Inside my room, I sit in front of the mirror. Ash gets on top of my head and plops down. "I missed you." I reach up and pet him. "I missed you, too. Vi is coming by later with dinner, so you are going to eat well tonight, buddy." Ash squeals with excitement. "Yay!" He gets up, flies a quick victory lap around the room, then plops back down on my head. I giggle at his innocent excitement. "The food Nat brings is so tasty. So much better than those nuts out there." I reply, "Sure is." I reach up to pet him and continue, "Alright, buddy, I will be talking to myself now. I have to compliment myself to try and awaken my magic." Ash says, "I can help!" I giggle. "Ok then, buddy. I will start. I like my knees." My chest hums in approval. He replies, "I love your smile." My chest continues to hum. I then think, "I like my muscles." He replies, "I love your voice." Now that I think about it, my voice is slightly different. I was so distracted by everything else at first that I didn't really notice. I mean, I am in a new body. It only makes sense that the voice is different, too. I reply, "I like how my eyes don't get overstimulated in this body." My chest hums. Ash replies, "I love your laugh." I reply, still looking at our reflection, with an adorable, plopped Ash still on top of my head, "I like my legs." My chest is just humming in approval. It doesn't seem to be growing with these compliments. It's almost as if I've hit a wall.
Just before I could continue, Vi knocked and walked in. She sees Ash on my head and smiles because I have seen it. I know exactly how cute he is right now. I tell Vi, "We were going back and forth, giving me compliments." Vi perks up with interest and comes over. "Here, let me join too." She sits behind me with her legs spread wide, wrapping around me. She wraps her arms around me and lays her head on my shoulder, looking at the reflection too. "I love your voice." I giggle, "Ash said that earlier." She replies, "Well darn. I guess I have to say something else. I love your abs." As she says this, she trails her fingers around my abs, exploring tenderly. I say, "I love my abs too." When I say that, the feeling in my chest lights up more. Love is a stronger feeling of self-acceptance, so it makes sense that it would warm my chest. I grab my chest, but in a way to make the feeling linger, not out of pain like during tightening. Though it is more than what I was feeling earlier. I then say, "I think my core likes when I say I love things about this body. That felt warmer than the other times. It feels so close, yet there is still a gap. Preventing me from awakening. I feel like it is a wall that is hard to describe and put into words."
Vi grins mischievously. "Then I'll give you things to love." She leans in and kisses my neck gently. "I love kissing you." Another kiss. "I love how you're not afraid to speak your mind around me, even though I'm a princess." She kisses me again. "I love your smile." I giggle, "Ash already beat you to that one, too." Vi puts a mock-offended hand to her chest. "Ash, twice you have beaten me! I'll try again… I love your ears." Ash giggles at her theatrics, and Vi leans over to gently nibble my ear.
It was about this point that Nat knocked and entered. Vi is still nibbling my ear, and Nat exclaims, worried she interrupted an intimate moment, "Oh! I am so sorry. I can bring your dinner back later if you need me to. So sorry for the intrusion." She turns to leave. Vi releases my ear and calls out to her, "You are fine. Bring it in." She says as she stands up. Sir Stirling sees Ash for a brief moment, and his eyes light up before the door shuts. Seeing this, I ask Ash, "Hey Ash, do you want to meet those knights that protect us?" He replies, perking up adorably, "Sure!" with a happy, excited tail wag. Happy to make new friends. I take him to the door and tell Sir Brody and Sir Stirling to come in a moment. Sir Stirling then says, "At least one of us has to remain outside at all times. With that said, we can alternate coming in as long as one of us remains outside and alert."
Sir Stirling was first with the introductions, and Sir Brody was second. Both of them were so excited to make an adorable friend. Sir Stirling was especially cute with Ash. He became a different person, holding Ash and shedding his stoic mask, smiling sweetly as he stroked Ash's fur. While we were doing these introductions, Nat was putting dinner on the table. Vi goes to sit down. Once the introductions are done, Sir Brody leaves and closes the door, leaving just me, the princess, Ash, and Nat. I whisper to Nat in a low enough tone that they couldn't hear me on the other side of the door, yet loud enough so Vi and Ash could still hear. "Psst. Nat. Do we by chance have enough dessert to share with you, Sir Brody, and Sir Stirling?" She nods, "Not on the cart at the moment, but I can. Give me a few minutes." With that, she giggles and is off on a mission.
Vi giggles at her energy, and Ash is now drooling, which makes me giggle. We are one big giggle fest for a minute. Nat brought and set a small plate for Ash before she left. I lifted the lid off his food so he could dig in. Vi and I giggle more at him, enjoying him eating while we pour ourselves something to drink. As she pours herself some wine, Vi asks, "Why haven't I seen you drink alcohol while we've been here? We have served wine to you a few dinners now, but you always only drink water. I am just curious. If you aren't comfortable with drinking, I can have them stop preparing it for you."
I shake my head, "It isn't that I have a problem with it, Vi. There were a few reasons. First, that first dinner we had was very nerve-racking for me. The idea that all these people who could kill me on a whim were all in the same room as I was. Being sober, I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally acting a fool. Not knowing if I was to become vulnerable to alcohol, or if someone would defend my honor. There was an incident when I was in college where I drank too much and had to lie down in a guest room. A guy followed me in there and started groping me and taking my clothes off. I was going in and out of consciousness at this point. The next thing I knew, I saw some of my rugby teammates come in, grab him forcefully, and drag him away. It wasn't until the next day that I heard they punched him right in the face as they kicked him out of the party. I wish I could have seen it."
Vi sighs in understanding, then asks, "That makes sense. What is this 'rugby'?" I respond, going into teacher mode again, "It is a game with a weird-shaped ball that is very aggressive and warlike by design. You can only throw the ball backwards to pass. The only way to push the ball forward is to kick it to them. There are two goals on both sides of the field. The goal is to get the ball to the goal area and touch it to the ground. All of that must be done while avoiding the defending team's tackling. What makes this war-like is that there are two teams: one on defense, and the other on offense. It can change on a whim if the defending team intercepts the ball. That is basically how the game is played in a nutshell. I could go into more details later if you are interested." Vi replies, waving her hands in rejection to the idea personally, "Tackling is a little too aggressive for me. Though I could see some of the other men and women playing a game like that. It could be a great form of entertainment for the people." She says with that graceful spunkiness of hers and continues, "You had some good friends. I am glad you had someone who was there for you during a terrible experience like that. I won't pressure you to drink if you don't want to."
I shake my head and say, for clarity, "If it is with you guys, I am perfectly comfortable drinking. I just don't feel comfortable drinking in front of the rest of your family, Vi. Especially your mother." She perks up and says, "If that is the case, then let's get you some wine." About now, Nat returns with her bounty, and Vi waves Nat over, saying, "Perfect timing. Can you get her a glass of wine while you are up?" Not going to lie—having alcohol would help drink the pain of today away. A little alcohol here and there is ok. As long as we don't make a habit out of it. We can't afford to become an alcoholic while on this mission. Everything must be done in moderation. I drank some of the red wine Nat poured. It's really smooth and dry. I love smooth, dry red wines, though I do not know much about wine to tell you the type, vintage, or anything like that. Plus, in this world, those standards and years wouldn't apply anyway.
I sip and say while swirling the wine around the glass to aerate it, "This is quite delicious. Very smooth." Vi says after sipping in her elegant manner, "It is a good year. I quite like this one as well." She looks at me with a look of slight curiosity, "How come you don't sing much? Wait, let me rephrase. How come you don't sing for me? You sing well enough to be entertainment at one of our balls, and we would love to have you sing for us. My parents wanted me to ask you. They remember you saying you don't like to sing in front of others, but they urged me to try to get you to reconsider." I set my wine down, "I just don't like singing in front of people much because of anxiety. Singing for a ball would definitely not be possible. I would probably pass out from nervousness when I got in front of everyone. I know I have a good voice. Great? No, though that isn't the problem. I just have all of these thoughts that storm my head, 'What if I mess up?' 'What if I forget the words?' 'What if I mess up the notes?' and my thoughts continue to wander like that until I panic so hard I pass out." Like I know I can sing, but I can't 'sang', and there is DEFINITELY a difference. There is more than just hitting the notes with precision.
Vi then sighs in disappointment, "That is a shame. Would you be able to sing just for me?" I replied after contemplating with myself, "Yes. I could sing just for you. I am comfortable enough around you that I know even if I messed up, you wouldn't care. Because of that, I could sing for you. Just please don't make me perform in front of a crowd. PLEASE." Vi then says, "Deal. On the condition that you sing me a song now." I replied after sipping my wine again, "What kind of song would you like to hear?" Vi thinks about it and says, "How about a sad-ish one. You sang a love song last time." I say, "Ok…. let me think." I scroll through my mental playlists, almost forgetting all of the sad songs in existence just because it was asked. The only one I can think of with sad lyrics is "All by Myself" by Celine Dion. This was one of my jams in my first life, and all of the riffs she did I had down.
I start singing, and Ash and Vi listen and enjoy the performance, locked in with every note I sing. Before I know it, I am done, and I hear applause from Ash, Vi, and Nat. When they stopped, I heard applause from the hallway, too, from Sir Stirling and Sir Brody, who were also listening in. The only people in this world whose opinions I care about, and it makes me happy to know they enjoyed my performance. Even though I am singing in front of people I like, it doesn't mean I am not nervous. Just not racked with all the extra anxiety a group of people involves. Vi says while gracefully placing her wine glass down after taking a sip, "That was lovely. Though there were some words in there that I was not familiar with. What is a telephone, and how does one 'dial' it?"
I respond after taking a sip of wine, "A telephone is a device that allows you to call and talk to someone over a long distance. Say, for instance, there was someone in Pacifica you wanted to talk to, and you had their phone number, you could call them immediately. Right then and there. It was a pretty handy device. Do not ask me how to make one because I am not smart enough." Vi sucks her teeth and groans, "Ahhhhh. I was going to ask if you knew how to make them because those sound revolutionary. I will have to talk with our Magic Research Society to see if we can maybe use the same principle of long-distance communication, but using magic tools instead and special enchantments."
I then say excitedly with an idea building off of hers, "Oh! If you do make those, a good name would be Magiphones." Vi says in excitement, "I like it! I like it a lot! We are making history here. Maybe one day someone will know of the dinner we had here, where we invented the magiphone." I raise my glass of wine, "Then I say we raise our glasses for this occasion. To the magiphone!" Vi then says, raising her glass as well in a toast, "To the magiphone!" Then we drink some wine. She sighs a happy sigh and says, "I really do love hearing your voice. I am kind of glad you don't like singing for others because now it feels like you can only sing for me." Quite literally like a caged bird, I think, but it isn't so bad with Vi. She has really respected my boundaries while we have been together here.
I respond feeling hollow, missing Liz again since she was usually my audience in my previous life, "I have always preferred an audience of one. Though in this case it is 3, but we are all close here. Five, if we include our brave knights outside. If it is just for you guys, I could sing every day." Vi then says, "Then I will need a song every day." She says with a smile and no hesitation. I should have known the moment I said that it would come back to bite me in the ass. Kicking myself for adding that last sentence.Shit, will I be able to think of new songs every day? It isn't like I have Google here to remind me of songs I forgot existed or to get lyrics. What if I have a brainfart like today, where the whole genre just escapes me under the pressure of being asked about it? I will probably have to write out as many songs as I can, but if that is the case, it will be in between studying books from the library and working on magic. I'll try to write down at least one song a day to help with my memory. "Ok," I say, then immediately take a drink of wine. Finishing my glass.
I go to grab the wine to pour it myself, and Nat pops my hand, and I giggle, "What can I not pour my own?" Nat then says, grabbing the bottle in my stead, "That is what I am here for." I then respond as she pours my glass of wine, "How about you sit down and join us instead?" Nat looks at the princess, then looks at me, "But Zoe, I am working, I could get in trouble for sitting down, and especially eating." Vi chimes in with that spunky, reassuring tone of voice she has, "Don't be silly. I agree with Zoe, go ahead and sit down. We just started dessert anyway, and you brought extra for you, Stirling, and Brody. So go ahead and take a break and enjoy yours." Nat is beaming with excitement, "Thank you for your generosity, Princess Riviera," and grabs a dessert plate, thanks us for the food, and starts eating with a happy smile. She does a slight happy wiggle side to side with every bite. She is really cute when she does that.
I got up and asked the guys outside if they wanted to take turns getting cake. Sir Stirling nods to Sir Brody to signal him to go first, and he comes in to join us and takes the fourth and final chair around my table. While I am up, I grab him a plate and give it to him. I then say with a wishful sigh, "I wish all 6 of us could eat together without one always working, but this is still very nice." I say with a soft smile and continue, after taking a sip of wine, after a bite of cake, looking at the glass of wine in shock, "This cake pairs surprisingly well with the wine." Vi replies with a prideful smirk, "Leave it to the royal chefs to find the perfect pairings." With that graceful, spunky smile of hers. I sigh, imagining a future without access to these sweets, which is inevitable. "Yeah, I will definitely miss the sweets from this castle when I continue my journey. Though that will probably be a long way off."
It is about now that I am feeling the effects of the wine, and I feel flushed in the face. I haven't had alcohol in my body yet, so there is no tolerance level established yet. Vi replies after gracefully wiping crumbs off of her face, "I selfishly hope that day never comes, and you stay here doing your mission from here as a base. That is a selfish thing to ask, though, after knowing what your mission is. Is my personal happiness worth all of the lives in this world? Would I be able to live with the burden that my selfish desires limited the number of people that you could save?" Sir Brody chimes in, "I don't want to see you leave either, but I also don't want to stand in your way. The palace is definitely livelier with you here, that is for sure." Nat nods in agreement, "What Brody said." In between her bites of cake. Vi then says, "Oh! The ink artist will be arriving tomorrow for your ink session. Thought you should know." Buzzed and slightly uninhibited by alcohol, I do a happy squeal, "My first tattoo on this body. I am so excited. This body is like a blank canvas with so many possibilities. I am so excited." As I say that, my chest hums, and I grab my chest with a smile as it purrs in approval. I continue after giggling at the warmth in my chest, "I think my core likes how excited I am about my body being a blank canvas with endless possibilities. When I said that, my chest purred in approval." I think it is because I am excited about this body and its ink possibilities, rather than missing my old ink. When they said ink was enchanted here, that shit was a game-changer for getting past that mental wall of longing for my old tattoos. I can get tattoos that are functional, not just pretty to look at, and I have a blank canvas to start with. I wouldn't have anywhere near as many possibilities if I had my old body, since I already had so many tattoos on it. When I think that my chest hums that warm purr again.
Vi smiles and giggles at me and my reaction, "Still want to wait until you meet the artist to figure out what you get?" I reply, trying to be serious in my tipsy state, "Yes, but I was thinking maybe something to do with the goddess. I still want to wait for the artist to knock some ideas around with them. I would like my first tattoo to be for her." Vi then says, "Ok. There are a lot of things you could get if you want to go the goddess route." I reply, not really realizing that Nat and Brody didn't know in my inebriated state, "I was actually going to ask her tonight what she thinks I should get since it is for her." Nat and Sir Brody look perplexed, and Nat says, "Wait, you can actually talk to the goddess now?" I giggle and reply, "Whoopsie. My lips got a little loose from the alcohol." I giggled some more and answered her question, feeling really flushed in my face, "Yes and no. When we talk like this, she can hear us, but we can't hear her. Though on certain nights, I can soul travel to the goddess realm to talk with her in person. I can't do it every night because my soul needs to rest, too."
Sir Brody asks, "So what is it like? Being with the goddess, Miss Zoe?" I reply, feeling warm in my chest, imagining being with the goddess, "Whatever feeling you feel to use magic, you feel intensely in her presence. When I am in her presence, I feel so content and also feel her love for me. It feels like my soul is being hugged by the goddess. The goddess is soooooo amazing. I love her sooooo much." He then says, "Oh. So I would feel strong compassion for the goddess if that is the case," Nat says, "and I would feel really at ease." Sir Brody says, "I'll need to ask Stirling about his feelings. We don't really talk about feelings at work. I have tried before, but he shut me down quickly. That would give us something to talk about when we are bored out there, assuming he would actually participate. He is a really nice guy, he just really doesn't like talking about himself."
I reply after recalling stressful jobs of the past, "Better to be bored at work, I say. Though boredom is the gateway to complacency. Speeeeeaking from personal experience. I have had high-stress and dangerous jobs in my first life, and what you guys are doing is dangerous as well. One can still appreciate the slow days while still being vigilant. It is an art form, though, finding that balance. With all that said, Ash and I really appreciate all you do for us." Sir Brody says, wearing that warm, bright expression that he normally has, "And I enjoy being assigned to you, Miss Zoe. I am sure Stirling feels the same way." I keep thinking about how I would like this mission to be over already: "I know if I somehow survive this mission of mine, I will definitely settle down and live a slow, peaceful life, and I will appreciate every second." Sir Brody replies after sighing, "A slow life does sound nice. Where I do not have to worry about possibly getting killed in the line of duty, abandoning my family. My wife is constantly worried." When he says this, I think of Liz. She was almost always really worried about me when I went to work as a Corrections officer. She was always worried an inmate would shank me or worse when I wasn't expecting it.
I sigh, clutching my chest, missing Liz deeply, "She reminds me of my wife from my first life. She was the same. You know you have a good one when they worry like that. You have to take extra good care of them." Sir Brody replies with a prideful smile, "Oh, I take care of my wife. Tonight, I will pick up flowers and make her a late-night dessert when I get home. A sweet treat for my sweetheart." I smile, "You guys sound like you have a wonderful marriage. I am really happy for you guys." Nat says, smiling at Sir Brody, "I love to hear your stories when you are talking to Stirling on your shifts. You always have good stories about your wife. The way you talk about her makes me wish I could find someone like her for myself. Though I am too busy working and taking care of my younger siblings to think about love." She sounds a little dejected at the end there.
Vi now pulled in the conversation since we are talking love now, "Oh come now. There must be someone whom you fancy. Some man or woman." Nat replies, "Well….. There is someone I admire, but I don't know what they feel about me." Sir Brody says, "Spill it." Nat responds, "I don't even know if he is in a relationship or not. Or if he even feels the same way about me." Vi asks, "Who is he?" Nat pauses for a moment and lowers her voice a little to make sure her voice won't travel to the other side of the door, "I really like Stirling, I think he is really cool, compassionate, and strong." Sir Brody is giving off the support vibes, "Oh my goddess, YES!" He says in an excited, hushed whisper, "I would love to see you two together. Though I don't know whether he is spoken for. This is now my mission in life. Find out if Stirling is in a relationship." I giggle at his enthusiasm, and Nat continues in her hushed tone, "When I was assaulted, he knew something was up, and he helped me learn how to use my magic again to prevent me from getting whipped for incompetence by the queen. Because what chambermaid can't use water magic? That is the prerequisite for getting this job. I could only use magic when he was near me, but I still messed up a lot when he wasn't around, causing me to be whipped. If it weren't for him, I would have probably been killed for my incompetence by now." She says as she clutches her chest, looking longingly at the door.
Vi grimaces a little like this is a sore subject and says, "I had no idea you were suffering like that. I am sorry. I was in my own world before Zoe came here. My mother's feelings have a way of making other people's lives… difficult." She says as she sighs, pressing her fingers on her temple, closing her eyes. I don't know exactly what the Queen's feeling is, since it hasn't been disclosed, but I've also felt that same feeling just today. As I think this, Sir Brody is finishing up his slice of cake, and he gets up, "Alright, let me go grab Stirling." He says, winking at Nat. She blushes and gets a piece of cake ready for Sir Stirling. When Sir Brody opens the door, he is smiling, brimming with excitement over young love. Sir Stirling, realizing something is up with him, just rolls his eyes and swaps places coming into the room. Nat, still blushing, offers him the same seat Sir Brody was just in. As he sits down, he says, "I am almost scared to ask what his deal is." Vi says, wearing a very amused smile, "Nothing you need to worry about," as she giggles a little at the entertainment happening before her eyes.
Sir Stirling has a suspicious look in his eye as he scooches his chair in, "I know there is something you aren't telling me, but I guess it is fine. I am just a knight anyway. None of my business. Thank you for inviting me to join you, by the way. I can't remember the last time I ate a nice baked sweet treat like this." He says, looking down at his slice, "I was a child, I do know." Vi says with an empathetic tone in her voice, "Tragic. How about from now on, every time the kitchen makes cake, we will save you three slices. I can't have my three most trusted retainers not enjoying life's simple pleasures." Sir Stirling perked up uncharacteristically like a kid, though I could tell he immediately regained his composure, "Thank you for your generosity, princess."
He clears his throat and grabs his fork to start eating, blushing slightly from a brief loss of composure from excitement, now back to his normal stoic self. Nat asks Vi, "Is it ok if I get another slice, Princess Riviera?" Vi nods and waves to the cake, "Have it. Eat as much as you want. Just make sure you eat it here with Zoe. I don't want to start a drama in the servants' quarters because somebody got jealous." Sir Stirling says, "You don't have to worry, princess, I am going to eat this quickly to return to my duties anyway. I don't like sitting when on duty. I don't feel ready for action when I am sitting." He says as he wolfs his food down, and Vi says, waving her hand in dismissal, looking towards the door where Brody is on the other side, "Brody is outside keeping an eye out. If something were to happen, I am sure you would be able to get up and go to his aid."
Sir Stirling chuckles in between bites, "Brody is an airhead. A loveable airhead but an airhead nonetheless. I personally don't trust him to remain fully vigilant. I can see him day-dreaming right now or something." Nat chuckles too, "Yeah. He does seem to be in his own world sometimes with that goofy smile of his." When Nat finishes that sentence, so does Sir Stirling finish his cake and gets up, "Thank you again for inviting me. I will now return to my duties. Excuse me." He gets up and walks to the door. It is now that I notice he doesn't actually have a sword on his person. Just a hilt in a holster. I wonder if he uses his magic to turn into a blade. What kind of blade would it be? I am curious now. This world's magic is really fascinating to me.
When he leaves, Nat asks, "Are you finished with your desserts as well?" Looking at both the princess and me. We nod, and she takes the plates out of the way and goes over to the water pitcher to fill it with her magic, since it is almost empty. "Is there anything else you need me to do before I take my leave, princess?" She shakes her head, "You can leave now. Thank you." Nat bows slightly, grabs her cart, and wheels it out of the room. Now it is just me, Vi, and Ash. Ash is on his scaffolding now, sprawled out in a happy now really stuffed squirrel nap. Vi then says while looking at me with desire in those blue eyes of hers, "I really want another kind of dessert, but I know the kind of day you had, so I won't make you lie with me if it isn't what you desire." She says as she takes a sip of wine. I reply, feeling relieved by her words as she still respects my boundaries, "The fact that you respect my boundaries as much as you do actually turns me on. I think it is really hot and sexy for a woman to respect boundaries. Actually, if the queen had just listened to me and given me a voice today, I might have been able to maybe enjoy it. I was never opposed to puppy play on Earth. Though here it is different. When I had a moment to think and thought where the tail and ears came from, I felt sick knowing there was a good chance it came from a person or an animal."
Also, I am feeling really relaxed and buzzed from the wine. I am not drunk but most definitely tipsy right now. Vi then says, after briefly biting her lip in anticipation and looking at me with those eyes, "If I turn you on, then how about we go to bed then?" I nod and remove my clothes a little sloppily since my fine motor skills are a tad off at the moment from drinking, and get into bed, awaiting Vi. She takes off her clothes too. Dropping them to the floor without a care. She is very beautiful and graceful, yet with a slight spunky/mischievous look in her eyes, approaching me: "You are a vision to behold every time I look at you." She says as she gets in bed and starts touching me, "Don't worry, I won't touch you there. I will just touch you everywhere else."
She says as she straddles me, as she kisses my neck gently where the red marks from the collar remain, "Let's continue where we left off earlier in front of the mirror. I am going to tell you everything I love about this body of yours." I close my eyes and pretend she is Liz as she gently kisses my shoulder, "I love your muscular shoulders. These shoulders that carry an immense weight and burden." She then kisses my arms, "I love these strong arms that look like they can carry me with ease." She then lifts my arm and kisses my armpit, "I love these silky smooth underarms of yours." She then kisses my breast, "I love these breasts…. They are just perfect." She sucks on them in a way to leave a hickey. Knowing that my concubine's outfit would conceal it. Almost as if protecting my honor or to protect me from lustful eyes. She does the same for my other breast, so it doesn't feel lonely. Once she has marked both of my breasts with her mark, she then says, "I love so many things about you and could keep going if you would like?" I reply while reaching up and grabbing her breasts in my hands while she is on top of me, "As much as I love hearing all of these compliments about this wonderful body of mine," as I said that, my chest purred nicely, "I would much rather be touching you, Vi. Pleasing you. Satisfying you."
As I say this, I do a quick rollover, pinning her down instead. She purrs, "Oh, I liked that. I know I am going to need more of this kind of energy in the future." She says with a very amused smirk as she reaches for my face, asking non-verbally for a kiss, so I meet her lips for a passionate kiss. I still have both of her breasts in my hands from earlier, and I squeeze them harder but not too roughly, and she moans into my mouth, "Just like that." I take my thigh and grind in between her legs as we kiss passionately, and as I roughly grab her breasts. Being rougher isn't like when I was with Liz. She was very sensitive, and having sex with her was like it was set to 'hard difficulty'.
Though it isn't what Liz would normally like, I still imagine her anyway. Her moans are getting more frequent at this point. Those seductive moans of pleasure seep into my mouth as we kiss. I remove my hands from her breasts and grab her wrists and hold them above her head. I grab tightly with one hand, securing her wrists. She starts to moan a little faster, and I take the other hand and put it between her legs, between my thigh and where I am grinding. I feel she is wet already and put a finger in to test the waters and continue to grind in time with my fingering. Her moans are getting louder and more passionate in my mouth, and she whispers, "Give me more." I add another finger and start pumping more forcefully, yet not being too rough. She breaks away from my lips in a yell of pleasure, "Yes! Just like that! Goddess, yes!" She continues to yell in pleasure while I pump aggressively yet tenderly. Her moans are getting more intense, and I feel like she is nearing orgasm. I take my face down to her breasts while still holding on to her wrists above her head with one hand, and I start nibbling her nipples. This sends her into an explosive orgasm. She screams in ecstasy in waves and waves of pleasure. I keep doing my best to keep it going as long as I can, though this is my first time having sex this intoxicated. Things are spinning a bit, but I keep going. Vi came with constant orgasms back-to-back in an explosive manner.
When her orgasms were finally over, her arched back relaxed on the bed, and I kissed her breast while removing my fingers from her. She is breathing very heavily, catching her breath, and I remove my mouth from her breast and move to her mouth to kiss her while I remove my hand from her wrists. All while still imagining she is Liz, giving her a very tender kiss as she catches her breath. In between kisses, she breathily says, "I have never orgasmed before like I do when I am with you." She purrs as she continues to kiss me, "I love how you touch me." After several moments of kissing, she purrs, "Hold me." So I stop kissing her and hold her, placing my head on her chest and entangling my legs with hers.
She asks as she squeezes my body affectionately for a moment, "So, how is tonight going to work? Do we just ask 'Can we talk?' or something like that?" I reply after chuckling, "Something like that." She replies with sparkling eyes full of hope, "Well, I really hope it works, I am excited." I replied, answering her squeeze with a squeeze of my own, "Me too." While continuing our post sex cuddle. Vi starts to drag her fingers softly across my skin, as I often do for her. "You are beautiful." She purrs as she touches me and continues, "I remember you once said you like a woman who can fight. Does that mean you can as well?" I reply, thinking back to my martial arts days before I messed up my knee, "I could in my first life, though I wouldn't say I was the best by any means. I could definitely hold my own. That was a world without magic, though. I am not sure how well I would manage without any magic of my own in this world. I haven't been in a situation where I felt like I could fight back while being here. I would have fought back with the queen earlier, but something told me that would have been a death sentence, so I just played along."
Vi sighs, "That was sadly probably for the best, knowing her. She isn't the warmest person. She is a powerful water-magic user specializing in ice. She needs to feel or be cold for her magic core to thrive." I reply feeling particularly disturbed by the news, "That is something I don't like, though if I were to be honest, Vi. A person's feelings should always be validated, but that does not mean that behaviors should be validated. People need to be held accountable for their actions. She uses her magic feeling as an excuse to treat people badly when it suits her. I am sure she isn't the only one here in this world like this, either, using their magic-feelings as an excuse to terrorize others. I am sure there are many people out there who would gladly volunteer to be her puppy. She doesn't need to force anyone to do anything."
Vi replies after sighing while still dragging her fingers across my naked flesh, "I like that. You can feel the feelings, but you are held accountable for behaviors. We have, for too long, been too lenient with magic users for fear of tightening, but that ideology takes it out of the equation while also maintaining peace. I will need to talk with my father to see what he thinks overall. I will leave mother out of it for now and just bring up the main issue to see what he says. He is more of a traditionalist, so he may not be receptive to an idea that doesn't fall within his way of thinking." She continues to trace her fingers on my body, "I like the way you think, Zoe. A lot of people in this nation have just accepted things as they are, but you don't. I feel like you showing up woke me up from living just from day to day in my own world. You have made me think and question things I never thought of before. Before you, I was content with just barely living as a princess, going through the motions, and only thinking of myself. It is almost as if you hit me in the face to smack me back to reality with your words. These past few days have been like a dream I don't want to wake up from, and I can't imagine going back to life as it was before you." I reply, still confused as to why she refers to herself as a selfish princess, "I still never quite saw that selfish princess you are describing. I have always seen a strong woman who knows what she wants, and there is nothing wrong with that. Knowing what you want and only caring about yourself are two separate things."
She continues to drag her fingers across my body, "You are probably the only person to ever say that to me. I was always called the 'selfish princess' before you showed up." I reply back, still intertwined in her flesh, "Well, then I don't think they truly looked at you for you then. When I looked at you, I just saw people in powerful positions, and when getting my first impressions, I observed each of you individually. Maybe the people of this world forget that you are people first, then royalty second." Vi, still dragging her fingers on me, "I am interested in what you thought of the rest of my family, now. You have already told me what you thought of me, but not what you thought of them. Except my mother, since I recall the tea party."
I reply, thinking back to a few days ago, remembering, "King Juan looked very kingly as a person and strong at a glance. Prince Juanito seemed more noble in appearance and kinder than Prince Julio. Prince Julio's first impression gave me the creeps, and he still does. I do not ever want to be alone with him. I think he may have been the one to rape Nat, but that is just from observing her and him in passing. She told me she was assaulted after I told her I was raped in my first life, but she never disclosed who, and it makes sense not to tell anyone if it was the prince. Even if anyone believed her, her life could be in danger for speaking ill of the prince, even if it might be true. I was in a situation similar, but not the same, when I was working in private security. The company's owner would often go on patrols with me just so he could make passes at me and feel me up. In my case, this particular situation never escalated, but the fear of losing my position and my only source of income terrified me. Who could I report it to if the company's owner is making me miserable? I could have gone through the channels, but it would have reached him eventually, and he would probably have quashed it. I just kept working, biding my time until I found another job that paid better. She is probably terrified of being fired and losing her job that supports her younger siblings, and biding her time like I was."
Vi replies, furrowing her brow, "My brother Julio is not a nice man. I can confirm that your initial assessment was spot on. I remember, as a kid, he loved to hunt animals in the forest with his vines, strangle and squeeze them to death for his own pleasure. He even made our little brother, Juanito, join too, calling him weak. So you don't have to worry, I won't let you be alone with him. If by chance he does and Stirling or Brody are not there to help, you have my explicit permission to defend yourself without fear of punishment. You are protecting your virtue for me since you are MY concubine. I meant when I said you are mine."
I sigh in relief and repeat after her, "I am yours." Vi purrs, "Say it again." I repeat it one more time, "I am yours." As I say that, she kisses the top of my head and then says, "How about we get ready for bed? I can get Nat to bring us a tea that helps with sleep to make it easier to drift off." I reply after a well-timed yawn, "Sounds good to me, Vi. You had me at tea. I love tea." With that, we did our unwinding ritual and prepared for bed, and I asked the goddess if we could talk, and we drifted off to sleep.