Chapter 231: Opening Pandora’s Box? Jar?

Now that she’s ready to unload whatever mental baggage is weighing on her conscience, I step toward Nikita and sit leaning against the arm of the sofa on the opposite side of her. While giving her my best and most reassuring smile, I do what I can to make the Grekkan feel comfortable. “Just get whatever you have to off of your chest, Nikita. Everyone in the Guild knows you’ve been acting cagey ever since we had that meeting where I talked about my intention to one day defeat the current Demon Lord. Did you have something to say regarding that whole mess?”

“Sorta,” The former sellsword says. Opal studies Nikita’s reaction but otherwise remains silent, giving the robed warrior plenty of room to speak her mind. The Grekkan sighs a deep, tired, sigh and makes a weary expression as she turns to face me. “As you said, it’s pretty obviously related to that. The problem is I don’t know how to express it, Chief... I just don’t fucking know. More than anything else, I think, you confuse me.”

“You’re feeling confused?” I tilt my head in an attempt to understand where she’s coming from, but just end up feeling confused myself.

“I think? I don’t know, that’s the damn problem!” A bit of anger flares up in Nikita’s strained voice as she struggles with thoughts and emotions she’s never experienced.

Opal can’t help herself, offering a teasing suggestion to her good friend. “Perhaps you should try sleeping with him, Niki. That’s done wonders for every other girl in his life thus far.”

Despite my obvious disappointment in Opal’s comment, this joke ends up relieving a lot of Nikita’s apparent anxiety. Letting go of some of her built-up tension, the warrior loosens her expression enough to smiles that bright, white, smile of hers. She says, “Thanks, Doc. that’s one hell of a prescription. For real, though... you really wanna know what’s on my mind, Chief? Even if it makes things weird between us?”

“How weird could it possibly get? I’m used to weird, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Maybe it’s not that weird, but...” Nikita starts groaning and comforts her aching head by cradling it in her palms. “I liked you well enough when we first met, sure. Not exactly what I’d call the picture of a real man’s man, but you’re smart and funny... maybe even a little bit cute in a nerdy way, you know?” I just stare back at her, listening intently and blushing a tad at being called cute. Wasn’t expecting to hear that from Nikita, of all people. “Things changed when you dropped all that epic destiny crap, though, and... fuck, that’s the kind of thing we Grekkans live for, you know? For real.”

“Ah...” Opal raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. Judging by the look on her face I’d say she knows wherever this is going. Regardless, she stays quiet and lets Nikita finish.

“Where I come from, every warrior wants to go down in history and have their deeds be the subject of songs and epic poems. We latch onto heroic causes and devote ourselves to greatness in the hopes of becoming a legend. When I learned the truth about you, every single part of me wanted to rebel against the path I had chosen and devote myself to your heroic cause... Even now I’m not sure if I actually, you know, like you because of your destiny or if it’s genuinely because of ‘you’, but then again... I’ve... it’s not like I’ve ever really felt this way before towards a man. Am I making any sense here? Yes? No? Fuck, I’m probably just rambling...”

“Nikita...?”

“The thing is, even though I have these conflicting feelings about you, it’s not like I can act on them since it’ll just drive me towards fighting once again... and I just... Chief, I can’t have that...”

“We could talk more about your troubles, figure out a way to make them into less of a headache. Maybe if we-”

“I. Can’t. Have. That.” She exclaims in a calm, yet threatening voice. Just hearing the sheer intensity of her subtle anger is enough to inspire fear in my heart, and I hope to never have Nikita’s fury pointed toward me again. The Grekkan’s face relaxes after a few more seconds of staring me down, and she feels bad about the unintended intimidation. “Sorry, Chief. I can’t keep fighting, no matter how much being around you makes me thirst for glory. Not after everything I’ve been through, and not after the pain he inflicted on my heart. If it comes down to it, I may just very well walk away before the temptation gets too strong.”

I feel compelled to try and comfort her. When I reach towards the mercenary with my hand, Nikita says very bluntly, “If you try and hold my hand, or pat my shoulder, or do anything else that could remotely be considered romantic, then Opal is going to have a field day fixing your arm up, Chief. I don’t need you making this any more awkward than it already is.”

I withdraw my hand right away, fearing for my own survival. Opal frowns and looks askance. Everything is silent for a few moments, before the Grekkan closes her eyes, blushes, and stands up. “Right, good talk everyone. If you ask me, that was more fun than a day in the life of Sisyphus. Now that that weight’s off my shoulders, I’m going to go get very, very drunk now.”

She exits the room without making eye contact with either one of us, her absence creating a black hole of tension between the older Mage and myself. Opal speaks moments later, saying, “Dear, I love you very much, but as your Doctor, I’m going to have to suggest against attempting to charm Nikita.”

I wasn’t intending to, I’m well aware that the women in my life have issues that can’t be resolved just by being with me. Regardless, I sense the opportunity for a smart jab, so I take it. “Aren’t you the one who suggested she sleep with me to solve her problems?”

“Sure,” Opal sighs. “But that was before I knew it wouldn’t solve them.”

“And what do you think would solve her problems?”

Opal lays out the answer, matter-of-factly, saying, “Time.”

“Hmm...”

“Well, it’s either that or take on Ares yourself and force the Grekkan God of War to give Nikita a permanent blessing. Or, she could just pick up a new class...” The older woman walks towards me and puts her hand on my shoulder, staring me straight in the eyes. “Nikita’s at a crossroads in her life. It’s not for either of us to push her towards fighting again, and you may have to prepare yourself for a future without the Grekkan around should she decides being around you is too painful for her to bear.”

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Opal sounds convinced. “...You really think she might leave?” I ask, sounding sadder than I meant to sound.

“She doesn’t want to fight, and being you around makes her want to. Nikita made that quite clear, I thought.”

“I guess it just didn’t really register...” I do my best to imagine the Guild without Nikita but the problem is that I just can’t picture it matter how hard I try. Before I knew it happened, Nikita became someone that I’ve started taking for granted. She’s as much a part of my Guild... no, my home, as anyone else. At this point, it just wouldn’t feel complete without Nikita around to wake up the girls for early morning training or to barge in looking to crash in a spare room after a long night of drinking. “Who would teach Sam and Meri if she left?”

“The school of hard knocks,” Opal giggles to herself. “Failing that, you should have the funds to look for another combat instructor.”

“I suppose...” The suggestion doesn’t do much in the way of cheering me up, but I nod my head nonetheless.

Sensing my sadness, Opal takes me into her boundless bosom hidden by her warm, tight-fitting sweater. She begins to comfort me in that motherly way that no other woman to date has been capable of living up to. “Now, now, my sweet, little man...” She whispers in her deep, relaxing voice. “There’s no reason to be so upset. You and I are going to have a nice little trip all to ourselves, so push everything else out of your mind for now. Can you do that for me?”

“I’ll try, but... unintentionally or not, I’m just upset that I’m doing this to her. It’s not easy to hear someone you admire and respect say that just being around you causes them pain.”

Opal kisses my forehead and squeezes me even tighter into her boobs. “Do you like Nikita in the same way you like the rest of your girls, Dear?”

I wasn’t expecting Opal to ask me so directly like that on my feelings towards the Guild’s combat instructor slash bodyguard extraordinaire. Once she does, though, I mull the question over in my mind pointedly before giving her my response.

“We’ve flirted once or twice, sure, but until now I didn’t even consider the two of us ever having anything more than a working relationship. I may very well be a selfish, hedonistic pervert, but I’m above chasing every single woman who shows the slightest bit of interest in me.” That’s what I say, at least, but I’m sure a part of me would pursue Nikita if things weren’t as complicated.

Unfortunately, they are, so I won’t. While I’m far from a scholar when it comes to Grekkan lore, I seem to remember reading about some sort of box- or was it a jar?- that when opened, can never be closed again. My feelings towards Nikita remind me of that tale in the sense that now that I’ve actually thought about her in a romantic light, It’ll be a struggle to see her the way I used to be.

As the conversation becomes even more serious, Opal steps back and takes my hands into hers. She intertwines my fingers in her comforting, silky-gloved grasp, staring me straight in the eyes and saying, “I want you to make a promise to me, Dear. Just this once, please don’t act on your feelings. Niki means a lot to me, as do you, and doing so will only hurt the both of you.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I nod my head, which earns a smile from the Doctor as soon as she realizes I mean what I say.

“Good. If things happen to change in the future, then we might have this discussion again... but for now, just keep a respectful distance.” I don’t know the extent of Opal and Nikita’s relationship, or even how long they’ve known each other, for that matter. Hell, I don’t even know how old Nikita is... regardless, it’s clear to me just how much the retired mercenary means to Opal just from the way she asks me not to hurt her.

I have no other option, so I tell Opal, “Of course. That sounds fine by me.” Checking the clock on the wall, I see that it’s just about reached a quarter past noon. We’ve idled around talking about sensitive issues long enough. “It’s getting late. Can you do me a favor before we go?”

“What do you need?”

“Any chance you can fix up some scratches and, ah... bitemarks without actually getting rid of them?”

Opal laughs. “I was there when you and Cherry talked about it, you know. I already cleaned you up with Freshenow. That spell should be more than enough.”

“Just making sure. Shall be we on our way, then?”

“I think that sounds splendid, Dear.” She says, and with a flick of her wand, the Doctor magics the office door wide open.

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