Chapter 3: An Unexpected Awakening
Light from the morning sun seeped through the cracks of her tent as Vera got up, feeling unusually well rested. It would have been a gracious awakening, but then she suddenly remembered the events that took place last night, causing her to spring upright. She scanned her body; no sign of any strange purple symbols on her abdomen, but at the same time, the bruise on her shoulder had cleared up, and her panties were tossed to the edge of her bed. She reached over to inspect them; there was a damp wet spot staining the crotch area.
Has it all just been a bad dream? But my wound is healed, and it felt so real...
She thought. She could still remember the feeling of the girl's lips suckling on her clitoris, sending shivers down her spine and making her groin twinge. She reached down to inspect the area between her legs, finding that it was wet and messy, from her actions last night and from her dirty thoughts now. Even just gently touching herself sent shocks through her body.
If I don't deal with this now, I am going to feel anxious all day,
she considered, slowly spreading her legs and gently opening her folds as her lust dripped down her thighs.
She snapped her hand away abruptly.
Good Goddess! How unbefitting for a holy warrior such as myself; to be having wet dreams like a teenage girl is beneath me! Imagine if the boys caught wind of this...
She stirred for a moment in shame, but her imagination just excited her further, feeling her heartbeat in her crotch and her nipples protrude.
Why is this happening to me? I was never this lustful, even during pubescence!
She took a deep breath and stood up.
I don't know what has come about me, but I cannot let these sinful temptations distract me from my duty. I am a holy warrior, a paragon of virtue for Goddess's sake!
Grabbing some rags she cleaned up the wet mess around her loins. She then pulled on her steel armor, said her morning prayers while kneeling under the pointed star, then stepped out of her tent to greet the sunny day.
Still feeling aroused, she walked to the campgrounds. Her armor felt unusually stuffy and uncomfortable. Other soldiers were standing side-by-side also awaiting their orders. Briggs was there to greet her with a salute, with his arms held behind his back.
"Good morning, Artessia. We have some good news. High command has agreed to a temporary truce with the warriors of the East."
"G-great to hear, commander." Vera replied, struggling to speak in her formal voice.
"I've already told the other men. We won't have any engagements soon, assuming they uphold their end of the deal. And--say, Artessia, are you feeling alright? You look a little red around the gills there."
"I'm sorry? I... Yes, I feel fine, sir." She could feel the other men staring and blushed.
"Well, if you say so. Your task for today will be to see what you can do to help out in the infirmary again." He dropped to a low whisper. "Truth is, while I would normally have you working in more important duties, it's looking grim over there. See if you can do anything to console them. Perhaps a rousing speech?"
"You mean the soldiers, or the healers?" she asked.
"Both, ideally."
...
While the infirmary was usually a grim place, the silver lining was that it helped to calm Vera's mind and soothe her urges, at least for the moment. She was holding the same necklace and reciting the same prayer as yesterday over Henry's unconscious body. Unlike yesterday, none of the other healers were observing the holy warrior. It seems the hope that prayer would solve their problems has gone unanswered, as they were instead tending to the other patients, reapplying bandages while applying salves and medications. Save for one, the young healer Maria was standing by the bedside.
"Miss Artessia, will Henry be okay?" Maria asked in the middle of Vera's prayer, appearing more solemn than yesterday.
Vera sighed. "If it is the will of the holy Goddess; we can only pray for her mercy. Why do you ask, young maiden?"
Maria responded, "It's just that, the other healers, they told me that Henry was not expected to live by the end of the day." She stared down at the floor, and sighed. "Some of the soldiers say that your prayers are a death sentence; many of the people you have prayed to do not survive. They say that the holy Goddess has left us. Why do we speak about her mercy, if we live through such pain and suffering?"
Before Vera could answer, one of the elder nurses in the room shouted, "Maria, stop bothering the priestess and help us renew these bandages!"
"C-coming ma'am!" she shouted back, breaking away from her conversation.
Vera continued focusing on her prayer, but thought about what the young healer said. She wished she could have said something along the lines of, "Young healer, the Goddess's love is always with us, we only need to pray more," but she was ashamed to say she hesitated.
If only the Goddess would hear our prayers,
she thought, looking down at Henry's deep wounds, covered with bandages.
Vera sighed again and placed her necklace aside, disappointed at her fruitless efforts. She thought back to her absurd dream last night, how "Henry's daughter" healed the paladin.
A healing kiss, fed off sexual energy. How absurd! I must have been reading too much old scripture recently to have such a bizarre nightmare.
She scoffed at the thought that such magic exists, fantasy only ever glossed over as ancient mythos at the academy, or the subject of children's fairy tales. But another side of her was curious to try it, no matter how juvenile it seemed.
What's the worst that may happen? I might make a fool of myself. A child trying to levitate objects with their mind, like the wizard Marlin. Perhaps I should just spare myself the embarrassment.
But her prayers were starting to get fatiguing, and she was starting to get bored.
Well, not like it could do much harm, right?
When none of the other nurses or patients were looking, Vera leaned toward Henry's body, and delivered a quick kiss onto his abdomen. Looking around, it appears nobody was watching. She waited, but nothing happened; no glowing symbol, nothing. She didn't know what she was expecting, but Henry's body remained as lifeless as a corpse.
But just as she had given up, she felt the strange, powerful warmth ignite from her womb.
