Chapter Eleven: "
Imagination"
Gharla grit her teeth in annoyance as she watched cloaked witches bustle by her in scattered hordes.
She had grown tired of the color, grown to hate it in fact. Her hate was only fueled by the white cloak she now wore. Caligula, the brown colored male had said that her current clothes were unfitting of their sanctuary. Without the right clothing, the creatures of the land might mistake her for an uninvited guest.
She had been "recommended" this new attire.
It was a dress with a hood for the most part. Her soft boots had been replaced by beaded sandals. Her hair had been magically braided into a strange circlet, and blue stones hung around her neck. Her lodging was a room inside the tree. It was perpetually night inside of it, blue moonlight shining from an unknown source. The room was simple, containing a strange feathery sleep setting and her own luminescent water basin.She stared at the face that stared back at her. The refined soft features dampened by a scowl.
She hated it here. Every day she felt she was becoming less and less of herself. For the first few days she had constantly looked to spot Enui. Brief glances to ensure her safety turned into uncomfortable disturbing memories as the nymphs refused to release her from their debauchery. She had asked why they continued to defile Enui.
"It's unusual actually," Caligula had said in response to her questioning.
"Nymphs are fickle creatures. They usually detach themselves to their playmates in the matter of hours. Whatever is inside your friend must really be...perverted."
Gharla bristled at the accusation. "How dare you suggest she desires such..."
"How would you know what she desires young one?"
His eyes were like glistening gems, sparkling with their indigo darkness. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she swore she saw want in his eyes. She was unable to answer as he walked forward a hand sliding on the cold marble walls. He was backing her up into a corner.
Gharla forced herself to hold her ground and shivered when he stood inches away from her.
"What do you know of desire?"
He ran a finger down a wheat colored braid and smiled to himself.
"You are quite beautiful. You all were actually. An impressive group of humans."
His head leaned down and she growled shoving off the wall.
"Do not presume you may play games with me witch! I do not fear you!"
He snickered and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms in delight. "Oh I am quite sure you don't. May I ask you one question Madam Gharla?"
She glared at him, sick of the games she was subjected to day in and day out.
"What?"
He raised an eyebrow, his handsome face taking on a roguish quality.
"Is the denial of pleasure a Rovian way?" he asked. She was about to snap when he added, "I have seen into your minds, all of you. You can thank Etaceh for that."
Gharla had suspected that. How else would the witch know how to torture each of them? Yet, to hear it said aloud gave it new horrible meaning. He knew things that no one should know about her.
"Your sister Zyra is a raging storm of repression. Her desires are practically childlike, she has no idea what she wants only that she wants it. The child is hopelessly confused and unaware of her effect of others. And...Enui was it?"
He began to walk in an aimless direction, his footsteps resounding in the air.
"Did you have any idea how trapped she was? Stifled under that innocent visage? She wanted passion in her pleasure, but all she received was gentleness. It makes perfect sense actually." He smirked.
"How could one not go mad after sampling but a taste of ones true desires?"
"She begged us for salvation!" Gharla shouted. "You ruined her! She was in pain!"
"From the withdrawl," he corrected. "Now she's enjoying herself immensely. If anyone caused her pain, it was
you.
"
This caused the end of her patience. She charged at him with a raised fist aimed for his face. Before it could land he grabbed her wrist. She swung the other hand and he captured that as well, drawing her in so he could bear his height over her.
"Ah ah ah..." he cooed, drilling his eyes into her. "Your sister already succeeded with that feat. I have no desire to heal myself again."
He pulled her body closer so that she could feel the planes beneath his robe. He was muscular and his body molded against hers. Her cheeks flushed in indignation and horror.
"Why do you try to control what is innate?" he asked softly. "You humans can try to, but you cannot remove yourselves from nature."
His grip tightened and he bent his lips to her ear.
"Nature's truest desire is to create life. In order to create energy must be exerted. Do you know how?"
"Let me go."
"With sex. Fucking. Desire. The whole world, our world, the air you
breathe
is the result of an universal orgy. You think it something to be hidden, when your food fucks out in the open. To deny your desires is to deny who you are."
"Some desires are wicked," Gharla hissed, unable to wrench herself from his grip. "Some desires can get you killed!"
He chuckled at her futile attempts. Turning he pressed her against the wall and grinned.
"Sex is not one of them."
Caligula's eyes wandered down her body and she felt like he could see through her robe. Her heart began to race as they trailed back up from their inspection.
"I mean you no harm Madam Gharla. We witches are part of this land. What the land desires, we desire. We don't believe in being deprived. You too are now part of this land, thanks to your tests."
He released her and let her scramble away.
"If for any reason you have an urge..." he said narrowing his eyes. "You should follow it. You will not be punished for anything you do, and no one will try to force you to follow their desires. That'd be...unnatural."
With that, he winked at her and left her by herself. She closed her eyes and forced her breathing to quiet.
All she wanted was to go home.
She ignored the tingling sensations that lingered inside of her. She did have a desire, but some desires were too strange to be natural. She was sure he had manipulated her in some fashion. She could only wait until Enui was sane and hope her desires did not outwit her sense.
__________________________________________________
Now...ok...now!
Now!
Fuckta
Zyra was playing a foolish game with herself. She needed to go into the forest to check on the ogre.
It had been three days since she had last given him his provision. Still, she couldn't quite put his strange behavior out of her mind. It was illogical to think an ogre and a human could possibly perform...certain acts.
Was he so desperate for touch that he would pretend to desire her?
Regardless she couldn't deny the strange feelings he pulled so easily out of her. She had long ago abandoned her unjust anger. Now she was left with nothing but confusion, and something else. The something else had yet to be identified.
Zyra looked up, judging the height of the sun. It was a hot day, she could feel the rays beating down upon her in fury. Several of the village women had taken to the stream, the thinnest part closest to their camp. They mended torn frocks on the bank with their ankles resting in the water. The children and young girls splashed each other in its shallowness. Her dear Nima was among them.
Nima had recovered quite well. In fact, her speech had improved again. She spoke nonstop in perfect human tongue. The only problem was that all her question revolved around the orge.
Who was that big green man?
Where was he?
What was he?
On and on in a never ending torrent!
Kyzu had
kindly
redirected Nima's questions with a jovial, "Ask your auntie darling."
It made her want to shake her sister.
They were unsettled at the moment. They spoke often as they were unaccustomed, but there was this big solid wall that built higher with every word unspoken. Zyra was hoping that within a few days Kyzu would cool down. Now she saw she was wrong. Kyzu could not cool down because Kyzu was not angry. That was the trouble. The ogres' words rattled like loose stones in her mind.
Was Kyzu incompetent?
Did this make her competent?
What would Kai...the ogre say?
Sighing she knew there was but one answer to this. She had to seek out the ogre. It was still midday. There was no chance of her ending up with him alone at night. Zyra was fully armed thanks to a quick hunt that morning. Holding her spear she padded quietly towards his abode.
When she reached the camp she saw he had made a few additions. For one thing, he had dug a wider fire pit. Next, he had unraveled her net and made a series of lines where he held up dried herbs and meats. She could see what she believed to be Snaganips drying on flat rocks. She thought they had all gone into hibernation. She wondered how he had found them. They were one of the longest lasting stored meats because of the creature's sea water origin. Perhaps she could ask.
The strange fences he built were finally even and a very good distance from one another.
Perhaps he would move the tent inside?
Another question to ask.
Goodness, she was turning into her niece.
She walked quietly, trying to figure out where he might be. She couldn't help but resort to a more primitive means. He was light footed, but his feet left faint tracks. She was no tracker compared to Gharla, but she could track. Following softly bent brushes, an accidental scraping on a tree from his talon like nails, the absence of a fruit, she walked steadily ahead.
Soon she realized she was approaching the end of the river. On the far side she saw a flash of green amidst the sparkling reflection of the sun. She stayed low and peered forward. No, her eyes did not deceive her. There in the center of the river was the ogre, swimming about with nothing but his green color to swaddle him.
