Miniarc-Sleepover-3

The next morning, Alana was a ball of nerves as she awaited the first day of her sleepover. Her morning training was a joke with her lack of focus and she didn’t taste a bite of her breakfast. The rest of the morning was spent grappling with her turbulent emotions.

The knock on the door was both a relief and panic-inducing. Alana smoothed down the front of her shirt, a small part of her lamenting that she hadn’t dressed up more. She opened the door, forcing her face into nonchalance.

“Coo~”

Her gaze moved down to find Bell standing before her, the little imp wearing a white scarf tied in an elegant knot. She couldn’t hold back a smile as Bell offered her a simple yet beautiful red flower. “Coo!”

“Ah. The letter did say Geo would be coming.” She couldn’t deny a hint of disappointment that Lou hadn’t picked her up personally. The flower smelled of spring. I wasn’t expecting…this after that letter. She shook her head before she could dwell on it. “Let me grab my bag.”

Soon, they were leaving the dorm, Bell leading the way with a happily swishing tail. Waiting a distance from the door was Lou’s carriage. Her thrall lounged on the driver’s bench, legs crossed and hands in her laps as she tilted her face toward the sun. She was dressed in a simple white dress and remained completely still, but still managed to draw attention, an irregular crowd hanging near the entrance of the dorm.

Alana couldn’t deny the thrall’s attractiveness. She was smaller than Alana. Combined with her supple limbs and soft, doll-like features, she invoked an urge to protect and cuddle. Her strange features didn’t detract from her beauty but added an exotic spice, drawing the eyes and ensnaring the mind behind them. Another beauty. It was no wonder she felt insecure about Lou’s attention when she surrounded herself with women on Kierra’s and the thrall’s level.

The fact she’d managed to interest Lou despite that padded her ego nicely.

Once she was a few paces from the carriage, the thrall opened her eyes, the rose-pink gaze moving toward her. “Hello, Alana,” the thrall said jovially, tail slowly whipping back and forth. “Are you ready to depart?”

“Ah, yes. Just let me—"

“Coo!”

She looked down to find Bell holding up her small hands, four eyes locked on her bag. Alana hesitatingly handed it over and the imp was quick to scamper off to the back of the carriage.

“Don’t worry about your luggage. Make yourself comfortable. Our journey won’t take too long.”

“Mm.” Alana glanced at the carriage door before hopping onto the driver’s bench beside the thrall. She received a raised brow at the action but the succubus stirred the horses and they were on their way. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask but I may not be able to answer.”

“What? Why?”

“My summoner’s instructions were very clear. I am not to interfere with your weekend.”

“And answering a few questions could interfere?”

The thrall chuckled. “It is clear you have little experience with my kind and those like me. Words can be very dangerous.”

Alana looked at her dubiously. She knew, from the few conversations she’d had with Lou regarding her elementals, that the succubi were dangerous but it was hard to feel threatened by the cute servant.

“If you are curious, you simply need ask my summoner. There is very little she will deny you.”

Alana huffed, adding questions about the succubi to her list. They could hardly go three days without talking. Now that they were…involved, Alana found herself wanting to know everything about Lou. Summoning was as important to Lou as the Bleak Peaks were to her. “What should we discuss then?”

“Ah ah. I cannot guide the conversation either.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. My summoner’s orders were quite thorough. You will simply have to cast a line and hope you catch something.”

“Hah, fine.” Alana took a moment to think. “Do you know what Lou has planned for the weekend?”

“What little she has planned, yes.”

“…can you tell me?”

“Not a word. That was the first order she gave me for this weekend.”

“Of course it was. Then, ah…” She cleared her throat. “Is it…is she planning on…”

“Is she planning on taking you to bed and making a woman out of you?” The thrall chuckled at her flushed cheeks. “Afraid I can’t say. But does it matter? I’m aware of the letter she wrote you. Nothing will happen unless you want it. Perhaps…ah, close, close. I almost broke my order.”

“What? How?”

“As I said, words can be dangerous.” The thrall snapped the reins of the horses and they picked up speed. “It’s difficult to resist one’s nature, no? You’re a perfectly ripe fruit. It’s rather difficult to resist the temptation of picking you but Lou would be quite upset with me.”

Alana huffed. “Can’t you at least give me a hint?”

“I can summarize my orders. I cannot ask you questions, I cannot reveal in anyway my summoner’s plans, I am not allowed to initiate any form of intimacy, I cannot intentionally influence your opinions toward Lou, the members of her house, or your sleepover, and any question I answer must be answered truthfully.”

“Then…I can’t ask you about the weekend or your opinions. I can ask about Lou and the others but you can’t give your opinions.”

“Only the facts,” the thrall confirmed. “And there are things I cannot answer due to previous orders.”

“How many orders are you under?”

“Quite a few. Lou really is a cautious one. It’s a bit of a shame but this is also fine. The game is more fun with skilled players.” The thrall glanced over at Alana’s pensive expression. “Ah, I hope I haven’t put my summoner in a negative light. Her orders are very necessary. If she didn’t hold me on a tight leash, I would usurp her control over me in a moment.”

“Why? Do you hate her?”

“Hate has nothing to do with it. It is about nature. I want power over Lou, she wants power over me. If either one of us slips, the over gains an advantage.”

“That sounds…horrible,” Alana muttered. She originally admired summoning. The thought of sacrificing a bit of mana to have a servant capable of the thrall’s cooking and an unconditionally loyal ally at her back sounded like a good deal. What she was hearing now painted a far more sinister picture. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to see the exotic looking woman in a new light, to see the threat her words suggested lied beneath her ash-colored skin.

“That’s not the way it is for all elementals. Some are quite benign and form friendships with their summoners. I am not a benign being. Lou understands that. She didn’t need a friendly elemental.”

“Just a pretty one.”

“Oh, you misunderstand. This form was entirely of my design. Most summoners who contract succubi do so for debauched purposes but Lou needed me for a job. Form was a secondary concern. Perhaps even tertiary. Despite my attempts to seduce her, she rarely entertains me.”

“Huh. That’s…surprising.”

“Not very.”

Alana turned toward the sky as she thought about what she should ask while she had the chance. The cloudy sky reminded her of home. Wouldn’t be long before the first snowfall. Victory would have already seen its first storm. “How do you think Lou would react if my father disapproved of our relationship?”

“Oh. Oh…” The thrall’s tail whipped faster. “You know it won’t be pretty. Please, narrow your question. The current one is littered with far too many traps.”

“Will she…will she leave me?” Alana wouldn’t blame her. Their relationship was still new, formless. She didn’t know if it could handle the disapproval of a duke, especially one with the largest armed force in the kingdom. No matter how powerful Lou was, she couldn’t take on thousands of elite fighters.

“No.”

“…you didn’t even think about it. I thought you weren’t supposed to try and influence my opinion.”

“I’m not trying to influence you. I am simply answering your question honestly. Your father and the whole of Victory doesn’t scare Lou. She has her allies. If he wants a fight, Lou will gladly give him one. She has her own power base, more than just the household you know. But that is a conversation the two of you should have.”

“Can you tell me anything useful?”

“Useful to what purpose? Knowing Lou? Seducing her? Making love to her? Would you like to know the most sensitive places on her body? Or perhaps what words to moan to—"

“Ah!” Alana shouted. A hand reflexively came up as she thought to cover the thrall’s mouth but she stopped herself after seeing the sharp canines in the thrall’s smile. “How about we just ride in silence?”

“As you wish.”