When I awoke the next morning, it was with a Sin Demon snuggled against my side, and lingering feelings of shame in my heart.
I had come to peace with my relationship with Cindy a while ago. She was a creature of Sins, and while she was literally incapable of acting against her nature, she had made it explicitly clear that she got as much out of our bond as I did.
Aubrette was new, and not even capable of communicating with me, and I had let myself cum inside another woman while fantasizing about the redhead being sexually submissive to me. I didn't know anything about her, really, outside of the conditions that led her to swear fealty to me. She hadn't told me what she wanted, about her hopes and dreams, or even whether she was actually going to be happy in service to a mortal who, for all I knew, brought her standard of living down to what she considered squalor.
I also knew that fantasies were just fantasies, and I didn't directly harm Aubrette by indulging that part of myself, but a faintly grimy sense of disgust lingered within me. I resolved to put those thoughts aside and treat the High Sidhe with the respect she deserved.
Cindy would sleep the morning away if I allowed it. I could wake her just by commanding it, and she would generally rouse if I gave off any significantly Sinful thoughts, so most mornings she rose when I did, but I decided to let her slumber in Sloth for now, and slipped out of bed to take a long shower.
When I emerged 30 minutes later, having taken advantage of the apartment complex's expansive water heater, I felt refreshed and clean, and had been able to refocus away from my persistent guilt. I patted my body dry with my towel, then walked into the living room with it raised over my head to dry my hair, only to nearly stumble into Aubrette.
While I was fully naked, still damp from the shower.
I froze, a blush rising from deep within my chest. Several months of living with Cindy had gotten me used to having someone in my apartment who was enthusiastic about my getting naked - since that generally led her to an infusion of Lust. It had been years since I had any other kind of roommate to be concerned with, and the idea of running into someone not accustomed to my dick swinging around hadn't even occurred to me.
My vassal stepped back deftly, her feet dancing across the crappy apartment carpet as she created some space in which to curtsey. Her head dipped low, and I nearly allowed my reflexes with Cindy to kick in by stepping forward and thrusting my crotch in her direction. I realized that I was about to do so in time and, belatedly, whipped my towel down from my head to wrap around my waist and give myself the faintest suggestion of modesty far after the fact.
Aubrette spoke first, and surprisingly enough, I actually understood her. "My Lord."
My mouth opened and a short torrent of apology spilled out. "I am so sorry, I should have known you could be up and about. Please, forgive me. I'm just not used to having guests over in the morning, and with Cindy being who she is, me walking around... you know what, I'm going to leave that topic alone and go get dressed."
As I started to edge to the side to step around the Fae creature in my apartment, she spoke again, her speech slightly halting, but shockingly clear for a single day's improvement. "You Lord. Me vassal. You... have right. No sorry."
I held up one hand to wave that off - the other holding my towel closed - walking into the bedroom as I responded, "You may be my vassal, but you are also a lady, and that's not how I treat women. I apologize again, I'll do better."
It never even occurred to me to wonder why she was right outside the door to the bathroom.
Cindy was wide awake by the time I made it into my room, sitting up in the mess of blankets on the bed and eyeing me hungrily. It took about half an hour before I managed to start putting on clothes.
Eventually, the demon and I emerged from my bedroom, clothed in our casual wear, and with Cindy wearing a smirk - and with a load of my cum down her throat. That was good, because it meant I was sated and able to think clearly as we joined the newest addition to our household.
I was shocked to see that three cups of coffee were already sitting on the small table in front of my couch. Aubrette was already seated there, dressed in the same green button-down shirt and pair of my jeans she wore yesterday. I was going to need to purchase some new furniture soon, because that was really the only place for us to sit comfortably, and while all three of us fit on the couch, it wasn't the most conducive to conversation. That said, I had other things to spend money on first, and I planned to make that the first order of business.
I joined my vassal - a phrase I had never imagined myself using - on the couch, and accepted the cup of coffee she indicated. It already had a tiny amount of cream and sugar added to make it to my taste, and as I took my first sip I wondered what exactly the two women were talking about that lead Aubrette to already know that particular piece of trivia about me. I decided to leave that for later, instead looking to Cindy as she took the middle of the couch, and addressing her so she could translate. "I want to have the two of you buy some clothes for Aubrette. We'll use some of the money Keith gave me yesterday - it won't be enough for a full wardrobe, but at least she won't have to keep wearing my old clothes or her one dress. I'm going to have to trust you to take the lead on that, but by now I'm sure you can manage the one shopping trip without getting into trouble. Right?"
Cindy gave me a teasing smile for a moment, but then nodded. "Yes, Master. I can help Aubrette find some appropriate attire. I take it you are to transport us there, but not stay?"
"Yes." I took another sip of my coffee, letting the life-giving fluid start to work its magic, before continuing. "I'm going to stop by the library and check out the books they have there. I was trying to read up on the Sidhe yesterday, but what I got wasn't really useful, so I want to expand my search. Maybe I can find something relevant that will help me figure out what to do about Aubrette."
I gave the women the entire envelope of cash Keith handed over as payment for saving his wife and son from a suicidal fairy, pausing as I did so to wonder if maybe I had actually undercharged for my services. If I was going to do this kind of thing in the future, I would probably need to start adjusting my prices to reflect not just my own new capabilities, but also the risks I was able to take on.
I asked Cindy to try to keep her expenses under $300, but not knowing how much women's clothes actually cost, I made that a guideline rather than a rule, and sent them off with the full $500. I was under no impression that it would actually be
enough
, but it was the cash I had on-hand so it would have to do for now.
With luck, I'd be able to take Cindy's advice from the day before and have Aubrette help support herself eventually. Until she could, though, I'd support her while she adapted to her new life.
********************
An hour later, I dropped off the girls at the West County Mall, which was somehow still a thriving commercial establishment despite the decline of malls as an American institution. There were enough stores for Cindy to have a variety of modern styles to show Aubrette, and I left them with a pay-as-you-go cell phone I had picked up a while ago so they could let me know when they were ready to be picked up.
Then I went to the library.
The nearest public library was only a short drive away, and as I walked inside, I was startled at how modern the whole thing looked. I hadn't had much cause to visit a library in a while, and in my head they were dingy things with long fluorescent light bulbs overhead, a couple museum-piece computers near the reception desk, and then row after row of 20-year old books.
This place was nice. It looked halfway between a community college and a Barnes and Nobles. The carpet was modern and brightly colored, with vivid patterns on the floor. There were several small tables with chairs at the front for people to... do homework, probably. Small reading nooks were scattered around, and the inside was brightly lit. From the ceiling in one corner hung a brilliantly glowing chandelier that was as much an art piece as a light fixture, looking almost like a large synthetic dandelion, with bright white spokes bursting out of a central glowing globe in all directions.
There was an information counter just inside the door, and a pretty Black woman about my age set down her book when I walked in, giving me a quick smile. I approached her, and as I stepped up to the counter, she greeted me. "Welcome to the Grand Glaize library, can I help you find anything?"
It took me a few moments to explain that I was looking for more historical books on Fairy folklore. She straightened a pair of very narrow frame glasses on her nose, then checked the computer at the desk, and only a few minutes after I walked in the door, I was headed down one of the rows of books. I marveled both at how spacious the wide open corridors between the shelves looked and felt, and at how much of the library was dedicated to things other than books. Again, my experiences with libraries were not terribly current, but this one had activity centers, computer labs, and a large children's section which just did not exist in the mental picture I held before arriving.
It occurred to me that this was the first time in years I had walked into a building this nice without being expected to pay for the privilege. I muttered a curse against the capitalist overlords of the world, then put that from my mind and focused on my research.