I stood in a massive plain covered in a myriad of different colored flowers. A gnarled old woman loomed a few dozen feet ahead of me digging. The full moon hung high in the sky.
I started walking toward the woman. I felt drawn to her. As I grew closer, it became evident she wasn't just digging a hole. She was excavating the ruined foundations of a castle.
Stabbing the shovel into the dirt, she looked up at me. Her pure white eyes piercing through me. "Looks like you've finally arrived." The crone creaked out before descending into a mad cackle.
"Uh, Hello." I said nervously to the mad crone.
The cackling ended abruptly. "Hello, young one. It's good to finally meet you." The crone croaked out, attempting to sound reassuring.
Gathering up all my courage, I asked a simple question. "Who are you?"
A creepy, wide grin spread across her face. "Now, now, young one. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're not to that part of the story yet."
"Now then." she continued. "I told you a choice was coming. Do you think you're ready?"
Letting out a sigh, I answered. "I have no idea. How could I know if I'm going to be ready when I have no idea what the choice is."
The crone broke into a wild cackle. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
When the cackling stopped, the crone spoke again; her voice boomed from every direction. "When everything has burned, and you stand in the ashes, what will you do? When everything you know wishes you dead, how will you react? When those you love leave this world, will you bear to be able to stay?"
An overwhelming sense of dread washed over me. I had absolutely no idea. I didn't want to think about the questions. They would hurt to answer. I wanted to push them down and never think about them again.
"You can't avoid the questions forever. She is only human." The crone's voice whispered in my ear.
Opening my eyes, I am greeted with only blackness. Strong arms held me tightly to the chest of whoever was sharing my bed. My brain felt heavy, and everything was a bit fussy.
I couldn't quite remember what had happened the night before. I remember being at the temple of Eluna. Had I made it home?
I had been talking to the priestess about the whole transgender thing. Then someone knocked on the door before I could finish asking questions. The champion had shown up and... Mom.
I felt tears roll down my face as I began to silently sob. I had worried that something horrible had happened and that she had died in some gruesome way. I worried that she didn't love me and had decided that she didn't want me anymore. But no, she still loved me. She wanted me to be her daughter. Maybe I was being a bit naïve, but I wanted to believe her.
The ethereal hug pulsed with warmth, reminding me it was still there. Being freed from my thoughts, my attention was brought back to the physical arms around me. If I remembered the previous night correctly, then I should be sharing a room with Asra. It should be Asra that's holding me. I was tightly being held to Asras's chest face first.
In an instant, it felt like my entire body felt like I was burning. I had no idea if I was actually on fire, but I was almost definitely blushing. As I try to wriggle out of her grasp, her arms wrap around me tighter.
Feeling her arms shift against my bare back, I stilled. Did she undress me? Was I naked? I remember falling asleep in Asra's lap while talking to Mom. Did something else happen?
As my struggle intensified, I felt Asra start to shift. A moment that seemed to last forever later, she released me. Launching myself away from her, I sucked in a deep breath. Shooting her a glare, I was met with a satisfied smirk.
Quickly looking down, I am instantly relieved to see I'm not naked. A black nightgown with a silver moon and star pattern covers my body. However, one question begs to be answered. "Did you change my clothes?"
Letting out a warm giggle, she answered. "No. That would have been Eliza. When neither of us could wake you last night, they suggested we just take off your outer clothes and let you sleep in your underwear. Eliza refused, saying something about maintaining your modesty and that the first time I see you like that should be while you're awake."
I was swallowed by embarrassment as she spoke. "So she locked me out of the room while she changed your clothes. When she was done, she let me in, and I started getting ready for bed. She stressed how important consent was on her way out. As soon as I got into bed, you clung to me like your life depended on it, so I held you tight as I drifted off."
That's really embarrassing and a little weird. I think. I'm 26, and my mom changed me into a nightgown while I was sleeping. I really hope she isn't going to treat me like I'm still a child.
Spinning around, I looked for my clothes. The room was moderately sized. About 10' by 20'. The walls were made of the same obsidian as the rest of the building. It was sparsely furnished but had its own kitchen and attached bathroom. The chest with the glove in it from last night sat on the end table. The only standout pieces of furniture were the elegantly carved ebony changing screen and the sizeable ebony wardrobe behind it.
Not seeing any clothes in the room, I turned to Asra. "Do you know where our clothes are?"
"Yeah, Eliza took them to be cleaned. she said they should be in the wardrobe by the time we woke up." Asra said, getting out of bed and stretching.
I walked over to the corner of the room that was sectioned off by the changing screen, opening the sizeable ebony wardrobe. Two baskets sat in the bottom with mine and Asra's clothes neatly folded in them. Sitting next to the baskets were our boots, which were also cleaned.
Grabbing my clothes, I quickly changed. After getting dressed, I did a quick spin in front of the mirror on the back of the changing screen. Feeling my skit swish around my legs, a small smile crept across my face.
"You having fun there?" Asra asked teasingly as I absentmindedly watched myself twist back and forth in the mirror.
"Yeah." My face went scarlet; the word had come out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying.
"Good, you deserve to have some fun. You work too much." Asra said, giving me a smile that made me feel like nothing could possibly go wrong.
"Is Lyra going to be at breakfast?" I asked, remembering her still being here when I fell asleep.
"No. She went back to the house last night so that there would be someone there when Vayla woke up." Asra answered. "We both thought it would be a good idea if someone was there when she woke up after everything that happened yesterday."
"All right, so it's just you, me, and Mom for breakfast." I said, trying to give her a smile to cover up all my anxiety. I was worried for Vayla and hoped I'd get another chance to talk to her before she went back to Everen.
"Now, are you going to get out of the way, or did you want to watch me change?" Asra asked teasingly.
"Sorry." I yelped out, throwing my nightgown in the empty basket and dashing off toward the bed.
Sitting on the bed, I thought to myself, I was about to have breakfast with Mom for the first time in 12 years. I had so many questions to ask and so many things I needed to know, but there was one thing I hoped for above all. I really hoped it wouldn't be awkward.
gNatonthewall Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I don't know if I'll be able to get a chapter out next Tuesday, with Monday being Christmas and everything. If I do, it will definitely be later than normal. I'm also planning to try to get some glossary entries out this week. I have a good amount of lore that I haven't found a place for in the story so I have a bit put in some of them. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and favoriting. Have a nice day.
I stood in a massive plain covered in a myriad of different colored flowers. A gnarled old woman loomed a few dozen feet ahead of me digging. The full moon hung high in the sky.
I started walking toward the woman. I felt drawn to her. As I grew closer, it became evident she wasn't just digging a hole. She was excavating the ruined foundations of a castle.
Stabbing the shovel into the dirt, she looked up at me. Her pure white eyes piercing through me. "Looks like you've finally arrived." The crone creaked out before descending into a mad cackle.
"Uh, Hello." I said nervously to the mad crone.
The cackling ended abruptly. "Hello, young one. It's good to finally meet you." The crone croaked out, attempting to sound reassuring.
Gathering up all my courage, I asked a simple question. "Who are you?"
A creepy, wide grin spread across her face. "Now, now, young one. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're not to that part of the story yet."
"Now then." she continued. "I told you a choice was coming. Do you think you're ready?"
Letting out a sigh, I answered. "I have no idea. How could I know if I'm going to be ready when I have no idea what the choice is."
The crone broke into a wild cackle. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
When the cackling stopped, the crone spoke again; her voice boomed from every direction. "When everything has burned, and you stand in the ashes, what will you do? When everything you know wishes you dead, how will you react? When those you love leave this world, will you bear to be able to stay?"
An overwhelming sense of dread washed over me. I had absolutely no idea. I didn't want to think about the questions. They would hurt to answer. I wanted to push them down and never think about them again.
"You can't avoid the questions forever. She is only human." The crone's voice whispered in my ear.
Opening my eyes, I am greeted with only blackness. Strong arms held me tightly to the chest of whoever was sharing my bed. My brain felt heavy, and everything was a bit fussy.
I couldn't quite remember what had happened the night before. I remember being at the temple of Eluna. Had I made it home?
I had been talking to the priestess about the whole transgender thing. Then someone knocked on the door before I could finish asking questions. The champion had shown up and... Mom.
I felt tears roll down my face as I began to silently sob. I had worried that something horrible had happened and that she had died in some gruesome way. I worried that she didn't love me and had decided that she didn't want me anymore. But no, she still loved me. She wanted me to be her daughter. Maybe I was being a bit naïve, but I wanted to believe her.
The ethereal hug pulsed with warmth, reminding me it was still there. Being freed from my thoughts, my attention was brought back to the physical arms around me. If I remembered the previous night correctly, then I should be sharing a room with Asra. It should be Asra that's holding me. I was tightly being held to Asras's chest face first.
In an instant, it felt like my entire body felt like I was burning. I had no idea if I was actually on fire, but I was almost definitely blushing. As I try to wriggle out of her grasp, her arms wrap around me tighter.
Feeling her arms shift against my bare back, I stilled. Did she undress me? Was I naked? I remember falling asleep in Asra's lap while talking to Mom. Did something else happen?
As my struggle intensified, I felt Asra start to shift. A moment that seemed to last forever later, she released me. Launching myself away from her, I sucked in a deep breath. Shooting her a glare, I was met with a satisfied smirk.
Quickly looking down, I am instantly relieved to see I'm not naked. A black nightgown with a silver moon and star pattern covers my body. However, one question begs to be answered. "Did you change my clothes?"
Letting out a warm giggle, she answered. "No. That would have been Eliza. When neither of us could wake you last night, they suggested we just take off your outer clothes and let you sleep in your underwear. Eliza refused, saying something about maintaining your modesty and that the first time I see you like that should be while you're awake."
I was swallowed by embarrassment as she spoke. "So she locked me out of the room while she changed your clothes. When she was done, she let me in, and I started getting ready for bed. She stressed how important consent was on her way out. As soon as I got into bed, you clung to me like your life depended on it, so I held you tight as I drifted off."
That's really embarrassing and a little weird. I think. I'm 26, and my mom changed me into a nightgown while I was sleeping. I really hope she isn't going to treat me like I'm still a child.
Spinning around, I looked for my clothes. The room was moderately sized. About 10' by 20'. The walls were made of the same obsidian as the rest of the building. It was sparsely furnished but had its own kitchen and attached bathroom. The chest with the glove in it from last night sat on the end table. The only standout pieces of furniture were the elegantly carved ebony changing screen and the sizeable ebony wardrobe behind it.
Not seeing any clothes in the room, I turned to Asra. "Do you know where our clothes are?"
"Yeah, Eliza took them to be cleaned. she said they should be in the wardrobe by the time we woke up." Asra said, getting out of bed and stretching.
I walked over to the corner of the room that was sectioned off by the changing screen, opening the sizeable ebony wardrobe. Two baskets sat in the bottom with mine and Asra's clothes neatly folded in them. Sitting next to the baskets were our boots, which were also cleaned.
Grabbing my clothes, I quickly changed. After getting dressed, I did a quick spin in front of the mirror on the back of the changing screen. Feeling my skit swish around my legs, a small smile crept across my face.
"You having fun there?" Asra asked teasingly as I absentmindedly watched myself twist back and forth in the mirror.
"Yeah." My face went scarlet; the word had come out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying.
"Good, you deserve to have some fun. You work too much." Asra said, giving me a smile that made me feel like nothing could possibly go wrong.
"Is Lyra going to be at breakfast?" I asked, remembering her still being here when I fell asleep.
"No. She went back to the house last night so that there would be someone there when Vayla woke up." Asra answered. "We both thought it would be a good idea if someone was there when she woke up after everything that happened yesterday."
"All right, so it's just you, me, and Mom for breakfast." I said, trying to give her a smile to cover up all my anxiety. I was worried for Vayla and hoped I'd get another chance to talk to her before she went back to Everen.
"Now, are you going to get out of the way, or did you want to watch me change?" Asra asked teasingly.
"Sorry." I yelped out, throwing my nightgown in the empty basket and dashing off toward the bed.
Sitting on the bed, I thought to myself, I was about to have breakfast with Mom for the first time in 12 years. I had so many questions to ask and so many things I needed to know, but there was one thing I hoped for above all. I really hoped it wouldn't be awkward.
gNatonthewall Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I don't know if I'll be able to get a chapter out next Tuesday, with Monday being Christmas and everything. If I do, it will definitely be later than normal. I'm also planning to try to get some glossary entries out this week. I have a good amount of lore that I haven't found a place for in the story so I have a bit put in some of them. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and favoriting. Have a nice day.
