REINA THE WARLOCK - PART 6 :
So Very Sorry
Reina sighed heavily as she gazed upon the disaster laying before her on the worktable. It was a catastrophe. A complete and utter botch. As good as her new assistant Idina's intentions were, the girl was useless when it came to translation of old texts. The girl was hardly dumb, but words were not her strong suite. Reina really had to get Telitha back.
It had now been three weeks since she had banished her old assistant, a punishment for having played around with Beleeza behind her back. At the time it had seemed prudent. Necessary, even. But now she wondered exactly who was being punished the most.
She went to the kitchen and made herself some sweet abarran tea, spiced with calming rootdust. Then, she took the steaming little cup and ventured up on the roof, where she sat down to gaze out over the city. It was an unusually calm evening, without any wind to disturb the sand and the dust. Night was slowly falling and the alleyways were lighting up with lanterns and candles, turning them into great glowing veins that sprawled towards the beating heart of the city. The petrified eye that hung in the sky far above Robeka was silent and dark. Sleeping peacefully, for once. Even this arid, hostile place had its moments of beauty.
There, under the waking stars, she sat and pondered. Much had changed lately, and she had not taken the time to truly feel - to really try and understand what was happening inside her. She had always been a bit of a recluse, burying herself in work and duties. Had used it as a shield to keep people at arm's length. But lately she had felt like something had changed. It was more than just Beleeza's Daemonic influence, however. It was the woman herself. If you could call her that. Reina felt emotions stirring inside her that she had never expected. Emotions that really weren't supposed to have a place in a diligent scholar's life, especially towards what most Warlocks would consider a subordinate. Or even a slave. But there the feelings were. A smoldering, aching tangle of emotions that whispered only one name. Had she really been angry at Telitha for breaking the rules, or was it because the girl had intruded upon a deeper bond? After all, Reina had forgiven Beleeza quickly enough. Was it simply jealousy that had stung so deeply? Had the boundaries she had laid down been fair? All this and more she pondered as she drank her tea in solitude while the moons began their dance among the stars. Finally, she whispered the name that her heart called out for.
Beleeza.
Only a few moments passed before footsteps could be heard coming up the creaking stairs leading to the roof. A pale phantom appeared in the door, naked as only those completely devoid of shame could be. Beleeza wore her raven-haired human form voluntarily for once. Even she knew that a Daemon on a midnight roof would cause a bit of a stir. For a moment, Reina could only gaze at her bondmate with warmth, drinking in the generous yet elegant curves. Then, she patted the ground next to her and the Daemon came to sit with her without uttering a single word. They sat in silence for a while, simply looking out over the city, before Reina finally spoke.
"I think I'm going to take Telitha back."
"Oh?" There was a genuine mixture of surprise and curiosity in Beleeza's voice. "You have forgiven her, then?"
Reina though about it for a moment. Was there really something to forgive? In the end, Beleeza was a Daemon of the House of Flesh. It was her very nature to act the way she had. And Telitha was only human. Would she herself have been able to resist such temptation if she had been left alone as an apprentice with something like Beleeza? Probably not. Still, it had hurt. It had wounded her.
"I...suppose I have." Reina finally said. "I'm still not happy with what happened behind my back, but... This can't really be treated like a relationship between humans, I suppose." She waited for a quip from Beleeza that never came. The Daemon only sat and listened. Reina wasn't the only one who was changing.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is... It wasn't just that she broke a rule. I think I didn't like the thought of Telitha having had that moment with you because it felt like she intruded on something where she didn't belong." Reina gave Beleeza an unsure glance. If opening your heart to another human was difficult, it was nothing compared to opening it to a Daemon. "It felt like... she was taking something away from me."
"You mean to say I'm a toy that can be taken away then?" Beleeza couldn't keep her silence any more, feigning shock and insult with a dramatic gasp.
"No! I just-"
"I know what you meant, pet," Beleeza said with a teasing smile. " You meant that she wounded your heart more than your sense of professionalism, no?"
"I... Yeah, I suppose so." Reina admitted.
"It did not wound you when I played with Omala?"
"That was different though. I was...with you then. A part of it."
"Mm..." Beleeza purred. "A delicious part. I enjoyed watching the moon ghost play with you too."
Reina jabbed her bondmate in the side, and tried to stifle a blushing smile. "Shush you. I'm serious."
"So tell me then, bondmate. What do you want?"
The Warlock pondered. This wasn't exactly something she had studied as an apprentice. No one schooled you on emotional relationships with your Daemon.
"I guess... I wanted someone from the House of Flesh, so then I can't very well ask you to act against that nature. Nor do I want to."
"I should hope not," Beleeza purred and bit Reina's ear lightly.
"But I... I can't deny that you've become special to me. I want you to be... You. With all that it entails. But the thought of you doing what you do to me with someone else hurts. Even though it shouldn't."
Beleeza sat quiet with a quizzical look on her face. This was a new conversation for her as well.
Reina sighed heavily and continued. "I'm not...ordering you, or even asking you to do anything. I'm just telling you how I feel."
For a while, Beleeza held her silence, her face an impassive mask that may as well have been made of stone. Finally, she spoke. "Very well. Then I will not play with anyone else, if you are not present."
Reina stared in shock at her Daemon. Whatever answer she had expected, it was not that. She fought a lump in her throat as she pulled Beleeza tightly against her. They held each other in silence, both trying to understand exactly what they were feeling. Reina wanted to give words to so many things, but did not know how. She could only hold her Daemon, feeling her warmth and breathing in her scent.
"Does that mean other Daemons too..?" Beleeza finally mumbled, with something that almost approached apprehension in her voice.
Reina let out a relieved laugh. "No, dummy. You can fuck as many Daemons as you want whenever you want."
"Oh thank the depths," Beleeza sighed. "That might have been the end of me."
Reina gently pushed her bondmate to the ground and kissed her deeply. Beaneath the sea of stars they embraced each other, confessing their emotions without any clumsy words.
* * * * *
The next day, Reina was laying out material in her workshop as Beleeza watched from the corner. Telitha was due to arrive at any moment after more than three weeks in exile. Reina really needed the assistant to get back to work as soon as possible, but she couldn't help giving the girl one last little punishment before that.
"You are sure you want to do this?" Beleeza asked.
"Yes," Reina said with an dark smile. "It will be a suitable punishment for playing with fire."
"Very well, pet," the Daemon purred. "Punished she will be. How should I dress then?"
"I trust your creativity, Something that will make her mad with lust."
The Daemon let out a laugh. "You seem to become more and more in tune our House every day, human though you are."
Reina simply pointed her tongue at Beleeza. Half mocking, half inviting. "I blame your influence."
Beeleza stood up and stretched, still in her human frame. But then, with loud cracks and groans, she started changing shape. Her frame grew almost two heads taller than Reina, taking on a dark brown tone of skin, clad in an intricate weave of red tattoos. Her horns sprouted thick and strong, and her black hair grew wild and untamed. She kept herself to two arms, though exactly what one should call the thick thing that grew between her legs was open to interpretation. For a moment, Reina looked at her beastly mate, and considered that perhaps she should simply ask Telitha to come back another day. Just looking at Beleeza's strong body and the thick cock that was waiting to be played with made her heart beat faster.