Chapter 72 Not So Innocent After All

Two cloaked figures, tall and proud, engaged against one another. Faces set in hard, grim determination. A sword was held by one bloodied, kneeling figure. It was perhaps the only reason he hadn't yet fallen.

The other's hand was bare, or so it appeared. He didn't need one, for thick and mighty branches that spread like wings from his back took their place. Every leaf was like emerald, beautiful but deadly in it's capability of slicing through bone as if it were wet paper.

The earth beneath their feet lay dead. The clouds, grey and morbid, hung in the sky like a menacing shroud to cast the world in darkness.

"It's pointless," The first figure intoned. "You can strike me down, but there will be another. There will always be another."

These ominous words were spat out like a spell, a curse. And it burrowed winged boy's heart.

Even so, he stood resolute. "I suppose it's true what they say." His lips twisted into a cold smile. "Some people simply wish for death," Baz replied.

Alex's entire body trembled. With pain, rage, unwillingness. It was impossible to tell.

"Why?" He hissed. "Why stand against us, now of all times? I joined a mere few weeks past! But you…! You made them what they are! Your will gave birth to all we stand for! So why?! After so long, why turncoat like this? You've purged over half our numbers, and for what?! Because of guilt? Because of remorse?"

It happened in full then, the change. Like a flip of the switch. The moment when Baz's normally bright, cheerful eyes took on a much bloodier, harsher light.

"Because now he loves her back."

Alex's mind couldn't accept the answer. "Love." He laughed mockingly. "He's incapable of it!"

"Perhaps. Who knows? But she's happy. What care I for the why or how?" Baz shook his head.

"He has to be stopped."

"No." Baz's branch-like wings groaned, creaked and rustled with the oncoming winds. "He simply has to continue giving her joy."

And one by one the falling of leaves brought rich lifeblood to this barren earth.

***

"What's wrong?"

Mira turned her head slightly and caught her husband's tall, broad-shouldered figure leaned against the doorframe. There was a calm, inquisitive look upon that handsome face of his and she knew he was full of gentle concern.

She ignored him for a moment as she held the thick blanket to her nose.

Mira brought the fine, soft cloth to her body as if giving it a hug. There was a faint scent left on its fabric.

"It smells like him. Father, I mean." She let go and cast a slow gaze across the room. There was barely anything inside. A few pieces of furniture here and there but little things of a personal nature. "It's nice. It's like I'm close to him." This smell was infinitely better than that dusty tapestry.

"Mira," Claude sighed, "That boy, he's...I called him Father-in-Law once on reflex, but you know that he isn't really….well…"

She felt pinpricks of heat at her eyes. "He feels like he is. I've known him my entire life as my father, Claude. You've known him as your future King. And my mother as her husband."

Claude couldn't deny this. She was right, the entirety of the Fae had known of the boy as such for many years. He was the Queen's obsession. Her lost, absent lover she'd never even met before.

"You have no idea the kind of things they said they'd do to me." Mira felt towards her belly. "To us." She took a deep breath. "They were monsters. Vile, evil things who wanted nothing but to satisfy their own cruel natures. I was scared. So scared. And cold. The stone floors were like ice, the chill like tiny ants biting into my skin and leaving me numb. Starving for warmth."

"And then he just showed up. You know? Just appeared out of thin air."

Considering what he felt of the boy at that time he wasn't sure he was a blessing, though. Claude wisely chose to keep this to himself. His wife adored this father of her's. And he is grateful to the boy himself, too. Very much so.

This Father-in-Law just feels a bit...is perversely evil the right words?

Claude gestured to the room. "Why're you here? Fixing things up for him?" Father-in-Law wasn't at home at the moment. He'd gone out for school.

"Just looking around," Mira said. "I find this place soothing. It looks empty, but his presence lingers. I think the baby likes it, too."

Claude grinned and stepped forward to rub his wife's bulging belly. "He's strong." He felt the kick as soon as his hand reached her.

"She," His wife corrected, "Is."

Claude took her to sit on her father's bed. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What do you want to do?" He clutched her hand. "He's on his own now. If your mother came while Lady Okeanos isn't around…."

Their Erlking did have a reputation for stealing away children, after all.

Mira looked away. "I'm not sure I want them to be together. Mother's...mother. And he seems happy with that dryad woman."

"But?"

"But if he doesn't marry mother, he wouldn't be my father. Not truly." Mira's face took on a touch of sadness. " I don't want that, I don't think. I've barely met him, I don't want to let him go. I'm not ready yet. I mean there's so much I don't know about him. And I want to! I want to know him. I want my baby to know him! We still have so many things we haven't done together. If he doesn't marry mother, how can we have any relationship then?"

"And you're sure you want him as your father? He's younger than you." He reminded.

"Yet he feels much older."

Claude didn't have much to say there. The younger Okeanos did have a certain air about him. Something ancient and powerful. Perhaps that was just his bloodline shining through though.

"I'll support whatever you decide." He stated firmly.

She flashed a pair of the cutest dimples at him. "Thank you."

"He's still an asshole for trying to have me executed though."

"Father wouldn't do that."

"No, I keep telling you, it's true."

"Father wouldn't--"

"But he really--wait, what're you doing?"

"Looking for a letter opener."

"....Why?"

She smiled at him gently. "Oh, you needn't worry your pretty little head about that."

From several miles away, Elias felt a sudden burst of sympathy he knew not the origin of.

***

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"Bazman!" Damien threw an arm around the boy intimately. "Where've ya been pal?"

"Gettin' milk?"

"You've been gone for weeks!"

"I got some cigs too."

This little shit. "You don't smoke."

His face began to sweat.

"Ah, whatever." Damien relented. " Hey, do you smell copper?" There was definitely the aroma of blood in the air. "Bastard, have you been going a-purgin' without me?"

"Blood makes me sick."

Damien knew that it did. He considered a bit longer and came to the conclusion that there's no way he'd go have a purge without Damien.

"Anyway you really missed out. We had a bake sale earlier."

Baz's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "You had a bake sale without me?! Young Master, this betrayal…"

A bake sale. Without him. They had a bake sale without him! The cookies...they call to him from the beyond. He could hear them now.

"You missed us, Baz. Where were you? Why didn't you eat us?" They whispered.

Damien took out a box of peanut butter cookies from the pantry. "Here, I saved you some."

"The Young Master is the best after all!" Baz almost cried.

No wonder Vee likes him so much. What a thoughtful guy! Luckily Baz wasn't a girl, else he'd definitely fall for his cookie seduction tactics.

***

It was getting dark. The sun had dropped to below the mountains, a mere sliver of orange on the horizon. The wind howled past his ears.

Damien walked carelessly. His steps light and carefree, with innocence.

Yet soon he sensed it. That chill. Something was wrong, he knew. Very wrong.

The crack of soft leather boots of paved roads echoed forth ominously. The dwindling light of day continued. Soon the only illumination came from the lamps overhead. They were few and far between.

That unease scratching at the back of his head increased.

He stopped in place as a cold sweat broke out on his face.

"It feels like somebody….WANTS TO SELL ME SOMETHING!" Damien looked around but found nothing. "Bastard, come out already!" He yelled. Slowly a shaded figure emerged from a nearby tree. He waved a fist. "I'm not interested in anything you're--wait, Evie?"

"I knew Master would be onto me." The young 'woman' greeted him shyly with her hands clutched in front of her waist. She writhed about like a worm, clearly ill at ease.

"So you're the reason I've been feeling followed these past few days."

"...Yeah. Days."

"It's only been days, right?"

"Of course." She looked away.

"And, uh, why exactly are you following me then?"

"I like watching Master. It's soothing." Evie cleared her throat. The wrapping around her face hid whatever expression she may have had just then.

"Come to think of it, I still haven't seen what you look like now under those."

"Master, no!" The shape of her jawline indicated deep horror at the implication. "You can't see me like this!"

"Hm? Why not?"

Her shoulders slumped. A rare show for her. "Master's eyes would be tainted!"

"By your face…?"

"It's the face of a harlot!" Evie exclaimed. "Master, this face had been used to charm and twist the hearts of men, making them do vile things to each other. There's no way I can show it to you."

Evie wanted to bang her head against a wall. Back then Lady Claybrook had told her, "If you learn how to control your powers you'd be able to dominate the attention of any man!"

"Even Master?" She'd asked. Having no idea where the question came from but suddenly recalling the face of that insufferable Dolly and her constant neediness. How Master would indulge her endlessly.

"Yeah. Probably."

"I see."

Evie immediately pictured scenes almost too scandalous to mention. Like Master rubbing her cheek and shouting, "What a cutie!" Or Master holding her hand even when they WEREN'T crossing a street.

Evie wanted to do many things to repay the Master for his kindnesses to her and Min. She was prepared to even give him her body. Nn. No matter how cold the Master may be at night, she wanted to be able to warm him up!

That Vera girl had once mentioned something about how much the Master loves things called "heated body pillows" and that the best body pillows in his mind were "cute lolies with very rubbable heads and soft cheeks."

Evie strived from that day forth to be the best, warmest body pillow! Except she didn't know how? What did it even mean to be a body pillow? How did one train to be a better one?

She decided that being cuter was the first step. So she started practicing makeup. It was hard. She looked like a clown and that brat Dolly laughed at her so much she wanted to cry.

Then Lady Claybrook made it easy. She said, "You'll be hella cute."

How was Evie to know the levels of embarrassment she'd experience once it came down to actually letting Master see her like this? Evie wasn't comfortable with the idea of using this new face on Master.

How is she to be the cutest and warmest body pillow for Master if she can't even show her face to him without feeling she'd done something wrong? Shameful, her new self is just too shameful!

Look at this vulgar body! This isn't cute at all. This won't calm Master on a hard day's night. She'll be troubling him so much, it was terrible. These two things on her chest are too big, even. Min's were just the right size, both soft and firm. But Evie's? They were too huge! Too soft! He'd sink in and suffocate to death.

This were things she didn't consider during her training. She only thought of learning to be cute and attractive. Or taking good things for Master, like that crown. Evie actually still had many gifts, but she was too embarrassed to openly give them to Master.

Her troubles were many.

Even so, she had to be ready to serve Master when he needed her! So she hid. Watching him from afar…

Sometimes she would practice drawing him too. Lady Claybrook taught her a bit of the craft.

"If you could capture even one-millionth of my son's charm you can consider yourself a world-renowned artist for the ages. Hm? Me? Hehe...I have a pleasure room. Would you like to see it?"

Though the room was marred by drawings of Dahlia scattered here and there too, Master's glorious visage was indeed captured to perfection.

"Oh, don't touch those, my dear. Those are specialty items for my….more unique clients. Hmph. What's so great about a father and son? Mothers and sons are obviously better. Damn perverts."

Whatever that meant. But yes. That was how it began. Evie thought it was going well, her practice.

A couple of days ago Evie found a hidden space in Master's new house. It was very roomy so she was now in the process of creating her own pleasure room. Her slowly expanding array of drawings built up bit by bit. It was her fortress of solitude. A place of solace.

In these dark times where one's dream of being the perfect body pillow for their Master seemed so far away, well, that pleasure room was her only reprieve.

Damien had no clue about all these things swirling about in Evie's mind. He only thought she was being overdramatic. But he forgave her. She'd take time to adjust to her new self, yeah? He wouldn't push the matter for now.

"You hungry? I can buy you something."

"No, thank you. But Master can go have something. I wouldn't mind watching Master eat. The way you chew is very nice." She paused. "Or some I'm told. Because it's not like I watch Master eat or anything"

And most certainly not through holes she found in secret passages behind the dining area's walls.

"Obviously. I mean who does that? Certainly not this Evie." She gulped.

She just wanted to see her Master a bit more often without him knowing, okay Like...like a guardian angel. Yeah. She was protecting Master from the shadows! Of course she was. Nothing more or less.

Besides, what did it matter if the holes were already there or not? This Evie is innocent!

***

Damien was busy draining the snake when all of a sudden he was bombarded with a shrill, hysterical voice.

"Young Master, it's terrible!" Someone cried miserably.

He nearly jumped up in fright and whirled around ready to beat someone up. His pee went wild as he turned and landed on a small green-haired boy behind him.

"Oh, yuck! That's disgusting! Young Master, you're awful! This smell...I hate asparagus!"

"Jesus. Baz! What're you doing sneaking up on a man tryna take a piss. Did you want me to assert my dominance or what? Next time show up outside the house and knock like normal people. But yeah anyway what's goin'--OH MY GOD!" Damien shrieked.

Baz had tears in his eyes as he pulled down his undies and showed him his crotch

"Young Master, it's gone...my little buddy's gone! Help!"

Damien smacked him upside the head. "Pull up your fucking pants, woman! I can't afford a third strike!"