Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Cuddles and Bells

The Hero Became a Mousegirl
Chapter Twenty-Five: Cuddles and Bells

“Lay down Aurii,” Myra instructed, grinning like a hungry cat gazing at an injured bird. “Arms out a little bit, good girl.” 

Smiling Myra laid down next to Auriel, her head on her shoulder before looking up at me. “Now, you take the other side Caelan.” 

“G-Got it,” With a nod I laid down on Auriel’s other side, mimicking Myra’s positioning. Laying together like this I could hear Auriel’s heart racing, though whether it was cuddling with both of us that was getting to her, or just Myra I couldn’t tell. Her heart had sounded a little fast when I was wrapped up with her before, but it wasn’t racing then like it was now. 

“Comfy?” Myra asked both of us as she reached down and pulled the blankets up around us. 

“Very,” I replied, deciding to let my inhibitions rest and snuggle closer to Auriel. She was incredibly warm and soft after all. 

“I think I’m going to die,” Auriel said, her face died a deep cranberry red. 

“Are you sick?” Myra asked. 

“No I just… I, I’ve only ever cuddled with you, and we were kids. This is too much.” 

“Just relax Aurii, enjoy yourself. I’m sharing Caelan with you after all, you better be happy, okay?” 

“I’ll try.” 

I remained awake until Auriel’s heart settled into a more natural rhythm. Then listening to the steady thumping of her heart, I passed out. 

The next morning, I was the first of the three of us to wake up. At some point in the night, Auriel had freed her other arm from beneath Myra and had wrapped herself around me, as if I were a stuffed doll. Trying to wiggle free I found myself completely trapped, even her tail had wrapped itself languidly around my leg. Breaking free was bound to wake her up, and so I remained in place, staring at the far wall and the floor between me and it, waiting for someone to come wake us for breakfast. 

“Oh I see how it is,” Myra cooed, climbing over Auriel to gaze at me. “Leaving me out in the cold to cuddle exclusively with each other.” 

“As I’m sure you can see, I had no part in this. I’m trapped.” 

“You could get free if you wanted.” 

“I didn’t want to wake Auriel. With the curtains closed it’s hard to see what time of day it is. I figured I’d know it was time to wake her when Syene came to inform us breakfast was ready.”

“Oh? Well that’s never going to happen. I told Syene and Ronna they could go on a date in the city, and that we’d just fend for ourselves whenever.” 

“You’re kidding.” 

“Nope,” Myra grinned. “And, there’s something else you should know Caelan.” 

“Yes?” 

“Aurii sleeps like the dead.” 

“Eh?” 

“Yup, you have to really startle her to wake her up. There’s no way you could’ve woken her just trying to escape her clutches.” 

“Ah, good to know,” I began to pry Auriel off of me only to have Myra grab my hand and stop me. 

“You had your chance to get free without consequences, and you didn’t. Now I’m going to use you to tease Aurii, so cover your ears.” 

Wiggling my hands up above my head I pressed down on my ears as Myra stepped back with a grin. Once my ears were covered she shouted Auriel’s name loudly enough to hurt even my covered ears causing the poor catgirl to jolt awake and clench down tightly on me.

“Ah! You’re killing me Aurii.”

“C-Caelan, I’m so sorry,” Auriel released me as Myra made for her. 

“Trying to steal my girl, Aurii?” 

“No!” 

“Oh? I thought we were supposed to be all cuddling together, but no. I woke up all alone, completely abandoned on the side of the bed, with you cuddling Caelan in a beautiful loving embrace. What do you have to say for yourself?” 

“I didn’t mean to!” 

“Oh?” Myra grinned. “What did you mean to do?” 

“Nothing! I was asleep.” 

“Oh?” Myra poked Auriel’s nose with a predatory grin. “I’ll let you make this up to me. While we’re in the market you have to find me the best chocolate pastries in all of Shadewind, okay? Only the tastiest will absolve you of your sin.” 

“You’re stressing Aurii out this much just to get a pastry?” I sighed. 

“Yup,” Myra beamed. “You’re not off the hook either Caelan, but I have something else in mind for you.” 

“You’ve become so much more aggressive since we started dating.” 

“Oh? I thought you said you liked being bossed around?” 

“Ah…” I felt my face heat with embarrassment as I suddenly regretted saying anything. I’d already admitted too much, there was no way I could deny that the way Myra was acting now, was exactly the way I wanted her to be. No reverence, no deference to me because I was the hero, just someone who saw me, and dragged me along with her schemes whether I admitted I liked them or not. 

“You’re blushing so much,” Myra noted, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she brought her face to mine, close enough that the tips of our noses brushed one another. “If only Elise knew what I know now, maybe she’d have succeeded in winning your heart.” 

“No one could’ve won my heart as long as I was trapped in my previous body.”

“Hmm, true,” Myra closed the tiny bit of distance between us and pressed her lips firmly against mine. “Guess I’m one lucky goblin, that I get to have the perfect Caelan.” 

“I feel like I’m the lucky one.” 

“Okay! Enough flirting,” Auriel squealed throwing pillows at both of us. “Seriously, get a room, one that isn’t mine!” 

“Feeling left out Aurii?” Myra giggled. “You know, I’m okay with you kissing Caelan too. As long as you ask permission first.” 

“As if I’d ever kiss her!” Auriel huffed. 

“I’m heartbroken,” I said, doing my best to fake a sad expression. 

“She’s just playing hard to get,” Myra winked. “Now then, everybody get dressed, today’s Aurii’s big date with the guild isn’t it?” 

“What? No!  I said I was going to be lazy, why are you still trying to push being an adventurer onto me?” 

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“Because it’s what you want.” 

“What I want is for the two of you to leave so I can go back to sleep,” As Auriel protested she climbed out of bed and began selecting an outfit from her wardrobe, making her complaints nothing more than a bit of hot air. 

“Come on Caelan, let’s get dressed too.” 

Myra guided me to her room, and instructed me to remove my clothing. I watched her wearily as she began to rifle through a trunk full of frilly dresses, mumbling to herself about which one would look best on me. After a bit of debate with herself, Myra finally held up a red dress with white accents. It was frilly to the point of being overkill, which was probably the entire reason Myra had selected it. 

“You’re not stealthily trying to embarrass me by having me fight in a dress again are you?” 

“Of course not. You already joined the guild, the two of us will just be sitting on the sidelines while Aurii takes her tests.” 

“Then what’s the point of making me look like a pampered princess?” 

“Because you like it.” 

“Fine,” I felt embarrassment welling up in my chest once again, but I decided not to fight it. Instead I held out my arms and allowed Myra to help me get dressed. Admiring myself in the mirror once she was finished. 

“Just a little more,” Myra smiled, tying a red ribbon into my hair. Once she was finished she grabbed another ribbon from her trunk, with a golden bell attached at its center, and tied it around my neck. 

“What’s the bell for?” 

“Embarrassing you. It’ll ring as you walk and draw everyone’s eyes to the cute little mouse walking down the street.” 

“You’re evil.” 

“Well, I am a demon. You can consider this punishment for running off without me last time we went out.” 

“Sorry, I really wasn’t thinking. On the bright side, I made contact with Cesarina. She’ll be a good ally to have in the future.” 

“Assuming she doesn’t use too much magic and lose control of herself. I know, as a goblin, I shouldn’t be saying this, but try to be a bit cautious around her Caelan. She cute, and friendly, but I just can’t help but feel like something is off.”

“Off how?” 

Myra shrugged. “I have no way to put it into words, it’s just my intuition. I’m not telling you to chase her away or anything, I’m just saying you should watch her.”

“I’ve been keeping my eyes on her, I know how dangerous a rogue vampire can be. But, I still have to sleep, there are going to be times where we just have to trust that she won’t double cross us.” 

“She’s taken to calling herself your servant, you could steal any chance of treachery away if you’re willing to hurt her feelings a bit.” 

“How so?” 

Chewing her lip Myra hooked a finger in the ribbon she’d tied around my neck. “Something like this.” 

It took me a moment before it finally clicked in my mind what exactly Myra was suggesting. “That’s illegal…” 

“A thousand years ago maybe, these days, nobody even remembers they existed. With a bit of direction, and some of Cesarina’s blood, I’m sure Syene could make one.” 

“I’d like to have more faith in her than that.” 

“But we don’t know her. We know she’s a thief and a rebel, and that’s it. I sympathize with her desire to remove the bands and overturn the law. I’m willing to help in anyway I can, but there has to be a limit. You keep thinking you can control her because of your magic, but what if she’s stronger than you? What if your magic isn’t enough to overpower her curse?” 

“If making me her thrall was her goal, would’t she have already tried? I was sleeping defenselessly beside her a couple days ago.” 

“You could use the collar to force her to come clean about any plans she has that we haven’t been told about. Treat it like a truth-telling device, and then remove it.” 

“I’ll think about it, okay? Just… that’s such an evil thing to do to someone, even temporarily. Plus, once one has been created, another one could follow. Not that I don’t trust Syene, but if anybody sees it, or hears about it. That’s an item that should remain lost in the past.” 

“If it helps you live a long and prosperous life Caelan, I’m willing to risk it.” 

“I just can’t help but feel like she made a mistake and is suffering for it. She even offered to let me kill her when I found out. As long as I promised to carry out her goal, she was willing to pay the price of what she’s become.” 

“She could be a really good actress. Caelan, you’re pretty easy to read. Your face gives away your thoughts quite plainly, it’s likely she knew from the moment you found out that you didn’t have the heart to kill her.” 

“Are you two ready?” Auriel called, knocking softly on Myra’s bedroom door. 

“One second!” Myra called back, before quickly dressing herself in a long-sleeved dress far less flashy than my own. She finished her outfit up with her enchanted cloak and then we walked out. 

“So cute,” Auriel blushed as she looked me up and down. “Seriously Caelan… that dress looks perfect on you.” 

“Ah, thanks,” My face heated as I turned away bashfully. I’d have returned the compliment, but Auriel’s outfit was one that prioritized function over form. It was obvious someone had warned her before hand that she’d be fighting a mock battle, and she dressed for it. 

“Fight with everything you got Aurii,” Myra cheered as we made our way into the city. “Caelan needs you to score an evaluation of at least C tier.” 

“I don’t remember ever saying I needed that?” 

“Even if you didn’t, you want to take quests as we travel right? That’s the minimum tier needed to be guaranteed extermination quests. Below that and she won’t be able to officially take part in most of the quests we take that are outside the range of a guard patrol, which means she won’t get paid. And we’ll both be fined if anyone ever finds out we let her fight alongside us.” 

“Ah, guess I see the logic there. But, don’t worry about all that Aurii. If you get a lower tier we’ll just do everything we can to raise it. It’s not a problem.” 

Auriel nodded silently, clenching her hands into fists. A nervous energy leaked out of her, the kind I’d seen rookie soldiers exhibit right before their first major battle. As we stopped just outside of the Shadewind guild, Auriel took several deep breaths, trying and failing to calm herself. 

“Aurii,” Placing my hand on Auriel’s shoulder I hopped up, grazing my lips against hers. I smiled triumphantly as I landed on my feet, the bell around my neck jingling in musical applause. 

“W-What was that for?!” 

“You looked stressed, I figured I’d give you something to get your mind off of it.” 

Turning beet red Auriel raced past me into the guild hall. 

“You were nervous your first time at the guild too,” Myra noted grabbing my hand.

“Of course I was nervous. At the time, I was still unsure of just how I compared to others in this era. Are you going to punish me for kissing her later?” 

“Of course not, it was cute. Besides, I’m sure it’ll be punishment enough, once you realize just how many people are watching you right now.” 

I turned to gaze at the people around us. Many of them were pointing at me and whispering, gossiping about what they’d just saw. Suddenly I really wanted to dig a hole with my magic, and bury myself inside.