CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: Coldness
"Hmm?" Ridda opened her eyes. It was morning... had she been asleep this whole time? Wait, she no longer had to sleep... so what...?"
"Oh, you're awake huh?" Shalltear's voice said from the right of her. Ridda blinked trying to figure out what had happened, her body was tingling like some kind of energy ran through it...
Had she fallen in battle or... No wait... it was coming back to her... Ridda suddenly went red as she remembered the sorry state Shalltear had put her in.
"Uh..." Ridda sat up rubbing her head as her world came back to her.
"I've heard about girls climaxing so hard they pass out... but damned if you didn't go out cold!" Shalltear said licking her fingers clean.
Ridda looked around. Sure enough, they were still on the killing field of the Demihuman/Troll compound and she was naked, not just naked, on her back and splayed out... he legs were spread as far as they could go, her arms open wide. Ridda quickly pulled her limbs into herself, covering her shame.
"She remembered now... how Shalltear had made her beg for... for everything...
"Aw, don't tell me you're getting shy now?" Shalltear asked. Ridda looked up as she gathered her clothes and quickly began to get dressed.
"Um... I, uh..." Ridda stammered as her night with Shalltear came back to her. Shalltear just stood up and took Ridda's hand, looking at her.
"Don't worry about it Ridda... that was just a bit of fun... we never have to mention what happened again," Shalltear said patting her head as she saw the embarrassment creeping up on Riddas's face. Ridda looked down in silence but with a smile. In truth, she'd loved every second of it.
"Um, well... I... Mistress Shalltear... I..." Shalltear was already up and dressed.
Shalltear sighed and looked at Ridda.
"Well, needless to say, you passed your uh... test. I suppose now just do what I said and try and learn [FIREBALL] as third tier magic seems to be all your capable of. Not including the metal skills... I'd put your [METAL DEATH] spell on at least fifth tier... but thats it, all your other skills are pretty bad." Shalltear said as her dress magically appeared on her.
Ridda took those words to meaning, and not as an insult... getting stronger was always on the forefront of her mind... and Shalltear had given her honest criticism of her abilities... she at least knew where she stood to improve.
"Um, thank you Mistress Shalltear... I will strive to improve," Ridda said. Shalltear just shot her a smirk that was smugger than anything.
"Well, My Lord Ainz seems to see value in you... that's all I needed to hear... I think I might understand what he sees in you, if nothing else... you're incredibly cute when you cum!" Shalltear said with a teasing laugh as she cast [GATE] for the two of them to return to the capital of The Slane Theocracy. Ridda went red at that lewd thought... but she had remembered how she gave into every pleasure she could think of... the things she and her mistress had done all night had shown Ridda a whole new side of "pleasures of the flesh".
"Um, Should I contact you when I learn [FIREBALL]?" Ridda asked, attempting to add some professionalism to this meeting, as they walked to the tower Ridda was working/staying at.
"Sure, but if you take too long I may lose interest in you..." Shalltear said honestly. Ridda nodded with determination.
"I... I will strive to maintain your interest Mistress Shalltear!" Ridda said bowing respectfully. Shalltear put her hand under Ridda's chin, makign her look up at her, locking their eyes.
"I believe you Ridda... so make sure to get stronger for me, and Nazarick! I will have another reward for you upon successfully doing as I've instructed... but until... farewell." Shalltear said with a wink but gave Ridda a loving caress if her young face as she turned to leave.
Ridda shook her head. She had been fulfilled sexually... something she still did not really understand. But she needed to focus on more than just her own pleasures... her sisters! Yes, they would be coming soon... and she was, not clean... to say the least.
It was early morning at this point and Neia was walking downstairs, yawning and in her nightgown still. Neia would like to have slept longer but an early call of nature had woke her.
"Oh, morning Ridda... how was your night?" Neia asked innocently enough. Ridda smiled looking at the door her Mistress had just exited from.
"Honestly Pope Neia... I think I found who I'm supposed to be with," Ridda said with a smile. Neia looked a bit surprised then smiled knowingly.
"Well, that's great to hear Ridda! I guess you didn't have to wait too long huh?"
"Well... it's not over yet... I want to earn my place by my Mistresses side... but to do that I must get stronger..." Ridda said wondering how to learn a spell she had never even seen until recently. Buy Neia smiled brightly.
"Striving to get stronger is the noblest of goals for the weak..."
"...because weakness is a sin?" Ridda asked looking at Neia's eyes. Neia's hate-filled eyes could not hide the happiness Neia really felt.
"That's right Ridda!" Neia said smiling from ear to ear... her teachings were indeed getting through to people, what better reward could she have this morning than a proof of that?
"Well... I'll go take a bath and get to work," Ridda said stretching and thinking of the things she'd been taught by her Mistress.
"Okay, but your sisters will be arriving later today, so just be ready by then."
"Eh? So soon?" Then she realized magic was must be at play.
"That's right, they will be arriving by [GATE] later tonight," Neia said checking something off on some parchment.
"Sure... just come get me if you need me for anything," Ridda said waving as she turned to go to her workroom.
Ridda worked through the day making more ingots until Neia poked her head into her room.
"Ridda? Your sisters are here," Neia announced with a smile, right after that two elf girls ran in.
"Ekisa! Learcue!" Ridda cried running to them and grabbing them both.
"Ridda! We missed you so much!" Learcue said fighting back tears. Ridda laughed and kissed her cheek.
"I missed you two as well... you look good!" Ridda said laughing and looking at both their smiling faces. But then they looked at her funny.
"Ridda... you look... what..." Ekisa took a step back with a worried look. Learcue looked confused and but upon seeing Ridda better understood what Ekisa saw.
"Ridda... are you..." Learcue warily asked. Ridda frowned and nodded.
"Um, yeah... a lot has changed when we were away... I've become very strong and also became very sick... I was dying," Ridda paused to let them digest what she was telling them.
"And the way to cure it was to... become a Vampire. yes, I am undead," Ridda finished. Learcue and Ekisa looked at one another.
"Do you drink blood?" Ekisa asked silently. Ridda shook her head.
"No, I don't... I'm uh... pretty much the same person... your sister, like always!" Ridda said smiling. Ekisa thought for a second then ran to Ridda and hugged her again, she was shortly joined by Learcue.
"I'm so glad... now you will be around for as long as we are!" Learcue cried. Back when they were a family Learcue would cry about the fact that they were elves and would outlive the whole family. Ridda thought about the reversed roles... it would now be her that watches them grow old and die over the course of hundreds of years or so.
"So will you three need anything?" Neia asked. She wanted to give the sisters time alone.
"Oh, no... Thank you Neia. We should be okay," Ridda said bowing to her Pope.
"So Ridda... did you ever find that woman? You know... the one that killed mother?" Ekisa asked. Ridda frowned.
"No... not really, I um think she was killed by The Slane Theocracy after... anyway I let that go. She met a form of justice, that's good enough for me," Ridda said nodding. Learcue didn't give much of a reaction.
"Oh, well I was just worried you would get hurt... so I'm glad!" Ekisa said.
"So, how what did you guys do after we part ways?" Ridda asked.
"Well, we just went to see Auntie." Ridda nodded. An old friend of Alis and Nero.
"She pretty much just took care of us, then we found work at the church of Ainz Ooal Gown, we earned out keep cleaning up there and helping people find their ways to and from he temples." it pleased Ridda that they were helping Lord Ainz Ooal Gown as well, in their own way.
"That's good to hear... I'll have to pay Auntie a visit someday." Ridda said smiling. But other than that their lives were much less adventure... and blood filled then Ridda's time away from her sisters.
"So then, you know what your jobs will be here?" they both nodded.
"Pope Neia said we will be teaching kids about Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, luckily we know a lot about him already thanks to our time working in his church!" Learcue told Ridda. That was great! Then they would be teaching others in no time! the school was well on it's way to being a huge success and undoing the brainwashing of the Theocracy on those who remained in the capital.
"That's so good to hear!"
"Will you be here with us?" Ekisa asked. Ridda shook her head.
"I'm only here on a job, it'll be done soon and I'll be headed back to Nazarick for my next assignment," Ridda told her sisters. They frowned a bit.
"But I can stay here for a few days to stay with you guys," Ridda said smiling.
"OH!" Ekisa looked at Ridda's teeth, noting her vampire fangs,
"Do you bite people with your teeth?" Ekisa asked. Ridda opened her mouth so they could see them better.
"No, but I think they look neat," Ridda said grinning evilly at her sisters who laughed.
"Well, I can show you around the city a little bit, there's not a lot to do here other than work I'm afraid," Ridda said.
"That's okay, we just want to spend time with you is all!" Learcue said grinning from ear to ear.
"Well alright then... let's go for a walk."
Back in Nazarick. Rubedo is settling into her new place and even meeting the NPCs that she had never seen before. Aura and Bella talk about their renewed status as floor Guardians, thanks to Rubedo. And the peace that Nazarick once enjoyed returned.
"I mean it's great you're... er, we're Floor guardians again... " Bella said to Aura who nodded.
"You will be replacing Mare as my back up on the sixth floor officially as his role is the King of The Elves..."
"...meaning we won't be Mare's Royal Gaurd." Bella finished their shared thought. They both sighed loudly. While being back in Nazarick was great, they both really enjoyed their time with Mare again.
"Mm... well not much we can do about it, Lord Ainzes orders are absolute... and he said we could still visit him on our day off." Aura nodded.
"Yeah, I know... it's just...no never mind," Bella looked at Aura but said nothing.
"You think Mare is okay?" Bella asked. Arua furrowed her brow.
"What do you mean Bell?" Aura asked.
"I mean... you have me and I have you... Mare... he's been alone this whole time,"
"Well, he has that woman..."
"Come on Aura... you know..."
"Yeah... true... you think Mare is really thinking about us when he's got her around?" Bella asked. Aura frowned.
"Bell... why would you even say that?" Aura asked. Bellas shook her head.
"S...sorry, you're right...Aura, I just really hate the idea of not seeing..." Bellas began
"... Mare's beautiful face every morning?" Aura finished. Bella walked over to Aura and hugged her.
"You're feeling the same thing..."
"Of course I am Bell... I just... I just trust it will all work out,"
"You trust in Lord Ainz?"
"Yeah."
"You're right Aura... I do to... I love Lord Ainz..." Aura grabbed Bella and kissed her cheek as a loving sister would. tears ran down Bellas's cheeks.
"It's just that..." Bella began.
"Yeah I know... but I...We... knew his day would come," Aura reminded her sister.
"Yeah I know... but... I just thought it would be..."
"Hey... you're acting as we'll never see him again..."
"It's not that Aura... it's..."
"Yeah... I know... no need to say it..."
"Then?"
"Yeah..."
"Anyway, we should go check up on Rubedo." Aura suggested. Bella looked away with a frown.
"You go on ahead, I don't have anything to say to her," Bella said abruptly getting up and leaving. Aura sighed, deciding to not press the issue anymore. Aura used her Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to go to the ninth floor.
Upon arriving in the hallway of the ninth floor Aura noted Rubedo's room, but it looked like Sebas was talking to Rubedo so Aura chose to wait. But Sebas saw her waiting and motioned for Aura to join them.
"Hi Sebas, Rubedo." Aura wove. Sebas smiled as he bowed.
"I was just saying hello to Rubedo, I'll leave you two alone," Sebas said as he left them.
"So, Rubedo... how are you doing now that you're out of the eighth floor?" Aura asked. Her long straight black hair bouncing as she skipped into her room.
"Good, people have come to see me... I like it here more," She said simply. Aura looked around the bare room, there was nothing really here yet.
"Would you like Mare and myself to bring you some things for your room?" Aura asked. Rubedo cocked her head to the side slightly.
"Why? Is something wrong with my room?" Rubedo asked innocently. Aura shook her head.
"No, it's just that most people put things they like in their rooms, or things they want to keep," Rubedo just shrugged. Well if it didn't bother Rubedo, Aura was fine with letting her keep her room bare like this, even if it was weird.
"Where is Mare?" Rubedo asked.
"He's back in the Elf Kingdom with his wife Zesshi," Rubedo thought for a second.
"Mare, he likes Zesshi?" Aura scratched her head at the question.
"Well, yeah I think he does... and I guess he's going to be a father soon as well," Rubedo wrinkled her nose. As they talked Albedo walked past them. She gave her younger sister a nod and wove to Aura as she made her way to Lord Ainzes room.
"Lord Ainz is not in his room Albedo," Rubedo called out but Albedo turned to smile at them.
"I know, I am simply making his room the way he likes, no need to bother me... that is to say I will be fine alone in there," Aura rolled her eyes and shrugged. Rubedo looked confused but quickly forgot about it. Albedo had been away helping Mare in The Elf Kingdom for a while as well and was recently back to her normal duties.
The attitude around Nazarick now was that of people getting ready. A huge floating city had been discovered and Thier Lord Ainz meant to investigate it. And a hostile outcome was very possible. Aura and Bella would both be included in the investigation as would Lord Ainz himself!
"Well, glad to see you are getting along with people now," Aura said nodding. Rubedo said nothing and just sat on the floor in the middle of her room.
"Go now," is all she said and Aura was suddenly standing outside the room with he door shut. A chilling reminder that their lives all were still held by a child. She tried not to think about that too much as she turned to find her Lord.