Side Story: Meeting Maki: Scarred (Part 2 of 3)

Second of three parts that runs parallel to the Meeting Maki story in Inheritance.  Written by the talented LFN Park!

Enjoy!

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Bubbles sat on one of the couches in the servant area, a book open in her lap. She wore her typical fare; a loose shirt over her black sports bra and pants. Eve was snuggled next to the giantess, her head pressed against her muscular side as she read the open pages with her arms folded neatly in her lap.

Bubbles found the smaller girl strangely calming. Despite her youthful energy, there was something within the pig-tails that Bubbles found comfortable. Perhaps it was the fact Eve didn’t call her a freak when they met mere hours ago, towering over her at past seven feet tall. Maybe it was because the girl wasn’t intimidated by her chiseled physique like so many others. 

Maybe it was because Bubbles found her completely adorable.

“Can I ask you something?” Eve’s voice broke the tranquil silence. Bubbles’ solitary eye looked down at the pig-tailed girl.

“Yes.” Bubbles deep baritone seemed to echo through the room. 

“Are you really missing an eye or is the eye patch just for...” Eve paused, considering what Anna would say. “Just for effect?”

Bubbles tilted her head down at the tiny girl.

Her bluntness is refreshing. Bubbles smiled inwardly, reflecting how different she was from Maki. Her masters words could hold a dozen different meanings in a single sentence….

“I’ve only one.” Bubbles points to her singular eye. Eve nods sagely, pressing her head against Bubbles’ ribs.

“Did...did Miss Maki take it? Our old Master used to hurt the other girls. Did she hurt you too?” Eve’s voice is small and curious, almost hesitant.

“No, she didn't.“ Bubbles shakes her head, closing the book gently. She leaned back against the sofa, shifting to rest her hand on Eve’s shoulders. 

“Then how did you lose it?”

“My old Master.” Bubbles growled, filling the air with the sound of grinding rocks.

“You’ve had two Masters too?” Eve’s eyes brightened, staring up at her.

“Yes. He betrayed me.” 

“Our old Master wasn’t nice either. Anna doesn’t like me saying it, but he was a…” Eve looks around the room before lowering her voice. “He was an asshole.”  

“That is true.” Bubbles tone was dry. She remembered that visit well...She never liked the vibes that came from that man…

“He used to hurt my sister a lot. She doesn't talk to me about it, but I know he did bad sex stuff to her. Really bad.” Bubbles watched Eve curl up tighter, drawing her knees to her midsection. “Sometimes I could hear her scream from all the way up here. It was awful.I couldn't do anything.” Eve wrapped her arms around Bubbles’ waist, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Bubbles remained silent, words failing her. Instead, the giantess rested her other massive hand on Eve's head, stroking her hair with slow movements.

“I wish I was big and strong like you. I could’ve done something. I could've stopped him from hurting her.” Eve sniffled, burying her face in the taller woman's side.

“Size means nothing.” Bubbles baritone softened greatly, dropping from rolling boulders to skipping rocks.  “I’m not strong.” 

“Hah. You can lift me up like I'm made of paper.”

“You're a child.” Bubbles shrugged idly.

“I'm 18.” Eve's face scrunched up while Bubbles eye widened significantly.

“You jest.” 

“Nope. My old Master did something to me...it kept me small. And flat.” Eve’s cheeks tinge red as she looks downcast.

“That’s…” Bubbles found herself at a loss. She had assumed this girl was ten or twelve...Her physique and demeanour surely bore that out…

Yet there was a sense there, as the apparent age gap between Eve and Anna would be extremely pronounced. Maki’s records did have them pegged at a mere handful of years apart.

She sat in silence for a moment, still running her hand through Eve’s crimson hair as she processed this. 

“Strength isn’t physical.” Bubbles took a breath, centering her thoughts. “Strength is mental fortitude.”

“I don’t get it.” Eve looks back up at Bubble’s caramel visage, a confused expression present.

“I destroy with fists. Mistress speaks, everyone bends.” Bubbles closed her eye for a moment, memories of her time with Maki washing over her. “Her words carry more weight than any strike.”

“Maki likes to talk.” Eve nodded. “She’s pretty too. People listen to pretty girls.”

“She is. I’m not.” Bubbles looked away. “I am scarred.”

“Did your old master cause these scars too?” Eve ran a finger along a dark line on Bubble’s wrist.

“No. I was a Fighter.” Bubbles shrinks a little, removing her hands from Eve and laying them on her large thighs. “Each is from a battle.”

Eve shifts onto her knees on the sofa, one hand resting on Bubbles’ shoulder. The amazon turned and found herself eye to eye with the redheaded girl, her face much closer to hers than before.

“Can I see?” Eve points to the eyepatch. Bubbles hesitates, shying away from Eve’s hand.

“I-it is frightening.” Bubbles stuttered, surprising even herself with her trepidation.

“You’re not scary to me.” Eve stated. Bubbles stared into her innocent eyes, contemplating this small girl before her. She was so full of childish wonder...Bubbles hated it and treasured it in the same breath.

She could see Gregory in those eyes, full of hope and never subjected to the true cruelty of life. Bubbles hated it; one day those eyes would be dimmed, whether through death or experience. She loved it, though, for it reminded her of better times….and how precious it was.

Bubbles sighed, caramel fingers running along the soft leather of the eyepatch. She turned her head from Eve, carefully lifting the straps over her head and grasping the patch of leather in her palm. She took a deep breath and turned back to Eve, revealing her deepest wound.

Eve tilted her head for a moment, staring into the hole where an eye should be. She could see the horizontal cut going across the socket and the lack of any sort of eyelid. It looked like a gaping maw threatening to consume the side of her face, and with the scars on her cheeks it reminded Eve of the face of a monster from one of the books Anna would read to her….

Yet the single blue eye staring back at her, fear, vulnerability, and anticipation in its gaze, reminded her of the human behind the face.

Eve smiles warmly and presses her palms into the larger woman’s ears, bringing her closer to press a gentle kiss to her marred cheek. As Eve brought her gaze back to Bubbles single eye, the amazon’s face was full of shock and a tinge of crimson in her caramel cheeks.

“I think you’re prettier than Miss Maki. Anyone can talk, but not everyone can bend and not break...like Anna. Like you. All these scars...and you’re still so nice.” Eve’s tone was kind and full of compassion. She wrapped her arms around Bubbles shoulders, barely encompassing their mass as she rested her red head on her shoulder.

Bubbles reciprocated, her arms tightening around Eve as her chin touched the girls shoulder blades, a single tear leaving a streak down her darker skin. Words faltered in her throat in the face of this smaller girls kindness. After a moment Bubbles released the smaller girl, looking into her kind face.

“You are special.” Her baritone was as soft as silk.

With a soft smile Eve sat back down, curling up against the muscled side of Bubbles once more. 

“Anna says that too.” Eve states smugly. Bubbles rested her hand on Eve’s shoulder, rubbing gently as she stares down at the precious girl.

“You deserve something. I have nothing.” 

“Just being around is fine, silly. You’re awesome.” Bubbles made a rumbling sound in her throat, her cyclopean eye looking away from Eve for a moment. 

She looked back at her and began to hum. It reminded Eve of the rolling thunder in a distant storm, her tone soft yet seemed to reverberate through the room. When Bubbles lips parted, Eve’s eyes widened as her words flowed through her ears to her very core, a soft symphony that enveloped her like the softest blanket.

“Lost in skies of powdered gold

Caught in clouds of silver ropes

Showered by the empty hopes

As I tumble down, falling fast to the ground

I know I'll wither so peel away the bark

'Cause nothing grows when it is dark

In spite of all my fears, I can see it all so clear

I see it all so clear

Cover your crystal eyes

And feel the tones that tremble down your spine

Cover your crystal eyes

And let your colours bleed and blend with mine…”

Eve’s eyes fell slowly, a broad smile on her face.

“You’re an angel…” She murmured softly as her consciousness slipped away with Bubbles song.

“But I'm okay in see-through skin

I forgive what is within

'Cause I'm in this house

I'm in this home

All my time…”

By the time the giantess finished, Eve was asleep against her. Bubbles looked down at the slumbering girl somberly, enveloping her in massive arms as she stood. Softly she walked to one of the rooms and laid the girl in one of the beds. As she drew the covers over her, Bubble felt Eve’s tiny hand grip hers.

“Stay…” She breathed, eyes still closed. Bubbles sighed, but carefully laid down beside the red head. Immediately Eve snuggled closer, her arms wrapping around the larger woman’s hips as her head pressed against her stomach.

“You are special.” Bubbles murmured, closing her eye.