HOLY HEART SHAPED CHOCOLATES, I'VE DONE IT AGAIN!

Dear readers, you'll be glad to hear that after ambushing cupid and stealing his love arrows to sell on the black market, I've managed to put together another chapter of the story. Wishing chocolate hearts and hot super models for all you guys that have reviewed so far and offered your thoughts on things so far.

Also, apparently everyone REALLY like the idea of Gwyndolin getting drunk in this story. XD

Hope you guys all have fun reading the newest chapter.

Warning: Any caught in the act of ignoring warning signs shall be fined $200 and sentenced to death by Snu-Snu. You have been warned.

Rising from her slumber just as the night was beginning to know its end was nothing new for Velka.

Her internal clock was impeccable, and she trusted it when it told her the time for peaceful dreams had run its course.

As her drowsiness lifts, the goddess raises herself body from her sheets before flexing her wings and muscles with a satisfying groan. Then, after taking a small breath to gather her will and reminding herself to ignore the shattered window that let in a faint breeze, she got out of bed and made her way to her desk. Where a small stack of documents was waiting for her.

Her internal clock told her she had about two and a half hours or so before sunrise. It took her but a brief thirty minutes to be done with her paperwork, the contents consisting of nothing particularly important or worth thinking about.

Once the documents were granted her signature and stamped, the goddess put them aside and proceeded to dress herself in a set of skintight black leggings, alongside a similarly colored under-bra to minimize breast movement and specially made footwear for comfort.

Giving a brief few minutes more to straighten out her hair, Velka gathered her completed paperwork and left her room at last.

It didn't take long for her to reach Lord Gwyn's office and set the paperwork atop his desk. Though Velka somewhat could not help but give an annoyed sigh as she opened one of the desk drawers and retrieved a requisition form as well as a document requesting the need for a new window.

"Tch…Vinegar. I swear, the result had better be immediate or I'm going after that idiot in full force. And I bet he has no intention of taking responsibility for my window. But I'll be sure to settle up with him about that in time." The goddess swore to herself lowly as she filled out the request form and sat it beside her already completed work.

With that done, Velka made her way out of Lord Gwyn's office and through the castle halls, until finally she reached the castle courtyard where a familiar face was waiting in the center of the field.

"Hm. You're four minutes and thirty-six seconds late for our morning warmups. That's quite the unusual occurrence. Has something happened?" Ciaran, wearing her own skintight morning attire, questioned curiously.

At hearing this question, Velka gave a slight smirk at her friend's astute wonderings.

"Why do you assume somethings happened? Couldn't I have just had a slow start today?" Velka exclaimed with a raised eyebrow as she gave a slight bow of respect, of which Ciaran returned, before they both proceeded to begging the morning exercises with stretching their legs at their sides in unison.

"Unlikely. The only person who values their time and punctuality more than you is Ornstein. You don't have "Slow starts". Add the fact that you just tried to dance around the accusation instead of denying it, I feel confident in my assumption that something's happened." Ciaran said calmly as the two women proceeded to both take a breath, before bending over and touching their toes. A basic starting exercise that preceded the multitude of stretches the two would perform together.

Being warriors of exceptional renown and skill, it should come as no surprise that both Velka and Ciaran needed to remain flexible and keep their bodies in perfect. So such morning exercises were something they were quite accustomed to.

Now, as one might expect that, being that the two goddesses were quite the lookers and sported shapely forms, the two would easily be able to draw in onlookers as they placed themselves in a variety of sensual body positions.

However, even as a few knights and servants of the night shift passed by in the halls up above and below, no one dared to give anything beyond a snap glance or two. For anyone with half a brain knew that if Lord's Blade Ciaran caught sight of any peeping tom looking upon her, she wouldn't let it go unpunishment.

And that wasn't even mentioning what the Goddess of Sin, a woman known for her destructive power and temper, would do to someone if she believed she was being disrespected in such a way.

"So are you going to explain what kept you or keep beating around the bush?"

"Well, if you must know, I had an unwelcome visitor trying to sneak into my quarters last night." Velka informed as both women calmly propped their legs upon the others shoulder, before slowly pulling one another close to stretch their legs upward with ease.

"A unwelcomed visitor? Who would….No." Ciaran exclaimed, quickly connecting the dots on her own.

"Oh, yes. Apparently, that little moron of a human aimed to make his way inside my room while I slept by scaling the castle wall. Said he was planning to leave a note telling me how to get rid of the smell on my body." Velka said with a roll of her eye's as they both finished stretching their hamstrings and put their legs down.

"Wait, he scaled the castle wall to leave a note? If that was his only objective, couldn't he have accomplished the same goal by just sliding the note under your door or even leaving it outside your room to find? Not to mention your room is several stories high up, so climbing it is incredibly dangerous. The risk clearly doesn't match the reward." Ciaran exclaimed as she and Velka pressed their hands together for balance, before proceeding to slowly lower themselves down into perfect pair of splits. Both being able to hold the position with comfort and ease.

"Exactly! Now imagine how dumbstruck I was last night at hearing it firsthand. And that's not even the end of it." Velka said with clear annoyance, but still maintaining proper breathing for the exercise. "Once I dragged him through the window and confronted him, he tells me the way to get rid of this smell is to bath myself in warm vinegar. But he showed up completely empty handed with not even his not of apology ready on hand. So, of course, I got a bit upset and said words that more than a little harsh. And do you know what he did?"

"No, what?" Ciaran said clearly invested in the tale..

"He told me, to my face, "Fuck you, Velka."" The goddess of Sin exclaimed irritably, causing Ciaran's eye's to bulge widely.

"Oh…I can somewhat guess what happened after that." Ciaran said with a solemn sigh as this new information. "What a pity."

"What? The only pity is that he got off easy. But I made sure I got across that there wouldn't be a next time for that sort of talk."

"Velka, listen, you know you have my support on matters such as this and I understand that he wasn't exactly your favorite person, but young Kaylen really didn't deserve to meet an end like that. But I suppose there is little meaning in saying that now." Ciaran said with a disapproving shake of her head, much to the confusion of Velka. "Alright…I have a few trusted Blades that will help get rid of the body without asking questions. I'll do my best to help keep this under wraps, but you should know better than to do such things, Velka. Of course, Lord Gwyn will need to be informed, but I can't say whether or not Ornstein will need to be-"

"Ciaran, he's not dead."

"What? You didn't kill him?!" the Lords blade said with clear surprise written all over her face. "But you just spoke that he said "Fuck you" to your face. He's still alive after doing that?...Is he maimed or missing a limb then?"

"Of course not. I'm no raging beast. I only nearly caved his chest in with a punch and threatened his life. Aside from being a bit sore, he'll be fine." Velka said, a little offended that her friend thought so little of her restraint.

"Wow…he has got to be the luckiest person in the entire city to be able to say that and survive. No one will ever believed it happen."

"Hmph. He'd better hope because if I hear even a whisper that he's told someone what he said, I'll have his head on a pike." Velka threatened allow, absolutely despising the thought of others knowing she lets such words be said to her. "Once the Vinegar I put in a request for arrives, I told him that he'd be the one to prepare a bath of it for me as punishment."

"Is that right? Well, you can go ahead and cancel such a request. Going through the proper channels will have you waiting weeks for a personal delivery like that." Ciaran said happily at the confirmation that the young human wasn't brutally murdered in the night just as the two of them stood back to their feet. Warmup stretches fully complete. "If it's only vinegar, I can call in a few favors certain merchants owe me and get your request here in a few days. Think of it as a reward for sparing our mutual friend."

"Ugh, I certainly wouldn't use the word "friend" when describing him, but I appreciate the assistance." Velka said humbly. "Now, let's get on with this. All this chatter has put us both considerably behind schedule this morning. Better to quickly go a few rounds, so that we have enjoy time to enjoy a relaxing soak this morning."

With that, Velka rolled her shoulders a bit before raising her hands and assuming a defensive stance.

"Of course. Let's go for best out of nine rounds today. Full contact, since I feel you could use a bit of stress relief." Ciaran said as she kicked her feet out a bit to limber up before preparing herself in much the same combative stance. "Loser hunts down the guard who thinks we didn't notice him backtracking through the hall six times to stare at us?"

"Agreed." Velka said without hesitation as the two goddesses sprang into action. Each one performing strike so sharp and so precise that one could be forgiven for believed they'd choreographed the entire spar.

The two would go on to work up quite a sweat in their bout, with both earning more than their fair share of light bruises to be healed by their planned morning bath.

Such was the pleasant start of the day for Anor Londo's two most lethal protectors.

Kaylen awoke at the twilight of the night with a pained groan.

His internal clock was never off the mark, and he trusted it when it told him that he had maybe a just a bit over two hours before first formation began. And not much time before the Princess would probably be expecting to see him.

However, before any of that, the first hurdle Kaylen had to currently overcome was the massive purple bruising in the center of his chest, courtesy of his previous run-in with the Goddess of Sin.

"Uugh. Okay…take it slow. And a-one, and a-two, and a-hggh." Kaylen groaned as he forced his body to roll to its side and made his way to his feet despite the pain. He'd believed he could just sleep the blow she'd given off, but it seemed that the fist of a goddess packed more power than one might think.

She practically caved his chest in.

Once he was on his feet, Kaylen placed a hand to his chest and released a somewhat annoyed sigh. Not for the pain that he was currently feeling, but because there was currently two stacks of books that came as high as his waist beside his bed.

As expected, the titles of each one were specifically targeted toward body care. Ranging from "Massage Basics and Techniques from Around the World" to "Like Magic: Techniques in Body Care." and what instantly became Kaylen's favorite "Therapeutic Massage for Dummies".

"*Sigh* This might not even be so bad if I didn't know she was making me read this stuff purely for a laugh. She's Gwyn's daughter, so I bet she could have a world class professional brought to her at the snap of her fingers." Kaylen complained with a bit at seeing the literature stacked before him. "Well…I'd better at least get a few pages in and actually try to figure this out at least. If I'm lucky, she'll get bored after a day or two. And hey, I get to rub down a goddess with melons the size of my head, so that's something to look forward too, right?….Oh my god, am I insane? That kinda thinking is gonna get me killed. Those melons are a death sentence, man. Never forget."

Quickly drowning out any instinctual attraction he might have towards the Princess for the sake of staying alive, Kaylen proceeded to dress himself in a pair of the plain clothing he was given and grabbed one of the books from the top of one of the piles at random. He then proceeded to leave his room and make his way towards the bath.

As he began walking through the hall, it didn't take him long to realize something was off.

Let it be perfectly clear what it was that had happened.

There was an honored position among the ranks of Anor Londo known as the Lord's Blades. An order occupied solely by females whose primary duties lay in espionage and mastering the ways of silently stalking and, if need be, eliminating their target.

It was undisputed that Ciaran was the best of them, for her skill of shifting between shadows undetected as well as her talent for subterfuge was second to none.

However, though they could not match their leaders' abilities, the other Blades were no slouches when it came to stealth. They were all gods, blessed from birth with exceptional talent and aptitude far beyond that of humanity. Not to mention their armor was specifically crafted and enhanced with sorcery to allow them to seamlessly blend into shadows.

Human eyes would not be able to spot them when properly hidden.

So, when two of their order were called upon by Lady Ciaran and told they were to keep an eye upon a single human, they understandably didn't consider the task much of a challenge in the slightest. Even when Ciaran informed them that he was not to be underestimated and to expect that he had training sufficient training of unknown origin, they still regarded him as just another human.

So one can imagine their surprise when he walked free of his quarters and began to walk a bit along the hall only to stop abruptly in place for a few moments, as if he somehow immediately noticed that something was out of place in the empty hall.

Seeing him cease moving forward, the two woman froze in place, wondering what was the hold up. But their wonderings were quickly washed away as Kaylen simply opened his book and continued moving through the castle halls.

Brushing away their confusion at the oddity of his sudden hesitation, the two Blades followed behind the human with the barest hint of increased caution.

However, neither of them would have expected what happened next.

As none other than Princess Gwynevere herself rounded the corner of an adjacent hallway with her guards in tow and met the humans approach with a pleased look in her eyes at the sight of him.

"Well, if it isn't mine young companion Kaylen." Gwynevere greeted as a gentle smile bloomed upon her lips, seemingly sincerely pleased to see him again. "Good to see that thee arose at a proper time.. We can even walk together to-."

"Y-Yes, Princess Gwynevere. It's good to see you too this fine morning and to be able to gaze upon your beauty once." Kaylen said in a polite tone. But if the loss of her friendly smile was any indication, the Princess did not appreciate being cut off mid-sentence. Though Kaylen did have good reason for doing so. "Heh, maybe it's because I'm new to the castle, but it kinda almost feels like there's someone keeping an eye on me. But I guess that's a good thing since it keep me on my toes, huh?"

Hearing this, though Kaylen tried to be subtle, the two Blades immediately perked up in surprise.

"Hm. Well, I think thou should concern thyself with learning proper respect and realizing that interrupting me in such a way again shall not end well for thee." Gwynevere threatened kindly.

"Heh, heh, my apologizes, Princess. I just really feel like someone's watching me, ya know. And with my current position, it would be very bad for me if that were the case." Kaylen said pointedly with a smile as continuously shifted his eye's off to the side to get his message across.

At this, Gwynevere could only look at him with a raised eyebrow as she tried to figure out what he was trying to say. But after a few moments, it finally clicked just what he was trying to tell her.

"Oh~. I see. Yes, that would indeed be unfortunate. Allow me to put thy mind at ease then." The Princess said as she placed a hand upon Kaylen's back and guided him forward at her side, before leaving a passing order with her guards. "Men, I feel myself becoming a bit uneasy as well. Would one of thee kindly ensure that we are not followed and so that we may yet have peace of mind?"

"At you're command, my lady." One of the knights said without hesitation as he grew his sword and stood directly in the middle of the hallway. Much to the irritation of the Blades. For they knew that though it should be impossible for a human to spot them with the naked eye, the honored Princess Guars could not be so easily deceived. As show by how one of them easily spotted both of their positions. "Apologies. Princess Gwynevere does not wish to be followed and so I cannot allow you to continue behind her."

Stepping free of their shadows at last, one of the Blades spoke in just as calm a tone as she was given.

"We have strict orders from Lady Ciaran to keep watch over that human, not to follow the Princess. Let us pass."

"I'm afraid Princess Gwynevere's orders take precedence over Lady Ciaran's. If the human is at her side, then my hands are tied. You will not follow."

At this, the warriors had reached an impasse. The conflicting nature of each of their orders putting them at odds with neither willing to relent.

So, with each of them giving a small smirk and a sigh, they readied themselves.

"Heh, this was supposed to be a simple task. It's quite the annoyance when the job develops complications." One of the Blades said in a lighthearted manner as bother herself and her partner withdrew a pair of small blades from their robes.

"*Sigh* Tell me about it. The Princess's commands somehow always turn out that way." The knight exclaimed as he picked up his sword and raised his shield. "So why's the newcomer so special that he warrants two of you? Is it true that he's here to hunt Velka then?"

"Wait, what? A human hunting Velka? Is that why we're-….Uh, we have no knowledge if that's true. There wasn't much information to go on. We were told to watch him, so we're watching him." The Blade said with a shrug of her shoulders. "What rumors have you heard exactly?"

"Oh, their hardly rumors with what I heard Velka herself speak of yesterday. Even Lady Ciaran's and Captain Ornstein have taken a personal a interest in him. Let's begin, I'll tell you all about it while you try to get past me. You'll hardly believe it."

"Of course. On three. One…two…three!"

The Women's Bath

The coast outside the bath was clear as both the Princess and her human companion walked inside.

"Okay, that was close." Kaylen said a shake of his head, fully realizing that Gwynevere's little game had almost been revealed to whoever it was that was following him. Which obviously wouldn't be good. The more people who knew, the more likely it was that Gwyn would hear about it.

"Indeed. I did not think thou would be watched so closely. I suppose I should be a bit more careful moving forward. I'll have my guards keep a better lookout next time." The Princess said with an amused smirk on her lips as they stood in the bath together. Only for Kaylen to appear a bit concerned about something.

"Speaking of your guards. Do they know why I'm in here?"

"No need to concern thyself with them. My guards are oathbound to keep my secrets and ensure my protection. Other than my father, my commands to them are absolute. Rest easy knowing they will never reveal a thing."

"Princess, I clearly can't "Rest easy" knowing that I'm being followed now. This time it was…whoever those people were dressed like Ciaran were. But what if next time it's Ciaran herself and she ask what I'm doing talking with you while carrying a random book called…" he looks to the title for the first time and rolls his eyes at what it says. "…Ugh. "Good touch, Bad touch: the Proper way of Massage." That is a recipe for disaster, and she'd immediately know something was going on."

"Aw~. Does my being lonely without thee not inspire a bit more effort to remain at my side? What would I do if I didn't have my morning massage to look forward too?"

"Forgive me, but I'm a bit more concerned with my own health rather than your little amusements."

Her smile turned cruel as she thumbed a bit of her hair behind her ear and move a bit closer to his person in a knowing fashion.

"Heh, and therein lies thy problem, Kaylen. Thou shalt find thy time here far more agreeable if you remember thy place and learn to prioritize my "little amusement" over thy personal concerns. Otherwise, I'll have to take steps to ensure proper obedience." Gwynevere says as she runs a hand across the young human's cheek in a loving fashion, easily making him feel just a bit smaller beneath her gaze. "Doth thou understand?"

Realizing that he may have run his mouth a bit too much, Kaylen mentally scolded himself for not being a bit more respectful in his wording.

"…Yes, Princess. I understand."

"That's a good boy. I knew thou would see it my way." Gwynevere said calmly as she delivered two playful love taps to Kaylen's cheek. "Now kindly get undressed so that we may begin. I've so looked forward to seeing how much thou hath improved with a bit of study."

Knowing in the back of his mind that she couldn't possibly expect him to improve after one day, Kaylen gave a small sigh before doing as she requested. Though as he had never undressed in front of a woman before, there was understandably a great deal of embarrassment in his movements.

"My, my. Thou art quite a healthy young man, I see." Gwynevere smirked as she watched the humans' pants drop and made no effort to hold herself back from looking where she pleased.

"Ya know, Princess, if the roles were reversed, this would probably be frowned on." Kaylen said with a blush as he tried to hold his head high and finish taking off the rest of his clothing.

"Heh, heh, double standards truly are a wonderful-." Gwynevere stopped her sentence in its tracks as Kaylen removed his shirt and a prominent bruise upon his chest was shown to her. Upon seeing this, her smile somewhat faded as a bit of displeasure entered her eye's. "Huh…I restored thy body to perfect condition yesterday. Where did that bruise come from?"

"This? It's nothing. Just a bit of a slip up on my end." Kaylen said, knowing that it was probably a safer bet to keep his visit to Velka's room under wraps. However, his vague response caused a somewhat icy look to make it's way into the Princesses eye's.

"Thou shalt find that I hold a certain distaste for such levels bullying. Especially towards a companion of mine." She said with a bit of vexation in her tone, despite her attempt to hide it behind a smile. "Was it Smough who did it? Did he seek thee out some time afterword's? I'll have to arrange a message informing him that such things shall not be tolerated."

"U-Uh, there's no need for that, Princess. It wasn't Smough that did this." Kaylen said nervously, a bit uneasy at hearing what he assumed was a casual threat of harm towards the executioner from her.

"Then who?"

"Look, I….I'll have to ask your forgiveness this time. It's in my best interest to keep it to myself. Not under fear or threat of further harm, but because it'll just make things complicated to explain. So can you please just take my word for it when I say it's nothing, Princess?"

He said his words with a sense of sincere humbleness and a respectful apology. That earned him a bit of brownie points. Though Gwynevere took a few moments to weigh her decision and decide if it was enough to dissuade her from getting an answer.

Once she did, the somewhat irked look in her eye's did not dissipate as she made her next move.

Kaylen's breath caught in his throat as the princess nonchalantly removed the straps of her royal garments and let it fall to the floor. She made no effort to shield herself from his slack jawed stare. Not that she needed to, for Kaylen could only look upon her for about two seconds before he caught his breath again and quickly turned his back to her out of sheepishness.

"The water here is enchanted with sorcery. Good for sore muscles and healing injuries. Thy bruises will heal nicely after brief soaking." Was all she said as she proceeded to stop into the bath herself. "Come. I grow impatient."

"U-Uh, right." Kaylen said awkwardly as he made his way into the bath as well. Doing his best to keep a respectful distance from her person, of course.

For a time, there was nothing but silence between the two of them. There was only the sound of the water being agitated as Gwynevere began to bath her body, with Kaylen purposefully keeping his gaze pointed in the opposite direction her.

However, though he tried to ignore his baser instincts, Kaylen was still a man and Gwynevere was a woman bearing hips and breast worthy of being called god-like. So eventually, and against his better judgement, he did end up trying to sneak a glace.

Only to find himself spotting something that he wasn't expecting to see.

"Are you…pouting?" Kaylen questioned with a raised eyebrow. Only for the Princess to give an uncharacteristic huff, before shifting her gaze away from him in a childish manner.

"Of course not…I don't pout. Such a thing would be most unladylike."

At this, there was a long moment of silence before, much to Gwynevere's surprise, Kaylen suddenly dissolved into a fit of laughter that he tried and failed to conceal behind his hand. As the goddess turned an accusatory look his way, Kaylen did not seem pay it much care as his features changed into a vision of relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth.

"Pffft, heh, heh, heh, heh..."

"Would thee care to share just what is so amusing?" the Princess questioned as she watched him fight off a new gale of giggles.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm sorry, It's just…seeing you try to hide your pout like that isn't what I'd expect from you." Kaylen said with a bright smile on his lips as he noticed a bit of pink begin to enter Gwynevere's cheeks. "Heh, I mean, are you really that annoyed that you don't know who gave me a little bruise?"

"…I may have my fun, but that doth not mean I wish to see another taken advantage of to such an extent. Tis most distasteful."

"Heh, you know, you should really make up your mind if you're going to be the "righteous protector" or the "possessive Princess". It might get a bit confusing for me if you try to be both." Kaylen said, teasing the goddess at his side a bit.

Seeing him get a bit more relaxed, Gwynevere was hard pressed to hold on to her own annoyance and relax herself.

"I'm certain I don't know what thou means. I've been naught but helpful and understanding. A model companion." She said as she turned her nose up with a bit of newfound casualness in her demeanor.

Seeing that she was speaking in a bit more of an informal tone, Kaylen quickly decided that it would be a good idea to keep this sort of conversation going.

"Well…you did heal me up and help me out with Smough. So I guess I do owe you some thanks. So…thank you, Princess." Kaylen said politely, focusing on the good side of things she'd done for him.

At having her ego stroke in such a manner, Gwynevere quickly regained the playful and unbothered demeanor that Kaylen had come to expect from her. Even going so far as to place an arm around his form and pull him close to her bosom.

Purposefully going out of her way to fluster him and assert that she was the one in control here.

"Heh, heh, it's about time thee started showing a bit of gratitude for my kindness. And really that's all that I've ask for, is it not?" Gwynevere said with an impish look in her eye's, ignoring Kaylen's subtle attempt at shying away from her breast.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so." Kaylen said sheepishly, as he looked away and tried his best to pretend she wasn't pulling him far too close to be appropriate. Screaming at himself to just focus on talking and not her Princesses body. "You'll have to forgive me for being somewhat on edge. Things have been a bit hectic these past few days for me."

"Art thou referring to your history with Velka?" Gwynevere question curiously as she held the human close, completely unfazed and denying his attempts to squirm away. Eventually he just accepted that he wasn't getting away and settled into place. "It's quite curious, the things that were said of thee. That thou art an assassin that came hither of your own accord to settle things Velka."

"Misunderstandings and exaggerations. As for what happened with me and Velka, I didn't come here to take her on and I'd imagine she would rather me not speak on what happened between us. As for everything else she accused me of, I'm completely innocent. Someone who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So it's all simply exaggeration? So thee didn't have a hideaway out in the woods filled with weapons?"

"Well, I may have had a few…"

"And thou aren't experienced in combat and using poisons?

"Well…that's…"

"And thou just so happens to hold enough skill to take down a giant like Smough, despite being human? On all accounts he should have easily been able to defeat thee."

"That was a fluke and the rest of it is just…handy skills I picked up that anyone can learn with enough practice. Beating someone bigger than you isn't so grand as it's being framed, especially considering this castle is full of gods who could do perform far more amazing feats. You're imagination about me is getting the best of you, Princess."

"Just my imagination, hm? I see, I see...Then pray tell, how was it thee knew thou were being followed earlier?" Gwynevere questioned, knowing that he Kaylen couldn't skirt around such a topic as just nothing. And from the complete silence he gave, it seemed she was right in her thinking. "Those women are what's known as Lord's Blades. Their entire duty is to take on task the require them to remain unseen and undetected. Those of my kind who are specially trained are able to spot them regardless of their magic, but it should be relatively impossible task for human senses to be able to do the same. So how was it that thou knew?"

"….."

"Come now. Answering that much won't reveal whatever 'tis thou art so keen to hide, will it?"

He hesitated for a brief few moments, but eventually Kaylen released a sigh and answered her question honestly.

"I wasn't able to see them…but they're not as light-footed as they must think they are. I could make out their footsteps well enough in the hall." Kaylen said as he shifted his gaze off to the side a bit at the admission. "I didn't need to know where they were specifically. Knowing they were there at all was enough. After that, I just needed to play dumb until I figured out how to lose them. That was until you showed up and I had to act to stop them from hearing things they shouldn't."

This time, it was Gwynevere's turn to grow silent for a moment before dissolving into fits of giggling laughter. Be it by magical means or just her natural beauty, the sound of her gentle chuckles was like music to Kaylen's ears and mesmerized him as he heard it.

"Pffft, heh, heh, heh, really? Art thou serious? Thy says thou art nothing special and then follows it up by saying thee detected a lord's blade, someone trained to remain unheard, by hearing their footsteps? Heh, heh, I can't tell if thou art a buffoon or just truly terrible at remaining inconspicuous."

"You're overthinking it. I only know how do that from being on out for animals in the-" His words were stopped as Gwynevere placed finger to his lips.

"No, no. Tis enough of thy clear falsehoods and dishonesty. My curiosity is sufficiently invested, and I've granted thee more than enough leeway this day. As I recall, thou art here to perform a service. I believe it's about time thee got to it." Gwynevere said as she raised one of her legs free of the water. "Thou can begin by giving my feet a good rubdown. I hear humans have an attraction to such things."

Kaylen opened his mouth to fervently begin deny any suggestion that he had any such fetish, even towards a goddess. But instead decided that it probably wouldn't amount to much and just let her have the remark.

So without another word, he moved through the water until her was standing directly before her and kneeled down to allow her to rest her feet on his extended knee.

Not having much of a clue on how to do it properly, Kaylen simply opted to use his thumbs to knead the base foot and kneaded her toes a bit. Though, it should be said that it was made that much more of an embarrassing task with the Princess insisting on smirking at him and maintaining direct eye contact.

Deciding that if he was truly going to be made to do this, Kaylen brought up a relatively important discussion.

"Princess, if this is really what you want, we should really discuss a timeframe or something to keep this a secret. Those "Lord's Blades" you talked about are no doubt going to report Ciaran that you escorted me away and questions are going to be asked." Kaylen exclaimed as he kept his eye's squarely on the task of massaging her feet, if only to avoid his own gaze wandering over her body or her plump, exposed thighs.

"Oh? And what doth thy suggest?" Gwynevere asked as she purposefully flexed her toes in his hands, thoroughly enjoying the pampering being given.

"Well, I've been ordered to go to every primary work area and ask for a task at the end of every day for the next month. If I said that you were having me…I don't know, delivering tea to you or something, that could be used as cover without too many questions being raised. Sound good?"

"Heh…I'll think about it. In the meantime, put a bit more muscle into it. I'm not made of glass, so don't be shy in really digging in and letting me feel it"

Kaylen sighs at his reasonable plan of action being taken so lightly but figured he should take her listening to him at all as a win. Better to not get greedy and strain the good will he's earned so far.

Worse comes to worse, she'd use her guard to get rid of his unseen followers, he'd have to make up a lie to Ciara and then would have to deal with Gwynevere a few minutes out of every morning. They talk, he rubs her down a bit, he moves on with the rest of the day for three months, and then he's home free.

Easy.

As long as something disastrous doesn't happen, he'll be fine handling this much.

About two minutes before disaster strikes

"You rely far too much on your right side, Velka. It makes predicting your next moves a somewhat simple matter." Ciaran commented with a few cuts upon her cheek and carrying a fresh set of clothes in her arm.

"I can't help it. With my wingspan being a constant hinderance, it is difficult to keep my center of gravity in check with sharp shifting movement. Something I'm sure you already know given that you relied entirely on grappling techniques to win." Velka said with a bit of a huff as she sported a small bit of discoloration on her cheek herself and carried a white dress across her shoulder. "It's a very cowardly and underhanded approach, if you ask me."

"Heh, and what good would there be in only facing tactics you're comfortable with? By the way, don't forget to not let our peeping Tom slip away."

"Of course I wouldn't allow that. I'll handle it after the bath. I may not be able to wash away this disgusting smell of rotting fish, but I can at least get rid of the sweat all over me. Though, we're already far behind schedule that normal today, so we might have to make it quick." Velka said as the two of them approached the women bathroom door, where Princess Gwynevere's guard was posted.

At first, the two didn't pay him much mind and were planning to move past him to enjoy the relaxation that awaited them beyond. But that plan was quickly halted as the knight quickly stepped in front of them and impeded their path forward.

"Apologies, Lady Velka. Lady Ciaran. But Princess Gwynevere has requested that she be alone for her bath this morning and that she not be disturbed by anyone." The knight explained sternly.

"What? She can't reserve the entire women's bath for herself, especially in the morning. That's ridiculous and would put many behind their intended work hours. Stand aside." Velka responded, clearly annoyed at hearing an intention so childish and inconsiderate.

"I cannot. Please return in a few minutes. Princess Gwynevere will not be long." The Knight said, not backing down. Yet clearly feeling his heartrate pick up at the dark look that came across Velka's eye's as he told her this.

"I will not be dismissed as if I am some-" Velka started, only for Ciaran to place a hand upon her shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Calm down, Velka. There's not reason to grow upset. He's simply doing his job and following orders, as he should." The Lord's Blade said calmly, tempering her friends anger before it could truly take off. "However, Velka is correct. Princess Gwynevere cannot simply keep the bath to herself on a whim as she seems to believe she can. Now I understand you are simply doing as told, but we will not be made to wait. Now what you're going to do now is stand down and allow our passage. Rest assured, you have my word no repercussions will befall you for complying with my order and I'll be sure to inform Gwynevere that you put up a fight."

"Lady Ciaran, I am bound by oath to-"

"Or would you rather have both Velka and myself force you aside? In which case, I'm afraid, considering what I already know of your tenacity as Gwynevere's protector, we'll have to break a few specific bones to incapacitate you and then send a cleric along later once we've finished bathing. Know that Velka and myself are all warmed up and are certainly up to the task. Think carefully before you decide what you're going to do and I hope their won't be any hard feelings if you choose poorly."

She said her words in a considerate, yet matter a fact tone. There was no malice, she was simply informing him of the choices available.

At the prospect of having to face both Ciaran and Velka at the same time, the knight froze up for a moment in heavy contemplation. If what he'd heard about her was even half true, the Goddess of Sin could overcome him with minimal effort on her own. And the Lord's Blade was someone no intelligent person wanted to cross in any regard.

Also, he suspected that she was not bluffing or exaggerating when she said they'd break his bones to get him out of the way.

"U-Uh...My oath prohibits me from allowing you too…Um…" His voice trails off as Velka takes a few steps towards him until they were standing face to face, her eye's silently telling him that there would be no more talk. He was either going to get out of the way or she was going to make him get out of the way.

Realistically speaking, what exactly was the knight supposed to do in this situation to stop her.

"Uh…*Ahem* Apologies for the wait. Go right ahead." Was all he said as he moved from in front of the door to let them pass.

"Good choice, my friend. And as I said, we'll say you put up a fight and make sure you face no consequence. You have my word." Ciaran said politely with a small bow of her head.

"Ugh. What a waste of time. We have work to do and this has done nothing but hold us up even further." Velka said as she moved to the door and made to open it. "Just what is Gwynevere doing that's so important that she think she can hold the bath for herself? That girl is desperate need of some discipline and-"

For obvious reasons, the very second Velka opened the door to the bath and saw the two who were inside, her sentence immediately stopped dead as her eye's widened to their fullest extent.

"YOU!" Velka shouted as she charged inside like a bull seeing red.

"WAIT, NO, THIS ISN'T MY FAULT! IT'S HERS!" Kaylen screamed as he tried and, obviously, failed to run to the opposite end of the large bath.

"Oh…good morning, Velka. Ciaran. Would you mind shutting the door please?" Gwynevere in a completely unbothered tone.

The only one with enough sense to remain calm in this situation and take in the scene as a whole was Ciaran, who simply placed a thumb to her chin in thought for but a brief few seconds.

"Hm That might explain her wanting to be alone and reserving the bathroom to herself for a bit." She said as she turned towards the knight, who absolutely refused to look beyond the doorway and get involved any further. "You. Do not let anyone else through this door until we leave. Not a single soul."

With that, Ciaran walked through the door and closed it behind her. Just as muffled shouting and what sounded like very panicked splashing sounded off inside.

Truly, whatever was going on, the knight pitied the poor human inside and silently wished him the best of luck.

FREEZE RIGHT THERE! YOU JUST KEEP DANG STILL! I HAVE PARTING COMMENTS!

Okay, firstly, I would like to inform everyone that in terms of plans...I have no plan. So everything that's happened so far is just me primarily going with the flow. I swear, my brain said "People like Booba. Write about that." and the rest just happened somehow. So I hope you guys enjoyed chapter that somehow came to fruition.

Secondly, with this chapter, I wanted to show that things aren't so epic or fantastical with the gods. Things in Anor Londo and their daily lives are, more or less, perfect. They take their duties seriously, but their also completely at peace with one another. So having a small scuffle for arbitrary reasons like "Gwynevere said she doesn't wanna be followed, so you can't go this way", is nothing to them but a casual inconvenience.

In fact, I might even say that I'm trying to make it come off as if their a bit too overconfident and relaxed, especially when a humans involved.

Thirdly, I had a HUGE amount of fun somewhat playing around with Gwynevere a bit. I've seen a ton of stories where she's perfect and without flaw, so I find it really entertaining to write her a bit more possessive and childish despite the image widely portrayed about her to the masses.

But anyway, I hope this chapter has been a fun little read for you guys.

As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Was Gwynevere a bit to "familiar" with her actions towards Kaylen to be believable? Should she have had a bit less comfortable with being naked while having a human in the bath with her? Should Kaylen have tried a bit harder to get out of the situation instead of embracing it?

Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. so don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.

This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.

P.S. Help me out here, guys. Lorewise, at the peak of the gods power, just how strong do you guys think Ciaran was? I doubt it was enough to beat Velka, but it would DEFINITLY be enough to take out more than a few Silver Knights or Princess Gaurds, right? Asking for mental power scaling reasons.

P.P.S. There is a very clear pathway for a bath scene with Velka and Ciaran involved now, but dammit, do I dare take such an easy path?!