Chapter 27: Twenty-Seven: Hardship and Happiness

I knocked gently. “Senna?”

There was a moment of hesitation followed by a quiet, “Come in, my Lord.”

My Lord. That would have to go, too. It was even worse than ‘my God’.

I pushed the door open. It was dark in her room, save for the moonlight spilling in through the open window. Senna was standing before it, still wrapped in her towel.

The bed was untouched. The shutters had been pulled fully back, making the window little more than a hole in the wall; there was no glass. The fall wouldn’t kill her, but … beyond lay nothing but forests and fields, and I didn’t think she was intending to start a new farm.

She stood motionless in the silvery light, head down, shoulders hunched.

I swallowed a sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. It wasn’t enough to simply command her to walk back into our bedroom. Not after I’d supposedly rejected her. Maybe Lira was right again, dammit. Maybe it would be better if I fucked her. At least then, from the perspective of their twisted logic, I’d have shown I wanted her.

But I wasn’t going to. I had my own morals to consider, and I needed to be able to look myself in the eye. If I ever found a mirror in this barbaric world.

Some middle ground, then.

“I think I made a mistake,” I said. Perhaps honesty would help.

Her head came up, but her expression was difficult to discern amidst so many shadows. She said nothing, her breath hitching as she waited for me.

“I’m not ... originally from Fernwick. Hell, I’m not from anywhere near here. Where I come from, things are done a bit differently.”

She still said nothing—no acknowledgement, no encouragement—just waited for me to speak.

I pressed on.

“Do you remember me mentioning something called ‘freedom of choice’?”

She gave a short, jerky nod.

“What does that mean to you?”

“It means that you can choose what you want to do,” she said in her soft, timid voice. There was a subtle emphasis on ‘you’, and I wasn’t sure she was even aware of it.

“Yes, and … what about you?”

“What do you mean, my Lord?” Her confusion was genuine, like my question baffled her.

I suppressed the urge to sigh in frustration, and tried a different tack.

“Lira likes to make me happy, and I like to make Lira happy.”

She stared, saying nothing.

“Do you think we are happy together?” I prompted.

“Yes, my Lord.” There was something in her tone, but I couldn’t place it.

“What if I told you that I’m only happy if Lira is happy?”

“Then it would be her duty to be happy, my Lord.”

“Alright …” She didn’t seem to be getting the point, but I pushed on. “What if I told you I could tell when Lira was pretending, and sought only her true happiness?”

She didn’t hesitate. “She would need to try harder to be happy for you, my Lord.”

Brick wall. It was like running into a fucking brick wall.

I paused, staring at the wall opposite as I tried to think of a way to reach her.

She began to tremble, as if she’d realized I wasn’t happy.

“Do you know what happiness is, Senna?”

“It’s when I’ve pleased you,” she said, her voice dropping to barely a whisper.

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“What about your happiness? What does happiness mean to you?”

“I … I …”

I waited, but she said nothing more. Just stood there, in the dark.

It was at that moment when I finally considered that I’d bitten off more than I could chew. I couldn’t change this world. Not the way I wanted to. Hell, perhaps I had no right to. There were too many people in it like Senna. Like Jarek, and Drakos. Not enough like Lira.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t change the sphere that was within my reach. Starting with this girl, however long it took.

Even if it meant doing things I didn’t want to do.

I stood up. “I would like to give you a choice. Tonight, you may either sleep in this room or come and sleep in the other room with Lira and me. Those are your only two options. Whichever you choose, I hope that you will still want to go with Lira tomorrow to pick some wildflowers for the house. I think all three of us would appreciate the beauty you bring. The window, I’m afraid, needs to stay shut.”

She stared at me, her silhouette motionless, like a petrified rabbit. “Which choice do you wish me to make, my Lord?”

“I’m happy either way, Senna. The choice I would like you to make is the one you want to make.” I smiled, not sure if she could see it, then quietly left her room. Behind me, the window shutter bumped against the wall as she closed it.

I made my way back to the bedroom, slipping into bed next to Lira.

I kept my shorts on.

“Where is she?” Lira asked, as she pressed herself against me.

“Count to ten slowly in your head.”

Senna turned up when I’d reached seven.

She walked around the foot of the bed, and I held up the sheet up for her. She let her towel drop and climbed in, her nude form pushing up against my side. I let my arm fall around her shoulder, in lieu of anywhere else to put it. She tensed at my touch, her breath catching, but I didn’t move. For a long moment, we lay like that. Then slowly, she began to relax, her muscles unclenching. She even snuggled in a little closer.

We lay awhile in silence, and I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of both girls breathing.

Then Senna began to kiss my shoulder, little tentative pecks. I’d wondered if she would. I still didn’t move.

Lira remained statue-still against my other side; I couldn’t tell if she was watching Senna or had her eyes closed.

Senna’s kisses became bolder, firmer, and moved across my chest. The softness of her breasts rubbed against me, and her hips pressed into the side of mine.

“Do you like kissing him?” Lira whispered.

Senna froze, tensing again, then I felt her head move against me as she nodded, her lips still in contact with my skin. “Is it alright if I kiss him?”

“Try using your tongue at the same time,” Lira said, by way of answer. “Like this.”

I felt her mouth on the other side of my body, lips and tongue working together. Hesitantly, Senna copied her, the warmth and wetness of her tongue working across my chest in symphony with Lira’s. I was glad I’d kept my shorts on; I was so fucking hard in that moment. This was almost more painful than taking one of Jarek’s punches.

“Do you like that?” Lira whispered again.

“Does he like it?” Senna whispered back, as though I wasn’t lying in the middle of them, my heart racing.

“I think he’s gone to sleep,” Lira murmured. I knew damn well she knew I hadn’t. But bless her; she really was the most astute person I’d ever met.

“Perhaps he liked it then,” Senna said. She placed another kiss on my shoulder, a slower one.

“Did you like it?” Lira asked again.

“Yes,” Senna said, sounding hesitant. “Yes, I did.”

“Good, I’m glad.” Lira whispered. “It’s my favorite way to kiss, you know. It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Senna agreed, and once more kissed my shoulder.

Had Lira really just got Senna to admit to enjoying something? My little High Priestess was a fucking genius.

“We should let him sleep now,” Lira said, her task complete.

“Alright,” Senna said. I couldn’t tell if that was relief or disappointment in her tone. Or both.

“We can kiss him again in the morning,” Lira added, and I knew that was entirely for my benefit. Sadistic little minx. I almost gave her another spank, before I remembered my role: the man who falls asleep the fastest in the world, oblivious to the two naked girls on either side of him.

I wondered how much of my conversation with Senna Lira had overheard. Probably all of it, given the thinness of the walls. But irrespective, she’d played her role to perfection.

Silence descended for a few long breaths. I fought to relax my body, wistfully considering the benefits of cold showers.

“Thank you,” Senna murmured.

“You’re very welcome,” Lira whispered back. “Will you show me the best meadows for wildflowers tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Senna said.

A few more deep breaths.

“Which flowers does he like?” Senna asked.

“Oh, he doesn’t have a clue about flowers. Neither do I, really. Will you choose the best ones for us?”

“I … I can choose the ones I like?”

“That would be perfect, thank you.”

My respect for Lira grew with each passing day. I wondered if, just perhaps, some of what I’d said had influenced her. Not to take away from her genius, or her infinite wisdom, for she, too, was a product of this world, yet could still see the value in helping others, and had done so even before I arrived. Hell, I was here for that specific reason.

There couldn’t be a better companion for me.

I wasn’t oblivious to the irony there. She was my companion. It suggested ownership, just like I ‘owned’ Senna.

I’d even referred to them as ‘my girls’ before the collective population of Fernwick. Sure, I’d done it to send a message to any other possible Jareks in the crowd, but no one had objected. Least of all them.

Would I change this world before it changed me? Or had it already had its effect?

We lay quietly a while longer, until the gentle rhythm of Senna’s breathing told me that she’d at last fallen asleep, still snuggled beneath my arm. Lira sensed it too, for her hand slid stealthily over my hip, then a single fingernail ran down the length of my cock, where it lay against my stomach, as hard as iron. I jerked at the touch, and she muffled her giggle by pressing her mouth against my shoulder.

I’d have my revenge.

Willpower has gained a rank. Willpower is now level 9.

Lira and both my arms fell asleep a long time before I did.