The Heartstone Saga

by Archibald Bradford

  There was a noisome crash and another yelp from the man outside as Nina did as she was told, the door now hanging off of one hinge.

  “What is going on out there?!” Erica demanded from the bathroom, still scrubbing furiously at the dick on her face.

  Nina meanwhile was staring death at the messenger outside.

  “Gimme the letter you puny idiot, or wear yourself as a hat.”

  He didn’t object this time, quickly handing it off.

  “I-I’m meant to return with your reply.” He stated, his mustache quivering slightly.

  Nina handed the letter to Ophelia and glared at him again, causing him to flinch and curl his hands up to protect his torso.

  “How are we supposed to reply? We haven’t even read the damned thing yet!” The whole building shook at her annoyance and she pointed at the corner of the stairwell; “Go over there and stare at the wall until I tell you not to!”

  Despite the absurdity of her instructions, the mustachioed man wisely did as he was told, while inside Ophelia took up her glasses and read the letter with a frown.

  “Oh my. It seems we’ve been invited to a party.”

  “You’re kidding!” Erica exclaimed, coming out of the bathroom.

  The Katje’s face was red from being rubbed raw but at least it was finally dick-free.

  “I am not.” Ophelia said, her brow furrowed slightly as she re-read the invitation; “Kathryn Jacobs, our local city councilwoman, has invited us. Or rather she has invited our master ‘plus escort’, to a fundraiser for the victims in Lipton Falls.”

  Nina scowled as she stared at the back of the stationary in the Flutterby’s hand.

  “What victims? They’re all dead.”

  “Not all of them.” Nameless sighed heavily; “The monsters were taken.”

  They were silent for a few seconds as they dwelled on the fates of those poor girls.

  But Erica was in agreement with Nina about the fundraiser.

  “I don’t see how money will help them right now.”

  “Perhaps it is meant for their families?” Volka suggested, though she too didn’t seem at all confident that was the case; “When is this ‘fun-raiser’?”

  That earned the Valkyrie a few raised eyebrows.

  Erica, still a bit raw about the dick-face, was the one to correct her.

  “Fund.” She pointed out sourly, putting heavy emphasis on the ‘D’ each time she said it; “A fundraiser. For raising funds.”

  “Hmm, that does make more sense, I thought it odd that they would find anything fun about it.” Volka mused aloud, looking up at the high ceiling as she did; “But then again, it is a party.”

  Striving to move past the Valkyrie’s etymological slipup, Ophelia read the invitation yet again.

  “This is tonight!” She gasped; “It starts in a little over two hours! My, but that is short-notice!”

  “So... are we going?” Milly asked as she looked around at the others.

  To her surprise Ophelia shook her head.

  “The absurd timing aside, I know full well that to expect from an event like this! I’m not saying that anything bad will come of it, but neither do I believe much good will either.”

  “Huh, would’ve thought you’d leap at the chance to wear a pretty dress.” Nina remarked.

  Erica rolled her eyes and gestured at the dress Ophelia was currently wearing.

  “Yes, because our Flutterby never wears those!”

  Milly giggled, but then shook her head.

  “If these people are trying to help, I think we should go. I’ve never been to a party before. Well, except the one the Saenga girls had for us, but I’m thinking that this is different?”

  Nameless shuddered at the memory of drinking the potent ambrosia draught, or more from the memory of the head-splitting hangover that followed it.

  Meanwhile Nina pulled Ophelia’s arm down to read the card for herself before nodding firmly in agreement.

  “‘An evening of cocktails.’ Says so right there. That means free drinks.”

  “Oh dear.” Ophelia sighed; “I suppose we could attend, though I have nothing to wear.”

  Half the people in the room made a variety of noises in disagreement and she blushed.

  “I really don’t! All of my gowns are much too casual for an event like this!”

  “I’ll be wearing the same thing I’m wearing now.” Nina said; “And Milly will be wearing just her overalls, the ones that cover her chest.”

  “I will?” The Minotaur blinked in surprise.

  “You will. They’re my favorite on you, especially without a shirt. I love it when you’re rocking mega side-boob.”

  Milly blushed prettily and smiled, always weak to overt praise.

  “And Master will be in his uniform of course, so that’s easy. I wonder if my battle-suit is a good idea?” Erica wondered while thoughtfully tapping her chin.

  Her suggestion was greeted with a resounding chorus to the negative.

  At her pout though Nameless sidled up to her and stroked her ears.

  “I love that outfit baby, but something tells me this isn’t the place for it. For one thing I doubt they’ll let us in with weapons, so all of your knives would have to stay behind.”

  “Speak for yourselves.” Nina said as she hefted her hammer; “And one knife at least is coming.”

  She gestured meaningfully to Erica’s claw tucked into Nameless’s belt, the Katje’s emerald coloured heartstone shining proudly from the pommel.

  “Fair enough.” He looked to Ophelia; “I guess that means we’re going then, sorry baby. You’ll have to make do with your best gown. Go with that lavender number, I like that one.”

  “What about me?” Volka said with a faux pout; “Don’t I get a pretty dress?”

  “Makeovers!” Erica exclaimed as she clapped her hands together happily; “I’m on hair! Ophelia can pick out dresses for the two of us, since Milly and Nina are being fuddy-duddys about it.”

  Though she was teasing them, simply put none of them could picture the six foot six Minotaur in anything other than jean shorts or overalls.

  And Nina in a dress?

  Yeah, no.

  But Volka’s endearing pout faded away and she shook her head with a sigh as she set aside her joking demeanour.

  “Actually, I’m afraid you will have to make me over some other day, Erica. I have a prior commitment that simply cannot be put off.”

  The jovial atmosphere that had come about at all the talk surrounding clothes faded, and Nameless felt the sting of her duty calling her away again.

  “What is it?” He asked low, not wanting the messenger outside to here.

  Volka pressed her lips to his forehead in apology before explaining.

  “Miranda asked for my help with something, something that once upon a time she should not have had to ask for. There are not enough Valkyrie to see to all of our duties anymore, but this one at least I must attend to.”

  Feeling Nameless’s unhappiness, Nina opened her mouth to demand obedience, but the angel’s eyes met hers before she spoke and made it clear that there would be no swaying her.

  “Fine.” The Gigas muttered sullenly; “Then I’ll drink enough for the both of us.”

  Before anyone else could comment on the Valkyrie skipping the party, there was a polite cough from outside that drew their attention.

  “May I inform the councilwoman of your intention of attending her gala?” The messenger called in faintly.

  Already annoyed with Volka’s adamance, Nina wheeled on him in response.

  “WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO MOVE?!” She roared.

  The power of her words overwhelmed the remaining hinge and the door flew off to lodge in the stairwell.

  “I haven’t!” The terrified man shrieked; “I swear I haven’t!”

  Ophelia set her hand down on Nina’s head to still her.

  “Leave him alone dearheart!” She looked up and called towards the door; “Yes, sir, yo
u may inform her that we shall be there, although we may arrive a bit late.”

  Silence greeted her words and they all looked out into the stairwell: the messenger needed to walk past the opening again to leave and he hadn’t yet.

  Nina cursed under her breath.

  “Hey pipsqueak, that was Flutterby-speak for piss off.” She translated, giving the sorely shaken man the permission he so desperately needed to flee.

  Erica sidled up to Ophelia as the echoing sounds of his feet pattering down the stairs faded away.

  “We shall attend shall we?” She mocked gently; “Quite the lady we have here.”

  The messenger’s gentlemanly behaviour had seemingly brought out the Flutterby’s well-mannered upbringing.

  She kissed the Katje on the brow and pulled her into a hug.

  “Yes, and if you keep teasing me I shall punish you accordingly.”

  “Hmmm.” Erica mused, her taunting tone undiminished as she put her mouth next to Ophelia’s ear; “I wonder if you can still call yourself a lady when Master’s cock is stuffed up your bum?”

  Their makeovers had to wait a good twenty minutes while Ophelia administered a firm spanking to a purring cat.

  Chapter 14:

  Hearty Parties

  The party didn’t start until later in the evening so Nameless, Nina, and Milly were left at loose ends while the others prepared.

  Nameless opted to milk the Minotaur, since he wasn’t sure when the party was supposed to end, and having just expressed her appreciation for side-boob, Nina helped.

  “It always amazes me how much of this stuff you make. And every day at that.” The Gigas commented as she carefully stored the pail in the icebox; “Doesn’t it ever get old?”

  “Not one bit!” Milly said with a blissful smile, her eyes swimming with devotion; “It’s kind of hard to explain, but having you all drink your fill of my milk every day makes me so happy!”

  Nameless kissed the upper swell of each of her breasts and pulled the straps of her overalls back in place on her shoulder for her, having just finished cleaning, and indeed suckling on, her pink nipples.

  With the surprise party invite, they had decided to forgo their dinner so that Erica and Ophelia would have more time to get ready.

  “And I would love nothing more than for us all to get fat off of your cream baby.” He promised her in earnest; “Though it would make the job a wee bit harder.”

  “By order of the Aegis! You are bound by law!” Nina joked suddenly; “Now get over here so I can bind you.”

  Nameless and Milly shared a laugh, it wasn’t often the Gigas told a joke, or did an impression as was the case.

  After having so much fun dealing with the snooty messenger, she was in a good mood.

  Some time later they arrived at the address specified to find a palatial home in an upscale neighbourhood past the market district, the streets sloping upwards as they city neared the base of one of the mountains around the city.

  They were greeted in the entryway by a narrow-hipped woman in her late forties wearing a dress with a shocking neckline that went all the way down to her naval.

  “So glad that you could make it, Aegis Armstrong! I was worried about the short notice. I am Kathryn Jacobs.”

  She held one hand out daintily, palm down and fingers draping.

  “Thank you for inviting us.” He murmured.

  Unsure whether he was supposed to shake her hand or kiss it, he hedged, gripping the ends of her fingers and wiggling them side to side with all of the grace of the small town kid he was.

  His social misstep was forgotten immediately though when Nina made her presence known.

  “I was told there would be beer.” She declared flatly despite having been told no such thing.

  The councilwoman was unsurprisingly taken aback by the giant’s brusqueness, her arm falling away from Nameless’s awkward handshake.

  “Ah, of, of course. The bar is over there, we have a lovely selection of wines and spirits for you to...”

  She gave up as Nina stomped past, her massive hammer cutting a broad swath through the crowd as scandalized people scrambled to get out of her way.

  Ophelia opened her mouth to apologize for her bond-sister’s rudeness, but Nameless squeezed the small of her back with his hand and very slightly shook his head.

  Just as she had said earlier, Nina had flatly refused to wear anything different than she normally did, not even putting on shoes.

  She was doing nothing less than being herself, and Nameless was done apologizing for that.

  Well, except for that poor messenger; if they saw him again he intended on apologizing.

  Having picked up on his emphatic reasoning through their bond, Ophelia recovered quickly.

  “Councilwoman Jacobs? I would love to hear more about your fundraiser.”

  She was the only one amongst them with any experience in human high society, so they followed her lead.

  Milly put her arm around Nameless’s shoulder, she was dressed just as Nina wanted: with generous side-boob, and tall as she was she stood out in the crowd, drawing a great many appreciative looks.

  Erica was wearing one of Ophelia’s gowns, though it was a tad too large for her so it was draped on her body like a silk bed sheet rather than a dress.

  Everyone that mattered agreed that she looked delightfully slutty in it, and all of them were looking forwards to getting her out of it again once they were back at home.

  They were also the only ones that knew that Kar’s knives were strapped to her upper thigh underneath it.

  Their hostess showed them to where the bulk of the people were, a massive ballroom that wrapped all the way around a courtyard with a garden full of Blomma at its center.

  They weren’t the only monster girls there either: a great many Flutterby moved amongst the party goers, laughing and chatting elegantly.

  Now Nameless understood what Ophelia was talking about; her ‘sisters’ gowns were far more elaborate than hers, to the point of absurdity.

  “They look like they should be standing on top of a cake.” Erica noted.

  She might have felt self-conscious in her borrowed dress, but through their bond she picked up that Nameless also thought the Flutterby’s outfits were a bit much.

  “This is where I leave you.” Kathryn said, either ignoring or missing the Katje’s comments; “Please, mingle. There are a great many people here tonight that have been dying to meet you.”

  Nina came back, two frothing pitchers of beer held in one hand and a foam mustache already on her lip and cheeks.

  “Cool. Here’s hoping they don’t piss me off. Otherwise they will be dying to meet my weakling.”

  She tipped one of the pitchers up, taking a long draw while the other sloshed beer over her shoulder.

  “I can’t take you anywhere.” Ophelia sighed, but she was smiling.

  Once again their hostess didn’t know what to say to the Gigas, so instead she smiled weakly and made her escape.

  What followed was exactly what she described: so many people wanted to talk to Nameless that there was an odd sort of line forming across the room.

  As the evening wore on the young Aegis rookie was a bit overwhelmed with meeting seemingly every person of note in Garland, and a few from other cities besides.

  “A magnificent piece, may I?” A stout man with a walrus mustache noted, gesturing at Nameless’s hip.

  In response he gripped the hilt of Erica’s claw tight and brusquely shook his head.

  “You may not.”

  Nina belched and nodded, halfway through the second pitcher of beer.

  “My bond-sister’s claws are for cutting up bad guys, not for strangers to fondle.”

  One of the quirks about Gigas, they loved to indulge in drink on occasion but they couldn’t get drunk.

  “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it held her heartstone.” He gave a short bow of his head in apology towards Erica before speaking to the Gigas; “Are you the cra
fter then?”

  Nina measured him, for once impressed that one of the dandies, as she called them, at this shindig seemed to know something about her trade.

  “I am. You know which end of a hammer you’re supposed to hold?”

  She said it a bit drily, the hammer at her side far too large for a mere human to even lift.

  He chuckled though, unoffended.

  “Aye, I am a smith by trade. Leon Marshall, of Marshall’s fine Silverworks. A family business.”

  The Gigas let out another belch that caused the other smith to raise an eyebrow at her manners.

  It was plain to see that she could care less.

  “Jewelry?” She asked.

  “Some, though we made our name with dinnerware. Marshall’s Flatware?” He floated the name as if they might be familiar with his brand.

  Nina meanwhile was fondly thinking back on melting down Ophelia’s cutlery to make the bracelet on Nameless’s wrist.

  “Sorry little fella, if a Gigas didn’t make it, it never got made.”

  He surprised her by letting out a great belly laugh.

  “Isn’t that the truth! I witnessed the work of one of your sisters down in Karmest, a long time ago now. Spent the next twenty years trying to match up to it.”

  By that point Nina had warmed up to him, the man reminding her of the smith in Kettering, Rory, who she also got along with.

  “I like you. You can buy me a drink.” She declared with a broad smile.

  His eyes lit up at her proposition and he gestured grandly towards the bar.

  “My dear girl, they are free! So I shall buy you two!” He matched her grin as the two of them left Nameless and the others behind.

  “Awww, Nina made a friend, that’s cute.” Erica remarked, curling herself against her master’s side.

  “I hope he survives the night.” Milly said with a hint of worry.

  __________

  While Nina and her new friend were hitting it off at the bar, a few miles away in a different sort of bar a Wolfen was having a drink.

  Lilly dropped her empty mug on the counter with a gasp, catching her breath after having drained it in one long draw.

  “Ahhh, that’s good stuff!”

  Starting with her head of blue-grey hair, her whole body wiggled from side to side as if to help the alcohol spread through her system.