Torture isn't something that I'm well versed in. Oh sure, I know how to cause pain. It's a part of my being, being an Aspect of Destruction and all that. But pain was different than torture. Not terribly so, but enough that I had needed to take a step back and really think on it. Torture, in its most basic form, had a purpose to it. A drive or goal that you wanted to reach. Pain on the other hand, didn't need a cause. It just was. All torture is pain, but not all pain is torture.
That had taken me some time to get, I'll admit. But once it did click, things went a lot more smoothly.
"Hello there No One. It's time for our daily session."
The manlet cowered before me, his eyes staring intently at the buckler on my arm. His buckler, to be exact.
Aegis, Universal Protection
Legendary
A buckler shield born from the fear of Anthony Wesselbottom. When active, it will orbit the user and block any one attack. The user can speed the shield up by directing it with a finger.
It was a useful shield, and one I would make heavy use of. Eventually.
No One quivered at the sight of it, fear clear in his eyes. Good, the first step of the detachment process was over. Now it was time to finish the next two. They would be far easier.
You see, the process of taking a legendary artifact, or soul artifact, take your pick, was a long one. It was the first step that really took up the majority of the time though. After all, making someone fear a part of themselves can be hard. Especially when that part is created to appeal to you, much like a Soul Artifact.
That being said, I like to think I did a fabulous job of it.
"Are you ready for step two No One? I know I am."
Step two also had the potential to take a while, since it was the complete rejection of the subject's Soul Artifact. Though I was confident that I could finish this one up rather quickly.
I took a step back, removing the buckler from my arm. Spinning the small shield in my hand, I watched as his eyes followed the buckler. Catching it between my fingers, I reared my arm back and threw the shield forward.
It cut into the wall, not even an inch away from his face. He jumped, crawling away from the buckler in terror. Wonderful, I might already have step two done. But just in case.
Walking forward, I ripped the shield from the wall and made my way toward him. His back hit the wall, and he curled up into the fetal position is some foolish attempt to protect himself. I wasn't going to be rough on him however. I didn't need to be. Instead, I just gently pushed the buckler into his hands. "Come now, don't you want your Aegis?"
He quivered, face pale and skin clammy. "N-No, get it away from me! Get it away! Away!"
No One tossed it to the side, hugging himself as he tried to make himself as small as possible. I see, so I have completed step two then. Finally, I could start step three. The easiest step.
Bending down, I picked the buckler up and spun it in my hands. The edge was just as sharp as ever, perfect for cutting through meat. Letting out a breath, I lifted him by the collar and pushed the shield into his gut.
"N-No… NO! Please! Don't- "
The buckler cut through his flesh, like a hot knife through butter. His screams echoed throughout the dungeon, and I could hear the other prisoners crying to themselves. The shield hit stone, and I pulled it out of the waste of skin. He had long since passed out, the pain being too great for his mind to properly handle. And I I could understand. After all, if I were horizontally bisected, I'd be in pain as well.
As the beast took his last breaths, the buckler in my hand began to crack. The cracks glowed a light blue, and eventually it shattered altogether. The energy attempted to rejoin with No One, but it was unable to merge with him. His complete rejection of the Soul Artifact keeping his soul from accepting it now. So the energy just floated there, unable to return to its owner.
Reaching my hand out, I focused my magic on the energy. It began to coalesce into an orb, solidifying into a spherical crystal within the palm of my hand. It was no bigger than a softball, but held an unearthly power within it. And there we go, one bit of Legendary Essence. Only took me like three weeks.
Damn it, it's pretty late right now. I didn't have much time left before I would have to start getting ready to meet Amethyst for her training. An hour and a half at most before I really needed to get ready to leave. But first I needed to get this mess cleaned up.
I snapped my fingers, and two golems walked into the cell. Pointing to one of them, I began to give them orders. "You there, get this mess cleaned up and take care of the body. Remember, when dissecting it, make sure to save any useful parts of the body. Waste not want not."
The golem saluted, before walking behind me and getting to its job. My eyes landed on the other golem, and I continued to give it orders. "And you, go upstairs and gather the others. I need you all to set up the work station for the Quartermaster Mark II Armor."
It immediately walked out of the cell to perform its task, leaving me alone with the other golem. I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a sigh. Things have gotten so complicated these days. The industrial district in Illimité City was scheduled to be constructed in a few days, I was still working on perfecting the golems, then there was the theorizing of homunculi construction, and that's not even mentioning my time spent training Amethyst or my normal duties.
At least my birthday was tomorrow. Emery had promised to make it a good one, and I was definitely excited for that. Last time she made such a promise was when she wore that lingerie and we ended up going at it for an entire night. Greatest twelve hours of my fucking life.
Still, at least I could unwind with some tinkering. The Quartermaster Mark II Armor was going very well so far. It would be just a straight upgrade to my old armor, but that didn't mean that I couldn't have some fun. With the runes and sigils, I have a lot of options for upgrades. Especially once I figure out a way to turn runes into a form of machine programming, something which I was very close to achieving.
Once I figured out how to do that, I could finally begin creating electronics and other software based technologies. Maybe I could even work on that kinetic booster system, and even some controlled flight. AI was also a possibility, since the golems already had a limited form of intelligence. All I would need to do is build upon that, and I'd be golden.
But before any of that, I still needed to design the damn thing. Back to the grind I suppose.
…
He was running late.
Amethyst bit her lip anxiously. They were out in the forest, far away from both the castle and the city. If it weren't for Rana, she would've long since freaked out. Being alone in a big forest was terrifying.
"Lady Amethyst, calm yourself. Darius is many, many things, but unreliable he is not. He will be here soon. Running a territory is a lot of work, and he was probably held up. I mean, you'd think he'd be smart enough to elect a new council by now."
There it was. Rana seemed to always have an insult ready whenever she spoke about Darius. It was almost impressive, and it was a very different side to the battle maid than Amethyst was used to. She was normally so respectful.
"Of course, Miss Rana. I'm just excited is all. He promised that we'd finally get to spar today, rather than him just teaching me how to properly handle the blades."
And wasn't that exciting? She was going to spar against the last champion of the Noble Knighting Tournament! A man both skilled and powerful enough to go toe to toe with paragons, and win. They even called him the Paragon Slayer! It was such a cool name, and it was growing popular too. It had even reached Spudnik. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if it became a title of his or something.
Goodness, she was fangirling again. But how could she not? He was just so cool! The way he fought with such reckless abandon and yet still won! The way he was able to trade blows with a Brute and keep up with a Dueler! And that wasn't even getting into his strange ability to conjure weapons and items from thin air, or his incredible inventions. The man was a genius through and through, and it was just so awe inspiring.
She heard a soft thud behind her, and a voice make its appearance known. "Sorry I'm late. I was held up at the office. It was super important, I promise."
Rana scoffed besides her, but Amethyst paid it no mind. Instead, she nodded her head towards Darius and bowed slightly. "Of course Sir! I understand completely! Your work is important, and I am forever grateful for you choosing to spend your time teaching me."
He blinked, before hesitantly shrugging. "Er, right. Anyway, are you ready for today's session? We're going to be sparring, and I want to make sure that you're ready for that. I'm not going to be pulling too many punches, and you will get hurt."
She ignored the way Rana frowned, the woman's eye twitching slightly. There was no need to be worried, not when Amethyst had spent all this time practicing for this exact moment. It was a moment that would determine where she stood in her training. "Of course Sir, I'm ready for anything!"
He clapped his hands together, a grin on his face. "Well, aren't you excited. Right, then here you go."
Two twin falchions appeared in his hands, and he tossed them on the ground in front of her. Bending down, she grasped the handles on both of them and lifted the swords in her hands. They were balanced, and fit perfectly within her admittedly small hands. The quality was incredible, and even the imperfections and weaknesses seemed deliberate. Almost as if he had purposefully weakened the blades for this exact moment. This was it. This was her time to shine. This was her time to show the world that she-
A leather shoe into her chest and knocked her down.
"You weren't ready."
She gasped, sucking in air through her teeth as she did her best to recover. It felt as if her lungs had been punched! Once she had gotten back up, her eyes looked towards her teacher. He simply stared down at her, a serious expression on his face. It was so different than what he normally looked like. His normally relaxed features were stone, and his eyes no longer held their usual softness, instead looking rather sharp.
Noticing her staring, he spoke to her. His voice was deep and cold, not holding the warmth and lightness that she had grown so used to. "Get ready kid, because this time I'm not going to let you get back up."
Right, this was no time to be fooling around. Letting out a breath in order to relax her nerves, she she straightened her posture and held her blades to her sides. Her grip on the handles left her knuckles a bone white color, as she focused on keeping the swords from shaking.
Darius hummed, summoning two falchions to his hands. They looked identical to her own, only bigger and better fit for his size. He stared down at her, waiting for her to make the first move.
Time to show him what she was capable of.
Taking the first step, she rushed him. Her right arm reared back as she got closer to him, slashing downwards just as she was getting close. He stared directly at her, not bothering to even acknowledge her attack as he took a step backwards.
The attack missed, and she was left wide open. Realizing how bad of a position she was in, Amethyst tried to use her momentum to swing with her other blade. However, it was clumsy and not well executed. Her mentor just sidestepped the attack with little effort, a slight frown on his face as he did so.
Panic set in. Was she not doing well? Was he realizing that she was a horrible student with no aptitude for martial combat? Was he regretting taking her on? Was this it? Was all her work, dedication, and effort for nothing?
She couldn't allow that. Not on the first spar.
Attempting to propel herself forwards with her next step, Amethyst continued her assault. She swung her blades at him with all the might and strength she could muster. To anyone else, this might've been a harrowing prospect to deal with. But not to him.
Darius just ducked and weaved between her attacks, moving his body the minimal amount necessary to avoid her attacks. He was calm, unfazed by the swords being swung in his direction. It was as if he was reacting to her movements a second before she even made them.
Her frustration was mounting. At this rate, she'd never be able to get a hit on him. An idea hit struck her, and she let out a frustrated cry as she thrust both blades forward. Their aim was directed at the center of his chest, ready to pierce him and sever flesh from bone.
His hand twitched, and suddenly one of his swords had stopped both of hers at the same time. Despite the force she had pushed behind the attack, his arm didn't budge an inch once contact had been made. The blades just hit, and all movement stopped.
Uh oh.
Amethyst tried to pull away in time, taking a step back before he could retaliate. Unfortunately, it was too late. He pushed his blade forward, making her stumble as he took a single step forward. Her eyes widened as he lifted his arm, spinning the sword around until he held the weapon by the blade. Not a single drop of blood fell as he gripped the blade.
His hand then burst forward, the speed of which was the stuff of dreams. She barely had time to mourn the future of her training before the pommel of the blade hit her forehead, and she blacked out.
…
Ah shit, did I hit her too hard? Dammit that was supposed to last way longer. Quick, come up with an excuse for Rana.
I caught Amethyst's body before she could hit the floor, gently lifting her up and setting her besides a tree. Rana came walking over, not angry but definitely a little upset that this entire thing took less than five minutes. She stopped besides me, checking Amethyst before turning to me and glaring slightly. "You know, she's not going to learn a lot while unconscious."
Right, time to see if I'm as good a liar as I remember. "I simply needed to see where she was, and she needed to get an idea on where she fell skill wise. Trust me, it was a calculated move."
If she didn't believe me, Rana didn't say anything. Instead, she just crossed her arms and sighed. "And where does she fall skill wise, in your opinion?"
Shit, I hadn't expected a follow up question. I quickly went through the short spar in my head, piecing together what I needed. "For one, her actual technical prowess can use some work. She can hold the swords without cutting herself, but that's about it. Another is that her tactical and situational awareness are a bit weak. There were several times that she almost walked into a tree while trying to hit me. Still, she seemed determined and willing to work in order to move past these flaws. We'll simply need to discuss this with her, and push her to her limits."
Stifling a yawn, my eyes flickered to Rana, gauging her reaction. The woman was as cold as ever, simply nodding and not paying me too much attention. That is, until she spoke. "I see. And tell me, this has nothing to do with you being tired and forgetting to hold back properly because of it?"
How the hell did she know that? Fuck it, not half assing this. Double down, and then quadruple ass it. "Nonsense. I have not yet begun to defile myself."
Her eyes remained neutral, though a spark of frustration laid within them now. "You are a horrible liar knave. Though I suppose that comes with the territory of being an idiot."
Now that's just juvenile. "Come now, if I were such an idiot, would Amethyst really be coming to me for teaching?"
She growled, turning to face me before she froze for a moment. Her anger receded before she narrowed her eyes. "You were trying to deflect the topic of discussion. I will not let you go this easily. Tell me knave, how hard are you pushing yourself?"
That was… a difficult question to answer. On one hand, I had kind of promised Emery to slow down and stop pushing myself as hard. On the other, I kind of haven't been doing that. "I'm pushing myself as hard as I need to be. After all, I have a lot of work to do. I can't just sit around eating cake all day. Speaking of which, Emery ordered a chocolate cake that's supposed to arrive today at some point. You wanna have the container it comes in after we're done with the cake?"
My smooth attempts to steer the conversation in another direction failed, and she simply continued to stare me down. "That's not an answer knave. Didn't you promise Emery to take it easy? She'd be upset to hear that you're not following your word. Imagine how sad she'll be. She'd start to tear up, looking down as she mumbles something incoherent under her breath. She'd hold you tight, wouldn't she? Hold you because she's worried that you'd leave to go to work again, and put yourself one inch closer to death. Even if you justify it to her, we both know that she'd be worried sick, wouldn't she? After all, if her soon to be husband works himself to death before their child is born, well, I'm sure you can imagine how she'd feel."
Exaggerations. There were a lot of exaggerations in that statement. But at the same time, it was damn effective at making me wince internally. The goal was to get this place up and going so that I could spend more time at home, but so far, I've only made things worse for myself. The removal of the Gentry pushed all of their responsibilities onto me, and I was still struggling w h everything else I needed to get done. Today was a light load work wise, and I even had time to tinker. A rarity these days.
I sighed, crossing my arms as I turned my body to face Rana. "Fine. You're right. I've been "pushing myself too hard" and all that. Are you happy now?"
She snorted, putting a hand to her hip. "Hardly. Any situation where I'm stuck with you is one where I'm never happy. However, watching you throw yourself to the grind day in and day out had grown rather frustrating. Especially considering that you've yet to actually elect a council to help you with this. The Gentry may have been idiots, but they were useful idiots."
Point. Though I did actually have a reason for not assembling a council as of yet. "I need to make sure that I can fully trust the council. That means that I need to be very specific in who goes in there. I don't want another repeat of the Gentry, after all."
"And have you started?"
There was nothing I could say to that one. I was definitely pushing it off, and I had no room to complain about work considering I was the one making it more difficult.
Rana hummed, not surprised in the least by my lack of an answer. "Poor knave. He has a solution to his many problems, and yet he has yet to actually take it. Truly, he is an idiot beyond all hope and should be put down for his own benefit.
Okay, does she have a point to all of this? Or is she just being a cunt unnecessarily? "Okay, I get it. I'm a dumbass who prefers to do things himself, did you have a point to all do this?"
She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at me once again. "Of course I do. For one, you should endeavor to choose people you know and trust for this council thing, after all it's not like you're against nepotism. Emery is intelligent in her own right, and would do wonderfully given the chance. Same with Evanora. Following that, you should give them some kind of specific position, such as commercial affairs or industrial ones. From there, you can expand the council as you see fit and modify it to your standards, however low they may be."
That was genuinely good advice wrapped in a layer of bitching. It'd be impressive if it weren't aimed at me.
Still, her idea held merit. Emery would do wonderfully with commercial affairs since she's been saving and working with money for years. Evanora could definitely take over the industrial side, and it would only take a few lessons on what things do. As for entertainment affairs, well I'm sure I could pass that along to Daria. It's nothing that would be considered super important, and should entertain her for a while. That would leave me with military affairs, and the general public affairs.
My plan was rapidly forming, and a smirk grew on my face. Oh yeah, it's all coming together now. "Well then, congratulations on your sudden promotion to Leader of Military Affairs Rana. I'll be sure to look for your replacement immediately. Though that isn't stopping you from bragging to Citrine. The postal service should be up and running, so grab one of their dudes and give them a letter. They should be right on the case."
She blinked, staring at me with open shock and confusion. "Wait, what. What?! Knave! You better take this back or I'll- wait, where are you going?! Get back here!"
I'll make sure to be back in ten minutes. Until then, I'm just gonna take a nap until she cools down. It's safer that way.
…
Pregnancy wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Sure, finding out she was going to have a child had been one of the happiest moments of her life. And the sex that followed made it even better, but the symptoms were really starting to kick Emery's butt.
The morning sickness was one, but she was starting to get used to it. The mood swings were a massive pain, as well as the occasional cramping. The strange cravings were really starting to get to her as well, especially since Lilith had needed extra time to get order the chocolate. But what was really grinding her gears, was her ever growing horniness.
Apparently, that was because of her forestkin biology, and how they were a fairly sexual race. Though the book was rather… mean about it. It was written by a Lotharian, and as such it was fairly dismissive of forestkin as a whole. She often was forced to skip over a few lines where the author made note of how good forestkin were as sex slaves. It was embarrassing, and more than a little frustrating.
Still, most of what was written about her kind were true, excluding the racist stuff. They were incredibly feminine, even the men, and that often led to them being more attractive than most other women. They were also curvier, and while Emery may have been on the petite side by forestkin standards, she was technically rather voluptuous by any other. And pregnancy just made that even more prominent.
Their libidos were also pretty darn high, though no where near the amount that the author said they were. What did catch her attention, was the allure. Apparently it would attract anyone the mother would be attracted to. But that couldn't be it. She was attracted to men, but there were women eyeing her up like she was a buffet almost everywhere she went. Even Evanora and Rana were starting to stare. So there has to be something wrong with the book. After all, there was no way she could be attracted to women. That was just impossible.
Right?
The idea made her nervous. She knew she loved Darius, with her everything of course, and was definitely attracted to men. But, if the book really was right, how come women were being attracted to her? That was just uncouth. Men loved women, and women loved men. That was just how it went. The thought of anything else went against what she had been taught back in Halor. There, women who liked other women were those who were mentally sick. That's just how it was.
Was she… mentally sick? The thought made her stomach churn. She was normal, wasn't she? She never felt mentally ill, but if she really did like women, then there had to be something wrong with her head. She felt uneasy, and her brain began to conjure up scenarios that didn't make her feel any better. Oh gods, what would Darius think? Sure, she knew that he loved her deeply, and that he'd sooner fall on his own sword than hurt her, but what if this realization made him uncomfortable with her? What if she was disgusted by her? Sure, it was one thing to drunkenly ask your friends for sex, since you weren't of sound mind, but if she was sober and still attracted to Rana and Evanora?
That would make her a freak, wouldn't it?
Emery curled up in a ball, binding underneath her blankets as she began to tear up. She felt confused, unsure of what to think. On the one hand, she was who she was and she should be proud of it. On the other, she had been taught that her feelings weren't good. That they could endanger a settlement's future. What was she supposed to do? The smart thing would be to tell Darius and deal with the consequences. But at the same time, she was scared. She wanted nothing more than to forget that she ever knew this, but she couldn't. Now that she knew, she couldn't stop catching herself eyeing other women. From the female staff within the castle, to even her own friends.
Her pregnancy wasn't helping, as her libido was making her even more aware of just how attractive those around her are. Gods, what was she supposed to do?
A knock on the bedroom door tore her from her thoughts. "Lady Artifice, you have a visitor who claims that you invited them. Would you like them to come in? Or would you rather meet them in the hall?"
It took Emery a moment to realize who the maid had meant. Lilith was supposed to be here at some point today, and the cake should be there too. She had invited the girl here so that she could drop the cake off, and while they were chatting, she had also invited her to stay for a bit and just talk. The girl was relatively nice, even if she acted weird sometimes, but now Emery was far too worried that she might do something inappropriate. Still, if Lilith was already here, then she may as well see the girl. "Tell her to meet me in the library. I'll be there shortly."
The library, a calm and quiet place. It would help her focus, and keep her taboo desires from surfacing. Right, she should make herself presentable first.
She grabbed a simple dress from the closet, pulling it on and adjusting it. Grabbing a hair tie, she pulled her hair up and tied it in a ponytail, her lucky lock of hair bobbing as she did so. She slipped on a pair of flats, tightening them on her feet.
Time to make some friends.
She strode out of her room, walking down the steps with purpose. Maids waved at her, their eyes glancing up and down her form. It made her feel warm, and those unsightly desires began to nip at her once again. But she was stronger than that, and made her way down the stairs without a single misstep. Now all she needed to do was-
She began to cough, stumbling slightly as her momentum was interrupted. The coughing scratched against her throat, making it feel sore as she leaned against the staircase's railing.
It began to subside, and she cleared her throat a bit. That was definitely not a normal pregnancy symptom. Maybe it was the magic part? She hadn't finished going through the book yet, so she wouldn't know.
Getting back her former bravado was a bit difficult, but Emery managed anyway. She strode towards the library door, grasping the handle and taking a deep breath. Her newfound… freakishness was probably just a pregnancy thing. It had to be. So, she should be able to push aside her unusual attraction to women for this. It'll be easy.
Opening the door, she walked inside and let the door click shut behind her. Her eyes scanned the library, but she couldn't see anyone immediately. Maybe Lilith was in the back? "Lilith? It's Emery! Where are you?"
A loud shout immediately responded to her. "I'm back here Lady… Artifice!"
Ah, there she was. Emery walked forward, humming as she entered deeper within the library. Lilith was probably in the back reading lounge, a spot deep within the library that was fairly secluded. It was one of Emery's favorite places to relax.
The bookshelves gave way to a small area, a table with a few comfy chairs surround it. On the table, she could see the chocolate cake she had ordered. Her mouth watered slightly. Sure, she planned to save it for Darius' birthday tomorrow, but then again, if it were to disappear all of a sudden, it wouldn't be her fault. Nope, that'd just be bad luck.
Though where was-
"RRAAAGG!"
Instincts flared, and Emery jumped backwards. There was Lilith, occupying the space she had once stood. A large kitchen knife was in the girl's hand, and a manic grin on her face. What was going on right now? "Lilith?! What's going on?! Why are you doing this?!"
The girl snarled, brandishing the knife as she stepped forward. Emery backed up, her shoulders hitting a bookcase. Lilith glared angrily at Emery, her teeth bared. "Because, you've stolen him away from me. You've seduced Darius, using your feminine wiles to convince him to love you. Well I see through your tricks, you fiend. You don't love him like I love him! You don't deserve him like I do! No, you just used your obscenely attractive body to your advanced! That's not love! That's lust, you whore!"
Was there some context Emery was missing? Did Lilith know Darius? If so, how? Though those questions faded as soon as the girl's words registers. "Excuse me?! The fuck did you just say?!"
Lilith smirked, lifting a hand to her face as she laughed. "Oh? Upset that I've seen through you so easily? Of course I did. I'm not an idiot like all those other people you have wrapped around your finger, Lady Artifice. You don't even deserve the name. Besides, it was easy to figure out. I mean, as soon as I realized that you were a forestkin, it was easy to put the other pieces together. You forestkin are such sluts! Spreading your legs at the slightest hint of cock! It's laughable I say, laughable!"
A laugh escaped her lips, the sound making Emery's skin crawl. Though that discomfort was pushed aside in favor of anger. This girl didn't know anything about her! She just assumed that her wild delusions were fact, and was acting on it! "You're insane. You don't know a damned thing about me, and you already dismissed me as some kind of… harlot?!"
The grin stretched, Lilith's eyes narrowing as she ran a finger across the knife. "Even when faced with death, you try and ensnare me in your web! It's disgusting! Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!"
Her insane ramblings continued, even as she leapt forward, knife first. Emery sidestepped the clumsily thrust, careful not to trip on her own feet as she turned and ran between the bookcases. The back reading lounge was fairly deep within the library, but she's been in here so many times that she may as well know it as well as the back of her hand. However, there was still one issue.
"Get back here! I promise to stab you harshly!"
Lilith was still chasing after her, the younger woman surprisingly fast despite her short height. Not that Emery had any room to criticize about height. Still, she needed to get to the main entrance, or at the very least make enough noise to penetrate the stone walls of the library. Get the attention of some of the staff.
Who weren't combat trained. Darn it. At most they'd be able to take her down, but a few of them might get injured or die. Could she deal with that on her consciousness?
A book slammed against her back, making her stumble forward. She landed on her side and was only a few feet away from the main reading area. Rolling onto her back, Emery crawled back and quickly got back to her feet, eyeing Lilith as she stalked forward. The girl had an animalistic grin on her face, her knife poised to attack. "Well well well, looks like I just caught a whore on her back. You ready to get penetrated?!"
Emery's throat felt tight, her eyes trained on the knife as she gripped a book from the shelf. The girl was close, way too close for her to feel safe running away from. Lilith might be able to catch up to her by the time she turned around. Emery panted heavily as she stared ahead. All she needed to do was get to the door or disarm her or something. She didn't know what to do. She could try and scream, but there was no way the staff would get here in time, if they could even hear her through the probably soundproofed walls. Fighting wasn't much of an option, since Lilith had a knife and could easily kill her.
What could she do? What would she do? What would Darius do?
Oh, well there was an idea. A stupid, borderline suicidal idea that could get her killed, but an idea nonetheless. Gripping a particular thick book, Emery gulped as she begins to use the Artifice special technique. Trash talking. "You think that I'm not worthy of Darius' love, right?"
Lilith scoffed, taking a small step forward as she twirled the knife in her hand. "Obviously. That's what I'm here for. Once he realizes how useless you are, he'll abandon you for me in a heartbeat! It's foolproof, especially with my last resort."
Last resort? As much as Emery wanted to know what that was, she needed to get rid of that knife. And that meant baiting her attacker. Oh dear. "Well then, I'm afraid that you might not want to kill me then. After all, how could I be useless when I'm carrying his child?"
It was a gamble. A risky, incredibly stupid gamble. But it was the best thing she could think of with such little time. And it seemed to be working, for some reason.
Lilith stared at her, the girl's face frozen in a mixture of disbelief and anger. Her mouth gaped as she stared at Emery's stomach. Seeing this as an opportunity to push it further, she rubbed a free hand over her stomach.
Anger won out for Lilith. "You lie! There's no way he would let you carry something so precious! It's a lie! I can't believe it, I don't believe it!"
Tears pricked at Lilith's eyes as she screamed, her hands shaking. In any other situation, Emery would feel bad and comfort the girl. However, right now she needed to push it even further. "Whether or not you believe me doesn't matter. What does matter is that I am pregnant with his child. It was wonderful too. The way he held me close as he came, filling me with his seed and telling me that I was the only woman he'd ever love. It was magical I tell you. Absolutely, magical."
She held her breath, muscles tense as she watched Lilith flicker through a variety of emotions. The girl looked as if she was having a panic attack, tears falling down her faith as she grit her teeth. Emery tightened her grip on the book, ready to pull it from the shelf at any moment.
Lilith tried to speak, but all that came out was a strangled cry. Her knuckles were white, and hands shook with fury and grief. The girl was full on crying right now, and she screamed one final time. "I-I hate you!"
She rushed forward thrusting her knife at Emery. Time to act.
Emery yanked the book out of the shelf and used it to block the wild thrust. The knife pierced through part of it, but there wasn't enough strength in the attack to fully go through the book. She twisted the book, twisting the knife in the process and loosening Lilith's grip on the weapon.
With a final yank, Emery threw both the book and the knife to the side. Now, the two of them are on equal footing.
Her arm wrapped around Lilith's neck, turning her body in order to put the girl in a chokehold. Lilith struggled in her grip, kicking her legs back and forth in an attempt to escape. "L-Let me go! You home wrecker!"
One of the girl's kicks hit Emery's knee, sending them both to the ground. Emery twisted her body before they fell, pushing Lilith to the bottom and her on top.
And that was when she heard something shatter.
She looked towards the sound, finding a small potion bottle shattered on the ground next to them. A strange pink liquid had been spilt all over the ground, and was turning into a gas of the same color.
"N-No! N-Not the last resort!"
That was the last resort? But what even was it? The gas hit her nose, and she immediately felt lightheaded. Her body began to warm up, and her mind felt like it was getting cloudy.
This feeling… it was almost like whenever Darius used his charm thingy during sex. Sex. The idea made her core throb. She was suddenly very aware of the body wriggling beneath her, the girl's cheeks red and breathing shallow. It would be so wrong to take advantage of the situation. Besides, they were both girls. They couldn't be intimate.
So why was she flipping the girl onto her back?
Despite her internal conflict, Emery's body had no issue doing what it wanted. Lilith stared up at her, a confused and hazy look in her eyes as she bit her lip. She was so… vulnerable. The girl was entirely under her control. Whatever she wanted to do, she could.
But she shouldn't. They were both women, and that was taboo. Back in Halor, she would be shunned for even having such thoughts. They may have endorsed sex as a casual pastime, but a woman being with another woman? Or a man with another man? That was… uncouth. It wasn't how things were supposed to go. There was no way she could take advantage of the situation. There was no way she could take advantage of this young, tight teen body beneath her. The girl writhed beneath her, their bodies rubbing together.
Emery's lips crashed onto Lilith's, and her hands began to roam the girl's body. It was so taboo, so looked down upon.
So why did she enjoy it so much?
…
LONG AN INCOMING (SORRY!)
Oh boy… this sure is a strange topic ain't it? I was, and still am, a bit worried about how this will go over with you guys. On the one hand, it'd be weird if a small settlement ruled by a chieftess was super liberal with their views on sexuality. On the other, it's a very controversial topic in the first place. So, my reasoning for it is this: Why would a settlement that is surrounded by danger at all times, endorse homosexuality? It's one of those things that context and perspective, really fucking matter. Sure, we know that it's a pretty rude thing to be homophobic, but that's with generations of foresight and learning. So yeah, that's my reasoning. And if you're expecting anyone in the story to take a political stance on the subject, you're going to be disappointed. The story is going to focus on the characters, not on real life politics, because real life politics don't make a lick of sense within this context. The only reason this is even a topic is because the idea of "Why would borderline Middle Age civilizations tolerate homosexuality?" crossed my mind as I was writing, and I felt like I needed to address that in order to maintain a sort of… "realism" within the story. The topic is but a small part of these characters, not the entirety of them and it will eventually be resolved. Hopefully, rather soon.
Sorry for that long AN, but I felt like I really needed to get that out in the open before anyone says anything about it. Speaking of long things, this particular review of the chapter is a Beefy one, so I've broken the review down into parts. Don't get me wrong, I like long reviews, but it makes covering them uber annoying.
First part:
"Darius did literally nothing wrong there and yet she elbows him and tells him to stop fighting, acting dissapointed in him for shutting down someone disrespecting him?"
I wrote that scene more along the line of "A group of friends getting back together after a while" and it should feel like that. Emery does that mostly because she just doesn't want to hear them arguing, and she knows Darius would end up escalating things. Plus, he was just closer. Again, they're all friends, so it's less heavy on being proper and more on them just talking.
Second part:
"The whole scene with Lilith was a bit awkward, I feel like someone with such a psychotic hatred for a single person, unless they were a world renown actor, wouldn't be able to hide their hatred for that person so easily."
So, this one is actually a really good point and the main reason Lilith does so well with hiding her response is… well plot. I know, how lowly of me, but it's the truth. Sure, I could make something up on the spot that would make sense in the context, like how Lilith is still smart enough to properly plan ahead and how Emery isn't really looking for malice, but that's just me coming up with excuses.
Third part:
"Also the convenience of Emery just so happening to pass by that bakery to see that one kind act, to decide she wanted sweets from that specific bakery, and then to wanting to being desperate for company from Lilith despite Rana, Evanora and Amethyst just moving in felt pretty forced."
This is a triple whammy, and I could answer the first two rather easily. Lilith chooses that specific bakery because its where she's observed that Emery prefers to shop, so the odds of her being there is actually pretty decent.
Then there was the whole cake thing. For one, you're assuming Emery wasn't looking for a bakery in the first place, and since it's close to where she normally visits, it's not unlikely that she'd find this one place. Especially since only a few bakeries even sell chocolate, and even then it's expensive and takes time. It's also why Lilith doesn't immediately hand over the cake, among other reasons. Chocolate is rare, and the bakery has a very small supply. Using that, she could leverage a way to make a visit happen.
Now, for the friends part of this. This is the hardest to argue for, but there is a reason for it within the chapter. Emery specifies "within the city", and she doesn't even ask to be friends. She just asks to stay with her for the moment and chat. So really, the only reason they become "friends" is because they talk for a while. Emery thinking that she's made a new buddy, and Lilith biting down her disgust in order to get a chance to kill her rival.
Fourth part:
"I'm a bit worried about the direction the story is going in, two arcs that I always dislike in fanfiction are parenthood and the dreaded mentor arc"
This is another fabulous concern, and I'm glad you made sure to say it was a personal one as well. As for your concern, don't be. They aren't arcs, so much as they're background details and happenings that either shape the current arc, or are shaped by an arc. It's mostly to make more characters feel important, as well as develop Darius more as he takes on these new responsibilities. It isn't the main stuff, but it's a part of it.
Fifth part:
"especially since youre one of the best authors I've seen on this site"
This is just me being self-masturbatory and sharing this with the world. Go me.
Final part:
"I forgot if you've mentioned this previously, will this develop into a harem relationship?"
I haven't, at least, not within the ANs. I've stated it several times on Discord (Join Shiro's Gaming Omniverse, it's great! discord. gg/ CWPSc2G9Wj) but I may as well openly state it here. It will become a pseudo harem situation, with Darius and Emery being the main focus and the other women being more like friends with benefits. Really, it's more of an open relationship than a harem, but semantics.
This has been A Decent Hoonter, and holy fuck this has been a 1,000 word AN what the fuck?!