Author's note:
Welcome to chapter two of six! Thank you very much for your feedback on chapter 1, and as always your comments are appreciated. This is a story about a somewhat unusual relationship between consenting adults. Thank you again for reading! Many thanks to the author Karaline for her suggestions and edits. Please enjoy!
*****
Monica woke the next morning feeling refreshed, energized and optimistic. She stretched, and the feel of her bare skin against the soft sheets reminded her she'd slept naked last night. She lingered in bed, replaying the events of the ritual and the aftermath over and over in her mind.
She didn't know what had caused her to overheat and embarrass herself during the ritual. She wasn't proud of how she'd taken sexual advantage of the young man, and even more ashamed of the terrible lie she'd told to salvage his friendship afterward, encouraging him to believe she was a Daemon and that his ridiculous beliefs were true.
His reaction to her false confession had been moving - he'd dropped to his knees in front of her and grabbed her hands. She remembered his tears glinting in the candlelight as he thanked her for helping to vindicate his late grandfather's life's work. Garnet told her it was the greatest moment of his life, that it had renewed his passion and commitment for his work in the knighthood. It was only in that moment she realized how much of his hope and self-worth had been bound up in the silly ritual.
Monica sighed. Well, there was no escaping it now, no way to gently unravel the lie she'd told. The truth now would crush him, destroy him. The truth would be a fatal blow to any relationship between them. She would not allow that to happen - his friendship had come to mean so much to her in such a short time. So come what may, she was his Daemon, his Familiar. As crazy as it sounded, that was her reality now.
In a way, identifying their relationship as Master-Familiar did solve the problem of how she should define what the two of them had become. To call it a 'friendship' or 'companionship' seemed inadequate given how she'd performed oral sex on him while they were both naked in candlelight. Yet she couldn't think of them as 'lovers' given their age disparity and lack of romantic intent. She didn't know how masters and familiars were supposed to relate to one another, but maybe the absence of ground rules would give them the freedom to chart their own unique course.
Despite its bogus nature, there had been meaning for her in the ritual. Just as Garnet had said, it did feel like she was beginning a new journey, and she found herself looking forward to it, and energized by the prospects.
Beyond that, the ritual had definitely stirred something within her, something that had lain dormant since Bill's cancer diagnosis almost three years ago. After Garnet had left to return home, she'd taken a hot shower, washing away the runes he'd traced on her naked body. Her fingers had found their way between her legs, discovering a reservoir of unsatisfied lust. She'd enjoyed a hard, fast climax under the steaming spray, followed by another more leisurely orgasm as she lay naked in bed remembering the shapely young body of her newly-minted Master.
She smiled at the memory, snuggled down into the sheets and decided to treat herself to a late morning. Maybe the ritual HAD changed her, put her on a different path. Maybe the 'support and companionship' of a knight would finally free her and allow her to find fulfillment.
And somehow, she would do right by Garnet. She'd protect his feelings and contribute to his sense of purpose. Somehow, it would all work out for the best in the end.
*
Garnet had promised to come by after his shift to take 'baseline measurements' of his new Familiar. Monica wasn't clear on what exactly that involved, but was surprised to discover she wasn't too concerned. He was coming for a visit, that was the main thing - the rest was just details that she could leave to him. Compared to the embarrassment of the ritual, she was sure the 'measurements' would be tame.
If anything, her lack of anxiety about it made her a little anxious. She'd only known him a few weeks - was it normal to be so unconcerned? Wasn't it a little weird to be so unguarded, so quickly?
But what was there to fear? If he'd planned to hurt her, surely he'd have done it already. He didn't have any obvious sexual designs on her - in fact, she'd been the aggressor in that regard, shamefully. She didn't have so much money that she'd be a worthwhile target for theft or fraud.
More than that, he just didn't 'feel' like the type she needed to be scared of. He was open, honest, shy and even a little apologetic. He trusted her with his emotions and his beliefs - silly though they were. No, there was nothing to fear from her so-called Master.
Monica busied herself around the house, following the same routines that had defined her shut-in lifestyle since Bill's death. She kept an eye on the clock to be sure time didn't get away from her, but she needn't have worried - time crawled by as she waited for the time of Garnet's visit. Each hour seemed to take half a day to elapse.
Finally at six o'clock she showered and dressed in a loose skirt and purple blouse. She greeted him at the door just before seven, opening it before he could knock. He dragged a large two-wheeled suitcase behind him.
"Good heavens! What will you be measuring?" she asked.
He laughed. "Everything, pretty much. We may be in for a long evening."
"Sounds like I should make some tea?"
"That works for me, thanks. I'll unpack."
She busied herself and watched him from the corner of her eye as he unpacked books, various small cases and a strange wooden box with copper grips on each side. By the time the tea was steeping, he had finished his work and was sitting across from her at the kitchen table.
"Have you noticed any after-effects from the Pact?" he asked, leaning forward intently.
"Hmm. Maybe. I woke up today feeling really positive and energetic. I don't know if that's due to the ritual, but it was a pleasant change for me."
He nodded. "Same here. I find I've had a lot more energy today. It's like I can't stand still."
"If I'm supposed to be feeding on your energy, I'd think you'd feel drained, not more energetic," she said. She carefully poured the tea into two mugs and slid one over to him.
"I wondered about that. It might be the effect of the bond - maybe it somehow raises my energy levels. Daemonic energy and the effects of the bonding are poorly understood, even after 180 years."
"The knighthood's been around that long?"
"Oh yes, in one form or another. People have been looking at this stuff for a long time."
"They must have found a lot of Daemons."
"Not really. Just fourteen. Fifteen, including you. Your kind are hard to find," he said, gingerly taking a sip from the mug.
"How many knights are there today?"
His expression grew sombre. "Well...officially there are eighty-five members..."
"But?"
He sighed. "Most of them are knights in name only, and not really engaged in research. There are only five or so who are truly devoted. The rest have kind of drifted away."
"I guess with so few Daemons being found, it requires a lot of faith."
"You have no idea. I was thinking of quitting too, until I found you," he said with a shake of his head. "It's hard to spend all your time working and not seeing any results."
"So, now that you found me, what's the plan?"
"Well, we have 180 years of data that we'll try to corroborate or update. Then there are scholarly theories on Daemonic nature that we'll test out."
"Sounds like we have our work cut out for us."
