Chapter 19: [019] [Fledgling]

It was a bright sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. The air was dry, and the breeze was warm.

And the Goblins were walking around looking for Rick by name.

He threw the normal level of concern out the window. Had Yasir been caught? Or was this Dia sending others to look for him? Monica had gone to get herself patched up, so chances were it was the latter. But it still wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

Besides, he needed to get to Kiara and Eva. To Rick’s advantage, the Orcs averaged a little over two meters in height. As long as he stuck relatively near to one, the more feeble human could more easily pass unnoticed. It was almost like having an invisibility cloak. The second point in his favor was that the search for him appeared to be focused on the areas of the tribe where the humans were being kept.

There were a couple of close calls.

He still made it to where they were keeping the “prisoners”.

Two huts, guarded by two Orcs. At a glance, it was clear neither of them were taking their job too seriously. Both maidens were carefully carving away, using knives the size of Rick's forearm to reduce logs to what looked like spears? He approached, keeping a bored but meaningful gate. Like someone who didn't want to be here but didn't have a choice.

“Which one has the Succubus?” Rick asked calmly. “Chief sent me. Has a message for her.”

The nearest Orc made a gesture with her head to point him to one hut and went back to carving.

A little surprised at the lack of resistance, Rick marched on.

The door had no lock, only a chunk of wood to bar the door shut.

The inside was dim. Kiara sat at the center of the circular room, heavy chains pinned to torso-thick stakes at each corner, and leaving the Succubus with very little range of movement. The maiden was naked, the natural tanned creamy color of her skin marred with dirt, her normally vibrant blue hair was dull, caked in filth, the only attempt of modesty being her tail.

Logically speaking, it was easy to know she’d been starved, but the maiden looked like all she needed was a power-wash and a nap. Her curves were as perfect as he remembered them, a plumpness to her figure that spoke of fertility and a welcoming embrace. She was soft to the eyes, and he knew she was just soft to the touch. A part of him flared in hunger for her, wondering how delicious she might be to taste, breasts all but begging to be consumed.

He recognized the tingling heat. The maiden was trying to use her powers on him. Shifting his focus to her glowing golden eyes, he met her glare, a seductive like everything else about her, but pissed and hungry. Kiara’s jaw clenched at his lack of a reaction to the open invitation of her body. The maiden’s anger did not abate as she slowly spread her thighs, shoulders leaning back and exposing her chest in full, each capped with a mouth watering-

“For crying out loud, stop that.” Rick growled, stepping closer and throwing his cape over her body. “Stay still.” He moved to crouch closer to her wrist, ready to check how the hell the mechanism worked, and whether there was some way to release it.

Except the crude Orc-wood cuffs were already unlocked.

He could feel her eyes burning holes into the side of his skull. “Are you going to attack me?” he asked in a whisper, glancing at her. “Pin me to the ground or something? Kidnap me?”

Kiara didn't move, gaze flickering at the door, remaining still as she continued to pretend to be restrained. “I’m considering it.” Her voice was raspy, strained. It was only in her tone that he could sense the starvation within her. "Talk."

“I am going to take control of this tribe. Things are already in motion.” He muttered in a whisper, not moving from the spot. She was desperate and hangry. Making sudden movements was never a good idea. “I can do it with or without you, but I'd prefer the former.”

Kiara snorted, reaching out to grasp his shirt, pulling him closer and staring into his eyes. “And what are your plans for me? Toss me around like a party favor? Turn me into their addiction of choice?”

“I didn’t start whoring you out before, and I don’t plan to now.” His words caused some confusion to flash through her eyes, the maiden let go of his shirt as he shoved her off.

“What do you want, Rick?” Kiara spat, pulling the cape against her skin, covering herself. There was an edge of vulnerability in how she tucked her legs, the way her tail wrapped around her hip, the way she turned only a shoulder to him. “This is your perfect chance to get rid of me. But you’re here without even your muscle-head giant to protect you.”

Where was this coming from? He definitely didn't have the patience for her games. "What can I say? This is just one gigantic, convoluted bluff.” His voice was thick with sarcasm. “You’re a big girl and clearly you can take care of yourself just fine. Decide if you want to stick around. I've got other things to do.”

He moved a step away, half-expecting her to lash out and prevent escape, half-expecting her to attack. The Succubus did neither, gaze lingering on him as he walked to the door, inscrutable.

“With you.”

The two words gave him pause. He glanced over his shoulder at her.

“With you.” She repeated, combing her hair through her fingers, turning away, shoulders slouching. “And I need a hearty meal. I’m dry right now.”

"No revenge."

She startled. "What?"

"What was done to you, this whole imprisonment crap." He gestured around himself. "Things get talked out, not bashed out. That's the price of being in a group." With a tilt of his head, he signalled to the door. "Unless you've got a complaint, I'll see what I can do to bring you a meal."

"I... can work with that." She spoke tentatively. Her gaze shifted to the door. "I can handle my greens."

He did not want to dwell on the dichotomy of not wanting to use her as a throwable sex-weapon, and immediately after having to consider what to throw at the sex-weapon to feed her. If she wanted to go at it on her own terms, then that was that. With a nod, he stepped back outside and approached one of the Orcs, patting her shoulder and raising his voice. “The prisoner’s cuffs seem to have slackened. I don’t want to risk tightening them back up.”

The duo shared a look, letting out a dissatisfied grunt and dropping their work to head into the hut.

He took several steps away and waited, wondering how things might go down.

“Well, hello there~.” Kiara spoke with oozing sensuality.

There was a rattling of wood, and the sound of a scuffle. Rick saw one of the back walls explode, Kiara locked on to one Orc while the other was being dragged along by the chains. The brawl moved back into the hut, and the sounds slowly eased out. The grunts and groans softened into soft sighs and coos, mixed with breathless sounds and tearing fabric.

Moans soon followed.

“Don’t kill them.” He closed the door.

The bond with Kiara tickled in a wave of a very particular kind of smug sexual warmth, one Rick did his best to block out. There was one more person to talk to, and it felt like it would be the harder of the two. Not least of which because Rick wasn't even sure what to do with Eva.

On one hand, she’d been annoying and a pain, on the other… it wasn’t like he was blind. The maiden had a brain, even if she tried to hide it. And seeing what the Ghoul and Vampire had done... she had incredible potential. Was that worth the alternative? Then again, there was that stirring within him that just...

“Monica here.” Rick tried not to jump in shock. As per usual, she'd approached without a sound. For someone whose belly button was level with his chin, that was always equal parts impressive and intimidating. “Dia very mad.” She added.

That likely removed anyone having found out about Yasir. Though Dia was going to be even madder when she learnt about that.

“Figures,” he calmed his heart, patting her furry paw. “So about Eva…”

“Eva hurt Rick, want to hurt Rick. Eva bad.”

“Right.”

Out of all the options boiling inside his mind, the one he was the most certain of was that he didn't want Eva dead. Maybe it was the possessive streak, or maybe something had clicked. Whatever the case, he needed to prove to Monica and himself that Eva losing control wasn't something that would happen again. That if it ever did, the result would be different.

That didn’t make planning for what to do any easier.

The only thing he could do was grimace and approach the door. Monica would not take half-answers. She viewed the Fledgling as a threat, rightly so when said maiden had lost herself to her hunger and nearly killed him. And Monica had very specific ways in which she got rid of threats.

The young man thought back to the feral pen, the Hound biting at the feline’s biceps. How much of that had been a fluke? Could he repeat it?

“Rick scared.” Monica said.

“Yeah.”

Why wouldn’t he be? The last time he’d seen Eva, she’d turned his chest into burger meat. That same potential was just as much a risk. They always came together. The very thing that made maidens a powerful ally made them nightmarish enemies.

“Rick stronger.” She shoved him a step forward, closer to the door. “No time, Dia coming.”

His complaint died in his throat. She was right.

Rick took a deep, calming breath. And stepped into the hut.

Unlike Kiara’s "cell", this one had its roof full of holes, providing no shadows large enough for anyone to hide in. The walls were surrounded by braziers, smoke stains on the walls signaling there had not been a single moment of darkness for the Fledgling since becoming a captive once more. At the corner of the room was Eva, seeking comfort in what little shade she could find against the wall. She was like a pearl, a pale porcelain dot trying to make herself as small as she could. The linen shirt was baggy on her lithe frame, making her look that much smaller.

They had wrapped a metal collar around her neck, not Orc-wood like Kiara’s, but steel. The chain tethered her to the central post of the room. It gave her room to move, but left her entirely at the whims of whoever held the chain.

Two ruby eyes focused on him.

Eva quickly turned to look away, lowering her gaze to the dirt.

Rick’s instincts screamed several things at once, to run away, to coddle her, to pin her down and… he shook his head.

Kiara’s emotions were being heard, and blocking them out took effort. Eva might have been waifish and thin, but the maturity of her features was plain to see. Her face was littered with regal angles that almost made her appear hawkish, predatory. Hers was a face built to look at others by sliding her gaze down her nose. It made her vulnerability look out of place, almost jarring.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said.

He was of the mind to agree, to step out and wait until Kiara was done and just forget about the blood-sucker. As it stood, he looked at her and felt that… tug. It was a feeling that spoke a single word within him.

‘Mine’.

“I’ve come to renegotiate our deal.” Rick let the words out before something else came to mind.

Eva’s nostrils flared, eyes locking on him. No, on his throat, on the arteries. Could she hear the hammering heartbeat inside his chest? “They keep me fed,” she whispered. “But...” Her fangs glinted against pink lips, nose raised to aim them at him like a flashing warning sign.

Rick acknowledged the gesture was an attempt to look menacing. He understood the Fledgling was trying to scare him off, and that he wanted to keep his distance from those claws. Rick stepped closer anyway, looking down at the maiden.

It was like looking at a kitten. She had sharp claws, claws that could tear and cut, that had hurt and could do so again.

The effect of her threat had been ruined. All because Eva did not know how to be dangerous. The curled up body language, the hesitation and flinching.

Compared to Monica, Eva wasn’t even a risk.

Had she really made him this nervous? Had he really feared her? Rick laughed, the sound startled the Fledgling into curling further against the wall. She was helpless. He doubted she’d even be able to survive on her own. There was so much she needed to learn and overcome…

“Again, I’m here to renegotiate the original deal.”

The response was not one she’d expected. The fake bravado was gone in an instant. Eva turned away in dejection. “Just kill me.”

“No.”

“I’m a threat.”

“You’re adorable.” He replied with a simple shrug.

Eva glared at him. “What am I? A pet?”

“If you keep that act, then yeah.” He stepped closer, watching her freeze. Rick put his hands on his hips, looking down at her. “We’ve had to put up with your tantrums, carry you around, and make sure you were fed. The difference between you and a pet is that the pet would’ve been more manageable.”

Eva sputtered, eyes wide in indignation, face flushed. “The Vampire escaped. She will chase after me.” she seethed. “Do you even know who I am!?”

"Evans something or another. Does it change what you've done since we picked you up?”

It was amusing, watching her stutter and try to form a response before giving up entirely. “They will kill you, to get to me.” Eva finally declared, the wind gone from her sails, her head lowering into her arms. “You should get rid of me.”

Rick crossed his arms. “If the only answer you can reach from being chased around by a blood-sucking bitch is to give up, you’re either a coward, an idiot, or just plain lazy.”

The maiden looked up at him with a scowl. “I am Evans Bavtha, head of the Bavtha household. I am worth a thousand times my weight in gold. I alone ca-”

“I don’t care.” Those three words cut her off and left her mute. Eva’s eyes widened, jaw slackened. Rick felt like his eyes would roll out of his head. “You think that I'm in any more danger because you're around? Fuck that.”

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“You don’t understand!”

“This is not the first time some asshole sees me in the way of something they want and thinks they can just shove me off a cliff to get to it.”

“Stop saying- you-. I’m not your property!” She shot to her feet with a rattling of her chain. Her hands were open, sharp nails gleaming under the sunlight.

“First warning.” He spoke slowly, reaching up to grasp the chain and tug her closer. “Do that again, and I will kiss you.”

His threat had the intended startle effect. Eva recoiled away, gawking, face turned a deep red. He didn’t let go of the chain and she nearly stumbled. The Fledgling might be stronger than Rick, but he was practically twice her weight class, her feet skid against the dirt, not finding purchase.

Rick tugged her closer.

“Second.” He leaned close. “The Kingdom considers you're property. That's kind of the law of the land you come from. A bitch, am I right?" He lowered his voice to a growl. "If I were to follow the traditions of your people, then you'd be nothing more than a slave." He pulled closer, until his brows could almost touch hers, close enough he could spot the flecks of blackness within the ruby red irises. “But you’re in luck. I came here to negotiate, and I don't care about what others think should happen.”

Letting go, he stepped back, breathing harder than he should have, part in strain, part in something else he'd rather not think about.

Eva rubbed at her throat, looking away. “I-I’m listening.”

“You can either leave on your own, stay and join the tribe, or you can join my team.”

“That’s…” She tried to look at him in fury and failed. The winds knocked right out of her sails as their eyes locked. Hers were the eyes that lowered first. “That’s no choice at all. I would never survive these wildlings, and leaving would… I have nowhere to go. I would go feral. Not even my household would…” Her hands shook. “I have nowhere. I have nothing… I have no one.”

Tears ran down her cheeks.

“I have no one.” She repeated. Her head hung low, her lips trembled. A long withering gasp of a breath, followed by her shoulders going limp, slouching. “I have no one.”

Rick held back the grimace. This was not the time for a pity party. She had her feelings to deal with, but neither of them could afford to do so now.

“Then stay with me.” If the world had discarded her, then why not? His motives might not be selfless, but who cares? It would help her survive, it would help her grow and become stronger. It would help her become someone again. Someone with the strength to tell the world to fuck off. He crouched, offering his hand. “Whatever happened to Evans, she’s gone, dead. You’re just a feralborn Fledgling I found on the road and took in. Nothing else.”

“Evans was a man.” Eva mumbled.

“Really? I thought…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

The maiden didn’t respond, face hidden between the black curtains of her hair. “What’s my name?” Her breath trembled. “If I was just some feral, and you caught me, then I didn’t have a name.”

That one was a simple request. “Evangeline. Eva for short.”

She groaned, wiping her tears away, shoulders deflating. "Evangeline... I'll take it."

Her lips trembled, hesitation followed as she looked up at him with an unspoken question in her eyes. The maiden shifted a little, stepping just close enough that his shadow could protect her from the sunlight. Something about that look made him feel like speaking would be a mistake.

He waited, watching as she looked at the door, then his face, then down. To the hand holding the chain, to his feet, and then back to the chain. It started slowly, her knees bending as the maiden descended to the ground. She reached for his free hand, leaning her forehead against his knuckles.

The Fledgling breathed in and let her breath out in a shudder.

“My name is Evangeline.” It was a vow. The tone left no room for any other interpretation. “I take the name you have given, Richard Cross.” Her shoulders slackened, she let out another trembling breath. “I swear upon my accursed blood and my accursed form that I will remain. To you and those that inherit your name, now and forever, until I breathe last.”

A chill ran up his arm. He held back the impulse to retrieve it out of her grasp.

He’d half expected there to be some sort of glow going about. Her tone had been so… ceremonial. Like fulfilling a ritual she knew intimately. There was a tone to it he couldn't quite identify.

“Is…” He hesitated, weighing his words. “This differs from how Dia did it.”

“The details might change with how it is done by the nobles of the Empire, but it should be familiar. This is the Oath of the Scourged.”

“I am not a noble.”

Eva twitched, head still held low. “I know the truth. There is no need to hide it.”

"Again, I'm no noble."

This time, she raised her gaze to look at him in confusion. “I am certain you are an illegitimate son of the Emperor’s household.” The blank look he gave her prompted the maiden to continue. “It is the most logical conclusion. You know little about this kingdom, try to avoid talking about your past, keep referring to large villages as ‘tiny’, openly wish to avoid nobility, and I have never ever heard many of the terms you’ve used.” Her hand reached up to caress her lips. “And that Succubus must be some kind of retainer for her to have gone through such lengths to protect your life.”

“I’m an otherworlder. Born in Tennessee, USA.” Rick pointed over his shoulder. “Landed over at the village of Astunes less than a year ago, came with twenty-odd other people. I was told they kept the whole thing hush-hush, but it’s hard to imagine it didn’t cause waves in the higher political circles. Maybe you’ve been feral for longer than any of us thought?”

“I-uh.” Eva was looking at him as if he’d grown a second head, blinking slowly, opening and closing her mouth. “Are you… were you important in your world?”

Rick shrugged. “I don’t think being a poorly paid chemistry teacher counts. Not that it changes the current situation.”

Laughter interrupted from behind him. It drifted in through the open door.

“It is very important to her.”

Kiara stepped into the prison cell, sauntering in her full, naked glory, flaunting her curves and looking like she just came straight out of a spa-day. Her hair had volume, her skin was pristine and flawless, her eyes were full of mirth.

“This little blood-sucker was a noble, after all.” Her fingers traced his shoulders, the maiden leaning closer to whisper into his ear. “But there are other ways to impress her. Like so.”

She pressed her breasts against his back, pulling his now free hand closer. With a flick of her finger, her nail nicked his palm and drew blood. Eva’s reaction was immediate. The maiden inhaled sharply, wide eyes locking on the crimson droplet.

Not letting go of his wrist, Kiara shoved his hand against the Fledgling’s face.

“Hey!” Rick tried to recoil.

And failed. Kiara had let go, but Eva had grabbed hold of his hand with a vice-like grip.

The pale maiden inhaled sharply, pupils dilating as she leaned forward and licked his palm. The Fledgling groaned, shook, flushed, and moaned all at once. Within seconds, her tongue was lavishing adoration against his palm, trembling with each lick. Rick wasn’t sure whether to feel concerned, disgusted, angry, or aroused. What he was sure of was that this wanted to stop right now.

“Enough!”

Eva tensed, recoiling. In that gap, he pulled away.

“Curious.” Kiara commented, looking at him in something that bordered on praise and amusement. Her focus shifted back to her prey, hands reaching out to grasp at Eva’s hair and pulled further away from Rick. “Did you get a good chance to feel that? How pure his blood is? There’s nothing quite like it in this world. Every human has some maiden in them.” She cooed, stroking Eva’s neck. “That pure human blood gives little Fledglings like you a sexual euphoria that’s just… delicious.”

The moment she spoke those words, Rick knew she’d been lying through her teeth. Not because he was sure it was a lie, but because he could see it so clearly written across her face, he almost did a double-take. The plastic mask of deception, the same one she’d worn when pretending to be siding with the Ghoul.

But Eva was blind to it, goosebumps rushing through her body as she struggled with feverish breaths against the Succubus’ grip. “Let me go!”

“I was just making sure you didn’t lose yourself, little leech.” Came the reply with a smirk, releasing the Fledgling. “You’re not the first blood-sucker I’ve had to deal with. I know all your fun little weaknesses, your instincts, inside and out.” The maiden turned to Rick. “That was… repayment. For the meal.”

She was hiding something. But this was not the time to dwell on it.

Less so in front of Eva when he wasn’t sure how either maiden might react.

“Glad to see you’re at least no longer dragging yourself around.” He gestured at her body, making it a point not to gawk too much. “I remember leaving you a cloak.”

She shrugged and slyly smirked. “The pink-haired bitch shouldn’t be long.” She blew him a kiss, ignoring his point entirely. “I’d rather not be within her reach by the time she gets here. When am I supposed to step in?”

“You’ll know. I’m going for the thing we’d talked about back when I was a prisoner. Also, Yasir is my friend. Remember that.”

Her surprise was only present through the raise of a brow. “I have a thing or two that might help,” she said, stepping closer. “Speaking of help, and payment, I will even give you another secret you can use, if when I show up you cling to my arm like a piece of eye-candy. It should send quite the message to everyone else.”

It would probably drive Dia up the wall, which was undoubtedly Kiara’s intentions. “You can do better than that.” He chided.

“I agree you could be improved. Thirty is old for a boy-toy, but I could still make it work.” She gave him a once over, looking at him from head to toe. “The scars and unkept beard detract from the looks. That and you still have some of that barbarism going about you, as if you’re a feral maiden.” Kiara made a vague gesture in his direction. “Still, the maiden roguish touch isn’t exactly a bad one on you. You could look like a Wildling King with a bit of effort here and there.”

With a shake of his head, he shooed her off. The Succubus just chuckled darkly, taking to the air there and then, rising into the sky quickly. Within seconds, voices called out in alarm, bells ringing and people shouting about the escaped prisoner.

Rick glanced at Monica as she stepped into the cell.

The maiden took several sniffs, at Eva in particular. “Rick weird.” She proclaimed, meeting his gaze. “Monica allow Eva, for now.”

“I’d appreciate it if you taught her how to hunt and fight, at least a bit.”

“WHAT!?” Eva snapped at him, wide eyed.

“CHIEF!” a voice called from outside.

“Annoying.” Monica rolled her eyes.

Rick turned to the Fledgling. “Just stay here.”

Eva grasped her chain and rattled it. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Right. All the better.”

He stepped outside with Monica close behind.

They were immediately surrounded by maidens, almost twenty Orcs, Hobs, and Goblins, all looking just about ready for a fight. At the center of the congregation of maidens were Urtha and Dia. Or rather, Urtha and Spikes. “What. Did. You. Do?” Urtha was the first to speak, glaring at Monica, her mane of black hair barely twitching even against the wind. “You allowed your male to just run around and let loose a prisoner!?”

The look on the Sabretooth’s face was a work of art in showing her deficit in fucks to give. “Rick do what Rick want.” She proclaimed with a shrug. “Monica help little.”

“He is not your owner.”

“Monica do what Monica want.”

Urtha appeared as fed up with the topic as Monica. This was clearly not the first time they’d talked it over. “The only thing you are showing is weakness.”

“Monica know Monica strong. Not Monica fault Urtha not happy with human.”

The argument spun out of control from there, everyone stepped away. Everyone save two. “Rick.” Dia’s voice called out, ignoring the two tall maidens that were raising tones to one another. “Kiara… she’s using you.”

“It’s complicated.” That, and he didn’t want to go around talking about this in the open.

She grimaced. “Monica, being the chief, it won’t last forever.” Dia gesticulated at the feline. “She’s not interested in it. She’s only staying there until she gets bored.”

“I suspected as much.”

Rick glanced at the feline. She was butting foreheads with Urtha, both maidens growling at each other, but neither starting the fight they both clearly wanted. He could tell Monica didn’t consider Urtha a challenge, let alone a threat, but she had no intention of letting someone just push her around. While the Orc was in a similar spot, aware she would lose, but unwilling to back down.

What he wasn’t sure of was where Dia stood in this equation.

“How about we sit down and have a talk?” He paused as he heard the lunch bell ring. “Though I’d rather have something to eat first. It’s been a long morning.”

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