They spent most of the day visiting with Ophelia, and had dinner with her and the children as well. Milly found that eating an entire bag of oats that morning had left her uncomfortably full, so she merely snacked on some of the vegetable that Ophelia provided for her.
As it turned out there was some work that needed doing around the orphanage and Nameless and Milly were happy to help. As the day wore on and evening began to fall over Kettering they made their goodbyes.
As they walked back to his apartment Nameless broke the silence.
“So, what did you think of Ophelia?”
He clearly cared for her and wanted Milly to as well.
“I like her, but…”
“But what?”
“She seemed really sad, I don’t know. I don’t think she wanted to sell the orphanage… or maybe…” Milly couldn’t put her thumb on the sense she got from the woman.
“Yeah, I wasn’t too happy to hear about that either, but she says it is what she wants…”
Milly tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Maybe… you haven’t seen her in awhile right? I think she missed you.”
Nameless nodded, getting choked up again at the thought of her leaving.
“It won’t be the same without her.” He said sadly.
She put her arm around him as they walked, dropping the subject. Soon they arrived back at his apartment and settled in for the night, him once again on the floor much to her vexation.
“Goodnight Master.”
“G-goodnight Milly.”
He doubted that he would ever get used to her calling him that.
Chapter 6:
Gift from the Heart
Clint Unwin was having a very bad month.
He had been swindled into purchasing a Minotaur, he thought at a greatly discounted price, until he found out that she refused to fight in the arena. Sure monster battling was illegal but everyone knows that certain breeds love to throw down; he was mistaken to think that Minotaurs were one of them.
To add insult to injury she had flat out told him she wouldn’t produce milk for him, placidly staring at him with those infuriatingly calm blue eyes.
And so he found himself a cattle whip and spent nearly three weeks trying to break the beast, but he couldn’t even break her skin! Eventually fed up with her, and desperate to recoup the loss of so many coins, he dragged her into one hick town after another in an attempt to sell her off under the Aegis’s radar.
Of course, he didn’t have any paperwork for her, so whenever the ignorant yokels asked to see her papers he had tried to simply lower the price and they invariably fled from this obvious criminal. In the end he found himself in Kettering and after the fiasco he had endured that morning he was ready to call it quits as an arena tamer.
His present legal difficulties seemed minor, because really, whipping a little boy in public couldn’t be that bad right? Maybe a few years up the river? Unfortunately, as soon as the fatass local lawman ran his background check he would find out that he was already wanted in three other city states. After that it would be bye-bye Clint and since he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life reducing big rocks into little rocks in some excavation site somewhere, he needed a way out and quick.
Fortunately for him, those two monster girl sluts had given him a thorough trouncing, and while nothing was actually broken, he did look like he’d just been stampeded by a herd of angry Truffles.
A few hours after the wolf bitch had deposited him in his cell, he ‘woke up’ and put on his best performance, caterwauling and carrying on about how his everything was broken. The fatty went to fetch help and Clint soon found himself ‘unconscious’ again in the local clinic, guarded by the fat security officer and fussed over by an equally fat nurse for nearly two days.
He was more than ready to leave.
When night fell again and fatty’s eyes were drooping, Clint took his chance, a few stiff bonks on the head with his bedpan made sure fatty wouldn’t wake up until morning and then he made good his escape.
Skulking around town in a stolen hood, he found out that the Aegis and her pet dog had left, and he figured now was the perfect opportunity to break even with that stupid brat, or just break that stupid brat…
__________
Milly woke before dawn with a shuddering gasp; she just had a dream that would have made her master blush.
She rolled to the side on the narrow bed and looked at her master in the dim light of the moon. As she watched him sleep, now on his back rather than his side, Milly couldn’t remember being so completely happy.
She had felt nothing for any of her previous owners; they held her fidelity only because they held her heartstone. Some were kind enough. Some were cruel. None earned more than a passing affection from her. She had heard stories of the bond but never knew what it really felt like.
She knew now.
The heat that radiated from her center was incredible; it made her weak in the knees simply to look at him. His sleeping face was irresistible to her. When he refused her advances at the bath house she thought she was going to die.
And after Ophelia explained why he was so afraid of her intimate touch she was ready to kill.
He stirred in his sleep, frowning slightly; he looked to be having a nightmare. She was at his side instantly, gently stroking his hair to soothe his dreams. The nearness proved too much for her as she couldn’t help but bring her face right next to his. She breathed in his scent deeply, a sudden urge took her that was impossible to resist and she ran her muscular tongue all the way from his chin up into his hair. She gave several more licks, grooming his unruly mane before she realized that he might not like it if she woke him up.
She had to bite down on her lip to stop. She noticed her heartstone glinting from his limp fist near his face and a thought struck her.
He has carried my heart ever since we bonded, even in the bath; he hasn’t ever set it down. Not once.
The thought of his devotion made her wet.
She smiled as she thought of another way to please her master and gently got out of bed. Shuffling to her feet she caught her tail in one hand and brought it around to examine the long chocolate hairs on the end. There was more than enough.
Her smile grew.
Meanwhile Nameless was having the strangest dream...
__________
His world was reduced to a scent that he somehow knew belonged to his mistress. The scent made warmth blossom between his thighs as the lips between his legs grew slightly moist.
Wait, do I have a…
His vision took in the sleeping form of Miranda, huddled under her bedroll against the night’s chill, a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth.
Adorable.
He knew he was supposed to be on guard while she slept, but he couldn’t resist watching his mistress at rest. She had been so stressed out over those kids in town, and now with them finally back on the trail of the Lost One the tension only grew. He had a sudden urge to groom her hair with his long tongue.
Strangely he felt as if his own hair was being similarly groomed but that was impossible.
Finally, knowing she needed the sleep he opted not to tongue her into wakefulness and the shenanigans that would accompany it, he turned away, her scent fading from his nose as he looked for other scents, ones that might threaten his sleeping mistress. He had the scent of the Tenebrae now; with luck they would catch up to her the next day.
And he shuddered at the knowledge of what he would then have to do.
A painful image flashed before him, a memory.
A monster girl, darkness where her eyes used to be, howling in pain; His own side bled from the wounds she had inflicted. His tail was ragged from her wickedly barbed thorns and claws. Miranda was on her knees holding her stomach and shouting something at him. He had failed her, she had to shout her order again, he hesitated the first time and because of that she got hurt.
The order she had dreaded to give him, one that h
e hoped never to hear: Kill.
He felt his rage at seeing his mistress so badly hurt, it overrode any qualms about guilt or innocence.
The order was given and he wouldn’t hesitate a second time.
His teeth lashed out, taking the monster girl by surprise, he ignored her barbs and her thorns as his powerful jaws sought out her neck.
He clamped down on the monster girl’s exposed throat, snatching the life out of her. He could taste her blood on his lips, felt her last desperate gasp of life. Her blood was sweet but it brought him no pleasure.
This girl didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to have to kill her.
But she was a Tenebrae, she hurt his mistress, tried to kill her.
Still might succeed.
There was no coming back from the darkness that had taken her over. The taste of blood was cloying, no longer sweet as he began to pick up the scent of Miranda’s blood mingled with that of his fresh kill. He rushed to her side. She spoke but he couldn’t understand her at first. Then he made out a single word.
A name…
MY name.
Jan.
She called him Jan and it sounded so right on her lips as he nuzzled against his wounded mistress… she cooed sweet words in his ear, she told him it was going to be okay, she told him it wasn’t his fault and that he did what he was trained to do.
She said such sweet and dirty things to him that his nether lips blossomed with heat just to remember them.
He shook his head free of the memory. It was the worst night of their lives, and one of the best. They grew closer after that night…
But enough wool gathering.
He had to be sharp or his mistress might be hurt again. No telling what lurked beyond the edge of the light, seeking to harm her while she slept. Never again, he vowed with conviction.
Never again.
__________
Nameless came to wakefulness slowly; his thoughts were scrambled for a few moments as jumbled memories that weren’t his whirled through his brain.
“Where my penis at!?” He blearily asked no one in particular his hands shooting under the covers, trying to sort out dreams from reality.
Weird, I could’ve sworn…
A soft chuckle drew his attention.
Milly was watching him from a stool she had brought in from the other room, her hands busy with something.
“I could help you look for it Master…” She said archly, he blushed at her suggestion, while he confirmed that he did, in fact, still have all of his equipment.
“N-no, thank you Milly. I just had a really weird dream.” He smiled over at her.
She smiled back, her hair was disheveled and the sun shining on it made a pleasing sight to wake up to. As he took in her form he noticed her fingers still busily fumbling with something.
“What are you doing?”
She sighed at him, a slight pout to her lips.
“I’d hoped to surprise you when you woke up, but it took longer than I thought it would.”
He was curious now, staring at her fingers as they made a last few adjustments before closing around whatever she was holding, hiding it from his sight.
“What have you got there?”
She looked… not nervous… excited? She was practically vibrating.
“Oh, nothing…” She watched his curiosity grow for a moment, blue eyes intent on him, before she hopped off her stool with a thump and came over to the side of the bed; “It’s, well, I guess it’s a present… if you want it.”
She seemed suddenly bashful, he felt a spike of nerves from her heartstone and his eyes widened; somehow he knew that she was clutching it in her hands.
Whatever her gift was, it had something to do with her heart.
He sat up, stretched for a moment, and then shifted over towards her, ready to solve this mystery.
“Milly, I would be happy to get a gift from you.” He smiled at her, trying to reassure his bashful cow.
She blushed prettily at that and held her hands over his. He felt something soft drop into his palm, as he looked closer he realized it was her heartstone, delicately braided into a necklace, or more of a choker really, which, as far as he could tell was made from some kind of hair.
He was at a loss for words for a moment. The intricacy of the braiding was incredible.
“I noticed that you’ve just been carrying my heart in your hand all the time. I thought maybe this would make it easier for you.” She bit her lip, awaiting his reaction.
“Milly, thank you! That is so thoughtful, it’s beautiful…” He smiled at her again before his expression turned curious; “But, what is it made of?”
Milly let out a humph of happiness as she brought her tail around for him to see. There were somewhat less hairs on the tasseled end than he remembered.
“It’s made from… cow-tail hair I guess?”
She nodded happily at his deduction before she explained.
“Minotaur tail hair is really strong, almost as strong as our horns, some people have tried to make rope out of it, but you would need a whole herd to get enough!” She smiled at him.
“Anyways, my sister showed me how to braid like this a long time ago.”
He felt a strange stab of sadness at the mention of her sister.
“I didn’t know you had any family.”
“I don’t. Not really, we had the same owner so we decided to be sisters. Her name was Erica” She sniffled at a painful memory.
“Was? Is she-” He wasn’t sure how to ask the difficult question, but she took his meaning.
“I don’t know, our owner wasn’t a good man, she was sick all the time. She was so thin the last time I saw her, we had a fight, I was trying to get her to eat. After that, I-I was sold to punish her, I think. That was almost a year ago now, so she’s probably...” Milly sniffled and began to cry in earnest.
“Hey! No Milly, don’t think like that. If your sister is anything at all like you then she is strong!” He held her close and after a few minutes she stopped crying; “Milly, I can tell that this is really important to you, so listen, maybe, if we sell your milk like Paul suggested we can go and buy her heartstone?”
Milly perked up, but then her ears drooped.
“I don’t know Master; we moved around a lot, I don’t even remember where we were when I was sold.”
Nameless wracked his brain for answers and then he grabbed her shoulders with energy.
“Miranda! We’ll ask Miranda when she gets back! It’s her job to help monster girls in trouble right? So if this guy is as bad as you say, Miranda would definitely help!”
Milly’s eyes widened in excitement at his words, a desperate hope setting in, followed by determination, they were going to rescue her sister!
“But we can’t do anything until they get back. So for now, why don’t you tell me about this?” he held the braid to her.
Milly sniffled again but nodded, happy to talk about her gift for him.
“Well, if I did it right, it should be impossible to undo, and my heartstone should never come loose. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last hour, trying to unbind it.”
He examined the surprisingly delicate braid intently, seeing no evidence of her attempt to undo her own work. He could see the delicate orb within, its light flickering out between the gaps in the braid, but as Milly said, none of them were large enough for it to slip through, even when he tried forcing it.
He was touched at her thoughtfulness, even more so when she told him how long it actually took her to make it.
“Milly! You must be exhausted! You should go back to sleep.”
But she shook her head at him.
“That’s alright Master, if we are going to buy my sister then I want to get started!”
She was enthusiastic for a few moments but then she looked nervous again.
“Would you-ah-would you like me to put it on you?”
“Yes, please!”
He nodded at her and handed
back the braid, but she shifted uncomfortably.
“Um-there’s really only one way to do it; I have to finish the braid. Otherwise it might fall off.” She sounded apologetic.
“That‘s alright, I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” He made to reassure her again but she still hesitated.
“The thing is Master, I wasn’t kidding about the strength of my tail hair,” her voice trembled a bit as if expecting a rebuke; “If I finish the braid properly, you won’t be able to take it off, um… ever.”
Surprised for a second, Nameless thought about the implications. She looked so anxious as he mulled it over and in the end that’s what decided it for him.
“Milly, the bond that you have with me will last until I die right?” She nodded quietly, not liking to think about such things; “Well, if that’s the case then I see no reason why I shouldn’t wear the proof of that bond for the rest of my life.” He said cheerfully and forced her hand closed around the braided gemstone.
“So,” He said decisively; “do you want to put it on now, or should I bathe first?”
She let out a pleased moo and shifted towards him. He didn’t object when she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed his face tight to her breasts. He returned her hug as best he could.
Well at least she’s not naked.
“Now! Now please master!” She said into his ear, sniffling a bit with joyous tears.
Once her bosomy hug ended she turned him around and carefully completed the braid, constantly checking with him to make sure it wasn’t too tight.
When she was finished, her heartstone was nestled comfortably in the notch between his clavicles with just enough slack that he could bring it to his lips if he wanted. She gave the back of his head a few affectionate licks before she released him. He found the hair to be surprisingly soft and silky, he thought it might be a bit coarse but after a few minutes he couldn’t even tell that he was wearing it.
He reached up and touched the crystal often; to make sure that it was still in place. Each time he did he felt a faint flutter of gratitude come from it.
Somehow he knew that Milly liked the attention.
Empath Rising Page 8
