle's power and guidance from now on….?

You know, all this talk about Yune just happened to remind me of a certain story…..

Luckily, my senses aren't just sharp. They're…. extremely sharp. So, I was able to notice when the enemy had somehow snuck up on us….

I immediately spun around. He was a talented swordsman, that much I could tell from a single glance. And, he had maneuvered himself right behind Empress Sanaki. "Sanaki!" I yelled out as loud as I could as I threw a dagger, right at Sanaki's head.

"What?" Sanaki looked over and barely dodged in time, avoiding both my dagger, and the sword, the trajectory of which I had calculated just a moment before. Also, the swordsman, who had been a little too concentrated on Sanaki, suddenly saw a dagger flying right toward him…. And, he made the foolish mistake of swatting it aside with his sword, rather than dodging.

Of course, this gave me all the time I needed to close the two-meter distance between us, before he could react and take the Empress Sanaki's head. When I was almost upon him, I flicked another dagger at his head, which he chose to dodge, this time. That's what he should have done the first time… That way, he could have kept his attention on his attacker, without blocking his own vision like an amateur. Fool….

Either way, he had made the right choice, this time. But, it wouldn't save him. He lunged at me with his sword, but I blocked the blunt edge of the blade with my leather gloves; a dangerous move. I then used my free hand, which was still holding a knife, and thrust at my opponent's face.

Again, he dodged his head to the side, and at the same time, turned his blade and began running the sharp edge down my glove. Like this, he would quickly slash through the leather, and could even cut off my arm…. Alternatively, if I removed my arm from the blade, it would leave me open to attack. So, I had gotten myself into a dangerous situation….

Or, at least, that's what I wanted him to believe. Rather than removing my arm from his blade completely, I simply moved my arm with his blade, so that it wouldn't cut too deeply. Then, when I had regained my balance from the thrust to his face I had just completed, I flicked my wrist hard, sending my knife flying from my hand, and it buried itself deeply into the swordsman's face. Heh…. Amateur.

Another swordsman appeared right beside me, already swinging his sword arm down toward me. I smiled. My hand dipping itself into one of my many pockets, I quickly pulled out another knife. Using my other hand to support the one holding the knife, I crouched slightly, and then thrust upward with my whole body to meet his blade with my own. The metal clashed with a ringing sound, and the swordsman's simple lunge was pushed back by my superior technique. As he stumbled back slightly, using his sword arm to try and regain his balance, I quickly reversed my knife and carved open his jugular. Blood spattered down onto my face….

This time, I was able to react to the crackling in the air. I threw my knife behind me, catching my next adversary between the eyes even as he appeared. At the same time, another appeared in front of me, though this time, he had his guard up. He had probably somehow already seen how deadly I was, so he was being more cautious….

Naturally, by this time I had yet another knife in my right hand. I was running low by now, but… I still had enough to finish the rest of these fools off. And if not, I could always start retrieving those I had thrown.

In any case, this opponent stared at me warily, trying to gauge when I would make my move. He looked a little unnerved by the calm smile on my face, but still had a good guard about him, and plenty of confidence in his stance.

I tensed my body. Naturally, this caused my opponent to tense as well, as he prepared for impact. I stayed tensed like a spring for several moments, and then let my body loosen, just a small bit. Of course, by now, the swordsmen was following to my tune, and loosened his body as well… though, he loosened up more than I had.

My body shot forward. I quickly moved within his sword's reach, putting my left hand on his right arm, the one which held his sword. I gripped his wrist, keeping his sword arm in check. I then took my knife arm, and put my fisted hand against his surprised face, but keeping the blade of my knife to the side of his head. I put my right foot behind his, and quickly pushed backward with it, while simultaneously pushing forward with my knife hand, thus causing my adversary to lose his balance and begin falling backward. As he fell, I pushed his sword arm away from me, and also shifted my knife, so that gravity caused his throat to run along my blade, and it cut open his neck.

No other enemies appearing, I turned my attention back to the rest of the battle to see how my companions fared. I saw Micaiah running toward me with a worried look on her face, and Sanaki was just staring at me with a look, somewhere in the realm of respect, I would think. I quickly looked out over the rest of the battlefield, using my superior vision. While I had stayed back to protect our less mobile, more vulnerable units, Sigrun and Naesala had flown out to deal with the rest of the enemies. Additionally, Skrimir had also run off, and was still facing off against a single enemy, presumably the last enemy left on the battlefield. Of course, it didn't take him long to tear the man's body to shreds. I had to say, the crimson color of his victim's blood matched well with Skrimir's coat.

Sigrun was the first to return, and immediately flew over to check on her beloved Empress. Since I was here to protect her, naturally Sanaki was unharmed. Micaiah reached me and threw her arms around me. "Sothe! You're not hurt, are you!"

So annoying…. "No, of course not. What did you expect?"

"But… that cut in your glove… I can't tell how deep it is."

"Ah, that?" I guessed she was talking about when I had blocked the sword with my glove. Granted, if anyone else had pulled that stunt, they would have gotten cut at the very least. But, I was different…. "Naw. It didn't reach my skin, so there's no need to worry."

"Oh…. Well, still. You shouldn't worry me even that much, you know?"

Ugh…. Dammit. I was the one who should have been complaining. Right at the beginning of the battle, she had run off, leaving me to cover her exposed flank… What if she had gotten herself killed while I wasn't around to protect her? Then who the hell would I fuck around here?

"Ah, Sothe. You shouldn't wander off like this on your own, you know."

Like she was one to talk… Not only had she wandered off at the beginning of the battle hours earlier, she had to have wandered off on her own just now to find me out here, too. I mean, it was true that with the nature of the enemy being as it was, none of our group should have separated themselves from the rest at all…. But, the difference was, I could take care of myself, while Micaiah couldn't. Naesala and Skrimir were supposed to be watching out for the weaker members of our group… What the hell were they doing? Probably fighting like children, again….

"You know, Sothe. It was pretty brave of you to save Sanaki like that. And, you were pretty amazing when you did it. It's been a while since you saved me like that, huh?"

"….." What the hell? I didn't want to believe it, but it was unmistakable….. There was a hint of jealousy in Micaiah's voice. For crying out….

I started walking toward Micaiah. "Well, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to save you like that, lately. But, if you'd like I could help you right now…." Well, in any case, I had to save myself, and I had to do it quick. So, before Micaiah could spout any more of her useless babble, I placed my lips over hers.

"Mmmn…." Micaiah sucked on my lips delicately, but then gently pushed me away. "Sothe…. we shouldn't do this right now. I mean, the enemy could attack anytime, from anywhere, so…"

Dammit. Quit talking….! Forcing myself to calm down, I tried to reason with her. "Listen, Micaiah. Don't think about that now. After the blessing Yune gave me right after that last battle, I can easily protect the both of us, not to mention the fact that your foresight will let us know if an attack is coming…. So, let's just forget all that for the moment." As I said so, I started rubbing my hand across Micaiah's belly and chest.

"Hahh…." Micaiah sighed, closing her eyes and feeling the sensation of my hand across her body. "But, Sothe…." And still, she didn't quiet down. She was obviously enjoying it, so why couldn't she just shut her mouth for once?

"Listen, Micaiah." I leaned in close to her ear as I spoke softly, even as I tickled at her navel and nipple. "It's bad for our minds and bodies to let stress build up in our systems, right?" Especially for me, since I have to deal with you all the time…. Before she could respond in such a way to break the mood yet again, I placed my lips across hers, and started tapping our soft, wet tongues together.

"Mmmnnn…." She seemed to give up on resisting, as she deepened our kiss on her own, licking all around my oral cavity. She closed her eyes, and despite her misgivings only a moment ago, she seemed pretty eager to me, as she reached down and started stroking my dick through my trousers, even as it got steadily more erect.

Actually, this was a bit uncharacteristic. She started taking the initiative, stroking me eagerly, but without a lot of skill. It still felt good, though…. She deepened our kiss further, wildly lapping at the insides of my mouth, and she put a hand on my chest. Playfully tweaking my nipple, she pushed me up against a nearby tree.

She pulled my pants down on her own, and pulled the cloth off her own groin, as well. It made a wet sound as it stuck to her skin, before peeling off. To summarize… it was like a flood. I felt her juices dripping down onto my now exposed, totally hardened cock, and I rubbed it against the inside of her thighs, even as her honey dripped down them, as well.

I was surprised. Micaiah almost never took action on her own like this, instead allowing me to do whatever I wanted. I didn't really mind either way as long as it felt nice since this was all she was good for, but it certainly wasn't bad sometimes for her to do something useful without my help for a change.

She removed her lips from mine, breathing heavily, enraptured, her eyes still closed. "Hahhh… hahhh…." She was now feeling my dick directly, moving her hand delicately up and down the shaft. After only a few more moments, she carefully guided me into her, and I pierced that sopping wet cunt.

"Mmmnn! Nnahhh!" Micaiah's voice squeaked slightly in a cute intonation as she completely pierced herself onto me, as far as she would go. "Hahn! Ahhh!" Her voice was curiously high-pitched, but cute.

"Ahhhhnnn..! Hah… hah… Nnn!" Her voice, making those alluringly arousing, sweet, squeaky noises, was even better than her usual sex-making sounds. Still, something was clearly wrong. Even though it was very nice, her voice sounded different than usual. Her actions were inconsistent with what I had come to expect. And, most of all, even though she was plenty eager, and was clearly acting according to her desires, her skill was lacking. By now, it had become painfully clear to me that the main reason I kept Micaiah around was because she fucked like a goddess… her sexual skills were undeniable. She was probably better than any high-class prostitute, who fucked for a living. Though, since the only reason I didn't allow harm to come to Micaiah was because I needed her around to satiate my lust, maybe she was fucking like her life depended on it?

But, that was only normally. Right now, her skills were as good as the average virgin. Though, maybe that's why her voice was so especially good tonight, as well… in any case, what was wrong with her? If she couldn't even fuck right, I was liable to get pissed off.

"….ha…." I breathed out in discontent, and started pounding away at her as hard as I could. If Micaiah wasn't going to make me feel good like she usually did, I would just go at her as violently as possible, to try and make up for the lack in technique she was exhibiting. If she just wanted to mate like animals, with no grace involved, even that could be arranged… but I certainly wouldn't let her get away with this often.

"Ah… Ha… Nn..! Ah, ha, ha, ha, haahhnnn!" Her breathing intensified as my dick pounded into her entrance over and over, reaching into her deepest parts, exiting again all the way out to the head of my cock, and then entering again, just as roughly. Her eyes finally opened again, her heavily-flushed face staring into mine, her heated cheeks radiating their aroused warmth to my skin….

I stopped moving. The feeling of the sweat glistening across our bodies, pleasant just a second ago, became sticky, and uncomfortable. The smell became repugnant. Understanding everything, from Micaiah's voice to her clumsy movements, I pulled my softening penis out from within her, completely. It made a squelching sound as it exited, her pussy lips closing up after it.

It seemed that I had to take back what I had thought a bit earlier. I had thought that Micaiah fucked like a goddess… but I was clearly wrong. "Why'd you stop, Sothe…?" Her face looked at me longingly, and I had to admit, those red eyes were very alluring.

I put my dick back where it belonged, inside my pants. I walked away a few steps, leaning up against a different tree, with arms crossed. "I stopped because I didn't come out here to have sex with you, Yune. But don't worry. You don't have to bring Micaiah back right away if you don't want to; I'm not in the mood anymore, anyway."

That's right. I'd been having sex with Yune, not Micaiah. It was Micaiah's body, true, but Yune was borrowing it. I had thought that Micaiah fucked like a goddess, but she was clearly much better. Having sex with Yune had only been a fraction as pleasurable… I was pretty disappointed.

Yune looked at me, a little sadly, as she readjusted Micaiah's clothes, putting them firmly back on her body. "I'm sorry, Sothe. Are you mad?"

"A little. But, don't worry about it. Just, don't do this again, okay? I only want to have sex with Micaiah, after all; not you, or anyone else." I looked into those red eyes reproachfully.

"Well, alright. Just make sure you keep protecting her, alright? Still, I'm surprised you go to such lengths, when you don't care about her as much as you seem like you do…. to the untrained observer, that is." Yune looked at me curiously. Still, she didn't seem mad… she was the goddess of chaos, after all.

"Don't worry." I smiled at her. "There's no way I could let harm come to Micaiah, right?"

Yune smiled back at me, happily. "Yeah. As long as you understand that, it doesn't really matter what your reasons are. I know you'll both be taking care of each other, so it's all fine, either way."

"…Heh." I grunted in amusement. Yune was absolutely right. All this time, I'd been looking for some sort of justification as to why I kept Micaiah around, besides the sex. In the end, I was forced to conclude that the sex really was the only reason. In any case, though, it didn't really matter what the reasons were. Micaiah stayed near me because she wanted to, and I stayed with her, because I wanted to. Whatever reasons either of us had would have no effect, as long as the result was the same. So, even if I only wanted to use her as a sex toy, it was all the same in the end.

"Come on, let's go back." Waving Yune to follow me, I started back toward the camp. I actually felt pretty satisfied. Even though my reasons for being Micaiah's companion were selfish, because of Micaiah's ability to read people's hearts, she already knew that. And if she was okay with those reasons, that meant that I should be satisfied with them, as well. Finally without any doubt remaining in my heart, I smiled and talked idly with Yune about unimportant things, even as we made our way back to our waiting friends.

Still, Sothe, the reasoning was actually much simpler than you think. The reason you kept Micaiah around for all that time, and for even longer after that…. was because a certain little birdie has got you by the balls. Just that; nothing more, and nothing less.