Chapter Six: Dread Wedding
"Have you heard of her? The maiden with the half shaven head of white hair and runes, eyes colder than hate, and her bow ... Starbringer. With just her voice, she enslaved many. With her bow? She killed an Eternal."
-Asked Ten Guns, to his crew, the Twelve Dead Men.
The morning was not as it usually was. I woke on the floor, alone. The space behind me, still warm. She had slept on the floor with me again. I blushed and brought a finger to my lips, smelling the lingering sex that remained.
Where had she gone? I asked myself. Hunting perhaps?
I frowned. She said she'd bring me with her. My aim had improved, dearly so. And she rewarded me with gifts, for being a good girl.
I wore thin black leather sleeves over my arms that cuffed tightly to my wrists and up to my shoulders, ending with cute folded cuffs. She had an Odrean leatherworker craft me a pair of riding boots as well. The boots fit perfectly flush against my skin and ran all the way up to the top of my thighs, lacing in the back, with folded cuffing at the top.
By the Goddess, I was so sexy for her with my leather boots, sleeves, white hair, and piercings. She said I was becoming her little Bow-maiden. I blushed deeper at the thought of it.
I wore the archer's sleeves and the boots every day, my collar too, with all three articles matching in color and stitch.
I was still naked to the realm. I wore nothing to hide my breasts and lower regions from the world and I was content with it. I wanted them to see what my Mistress had to torment ... Envy to them all.
"Liana!?"
My Mistress called for me from the kitchen down the hall. I rose, slid my sleeves and boots on, and skipped down the short stone corridor to the galley.
Peeping around the corner into the kitchen, I noticed two people sitting on the opposite side of the table where my Mistress was sitting.
Oh, visitors? They turned their attention at me.
I paced over to her and she lifted her hands from her lap, eyeing me with a smile. She nodded down towards her thighs and I smiled. She wore a soft violet silk robe over her lovely dark green body. I bit my lip at her, lustfully. Goddess, she was fucking gorgeous.
I turned and placed my soft pale butt on her warm lap, and wrapped my arms around her neck, finishing with a gentle kiss to her cheek. As I leaned against her, I could feel that she was naked underneath her gown.
My attention turned over to the visitors sitting in front of us. The woman to the right was the Old Hag, her face hidden by a purple veil as it usually was, mysterious as always. To the left was an old, rather cheerful looking, Oro'keen woman. Her skin, light grey. Her eyes, bold warm crimson. Her long grey hair held neatly in a regal bun with gold spikes. Her lips, dark red with her little tusks protruding at the corners. She was stunning for her age.
The Oro'keen woman wore a bright crimson dress laced with glittering blood-crystals, and yellow rogue-stones. Her cleavage held tightly, perfectly, by a black velvet outer-corset.
Her smile aided the laugh lines in her eyes, telling the story of love and pleasure. Her aura sent me to a realm of happiness and fluttered in my chest like butterflies and wheat to the wind. I addressed her and the Hag...
"Good morning to you, Masters," I said.
They glanced at each other and giggled, then glared back at me. Mistress Koren smiled and placed a hand on my waist, and the other on my thigh.
"Liana, this is the Queen of the Seventy-seven Tribes. This is my mother, Lady Lynn'Kai Worms."
My eyes opened wide with embarrassment and I blushed.
"I bid you an apology, mi'lady. I—"
"It's fine, love," cut Mistress Koren, "We don't engage in human traditions. This is my mother. You may call her Master if you wish, in public."
"Or you could be adorable and call me, My Queen," she boasted, with a smile.
I smiled with the warmth of nervousness fluttering in my chest.
"Okay, My Queen it is then," I said, twirling my hair in my fingers.
The Queen then set her hand on the table, taking the Old Hag's with it, joining the two with interlocking fingers.
"And this is my Al'nuun. Lady Everaen of Illiana, the City of Rebels. The city you were named after, I've been told."
I blushed. I continued to blush. My face hadn't been so red with anxiousness in such a long time. It all made sense just then. The Old Hag was one of Mistress Koren's parents. The Old Hag watched me so closely since the Path of Worms. She gave me the Little Black Book. She told me about the summoning spell. Oh, Goddess how embarrassing it was that I didn't figure that out.
I stared down at my lap shyly. All three of them were looking at me. Oh Goddess, the attention. It was worse than being paraded nude in public with my Mistress leading me by a leash out in town.
The Old Hag, Lady Everaen, unveiled her face and let her hood slide down to her shoulders. Oh, Goddess she was attractive too. I hadn't realized how purple her eyes were until just then. Her eyes matched her purple cloak. I nearly drooled from glancing at her dark purple lips. She too had elegant laugh lines that accentuated her beauty.
Oh, me ... Ever perverse.
Lady Eve smiled at me. I smiled back in an awkward sort of way.
"I must apologize," I said, "I've been referring to you as The Old Hag, in my head. Please forgive me." I meant it as a joke, but I was rather serious indeed.
The Queen laughed. "Oh, she is indeed, Little Bird. She is quite the hag!"
Lady Eve shoved her shoulder into the Queen's with a smirk. "Oh please, dearest. We're both hags nowadays. You're just short of using a cane to walk."
"Bah!" laughed the Queen, "Only to bash the heads of Odrean Lords, of course."
I smiled with them. They were so adorable together, such light they had. I turned my head and shared my happiness with Mistress Koren. The four of us together laughed like people, a real gathering of hope and joy. I had always wished for such a moment.
"Shall I bring it up?" asked Lady Eve to the Queen.
"Oh yes indeed, Evey. Please do," she replied.
The two kept their hands interlocked and stared at me. I felt judged again, but I didn't mind, I was rather confused.
