“Ah… please… quietly.”
“Ha! Should’ve thought of that before you drank an entire bouquet of Blomma nectar!”
Ophelia put one shaky hand to her brow, the sheet slipping down to expose the swell of one breast while she clutched at her head.
“Erica, stop… We talked about this…” Milly said, getting up with a slight wince at her tender hooves and moving to comfort Ophelia.
Erica huffed.
“Fine… fine, sorry Ophelia. We haven’t been properly introduced though we met last night, I’m Erica.”
“Pleased to meet you… again, I think…” Ophelia tried for politeness but her usual composure was not forthcoming, she met the muddy brown eyes of Nameless and suddenly felt very naked indeed.
Milly helped her into a seat at the table across from Nameless and then gingerly lowered herself back down into hers.
“Well, I’d like to say it’s good to see you again, but you look really awful.” She handed a glass of her milk to the Flutterby; “Hopefully this will help with the headache.”
There was an awkward moment as Ophelia tentatively sipped at the cream, then made several long swallows as its nourishment soothed her aching body.
Nameless finally spoke, his voice soft, but insistent.
“Ophelia, please. Tell me about this.” He placed the bear on the table.
Ophelia gasped in shock and snatched the bear up.
“Or maybe… you should tell me about this?” He held his hand out, nestled within was a purple stone, several shades darker than her eyes.
She didn’t take it. She seemed afraid of it.
“I… I am so sorry Nameless… It was a stupid accident and I tried to make it right but I didn’t know how.” Her lip quivered as she gave the bear a gentle hug.
She shuddered and one dark nipple slipped out of her sheet but she didn’t seem to notice, until Erica, with a huff, pulled the sheet back over her shoulder.
“Thank you, dear…” She said tonelessly.
Nameless cleared his throat, his voice still gentle.
“Maybe you should start at the beginning?”
She shuddered again, wrapping the sheet tighter around herself before she closed her eyes and prepared herself with a breath.
“Do you remember much from when you first came to the orphanage?” She asked, her voice was quiet but steady, resigned.
He shook his head.
“A few random images, I remember your wings, I remember being fascinated with them. I remember them being around me all the time, but that’s about it.”
“Do you remember… this?” She turned the bear so its tattered face was directed at him.
“Yeah, I remembered last night, it was mine right? A long time ago?”
She nodded.
“I made it for you about a year after you came to me, as you can see, not the finest bit of needlework, but it was my first attempt and you loved it so…”
She shook her head slightly, lost in her memories.
“I am getting ahead of myself; if the truth is going to come out then I shall have to start at the beginning. The very beginning...”
She took another breath and then began to tell him everything.
“It was a wounded Troglodyte who brought you to the orphanage… to me. I was asleep and next thing I know there’s a lizard woman in full battle gear bleeding all over me. She’s in my chamber and she’s holding you. She said that someone would be looking for her and a baby, and that the best place to hide you would be among other human children. She said that she served your father, and that he was dead now and that the one who killed him would want you dead as well. She begged me to keep you safe, a Troglodyte! A warrior breed proud as any Amazon! On her knees begging me to keep you a secret! I don’t know what ever happened to her, she was so badly injured...”
Nameless’s eyes were locked on hers; she had never told him any of this.
“You were this tiny little thing, a year old at most. She never told me your name. I’m so sorry that I never thought to ask, there was so much blood, and you were covered in it. So I took you and I bathed you and I did as she asked. I already had two dozen children, who would notice another? Especially one so small…”
Milly and Erica were both rapt, their attention fixed on the Flutterby. A pin drop would be deafening as she thought how best to continue her tale.
“And it worked, no one ever came for you, you were safe. Until I fucked up.”
He was dumbfounded, he never heard her use such crass language.
“You remember my wings because I kept you near, at the time you were the youngest child by several years, and I worried for you so… I never forgot the Trog’s warning. Then when you were three you had another nightmare, you had so many back then, so I held you close, and I promised you that the Valkyrie would always keep you safe. And I explained about monster girls, and I told you about… my heart-” She whispered the word; “-It seemed so innocent. When I described it to you, you asked to see it… I used to keep it locked up by my bed, where we were snuggling. So I fetched it out of its chest, still holding you in my arms. I merely meant for you to look at it but you shifted forward and grabbed it before I could stop you!”
A gasp came from Erica.
“You bonded with him…”
Nameless looked at the Katje sharply, and then slowly turned to face Ophelia, stunned at the revelation.
She hung her head, tears dripping off of her face. Unable to speak, she nodded her lowered head.
Milly shifted down on to her knees beside the butterfly and brought her into her arms with a gentle low of emotion. Erica was blinking hard to keep her tears at bay. Ophelia turned into the cow’s loving embrace and wept for a time.
Nameless was in a daze. Ophelia, steadfast Ophelia, had bonded with him so long ago he couldn’t even remember it.
He did the math in his head.
“Sixteen years… you bonded with me sixteen years ago?”
She composed herself with a murmured thank you to Milly, who gave her shoulders several encouraging rubs.
Eventually she was able to speak again.
“Almost seventeen, it happened just after your birthday, which is in a couple weeks.”
“But that means, that means that… for fifteen years, you…” he couldn’t formulate a coherent question. He had moved out of the orphanage two years ago, so…
“For fifteen years, I had to raise you as just another child at the orphanage; I had to ignore the urge to smother you with my love and affection. Because if anybody found out about the bond, you would be taken away from me. And I foolishly, selfishly, convinced myself that I had to keep you near, to keep you safe.”
She met his eyes again, her jaw working in anger.
“For seventeen years I have watched you, as the other kids trampled all over you, as the world turned its cruelty towards you, and I could only give you the occasional fleeting hug to bolster you against it. If I held you too long I knew I wouldn’t be able to let you go. For seventeen years…” Her voice choked up again and she looked away.
“And then you were there!” She raised her head suddenly to Milly; “You were there, a Minotaur! You were there and you could love him openly, you could shower him with devotion! And I knew you would, that you could, protect him, far better than I. So strong… so strong, and so eager to please…” her hand was on Milly’s cheek.
Her sheet had slid down again, exposing her breasts but she didn’t care.
“You cannot imagine, how much I loved you, the day you came to visit me… or how much I envied you. You… who could have what I could not.”
Erica was confused, something didn’t make sense.
“Hang on, how do you know when his birthday is?”
Ophelia looked at her in puzzlement for a moment before she caught her meaning.
“I didn’t, I made one up. A week after you were brought to me I decided that you were a year old. I’ve worked with children for years so it
was an educated guess… sorry.” She turned nervously to Nameless.
Another lie.
His world had fallen apart. What’s one more lie? Ophelia, nurturing, gentle, poised, now naked from the waist up, hair dishevelled and nursing a hangover.
Ophelia the liar.
Nameless had to get a grip because there was more to the story. He shook himself, so what? She made up his birthday, big deal! She also watched over him for his entire life, denying herself in ways he didn’t fully understand.
He forced himself to let it go and move on.
“And last night?” His tone was neutral, he needed to know everything.
She shuddered at the memory.
“T-the last of the children left a few days ago. I had been struggling to hold myself together, their presence helped, having a purpose. But today the men came for all of the things, the furniture, the toys… it was like they were trying to scoop you out of me! To drag all of the memories away! They tried to take the bear too… I had put my stone in it shortly after we bonded, it was a way of… a way of keeping you close. But then you grew out of it, forgot about it, so I kept it safe. Somewhere in my mind I thought I would give it back to you one day and we could be together…” His eyes welled up at the quiet desperation in her voice; “When they tried to take it, something broke inside of me… I could feel myself slipping away, I’m afraid I didn’t comport myself very well with them, but it was one of the last items so when I started screaming and crying at them they just left…”
He noticed then that her stone was still a deep purple; he looked into her eyes and realized that they were several shades lighter. He let out a gasp as he appreciated what had almost happened.
“You were turning into a Tenebrae last night…” Milly and Erica’s jaws dropped.
Ophelia looked ashamed.
“I… I… I am so sorry Nameless. I should have turned myself over to the Aegis years ago. The Trog… I didn’t know who to trust! Please… I-”
Nameless leapt up and went around the table towards her. The sheet slithered to the floor as she stood to meet his approach, unsure of his intent.
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her with everything he had, whispering into her ear.
“Ophelia, don’t you ever think about trying to leave me again. You stay in the light, where you belong, and if your heart falters again you come to me and I will hold you like this until your light is as steady as I remember.”
She broke down, clutching him tightly as she cried harder than she had ever cried in her life.
They held each other, sinking to the floor as their legs gave out from the intensity of the emotion of their embrace. Two other sets of arms wrapped around them as Milly and Erica joined them on the floor.
They stayed like that for nearly an hour. By the time they broke apart, Ophelia’s heartstone was nearly the same shade as her eyes again. It was still dim though… there was more that needed to be said, to be done.
Erica, ever the pragmatist, came at the issue head on.
“Okay Ophelia, you want to be our bond-sister right? You want to be able to be with our man?”
Ophelia met her gaze, weighing her words, and then nodded.
Erica returned the nod then held two fingers before her face.
“Two questions!”
Ophelia’s eyes were wide, uneasy with the cat girl’s intensity. She nodded again, she was ready...
“One! Do you like to eat pussy?”
Milly’s jaw dropped and Nameless groaned.
“Erica! Don’t ask her that! Ophelia you don’t have to answ-”
“Yes.” Ophelia said with a rueful smile; “It’s been a really long time, but… yes.”
“Good! Question two!”
Nameless cringed; Milly covered her face in her hands. Ophelia waited.
“Do you like to swallow cum?”
Ophelia’s eyes flickered to Nameless; he was more than a little uncomfortable in the heat of her gaze. Then her eyes demurely went to the floor.
“What else are you supposed to do with it?” She asked innocently.
Nameless groaned again, Milly shook herself from side to side in embarrassment, her face still in her hands. Erica laughed.
“Great! That’s all I needed to know!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we still have to take this whole thing to Miranda, if you really want to acknowledge the bond with me then the Aegis will need to know about it, we need papers for one, and I need to get yelled at by Miranda again.” Nameless said with a slight chuckle.
“I’m sorry Nam… no… I’m sorry Master. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, I just, couldn’t hold it in anymore.”
Ophelia looked vulnerable, Milly tried to give her back the sheet but Erica swatted her hand down, clearly admiring the view.
“Don’t ever be sorry for that, I’ll admit, the idea of us… together… will take some getting used to. And we definitely need to have a longer conversation about it.” He frowned at Erica, who merely rolled her eyes at him; “But I have loved you my whole life, you were always there for me. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t step up and be there for you?”
Ophelia stumbled into him and threw her arms around his shoulders, pulling him back into her embrace, his cheek resting against the swell of one breast, her erect nipple tickling his chin.
“Nam-Master… you’ve grown, into such a fine man. My man. I love you so much…” Her voice was thick with emotion as she gave him several pecks on the top of his head, before her tone turned wistful; “All joking with the frisky Katje aside, you and I don’t ever have to do anything in the bedroom. It’s enough, just like this is enough.”
“Bullshit.” Nameless said bluntly.
She leaned back from him in surprise their eyes meeting.
“When I accepted Milly and Erica into my heart, and into my bed, it was never about just ‘enough’, I fully intend to give you more than enough.” Then he leaned up and kissed her, letting go of any reservations about the past, and the future.
He kissed her as a woman who has been kept waiting for seventeen years deserved to be kissed.
__________
“Oh you have got to be kidding me! We just saw you yesterday!” Miranda was unsurprisingly pissed.
Her agitation not helped by the fact that Jan wouldn’t stop laughing.
They sat on the porch of the cottage, Milly had handed her and Jan each a glass of her milk for their injuries. They sat together and listened to Nameless explain how he had gotten another bond-mate.
Overnight.
The Flutterby, who Miranda learned was named Ophelia and who had raised him, was sitting, wrapped in a sheet; wings low, back straight, face pensive with a frowning Erica looming behind her, both arms draped over her shoulders protectively.
As the story came out, told between Nameless and the butterfly girl, Jan’s laughter faltered and Miranda’s ire subsided.
Eventually, their tale complete, Miranda turned all business.
“And this Trogolydyte, she never gave you her name?”
“No, she just begged me to keep him safe.”
“How about her clothing, you said she was armored for a fight, what did her gear look like?”
“Ah… I don’t… I’m no expert on such things, there was so much blood…” Ophelia was looking more distressed and Erica held her tighter, her frown deepening.
“Did she have any weaponry? A Sword? An axe?”
“Um… both? It was a big blade, curved, with one edge I think…”
“Was she wearing any kind of uniform? Animal skins? Leopard print bikini? A pink tiara?” Miranda’s tone was getting impatient.
“Um… no, there wasn’t a tiara that I can recall… but she wore a sash! A red sash, around her waist, I remember because I could see where the blood had made it even darker. And her ear, it was pierced, a rough iron spike!” Ophelia blurted out, trying to be helpful.
Miranda nodded, taking notes.
“Yes, he was small for his age, he always has been. But I’d say he was a year.” Her voice was more confident.
Children she understood, far more than weaponry and uniforms.
There was a pause as Miranda continued her note-taking, awkwardly jotting down the facts as she heard them with her wrong hand, her right arm still in a sling.
“And you bonded with him… two years later?”
“Y-yes” This was the part that she was most worried about; bonding with a minor was a major infraction.
“And was there any contact between you after that, of a sexual nature?” Miranda’s tone was matter of fact, her eyes on her note-pad.
“NO! Goodness, of course not! He was an infant! I just wanted to keep him safe!”
“If that were the case you would have turned him over to the Aegis when the lizard woman first brought him to you.”
“B-but… she said not to trust anyone… anyone! She was so insistent! Have you ever heard of a Troglodyte begging!? Can you imagine the sight of such a thing!?” Ophelia was really distressed now, wringing her hands.
Erica’s stare was murderous but Nameless interjected before she could.
“Miranda! Enough! She has protected me my whole life! The only contact we ever had was harmless hugs and kisses, I think I would remember otherwise!” Nameless was almost as mad as Erica.
Miranda looked between them, and then drew in a deep breath.
“Look, I understand that you care for her, how could you not? She raised you! But there is a damn good reason that the Aegis charter forbids monsters from bonding with people under the age of fifteen! This isn’t like the violations that you committed, in both instances of bonding with Milly and the chew toy over there, you stepped into the situation with the best of intentions.” Miranda’s tone was intense as she gestured with her pencil between him and his mates; “If she truly had your best interest at heart, she would have immediately turned herself in to the Aegis so that we could monitor the bond, we are not unsympathetic! Accidents happen after all. The two of you would be allowed to visit with each other under the supervision of an Aegis representative. The fact is, she committed a crime and then lied about it for nearly two decades!”
Empath Rising Page 25