Author's note:
Another commissioned chapter. Details on my profile, yadda-yadda, you know the drill. More critically is that I kind of broke my promise from last chapter. The short version is, "Didn't have enough room in the word count." However, the good news is that it'll definitely get the room it needs in the next chapter.
Author's response
to ThunderDragon: Didn't forget. Just thought it made more sense to meet Cattleya and Rana after Leina gets into a hard-hitting fight. The anime had to put them in earlier because there wouldn't be time to introduce them in the same episode as the season finale. As such, Leina's sword goes from good condition to well-chewed seemingly out of nowhere. They'll be about. Though, if you're thirsty for a large, soft dommy mommy character, I think this chapter might have you covered.
to KongKing94: It's going to last longer than a mere moment, believe me.
to ThunderDragon (again): What do you mean? Echidna's been going for it ever since she asked Rowin for tongue. This is just a more roundabout way of getting it. And besides, Rowin knows the first rule of rescue: "Before giving aid, always ask someone if they want to be saved."
Echidna's dagger carved a gash in the twisted tree. Leina was unfamiliar with this species, looking nothing like the oaks or pines of Vance County. Echidna dug three more cuts in the tree and stopped when an amber-like sap oozed out like blood. She placed a metal pot at the base of the tree, then jammed her dagger into the wood, sideways. Her eyes had perfectly traced the sap's path along the bark, as it flowed down the dagger and into the metal pot.
"Now then," she said, turning to the curious Leina. She leered down at her; situations like this were why Echidna wore heels.
"How badly do you want this training?" Echidna asked. "Be honest to Teacher."
"It's…" Leina thought for a moment, unnerved by Echidna's smile. "I realized, it's all I've wanted since I left home."
That smile became a grin. "Even more than you want…"
"Want what?"
"Rowinnn?"
Leina stepped back, her face as hot as the noonday sun. "What-, What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Echidna chuckled, "relax a little. You're as tight as that hawkish Combat Master."
Leina groused and folded her arms. "That's not funny…"
"And not because you're both virgins."
"STOP THAT!"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Nowa trailed alongside her Captain, humming the song Rowin had sung, "Roads". Ruu sat on her shoulder, his pink tail wrapped around her arm. They'd gone around Vosk to avoid confrontations with other Queen's Blade contenders, which meant going north around the sea ravine that Vosk bridged.
"Nowa, quiet your voice," Alleyne commanded. "You should know better than to make unneeded noise."
"I know, but we're not on a hunt and there are plenty of birds and squirrels chattering," Nowa responded. "If they're not scared, why should we be?"
Alleyne kept her eyes on the road ahead. "You make a fair assessment, but these new demons are unknown to us, and likely to the natural order. You scored a 70."
Nowa nodded, content with her 'acceptable' rating.
"Rowin seemed to know a lot about them," Nowa pointed out, "and he was really strong. You made a good choice, Captain."
Alleyne looked at Nowa. "Choice? What choice?"
"The choice for your husband, Captain."
Alleyne's attention jerked back to the road. "My choice was made centuries ago: to follow the ancient ways, nothing more!"
"Oh." Nowa sounded disappointed. "So, why aren't you with him, Captain? You said ancient custom meant staying with your husband and your mistress until he conceived a baby with-"
"It's not that simple, Nowa!" Alleyne snapped, making Nowa flinch. "What I mean, Nowa, is that Rowin may be my husband, but I have a more pressing matter than bearing children."
Nowa sighed. "Me…"
"You're my most treasured student, Nowa," Alleyne said. "Never forget that."
That wasn't it. Secretly, Nowa lamented the fact that her mentor's Queen's Blade duty kept her from her marital duty. So, her Captain wasn't opposed to having a baby with Rowin. Nowa would've discussed the subject further, having never so much as kissed a boy before, but it seemed to be a touchy subject at the moment.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Thanks for the help, Laila," Rowin said as he paid off the farmer.
"The butter I understand," Laila said, hefting the cloth-wrapped block in her hands, "but what do you need the moss for?"
She referred to the fingerfuls of greenish-white that Rowin had foraged and stuffed into his haversack's smaller pocket.
"Same thing I need the butter for," Rowin replied, "and the trout."
"Trout?!"
Rowin pondered... "You're right. Can't be picky about the type of fish. 'Scuse me, sir; is there a fishmonger around here?"
"Near the bridge," said the unshaven farmer, pointing his dirty hand towards the massive crevice that separated the village. "It's across the ravine from the weaponsmith."
"'Weaponsmith'," Rowin echoed. "Seems an odd place to sell weapons."
"Take it up with Cattleya; she's the one that put it there," said the farmer, before returning inside his little storage shack.
Rowin didn't take the farmer's suggestion, no matter how curious he was about what kind of woman would shape iron for a living. Instead, he visited the fishmonger and purchased four freshly caught salmon. On his way back to the burnt-out barn where he'd left Leina with Echidna, he found and whittled down enough sticks to make four skewers. He returned just in time to find Echidna and Leina on opposite sides of a pot over a small fire. From the pot, Echidna spooned a dollop of tree sap onto a patch of cloth, then prodded it with the pine cone-like pommel of her sword.
"That's about right…" Echidna spread it over the cloth, watching it cool. She glanced at Rowin. "You're just in time, Rowin. Now…"
She grinned at Leina. "Strip."
Truly, miracles could happen, like the one that kept Leina's eyes from popping out of her skull. Laila's, too.
"What?!" they both exclaimed.
Echidna was already peeling her vest off of her breasts, the small sockets behind the jeweled tips popping off of her browned nipples. She shimmied her sleeves off behind her back as her pet snake slithered-
That's as far as Rowin got before he turned around… for about five seconds before road-worn fingers hooked his chin and turned him back around.
"Please," Echidna scoffed, "like you haven't dreamed of this."
Rowin peeled her fingers off and let her get back to-
"Gah! Echidna!"
"Fufuh, you're not getting away."
Rowin spun around and saw that, fast as lightning, Echidna had relieved Leina of her clothes and toppled her to the ground.
"Stop!" Leina cried as Echidna spooned streams of hot sap onto her naked flesh and ample bosom. "It's too hot!"
"I thought you wanted this more than anything," Echidna teased, pinning Leina under her bare groin. She slopped more sap onto her collarbone; it ran down the curve of her caramel breasts and dripped onto Leina. "Is this better?"
Echidna leaned forward and pressed her bosom to Leina's, the rolling masses of boobflesh sliding over one another and smearing hot sap between them.
"Or maybe this!" Echidna slapped sap into her open palm and caressed Leina's inner thigh.
"No!" Leina writhed but couldn't escape.
That was as much as Rowin saw before he lurched around again. Shuffling over to the fire, he hurriedly moved the pot off before Echidna could entice his gaze yet again. He set the skewered fish in a square, ignoring the sounds of Leina's cries and Echidna's suggestive laughter while he applied the butter. It seemed to melt faster than normal in his hands.
His hands were gloved.
"What in the world are they doing?" Laila asked as Rowin began tearing up the moss and sprinkling it on the fish. The noise had quieted.
"Haven't a clue," Rowin admitted. "I'm cooking fish."
"Mmmm, deer moss," Echidna cooed. In the sunlight, Rowin saw her shadow standing behind his own. "I can't remember the last human who knew how… delicious it can be."
"Special recipe, this one," Rowin said, forcing his gaze back on the blackening fish. "Helps get the vigor back quick."
He felt what could only have been Echidna's breasts on his back and her breath on his ear.
"Save ours for when we finish," she whispered. Why she felt the need to whisper, he didn't know. He glanced at her naked back as she departed; the tree sap had formed some kind of see-through bodysuit.
Rowin nodded towards Echidna's pet snake, who'd coiled up on the pile of clothes and armor left behind. "Maybe he knows."
Laila shivered. "Then you ask him."
Rowin heard the two warriors in the clearing beside this shell of a former barn. He heard Leina complain about the tree sap suit, how weird it felt.
Then he heard, and felt, Echidna kill Leina.
Rowin was out the door in one step, Finnean drawn. Leina was on the ground, a huge gash carved into her… sap.
Leina seemed surprised as well, looking down at the fake wound on her stomach. "But I was sure-"
"A true warrior could sense my hostility," Echidna said, stalking towards Leina. "'What was that for?' Did you think I would hold your hand and train you with kindness?"
Leina stood up and raised her sword, but her stance was as weak as her knees.
"How much do you expect to learn in only three days?" Echidna hissed. "Either you really, truly get serious… or Risty's going to kill you."
"Eh-Echidna, wait-"
"DON'T TALK, FIGHT!" Echidna shouted. She lunged and Leina darted aside, trying to run away.
"DIE!" Echidna swung her blade and killed Leina again, digging into her back and spilling the lifeblood from her… sap.
Leina lay on the ground, shivering, sweating, blinking the salty dew away as it ran into her eyes. She placed a hand on the fresh cut. "She didn't cut me…"
"You turned your back on a Queen's Blade fight, and you just paid the price," Echidna said, stalking towards Leina's sprawled form yet again. "You felt my sword cut your flesh, your lifeblood slip away. That's the second time you've died."
Leina clumsily got to her knees as Echidna stopped, glaring down at her.
"What's wrong, Leina. Your hand is shaking."
Leina looked at her sword, held upright in a feeble guard position. Echidna was right; Leina hadn't even noticed herself.
"What, do you want to run? Do you really think I won't catch you, and kill you over, and over, and over again?" With a flick of her wrist, Echidna knocked Leina's sword from her hand. "That sap won't protect you forever. You can't run."
She raised her weapon high. "Your only options are to die… or FIGHT!"
With a desperate yell, Leina dove to her sword, rolled to her feet, and swung with all her might. Echidna deftly blocked the clumsy strike.
"Then again," Echidna mused as she pushed Leina away, "I've never tried necrophilia. Doing it with a corpse might be kind of sexy..."
Leina swung again and the battle was on. Strike, parry, swing, dodge, thrust, sidestep, Leina had both hands on her long sword while Echidna fended her off with just one. The two women fought all day, fresh cuts appearing on Leina's sap suit while Echidna remained untouched. Sweat dripped from their faces and flew from their arms. No matter what Leina did, Echidna had an answer for everything. They continued even as the sun began to set...
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Why did she order us to come out here?" Melona said what they were all thinking. Her "hair" that became hands to hold up her breasts started groping herself, causing Menace to take a step away from the protean woman.
"Be careful with those," said the princess. "If my garb is soiled, I'll have you pay."
Melona rounded on Menace. "Pay who? Your royal tailor's been dead for centuries."
Airi glanced at her cohorts, wondering the same as them. She knew they were squabbling because they were frustrated. Melona had just come back from killing a lower-ranked Queen's Blade fighter, while Menace had been summoned away from rebuilding her tomb and unearthing her undead servants. Even Airi's summons had been abrupt. Her Mistress had sent her to once again encroach on the living and expand the Marshlands, this time towards the Kreutz Margraviate, only to call her back just as she arrived.
Now, the three of them were made to stand in this seemingly random area of the Marshland Expansion, instead of relaxing in the Blood Springs or doing anything productive. None of them knew why, and Menace grew harder to tolerate the longer she spent away from her royal trappings (namely, her servants).
The trio, at last, got their answer. Their mistress's power raced through the earth and concentrated before them. Its crimson flares spiraled up from the dead soil and twisted into a scar-like shape in the air. This scar opened into a fresh wound; all three women were immediately struck by the stench that wafted from within. The Swamp Witch's domain naturally smelled like death and rot. Therefore, it said something that the air and even the magic which coursed out of this wound in reality made their skin tingle and itch, considering Melona and Airi didn't even have skin.
A steel-toed boot stomped through the eye-watering miasma, connected to a leg wearing an armored greave made of bones. The rest of the wearer stepped forth, the metal-tipped tassels of its leather skirt looking more pinkish and pale than leather should. A cuirass like a giant ribcage guarded its torso, the space between the ribs filled in with smaller, warped bones. Its gauntlets, bracers, and pauldrons of blackened metal glistened in the setting sun. Its frog-mouthed helmet was lumpy beneath the pinkish leather that coated it, and two glowing red eyes leered out from the slit in the visor. What cloth was visible on its body was thin and emaciated yet moved with an unnatural, sturdy solidity
"So," he echoed, his voice metallic from inside his helmet, "this is why my lord sends me."
Melona would've sneered something but this knight of death gave off an aura that had her frightened. It was definitely magical, otherwise Melona would've felt confident about her chances against the knight's spiked kite shield and serrated-edged war pick.
"We welcome you to our mistress's domain," Airi said, the only one unaffected. Menace, it seemed, was still human enough to feel fear, despite being undead herself.
This was of little comfort to the fourth watcher, unseen amidst the blackened waters of the marsh. Her blue pigment made her hard to spot, but even now, so close to the one she'd been after, she found herself just as paralyzed as her evil bitch of a sister.
"Then let the army assemble," said the death knight. He stomped through the mud and up to Airi's face. Her red hair only just came up to the bottom of his helmet, to the seam where it sat upon his cuirass. "Bring me to your war council."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"...Rowin? Hey, Rowin!"
Rowin grunted and shook himself awake, rolling to his knees to hide his morning wood. Except, it wasn't morning. Above the desiccated roof of the barn, it was the middle of the night. Laila floated in front of him, her Holy Milk Thrower slung around her back as she held a bundle of sticks.
"Echidna said to keep the fires going," said the angel, before floating past him. Tracking her, Rowin saw the two braziers they'd lit were dying down. Laila carefully placed her sticks in the first bowl and fanned it with her white wing. Between the two fires-
They're still going?! Finnean exclaimed.
Rowin glanced over at the fish he'd made, still on the skewers above glowing coals
"So much for special recipes," he remarked, before standing up to go foraging again. Saving his fish so they could all eat together had caused growling bears to move into his midriff.
When dawn broke and the two women showed no signs of slowing, Rowin and Laila agreed to take the next night in shifts. Rowin saw Leina's form had improved: she was no longer counter-swinging to block. She kept her blade pointed at Echidna while moving the hilt, tilting it this way and that, but still no closer to landing a blow. He left, knowing he wouldn't miss anything, hoping to find some mushrooms to eat for lunch.
While Laila was out gathering firewood, she was met by an enormous woman in a brown, hooded robe. She stood over seven feet tall and there was no doubt about it, for the cloak did not reach her sandaled feet. Even some of her legs were visible, with light skin so smooth, elegant, and flawless, but her calves were as wide as Laila's slender thighs. Everything about her made Laila seem like a child, and indeed would've dwarfed all but the largest and strongest of both men and women. The sheer size of her would've intimidated anyone, even though her cloak could do nothing to hide the enormity of her bosom.
For Laila, however…
"Sariel!" she exclaimed, diving into a hug.
The massive woman's hood was thrown back upon the impact, revealing her golden braided ponytail and amber-colored eyes.
"My my, so excitable!" Sariel chirped, her motherly voice melting Laila as she stroked the smaller angel's hair. "It's been too long, Laila darling. How are you?"
Laila let go so she could get out from under Sariel's bosom and look her in the eye. "I'm great! I mean, I was having trouble with my assignment-"
"M-hm…"
"-because I made friends with these two humans-"
"M-hm!"
"-and so the Head Angel gave me a new assignment to watch my friends and travel with them!"
"That's wonderful!" Sariel stroked the crook of Laila's wing, causing Laila to moan and giggle like a happy schoolgirl. "Spending time among humans will do you well, Laila. And you made a few friends! I'm sure your days among them will be as wonderful as mine have been!"
Laila blushed. "Well…"
"Hm? What's this?"
Laila's knees rubbed together. "It's that one of them, Rowin…"
Sariel gasped. "You've fallen in love! And so quickly! When do you plan to hold the wedding?"
"No-! Well-! I mean-!" Laila's brain kept changing its mind on what it wanted her to say. "It's not that simple…"
Immediately, Laila felt the crushing weight of Sariel's power, and not the power of her chest. Sariel was an angel on par with the Head Angel, but unlike Laila's boss or Sariel's fellow Heavenly Virtues, Sariel was neither a leader nor a warrior by her nature; she was meant to embody Kindness, after all.
However, she was also the origin of the phrase "Kill them with kindness" among mortals, angels, and demons alike.
"Laila dear," Sariel said, her tone shifting from doting mother to stern mother, "you aren't… lusting, are you?"
"N-No?"
Sariel folded her arms, her robes bulging around her sleeves from her soft bosom. "Then why was that answer so uncertain."
"It's just that, well…" Laila swallowed. "He might be married already, kind of?"
Sariel cocked her head, causing the small braided bang along her temple to sway. "Has he taken vows?"
"I don't think so. His, um, wife? She's an elf, and she sort of staked her claim on him after he beat her in a fight."
"Then marry him!"
WHAM!
Sariel swung her mighty bust and smacked Laila into a nearby tree, sending her crashing through leaves and branches. When Laila's brain finished tumbling in her skull, she found herself face-to-upside-down-face with Sariel.
"Gainos isn't far," Sariel said, now on the "pushy" side of motherly talking-to. "Take him there, take the vows, and be happy with your new husband! Marriageable men don't grow on trees."
"Oooh… Do any of the priests there know the vows for angels?" Laila asked groggily. Sariel's motivational methods were always very impactful.
"There ought to be. I taught her the old scriptures myself." Sariel kissed Laila on the cheek, then brushed the leaves out of her blonde curls. "Her name is Melpha. She knows the vows for angels, humans, demons-"
"Demons?!" Laila tugged on the strap of her Holy Milk Thrower and jerked it free from the twigs. She flipped as she fell and floated to the ground. Sariel remained where she flew.
"Of course!" Sariel chuckled. "How are we to turn them from evil and build a heavenly paradise in the Underworld if we have no way to consecrate their dalliances with mortals?" Sariel laid a hand on her chest. "I myself knew one. She found salvation through the love and care of the very same man I myself wanted to marry."
"Wait, but then why didn't you-"
Sariel tensed up. Her smile furrowed. "It, um, would've been awkward after he died. We two wives would've had to fight over where to take his soul. So, I wished them the best and continued my travels. On that note…"
She reached into the folds of her robe and produced a spherical glass vial with white liquid inside.
"For you, Laila dear." She held it out to the petite woman. "A stalwart crusader against evil, running out of Holy Milk? Not if I can help it!"
Laila nodded excitedly. "Thank you, Sariel!"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Night came soon enough, Rowin's fish still waiting to be enjoyed, Echidna and Leina still fighting. Until...
"HAAAAAH!" Leina's scream broke the quiet as surely as her thrust broke through Echidna's attempt to deflect it. Like Echidna had done against Risty, Leina invoked something more than mere technique, as if her barbaric yawp was a prayer to a heathen war god. Her aura flaring, one-handed, Leina powered through Echidna's block and stabbed her through the gut, leaving her impaled high in the air like a trophy.
...or would have, if Echidna's sap hadn't blunted it. She turned to one side and slid off.
The fight had started with a cut across Leina's midriff. Now Echidna had one to match as she fell to the ground.
Leina collapsed to her knees. Echidna's killing intent had gone, taking Leina's stamina with her. They felt every minute of the past two days of nonstop combat, in the flickering light of the fires. Luckily, Rowin rushed over to them, at last offering them the fish he'd been saving. It was cold and a little funny from sitting out in the air for two days, but it was the most delicious thing in the world to Leina.
But not to Echidna, as Leina, Rowin, and Laila were soon to find out.
Echidna and Leina ate like wild boars and tossed the skewered bones away.
"Wow, I feel amazing!" Leina exclaimed, flexing her arms as she stood up, not caring about the nudity beneath her shredded sap suit. "What was that, Rowin?"
"Like I said: special recipe," Rowin replied.
"Good," said Echidna, smirking at the two blondes, "because it's time to pay up."
Rowin cocked an eyebrow at her. "You expect me to pay?"
"You can't get something for nothing, you know." Echidna leaned in, cupped a hand, and began whispering into Leina's ear. Rowin kept trying to listen in but the dice of life were not in his favor this time.
Leina turned redder and redder until she looked ready to bleed from the nose. "Y-You're sure?"
"Trust me, pretty girl," Echidna cooed. "He'll pay it."
"Pay what?" Rowin asked as Leina and Echidna drew close. "What?"