(3rde)

Chapter 2: Rude Awakenings

This is a work of FICTION, made by and for adults 18+. The following chapter includes mentions of unintentional suicide and mandated slavery, depictions of severe trauma, objectification, humiliation, teasing, flashing, reluctance, and sensitive terminology (breasts). Reader discretion is advised.

As shadow consumed her and the air stilled, Elva stood shivering. Too frightened to move, her clasped hands trembled while her knees buckled. Finally, she dropped to a soft floor and eventually squinted. Her gaze darted around the room, expecting to see the candles on the altar before her or scattered about the cottage; but there was only darkness—save for a bloody light leaking to her left.

"Wha— what happened?" Elva fretted before speculating,

'Do I even want to know?'

A snarl preceded raging gales passing her ears that carried faint yet beautiful purple and pink puffs. An unseen force enveloped Elva and cocooned her soul; her lip quivered and she clutched her chest. Though too afraid to glance at what had passed her shoulders, Elva's eyes widened.

'Is— is this how I die?'

The presence withdrew before a radiant brightness flooded the room; Elva recoiled, her hands flying to shield her lids.

"What's

this

?" a deep, womanly voice sung. "A lost

kitten

seems to have stumbled into my home.

And

to my

bedside

, no less."

'Ki— kitten?'

Elva slowly peeped.

'Bed— side?'

Before her was a large bed—she surmised—laid with shimmering, crimson sheets. Confused, Elva looked down and discovered she knelt upon a lush, intricately detailed rug. To the side, she realized the red glow came from underneath golden curtains that covered a large portion of the wall; a bloody light soaked through the tiny gaps, deepening the scarlet of the walls and reddened wood of the floor.

A lethargic yawn drew Elva's gaze to the young woman lying upon the bed. She could scarcely determine where the red tones of the room ended and where the lady began. Her crimson hair was lying haphazardly in gentle waves down to her knees. Under the dense draping, her skin—sparsely covered by a pink robe—shone like red clay.

Rubbing her lids in a grimace—as if arousing from a long slumber—the woman's bewitching features relaxed to reveal the shimmering rubies of her irises. Elva shyly glanced away from her intent glare and was soon lost in the locks that fell around her chest.

'That's...'

Elva's cheeks began to flush.

'Those are...'

"Kitten!" the woman scowled; Elva flinched. "Good, the kitten can hear me" Though she was somewhat less annoyed, Elva was too afraid to peek again. "Now, what is this kitten doing in my home so early in the morning?"

"Uhm..."

'The morning? Your home?'

Confused, she looked around again,

'This isn't my cottage, but— I— I don't—'

Uncertain how to answer, Elva inquired, "Kitten?"

She huffed. "Good," her voice calmed, "the kitten can speak. Now, could you tell me what happened before you came here?"

"Came here? Uh, well, I..." Elva fidgeted, "I'm not sure. I was trying to summon an incubus in my cottage when— all of a sudden... I ended up here. I just," her throat choked as tears welled. "I just... wanted to feel safe."

The woman didn't respond, leading Elva to sweat.

'I... Oh, Brigit.'

Her lips trembled and she shivered.

'How did this go so wrong?'

Elva shut the world away and held herself.

'She's going to kill me.'

She heaved a world-weary sigh. "Relax, kitten. I'm not going to kill you." She shifted on the sheets while adding, "I couldn't even if I wanted to."

'Somehow— that's not comforting.'

As she carefully peered up, Elva finally noticed her softened expression as she lazily laid on the bed.

"So," she tilted her head, which rested on her crossed arms, "what brought about this kitten's need to summon an incubus?" Her tone was tranquil but something in her stare seemed sad.

"W-well, I— I need help. The hunters," her breath caught. Clenching her dress, Elva tried not to remember the blaze of the torches closing in on the cabin, "They're so close to my home and I-I know they'll find me now."

"Why would they hunt you, kitten?"

"W— well, I'm a

witch

. Ever since I was born, I've lived in hiding because witches are being... hunted."

"So it's been since

long

before you were born, little kitten," she grieved, catching Elva off guard. "Did you have a coven?" Her head cocked to the other side. "A mentor surely, kitten."

'Mentor.'

Elva cast her scowl down. "Móra," she lamented. "My grandmother. The hunters found her—

us

ten summers past. There... There was never anyone else." Admitting it aloud hurt.

'I'm... alone,'

her thoughts echoed the burden her heart had carried for too many summers.

The woman replied with a doleful tone, "I'm going to be blunt with you, kitten, and this will come as quite a shock." She propped her chin up, exposing the cleavage in her robe. "You don't need to worry about the hunters or being alone. You're already dead."

Elva felt cold as her heart stopped.

'Dea... what?'

She held herself.

'I... I must have misheard her.'

"I-I don't understand. How," her voice quivered.

'That doesn't make sense.'

"How can I be dead?"

"The ritual you performed called for virgin blood," she rested her cheek under her left palm. "You used your own, yes?"

'My own?'

Elva nodded,

'But, what does that have to do with my death?'

The woman's cold composure broke; she giggled and fell into the bed.

"W-wait, what's so funny?" Elva's fluster worsened.

'What's funny about me being dead?!'

"

Virgin

," the lady's laughs subsided while she raised from the cushions, "virgin materials are sacrificial offerings that need to be clean and unused in previous rituals. If you used your own blood, then you sacrificed yourself to perform the summoning."

Elva blankly stared.

'S— sacrificed myself? How— After all... How can it be— that

simple

?'

"

But

, I suppose," she mused, "since you appeared at

my

bedside,

you

were the one who summoned herself to

me

. Which is not only very

unorthodox

for a human but very

rude

, and

quite

illegal."

'I-illegal??

RUDE?! I

... I just,'

Elva cradled her head.

'I just wanted to feel

safe

. How could I end up

dead

?'

"

Kitten

!" the stranger snapped a second time.

"Y-yes?!" Thrown from her trance, her arms dropped and their gazes locked.

'Am I

really

dead??'

The woman's glare pierced her.

'Because I

still

feel like she can kill me!'

"Regarding your circumstances, you're uncontracted and you've intruded into my home, both of which are serious crimes for a human, even in the Lower Key of Hell."

'D—'

Elva blinked,

'did she just say... Hell?'

"Since I'm so generous," she elaborated, though her disinterest showed as she studied her nails, "I'll give you a choice. I can send you to the Auction House where all the other humans go. Another demon will take your contract and you will be their slave for as long as your sentence lasts.

Or

," no longer distracted, she gave Elva a mischievous look, "you can sign a contract with

me

and be

my

sex slave."

'S-sex slave?'

Elva sat agape and overwhelmed before contemplating,

'Okay...

Maybe

I should have heeded Móra's warning better, but... am I

really

dead? This all feels so...'

Elva glanced up—the woman was calmly looking down at her.

'And I thought I was summoning an incubus. I didn't expect to summon a— succubus.'

"Is there an

issue

," she scowled, "with me being a

succubus

?"

Elva's heart was gripped as the glare pierced her soul.

'

Was I talking aloud??

'

She bashfully looked down.

'No, I— I was just

thinking

. That— That wasn't the first... Has she— I-is she...'

Elva glanced back up.

'She's reading my thoughts, isn't she?'

The woman inquisitively raised an eyebrow.

Her head fell in disbelief.

'If I'm not really dead— just kill me now.'

Jolting up, Elva stammered, "N-

NO

!

No

, th-there's no issue. I-I-I just didn't expect to summon someone so g-

gorgeous

."

"

Gorgeous

," she gleefully repeated and turned to her side, "am I, little kitten?" A beaming smile replaced her frown. "Trying to curry favor before we've," her glimmer turned enchanting as she held her arms up, "

sealed

the

deal

, my kitten?" The folds of her robe came loose and opened to reveal her voluminous right breast. Elva stared ahead dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open in wonder. The sight of the captivating form, as if sculpted delicately from red clay, filled her with a warm feeling she couldn't explain.

Facing Elva with a snicker, the woman hung so far off the bed their noses brushed.

'She is

close

.'

Elva leaned back, acutely aware of an intoxicating aroma on her breath. "Oh— that's—" Her lids flitted, dizzy from the pleasing smell.

"You know," she teased with a devilish grin, "you're quite

cute

, kitten. I wouldn't mind having a pretty little thing like you around as my pet." She tittered while Elva squirmed. "So what do you

say

?" She licked her lips with a heavy-lidded peer.

'I was wrong,'

Elva froze.

'She's not going to kill me. She's going to

eat

me.'

"Only when it

pleases

me, kitten."

'Thats— Oh, dear...'

Elva silently dropped her gaze. "I," she hesitantly looked up, "I suppose— I'll sign a contract with you."

The woman's seductive expression slowly broke with an amused smirk. Her head fell as she heartily giggled.

"Wait," Elva's fluster worsened, "what's so funny

now

?" She embarrassingly fidgeted.

'First my death, now my freedom.'

"

Relax

, kitten," her laughter abated as she peered up. Her cheeks were aglow, matching the warm glint in her pupils. "I'm not going to lock you up in a dark cell for the rest of your

un

life," she playfully kicked her legs, "that wouldn't be very fun for you

or

me. I treat my slaves fairly, I'll have you know. Your contract has a safeword you can speak to halt what I'm doing if it makes you uncomfortable, as well as an escape clause if you find my methods unbearable. And I'm only making you sign a one-day contract."

Elva felt some tension leave her shoulders as she puffed.

'Okay, one day. That all doesn't sound—

so

bad, I guess.'

She nervously returned the woman's gaze. "So, what happens now?"

Her grin turned devious; a snap of her fingers summoned a bright array of purple and pink lights. Elva recoiled at the low, mystical whir that followed, watching with a wince as the shines coalesced and then faded. After blinking, Elva found that the woman held a scroll of fine, bright paper and two dowels of light metal with intricate knots carved into the ends.

"You'll have this read by seven,

Sharp.

" She handed the scroll over. "We'll discuss if there's anything you need to have addressed or altered, then we'll seal your contract with a collaring."

'Seven—

what

? A— collaring?'

Elva cautiously reached out, but the woman grabbed her arm in a flash. With a firm tug, she pulled Elva in until their noses touched.

'

O-OKAY

, she is

VERY

close now,'

she panicked upon brushing against the woman's soft skin.

Her alluring gaze captivated Elva. "Call me Mistress, kitten." She drew Elva into her lips.

Elva flailed at the unexpectedly passionate kiss.

'

WAIT

, I-I'M not— read—'

Her mind slowed before she could protest; her heart throbbed while her chest burned like never before. A fog covered her thoughts, only worsened by the sweet aroma. As she leaned in and moaned, a lightness overcame her while she eagerly embraced Mistress.

As their tongues met, Mistress loosened her grasp and withdrew. Elva carefully opened her eyes, feeling betrayed as the taste faded and her arm was released.

"And

don't

wake me up at three in the morning again." She loudly snapped her fingers.

Still lost in her irises, Elva's daze broke when a sinking feeling took over. She looked down to find a hazy portal—shrouded in pink and purple—engulfing her. Before she could yip in surprise, Elva disappeared into the void.