Moon Witch

I wake, dazed. Ugh. My head is throbbing and my eyes feel thick and dry. This happens much too often for my comfort. I feel shaky and weak.

"Oh," I let out as arms wrap around my prone upper body. It's Hes.

"You shouldn't have." He breathes out shakily.

"I-" What happened comes rushing back to me. "I did something?"

"Your magic saved me." Hes responds, the heavy warmth on my torso keeping me feeling safe and secure despite having not an ounce of strength in my limp body. "Never was I so thankful to have a witch by my side."

"You knew?" My voice comes out raspy and I raise - or try to raise - my upper body off the seating where I rest. Hes helps pull me up so my back is leaning against the rest.

"Awvag let me know as soon as he met you. It is why he has made you the neck band you have now." Hes straightens and wipes an eye quickly as if to not let me see. "You are not alone in having magic in Gra'marah. I know how your kind are seen in Sorrea, I did not want you to have discomfort."

On one hand, I'm completely embarrassed. I was so used to keeping my magic a secret that I wanted no one to know about it here in Gra'marah. Even though Gra'marah is more lax about magic than Sorrea, I also thought that the reaction would be much worse. On the other hand, my head is filled with questions. What then is this necklace really? How long have I been out?

As if he senses my bewilderment, the rotund man smiles and folds his hands over one of mine. I am acutely aware of how icy cold my hands are compared to his. In fact, my whole body feels cold, as if I'd been lying under the stars for hours on a winter night.

"We were worried that you would not be okay. Awvag returned to find us here. He said your hands were still on me, but all of the color was gone from your face and you were very cold. He thought you were dead at first. He awoke me, but we could not wake you. You have been resting here for hours. Even now you do not look well. And it is because of me."

I gaze into his eyes, which look sad and old and tired, unlike how full of life they usually are.

"I would do it again for you, Hes. You are a good man."

He shakes his head and looks away with a troubled expression. "I know that I am to die soon. I am made to forget it often, but it is always there, the knowledge. What is killing me is not just age. I know that it is not a natural thing. You have only bought me more time."

"Not natural... Do you mean that it's magic?"

"We think so." He gives me a little sad smile that makes my heart crumble. "It began after... I helped save the life of someone, years ago. After that. I wonder if the Gra'marian throne is cursed."

Hes's words stir something in my memory. "The- the prior king's brother." Though it hasn't been too long since my conversation with Byrne, it takes more effort than I like to remember any details about what the librarian told me.

Hes looks at me, surprised. "You have learned much already. Yes, King Moreugo's brother. After that day I have felt that the days of my life are numbered."

Silence settles between us as we both lose ourselves in our own thoughts. I don't know anything about curses, but is it possible that the act of helping save someone's life enables dark magic to be cast over you? Even as I think the question to myself, a twinge in my chest, the magical blood within me, confirms the very thing. I remember the moon-glow sitting in the basket on Era's side of the bed and wonder if I can do anything to help Hes once I leave Gra'marah.

Speaking of leaving Gra'marah, I change the subject. "Hes - what of your merchant friend?"

"Ah." He smiles, though it is less sad than before. "Your waking is very timely. Abelo will be here soon. I think that this is your chance to go back to your Era."

Despite the near-death experience I just had, when I look at Hes I can't help the relief that breaks out on my face. He grins back in response. "That's wonderful."

"I always said you are destined for great things," says Hes, brushing some hair back out of my face. His move coupled with the sincerity in his words feels so sweet and paternal that my eyes well up. "When you return home, you must promise me to do those great things."

I feel sore and battered, but in response I lunge forward and wrap my arms around his neck. Who knew that I would find the safety and security of my passed father in this gods-forsaken land they call Gra'marah.

---

Our small negotiation party has arrived back in the heart of Gra'marah under the cover of night. At this time, it is relatively quiet, with only a few servants greeting us to take our horses and assist our return.

We didn't actually settle on much, most of the trip devoted to more diplomatic matters like "Fucking so that Kefo doesn't chop off your dicks in a fit of rage," as Anya had venomously put it. Even now I don't remember all too much, the lembi that is used in Kefo's tribe being more potent than that in Gra'marah. The days passed in a drunken haze.

If anything, I think that he was mollified seeing me and Lussen commit to throwing ourselves in their festivities. Anya, on the other hand, was given quite a bit of special attention from Kefo himself. Lussen, who we've known has had a thing for the female acting lieutenant for quite some time, was positively livid.

"This is an insult to Gra'marah! King Azrath's own soldier." He'd said heatedly to me the night after Anya's presence had been specially requested by Kefo in the dead of night. We all knew what it meant when the servant boy came seeking to collect her. Anya's shoulders as she left our tent, hunched over where they were usually rolled back with pride and confidence, haunted my mind's eye.

"No, you feel that it's an insult to you." I'd said quietly. I know my response surprised Lussen, because he quieted. Usually I would have told Lussen to shut up and go to sleep, but unwittingly the memory of me sitting outside of Azrath's tent and listening to Selene's shrieks had surfaced instead. "You're right, though. It... It feels wrong. But Anya knows what she signed up for when she registered to serve with us. It's just how things are for us here. We serve our king and country."

It wasn't lost on me how empty my words sounded. Somehow it was worse that Lussen didn't dignify my statement with a response.

The next morning, all three of us tried to put on a sense of normalcy to mitigate the awkwardness, but the false cheerfulness only made things feel worse. I felt sick in the pit of my stomach when I saw lilac undertones round her wrists, red chafing on the delicate skin of her neck. I looked away, not wanting to imagine what she endured in the night.

That was at the end of the trip, before we made the journey back towards Gra'marah. I had plenty of time to think of it all to the steady rhythm of my horse's gait. With all of the drug we consumed, I also knew that myself, Lussen, and Anya were dead tired and most likely still more than a little woozy. Yet, I'd had no other dreams, really, after the vividly intimate dream I'd had of myself and Selene. Even under the influence of the drugs, whatever woman I was bedding began to feel like the small Sorrean girl under me.

Atop my horse, my mind would wander between my body remembering the aches of pleasure I'd experienced for days on end, thinking of our failure to secure a solid agreement with Kefo, and thinking of what Selene must be doing at the palace right now.

Today, days later, we've finally ridden into the palace grounds. It's as if all of my exhausting thoughts and experiences have caught up to me and I'm ready to pass out. I see the blank stare on both of my companions' faces.

"We'll just report back to Azrath when we wake tomorrow," I say to Lussen and Anya through a yawn. "For now, let's just get some rest?"

They don't even respond, just grabbing their things and shuffling towards the sleep house we have for soldiers who stay at base.

The next day, I can't even remember how I made it to the bed I'm sprawled out on. I grab my bag of toiletries to go wash up for the day and as I'm heading to the washroom I see two people in a bunk. It's Lussen and Anya, curled up next to each other and still fast asleep. They're spooning, Lussen's face buried in her hair and his arm curled around her waist.

I eye them. It's not like relationships between our male soldiers and very few female soldiers aren't odd, but I didn't think I'd wake up the day after the return from our negotiation trip to see the two of them like this. I remember how much we've always made fun of Lussen, though, and a unwitting smile reaches my lips. Throughout the trip, I always placed myself between the two of them when we laid down to sleep in the tent. Partly it was because otherwise they'd stay up late talking and the whispering would drive me crazy. But on the other hand... I could see just how much Lussen wanted to be next to Anya and I enjoyed messing with him. He must have been beside himself even getting to lie down directly next to her last night. Bastard.

I head out of the sleep house, stretching my sore muscles. We must have slept for quite a long time, the sun high in the sky and the sleep house basically all cleared out. Whoever had slept here in the night were all gone. I busy myself with finishing clearing our things from the trip and anything else I can do. I don't think I can handle anything with much thinking at this point. I don't know how much time has passed between all these menial chores I'm mindlessly doing when Anya and Lussen approach me.

"Uh, General Eryx-" Lussen clears his throat. He looks nervous. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"You're never so formal with me. What did you do?" I cock an eyebrow at the guy. Truth be told, I know what this conversation is about. He crumbles just a bit at my tone. I still have no idea how someone so sensitive has been able to survive in our military for so long.

"As our superior, you should know that Lussen and I are together now," Anya steps forward. She seems a bit nervous too, for how confident she normally is.

"Whatever," I say, but can't help the stupid smile that spreads across my face. "Glad to hear it. Don't mess things up with Anya."

"Thanks, Eryx." Lussen grins back.

"Anyways, that's just a formality," Anya says quickly as if she wants to get away from this subject as fast as possible. She probably does, given how Lussen and I are reacting to the conversation. "We also found out that they're holding another Discipline. We should probably go soon."

"I wonder what it is this time." Lussen remarks as I nod, dusting my hands off and standing.

"Who knows," I say. "I just know I feel bad for whatever poor sods pissed Azrath off this time."

I heard that Disciplines used to be much more rare before Azrath's time, before we were ruled by inconsistencies. It really depends on Azrath's mood when a situation happens, what kind of punishment is decided. Disciplines used to be reserved for the most grievous transgressions, to serve both as a punishment for the wrongdoers and a warning for the Gra'marian people.

They are always held at the square, the heart of the city, not too far from the palace so nobles can easily come to enjoy the sights. Soldiers are expected to attend to help keep order, as there have been less favorable instances with the crowd in the past. Gra'marians are also expected at the event, though over the years it's become less of a warning to them and more of a sporting event - especially considering the nature of Disciplines have become much less violent and bloody and much more raunchy instead. Of course, that also means that soldiers typically enjoy attending Disciplines as it's easy work with nearly free entertainment.

It takes us only a moment to gather our things and soon enough the three of us are headed towards the square.

On our way the new couple tells me that the trip was kind of the tipping point for the two of them. Anya had come back from her night with Kefo, and Lussen was still up, unable to sleep out of concern for her. I guiltily remember falling asleep right away after she'd been escorted away. In fact, my sleep that night had been particularly refreshing.

The two finally talked things out, Lussen telling her everything and confessing his feelings.

"And I knew!" Anya exclaims good-naturedly. "I wanted to say yes, I was just waiting for you to say something about it all this time, Lussen. I made things so obvious with you, too. Anyone could have known."

"No," he responds. "Eryx, did you know?"

"Of course not," I say, bemused.

"This is why men drive me insane," she rolls her eyes. "Absolutely clueless."

Like me, they also barely remembered going to sleep at the sleep house, but Lussen did admit that it was probably him who pulled her down onto the cot before they both passed out.

My heart clenches a bit remembering half-asleep Selene curled up in my room, pulling me down to hold her. I make a mental note to check in on her and Hes as soon as I get back to the palace to report to Azrath. The two of them continue talking and bickering, but I'm no longer listening, my thoughts in the same space as during the ride back to Gra'marah yesterday.

A shriek interrupts my thoughts. It's a sound that signals to me that we're in the thick of the Discipline already. We're arrived and skirt the back of the crowd that surrounds the square, so I can't see what's taking place. I'm glad to see that it seems relatively orderly at the moment. I continue scanning over what I can see of the crowd, hoping that it remains this way until the Discipline ends. Sometimes the village drunks will throw punches at someone who accidentally bumps into them and it'll end up with us having to pull them all off of each other, those always inebriated savages.

"I'm curious what's happening," Lussen says. He begins muscling his way through the crowd a bit and Anya and I follow him deeper into the throng of people. Luckily for me - or unluckily, depending on what kind of Discipline is being held on the day - due to my height I have a much easier time seeing what's happening in the center of the square.

I see my king sitting away from the crowd at an elevation. You can't see it from down here, but I know from being up there during disciplines in the past that there's either a servant girl or one of his playthings kneeled at his feet, servicing him between the legs. From what I can see of his face, he seems pleased with what's happening below. Another moan sounds, this time louder and more shrill, and a ripple of a cheer goes through the crowd.

"At least whoever that is is enjoying herself," I mutter so only Lussen and Anya can hear. We're getting closer to the middle of the crowd now so I can now hear what's happening in greater detail; the squelching of wetness, the soft slapping between bodies, and the vocalizations that indicate something pleasurable is happening.

"As a reminder, our king has promised a very ugly death to any of our three performers who do not make the show entertaining enough." Yet another one of the changes that Azrath made to Disciplines was adding an announcer, supposedly to make things more interesting. I've always found the cheerful narrations to be too over the top, pushing the feel of the event to go from slightly garish to in extremely poor taste. But at the same time, it's just how things have always been while I've grown up in Gra'marah.

I step past a man who discreetly has a hand moving back and forth under his robes while listening to what's happening. We're close enough now that I can start to make out the three people in the middle of the square, all entangled in each other.

My blood runs cold. The woman, pinned between the two standing men, throws her head back and the familiar face of Selene is staring straight back at me. What makes things worse is that I recognize the silhouette of Hes and Awvag on either side, buried deep within her.

Her pale legs are hooked over Awvag's arms. Her wrists, bound, are thrown behind his neck. I can see his girth stretching her below where their bodies meet, the dark flesh disappearing into her pinkness. Behind her, Hes has his hands on her buttocks, his own thickness buried in her bottom. A sheen of sweat covers all three of them and there seems to be a flood of wetness in the junction between them.

It's absolutely horrifying to see your father figure buried to the hilt in the ass of a girl less than half his age, no less a girl that you've been pining after. It's even worse for her to be hanging on the cocks of your father figure and his lover, her breasts bouncing at the rising and falling movement of her body between them.

I'm ashamed to feel a stirring at my loins despite the depravity of it all. Her expression is pure ecstasy, eyes closed and head lolling on Hes's shoulder. Her jaw is slack, but I can still hear her moans and grunts in response to the attention being put on her body.

"...Slag..." The Gra'marian slur comes from somewhere behind me in a cheer. I clench my fists as I look at the three of them at the center of the square. I feel sick watching them, acutely aware of all of the other eyes in the crowd that are taking in those naked frames.

I want to stop watching, I know I should stop watching, but I can't tear my eyes away. Awvag and Hes also have their eyes shut, maybe trying to erase Selene from the perversion of this intimate act they're being forced to endure. But it seems that the Discipline has been going on for a while and knowing how things work, I'm sure their inhibitions have been lowered with intense levels of lembi lest the audience isn't given a good show.

I look up at Azrath again, whose eyes aren't even on the trio in the square but on whoever is at his crotch. I can tell from his upper arms that his hands are tracking the movement of the head in his lap, his eyes intense.

I hear her high-pitched vocalizations cut through the noise of the crowd, drawing my attention back to Selene. Her teeth gritted, she lets out a wail as her whole body tenses with the toes curled inwards. I see her legs lock up, shaking with the intensity and the force of her climax. Her body goes limp, even as Hes and Awvag are still in action.

Soon, both of them also reach a climax, each grabbing Selene tight and shuddering as their own pleasure courses through their bodies.

The voice booms out again, layered over the ongoing scene of the trio, who are still joined together, tremoring. I barely hear the words, my eyes still feasting over Selene, her fair skin rosy in the most alluring way. Despite the perversion of what she'd just been subjected to, my heart aches with yearning for her slight form.

"For Hes and Awvag the king is sentencing execution at dawn. The girl the king sentences to a life of submission and servitude to the king. Thank you for attending today's Discipline. You may return to your homes." I'm almost glad for the inevitable fight that breaks out between drunkards as everyone leaves the square. We rush over to break it up, Anya singlehandedly dragging one of them off the other, an open cut over his eyebrow streaming blood.

I know that if I look behind me, I'll see them moving Selene's body into position for where she'll be for the next few hours, just as they do to every female prisoner. I don't want to see it.

---

I enter Azrath's room. As usual, he gives me a bright smile and raises his arms to welcome me. "Eryx, my friend. Welcome home. I hope everything has gone well."

"Hello, my king." I give a stiff bow.

"Your greeting is a little lacking today, Eryx." He turns away, his back towards me, as he fixes himself some tea.

"I apologize. I am a little shaken from today's Discipline."

He turns back towards me and takes a sip of his drink. "Ah, you were back in time for it."