Hi, all! Annabelle Hawthorne has returned with yet another installment of "this whole mess started as a blowjob." So pretty much the tale of any good trailer-park marriage.
If you're a new reader, welcome to my corner of Literotica! To catch you up on things, this story did actually start with a blowjob from a nymph. After a few shenanigans, we're officially on the lost island of Avalon with a cyclops, a banshee, and a Cerberus in our party. If being confused is your jam, then you're about to make a tasty damned sandwich.
If you're a returning reader, welcome back! I'm always happy to see you all (it's like a family reunion without all the drama) and want you to know I'm still working really hard to give you some of the best storytelling you can find. I've been super busy with some other projects, so my release schedule has been bonkers. I do work extremely hard to stick with the schedule in my bio, so if you're ever curious when the next chapter will drop, make sure you check that out for dates.
A huge shout out to my beta readers yet again (yes, I do this a lot, it's called being grateful). They've been crazy busy with all the work I've handed over, and I couldn't give you so many clean drafts without all their help. I would also like to thank everyone who has commented, liked the stories, or sent me a feedback letter. You've not only kept my own spirits and energy high, but have helped other people find this story. We're all on this crazy ride together, and this bus has plenty of seats.
Speaking of more new readers, if you ever hang out in places where you talk about stories like this one, make sure to give me a solid mention and invite others to come check me out here. All I ask is that they don't piss off
The Locals
The first suite Mike was shown was insufficient for his needs, and so was the next one. The servant led them all over the castle, showing them larger living spaces that should have been good enough, but Mike rejected them all. The servant never uttered a single complaint. To Vincentius or any of the thralls, he was little more than a grouchy human making demands and trying to get the best deal possible. By the time they were offered up a living space that took up the entirety of one of the remaining towers, he had seen enough to set his plan in motion.
"Will this be sufficient?" asked the thrall.
Mike gazed at the enormous lounge with an enchanted fire in the hearth, then made a show of walking inside to inspect the place. A stairwell around the interior led upstairs to several different rooms, each with windows that overlooked the island for now. At some point, it would rotate and he would be staring at the cliff, but that wouldn't really matter. This would allow him a view of the village as well as the exterior of the castle as the tower moved.
"I suppose," muttered Mike as he came down the stairs. "So, what? Are we prisoners here?"
"We have been instructed to give you free rein of the castle and its grounds," replied the servant. "However, you are not to force open any locked doors nor harm any of the residents in the village. When you are hungry, simply ring the bell cord by the door, and we will have food brought to you."
"What about clothing?" asked Sofia. "And our other needs? We packed supplies for an excursion, not to be permanently relocated to a castle in another dimension."
The servant walked to a desk near the hearth and opened it. He withdrew an inkwell and some paper. "You may make a list of the items you require," he said. "As long as you remain in the Lord's good graces, any reasonable requests will be provided."
"Good," said Mike, narrowing his eyes. "Now leave us."
The servant nodded, then backed out the imposing doors onto the small bridge that connected the tower to the main body of the castle. The moment the door was shut both Sofia and Mike went to the table.
"There's another quill in here," she said, pulling it out of the desk. The cyclops handed it to Mike and took an extra piece of paper for herself. The two of them hastily put together a functional map of the castle, along with some observations added by Sulyvahn. In truth, Mike's pickiness regarding rooms had been a way for him to figure out the layout of the castle and Sofia had picked up on the scheme right away.
Neither Cerberus or Cecilia could offer much to assist their endeavors and moved to inspect their temporary domicile instead. After roughly twenty minutes, some spilled ink, and three drafts, they had completed one map they all agreed on along with potential escape routes. Mike hadn't liked the way the false Amymone had been watching them during their meeting. He was half expecting her to drop out of the ceiling and attack them at any moment.
The map completed, Mike had Cecilia and Cerberus show them around the rest of the tower. Their suite was the size of a large home with seven bedrooms, a couple of medieval bathrooms with tubs in them, and its own dining area. There were empty bookshelves everywhere, which Sofia declared odd. If the books had been pulled, it was likely for a very good reason.
The events of the last couple of days crashed into him, and he found himself dozing on the couch. Cecilia, Sulyvahn, and Cerberus all agreed to keep watch as he and Sofia adjourned to a bedroom with a bed large enough for both of them to sleep in. If Vincentius had some way to bypass the living area and attack them directly, at least one of them would be warned by their magic and be able to rouse the others.
It also didn't hurt that this meant he got to curl up against the cyclops'massive hips. Grinning in spite of himself, he hugged her from behind and quickly fell back into slumber, and eventually, his Dreamscape.
That was where he found Kisa waiting. The cat girl was busy chasing a crab on the beach, the little crustacean blowing multicolored bubbles in her face. On the horizon, a distant storm had boiled over, obscuring what little light came from the setting sun. The cat girl looked up at him and smirked.
"Was wondering if I'd see you today," she said, then dashed forward to catch the crab. It clamped down on her fingers with its pincers, but was unable to hurt her. "Looks like we finally synced up for the moment."
"A bit. How is Tink? Anything new?" he asked.
Kisa sighed. "Tink is grumpier than ever, but fine. Beth has the house on lockdown. Best we can tell, our Seelie friends are playing ball because of your agreement with Princess Nyx. However, the Unseelie don't give a fuck and have hinted that one of their people has gone missing on our property. We've gotten reports of mysterious figures around the perimeter, but it's always out of the corner of someone's eye. The centaurs have packed up early and returned to their village, but we had Yuki and Ratu screen them first for shapeshifters or any sort of fae possession."
Mike narrowed his eyes and thunder rumbled in the distance. "Seriously? The fae courts are making a move?"
Kisa shook her head. "There's no law against looking into our property, though some Unseelie asshole threatened Beth in the park. That's why we're on lockdown. She's keeping a lot to herself. The fae can read minds, right?"
Mike thought briefly about that silver coin he had given Beth. "Yeah," he said. "But they can't do it if everyone stays inside."
"I'm under the impression that they can't do anything to us for now," said Kisa. "So we're in this weird stalemate where they're clearly looking for a justification."
"Fuck," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Every time I leave my house..."
The cat girl shrugged. "At least your house wasn't stolen," she said. "Or invaded by mercenaries. We've been through worse."
"We shouldn't have to deal with anything, though." Thunder rumbled again as Mike crossed his arms. "Look, we're currently guests in this stupid castle. Let me fill you in." He gave Kisa a summary of what he had learned so far. Her ears perked up through the narration, especially when he mentioned how Vincentius was using the Caretaker narrative as his own.
"What do you suppose all of that is about?" she finally asked.
"I don't know. But I would have no reason to question otherwise if I didn't know that I was the real Caretaker," he replied. "The guy is using the narrative to accomplish something, I just don't know what."
"Hmm." Kisa looked down at her hands and realized she was still holding the crab. It had conjured a little flag of surrender, which it waved frantically. She laughed and tossed it out to sea, where it made a little hoot of victory before splashing into the water. "Oh, I meant to tell you. Ratu has been looking all over the house for more of those sculpture things."
"And?" Mike had honestly forgotten all about it with everything else going on.
"She identified a couple more items that clearly contain some type of creature inside, both were in the Vault. They're now being studied in the Labyrinth, but as far as she can tell, they're currently innate."
"Don't you mean inert?"
Kisa laughed. "Maybe? They're not doing anything right now, so whichever word works best, I guess." She fell back against the sand, which rose up to form a lounge chair beneath her. "So what's the plan?"
"Instead of splitting resources, have Reggie send a team here to open a portal," he said. "That way, I can come home, have a talk with the Unseelie, and make them realize they need to be on their fucking way."
