Chapter 65: Chapter 61: Reactions

Brom, King of the Glens, was quietly filling out paperwork when the door to his office flew open. One of his aides, Neph, was standing in the doorway, panting heavily. “Your Majesty, the dead man’s switch on the scouting team went off!”

Brom stood up immediately, paperwork forgotten as he rushed over to the doorway. “Lead me to the room at once.” He said. “I need to see what happened.”

Neph led him down the hallways into a room where all the court mages had gathered, the low buzz that had filled the room silencing as he entered. “Play the footage.” Brom commanded, sitting down in a chair. “We cannot afford to waste any more time.”

The head mage nodded, leaning down and tinkering with an orb. The orb the scouting party was carrying had been set to keep the last hour of footage, which it would send back to the orb in the Glens in the event that Owen’s magical signature disappeared. After a moment of waiting, a three dimensional image sprung to life above the orb, showing the scouting party traversing the mountains.

“Move forward until the first point of relevance.” Brom said.

The head mage tweaked a knob on the orb and the image began to speed up, as if everyone in the room had been afflicted with a slowing spell. After some walking, the scouting party stopped at a cave, and Brom instructed the mage to return the image to normal speed.

A portal of some sort laid within the cave’s entrance, and the sight on the other end stunned the entire room. Within was some sort of recreation of the royal academy, no doubt created by Amelia for some unknown reason. Their worry grew as the team proceeded through the dungeon, met with no resistance from any of the unusual monsters they encountered. Eventually, they reached Amelia’s dorm, where a monster handed the group a piece of paper. Fortunately, they had spared no expense on this orb, and they were able to pause and read the paper.

Brom had a sinking feeling about where this was going. Amelia must have done something that resulted in Owen’s disappearance. Not death, she was a Hero, but she definitely had ways of making his magical signature vanish.

Yet, as he got up to the room, it was not Amelia who greeted him, but a phantom of a woman three years dead. Lia had been an odd case, for sure; she was perfectly normal in every single respect, with her only distinguishing feature being Amelia’s obsession with her.

Brom watched in mounting horror as the encounter continued. He had received a report that Lia’s family had mysteriously disappeared, and he was now certain Amelia was behind it, though he wasn’t sure what to make of the fact.

It was clear that Lia did not wish to fight Owen, but she felt compelled to, forced to, if she was telling the truth. Unfortunately, just the fact that Brom was sitting here, watching this recording, was a good indicator of how this would go.

A fight broke out, and like most fights it was quick and dirty, decided in a few blows. Yet, instead of killing Owen or teleporting him away, Lia, if she could even be called that after Amelia’s tinkering, began to secrete an odd substance from her hands, one which flowed up Owen and began to encase him.

“I’ll make you into something strong, okay? And we’ll figure out a way to help your family out, too.” Lia said, and then the feed cut out, leaving the room in stunned silence.

“She…she’s turning him into something inhuman, isn’t she?” Someone said hoarsely. “It’s like the necromantic armies all over again.”

Brom didn’t want to believe it himself, but the strange monsters and the way they all seemed to be mishmashes of other things pointed strongly in that direction. And yet…Brom started in his chair, the meaning behind those last works striking him like a bolt of lightning.

“Put Owen’s family under heavy watch, now.” He ordered. “She’s coming for them.”

---

Rose finally came into sight of the cave that held the portal to the dungeon, allowing relief to wash over her as she did. It…it was over. She wouldn’t have to commit herself to twenty hour days of training, and could spend time for herself. Like…like snuggling up against Lia while they both immersed themselves in books, or playing games with Chrys and Lia’s siblings, or…Rose began to blush furiously as she realized what was waiting for her. Lia had propositioned her, and Rose had said yes.

She was probably less experienced in this matter than even Lia was, having had basically no time to learn how to properly pleasure a woman. Yes, she had had Chrys, but Chrys’s conception was her only experience, and that was…businesslike, transactional. She had needed an heir, so she made one. But this…this was different; not only could she actually feel, but she also wanted to make sure Lia enjoyed herself. This wasn’t about making an heir, not in the slightest, it –

Rose froze as she reached the mouth of the cave. The plants that were guarding it had been tampered with, hacked apart by a blade of some sort. Intruders had entered the dungeon while it was vulnerable, and there was no telling what had happened. She closed her fist, the flower that was holding Ira’s cocoon closing in response, then dashed forward, spear already out.

The flower had some trouble keeping up with her as she blitzed through the dungeon and towards the dorms, but she didn’t have time to worry about that, not when people were in danger. Lia! She called out mentally, praying that Lia was able to hear her. Lia, are you there?!

Rose? The reply came back, relief evident in Lia’s tone. How’d it go? Did he hurt you?

No time for that! There are intruders!

Oh, right, them. Lia replied. We dealt with them. Five scouts from the Glens, safely cocooned. We lost a few drones and foot soldiers, but there were no major injuries. We’re in the dorm lobby, starting to convert them.

Rose let out a mental sigh of relief. Thank goodness. She said. Have the others come back?

Yeah, the enlightened people came back ten minutes ago. They said they sent the stragglers of the army home separately, they just wanted to get the important people home ASAP. But, again, how are you? Are you hurt at all?

No, it went exactly according to plan. I have his cocoon here. We just need to find enough strong monsters to combine him with, but those will come as we explore the Spine.

Amelia actually managed to get one of the big ones. Lia said. But I don’t think we’re going to use it for him. One of these scouts was my mentor back in school, and he was a really cool guy. He was the best scout the Glens had to offer, and I said I would make him into something strong, so I was thinking we would use the monster Amelia got for him.

If that is what you wish, I have no objections. Rose said. I am more than happy to keep Ira in storage indefinitely. I’m on my way to the dorms now, be there in five to ten minutes.

Good. You still, um, have your reward to collect. Rose could practically sense Lia’s blush, one she was sharing as well.

I’ll try not to keep you waiting, then.

---

Lia felt a sort of nervous elation as she set the last of the cocoons to convert, repeatedly flicking through the vision members of the swarm that were outside so she could track Rose’s progress. She couldn’t believe she had invited Rose for sex, she…she must have been caught up in the heat of the moment, going with the flow, like…like a housewife seeing her wife off to war.

She giggled slightly at the mental image, but she couldn’t deny that this was something she wanted. It wasn’t like the past, where she was rebuffing Liam’s advances, she was actively reaching out because she was ready, and she wanted it. She knew Rose wanted it, too, based off of her reactions. She was subdued about it, but the blushes and dreamy smiles were a clear sign.

She…uh, hadn’t been thinking about Amelia, though. Amelia was sulking, having opted to go straight to her room instead of celebrating the victory with the others. It was something Lia knew she would have to address soon, explicitly lay out the terms of any potential relationship.

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Amelia had made it clear that she didn’t mind a polyamorous relationship, and, as Lia had come to realize, Lia didn’t mind it either. She was pretty sure that was an effect of Amelia’s mental tampering, but she didn’t care.

So, she decided she would have to talk to Rose about it. She had been friends with Amelia for a long time, and though she had trouble seeing Amelia in a romantic light, she couldn’t deny that she found Amelia attractive. If she had her way, her love life would stay as it was unless something big happened. She would –

She was snapped out of her reverie by Rose bursting through the doors of the lobby, bounding over and catching Lia in a hug. “I’m so happy you’re safe.” Rose whispered, pulling Lia close. “And I’m so happy to be able to spend time with you again. I just…I just need a break.”

Lia rested her head against Rose’s chest, basking in her warmth for a while. “You deserve one.” Lia said. “I’m gonna make you so relaxed you’ll forget all this stress.” Lia couldn’t see Rose’s face…no, she borrowed the eyes of another swarm member, watching in satisfaction as Rose’s face grew crimson.

“I, um, I…” Rose sputtered, lost for words. “Be gentle. This is my first time.”

Lia blinked in surprise. “But Chrys…”

“Chrys was different. That was business, this is pleasure. I couldn’t even feel back then, not like I do now. I was little more than a golem following the orders of some higher power.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll just have to treat you extra carefully. Unless, of course, you want to be a treated like a golem.”

Rose’s blush grew even deeper somehow. “Later. I want our first to be more…lovey-dovey.”

“Then your wish is my command.” Lia said, disentangling herself and pulling Rose towards her room. “Let’s go.”

---

Lia sighed contentedly. She understood now why Liam had wanted this so bad, and she was glad she hadn’t given it to him. He wanted her for her body, while Rose wanted her for…her. She was sure the experience would have been nothing as intimate as what she just had, and doubted it would have been half as enjoyable.

“That was…unbelievable.” Rose sighed dreamily. “Looks like your studies paid off.”

Lia snuggled up against Rose, content at her side. “It would seem so. You sound like you had as good a time as I did.”

“I’m sure what you got was nothing like what I got.” Rose said. “I was…woefully underprepared.”

Lia tilted her head up slightly, giving Rose a quick kiss. “It’s okay to not be good the first time.” She said. “I enjoyed myself plenty, and that’s all that matters. I’m sure I was lacking in areas too, but we have plenty of time to learn, together.”

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, just holding each other close until, eventually, Rose spoke up. “What are we going to do about Amelia?” She asked.

Lia giggled. “Great minds think alike, it seems. I was just wondering about her earlier, she seems…somewhat upset with this, she probably wanted to be my first.”

“It’s okay if you want to get into a relationship with her.” Rose said quietly. “As long as you love me too.”

“No!” Lia said, more forcefully than even she had expected. “If that happens, it’s because both of us want to date her. She gets both of us, or she gets neither of us.”

Rose smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way, and truthfully, I would prefer it that way too, but…we need to take into account Amelia’s mood. Not because I’m worried about hurting her feelings per-se, but because I’m afraid of what she might do.”

“I…I have to agree. I know better than anyone that she’s…not particularly stable.” Lia said. “But I also like her as a friend, and I do want her to be happy. But that’s just…not enough to get into a relationship with her. Yes, she is quite attractive, but…that’s it. With her being…the way she is, I just can’t imagine getting into a relationship with her.”

“You think she would have changed that,” Rose mused, “seeing as how she changed so much of our minds already.”

“I think…I think she thought it wasn’t necessary.” Lia said. “She definitely didn’t want to make her traits universally attractive to all swarm members, because that would prove a distraction from me, but I think she thought that if I was a lesbian, we would just naturally fall into a relationship.

“Maybe that would have been the case in the past, when I was less aware of her…quirks, but even if I can’t care about them morally the way I probably should, it just seems like the relationship would be…problematic. But if we deny her outright…”

“I don’t think we need to?” Rose ventured cautiously. “We could tell her that we won’t accept her until she’s worked on becoming a better person. Who knows, maybe now that she doesn’t feel the Urge she’ll be able to slowly rehabilitate herself and become the kind of person she was supposed to be before things went wrong.”

“I’ll have to ask Connie about it, she’d probably know if that’s possible.” Lia said. “That or she’d have access to someone who does know.”

“So, if we did “fix” her, do you think she’d be relationship material?” Rose asked.

Lia thought that over for a moment. “Probably, yeah, if we assume she’d be like the front she used to put up in school. But…that’s enough of that for now. Why don’t we go take a shower together and see where things go from there?”

“We might never get anything done if we do that.” Rose warned, smiling.

“I think I’m okay with that.” Lia teased, scooching herself upward so she could nibble on Rose’s ear. “So?”

“Well, we have established that I am in dire need of a break…”