This is part 4 of my Ascension of Azaron series, the plot of which is heavily reliant on events in the previous chapters. I encourage you to read those for context before jumping into this story, unless that's your thing, in which case welcome.
Part 4: Sisters
One day, while Mab and Azaron were discussing details of the wedding, a rather uncomfortable looking herald informed them there was a visitor.
"Who?" asked Mab, not looking up from the designs on the table in front of her.
"It, um, she, well..." he stammered nervously, causing Azaron and Mab to look at each other in confusion, before facing the messenger, who desperately tried to pull himself together. "It, well, it's... your sister. She's returned," he finally announced.
His declaration turned Mab white as a sheet, her lip quivering slightly. No response could be found by her so Azaron dismissed the messenger and said they'd meet her sister in the throne room. The messenger left and Azaron took Mab into his arms, comforting her until she was able to explain the situation fully.
"Persephone is my older sister. We were inseparable when we were kids and went everywhere together. We'd get lost out in the forest and wander the gardens for hours playing games. She always brought me along with her and always took the blame when my mother scolded and...and beat us. She was my best friend." Mab buried her face into Azaron's shoulder for a moment, desperately trying to hold back tears. She held him tightly, wiping her eyes with his shirt before continuing. "One night, a few centuries ago, Persephone was sick of my mother and the pressures of being the heir, she wanted to leave. In the middle of the night she woke me up and asked me to join her, but I... I just couldn't do it. I asked her to wait until the next day so we could talk about it more. She agreed, but when I fell asleep she... she left. I haven't seen her since." Mab began to pull herself together, but refused to loosen her grip on her husband.
"That's... a lot," Azaron sighed, trying to come to grips with what this all meant. "Isn't it, at least possibly, a good thing that she's returned?" he wondered aloud.
"Not likely. My mother sent spies to search for her once she realized what had happened. They eventually found that she had run off... to the underworld," Mab explained in a hushed voice. "Avalon is a land of life and change. The underworld is... it's our opposite, a land of death and perpetual darkness. The magic of that realm does terrible things to our people. Who knows what it's done to my sister after all these centuries..." Mab's voice trailed off as she thought of what could be in store, until a horrifying thought struck her "--What if she is here for the throne?! She is the eldest, and I came to power in a coup, oh fuck," Mab panicked.
Azaron gripped her tightly. "Mab, if she ran away because she hated the palace, I doubt she returned to claim it. Besides, you have me. I'll ensure you stay on the throne and protect you if she tries anything, but the wedding is soon and we have to make this happen. We need to deal with her so we can move forward with our plan," he reminded her, locking his eyes with hers to keep her focus.
Mab nodded slowly. "Right. You're right, we just need to speak with her and sort this out. We'll do what we must," she assured herself, reinforced by her lover.
They took a moment to prepare themselves before entering the throne room where Persephone was already waiting
"Sister, it's a delight to see you again." Persephone's bright red lips parted slightly as she smirked, just barely showing her vampiric fangs. She stood proudly in the center of the marble hall, her black dress in sharp contrast with the bright stone around her. Her braided white hair sat over her shoulder, running down next to the crimson collar of her dress, which accentuated her prominently displayed pale cleavage. The sound of her steel staff hitting the floor reverberated across the room. Topping her staff was a large skull which seemed to stare into the souls of the fay royals.
Mab was in shock. This was clearly not the woman she remembered from her youth. Words failed her as she took in the sight, something Persephone clearly reveled in.
"You're speechless, I see. It's not surprising. I've grown a lot since we last were together, while you're just as small and cute as I remember." Mab's cheeks blushed with embarrassment and rage.
Azaron stepped in before things got further out of hand. "Why have you come?" he demanded, interposing his large body between the two women.
"And you must be the Oberon," the visitor mused, stepping up to him without fear as her eyes traced over every inch of his body. "You are actually the reason I'm here," she finally admitted.
Mab immediately put herself between the two of them. "Absolutely not, you can't just help yourself to my things!" she barked, placing a hand on Azaron as if to assure herself of his presence.
Her sister laughed."My dear, calm yourself. I'm here to trade and only for a short while. I need him for a task," she assured Mab, taking another step to loom over her.
"There is nothing I will trade with you. You don't have anything I want," Mab insisted, refusing to falter in this moment.
"Oh but there is, unless you want to give up on your dreams of becoming empress," Persephone hissed, leaning her face in mere inches from her sister's. This struck fear into Mab's heart. She couldn't help but gasp, which brought a cruel smile to her sister's face.
Azaron put his hand on his wife's shoulder and pulled her back a few steps from Persephone. "What is this bargain you seek?"
Persephone stood straight to look at him. "You see, Freya was recalled because of trouble in the underworld, trouble I caused. The trouble has been exaggerated so as to justify recalling a goddess, but Freya isn't happy she's been forced to return home and is itching to leave. If we can't create a real problem then she could return any day now and ruin your marriage. Now we wouldn't want that, would we? So, the crisis we invented was a meeting between myself and Hel, as we are the only two rulers left in the underworld after the last war."
"Y-you rule the underworld?" Mab was reeling at how far her sister had fallen.
"Part of it, yes. There used to be several of us but the only meaningful leaders now are Hel and myself. Now the deal was simply that we threaten to unify, which isn't a real possibility but the Asgardians don't have to tell Freya that, so to sell it we set up a meeting. I plan to kill Hel and her supporters at this meeting, and I wouldn't be surprised if she plans to do the same to me, so I need an ace up my sleeve." Persephone looked to Azaron at this, prompting Mab to take hold of him. "Give me your husband and I can kill Hel and rule all The Underworld, you can take over Avalon, and Freya stays home. When my place is secure I'll send him home and we can all go our separate ways," she said sweetly, smiling wide.
Mab and Azaron were speechless, and stared at Persephone for a time unsure of how to proceed before finally the visitor closed the distance between herself and Mab once again. "I know you're not one to make decisions in the moment so I'll give you three days to respond, at which point I'll call off the meeting if I don't have your Oberon in my possession," she growled, her golden eyes locked onto her frightened sister for just a moment, then her features softened and she smiled sweetly at the couple. She then placed a ring with a black gem in her sister's hand. "I look forward to hearing from you." She curtsied, then marched out of the palace.
Mab was overwhelmed by her emotions and was hardly holding it together, so Azaron took her to the hotsprings below the palace so they could relax for a bit and discuss their options. The conversation was more about letting Mab process her emotions, since Persephone had really left them no choice in this situation.
Mab spent most of the bath laying on her husband's chest venting her frustration and confusion, until finally Mab admitted, "we used to be lovers... her and I... no one knew, it was our secret..." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I never forgave her for leaving me... and now... now it's clear she hates me too..." At this point Mab broke down fully. Wrapping herself around Azaron as she let her tears go.
This was a lot to take in. Azaron had never even heard of her sister until today and now Persephone was blackmailing them and Mab had admitted they were secret lovers. Persephone clearly loved tormenting Mab, was this for revenge? Would Persephone actually allow Azaron to return when she was done? Was she hurt that Mab didn't follow her that night? Perhaps deep down she still wanted Mab, perhaps if he went to Persephone he could convince her to heal the relationship with Mab. As his wife cried on him, Azaron felt a deep urge to heal the pain within her, no matter the cost.
"You still love her, don't you?" he asked softly, careful not to carry any judgment in his tone.
Mab pulled herself from him and wiped her eyes so she could see him clearly. She didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't lie to him either. She simply nodded, sniffling as she tried to end her stream of tears.
Azaron held her arms and looked into her eyes. "I know this might not work but... I could try and see why she feels this rage and if... if maybe she feels the same way you do deep down..."
Mab stared back at him in confusion. "Y-you'd do that? How do you know she'll still love me?" she sniffled.
"I don't know, but the least I can do is try. You deserve to know the truth and if I must go to her anyway, I might as well look for the answers. Regardless of what they are, I'll come back to you," he promised.
Mab dreamed of having her sister and her husband with her. She was overwhelmed by how good Azaron was to her, and she desperately wanted to know the truth, to know if her sister still loved her. Mab agreed with a soft smile, draping her arms over his shoulders before leaning in for a soft kiss.
This soft kiss was followed by a longer, deeper kiss that they fell into with great passion. Azaron's strong hands gripped Mab's wide hips as his cock swelled, pressing against her outer lips. This elicited a soft gasp from Mab who rubbed against him energetically, desperate to release the tension and stress that overwhelmed her. She would forget about her past and surrender to this moment and her lover.
